After dusting off my bar study book - a BIG 3-ring binder with each of the MBE and California subjects tested - I decided to begin with criminal law.
It seemed like familiar territory and I am now beginning to remember reciting the black letter rules. "Tresspassory taking and carrying away of another person's property with intent to permanently deprive them of such property." Larceny.
I remember how I had stumbled over the difference of assault and battery in tort versus criminal law and how homicide, that multi-dimensional aspect of murder or killing of another, escaped me. My patient bar study partner had to help me understand what had alluded me about the hierarchy of homicide. I had the chart that he made in my BAR BIBLE.
While criminal law is easy for most, it seems to be more elusive for me to understand. My mind is better spent with contracts than torts, with civil procedure rather than criminal procedure. Thus, I decided if I was going to delve right in, I should tackle those subjects that are more difficult for me.
I began with retyping the rules in a more succinct format and in the hierarchy that my bar tutor had formulated. Handwritten notes are now crisply encapsulated on the page. Now that I have my neat section on criminal law, I will apply my "refreshed recollection" to testing my knowledge on the MBE's. Ten MBE's per day is my goal - or 2,000 MBE's before the bar (or more). Flash cards for the one's that I missed.
I know that it is quality before quantity but then, on Monday I begin to work for an attorney whose mind is like a steel trap. He passed the bar on the first try. How? He did not review the law from Bar Bri books. He did 4,000 MBE's before the exam so that he knew every pattern "in the book." He had 15 minutes to spare after taking 200 MBE's during exam day. He also printed out every bar exam essay for 10 years, and every model answer, and studied the patterns in the essays. He typed every rule from each essay until he had analyzed the patterns in these essays. When he walked out of the exam, he knew that he had passed and he didn't look back. He looked forward to starting his own practice.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Friday, August 14, 2009
Dusting Off the Books...Bar Books, That Is!
Nothing could have prepared me for life's "adventure" after the California Bar Exam last February 2009. In a down market economy, I had the impression that I could still prevail, secure new employment, and make a go at it. I was both right and wrong.
I did work as a contract paralegal, researching and writing motions that (mostly) won or encouraged settlement. This was great experience, but my caseload was inconsistent...feast or famine...and earned me a wage considered by most to be at "poverty" levels.
I looked for work consistently, each time being called "overqualified" because I'm no "spring chicken" (albeit I look fairly young), but mainly because I have a J.D. on my resume (along with an M.B.A.) Overqualified to be a paralegal, not licensed to be an attorney.
I moved from my great little loft apartment (which I could no longer afford) into a 10' x 10' room in a house whose owner was served with notice of default a few days after I moved in. The electricity was shut off, one day, and thankfully restored. Creditor's call consistently during the day, punctuating the peaceful setting...such that there is no repose in this lovely environment...repose sorely needed to study for the bar exam.
In a last ditch attempt, I screwed up my courage and sent an appeal to family, friends and colleagues, pledging great work for little pay, or to beat a hasty retreat to family in country which is bitter cold in winter. While that country is lovely in its starkness, I crave the California sun, and even the fog that rolls in at night, sound of the horns on the great ships in the Bay.
It was this cry for help that turned into a full-time job as an office manager/paralegal in a real office (and not my virtual office) with people contacts, and clients, and the chiropractor down the hall. And, while my wage will be small, the learning will be great. I'm looking forward to "cutting my teeth" in this solo practitioner's busy office and building the infrastructure for his business, something that my corporate training and marketing skills will be valuable for. Plus, once I have passed the bar (and I'm aiming to pass it!), my license in my hand, I will know how to set up my own practice. There will be a world of possibilities!
Least I wax too philosophic, I have no time to waste! Today marks the first day where I put my game plan into place and begin the long journey toward the Feb. 2010 bar. Want to come along with me?
I did work as a contract paralegal, researching and writing motions that (mostly) won or encouraged settlement. This was great experience, but my caseload was inconsistent...feast or famine...and earned me a wage considered by most to be at "poverty" levels.
I looked for work consistently, each time being called "overqualified" because I'm no "spring chicken" (albeit I look fairly young), but mainly because I have a J.D. on my resume (along with an M.B.A.) Overqualified to be a paralegal, not licensed to be an attorney.
