What’s Worse? Taking the Bar Exam or Having a Baby?

How about both! I tell you what, if you need a tough lawyer you may want to look for Elana Nightingale Dawson. According to "Above the Law", this woman actually completed the Illinois Bar Exam, while in full blown labor.

You may have heard the bar exam is tough. It is long and many very intelligent people fail it more than once. A few people have also informed me that giving birth can certainly be a bit of an uncomfortable experience as well. That is what makes this story kind of amazing really. Elana was near her due date and I can only guess, had been in early stages of labor for some time before entering the room for her second and final day of testing for the bar. She informed the proctors that she may have to leave early if she should start to have the baby during the exam. While you are not supposed to leave early the proctors agreed because of the obvious condition.

She did indeed begin to have contractions during the test, she has since said the hardest part was not moving during the contractions, she would just put in head into her hands and breathe. Somehow Elana did finish the exam at about 4:00pm two hours early, she then asked if she could leave, a proctor walked her out and she promptly walked herself to the hospital which conveniently was across the street. at 5:58 pm, she had a baby boy. Amazing!

I do not know yet, what the baby boy was named but I am rooting for "BARclay" or "BARton, or maybe "BARnaby"?

God Bless.