The Mindset You Need to Pass the Bar feat. Caroline Vickers (December 2021)
- 22 hours ago
- 3 min read
Caroline Vickers is an attorney, entrepreneur, and founder of Bar Prep Champs, where she coaches first time and repeat bar takers to pass the exam with strategy and confidence. In this episode, Caroline shares how her own law school experience shaped her career, why mindset is the missing piece in bar prep, and how she built a business helping lawyers overcome shame and finally pass.
About This Episode
Background
Caroline Vickers attended the University of Florida for undergrad and Howard University School of Law. Her decision to pursue law was deeply personal. After her father passed away during her first semester of undergrad without a will, she found herself navigating probate at nineteen years old while grieving. The overwhelm and confusion of that process shaped her early legal ambitions. She entered law school determined to ensure no one else would feel that alone in a legal system they did not understand.
“I just remember thinking I never want anyone to go through something like this and not feel like someone cares or someone can really tell them about this process of what's going on," shares Caroline Vickers on You Are A Lawyer.
At Howard, she immersed herself in family law, earning a certificate and clerking for family court judges. She built exactly the kind of traditional legal résumé that signals long term practice. But as her career progressed, her interests evolved toward something different, something more aligned with how she wanted to serve people at their most vulnerable.
Why Law School
Law school was not a random choice for Caroline. It was connected to both personal experience and legacy. Shortly before her father passed, he asked her what she thought about law school. That question lingered. Combined with her probate experience, it made the path feel purposeful. In hindsight, however, she sees a key gap in legal education.
“It's really the people who are the most confident [who] did the best in law school. It's mindset," reflects Caroline Vickers on Episode 39 of You Are a Lawyer.
She realized that confidence, not just intelligence, separated top performers from overwhelmed students. Law school teaches doctrine and analysis, but it does not teach resilience, emotional regulation, or how to handle failure. That awareness would later become central to her business.
What Can You Do with a Law Degree
Caroline’s legal career included clerking for multiple judges, working in private practice, nonprofit work, and federal government service. She had the credentials. She had the licenses in Maryland and DC. She had the traditional path. But as she began helping friends study for the bar while working as a law clerk, something clicked. She saw a pattern in repeat takers that was not about intellect.
“I realized that there's a mindset piece that's missing from the bar exam experience and nobody's really talking about it," explains Caroline Vickers, on this episode of You Are a Lawyer.
Her law degree gave her credibility, but more importantly, it gave her perspective. She understood how law students think, how lawyers internalize failure, and how ego and shame can derail performance. Instead of staying inside the courtroom, she chose to build something that addresses the emotional and strategic gaps law school leaves behind. Her JD did not limit her to practice. It equipped her to coach at scale.
Lawyer Side Hustles
What began as helping friends grew into Bar Prep Champs. Clients started referring other clients. People told her she was undercharging. She realized this was not just tutoring. It was transformation. Caroline built systems, scheduling, group coaching, and community around an exam that often isolates people.
“How do you rebound from that, how do you bounce back and you don't allow you know one failure or multiple failures define who you are” shares Caroline Vickers in Episode 39 of You Are a Lawyer.
Her program now supports first time takers and repeat takers across jurisdictions, including California and the Bahamas. She blends strategy with mindset work and creates community for people who feel embarrassed or alone. The bar exam may be standardized, but the emotional experience is not. That is where her work lives.
About Caroline Vickers
Caroline is licensed to practice in the State of Maryland and the District of Columbia.