Miami Law Students Prepare for Florida Bar Examination

As other law students are starting summer internships or preparing to study abroad, recent law school graduates are sitting in classrooms nation-wide, reviewing hours and hours of subject areas that will be covered on the bar admissions test.

By UM News 06-13-2011

Studying for the Bar has been overwhelming because it seems that we are required to know such a vast quantity of topics, some of which we haven't covered since 1L year, if at all," recent Miami Law grad Guensie Grecy says.

Her fellow graduate Kathryn Desire agrees. "It's stressful because there's a lot to learn and not that much time to learn it in."

Sean Siperstein, also a 2011 Miami Law grad who is taking the Kaplan PMBR's General Bar Review Course, says, "It is truly a supremely unique experience to see classes that took up an entire semester crammed into just 2 or 3 days (and hundreds of pages of prep materials and notes). Fortunately, they've got some engaging lecturers to help make it go easier, though the information overload can be intense!"

Fortunately, most law students have done well with studying for the notoriously difficult bar examination. "I am preparing for the bar by going to the Kaplan lectures every morning and afternoon from 9 am to 1 pm," Grecy says. "Then, later in the afternoon, I do somewhere between 40-70 questions. Then, I go over those questions and review the lecture notes from that day. A couple times a week, I also do a practice essay."

This routine is not uncommon for future attorneys prepping for the Bar. Many see this test as the only thing standing in the way of their dream career - or any legal career, for that matter.

"I hope to practice family law," Desire says, "but I will take employment where I can find it for the time being. I can't afford to be picky and sit around without a job; there are bills to be paid!"

Desire is not the only Miami Law student with such a realistic outlook on job prospects. But many are alleviating the stress of the job hunt by giving themselves the gift of freedom after taking the bar.

"The day after I take the bar, I'm getting on a plane to go to Jamaica ," Grecy says without hesitation. "Then, if I don't have a job by that time, I will already be vigorously searching for one. Once admitted, I plan to practice entertainment law."

It seems that Grecy has the right idea in regards to post-examination plans. "I'm leaning towards going back to the DC area, where I worked before law school," Siperstein says. "At some point soon, though, I will definitely be taking a much-needed vacation!"