The results from The Florida Bar exam taken in July were released Monday on the Florida Supreme Court’s website. They also will be mailed.
The Daily Record asked several attorneys to recount the experience of taking the test and the months awaiting the results. All of those who responded passed the Bar on the first attempt.
Charles Cofer, Duval County Court judge
When did you take the Bar exam? July of 1977
Describe your feelings as you were awaiting the results: Although I was pretty confident I had passed, I was anxious like everyone is about passing. My anxiety levels may have been increased somewhat by the view that no one at the firm I started at (Mahoney Hadlow & Adams) had ever failed the exam.
Who did you tell first that you passed and why? I told my wife first. She had put me through school and would have inflicted some serious harm to me if she wasn’t the first to know.
Anything else you want to share about the experience of taking the test and waiting for months to hear if you passed? I took the Bar exam in the Miami Beach Convention Center. It was empty and had the ambiance of an aircraft hangar. There were two students to each table.
The fellow next to me began to have an anxiety attack during the hour of the multistate exam — heavy breathing, gnawing on his pencil, wringing his hands through his hair, etc. It was driving me nuts, but I couldn’t do anything about it. We broke for lunch and he didn’t return for the remaining
1½ days of the exam. I felt pretty sorry for the lad, but there was no way I could have finished if he had stayed.
I took a Bar review course in Miami during the week before the exam, and the instructor for the property section had been my contracts and UCC professor from U. Va. At the end of the lecture, he talked with us about some of the essay questions that often were used. One of them was a question that looked like a question on homestead law, but it really wasn’t. He told us that most people misread the question and wrote lengthy essays about homestead. He explained the question and told us how it could be answered in about one paragraph.
The second day of the exam was mostly the essay portion, and sure enough, THE QUESTION he had covered was the last essay question.
I followed his advice and wrote the one paragraph answer and put my pencil down on the table. At about the same time, a third of the students put their pencils down, leaving the rest of the test-takers feverishly writing their last essay. That was enough for me. I turned in my exam paper and headed north.
Back in the dark ages, there wasn’t a process to check Bar exam results online — everything was done by mail.
One Friday afternoon that September, I started getting calls from friends saying their Bar results had arrived at home. I called my wife and she said no letter was in our mail. I started speed dialing The Florida Bar and the phone kept ringing busy all afternoon. Finally, at 5 p.m., the phone rang and rang and rang. I assume the exhausted Bar staff had left for the weekend. As a result, I had to wait all weekend to get my results—pure torture!
Hank Coxe, Bedell, Dittmar, DeVault, Pillans & Coxe
When did you take the Bar exam? Virginia, 1972, and Florida, 1973
Describe your feelings as you were awaiting the results: I hadn’t planned to stay in Virginia — and there was no reciprocity with Florida — and there was no employment at stake, so the pressure was more from the perspective of wanting to know I could do it. But there was no multi-state component in Virginia — all essay. The pressure was far greater in Florida because I had decided to stay here, although there was still no employment, family, etc., at stake. Having already passed the Virginia Bar took some of the edge off because if I were unsuccessful I could simply go back to Virginia.
Who did you tell first that you passed and why? The first person I told about the Virginia Bar was my best friend from law school, because he and his wife knew I was a terribly lackluster student and were convinced I didn’t stand a prayer of passing.
The first person I told of the Florida results was the owner of the gas station where I was working because he actually thought I was fairly intelligent. He kept asking because he was afraid that if I passed I might not keep working for him.
Anything else you want to share about the experience of taking the test and waiting for months to hear if you passed? I have never been comfortable with written examinations as a measure of Bar admission. In a perfect world, I would prefer a form of oral examination where you could test someone’s analytical skills, what he/she has actually learned from law school, the ability to grasp issues, etc. I do not like a process where a person scores a point less than another and somehow one is qualified to be a lawyer and the other isn’t.
John Delaney, University of North Florida president (former assistant state attorney)
When did you take the Bar exam? 1981.
Did you pass it the first time? Yes, passed first time. The pass score had been changed upward that year, and 1981 had a particularly high failure rate. So I was especially relieved.
Who did you tell first that you passed and why? My wife of one year, who was with my newborn son.
Anything else you want to share about the experience of taking the test and waiting for months to hear if you passed? Taking the bar is a miserable experience!
Tad Delegal, Delegal Law Offices
When did you take the Bar exam? 1991
Describe your feelings as you were awaiting the results: In truth, I thought I passed, but human beings can’t help but borrow trouble. I second- and third-guessed my study program and my decision to start work before the Bar. I was at the State Attorney’s Office, but was not certified so I couldn’t go into the courtroom without passing the Bar, and therefore wouldn’t have likely kept my job if I hadn’t passed.