I moved from my great little loft apartment (which I could no longer afford) into a 10' x 10' room in a house whose owner was served with notice of default a few days after I moved in. The electricity was shut off, one day, and thankfully restored. Creditor's call consistently during the day, punctuating the peaceful setting...such that there is no repose in this lovely environment...repose sorely needed to study for the bar exam.
In a last ditch attempt, I screwed up my courage and sent an appeal to family, friends and colleagues, pledging great work for little pay, or to beat a hasty retreat to family in country which is bitter cold in winter. While that country is lovely in its starkness, I crave the California sun, and even the fog that rolls in at night, sound of the horns on the great ships in the Bay.
It was this cry for help that turned into a full-time job as an office manager/paralegal in a real office (and not my virtual office) with people contacts, and clients, and the chiropractor down the hall. And, while my wage will be small, the learning will be great. I'm looking forward to "cutting my teeth" in this solo practitioner's busy office and building the infrastructure for his business, something that my corporate training and marketing skills will be valuable for. Plus, once I have passed the bar (and I'm aiming to pass it!), my license in my hand, I will know how to set up my own practice. There will be a world of possibilities!
Least I wax too philosophic, I have no time to waste! Today marks the first day where I put my game plan into place and begin the long journey toward the Feb. 2010 bar. Want to come along with me?
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Seeing the Results
For those who took the MPRE, congratulations! The exam (and the detailed, blow by blow description about how to fill out the scantron sheet hour long preliminaries) are done! "WE DID IT!" Results should be out after 5-weeks, or sometime as early as the week of September 14, 2009.
If you did not pass the MPRE exam, the next exam is on November 7, 2009 with an application deadline of September 29, 2009 and a late application deadline of Oct. 15, 2009.
For those of you who took the California Bar Exam in July 2009, "YOU DID IT!" Results are scheduled to be mailed to applicants on Friday, November 20, 2009. Access to the pass list will be available to applicants through the Internet beginning Friday, November 20, 2009, at 6:00 p.m. on the State Bar’s home page at www.calbar.ca.gov.
For those of you who will be taking the California Bar Exam in February 2010, the exam will begin on Feb. 23rd and end on Feb. 25th. You can apply to take the exam on October 1, 2009.
If you did not pass the MPRE exam, the next exam is on November 7, 2009 with an application deadline of September 29, 2009 and a late application deadline of Oct. 15, 2009.
For those of you who took the California Bar Exam in July 2009, "YOU DID IT!" Results are scheduled to be mailed to applicants on Friday, November 20, 2009. Access to the pass list will be available to applicants through the Internet beginning Friday, November 20, 2009, at 6:00 p.m. on the State Bar’s home page at www.calbar.ca.gov.
For those of you who will be taking the California Bar Exam in February 2010, the exam will begin on Feb. 23rd and end on Feb. 25th. You can apply to take the exam on October 1, 2009.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Good Luck on the MPRE!
For the thousands of law school students and law graduates alike, the MPRE is just around the corner. We will go, butterflies perhaps, en mass to take the exam this Friday.
Aside from the FREE PLI and KAPLAN MPRE materials which are both excellent, I discovered today that the NCBE has a link to outdated on-line MPRE exams. However, they also offer a new 60 question on-line exam for $24.00. (See link on sidebar) Having taken this on-line exam today, I would give the software 4.5 of 5.0 stars. One can take the exam timed or untimed, and receive a written report of the results which includes an analysis of why your answer is correct or incorrect. While you are not told the correct answer, you can retake the exam until all the answers are correct. It's great to see the bar examiners offering "with it" software with questions and answers in the current format. If you can spare $24.00, you might want to take this on-line practice exam before the "real deal."
For those of you taking the MPRE on Friday, I'll be taking the exam right along with you. Good luck fellow test takers and future attorneys!
Aside from the FREE PLI and KAPLAN MPRE materials which are both excellent, I discovered today that the NCBE has a link to outdated on-line MPRE exams. However, they also offer a new 60 question on-line exam for $24.00. (See link on sidebar) Having taken this on-line exam today, I would give the software 4.5 of 5.0 stars. One can take the exam timed or untimed, and receive a written report of the results which includes an analysis of why your answer is correct or incorrect. While you are not told the correct answer, you can retake the exam until all the answers are correct. It's great to see the bar examiners offering "with it" software with questions and answers in the current format. If you can spare $24.00, you might want to take this on-line practice exam before the "real deal."
For those of you taking the MPRE on Friday, I'll be taking the exam right along with you. Good luck fellow test takers and future attorneys!
