Hello 👋

I began my bar exam journey signing up for one of the major big ticket course. Despite diligently completing the program, memorizing outlines, and taking endless notes, I was not in the advertised 'X% of course takers' that pass the exam. The funny thing is, I knew the law inside and out—if you’d cut me open the day before that exam, I’d probably have bled outlines!
 

For context, to put it bluntly, I wasn’t stupid. At University, I made honour roll for my first Undergraduate exam. Fast forward to final year, I earned the highest grade my professor had ever given in Employment Law – the leading academic in his field at the time. I’d been the one to break that boundary. Long story short, I went on to graduate with First Class Honors (equivalent to a 4.0 GPA). There was me thinking to myself “surely if I could do that, I could do anything?”. Again, fast forward another few months and I’d taken the MPRE and NYLE and passed them seemingly with ease. I was quietly almost certain I’d passed bar exam.
 

How wrong I was.
 

I was so wrong, I went on to repeat the same mistake the next time, assuming that somehow, I just needed to know more law. Of course, I failed.

 

Two failed attempts.  I was in a minimum wage job, I just couldn’t afford to repay for another round of the big ticket provider’s course again, so I self-studied from my exhaustive notes. I failed AGAIN—and this time, I scored even lower. Vomit. I'd spent a fortune on flights and hotels, passed the MPRE with ease and the NYLE without issue, but I just could not crack the UBE. I was bewildered, burned out and devastated.
 

I then heard that one of the most vocal members of that big ticket provider's course, the only other foreign-trained attorney who passed the bar exam, had spent thousands of dollars on other courses and various supplemental resources. I was filled with self-hatred. How could I not have known about these options? I should have figured that out too. All the questions flooded through my mind. The reality was, that big ticket course provider was all I knew. I had followed that program to the letter, and failed.
 

You’ll laugh because after all I’d achieved, I did what many of those I’ve since tutored have done if they find themselves in repeater land – I arrived at the logical conclusion: the reason I’d failed the bar exam was I was stupid and would never amount to anything in life.
 

Former Kai had lost the plot.🤯

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Now, I was working full-time, drowning in student debt, working a minimum wage job and I was on a Master’s program – one I’d signed up for when I was SO sure I’d passed two cycles ago. Desperate, I turned to the internet and found the Bar Exam Reddit forum, where I first heard about FCK the Bar by Jessica Klein. I ordered the book, and when it arrived, I sat down that same day and read it cover to cover. The experience was so profound that I still remember the weather, where I was sitting, and the sound of the metaphorical penny as it dropped in my mind.
 

By the time I finished, I was different. Earlier I told you I’d lost the plot? Now I’d found it. It had taken me exactly $10,147 to figure out I was approaching the bar exam in the wrong way. The strategies Jessica laid out spoke to me, and I immediately signed up for the FCK the Bar's mailing list. Not long after, I got a link to watch the success story of a woman named Priscilla. Oh GOSH I wanted what she had: bar exam success. That’s when I knew I’d do whatever it took to pass this exam. I wanted to do exactly what Priscilla had done. I was going to dare to ask about to Counsel Table.

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Now I’d discovered Counsel Table, Jessica’s bar prep program, I booked a consultation with her. I actually sat to take the call exactly where I’m sitting now, as qualified lawyer. At that point, I had maxed out my student loans, was juggling a Master’s degree, work and now bar prep. I couldn’t imagine adding anything else to my plate. But something in me said this was my shot, and I had to take it. You know the saying “do it happy, do it sad, do it confident, do it afraid”? Well, I was doing it afraid.

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True to form and the way life works, the weeks that followed were some of the hardest of my life. I was falling behind in my studies owing to family circumstances, I was now anxiety ridden and terrified I wouldn’t make it. At 1:40 AM one morning, I’d been at my desk studying for an hour after I’d made it back from work and it just hit me. Silently at that table: I WEPT.

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Basically, that night, instead of quitting, I made a decision. I was going to dig deep. I was going to give everything. I called spoke to Jessica and my wonderful Tutor, Erin, and we made a plan to help me cover the necessary material to have the best shot at passing. When I tell you, friend - THAT was the moment I became relentless. It was the moment I stopped seeing failure as a reflection of my worth and instead viewed it as a stepping stone.🔥

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Looking back now, I realize this was the turning point—not just in my bar exam journey, but in my life. I wasn’t just going to pass the bar, I was going to rise stronger, more resilient, and better equipped to handle anything that came my way.

 

When I sat for the bar exam that fourth time, I was a completely different person. I approached every MBE question, every MEE, and every MPT with confidence. I knew I had done everything I could to pass, and for the first time, I felt ready. And you know what? I passed.

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I improved my score by 25 points, even in the face of severe technical difficulties during the exam. I knew I was prepared, and when I saw unique subject matter pairings on the MEE, I wasn’t shaken - I felt calm and poised to deliver a clear, logical, bar exam passing answer, while others (according to Reddit) were perplexed.

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A few months later when results came out, it became apparent that the week I passed the bar exam, I not only passed the bar, after submitted my Master’s dissertation just 24 hours later - earned one of the highest grades in my class. That’s how much Counsel Table and its strategies transformed me. I finished the bar exam, and still had enough in the tank to complete my Masters.

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So there. Now you know my story – now you know the struggle and sacrifice behind my win. Now, I want you to be better than me. Whatever you do, just learn from my mistakes. Failing the bar exam sucks and I truly don’t want that for you. I want you to pass and become the incredible lawyer you are destined to be.​​​