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Guy Who Passed After Taking the CalBar 47 Times

By G.

I remember noticing once that quite a few people come to this blog via Google searches on some variation of "person who passed after taking the bar [x] number of times." After reading this WSJ story about how Kathleen Sullivan, a prominent attorney and former Stanford dean failed this July* (she had been licensed in NY and Massachussets already, obviously), I think I can provide you with the information you are looking for:

"Ms. Sullivan is unlikely to need as many attempts as Maxcy Dean Filer, who may hold the California bar endurance record, having passed in 1991 after 47 unsuccessful tries. The Compton, Calif., man, who says he'll practice any kind of law that "comes through the door -- except probate and bankruptcy," says he always tried to psych himself up before taking the test by repeating, "I didn't fail the bar, the bar failed me.""

Another bit of trivia from the story:

"The California bar exam has created misery for thousands of aspiring and practicing lawyers. Former California Gov. Jerry Brown passed on his second try, while former Gov. Pete Wilson needed four attempts. The recently elected mayor of Los Angeles, Antonio R. Villaraigosa, never did pass the bar after failing four times."

*I note that the story reveals that she didn't study at all, so it's not even fair as a story about how hard the California Bar is (is there any state that has a Bar Exam you can pass without studying?), but whatevs.

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Full post as published by A Girl Walks Into a Bar (Exam) on December 06, 2005 (boomark / email).