Who did you tell first that you passed and why? My division chief, John Jolly, knew somebody at the Bar, so he found out before the notices were mailed and let me know that I could keep my job (for the time being). I called my then-fiancé, who was happy that she didn’t have to deal with me taking the damned test again.
Anything else you want to share about the experience of taking the test and waiting for months to hear if you passed? I recall my exceedingly unhealthy study diet (a lot of ice cream eaten right out of the half-gallon carton) and drinking shots while still studying late at night because we were too anxious to get to sleep without liquor. I recall thinking that law school owed me a refund, after realizing all the stuff I had never been taught in the past three years and was having to cram into my head over six weeks. If the U.S. military could bottle and weaponize the Bar exam experience, we could take out ISIS in about a day and a half.
Ray Driver, Driver McAfee Peek & Hawthorne
When did you take the Bar exam? Summer of 1994
Describe your feelings as you were awaiting the results: I generally felt OK because my friends and I had put the work in, but it still was a little stressful actually opening the snail mail once it came.
Who did you tell first that you passed and why? The lady I was dating at the time, who is now my wife.
Anything else you want to share about the experience of taking the test and waiting for months to hear if you passed? The best advice I got was from one of my professors. He reminded me that about 80 percent of the people pass the exam. So he told me to look at the nine people sitting around me and pick out two that looked like they may have an issue. The guy on one side of me was taking it for the fourth time (that was comforting) and the one on the other side was flipping an hourglass over and over and was a nervous wreck. I was good to go.
Curtis Fallgatter, Fallgatter & Catlin
When did you take the Bar exam? 1973 (Oklahoma); 1976 (Florida)
Describe your feelings as you were awaiting the results: For the Oklahoma Bar, the results were published in the newspaper in Oklahoma City (“OKC”) –– listing the law students who passed. If your name was not on the list that meant you did not pass. The law school is in Norman, 30 miles south of OKC. Some of my colleagues drove to OKC early in the morning to get the paper as it was being first delivered.
I had the paper delivered to my rental home and got up early to read it. The paper publishes the Bar results for all applicants across the state, so the list was very long and the print was very small.
I missed my name when I skimmed the list very quickly the first time, so that was scary. But I slowed down and then spotted my name, and, of course, breathed a sigh of relief, and started calling my parents to let them know I passed.
The Florida Bar was less stressful since I was already a licensed attorney, but it was certainly nice to get the news I passed the first time –– especially since I took that exam three years out of law school, and my memory of the Rule Against Perpetuities and other nuances of the law had faded a bit.
Who did you tell first that you passed and why? My parents, who, of course, helped me get through my undergrad education, and helped some with law school.
Anything else you want to share about the experience of taking the test and waiting for months to hear if you passed? I was late for the second day of the Oklahoma Bar exam and got caught at a train crossing, and drove around some cars and across the track, with the train barreling down on me — but made it. That got my heart pumping for the test!
Gary Flower, Duval County Court judge
When did you take the Bar exam? I took the exam in July of 1987.
Describe your feelings as you were awaiting the results: I was an assistant state attorney and Rick Mullaney, who was the director of County Court, had us too busy to think about it. However, when the results were mailed, everyone was somewhat pensive. (Yes, they were mailed back then). Our division chief made us bring in our results to show Rick Mullaney.
Who did you tell first that you passed and why? Paul Martinez (now director of intergovernmental services for the city of Jacksonville) was the first to hear because he actually opened the envelope.
My hands were shaking so badly and I had a Gerber hunting knife in my hand as a letter opener and Paul took the knife away and did it for me.
I remember saying, “Just tell me it’s above a 133!”
It was and I was ecstatic! Some of my fraternity brothers were in town and we all went to the new Jacksonville Landing to celebrate. Part 2 of that night is still awaiting the statute of limitations to run before disclosure.
George Gabel, Holland & Knight
When did you take the Bar exam? 1964
Describe your feelings as you were awaiting the results: I probably did not have as much pressure as some because I had my orders to report for duty in the Army, but I was very happy when I received the news.
Who did you tell first that you passed and why? My wife
Anything else you want to share about the experience of taking the test and waiting for months to hear if you passed? When I took the exam, we had only essay questions — 20 questions with one hour for each question. I have thought since then that the multiple choice tests the Bar gives now must be much more difficult. We didn’t need to know as many right answers because we were graded more on spotting issues in a problem. It probably was important to write well, so that was a plus.
Darcy Galnor, Public Defender’s Office
When did you take the Bar exam? July 2004
Describe your feelings as you were awaiting the results: Pure fear.
