# I Passed the NY Bar Exam!!! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 5, 2009, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-passed-the-ny-bar-exam/516426 "2009-11-05T15:25:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![UncleNito](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/7cd45c/32.png) [@UncleNito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleNito)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-passed-the-ny-bar-exam/516426/21 "2009-11-06T16:50:14Z")
Congrats! No matter how confident you are, you just can’t rest until you see your name on that list, can you? May you never need to know the elements of common-law burglary again! ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-passed-the-ny-bar-exam/516426/22 "2009-11-06T16:59:31Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Congrats! I don’t know that anything I’ve ever accomplished felt better than passing the bar. I don’t know how they do it in New York, but in my state there is a formal swearing in ceremony for all the new admitees. It’s worth it to attend. You get sworn in to all the various courts in your jurisdiction at the same time, get to meet the senior judges, all that good stuff. Oh yes, there is definitely a formal swearing in. However, by passing the Bar I have only begun the admission process. I still have to do a whole bunch of things to be admitted: _A complete application consists of the application questionnaire, all required accompanying forms and supporting documentation, including two Affidavits of Good Moral Character, and Legal Employment Affidavits from every law-related position you have held, including paid or unpaid internships, summer associate positions, volunteer work in law school clinics or elsewhere._ Most candidates are admitted in January or February, assuming there is nothing for them to discuss with the Character & Fitness Committee. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-passed-the-ny-bar-exam/516426/23 "2009-11-06T17:00:45Z")
Congratulations! ---
**Author:** ![UncleNito](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/7cd45c/32.png) [@UncleNito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleNito)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-passed-the-ny-bar-exam/516426/24 "2009-11-06T17:09:41Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > One of the hardest things is keeping everything in its “stack” - the different rules to apply in the MBE and the NY Exam. So, in the MBE the owner of land owes different standard of care depending on whether the person entering the land is a trespasser, a person doing business, or a social guest. In NY, a landlord owes everyone “reasonable care under the circumstance.” Just one example of a case where you need to learn, memorize, and mentally separate rules into 2 different “stacks.” Under the intense and stressful conditions, it is very easy for the stacks to collapse into a jumble in your mind. The MBE is very tricksy, precious, and often includes NY or CA state answers among its “wrong answers” as these are the most numerous test takers. This is why I have mad respect for NY takers. IN doesn’t test MBE topics (except for Sales, which occasionally shows up in the Commercial Law essay). So while we had to learn a bunch of bad law for the MBE, it didn’t have to compete for space with good law. Also, we got 2 MPTs for 20% of the exam. And our C & F committee manages to get its ducks in a row _before_ the exam. Again, to summarize: NY = mad props. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-passed-the-ny-bar-exam/516426/25 "2009-11-06T18:53:02Z")
> [@Billdo](#): > > Congrats on the bar passage and the employment. Thanks – I was thinking of you recently when I saw there’s a new book about the Collyer Brothers… Hope all is well – and thanks so much for the pep talk mid-study. It really helped. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-passed-the-ny-bar-exam/516426/26 "2009-11-06T19:29:34Z")
Congrats, **Hello Again**! Well-done! I remember when I handed in my last exam for the bar course, and thinking, “That’s the last exam for the rest of my life!” ---
**Author:** ![Reepicheep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@Reepicheep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reepicheep)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-passed-the-ny-bar-exam/516426/27 "2009-11-06T20:24:10Z")
Congrats, both on bar passage and on employment! ---
**Author:** ![jules2008](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jules2008](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jules2008)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2009, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-passed-the-ny-bar-exam/516426/28 "2009-12-27T07:00:02Z")
Well done on passing the Bar! I know this is strictly off topic, but can anyone help re the good character and work/law school affidavits? How did they go about getting these done? I am in the UK and since my work experience and good character references are in the UK, an affidavit in front of a notary is quite an extreme reference to have to request from previous employers/law schools. Any advice on how to get these sorted quickly? I know the people I will ask to act as a reference, but it’s the logistics of it all I’m not sure of. Many thanks ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2009, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-passed-the-ny-bar-exam/516426/29 "2009-12-27T15:04:35Z")
Congratulations, **Hello Again**!!!🙂 May I ask what _type_ of law you expect to practice, eventually? Q ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2009, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-passed-the-ny-bar-exam/516426/30 "2009-12-27T16:23:45Z")
> [@jules2008](#): > > Well done on passing the Bar! > > I know this is strictly off topic, but can anyone help re the good character and work/law school affidavits? How did they go about getting these done? I am in the UK and since my work experience and good character references are in the UK, an affidavit in front of a notary is quite an extreme reference to have to request from previous employers/law schools. > > Any advice on how to get these sorted quickly? I know the people I will ask to act as a reference, but it’s the logistics of it all I’m not sure of. I assume you are talking about NY. It is an extreme reference, and collecting the affadavits is a pain. I began by letting people know I would need these in the future, and that they were a requirement for me to practice law in New York State. Then I sent their paperwork to be filled out (because they do not have to write an original reference letter, there is a form) with instructions including a deadline with a stamped, self-addressed envelope so that returning it to me was as easy as possible. Begin with the most difficult to obtain affadavits. As you may or may not know, all the affadavits must be dated within 60 days of each other for the application to be valid. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2009, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-passed-the-ny-bar-exam/516426/31 "2009-12-27T16:30:10Z")
> [@Quasimodem](#): > > Congratulations, **Hello Again**!!!🙂 > > May I ask what _type_ of law you expect to practice, eventually? > > Q My three main interests that also fit in with my experience are criminal defense, immigration law, and employment law. Before graduation I was a finalist for a position with a local public defender where I had been an intern but they chose someone else. ☹ People think PDs are the trash heap of the law world, but in NYC at least, it is extremely competitive. ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Pedant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2009, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-passed-the-ny-bar-exam/516426/32 "2009-12-27T16:45:30Z")
Congratulations! And now with the bounce, you can feel good all over again. I suspect many of us in fields where passing a standard exam is the minimum entry point to the rest of your life remember the terror, and the subsequent triumph on seeing a passing evaluation. While you are reading this post, may I ask a quickie? I’ve got this neighbor with a mailbox that’s on my property, and I’m wondering if I should say anything (he’s a good neighbor) or if I can leave it alone. He mows that part of the yard, and isn’t there some kind of law where that means he can eventually stake a claim to it? I don’t want to get a whole appointment with a lawyer just to find out this one little thing… ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2009, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-passed-the-ny-bar-exam/516426/33 "2009-12-27T17:47:05Z")
You passed the bar exam. Poor dear, enjoy the last few days of freedom. THe big bad world of law is going to hit you. Soon. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2009, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-passed-the-ny-bar-exam/516426/34 "2009-12-27T21:31:54Z")
I’m late to the game, but congratulations! Good luck in your new career! ---
**Author:** ![Serenata67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/serenata67/32/10646_2.png) [@Serenata67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Serenata67)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2009, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-passed-the-ny-bar-exam/516426/35 "2009-12-28T04:35:17Z")
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