On Friday, Nov. 18, 2005, at around 6 p.m., I learned that I passed the July 2005 California Bar Examination. This was the culmination of four years of law school, thousands of hours of study and three tests. Here is my story.

WHY--I completed my surgery residency in 1982 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. I became a junior partner to a successful senior surgeon in Beverly Hills. We both worked hard day and night, doing surgery, being active in medical associations and performing voluntary hospital medical staff activities. Income was good, and I was able to afford many worldly luxuries. But, as with all good things, it came to an end, although gradually.

I was fortunate in that I had enough foresight 10 years ago to start a multispecialty walk-in clinic marketed toward the Japanese-speaking community, well before reimbursement for surgical procedures hit rock bottom. The income from my surgery practice was going down and the costs were going up. In some years, I had to dip into the income from the clinic to cover the costs of my surgical practice.

Then came several malpractice suits against me. I was frightened at first, then anxious, but I was fortunate to meet the person who would defend me--Brian Hoffman, a young, energetic, smart, aggressive and compassionate attorney at Bonne Bridges, a prestigious med mal defense firm in LA. I considered these cases nuisances that needed disposal, so I could concentrate on my mission of surgery. Brian, on the other hand, took my defense as his mission. Over the next several years, I learned to respect his profession just as much as I did mine.

At around the same time, in order to supplement my practice income, I started to testify as an expert witness in a few medical malpractice cases. I became familiar with depositions and court testimony. Then, there were three criminal cases, where I testified as a treating physician of my patient-victims. Through these cases, I met lawyers of all sorts: civil defense and plaintiff attorneys, prosecutors and criminal defense attorneys, judges, arbitrators, and litigators.

I came to the conclusion that, even though there are just as many outstanding lawyers as there are outstanding doctors, I could make a better lawyer than most of them. I decided I would do something about it by becoming a lawyer, but how?

HOW--I thought I was too old to go back to school, and law school, of all things, seemed out of the question. I had major time commitments already and precious few hours to spend with my family. Then, I read an article about online education at Concord Law School, which had graduated its first class of 10, five of whom had just passed the California Bar Exam.

Access coursework online and never attend a class. Pass the requisite exams and get a law degree. Then take the Bar and become an attorney. It sounded like a good idea. I could spare two hours a day. I could use the time I had between patients or the time I had before going to bed or the time I had waiting for OR time. I applied for admission and was accepted.

The curriculum is standard: first year is torts, contracts and criminal law; second year is criminal procedure, civil procedure, evidence and real property; third year is corporations, constitutional law and professional responsibility; and fourth year is wills and trusts, community property, and remedies. There are three standardized test hurdles. Because Concord Law School is not yet accredited by the American Bar Association, all of its students must take and pass the First Year Law Student Exam. In addition, all law students in California must pass the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam, after the third year. After graduation comes the all-important California Bar Exam.

The Dean of Admissions told me plainly before I started that the time commitment would be significant. For me, law school took two hours every day and every weekend and holiday I wasn't working. But she also told me that I could do it if I worked hard enough at it.

WHAT NOW--My lawyer friends tell me that I have a future in medical malpractice such as mediation, expert witness and litigation. I have already been invited to a meeting of the Beverly Hills Bar Association welcoming the new members.

My doctor friends are divided between those who think I am crazy and those who think I am brilliant. Those who thought I was crazy while I was taking law courses have come around, now that I passed the Bar.

My mission continues to be to force the medical and legal professions to communicate with each other. I now speak both languages, so I can translate.

Personally, at least I have options. I almost became a dinosaur: a qualified professional whose services society was no longer willing to pay for. I have now diversified my talents. In all, I am excited about entering another profession, after having spent 28 years perfecting my first one. We'll see when the dust settles, but I predict a long time will pass before Preferred Lawyer Organizations or Litigation Maintenance Organizations muscle into lawyers' practices.

Robert Y. Uyeda, MD, FACS, is an experienced Beverly Hills surgeon and a new attorney. He can be reached at robert@uyedamd.com.