Elizabeth Wurtzel's spirited critique of the bar exam lists several famous and successful people who didn't pass the bar exam on the first try: Hillary Clinton, Michelle Obama, Franklin Roosevelt, former and possibly future governor of California Jerry Brown, and former Stanford Law School dean Kathleen Sullivan. Also Benjamin Cardozo. Not bad company to be in. While you're at it, Be Kind to That Unemployed Lawyer.
Correction? The estimable Otto Stockmeyer, emeritus professor of Thomas M. Cooley Law School, has sprung to Benjamin Cardozo's honor, refuting Wurtzel's contention that Cardozo took six tries to pass the bar exam: