So a Mediocre Lawyer Walks Into a Bar . . .(http://www.opinionjournal.com/best/?id=110010681)
Our item yesterday on Anita Hill, the disgruntled former employee at the center of an attempt to assassinate the character of Clarence Thomas back in 1991, quoted her New York Times op-ed piece in which she bragged that she "passed the District of Columbia Bar exam, one of the toughest in the nation." Not being a lawyer, we didn't think to challenge this assertion, but many of our readers did, and their emails gave us quite a chuckle.
Pete Wilson explains that the D.C. Bar is actually less demanding than those of states:
D.C. required only that you pass the multistate portion of the test, while other states required that you pass both the multistate portion and a state-specific portion. Beginning in 1982, most states adopted a requirement that you pass the MPRE (ethics) exam as well.
You might want to check into the D.C. Bar requirements in the '80s. Methinks that Ms. Hill may be fibbing again.
John Driskill says he was offered a free pass (well, for a fee) on the D.C. Bar:
I took the Texas Bar and passed in 1992. Based on that (!) I received a letter from the D.C. Bar letting me know I could be admitted to the D.C. Bar if I was willing to fork over a few hundred dollars. No independent or D.C. testing needed. Exactly how hard can it be?
And besides, what does passing the bar have to do with being a good attorney anyway?
As does a reader who asks not to be identified:
I was just a lowly graduate of the University of Alabama School of Law and certainly did not finish at the top of my class. However, when I took the Alabama Bar exam, one day was devoted to the multistate exam that I understood was common to most all bar exams. If you made a high enough grade on the multistate exam, you were automatically eligible to become a member of the D.C. Bar. I made well above the needed score but saw no reason to pay another bar association fee since I had no desire to practice there. I do not know how hard the D.C. bar exam is, all I know is that this dumb-ass redneck from Alabama cleped it.
Sean Hayes says that he took the D.C. Bar, and "my friends who took the bar in other states openly mock me for doing so." Serina Vandergrift adds that "if I were Thomas, I would have thought less of her credentials after that comment, considering she didn't challenge herself by taking a real bar exam."
Oh well, at least she didn't go to some law school in the Philippines(http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=071003132239.t8q99ynj&show_article=1).
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