I am the proud owner of two licenses to practice law. One from Texas, the other from New Mexico. So I sat for the bar in two states and ruined two summers . . '97 and '98 to be precise.
Now, and you may find this as funny as I did . . . . laugh riot it was, you take whatever tests the state requires. HOWEVER . . . one day of the tests is the same across the country . . i.e., it's a standardized test.
But you generally can't use that portion in another state . . . i.e. you can't transfer it and just take whatever else the state requires. Yeah, so that's like taking the SATs but not being able to use the verbal portion when applying to schools in Florida . . . (though this is not the case in some areas . . . where the states are geographically small and practitioners typically represent folks from any one area: I understand the Philly/Jersey area is like that).
For me that meant this delicious irony: New Mexico doesn't take another state's test scores or any of that. Which I find odd: "We don't recognize the test we recognized as valid because you didn't take it within our borders . . . " Nice.
So, I had to study twice. That meant two bar review courses. In Texas, we were big enough to get a great many of our lecturers in person. The next year when I took the reviews in New Mexico, We got videos. Of the same people. I knew the jokes as they were coming up . . . and they weren't that great . . . except for this guy.
Just a great great lecturer. I can still remember quotes: "You are not seeking clarity, understanding, and insight. That takes many years of study of confusing and and often contradictory materials. No, you my friends are looking for glib famiiliarity." I loved that. And he was just fun to listen to. When most of these folks are barely tolerable. I wish his partner and family the best.
2 comments:
NM is odd in more ways than that.
i grew up in albuquerque but i'm kinda glad that i don't live there anymore. beautiful place, mostly great people, outstanding food.. seriously, really outstanding food. odd politics. they somehow believe that they can tax their people OUT of poverty.
FYI Green Chile is the price of admission to our house for any and all visiting friends from NM
J
It is odd, but man, what I wouldn't give to have Sadies, El Pinto, Los Cuates . . . and all the others down the street from me . . . Frontier restaurant . . . those cinnamon rolls . . .
I love the food, the weather, and the folks there. The job climate was just too small for what I do. And it was weird that it was more expensive to live there, but you made less than Dallas . . . yay.
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