It's official - I got my letter from the State of NY telling me I passed. New York is nice because it also tells you your MBE score. (Of course, I wish it would tell me how I did on the essays. It's weird to work so hard on something and not get any feedback. I really would like to hear something like, "Wow! That was the best MPT we've ever seen!" or even something more muted, like, "I was ready to poke my eyes out until I read your essay #2. Thanks for restoring my faith in humanity with your gentle, lawyerly prose. Love, your grader." But no, instead I get complete silence from both NY and NJ. Hmph.)
Anyway, I did much better on it than I thought: 137 raw, 147.4 scaled. Unfortunately it's not quite high enough to waive into South Dakota (damn!) but I think it's high enough to waive into DC. I also think, but am not positive, that it would be high enough for California. Which is good, because it's nice to know what I'm capable of achieving, but also terrifying because (a) I forgot everything I learned, and (b) I spent the whole time feeling like I was failing, so I have no idea what to do the same or differently the next time around.
In the meantime, I just had to turn down a job I would have been absolutely perfect for. So amazingly qualified for it's as if the job had been made for me. It was a project manager position for a company that provides knowledge management software to law firms. How perfect would I be? Well, in my previous life I managed technical projects for a knowledge management company, and now I'm (almost) a lawyer. This is exactly the kind of job that people looking to get out of law would love to land. Yet here I am, ignoring the memo that apparently everyone else has gotten saying that legal work sucks, and trying to run headlong into it.
Damn. That was hard to say no to, and I kept apologizing to the recruiter that I had to turn it down. But I really had to turn it down, despite how poor and desperate I feel right now. I have to believe that all this effort to become a lawyer will have been worth it, that I can finish making this transition and become a good one and do good and important things with my hard-won new expertise. It's too soon to bail out on that dream; I still need to see it through.
Of course, it was just a job lead, not an offer, so my decline was a little less dramatic than I maybe make it sound. But I was sure that I could have at least gotten the interview if I'd wanted it. I know I was a fabulous match. And I told the recruiter that I would be happy to work for them for the short term, say 3-6 months, while I wait for the California results. So who knows, maybe something will come of that. But maybe it's just as well if nothing does. In the long run I may be better off if I even volunteer for some sort of litigation clerkship than veer off this career path I really want to pursue.
Comments (12)
Hey congrats. What's the range of scores for the MBE?
Posted by biff | November 20, 2006 6:34 PM
Posted on November 20, 2006 18:34
It's a 200 question test. See here for a table of raw scores (how many you get right) and their scaled conversions.
Posted by Cathy | November 20, 2006 7:10 PM
Posted on November 20, 2006 19:10
147 raw, 152.1 scaled. Eat that. Clearly I am 5 points better of a lawyer than you.
What's the South Dakota MBE requirement? If it's 150, I'm going to waive into South Dakota just so I can taunt you about it.
Posted by Mike | November 21, 2006 8:43 AM
Posted on November 21, 2006 08:43
152.1 scaled (raw score something like 145). Eat that. Clearly I am 5 points better of a lawyer than you.
What's the South Dakota MBE requirement? If it's 150, I'm going to waive into South Dakota just so I can taunt you about it.
Posted by Mike | November 21, 2006 8:45 AM
Posted on November 21, 2006 08:45
Great. The comment system on this inferior blog takes so long that I wound up posting twice, with a corrected raw score on the second post.
New blog entry today, by the way.
http://journals.aol.com/derdumkauf/TheWayBetterthanCathysblogblog
Posted by Mike | November 21, 2006 9:01 AM
Posted on November 21, 2006 09:01
I never discuss test scores. But holy crap, I beat Mike on the MBE?!?
Posted by Mitch | November 21, 2006 10:07 AM
Posted on November 21, 2006 10:07
Cathy, I think you should take potential jobs like that one seriously, if the pay is decent. No one says going to law school means you have to be a traditional stuffed suit kind of lawyer. Look at all the Hollywood moguls - they tand to have law degrees but never practiced. That doesn't make your law degree a waste - it taught you how to kick butt. If the price is right I think you would be awesome as a legal journalist or a knowledge manager.
Posted by Mitch | November 21, 2006 10:13 AM
Posted on November 21, 2006 10:13
Well, Mike, you can be smug all you want right now, but unlike you *I* get to take the test again, which will mean that ultimately I'll have a score in the 300s, which leaves your puny little 152.1 in the dust.
Mitch, I'm surprised that you would suggest that. The point is not that the law degree itself will be a waste. The point is that the reason I got the law degree in the first place, to make an important difference in the world, would be wasted. The idea that I could "kick butt" in a nice, stable technology company makes me want to slit my wrists. I could kick butt in a nice stable technology company before I went to law school. I switched directions because I felt that it was a complete waste of my potential. And if I went back to it now it would only be because I've chickened out. Gotten scared about not having money; gotten scared about having to start at the bottom again; gotten scared about throwing myself into a completely new situation, where success is going to require taking risks I've never taken before. So believe me, I'm tempted. But I won't, I can't, because to do so would basically amount to flushing my life away. Please don't encourage me to forsake my dreams and sense of purpose like that.
(Legal journalist, however, does have some appeal, for the same reason I'm committed to blogging. One's ability to make a difference is largely connected to their ability to inform and influence others, and writing is a good way to do that.)
Posted by Cathy | November 22, 2006 10:52 AM
Posted on November 22, 2006 10:52
I thought you didn't look at your results?
Posted by El-Hadji Diouf | November 22, 2006 5:18 PM
Posted on November 22, 2006 17:18
Why is nobody thinking about the children, ah, the money? That~s what a law degree is for. And yes, not taking that money is wasting your degree.
If you want to save the world, here is an idea: Work in a big law firm at corporate law, try to meditate concerning small opponents and ship your wage to some third world country.
(Honestly spoken, I think by the time you arrived in that law firm you'd start becoming rather selfish, so my suggestion is just meant to lure you in.)
Posted by Lars | December 2, 2006 11:11 AM
Posted on December 2, 2006 11:11
Hi,
First, congratulations on passing NY! I took NJ in July and just swore in on Monday so that was nice. Anyways, I came upon your site by trying to find out if there is a listing of MBE score requirements for admission without examination. You wouldn't happen to know if any site exists, would you? I'm thinking maybe PMBR or BarBri might have that information, but I haven't checked yet.
Again, congratulations!
Posted by Rich | December 7, 2006 11:15 AM
Posted on December 7, 2006 11:15
I don't know offhand. It's not possible to waive in for all states, but I don't think I've ever seen an aggregated list for the ones where you can and their respective requirements.
Posted by Cathy | December 8, 2006 6:40 PM
Posted on December 8, 2006 18:40