Candidates who sat for the February Texas Bar exam are bound to be getting a little antsy right now. Although the Texas Board of Law Examiners says it will release the results on Friday, they usually post the names of those who passed the Bar sometime in the afternoon of the day before the scheduled release. That means that all day long, bar takers will be glued to their computers, hitting the web browser's REFRESH button as they stare at the entry page of the BLE website, watching the hit counter increase as they wait for the pass list to show up.
That's what I and my classmates did last November, all morning that Thursday before the results were posted that afternoon. Everyone was updating their Facebook status as the seconds slowed to a crawl.
I was still working in my old law clerk position in the legal department of a local nonprofit corporation. Unfortunately for me, I had a CLE to attend that afternoon--the local chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel's Ethics Follies--and I expressed my frustration over being out of the loop on Facebook. My friend Ralph Perez sent me a text message, promising to notify me once the results came out. I also asked one of the lawyers with us for the event if I could borrow her iPhone later on (no Internet on the cell phone I had) so I could check the results when they came out.
As I sat in the shadowed balcony of the Empire Theater watching the show, I kept glancing at my phone, but it remained dark. Finally, at 2:43:41 p.m., my phone buzzed with a text message ...
It was from Ralph. It was three words: "You passed buddy!!!"
I clenched my fist in triumph and silently mouthed "Yes!" Then I quietly asked the lawyer for her phone--I didn't want to say anything about this to anyone until I confirmed it for myself. So I called up the BLE website, found the results list for the July 2008 exam, and clicked on the H section. Sure enough, my name was on it!
I quietly told my coworkers--my fellow attorneys--that I passed. I then checked the list for my friends' names, as the congratulatory checks flowed in and out of my phone. At the next break, I called my parents and my girlfriend. I have to confess, the rest of the program kind of washed over me as I basked in the relief of not having to endure the bar exam again.
Later that evening, as my friends and I compared notes and realized that there were several friends whom we didn't see on the list, I felt bad for those who didn't pass. Many of those who weren't on the list took the bar for the second time in February. I also know folks taking the bar for the first time. Either way, I hope they all see their names on that list tomorrow afternoon.
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I really enjoyed this post Mack. It was a special day for me too and I'm glad I was able to be a part of your excitement. It was also a sad day for some very close friends (some have since passed the bar exam). It's hard to believe that last year to the week, we were taking the bar exam.
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