My Journey To The Bar - Embracing The Journey

 

Finally, all my documents were submitted to the attorney admissions office by October 2017 after several hiccups and delays. I was notified in November that my character and fitness interview was scheduled for Wednesday January 17, 2018 and if approved by the committee, I would be sworn in on January 18!

 

It was all becoming real now, especially knowing that in a couple of months I would have finally achieved one of the goals on my dream board! I was not worried about not passing the interview as I didn’t believe they would have me, and my family fly out to New York from England if they had an issue with my application or if they didn’t think I was fit to become a lawyer!

 

At the time my application was submitted, I also started a new job as an Aviation Adjudicator. This role gave me insight into working on international law cases. I had to assess claims made against airlines and airports and write decisions and recommendations based on EU legislation and regulations as well as international treaties (when dealing with claims outside the EU). The great thing about this role was that it was remote. Although the head office was in London, we could work from home and create our own work schedule. I loved it because it meant I could volunteer and do other things outside of this and, I did not have to worry about getting up early in the morning and commuting to work! Also, we could work from anywhere in the world, and some of my colleagues did just that!

 

Things were now starting to fall into place just in time for January 2018. I did a lot of networking during this time too, attending legal networking events and talks in London and learning about the career journey of some successful lawyers, especially female and black lawyers.  Their stories were inspiring and encouraging, and I clearly saw that no one’s career path is the same. Although we can draw inspiration from others, we must also embrace our own journey and own it! Do not get anxious or even envious when you see others progressing to a certain level. What is for them is for them and what is for you will come, at the right time.

 

My Journey To The New York Bar - Job Searching

With every new achievement comes the decision of what to do next and passing the bar exams back in 2017 was no different.

Whilst I was collating all the paperwork and documents needed to submit my application for admission, I was also planning my new career and job searching like crazy.

My job search for a newly US qualified lawyer role or associate role in an American law firm started even before I passed the bar exams. I am a person of faith and live by faith so I started applying for jobs as soon as I returned to England after sitting the bar exams in February 2017 and before knowing whether I had passed the bar or not!

I wanted to move to New York so badly and had applied for a visa but was unsuccessful twice. Another option I had was to secure a job offer in New York in the hope that the firm would then sponsor me for a green card. I had received a couple of interview invites. I was interviewed via Skype but as soon as the firms discovered I didn't have a green card, they informed me that they couldn't offer me the role.

My focus then was to secure a job at an American or international law firm based in London, then after a while transfer to their US office. I had seen some job opportunities that provided the opportunity to transfer to their US office after 12 months of working with the firm. I also spoke to different people in the US who worked for a global firm in their respective countries and were later transferred to the US.

I was offered a job as a US lawyer for a business immigration law firm based in London. However, when I received the contract and saw the low hourly rate, I queried this before signing. They didn't reply to me. When I chased them up a few days later, they claimed they had now offered the job to someone else. I didn't believe that and believe that because I wasn't willing to work as a lawyer but get paid as a paralegal, they were no longer interested in me. I reasoned that if I am going to get paid as a paralegal, I might as well work as a paralegal and that's what I did.

I did freelance paralegal work assisting small companies and a nursing home with legal, regulatory and compliance matters. Within a few months I managed to secure a temporary paralegal role at a top tier global law firm and worked with them for four months. From this, I started getting job offers from legal recruitment agencies for contract attorney and contract lawyer roles working with other top tier international law firms in Birmingham and London and all the cases I've worked on have been US/UK cross border cases, mainly New York or DC state law or federal law cases.

It might have seemed crazy turning down the first job offer as a qualified lawyer, especially because at that time I had already handed in my resignation after in Local Government for four years and would now find myself unemployed. But I also knew my worth, the amount of money, time and effort I had spent on qualifying as a lawyer. There is a different level of responsibility when you 'level up' professionally and it is only fair to be paid a salary that reflects that. Had I just accepted the first job offer, I may not have encountered the opportunities that followed.