Change of Venue
Having taken the California Bar exam for the first-time in Feb. 2009, I am now beginning to slowly gear up for the Feb. 2010 bar exam. It has been quite a life's journey during the past year since graduating from law school in May 2008.
On the one hand, I now have one year's experience as a solo paralegal. I have written motions and settlement conference statements, I've been in court. I've scheduled hearings, filed motions, served notice and even written a respondent's brief in appellate court. I've dealt with staff attorneys in family court. I've photographed experts do their work. I've reviewed case files and done discovery. In short, I've gotten a taste of what it is like to be an attorney, all the while mentored by licensed attorneys who have exhibited tremendous faith in my abilities. I am not perfect; I am learning, but I am surprisingly good at what I do. I've taken to the law like a duck takes to water.
Moreover, some firms are beginning to take a chance on me, at least as it relates to interviews. But, the hue and cry is that I am "over qualified" to be a paralegal (but not being licensed, I am not qualified to be an attorney.) One particularly interesting interview was with the partner of a law firm (to remain nameless) whose firm name was displayed on an 8" x 10" piece of paper and taped to a glass door. The neighborhood in which the office was located was "iffy." While the partner seemed gentile and his office was surprisingly tasteful, his business seemed one notch up from Grisham's portrayal of ambulance chasers. Even to this partner, I was "over qualified." But, then, I got a feeling in the pit of my stomach viewing his office from across the street, that something was wrong, and that this was not a firm that I would feel comfortable working for. So, as a result, I am beginning to feel that "over qualified" means "too old" for our firm, or company. And, that it is only with my own firm that I can really make a go of it.
Having recently downsized from a nice apartment to a 10' x 10' room, and surrounded by my computer, printers and bar exam material, I found myself too uncomfortably close as a first-hand witness to foreclosure. Heretofore, and having dealt with a case concerning foreclosure equity fraud, I had a more remote understanding of the process. Unsettling to the homeowner, it is also unsettling to me as a renter. I need a basis of stability to study for this upcoming bar exam; this includes where I live. I need to know that the rug isn't going to be pulled out from under me, too.
I may need to go home to reside with family and leave the mountains and the sea behind; these elements of nature restore my soul. Can I find peace again by drinking a cup of hot cocoa while all around me the world is encased in snow?
Can I make it here in California?
On the one hand, I now have one year's experience as a solo paralegal. I have written motions and settlement conference statements, I've been in court. I've scheduled hearings, filed motions, served notice and even written a respondent's brief in appellate court. I've dealt with staff attorneys in family court. I've photographed experts do their work. I've reviewed case files and done discovery. In short, I've gotten a taste of what it is like to be an attorney, all the while mentored by licensed attorneys who have exhibited tremendous faith in my abilities. I am not perfect; I am learning, but I am surprisingly good at what I do. I've taken to the law like a duck takes to water.
Moreover, some firms are beginning to take a chance on me, at least as it relates to interviews. But, the hue and cry is that I am "over qualified" to be a paralegal (but not being licensed, I am not qualified to be an attorney.) One particularly interesting interview was with the partner of a law firm (to remain nameless) whose firm name was displayed on an 8" x 10" piece of paper and taped to a glass door. The neighborhood in which the office was located was "iffy." While the partner seemed gentile and his office was surprisingly tasteful, his business seemed one notch up from Grisham's portrayal of ambulance chasers. Even to this partner, I was "over qualified." But, then, I got a feeling in the pit of my stomach viewing his office from across the street, that something was wrong, and that this was not a firm that I would feel comfortable working for. So, as a result, I am beginning to feel that "over qualified" means "too old" for our firm, or company. And, that it is only with my own firm that I can really make a go of it.
Having recently downsized from a nice apartment to a 10' x 10' room, and surrounded by my computer, printers and bar exam material, I found myself too uncomfortably close as a first-hand witness to foreclosure. Heretofore, and having dealt with a case concerning foreclosure equity fraud, I had a more remote understanding of the process. Unsettling to the homeowner, it is also unsettling to me as a renter. I need a basis of stability to study for this upcoming bar exam; this includes where I live. I need to know that the rug isn't going to be pulled out from under me, too.
I may need to go home to reside with family and leave the mountains and the sea behind; these elements of nature restore my soul. Can I find peace again by drinking a cup of hot cocoa while all around me the world is encased in snow?
Can I make it here in California?
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