The Ohio Bar Exam is this week - July 25-27 in Columbus. Since 1738 when Delaware created the first bar exam, law graduates have gone through this rite of passage. Our graduates have worked very hard to get this far. I want them to know that we believe in them…… so with apologies to Reinhold Niebuhr, author of the Serenity Prayer, I’ve taken the liberty of writing the following:
Serenity Prayer for C|M|LAW Bar Takers
God grant me the serenity to accept that I have prepared the best I can.
The courage to change from studying details to preparing my mind and body to breath, stay calm, and focus.
And the wisdom to know that exams don’t test my knowledge as much as they test my state of mind.
Taking each question one at a time.
Focusing on the moment, parking my worries and fears at the door, and visualizing success.
Accepting that the harder you want something, the greater you’ll feel when you achieve it.
Taking the bar exam as it is, not how I or others would have written it.
Trusting in my skills and surrendering to an unshakeable belief in myself.
Supremely happy that I am about to transition from learning law to living justice.
Amen.
To some, the bar exam is a barrier to entry to the legal profession. I prefer to see it as a gateway. As Randy Pauch, author of The Last Lecture, wrote, “The brick walls are there for a reason...they are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something." (Note: the origin of “bar” is from the wooden bar that stood near the front of the courtroom at the ancient Inns of Court in London, separating the spectator area of the courtroom from the area reserved for judges and attorneys.)
Our highest priority is to provide our students with the resources to help them succeed in law school, pass the bar exam, and develop strong practice skills. I want to thank Mary Jane McGinty, our Director of Bar Preparation, Professor Heidi Robertson, our Director of Student Success, Professor Pam Daiker-Middaugh, who, with Mary Jane McGinty, travels to Columbus this week to support our graduates, the members of the Bar Passage Committee, and the manyfaculty who helped teach, coach, and encourage our graduates over the summer, for their unflagging efforts to keep us focused on the need to prepare our students for this important test.
As we enter the home stretch of Phase One of our historic 120 Scholarship Campaign focused on scholarships for our Fall 2017 first year class, I am confident that some of those students, as well as our graduates who are taking the bar exam this week, will someday be inducted in our Hall of Fame.
Please join us at our C|M|Law Inaugural Hall of Fame Celebration on October 19, 2017, 5:30-8pm, and please invest in our 120 Scholarship Campaign by August 15. Please consider a contribution or pledge today ranging from $120 to $12,000 to $120,000. Please give here: Believe in C|M|LAW. Give Now. or send me an email with your pledge at: lee.fishernull@csuohio.nulledu. Your groundbreaking contribution will be the foundation of our campaign. It would mean a lot to us.
Have a great week.
My best,
Lee
For copies of past messages, please go to this link: Monday Morning Messages.