My Journey To The New York Bar - Admissions process

After passing the New York Bar Exam and all over prerequisite exams, the next step was to apply for admission to the New York State Bar. For this I had to complete a very through application process which included providing references from all law school and universities attended, a ten year history of all legal work whether paid or unpaid, two character references, verification of 50 hours of pro bono work, any debts, convictions, mental health information and a list of other things.

I started off by contacting the university I attended for my undergraduate law degree. It was a complete nightmare trying to get them to send the correct information off to the NY State Bar. The admin team sent off the incorrect information twice which caused delays and was quite frustrating!

I then went to Nottingham Law School, where I started my postgraduate studies. I actually took this picture (above) in July 2017 when I entered inside the law school. At that time 7 years before, I walked out of that place feeling ashamed because I had to discontinue my studies due to extenuating circumstances. I had been kicked out of my home and was a homeless young lady living in a hostel. I could not continue with my Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice (LPC) because of the financial hardship I was experiencing.

After graduating from university, I opted to do the LPC part time. This was back in 2008 when we were in a recession and training contracts where difficult to secure. I could not get a professional graduate loan from the bank to cover my law school fees due to having a very bad credit score. Therefore, I had no other choice but to fund the course myself by working full-time and studying part-time. When I became homeless, I had to leave the role as a housing adviser due to potential conflict of interest - advising people who may be placed in the same hostel as I was staying at.

I then got a full-time job as at a call centre but when you are living in a hostel and you work, 60% of your income goes towards the cost of staying in the hostel. After a few weeks of paying 60% of my wages to the hostel, my support worker advised me that it was not worth working full time and that it would be better for me to claim benefits. At least that way, the government would be paying for the hostel and I only need to contribute £28 every fortnight. I was then left with around £35 to live off.

Relying on welfare benefits meant that I could not save any money to contribute towards my law school fees. I had applied for bursaries, scholarships and hardship funds and managed to raise only £300. This was nowhere near the £2,500 needed to complete the final semester. I had managed to pay for the first one before losing work and becoming homeless. I was told I could not sit the end of year exams with fees outstanding. As I knew I could not clear the outstanding balance, I had to withdraw from the course. This was after spending 7 months on the course.

Before I went to visit the law school, I actually emailed two lectures who I always remembered. I was so happy when they replied to my emails. I reached out to them to let them know how I was doing. One of them said she always wondered what has happened to me so she was relieved to know I was doing well. When I had to discontinue my studies, they were very supportive. They went above and beyond for me and even donated some of their spare furniture and a computer to me, once I had settled into the apartment I was given after 7 months of living in the hostel.

It was a bitter-sweet moment, returning 7 years later to drop off a form for the law school to complete and send off to the admissions office in New York as part of my application to be admitted as an Attorney and Counselor-At-Law in the state of New York. I couldn't help but smile as I walked along the corridors because I could see just how faithful God is and that when we believe and do not give up, we will make it in the end.

My Journey To The New York Bar - Exam Results Day!

Before I sat the NYLE in June, I was waiting for the multi-state bar exam results that were going to be released on the last week of April.

 Leading up to results day, so many thoughts came to my mind trying to make me anxious. Doubts as to whether I had done enough this time round to pass. Thoughts of what would happen if I failed the exam again. Would I really be prepared to sit the exam for a third time?

I remembered a story someone posted on Facebook about an attorney in California who passed the California bar after 12 attempts! I remembered an article I read that listed some of the most prominent figures in American history, such as Michelle Obama, John F Kennedy, Hilary Clinton passing the bar after several attempts - so it wouldn't be all bad if I didn't pass second time round! I also remembered the conversation I had with a lady in Queens, New York, whilst waiting in line to be seated for the MPRE exam, and she shared with me that one of her friends had now qualified as an attorney after failing the bar exam 8 times!

