Today, July 13, 2026, marks 8 years since Laurence Socci passed the attorney bar exam and fulfilled a long-time dream of practicing law.
Laurence and I met in September 1995 at Howard University School of Law in Washington, DC. He graduated in 1997 while I graduated in 1998. I can speak about my own disappointments with the law separately. Today, it’s Laurence’s turn to shine as he rightfully deserves it.
When I first met Laurence, his quiet, unassuming intelligence intrigued me immediately. He and I were worlds apart in so many ways, yet we were joined by legal studies at the law school. One major difference worth mentioning: while I struggled on end really poring into my studies and doing my best, Laurence effortlessly learned the basics. He was able to recite things forward and backward. He possessed something innately that I still do not have to this day - logic. Anyone who knows me knows that creativity controls my life. Not for Laurence. If it’s not logical, it just won’t pass.
Laurence’s brain was made for the law. And yet, he was unable to pass the attorney bar exam for 21 years. He hates when I use exact numbers, but I state them plainly to prove an important point. No matter what, Laurence never gave up. Even when things got rough for both of us and we both had numerous personal and professional struggles, he refused to give in. He kept up his studies and was determined to pass the bar … someday.
He didn’t do it for anybody other than himself to accomplish that which God had planted in his heart. While Laurence and I paralleled studies and bar exam attempts for a long time, I gave up after 7 years. The law was clearly not meant for me. Not so for Laurence. The law was clearly in his veins. It wasn’t going anywhere.
However, being the human that he was, Laurence was clearly fatigued. Who in their right mind wants to spend hundreds of hours studying over the course of 21 very long and harrowing years, all while trying to raise a family, by the way, and spend thousands of dollars in fees to take an exam, put your entire soul into the exam, only for some attorney bar examiners to come swiftly by with the red pen of hell and only give half credit?
And what about those times when Laurence was literally only a HALF point away from passing? Yes, he suffered privately as the girls and I watched dad continuously try and “fail” - the official term used by the Board of Bar Examiners.
Until... February of 2018.
After an enormous number of failures, disappointments, and gut-wrenching heartbreaks in taking the bar exam for 14 years, yet studying for 21, he took the bar exam one last time in February 2018 with great stress and nervous anticipation. Would this time finally be it? In late May 2018, Laurence was working in D.C. and had no access to a computer. I did. We all anxiously awaited the bar results as they were about to be posted at 4:00 p.m. that day.
At exactly 4:00 p.m. on that fateful day, the February 2018 bar exam results were posted and the girls and I jumped out of our seats when we saw Laurence’s name on the pass list. I packed the girls in the car, basically ignored the speed limits, and rushed at 60 mph to get to the metro as fast as possible.
Laurence came home from work and got off at the metro. We had just pulled in to pick him up but I had not had a chance to park the car. We ignored all rules of safety and common sense that day as the girls ran out of the car screaming to greet their father. Believe it or not, Laurence had not seen the results, but seeing the girls’ explosive reaction gave his heart the calm and joy he had waited to get – for 21 years.
On July 13, 2018, the District Court of the District of Columbia had a ceremony to induct the newest attorneys into the profession. The girls were not able to make it, but I was there to congratulate Laurence on accomplishing his lifelong dream.
While attorneys are routinely mocked for their high fees and criticized for numerous reasons, I ask all of you to set that aside. Here is a human being who put his hopes and dreams on the line for 21 years and finally managed to accomplish his long-time dream of being an attorney. Laurence L. Socci, Esquire, practicing attorney in the District of Columbia, deserves all the recognition and praise in the world.
Becoming an attorney is no joke. It is not easy at all. There will be obstacles and pitfalls along the way, but reaching the pinnacle is a feeling unlike any other. I will forever be in awe of Laurence’s efforts and nerves of steel in finishing what he accomplished. Here is a man who after 21 years of devoted blood, tears, and sweat, finally fulfilled that which was always promised to him.
Please join me in congratulating Laurence on the anniversary of being sworn in as an attorney on July 13, 2018!!!!!
No posts
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.