Hallelujah!

Second only to the birth of Tommy, we had the the most joyful event of the past year happen last week: We found out Benjamin passed the bar! 

One of the great blessings of Benjamin passing the bar in February is that for the first time ever Utah participated in the Uniform Bar Examination. This means Benjamin's passing score transfers to multiple other state bars and will allow him to immediately practice in those states should a job offer be made there (previously he would have had to take those states' individual bar exams to practice outside Utah). The map below highlights the states he can now get licensed in. Let the multi-state job hunt begin!

We truly feel that Benjamin passing the bar is nothing short of a miracle. The months leading up to it were stressful and Tommy's birth the day of the exam could have been a breaking point for Benjamin. Instead, the Lord carried us through it all. Although it's a rather private and serious letter, we have decided to share an email that Benjamin sent my dad in February on the day he completed the exam: 

"Hey Pop,

What an amazing experience this was. I have never felt closer to the Lord than I did during this trial of the exam coupled with the birth of our son. Shelly's water broke at 4 am the morning of the first day of the test. I hadn't slept at all due to my nerves for the last two nights. I was really scared that this would be the straw that broke the camel's back. A lot of guys don't sleep well before the test. But how many are thinking about whether their wife and kids are gonna be ok?

I laid in bed and listened to Shelly begin labor. Sleep was out of the question now, but I hoped that if I stayed in bed a bit longer, I could save my eyes for the test. We both eventually got up at around 6 and prepared for the day. Shelly headed for the hospital and I headed for the test. 

When I got there, I again felt the fear and anxiety well up inside me. I said what must of been my millionth prayer for peace and I was reminded of the blessing I received the previous Sunday from a friend. In the words of the blessing, the Lord said and I felt that I would pass. That my mind would be clear. I thought to myself, I believe, help thou my unbelief.

The test began and my heart sunk at the first page. It was an abstract property law question--I didn't know how to begin. The Lord brought to my  mind the words of another friend that had advised me to never begin the essays with a question that I didn't feel I could nail. I skipped it. The next question was  constitutional law question--really lucky. All con law questions are discrete and have right answers because the bar avoids the grey areas for con law. It went well. 

Then there was an agency question--Super lucky. Tiny area of law compared to the others. I could only remember 2 elements of three for the main rule but I remembered the mnemonic was ABC. What was the B? Move on... There was also 4 sup parts to the A element. Got all those.. What was that B element. Benefit! The principal must benefit from the acts of the agent!

And just like that, the Lord filled in my weaknesses. Cleared away the fatigue, and sharpened my vision. Every question was a gift. The final question was a commercial paper question, just like I had anticipated and prepared the hardest for. Commercial Paper strikes fear into the hearts of bar takers. It is counter intuitive, hard to issue spot and no one will ever practice in that area. The whole thing is an exception to an exception to a special rule. For example, a main analysis of a common question type has 4 elements, each with several subparts and one subpart with 9 discrete subparts and all of those have subparts. But I was grateful to have it because I had expected it.

Anyway, the morning progressed this way and I eventually got back to the first skipped question which I probably didn't nail but I put down enough to give the examiners an excuse to give me half the points and that is enough.

I eventually made it to the hospital after 6 hours of testing. I was exhausted and could tell I was making mistakes in my speech from fatigue. I dragged myself up to the receptionist--incidentally I could not remember what receptionists were called when I told shelly this story--and asked what room Shelly was in. The receptionist looked at me a little confused and I assumed that she didn't know I was the dad. I said, I'm the dad. I was at a bar." A look of disgust flitted across her face and I immediately realized what that sounded like. "I mean a bar exam...for law.. not for drinks."

Finally, I  met Tommy. Shelly was nursing him and she looked so beautiful. She had managed the whole thing alone, no epidural and no husband. Tommy is wonderful. It is remarkable to me how much more I can enjoy the experience of having a new child after doing it once. Miles has broken me in pretty well.

To make a long story short, the rest of the exam went fine today. Last night I was able to sleep and my anxiety was gone. I hit the test refreshed today and secure in the knowledge that my family was ok. I again received a miraculous clarity of mind and focus. Where last summer I faltered and didn't finish strong, I was able to keep my fatigue under control.

I should have news of the outcome around the middle of April. The swearing in is May 15th. Save the date.

Love you. Thank you for you example.

Benj"

We feel so blessed and are so excited to be moving onto the next stage of our lives!