Well, I didn’t do too bad for a guy who was ranked 90 out of a graduating class of 96.
I wasn’t too nervous about the results until about 2 am the night before the results were to be released. Then it all hit me at once. But I’m through. The pass rate was 80% so I shouldn’t have been nervous, but there was a lot on the line. I have a strong feeling I was over prepared. But I earned this win. I earned this win because I don’t think anyone in the state worked as hard as I did for this. I earned this win while I sat in a strip club reading evidence outlines instead of putting a buck on a stage or getting a single lap dance.
I think I kept my nerves in small part because my very first legal brief ended up being one written to the state supreme court. I was typecast early in law school as a gun guy, but I’ve never been. I’m a rights guy. And this case will end up being precedent for the state on 4th Amendment issues. I ended up working obscenely hard on it and my concern kept my mind off the impending bar results pretty well. The supreme court rules only allow for a maximum of 50 pages on a brief. When I had completed it, we were at 51. Apparently they count the back cover as a page. Therefore we ended up ripping out the certificate of service and doing a separate one to make the 50 page limit. I’m proud, terribly proud of this work. I think we have a strong case and I consider myself blessed to be given the opportunity to make a case for the 4th Amendment so early in my career. (even before getting bar admitted!) I took on the law to keep the state in check, and that’s exactly what I have gotten to do. I am supremely thankful.
