Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in From Law Student to Lawyer's LiveJournal:

[ << Previous 20 ]

Wednesday, May 12th, 2004
12:33 am	Bad News Again Well when the NJ BAR results were finally released I was a bit disappointed not to see my name. So I had to wait for teh mail at 1 p.m. to see what my score was. I have known people to fail teh BAR by 1 point. The NJ BAR is notorious like that. So I failed by 4.542. Can you imagine that? I was DISAPPOINTED. I think it hurts more to fail by a small number of points than a larger number. Well I guess i will just have to take it again. I will just have to fork over another whopping $500 to NJ and $250 to NY. It's a money making business as well. Ok I am off to bed. I am over it. God bless America. Thanks for teh support from all my friends. You know yourselves. Dave, Sam, Sheldon, Kevin, Berlinda, Wendy, Lawrence, Charles, Maurice, etc; etc; (Comment on this)
Tuesday, May 11th, 2004
7:32 am	Hours before the Public Release of the Feb 2004 BAR Results Well it's Tuesday morning and I am sure everyone is eagerly awaiting to know whether or not they passed. Well this was a back-up plan. I guess you can't put all your eggs into one basket. So I took the NJ BAR as well. After all that's where I live. You just need to be admitted somewhere to practice, right? After the surprise announcement last week Friday that all the results were mailed by first class mail, the anticipation was just too much. On Saturday I rushed to the mailbox but there was no mail. On Monday again I went through my mail but still no results. What had happened? With my luck, maybe they did not even have a record of me taking the exam. So it's still early. I keep checking the website but unlike NY which would have done this at the stroke of 12 midnight, NJ will wait till the actual business day begins. Well I am really keeping a prayer in my heart and hoping for the best. (Comment on this)
Saturday, May 8th, 2004
8:15 am	Post NY BAR -- Pre NJ BAR-- Finally a Job Interview Well I did not go into shock after the news came from the NY BAR. I kind of expected it. The notice came in the mail and I failed by 15/1000 points. This basically is the equivalent of 7 more multiple choice answers correct either on the MBE or the NYMC. Ah well, maybe next time. Then while all this was going on I finally had an interview with a "posh" New York City law firm. I felt like I connected but one never knows. Keep your fingers crossed for me. In any event, even if I don't get the job, an interview is never wasted. It prepares you for the next one. The SHOCKER came last night however, when I logged on to the NJ BAR website to read the following. The results were not expected until mid May. "The results of the February 2004 examination were mailed to all applicants by first class mail on Friday, May 7th. A list of successful applicants will be posted on our website on Tuesday, May 11th. No results are available by telephone. Any applicant who does not receive his or her results must make a written request for a duplicate. Be sure to include the exact address to which the duplicate should be mailed. To allow a reasonable time for applicants to receive their results by mail, requests for duplicate notices received prior to May 24th will not be filled. The deadline for applicants who were unsuccessful on the February 2004 examination is a postmark date of Saturday, June 5th. Re-applicants who wish to request special testing accommodations for the July 2004 bar examination must have the application postmarked by Saturday, June 5th. Both the re-application and the application for special testing accommodations can be downloaded from the website. The deadline for any applicant who did not take the February 2004 examination is a postmark date of Friday, May 28th." I could feel my heart thump. I am really hoping for some light here. I need this. Well we'll see. Ok this entry is quite long so I will stop here until later whether or not the news is good. (Comment on this)
Friday, May 7th, 2004
3:01 am	Damn it!!!!!! So the news was bad......... very bad..... The pass rate of teh Feb BAR was 45%. OMG! Well unfortuantely for me I was not included. The notice read: NAME: DWIGHT DAY Date of Birth: The State Board of Law Examiners hereby notifies you that you did not pass the NYS bar examination of February 24-25, 2004. An official notice has been mailed and will include a breakdown of scores and an application for re-examination. The filing deadline date for the July 2004 examination is May 26, 2004 for failed candidates of the February 2004 examination. There is no provision for late filing. Re-application forms are available for downloading from the Board’s website. Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of this lookup screen, each applicant must rely on the U.S. Mail for official notification of examination results. Well I guess I won't be admitted anytime soon. However I got an interview at a seemingly dream NYC law firm. If only thsi could come through. We'll see. Life goes on. Congrats to my partner in crime through all this B. M. Girl you know who you are. You passed and I am proud of you. Now hurry up and start your firm so you can hire me. K. B. I am also proud of you -- Congrats! (Comment on this)
Monday, May 3rd, 2004
11:41 am	Ok now that I have eaten and breathed a bit So I called a few friends who also took the February BAR to tell them the news. Everybody had more or less the same reaction. Let's call it one of anxiety. The BAR had just announced that the results would be out in two days. I started to remember how I did not even do the MPT which in NY is worth 100 points out of the total 1000. Every point helps on this kind of exam. I don't know how I will possibly cope if I am not successful. Well NJ has also announced that it will release its results mid May. So hold on for the ride. Let's hope there will be no drama and nothing but good news. (Comment on this)
10:01 am	Finally Again!!! I don't want to go through this again The news ever BAR exam candidate first awaits came this morning. It read, "We expect the results of the February 2004 examination to be mailed to all applicants by first class mail on Wednesday, May 5th. They will also be made available to all applicants, on an "individual basis", through this website beginning at 7 AM that same day. A list of successful applicants will be posted on our Website on Friday, May 7th. No results are available by telephone. The list of successful applicants will also be posted on the website of the New York Law Journal and published in that paper on Friday, May 7th. An application for re-examination will be enclosed with every failure notice. The deadline for applicants who failed the February 2004 examination to apply to take the July 27-28, 2004 examination is a postmark date of May 26th. The deadline for any applicant who did not take the February 2004 examination, whether or not they may have applied, was a postmark of April 28th. Those applicants who received special testing accommodations on the February 2004 bar examination will also be sent an application for requesting Test Accommodations, which must also be postmarked no later than May 26th. Both the Re-application and the Application for Test Accommodations may also be downloaded from the Board’s Website. Any applicant who does not receive his or her results must make a written request for a duplicate. Be sure to include the exact address to which the duplicate should be mailed. Unsuccessful applicants who intend to take the July 2004 examination should download a Re-application form from the Board’s website in order to insure their ability to file timely. An actual copy of the failure notice and score sheet will be sent in response to their written request. In order to allow a reasonable time for the results to arrive by mail, requests for duplicate notices by successful applicants received prior to May 17th will be disregarded. Although there is normally a $10 charge for a duplicate letter of certification, due to the possibility of loss or damage in a bulk mailing, there will be a grace period with no charge for those requests received prior to July 15th, 2004." (Comment on this)
Friday, April 30th, 2004
7:50 am	Days Before The Release of BAR Exam Results Well it's April 30th and that means that the results are only weeks away- at most 15 days. Wow, so here we are again. I had two dreams last night or maybe it was one continuous dream with breaks that I had passed the exam. However, even after I was told that I had passed, I did not believe it and sought further verification. This must have been a dream since no one tells you that you have passed the exam. You have to find out on your own. You read it somewhere -the web, the NYSBA Law Journal or the NJ Lawyer. Well I am crossing my fingers and hoping for the best. On the front I have been unable to find something. I still believe that I will be self-emplyed. In any event I suppose that's what I wanted. I am just not making any plans this time around until I see my name. So it's Friday, it should be a sunny one but kinda cool - aroung 75 degrees. Well hasta la vista babay! (Comment on this)
Sunday, April 18th, 2004