But the voice of faith spoke louder and I remembered the peace I had on the last day of the exam in New York and that I had done everything I could have done and gave it my best!

26th April 2017 at 7:00am - I woke up and checked my Whats App messages. I saw a message from Samantha, who was my study partner, asking me if I checked my results! The message was sent to me just after 5:00am. As she was now living in New York, the message was sent just after midnight New York time, when the exam results had been released!

I quickly jumped out of my bed and checked my email! As a scrolled down, I suddenly stopped and started screaming! I woke the whole house up! My mum thought something had happened. I ran in her room to tell her I had passed. Then I broke down crying! Crying tears of joy! Crying because I had finally got my breakthrough. Crying because I had put all my faith, strength, time, effort and money into something and finally got the results I had been waiting for! Crying because I knew the next time I flew to New York would be to sworn in as US Lawyer! I quickly had to get my head together as I was starting work at 9.30am.

So I showered, got dressed, can't remember if I even had breakfast and then left for work! I was sooooo happy! I even shared it on my social media, but not before personally messaging certain family members and friends who had supported me throughout this journey!

My Journey To The New York Bar - More Exams?

Once I returned back to England after sitting the Multi-state Bar Exam in New York, I had to start preparing for the New York Law Exam (NYLE) which was the New York element the multi-state bar exam. Confused?

Okay, so before, the bar exam used to cover both the multi-state federal law (which is general legal principles and law across the USA) and the New York State law (which is law just applicable to New York ). But in 2016, it changed and New York state law, is tested separately. It is an online open-book exam with 30 questions. Which meant I could do it from the comfort of my dining room kitchen!

The date of the next exam was mid March 2017. As I had just sat the two-day multi-state bar exam in February, I did not have the head space to start spending less than a month to prepare for a second exam. I was also broke by then, as I had taken a whole month off work, which was on unpaid leave and needed to return back to work to start making money. All of my money I had made up until then, had been going towards paying for the exam fees, flights to America and accommodation, as well as trying to keep up with bills at home and personal expenses. I also needed a break from studying, as it had been a tough six months of continuous studying.

I decided to sit the NYLE on 15th June 2017, which would give me enough time to prepare. I took about four to six weeks off from studying and resumed my studies and prep for the NYLE in April. I felt this was more than enough time for me. By this time, I was now working Monday to Friday, full time hours and continued to do so up until the day of the exam. I used my evenings and weekends to study and would carry my revision notes to work so I could read through them whilst on my commute.

Sometimes we are in a hurry to accomplish things and just get things over and done with, because we do not want to be left behind or miss out on opportunities that everyone else one around us seems to be getting. This can sometimes do us more harm than good. Sometimes, it is better to take our time with things, to take time out and have a break so that our body and mind can recharge. Sometimes it is better to say ‘not yet’ to certain things, instead of rushing and trying to keep up with the Jones’.

If I had applied this mentality, when I first registered to do the bar exam, I probably would have given myself more time to study for it, instead of thinking that a three and a half month online study programme was enough. I may have had a better chance of passing the exam first time, instead of failing and having to resit the exam again, seven months later, and having to spend more money on exam fees, flights, accommodation etc.

My Journey to the New York Bar - Exam Day Two

Once again I was already awake at ridiculous o'clock (around 3.30am) because my body clock was still in UK time!

I did a bit of light reading the night before in preparation for the second day but it was more of a refresher, going through some notes rather than try to cram in new information on top of what I already knew.

I took my time in the morning to get ready and have breakfast and kept my mind as clear as possible. No stress and no over analysing! Sam came to pick me up again and we drove to the exam venue.

 I was pretty confident, not over confident but not in doubt or uncertain whether I was ready for the exams. I had prepared myself better this time round and focused on strengthening my knowledge on the topics I struggled with last time.

Enduring an exam that has 200 multiple choice questions which you sit for a total of six hours in one day (which is spilt into two, three hour segment), is not easy at all. Especially when the exam covers seven different areas of law and you have no idea how they will appear on the exam.