Who did you tell first that you passed and why? My husband actually told me that I passed the Bar. Poor soul was tasked with checking the results because I was in court and could not. There’s no one else in this world that I wanted to deliver that news any way. Although, he was probably happier than me that it was finally over.
Anything else you want to share about the experience of taking the test and waiting for months to hear if you passed? I took the Bar, got married and started a new job at the State Attorney’s Office within three months. It was a stressful but exciting and memorable ride.
Judge William Ray Holley, Office of the Judges of Compensation Claims, State of Florida
When did you take the Bar exam? 1997. I later took the Georgia Bar in 2006.
Describe your feelings as you were awaiting the results: I purposefully focused on my job and anything else that I could think about.
Who did you tell first that you passed and why? If memory serves correct, I immediately reported it to the director of County Court, Mark Borello (now a Circuit Court Judge) at the State Attorney’s Office. I wanted to make sure that the office was the “first to know” since keeping my assistant state attorney position depended on passing the exam!
Anything else you want to share about the experience of taking the test and waiting for months to hear if you passed? After graduating from Stetson, I attended a Bar preparatory course in Jacksonville with several known attorneys including W. Braxton Gillam, Christina Pappas (now Gillam) and Dexter Davis. We had a great class that made it somewhat fun to attend. I also spent a great deal of time studying for the Bar in the old Florida Coastal School of Law library where I often had the opportunity to torment Dexter Davis. We all passed the exam which made all of our efforts worthwhile.
Jamie Karpman, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of General Counsel
When did you take the Bar exam? July 2009 (Florida) and February 2010 (Arizona)
Describe your feelings as you were awaiting the results: I viewed the Bar exam as the last hurdle after completing three years of legal education. I didn’t realize how stressed I felt about it until I learned I passed. Although I must admit that, more than once, I woke up in a panic after having nightmares about failing.
Who did you tell first that you passed and why? My mom, she was my biggest supporter all through law school.
Anything else you want to share about the experience of taking the test and waiting for months to hear if you passed? I was fortunate enough to both have a job and to pass the Bar exam on the first try, but due to my last-minute character and fitness application submission, I did not receive my license to practice for six more months! Every day my boss would ask me, “Aren’t you licensed yet?!?” That was stressful.
Jennifer Kifer, Holland & Knight
When did you take the Bar exam? February 2010
Describe your feelings as you were awaiting the results: I was anxious, because no matter how many people tell you not to worry, I don’t know anyone who walked out of the exam confident that he or she passed. It’s a tough exam — and for a reason!
Who did you tell first that you passed and why? My mom. We were leaving for a cruise (my graduation gift) within a day or two of getting my results and I was ecstatic to tell her that we would have something big to celebrate. In true to form proud-as-can-be-mom fashion, I don’t think there was a person on the ship who didn’t know that I passed the Bar exam before we got off of the ship.
Anything else you want to share about the experience of taking the test and waiting for months to hear if you passed? You just have to try not to drive yourself crazy, because in the end, either you passed or you didn’t, and there is nothing you can do to change that once you leave the examination room. If you passed, great! If you didn’t, you can have a do-over (or multiple do-overs). Be proud of what you have accomplished thus far, and soak up every moment of every day, enjoying that you have law school behind you and a slew of bigger and better accomplishments ahead of you.
Kate Mesic, Law Offices of Kate Mesic
When did you take the Bar exam? July 2007
Describe your feelings as you were awaiting the results: Nervous about having to take it again. Because we have to wait so long, I was already working at the State Attorney’s Office, so it would be really disappointing not to pass the Bar.
Who did you tell first that you passed and why? I was in Prosecutor DUI School, where results came out, and we were in class, when someone said the results are out. I had to call my now-husband to look at it, as I did not have access to a computer. He thought it would be funny to tell me I did not pass and then calm me down that I in fact did. So, he was the first one to find out.
After that I called my parents, who always supported me through every undertaking.
The third person was my longtime mentor, Marty Edwards. He was the reason I went to law school, so I felt I needed to let him know.
Anything else you want to share about the experience of taking the test and waiting for months to hear if you passed? I think the preparation for the Bar exam is more grueling than the actual test. It is truly a marathon from the day you start studying until you take the test. After studying for 12 hours a day for two months, I was ready for a two-day test-taking session. Personally, I had surgery about four months before the test and had to study while still recovering, so it was an interesting experience.
John Phillips, Law Office of John M. Phillips
When did you take the Bar exam? After law school, I took the Alabama Bar and passed in 2000. I took and passed the Florida Bar in 2001 and the Georgia Bar in 2002.
