4 Ways to Welcome New Bar Members
The poor guy was sitting at a nearby table at Cup A Joe in Chapel Hill.
Hunched over a thick workbook, his eyes were bloodshot, his expression grim.
Something about him was strangely familiar, though I did not know who he was or what our connection might be.
Then I glimpsed the cover of his book – North Carolina Bar Exam Review – and I knew.
He was me.
Or at least he was the 1981 version of me who spent many sweaty hours in the catacombs of McKissick Library on the University of South Carolina campus, where I too was studying for the bar exam. Only back then I had no earbuds and laptop. I was taking a live bar review course, unlike the online instruction my Cup a Joe friend was getting as he gulped his hazelnut latte.
He told me he was originally from Georgia and had just graduated from Wake Forest law school. He said he was exhausted and stressed, but also optimistic. He said he had been drinking so much coffee his hair was tingling.
Four Ways to Welcome New Bar Members
The summer edition of the North Carolina written bar examination was held in Raleigh on July 30 and 31. The test results will be announced soon.
Here is how you can offer a warm welcome to our new Bar colleagues:
- Get to know them. Entering the law profession can be intimidating. Having a friend can make all the difference.
- Take a new lawyer to your local bar meeting. Make introductions to the group.
- Hire one. Bright, hungry lawyers are ready and eager to join your team. The Cup A Joe lawyer, for instance, said he hopes to practice hospital law but has not landed a position yet.
- Empathize. Remember what it was like you were first starting out.
My Cup A Joe friend might have been frazzled, but he was also full of positive energy. He said he couldn’t wait to get licensed and get going.
And I can’t wait to read his name on the upcoming list of new admittees.
Jay Reeves a/k/a The Risk Man is an attorney licensed in North Carolina and South Carolina. Formerly he was Legal Editor at Lawyers Weekly and Risk Manager at Lawyers Mutual. Some nights he can still hear the Boeing 747 hum of the ancient ventilation system at USC McKissick Library. Contact jay.reeves@ymail.com, phone 919-619-2441.
Source: N.C. Board of Law Examiners http://www.ncble.org/
