Dan (of Bethany and Dan) taking the CA bar exam

[Beeks]

I just read that Dan is planning to take the CA bar exam in february. He's only just now graduating "law school," which gives him just a couple of months to study. I took the CA bar exam in 2007 and I spent 2 months studying 8+ hours a day. Plus I went to a law school that was actually accredited....

If he passes, I will be hugely impressed.

bloggingbeth.blogspot.com/2011/12/ilovethatboy.html

[QueenNocturne]

The California bar exam has one of the lowest pass rates in the country, perhaps due to the fact that you don't need to go to an accredited law school to take it. But, according to people at my school who are planning to take the CA bar, it's difficult regardless and they plan to study like a maniac in preparation.

Somehow, I don't see Dan's chances of passing being quite high.

[Beeks]

The California bar exam has one of the lowest pass rates in the country, perhaps due to the fact that you don't need to go to an accredited law school to take it. But, according to people at my school who are planning to take the CA bar, it's difficult regardless and they plan to study like a maniac in preparation.

Somehow, I don't see Dan's chances of passing being quite high.

It was the worst 3 days of my life, hands down. It's a really difficult exam.

I wonder if Dan will take BarBri or if that's too secular for him.

[Witsec7]

What fake law school is Dan going to?

And whats with the sandwiches? This woman acts like she invented sandwiches.

I don't follow these two but they look like the 'young hip' version of fundys. Must be a marketing ploy.

[hoipolloi]

What fake law school is Dan going to?

He's doing a law degree at the LSODRT - Oak Brook College, beloved of VF-types.

While (not) passing the bar is ultimately the responsibility of s/he who takes the exam, it may be worth noting that another Oak Brook "graduate," Nathaniel Darnell super-intern of VF, has taken & failed the California bar at least a couple of times.

[mirele]

Hate to say it, but if an out and out dingbat like Orly Taitz (biggest promoter of Birtherism out there) can graduate from an unaccredited CA law school and pass the CA bar, then Dan probably can too. However, given the glut of lawyers out there right now, just passing the bar is no guarantee of a job.

(veteran of the relatively much easier Texas state bar exam--three days of my life after 2.5 months of frantic study that I hope to never repeat again.)

[Jeff]

What fake law school is Dan going to?

And whats with the sandwiches? This woman acts like she invented sandwiches.

I don't follow these two but they look like the 'young hip' version of fundys. Must be a marketing ploy.

The unaccredited Oak Brook College of Law, which is actually headquartered in Fresno, California, and just named after Oak Brook, Illinois, because it is a Bill Gothard ministry.

[Sola]

It does make me wonder how good these schools are. When you consider fundie organisations such as Gothard's and Dougie's, they exploit the law. They know every single loophole there is and they use them. To do that you need good lawyers. I know Dougie is a lawyer but I am sure he doesn't do much actually practising these days. The lawyers they use, and other fundie organisations like them, must have good lawyers so as to exploit the system. You don't get that from LSOTDRT.

[kayray]

Hate to say it, but if an out and out dingbat like Orly Taitz (biggest promoter of Birtherism out there) can graduate from an unaccredited CA law school and pass the CA bar, then Dan probably can too. However, given the glut of lawyers out there right now, just passing the bar is no guarantee of a job.

(veteran of the relatively much easier Texas state bar exam--three days of my life after 2.5 months of frantic study that I hope to never repeat again.)

Yup, so, unless he has a "family connection" or finds a firm founded and filled with Oak Brook College alumni who believe in hiring from their alumni...he is going to find it tough to compete with the grads from actual accredited law schools, and those who are still looking for work from being laid off elsewhere.

[browngrl]

What is up with the wall paper behind Dan and Bethany from the Dec 13 post? It looks all rumpled and bubbled up. Is this their house?

[terranova]

Wala? Seriously?

Also, why does someone living in Virginia (I think?) take a bar exam in California? (this is an honest question, not snarking!)

[kaetrin]

OBCL is "accredited" only in the state of California (not by the ABA). So its graduates are eligible only for the California bar.

LSOTDRT, like regular SOTDRT, varies pretty widely in results depending on the student. I have friends who graduated OBCL, passed the bar, and are happily practicing attorneys in California and elsewhere (you can take other bar exams later depending on the reciprocity rules of the given state). But this is because they are smart and hard-working people who were willing to put up with the Gothard nonsense in order to get a law degree inexpensively.