2:38 am	The Saturday after April 15, 2004 So it's almost a year since I graduated from law school. My first attempt at the BAR exam was a failure. Who knows, my second attempt might have been the same. We won't know for another three weeks or so. I have given up on finding a job. I have not been able to. Maybe I was not very aggressive in my search. Or maybe it was my resume. Well thank God I will be in a field where I might just have to employ myself. Well I haven't written much since maybe last year. It has been a painful period. The tax season just ended. I still feel like I mad eno money. All the creditors are banging. However, I ain't gonna make bread out of stone. No I am not rapping. LOL Well let me go hit the sack. (Comment on this)
Thursday, December 11th, 2003
12:11 am	Almost a month after the results Well I am still up. I just watched that Reagan Movie on HBO or Showtime, the one the Republicans did not want CBS to air. Now they want to put him on the dime. The Republicans won't stop until we rename the entire country. So the BAR results were devastating. However, I am gettin on with my life. I will just have to take them all over again. My LL.M. program is going. It's a disaster. I can already smell it. Exams are next week. Only the good lord knows why I started this program. I have tried to use my legal knowledge to aid a few people. One case is now in court in NY Supreme CT -Appellate Division Third Dept. One case was in Immigration Court in York PA but we lost. Much has happened. All the grand plans I had fell apart. I still haven't been able to find a job. Most days I am just worn out. I have no energy. And then some days I feel just fine. It's life I suppose. Well I am keeping the faith and I hope next time I will have better news. (Comment on this)
Saturday, October 18th, 2003
9:23 am	What a Helluva Summer this Was! Well it's Saturday morning and it means that in another three weeks I will know how I did on the NJ BAR. I may even know how I did on the NY BAR. Many students do not pass their first time around. After all, not everyone can pass. Right? The people who took the PA BAR were blessed with their results earlier this week. Well on Thursday, I suppose. That state had about a 71% pass rate. Oh how I really hope that my name is included on those who pass. I sometimes think back to teh questions on the exams and ask myself, "Dwight did you do your best?" My response is always "Yes, I did my best." So should my name not be on either of these list of successful candidates, then I just have to face reality and take it again in February. But no, not so fast, no time for negativity. Think positively. Be optimistic. Think good thoughts. I am sure that as the time gets nearer and nearer, all the thousands and thousands of law grads will just become more and more anxious. On the job front, I have been unable to find a job. I have started the LL.M. program in Tax. I think that it's going well. Everyday when I am supposed to leave for class I get real upset with myself. Why did you start this degree program? haven't you been in school long enough? Are you nuts? These are the questions that torture me. Then I have to fight back. It's for your own good. It will give you an edge. You won't have to come back in five years to do it. These are the responses that fight back. Well with time we shall tell. So I have a bunch of anxious creditors. I can't pay my bills. Everyday i lose an account. It's chraged off. I might even get a call about a threatened law suit. The economy continues to suck. Can't wait for the next recover/boom. Can you? (Comment on this)
Monday, August 25th, 2003
8:09 am	Almost a month after the BAR Well it's Monday, August 25, and I haven't made an ebtry in a long while. I have gone through so many mood swings. So all my job leads basically evaporated. I had to start my job hunt. Individuals on the job hunt know that for every 20 resumes you fax it might yield one response. I faxed my resume out to 19 places and indeed got 1 response. I laughed to myself. Whats' a guy to do? And not to mention all teh creditors who are anxiously knocking. In the interim, I also decided well the economy is bad, the job market sucks, so go do a post Juris Doctor degree. So today I start that program. The degree must be completed within five years, but I am attempting to finish it in teh least amount of time possible. We'll see. My first two classes are today. There are only two non-attorneys in the class and I am the only unemployed. The two non-attorneys are another recent graduate of my law school and myself. However, we ave JDs are waiting for the November Bar results. I thought Dwight, maybe you should go temp. So I signed up with a temp agency. I did the tests and all and did very well. I had used this agency after I finsished undergrad years ago. The agency called me witha position which I could not take because of timing but it was a receptionist position. Then they called me back 20 mins later with a position to do copying and faxing at a well known financial institution. So after I refused that one as well which was paying $10/hr, I did not hear back from the agency. Then out of the blue, last week Tuesday I got another call from the agency --by this time I am going absolutely nuts being at home everyday and keeping off my creditors -- offering me another assignment to do filing at $11/hour. I said ok I am home going nuts, let m etake it. I took it not for the money but to get out of the house. I am not lazy, I want to work, but what the heck! So I took the assignment for three days and then I decided I had had enough. The people at Dresdner were pleased but I wasn't. I was more dizzy than anything. Of course one should never believe that they have reached to a lofty position too high to do certain jobs. I proved that to myself. After all I might be doing that with my secretary especially since I plan on "hanging out my own shingle." I don't think I would want to be the janitor. But life is weird and throws us curve balls from time to time. I believe that this was my curve ball at this particular time. So today I am going to drop off the time sheet. I am going to drop by the line at the Javits Center and encourage a friend who is trying out for American Idol. "Go Jason, go!!! Boy you can do it." Then it's back to school. Is it wise to incur more debt, we'll see. It certainly is a topic for another time. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Tuesday, August 12th, 2003
8:22 pm	On the Job Hunt So I decided that I needed money to pay my mounting bills. I needed to do something until I start at the firm. So I decided to go back to an employment agency I used six or five years ago. I did their test and did well. Even my typing speed improved. I was pleased. This process took my entire morning. Then I had an interview not for a job but for other reasons. Will tell you more about this later. (If I remember). Then I went to another of my three options where work is concerned. i think that lead is also not going to go anywhere. It's not down the toilet but about to be. Let's see if I hear anything bu Friday. So I have only one real lead left. I am keeping my fingers crossed. Well I am exhausted. It was a helluva day. (Comment on this)
Thursday, August 7th, 2003
8:06 am	I feel depression in the distance and creditors in the air Well it's Thursday after the BAR exam and I still have no job. I had three leads. One proved futile last night as I basically had to flush it down the toilet. It was an insult. Well that attorney wanted me to work for free. Doesn't he think that I have bills to be paid, that I will need to eat lunch, that I will need money to cover transportation costs to and from work? Well he can keep his experience. Thanks but no thanks. "Well do you want experience, or experience and money?" "Experience and money," I replied. "Well you know if you go to a big firm you are just going to be a paper pusher, here there is lots of experience." "But no money," I interjected. "Well if I paid it would be out of the goodness of my heart." I looked up at the ceiling and laughed to myself. "Ok I will call you tomorrow. Have a great night." I hung up the phone. If you are a law student and you are reading this, NEVER EVER let these people use you. They profit from your work in the name of experience. Let them pay you something. So I am on my second lead today. I will see how this one goes. My third lead I haven't yet heard back from. That lead might be the most promising after all. Ok, I am out!!! (Comment on this)
Monday, August 4th, 2003
9:59 am	The Monday after the BAR Well it's the Monday after the BAR and I am home on the computer chatting with friends, checking mail, having my tea and fried ripe plantains. What a BIG difference from last week Monday when I was prepapring to leave for Albany. I haven't heard back from an attorney or my firm. I need a job. Well what am I going to do. I am not freaking out. People usually go away for two weeks or so after the exam just to chill. I wanted to do that too but that just can't happen at this moment. My vacation is already planned for December. Well let's see what today brings. (Comment on this)
Saturday, August 2nd, 2003
9:49 am	The Big Question Everyone Asks Everyday someone asks me whether face to face or online, so what do u do until you get the results of your test? My response is I don't know. When you are in law school, if you are in the top 5% of your class or lower you normally would have been hired to start in September by a BIG law firm. You had to have planned it in advance. My dream was to set up my shingle. So I still have that dream and I am hoping to do just that. In the meantime if you want to hire me just send me an e-mail. (Comment on this)
