It’s that time of year again, when after a grueling summer of study and anxiety, law school graduates are learning that they’ve passed the bar exam. I wrote this poem in 1980, when I learned I had passed the Arizona bar exam and would soon be licensed to practice law. I was relieved and humbled.
On Admission to the Bar
The field of Justice has become my ground,
and some name me as an adversary.
But I have adversaries of my own,
and I ask to appear, for my own sake,
in Mercy’s court. Yet not for my own sake—
dear Lord, be there for my sake, take my case.
I bluster brave before the earthly bar
but cannot practice in the highest court.
Still I need Thee to be my Advocate.
–Lisa Bolin Hawkins
published in the April 1984 Ensign
Sisterly Kindness 