(I did two years in OBCL back in my Gothard days. I passed the so called "baby bar" - the exam on first-year subjects given by the California bar association to all the students of their alternative law schools. It's meant to measure whether you are actually on track to get an education that will prepare you for the real bar. We also did secular review courses in preparation.)

[YPestis]

Given the current job market for lawyers, I'm not sure a new lawyer from a nonaccredited school would ever see a decent job offer.

I was told one really needs either connections or *excellent* legal pedigrees (top 15 school or top of the class) in order to garner the comfortable salaries. I have a friend who graduated from a top 50 law school at the bottom half of her class and passed the bar handily. She could not find a job as a practicing attorney. However, she counts herself as lucky to land a low paying job working in the legal field. Yup, times are tough.

[liltwinstar]

Doesn't he work for one of the HSLDA lawyers? If so, he probably could get a job with them once he passes the bar, right?

[dawn9476]

He may not be taking the bar to become an actual lawyer. He could be doing it just to have it on his resume because he has political aspirations. Lots of politicians are lawyers but probably have never really practiced law. Michelle Bachmann is a lawyer. :lol:

[hoipolloi]

For as much as these fundies scorn & belittle regular schooling, they sure do love them some degrees to attach to their names!

[gustava]

Hate to say it, but if an out and out dingbat like Orly Taitz (biggest promoter of Birtherism out there) can graduate from an unaccredited CA law school and pass the CA bar, then Dan probably can too. However, given the glut of lawyers out there right now, just passing the bar is no guarantee of a job.

(veteran of the relatively much easier Texas state bar exam--three days of my life after 2.5 months of frantic study that I hope to never repeat again.)

Sometimes even dingbats can have the kind of smarts necessary to pass the Bar. As with most academic endeavors, the Bar is a game. I'm not dissing academics; I've played the game at high echelons.

[onlyorganic]

Hate to say it, but if an out and out dingbat like Orly Taitz (biggest promoter of Birtherism out there) can graduate from an unaccredited CA law school and pass the CA bar, then Dan probably can too. However, given the glut of lawyers out there right now, just passing the bar is no guarantee of a job.

(veteran of the relatively much easier Texas state bar exam--three days of my life after 2.5 months of frantic study that I hope to never repeat again.)

I'm sure Dan works already for the Homeschool Defense League (or whatever it's called), so he's probably going to stay on there and is just taking the CA bar to "become a lawyer" and have that credibility on their brochure. I believe when you start out, you need to pass the bar to practice law in the state you live in. If you do well enough on one bar, you can sometimes pay to be a part of the bar for other states. One of my family members has taken the bar in 3 states now... there's the state bar and the national bar. Either way it's a hella tough exam. It took dreamboat JFK Jr three times to pass. I can't see how CollegePlus! prelaw (lol, I'm joking, do they have that?) would prepare someone. I have to say though, usually things work out peaches-n-cream for these fundies and I can see him passing, immediately getting some sweet job that enables her to stay at home (like she's been doing for the past 2 years he's been in school, explain that?) and be a Quiverfull mama.

[emmiedahl]

Is this the woman who wrote the long post about "While others were eating steak, we ate beans (etc, there were like 30 items) and that's why we can buy our house in cash so suck it, bitches!!!"

[liltwinstar]

Is this the woman who wrote the long post about "While others were eating steak, we ate beans (etc, there were like 30 items) and that's why we can buy our house in cash so suck it, bitches!!!"

No, that was Crystal of MSM...in her defense, though, she took that post down and apologized. I think she's realized that she has a gigantic audience, most of whom are doing all those things and still struggling financially. I used to find her insufferable, but I've warmed up to her over time - she really does seem to want to help other women/families improve their financial situations. I don't always agree with the advice or the tone, but she does provide a lot of ways that people can earn more, save more, etc etc. I admire the fact that she *is* trying to help people. I think with that one post she just forgot who her audience is, you know?

[LucySnowe]

Still soooo proud of my dad who, when my family decided to move from the cold midwest to the Promised Land of California, studied for the CA bar exam more than 20 years after he graduated law school and took the IL bar exam, and passed it first try. :)

(I think he got to skip one bit of it because he was legit in another state but otherwise it was the entire shebang.)