7:49 am	Two days after the BAR Ok it's Saturday and I got up at 3:30 a.m. I was rather restless and think I may have been having a lil acid reflux problem. i got up and went to the bathroom and took two pills, AXID AR with a glass of water. Then I started working on my website and checking my various e-mail accounts. I have no real plans today. I will see what the day brings forth. Yesterday evening i went into NYC to return a laptop my friend Boris loaned me for my trip to Albany. It came in handy. As I could not find any parking, we just ate in the car on Worth Street. I was surfing the net looking what kind of legal jobs were out there. I came across a website called, findlawjobs.com - I gave them some personal information and then clicked on free search which took me to a shopping cart. Needless to say i left. i later received a call from a woman who worked there. She explained how it worked. Well basically the service will cost anywhere from $242.50 to God knows what. I guess I have to keep doing it the traditional way. I had a card from Orchard Bank now known as Household Bank. Don't they get it that I have no money. Call back in a year. Do you want me to make blood out of stone? Damn!!! I still know that Monday i need to be working. While others are resting and recuperating from the summer long bar prep -- I will have to be holding down teh fort. I just can't afford any such luxury right now. What the heck! I will treat myself in December. (Comment on this)
Friday, August 1st, 2003
3:46 am	In the wee early hours after the BAR Well the BAR exam is over. I was so exhaisted. The drive back from Albany. Then not getting to really prepapre for the NJ BAR. I basically just went on the knowledge I already had. And who said NJ was easy? They must have been joking. Did they se the past rate for the last exam? A whopping 45%. Wel that could be that many people do not prepapre fr the NJ BAR and take it as their second BAR. Well I hope I impressed the NJ and the NY Board of BAR examiners. I hope they are convinced that I am fit to practice law. We'll see in November. It's like a burden has been lifted. I remember Prof. Paula F's words now on the last day of BarBri, "this moment shall pass." It has passed. I ran into a few friends of mine. It was great seeingthem. I also had a few telephone conversations. Thanks to all those who prayed for me and supported me in other ways. It has definitely been a journey. I will be back to school in September. I am goingto start the LLM program. i alreday got accepted. I am looking forward to it. Everyone thinks I am crazy. People usually stay away from tax. Its' too much to handle. We'll see. Now I am in debt way pass my azz. I have been ignoring my creditors so i have to get cracking. I can't put them on hold any longer. While many people go off on a long deserved vacation after the BAR, I will be trying to start work. I know that come monday morning i need to be in someone's office working my butt off. Well I will keep it real. Catch u later (Comment on this)
Wednesday, July 30th, 2003
10:39 pm	The night after the MBE Ok well I am back from Albany. I did the drive in two hours. I was clicking 80mph on the NY Thruway. My brain is frazzled. I don't even think that I can study much for the NJ BAR. I hope I already know enough that can carry me through. I absolutely hated Albany and I hope I don't have to go back. I recommend the Holiday Inn on Wolf Rd for future law students who have to take the BAR in Albany. It's 18 mins away from the Pepsi Arena one of the BAR exam sites. The exam this morning was rather brutal but in the afternoon it improved. Well half the load has been lifted and after tomorrow the rest will be too. Ok let me go lay down and get some rest (Comment on this)
6:31 am	Second Day of BAR exam Well as you can see I am up bright and early. Today is the MBE part of the exam. This is also know as the Multi-State portion of the BAR exam. Yesterday was the NY portion. I think it went ok. Then after the exam ends around 4:30 I have to hit the road for the NJ portion tomorrow. Yesterday was a disaster. I had my car towed. I located the towing company. Grabbed a taxi, got back the car after paying over $100. By the time I got back to the test site, the exam had already begun. No not ten minutes before but like 2 mins. Ok I am gonna shower now and pack my belongings as I do not intend onj returning to the Hotel after the exam. Wish me well. (Comment on this)
Monday, July 28th, 2003
12:27 pm	Almost time to hit the road Well it's getting closer and i am getting ansy and after I shave I will be on my way. In fact I might just shave when I get to the hotel. I have to send a few e-mails and check one more time to make sure that I have everything I need. It's not like I am gone forever. It's just a two day trip. Ok, I'll holla later. (Comment on this)