3L Check-In
I legitimately thought I’d be chilling by March of my third and final year. Straight chilling.
Look, law school is never easy (sweet 0Ls, if you’re reading, you still have time to run). But I planned for this moment. I knocked out my grad requirements. I grinded during 2L and 3L fall to take 10 credits this semester. I told myself ‘friends’ > ‘fourth time reading something’ (and have stuck to that) but it makes no difference. As the kids say these days, I’m straight up not having a good time.
Long story short, I didn’t realize how multiple things would come together in a giant, unexpected, expensive whirlwind right at the end of my law school experience. 0Ls - if you’ve disregarded my warning and will attend law school anyway, take note!
CLASSES / CLINIC
These are going great. Like I said - 10 credits! Federal courts isn’t easy* but my prof is awesome and the subject matter is interesting; military law is very discussion-based, which I love, and I’m learning great essentials for my career in JAG; and the criminal defense gig is still going strong. However, we’re entering the last six weeks of work. I have a few big court events scheduled, some other smaller court dates, a 20-25 page paper due, and an 8-hour final all crammed into April. Plus spring break, a birthday, a weekend trip to Georgia, and a wedding. Things are already ramping up and I know it’s going to be a very stressful final month.
*I have the rare privilege of knowing I’m first on call for a VERY difficult topic when we get back from spring break. Burn notice, issued.*
GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS
Done! You might recall these requirements caused me a bit of stress last May; I tried really hard to check those boxes by December 2021 so graduation wouldn’t come down to the wire. It worked out! I’m endlessly grateful for this bit of forethought, as several of my friends are now scrambling to complete theirs.
(I guess I technically have to pass my final round of classes to complete the upper level credit req, but I’m not worried).
I may be legally good to graduate but I still need to order my cap and gown, double check name pronunciation, submit my info for our virtual yearbook, etc etc. Sounds small but it has to get done sometime…
MPRE
Like grad requirements, the MPRE is complete on my end, but I have friends stressing about taking it next week (right after spring break - brutal? Or brilliant? Not sure). As a quick refresher, MPRE stands for “Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam.” It’s a two-hour, 60 question test on Lawyer Ethics and a passing score is required for entrance to most state bar associations. The MPRE is offered several times a year (March, August, and October for sure) and you can take it any time during law school.
I purposefully took mine last August so I wouldn’t have to stress about it during classes, and highly recommend that approach. The bar application, on the other hand…
BAR APPLICATIONS
Maybe I’m just dramatic, but applying to the Minnesota bar has consumed my life for the past month. The “timely filing” deadline for MN is March 15 and at first I thought, hey, no problem. I’ll gradually fill out the application and all will be well.
All was not well.
First, I underestimated how much information goes into this app. Employment info and addresses from the past TEN years, transcripts, credit reports, criminal history and documentation, a 2x2 photograph, several character references and two affidavits of good character, handwriting samples, notarized forms…I think I’m mailing Minnesota 50 pages of information about myself.
Second, the forms reminded me at every turn that if I lied or failed to disclose anything, I’m dead meat. To be clear I would never intentionally lie or conceal information, but I felt extra pressure to read everything five times and ensure my responses were as complete and accurate as possible. I called two different state trooper’s offices re: traffic tickets from the early 2010s, for goodness sake!
Oh, and taking the bar exam costs $600. Plus $100 if you want to save your little paws and take the exam by laptop, plus another $200 if you don’t meet that March 15 deadline* - right in the middle of a law school semester. Just tough all around.
*The timely filing deadline and bar fees are different for every state - these dates/figures are Minnesota specific.
BAR STUDY PROGRAMS
Totally separate from bar applications - bar study programs are how (most) JDs prep for the big test. Luckily, the “study” part of said programs won’t start until classes end, but 3Ls everywhere are figuring out (1) which program to use and (2) how to afford it. For reference, the most basic “self-study” course from a trustworthy, big name prep company costs $2,000. Yep.
I plan to write a whole post on bar prep but the stress has already, understandably, started to seep in!
BARRISTER’S BALL
Ending on a fun event! But also one more time and money constraint. Barrister’s Ball, aka Law School Prom, is an annual tradition, usually held near the end of the academic year. The event was cancelled in ‘20 and ‘21 for obvious reasons, so it’s very very cool that my class gets to have one. Accordingly, we shall go all out - black tie, fancy venue, Saturday night. We love! But that means I need to get in gear, scrape together a few dollars and brain cells, and secure black tie attire in the coming weeks.
And there you have it! It’s still “3LOL” in a way…except I’m laughing at myself for thinking law school would ever be “easy.” You’d think I’d know better by now.
