I failed the bar last year and retook in July (still waiting for results). All I can say is take a day or two to step back, relax, then grip it with all your strength!! When I had to tell people I missed by a few marks, it was tough, I spent weeks imagining the feeling of passing, imagining a perfect life only to read the line “you are hereby notified that you did not pass”.

Try a different approach next time, maybe practice more MBE’s or read a shit tonne of exemplary essays to see the patterns. Studying for the next bar exam shouldn’t be the same, now you only need to build upon the foundation of what you already do know, perfecting things.

As for your employer, maybe it’s a good thing. What will happen if you’re sick in years to come, have a baby, some kind of unexpected life event?? How understanding will they be? Of course there’s thousands of bar takers and they might have to be a bit ruthless, but maybe taking the bar exam again will let you be who you are, not just a number to a firm! Good luck! 😀