Describe your feelings as you were awaiting the results: After 12 years of school, four years of college and three years of law school, you feel like you have 20 years of education on the line. We just hired someone who is awaiting results and, seeing it through his eyes, it is a unique dread just worrying about how life will change if you didn’t pass.
Who did you tell first that you passed and why? I called my mother. She was my biggest fan and her father and grandfather were lawyers.
Troy K. Smith, Rogers Towers
When did you take the Bar exam? 1996
Describe your feelings as you were awaiting the results: Somewhat nervous but confident that I have passed. Somewhat nervous because I was told repeatedly that no one that has ever worked at RT has ever failed the bar on the first try.
Who did you tell first that you passed and why? Mentor — Mark Arnold
Anything else you want to share about the experience of taking the test and waiting for months to hear if you passed? Yes. In order to save money, I roomed with Eric Ragatz the night before the test. That was a huge mistake. Ragatz was nervous about the test and he was doing backflips in his bed all night, which resulted in a terrible night’s sleep. So, room alone. I would also strongly suggest not eating a lot of spicy food the night before the test.
Mitch Stone, Stone Lockett
When did you take the Bar exam? 1989
Describe your feelings as you were awaiting the results: Stressed. John F. Kennedy Jr. had just taken and failed the Bar exam in New York and I thought that if he didn’t pass it there was no way I would pass The Florida Bar exam. Although I had prepared for weeks and felt good about the exam after I took it in Tampa and believed I was prepared and should pass.
Who did you tell first that you passed and why? My wife — it meant I would be able to start my career in law. I was working as a certified legal intern for the State Attorney’s Office already so it meant I would be sworn in as an assistant state attorney.
Anything else you want to share about the experience of taking the test and waiting for months to hear if you passed? It is a hard exam that requires a wealth of knowledge in all aspects of law but it was not as hard as the board certification exam that I took 10 years later in 1999. I passed that, too, on my first try but that exam required very specific knowledge in criminal law and it seemed like a harder exam — although I had not just graduated from law school when I took the board cert exam so I was not used to taking exams.
Law school is not about preparing to pass the Bar and should not be about that. Law school should be about learning how to think like a lawyer. Nevertheless, you have to take exams in law school and that trains your mind in how to study, recall and answer exam questions. The practice of law is less memory and more understanding how to solve clients’ problems using knowledge, expertise and creative thought.
Cyndy Trimmer, Ansbacher Law
When did you take the Bar exam? Maryland 2010 and Florida 2011
Describe your feelings as you were awaiting the results: I was OK in the months between taking the Bar and waiting for results, but in the week right before they came out, I started to obsess over the news. I lost sleep worrying “what if” and trying to construct the worst-case scenario. I even considered taking results day off of work, just in case the news was bad.
Who did you tell first that you passed and why? Oh, I told everyone within earshot of my office. They all knew I was waiting for results to be released, so when I heard I stood in the doorway and yelled “passed!”
Anything else you want to share about the experience of taking the test and waiting for months to hear if you passed? Failing the Bar happens to the best of us. It does not mean you were a terrible student or will make a lousy lawyer. So if the news is good — celebrate — and then lend a shoulder to a friend who didn’t get good news. If the news is bad — celebrate the fact that at least you know and can still relax for the next few months. Then buckle down for round two and rest assured that it will all be over eventually.
Arnie Tritt Jr., Tritt & Associates, P.A.
When did you take the Bar exam? Georgia Bar in February 1992 (during my final semester of law school) and Florida Bar in the summer of 1992.
Describe your feelings as you were awaiting the results: I wasn’t really preoccupied waiting on the results because, statistically speaking, I didn’t fall into the demographics of someone who fails those sort of exams. My focus was on starting my legal career, girls and beer (not necessarily in that order).
Who did you tell first that you passed and why? Mable, my favorite waitress at the Honey Bear, the best soul food restaurant in Macon, Ga.
Anything else you want to share about the experience of taking the test and waiting for months to hear if you passed? Think about your class rank in law school and whether you put in the required time in preparing for the exam. If you are in the top two-thirds of your class and properly prepped, statistically speaking, you should have passed.
Wes White, Law Office of Wesley F. White
When did you take the Bar exam? 1979
Describe your feelings as you were awaiting the results: Anxious to get results because my salary would increase.
Who did you tell first that you passed and why? My father — a longtime lawyer. He administered the oath so my salary would increase ASAP.
Anything else you want to share about the experience of taking the test and waiting for months to hear if you passed? The wait prepares young lawyers for the countless hours when they will soon be cooling their heels waiting on hearings, and occasionally waiting on rulings.