Who are the Catalan notaries who have passed the toughest exams?

BarcelonaAn average of 50 hours of study per week for five years. This is the amount of time devoted by the 92 people who passed the latest public notary exams. It is estimated that at least 3,000 hours of study are required to pass this exam, and it is considered one of the most difficult exams. Catalonia is where most of the most recent passers will work in the entire country: 28 will practice starting this spring, and of these, ten are Catalan. ARA has spoken with three of them now that they have the goal they have been pursuing for so long.

They are Jennifer Molina, Núria Brunsó, and Alberto Henarejos. They have followed different paths to obtain their positions, but all three agree that vocation is essential to face the effort required by these public exams. They also reiterate the importance of the support of their family, friends, and partners—all of whom have had this since they began preparing for the exam—in years when their social life has been reduced to a minimum to dedicate themselves to studying. "If you go to a nightclub one day, you feel bad, you say to yourself, 'What am I doing here?'" says Henarejos. Brunsó adds: "If you don't have a partner, I think finding one during the exam is very difficult, unless it's someone who studies with you."

The first of the four tests is an oral exam in which, for an hour, they must explain four legal topics that each candidate randomly selects by drawing a ball from a bag. In the last session, only 25% of candidates passed this part. Literacy is required when explaining the regulations and accuracy in timing—a stopwatch is "essential," they say—to the point that cases like Henarejos's can occur, where the first time she took the exam, she didn't pass because she drew a blank in the last two minutes of the test.

Molina became a notary at 27, and began training when she was 22. She was already aware then that it would be "a long-distance race," and during these years she has studied about 10 hours a day, six days a week. She says that one of the main obstacles has been the psychological impact: "Life doesn't stop and things happen that become difficult when you're alone at home for so long." This is confirmed by Henarejos, who began studying two months after her mother's death: "It's not a criticism, because that's how it is, but the court doesn't care about your personal life."

The type of test means that the most common way to study is by memorizing by reciting aloud. Because of this, most candidates don't study in libraries, but at home. Molina, aware of the impact of spending so much time indoors, focused "every resource" on studying well: "The only free time I had I spent with the psychologist and going to the gym, which was what made me study better." In fact, she received a scholarship from the Notarial College academy, which she largely used for these expenses. "Mine is a normal, working-class family; I don't come from a family of notaries or anything like that, and after a certain age, you also need to be independent," she says, praising the scholarship.

Candidates usually study under the supervision of a tutor, with whom they typically meet once a week to "rehearse" the syllabus and check their memorization progress. The Notarial Association offers a free service that most candidates use, as did Molina and Brunsó, who now work as tutors to "return" the help they received.

From Notary to Notary

Unlike her classmates, Henarejos didn't train at an academy. The path she followed is unusual among new notaries. After studying law, she considered preparing for the civil service exams to become a judge, but due to financial difficulties, she didn't. She worked her way through various jobs, including at a movie theater, and as she approached her thirties, she decided to pursue a career related to her studies. So she began working in a notary's office, "from the lowest position and through all the positions, until she learned the trade of a notary clerk."

At 35, she decided to take civil service exams. Newly married, when she returned from her honeymoon, she switched jobs to a notary office to prepare for the civil service exams. The notary who had been her boss until then became the tutor with whom she reviewed the syllabus.

"I was absolutely certain that this was the last time I would try."

Núria Brunsó spent eight and a half years preparing for her degree. She combined the first four years with a position as a councilor in Cornellà de Terri (Pla de l'Estany), but realized that to pass the exam, she would have to dedicate herself full-time. Notary public exams are held every two years, and Brunsó has taken the exam four times. "I was absolutely certain that this time was the last," she admits. She also acknowledges that she doesn't know what she would have done if she hadn't passed this last time, when the exams were held in Barcelona. "You think to yourself, 'If it doesn't go well, I'll quit.' But what do I do with my life? I've been studying, I studied law for four years, I took the exam, and I don't have a degree. If you fail, you can't prove your knowledge; you're just a candidate who didn't pass the exams, who has dedicated years to it, but who hasn't dedicated it."

"Suddenly we are also entrepreneurs"

From the time they passed the exam until they began practicing, about eleven months will have passed, which they are using to enjoy the free time they haven't had recently, but also to finish their notary work. Molina registered as self-employed shortly before the interview with the ARA (Argentine Association of Notaries). Unlike other candidates, new notaries must open an office and settle in the municipality where they have obtained the position. Henarejos points out the "positive nerves" involved in opening the premises and carrying out procedures, such as contracting utilities. Molina agrees: "Suddenly, we are also entrepreneurs; we have that contracting side. That's something that's not taught."