“Sitting for the California Bar Exam this past July was the most challenging and rewarding experience, yet I’m glad I never have to do it again,” wrote White and Bright Associate Nicole Varela in North County Lawyer.

Nicole, who handles business litigation and commercial transactions, asset protection, and trust and estate matters, was one of several North San Diego County-based attorneys invited to share their California Bar Exam stories in the 2025 Q1 edition of the magazine (see p. 27), a North County Bar Association publication.

She was among the 53.8% of July 2024 test takers to pass. The California State Bar requires passage of the rigorous, two-day exam to become a licensed attorney.

To prepare, Nicole spent the entire summer before the exam studying and participated in a prep course. On the exam days, she recounts working through the 200 multiple choice questions on little sleep but with lots of adrenaline. Nicole and some of her fellow California Western University School of Law classmates sat for the exam together. They were cheered on by law school faculty members, who met them during the lunch break with sandwiches.

While Nicole felt accomplished after the exam, the three-month wait for the results was difficult. She focused on working and tried to ignore the anxiety that arose whenever anyone asked about the exam. She was proud to learn she passed. She joined White and Bright as an associate in November 2024.

“That exam felt like an insurmountable hurdle for so many years,” Nicole wrote. “Now it’s over and I can look forward to growing as an attorney and learning more advanced concepts in estate planning, real estate, and business law.”