Question one could be contract law, question two evidence, questions three criminal law and question four another contracts question. You literally have about 1.8 minutes to read through the question (some are long scenarios), then eliminate the irrelevant information, pinpoint the relevant parts, understand exactly what it is they are asking you, narrow it down to main legal issue, remember the rules, apply the relevant rules to the question and from the four question answers available, choose the one that is the answer you've came up with or the one that is as close as possible to the answer you came up with in your head.

Tricky as it may be, it's a skill required to be a good lawyer and after sitting the bar exam, I understand why this exam is known as one of the most difficult exams to take within the global legal profession and why it's so highly regarded and respected, once you have it under your belt.

Fast forward to the end of the exam and I was ready to get out of there and rest! It really does take a lot out of you. I didn't take a flight back to NYC from Buffalo and instead decided to catch a bus and enjoy a nine hour journey from upstate New York to Manhattan. Yes, nine hours.

I didn't have time to do any sightseeing or get to know the area during my 7 day stay in Buffalo as my sole purpose of being there was for the exams. So, I took the opportunity to have a mini road trip and see what there was to upstate New York through the window of a bus.

The bus actually drove through Pittsburg Pennsylvania and other surrounding cities before reaching Manhattan. I took videos of places we drove through and it was interesting to see the different type of neighbourhoods there were from trailer park area to brown wooden houses by the lakes, small villages and towns.

 I left Buffalo at 6am and arrived in New York shortly after 3pm. My flight back to London was a night flight to I had enough time to get to the airport. Then it was time to go home...

My Journey to the New York Bar - Exam Day One

One of the things I am really thankful for during my journey to the New York Bar is that a Facebook and WhatsApp group was created for those of us who were doing the home study programme with Bar Bri International.

I had a 'study partner' who I could reach out to if I needed clarity on an issue I wasn't sure about or when I just needed someone to talk to about the exams. Her name was Samantha and she became my study partner by default, but looking back I believe it was meant to be. We lived in different cities in the UK at the time, so we mainly communicated via WhatsApp.

When we sat the bar exam in July 2016, we found out that we were both staying in the same area in Brooklyn, which was great because I had someone to speak to, have lunch with and travel back with after the exam. Neither of us passed the exam first time and we were reunited as we re-sat the exam in Buffalo. The last days leading up to the exam, she was the only person I really spoke to as we were both focused on the same thing. We travelled to and from the exam venue together.

Tuesday 22nd February 2017, day one of the exam. I went to sleep early the night before, but because my body clock was still adjusting to the time zone in New York, I was awake by 4am!! Breakfast at the hotel wasn't even until open until 6am. I spent time with God, reading my Bible and praying, then got ready.  When it was time for breakfast, I went to get something to eat and took a few revision notes with me just to read over breakfast.

I was quite relaxed and had a positive mindset. I had done all that I could do, so I didn't see a reason to fret and get all anxious. I had confidence and faith! Samantha came to pick me up and we went travelled to the exam venue.

I felt like day one of the exam went well. Despite not spending much time studying for the Multistate Performance Test section of the exam, I was so happy when one of the examexercises was to provide advise on an intestacy/wills issue, because it was almost identical to the only two practice exercises I did two days before!

In the afternoon, we had six essay questions to write. One of them was about corporations a topic, I confess that I didn't do much studying on because I really didn't think it would come up on the exam this time around. Well I was wrong! In answering the question, I literally just wrote down everything I remembered from the first time because that's all I could honestly remember! I think in another exam question, I ran out of time and only managed to write, what the narrow legal issue was and the rule of law, half a paragraph lol! But other than that I was pretty confident. The detailed answers on the other essay questions and the MPT made up for the two questions I probably didn't answer as well or as detailed as I could have.

Now it was time to go back to the hotel, chill for a bit and do a little more revision, ready for day two which was the the 200 multiple choice questions!