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Working Moms
MeghaJake
member
pregnancy and the bar exam
MeghaJake
member
in Working Moms
Hi all,
I'm a second year law student and my husband and I are
thinking about trying to conceive during my third year. I have my
schedule planned out so I only have 12 credit hours per semester and so
that I have all my required courses out of the way. My hope is that my
last school year will be a less stressful time to conceive than my
first couple years as a lawyer.
My problem is that I want to take the state bar exam in late
July. Missouri only has two bar exams and I really don't want to wait
until Feb. of 2011 to take the test. But I may either be really
pregnant or caring for a newborn in late July if everything goes as planned.
My question is -- do you think that becoming a mother and taking the bar exam would be unrealistic things to plan to do around the same time?
I think I can do it but I have never taken a bar exam, been pregnant or cared for a newborn.
Thanks for your help!
This discussion has been closed.
Re: pregnancy and the bar exam
I am not in Law school, but my DH is in his third year right now. I cannot even imagine studying for the bar and taking care of a newborn......you really have no idea how exhausting it is until the baby comes. Everyone tells you this, but you don't want to listen.....it is really hard and very tiring. With the way my DH studies just for classes and exams, I can't even imagine doing it with a newborn. I am with the others in agreeing that it would better for you to be PG during the exam rather than have a newborn.
If you are going to have a newborn.....I would HIGHLY suggest hiring a night nurse so that you can get some sleep and I would have round the clock help as I know from my DH that you basically need to study 24/7 in order to do well.....
GL!
i would wait to get pg until i was done with it personally.
pregnancy can make your brain mush- just as a newborn does.
pregnancy can cause problems- you can be on bed rest, etc - you'll never know until you are there..... I'd hate to get pg and then not be able to take the bar b/c i was on bed rest or having other complications with my pg... and there's no way I'd take the bar with a newborn.
My DH is an attorney and so are many of my friends (and ex bF) so i have seen many people going through the bar - and many failed- having all the brain power/study time in the world.... you will not have that being pg or with a newborn.
are you of AMA? If you are in your 20s I would wait - you have plenty of time. If you are older- then that's a decision you have to make. good luck with both!
I think it would be very tough to be pregnant and taking the bar exam and I think it would be nearly impossible to take it (more importantly, study for it) with a newborn.
I took the NYS bar exam and studying for it required nearly all of my time for two months. You will not have that if you have a newborn. And, I think that pregnancy would be a huge distraction. If you're lucky enough to not be sick, etc., you could do it, but it would definitely be a challenge.
If you have a job lined up for Fall, they will probably require you to take the exam in July. If not, then I would hold off until the February exam. I think that people who take it and fail the first time are more likely to fail over and over again.
IMO, the baby can wait. You worked hard for this degree you owe it to yourself to at least get the license.
Having a young infant would be a total deal-breaker for taking the bar exam. ?And, being pregnant during the exam is less than ideal, too. ?Plus, then you'd be starting a new career with a tiny newborn -- also far from ideal.
I'd wait until you've joined a firm and had put in enough time to take maternity leave -- usually a year. ?Many firms offer 3-4.5 months paid leave. ?If you're not AMA, this is the best option.?
?If you absolutely must get pregnant sooner rather than later, certainly don't plan on taking the exam past, say, 34 weeks. ?And remember, anything could happen and you could end up on bed rest.?
Taking the bar while really pg would be hard, but probably doable. Taking it while having a newborn would be near impossible, I think. Studying is a full time job. Taking care of a baby is more than a full time job. Add exhaustion and physical recovery into the mix, and it's not something I'd voluntarily do. Plus, just as a practical matter, if you're planning to breastfeed, the bar would be really tough to sit through!
But, I would be less worried about being pg during the bar exam than about having a newborn starting out as an attorney. Are you planning to start working right after you pass the bar? That seems like insanity to me. I came back after 4 months to a job that I have been at for 5+ years which does not require nearly the hours that most legal jobs do, and it was still hard. I've been back 3.5 months, and I honestly cannot remember half of what happened the first two months I was back. I can't imagine trying to start something new and put in the time it would take to get adjusted while having a new baby at home. Most law jobs will require you to work a lot of hours, at least at first.
Personally, I'd wait. Probably not what you want to hear! I am glad that I waited and practiced for a while before having a baby, though.
ideally, you should give yourself some time post bar, and post job, to prove yourself. there's a huge learning curve during the 1st couple of years.
but if you can't, and it seems like you thought about this, then can you ttc now and deliver during your 3rd year (i.e. sometime in dec)? i had a lot of free time during 3L and that would have been the optimal time for me had i wanted to get pg sooner. i wouldn't rec getting pg during the bar... you just never know what will happen. and having a newborn to care for is a full-time commitment. i can't imagine tacking on the bar, which also is a full-time commitment in itself. gl.
Thanks for the advice.
I was expecting to hear it was a bad idea, but was hoping to hear otherwise!
Part of me thinks that third year would be a good time just because law school isn't stressful for me anymore. I have a lot more flexibility and free time in my schedule than if I were working full time. I have a lot of vacation time with all the breaks we get. My husband is working and we have health insurance and a house. His salary supports us and is putting me through law school.
