There are lots of reasons I don't want to take the bar, so this will probably be a series.
Part 1: It's F'ing Expensive
Real quick, here's the breakdown of the funds I have to raise before May 1:
Exam Fee: $475Credit Report Fee: $7.25Computer Fee: $100Bar Prep Class (mandatory, and this isn't the most expensive one): $2,005MPRE (ethics exam): $63Total: $2650.25 (plus the lost wages from the fact that I can't work during the summer).
$2650 is five months of rent. Not to mention, if I were applying for almost anything else on my current income I could apply for some sort of fee waiver...nope not the bar. Want to apply to defend justice? You better be able to pay the admit fee. And we wonder why this is historically a rich, white man's club. Dear law school and board of bar examiners, you can't make the cost prohibitively high and then shirk responsibility for having the least diverse profession in the country.
By the way, I'm accepting donations. Certified funds or pay pal (can't really afford to take a bad check).
I like this series. But before I weigh in with any thoughts, I want to make sure I'm clear on the situation--you have no interest in practicing law?
ReplyDeleteNot planning on practicing, but it seems silly to close doors. The plan is to reenter the non-profit world...and maybe doing some pro bono work for people who wouldn't be able to pay me anyway.
ReplyDeleteI agree about closing doors. And though I also agree that the whole thing is excessively priced, I have to think it pales in comparison to what you've already paid (that was the case for me, anyway).
ReplyDeletePlus, tales of bar studies make for such interesting dinner party conversation. Do you really want to deprive your loved ones of delightful anecdotes about how you studied the multiple choice section for so long that you couldn't remember the difference between Greenacre and Blackacre? That one will have them in stitches all though dessert.
If it makes you feel any better, the exam fee here is twice that. And if you'd prefer to you feel like you're getting a total bargain, your grand total is only one month's rent here.
ReplyDeleteConsidering the over 100k price for law school. 2.5k is an after dinner mint.
ReplyDeleteAlso you can be a lawyer who stopped practicing. But to become a JD but never get licensed... just creates negative infernpences. To be blunt, it raises the specter of failing the moral fitness requirement.
Stopping now permanently hangs an albatross around one's neck. A summer later and you can be a lawyer who chooses not to practice, instead of one who "wasn't allowed" to practice. .