Woman who gave birth during bar exams now a lawyer

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The “supermom” who gave birth for the first time while taking the Illinois State Bar Exam in the United States last October is now finally a lawyer.

Brianna Hill, a Loyola University graduate, publicly announced the achievement via her Facebook account yesterday, Dec. 1, while also sharing her thoughts on her journey to becoming a lawyer.

“1) FEMALES ARE STRONG AS HELL. I took part [in] the exam sitting on towels because my water had broken and the other part sitting on an ice pack because I had given birth the night before,” she said.

“I was told to medically withdraw after the first day because there would not be a way for me to finish in the hospital. I hemorrhaged after birth and took the second day of the test while anemic,” Hill added.

Hill also noted that she only slept for around an hour and a half before the second day of the exams “because my sweet baby was SO grunty.”

“I breastfed my baby in between sessions. I did all of this because I did not see any other option to accomplish both my goals — become a lawyer and a mom,” she stressed.

Hill went into labor on Oct. 5, two weeks ahead of her expected Oct. 19 delivery date. As the exams were taken remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Hill managed to finish it at the hospital.

Having contractions while answering the test at home first, she was not allowed to get up and go to the bathroom as she would get flagged for cheating. After finishing the first day of the exams, she immediately went to the hospital with her husband Cameron Andrew.

Hill and Andrew are now parents to their baby boy named Cassius Phillip.

“I have the best freaking support system ever. Cameron Andrew never doubted me for a second and advocated for me to finish in the hospital,” she said.

Hill also thanked the hospital and its staff, especially her midwife, one Missy Furlette-Koski, for making her “exam conditions possible.”

Despite the milestone, Hill pointed out that the “bar exam system is f*cked,” stating that she recognizes that “I am not the only one who went through difficult circumstances to complete this stupid test and I strongly feel it is not an accurate reflection of competence, mostly privilege.”

“All this to say, I am SO happy I get to be a lawyer officially and am so thankful that I got here,” she said. “Now, I am going to go celebrate with my cute little family.” JB

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