My plan would be to not work right away. I always figured I would be spending a few months after graduation applying for positions. Ideally I would start working at the beginning of 2011/ possibly end of 2010.
I would have to start paying back my loans in December.
I think I'm going to talk to career services about taking the bar exam in Feb. of 2011 and whether it'll be more difficult to find a job if I wait several months after graduation. Also, I wonder whether you need to be licensed before someone will hire you. I mean what happens if you fail the bar exam and can't take it again until Feb?
I will be 29 this summer, and I am planning to have the baby right around the time I turn 30.
Thanks again!
If a firm hires a 3L from law school for fall, some will often fire them if they fail the bar and some will give them one more chance to pass. Smaller firms might be more flexible and let you just be on as a paralegal until you pass. You do need to be licensed as an attorney to practice, but a firm may hire you to do other work - clerk, for example, until you pass. I guess it depends on what kind of law you want to practice and what the competion is like in your area.
If it makes you feel any better, I had my first baby when I was 33 (34 now). It's very common for lawyers to wait a little longer to have babies. I'm happy I did. If you're career focused, I would recommend waiting until the following summer. You'll be somewhat familiar with your new career and its demands and you won't have to worry about the bar.
Just because law school isn't stressful for you any more doesn't mean that you will have the time to take care of a newborn. I am an attorney (5 years in practice) and am a workaholic so that I was asking my job for work about 3 weeks after my daughter was born. Even with that, there is no way I could have done more than the 4-8 hours per week of work I was taking on without help. So I guess a big question for you will be what kind of help you will have - taking care of an infant is a full time job, period, so will you have help with that full time job so you can devote yourself to your studies? I can see how having a baby during third year would have seemed like a good idea, but it probably would end up being disasterous. Also, like pp said, what happens if you end up on bed rest? Can you finish your schooling without attending classes?
You do not generally need to be licensed before a firm will hire you, however, if you fail a bar exam, different firms have different practices (some will let you go right then, others may give you another chance). For those firms that allow you more than one shot, you generally stay on in a type of paralegal position instead of as an attorney. If you are not intending to practice for a couple of years, don't rush into taking the exam. I didn't find that studying took up all of my time, but I did study steadily for 2 months (I've taken 2 different bar exams, one right after school, one while working full time). I hope all of this helps!
I think that taking the bar pregnant is possible, but as previous posters have said, you don't know how it will effect you. Bar/bri is a two month long full time job, between classes and the assignments. If you are on bed rest or feeling ill all the time it may be impossible to properly prepare for the exam which is a recipe for failure. I think that taking the February bar is also a mistake, as the longer the time between law school and the bar, the more problems you will have 1) remembering your coursework (I know some people say you only need bar/bri, but I disagree) 2) maintaining that "school" mentality. ALSO, you will have to explain it to interviews. These (usually) middle aged dudes will listen to your explaination, which is a perfectly reasonable one, and they will hear only that being a mother is more important to you than being lawyer, which is proabably true, but there is no reason it can't be your little secret
I think the solution is one, try to be in the first or second trimester for bar/bri and exam time or wait until you have a job and successful bar results.
Having a new baby is harder than the bar exam, but both are EXTREMELY stressful. Try to keep that in mind so as to not schedule yourself into a nightmare.
I live in California and I took the bar exam when I was 12 weeks pregnant. I definitely do NOT recommend taking the bar during your first trimester of pregnancy... Maybe even during the other two trimesters... It's true that you are unable to concentrate... Also, I had wretched morning sickness during the first trimester so the two weeks leading to the bar - the most integral time for anyone studying for the bar - were spent with me lying down, sucking on lemon drops.
I failed the bar and have to take it again this year. As luck would have it, I cannot take it until July, because my beautiful daughter is due in February. We wouldn't give her up for anything - even a passing score - but if you can hold off, I would totally recommend it. The previous posters who suggested you work at the firm for a bit were right one... You want maternity leave.
Good luck with your last year of law school!
DD #1 passed away in January 2011 at 14 days old due to congenital heart disease
DD#2 lost in January 2012 at 23 weeks due to anhydramnios caused by a placental abruption
Just to reiterate what one person said because I think it is important, if you have plan to BF, I literally don't think you could take the Bar exam. I sat for and passed two (including MO), and can't imagine doing it pregnant but I would definitely pick pregnant to newborn. With a BF newborn you feed them every 2-4 hours and you will not be able to take those breaks from the Bar (they're very particular about everything like that) and you will be unable to go that long without pumping. Even if they make an exception for you to pump, pumping can take quite a long time.
As for starting work with a new born, I think it depends on what kind of job you want but I always think it's preferable to have yourself established before needing to take leave (not to mention that to be FMLA eligible you need to have worked at an employer for a year).
Also, again, depending on what type of you job you want, you won't necessarily be looking for a job after taking the bar. I summered with a firm after my second year, had a job offer which I took, and began working for them in Sept. after July bar. Bar results in Oct. The one person in our class that failed was given a second chance to pass it. Good luck!
It depends on how much stress you think you'll be under. Having been both (studying for the bar and pregnant) at different times, I'd say the two should never coincide. Of course I freaked out in the weeks leading up to it and was totally fine the day of, so you have to gauge for yourself. I'd definitely pick starting work with a newborn over trying to take a bar exam with one.