NOW Challenges the California Bar Exam!

The National Organization of Women, California, is challenging the format and fairness of the California bar exam.  An excerpt of an article on their Web site follows, an article written by an accomodated student who took the exam in Braille. . .

"The media would have all of the thousands who failed, believe that we need only go back and study harder. I contend the Bar examination is ridden with faults and it is the exam that needs reforms. The National Organization for Women has taken up this cause. Join this effort by writing your congressional representative and demand an oversight hearing of California Bar examination and admission policies."

Please see link to article below:

http://www.canow.org/canoworg/2010/06/the-california-bar-exam-treadmill.html

Tips for Preparing for the California Bar Exam

Having received some inquiries related to the above, I'll attempt to summarize my tips:

Background:

The California Bar exam is heavily weighted towards the written portion of the exam and counts for 65% of the overall score.  Each PT (performance exam) counts for two essays; there are 6 essays in all and 2 PT's.

The MBE portion of the exam counts for 35% of the scaled score.

Day 1 and Day 3 consists of 3 essays in the morning, and one PT in the afternoon.  Day 2 consists solely of the MBE's; 100 questions in the morning and 100 questions in the afternoon.

MBE's

Read Strategies and Tactics by Walton after tackling at least 500 Bar Bri or PMBR MBE's.  S&T provides insights into what the examiners are testing and ACTUAL bar exam questions.  (See sidebar on blog.)

Do the on-line NCBE questions.  You can purchase two sets of 100 questions for $26.00 each and the license is good for one year. (See sidebar on blog.)

Do a minimum of 2,000 MBE's and track the rule statements and trigger facts from missed questions.

If you can afford it, sign up to Adaptibar or MicroMash.  Discounts are available on the blog, "The Life and Times of a Future California Attorney."  (See sidebar -- "Blogs I follow.")
 
Essays and PT's

Download ten years of essays from State Bar of California and every model Recorder answer available.  (See sidebar on blog.)  Formally outline at least 60, if not all exams.  Write another 60 exams under timed conditions.  (Adachi's Bar Breaker series also provides great insights to the exam and suggests writing 100 essays as preparation for the bar exam.)

Develop rule statements to use for your own outlines by subject.

Critically analyze your strengths and weaknesses and, if possible, get a tutor to provide critical feedback.

Focus on agency, partnership and corporations.  It seems that California is placing more emphasis on these areas and be well versed in Civil Procedure (Fed and Cal).

Walking into the Exam

If you follow these simple tips, you should feel prepared to take the exam.  At exam time, controlling anxiety, managing sleep, managing life . . .all can interfere with exam performance . . .

I am following these same, simple steps to prepare for the Illinois Bar exam and learning new law by breaking down the NCBE essays.  California does not test on negotiable instruments and secured transactions, administrative law, or state constitutional law.

Casting Out for a Study Partner - Feb. 2011 Illnois Bar Exam

Yes, in this unfamiliar-familiar territory, I find myself combing through Illinois exam material and slowly gaining momentum. . .but the joy (yes, joy!) of preparing for a new bar exam would be oh so much more joyful if I could find some similar souls who were also making the long climb toward the Feb. 2011 Illinois bar exam.  Any takers?  If there are, please contact me at: kstudylaw@gmail.com.

Accountability

My new study schedule begins this week toward the long path to the Illinois Bar exam.  My plans are as follows:

1. Do 100 MBE's per week, 25 per day for 5-days, with weekends off for good measure.  Journal those MBE's that I got wrong with "trigger facts."

2. Analyze and outline 3 IEE's per week; during the first 4-weeks, I will do this under non-timed conditions, after which I will hand-write the exams under timed conditions (e.g. 30 minutes.)

3. Analyze and outline 4 MEE's per week, during the first 4-weeks, I will do this under non-timed conditions as above.

Purchase 2010 Strategies and Tactics and read each introductory chapter.

Prepare Essay Binders - 1) for the MPT's, 2) for the MEE's, and finally for 3) the IEE's.

After 4-weeks absence from exam preparation, I am already finding a lapse in memory and a need to keep my skills sharp.  I must build a new life of "routine."

At the same time, I am looking for new employment, and studying the "Rules of the Road" to take the Illinois Driver's test and to title my car in this state.  And, beginning a paralegal program next week. . .

I perform better under pressure. . .

And, I am already having dreams about the July 2010 exam results. . .and recalling the crushing blow that I felt when I faced a blank computer screen after the Februrary 2009 bar exam. . .

I miss my study partner. . .

Re-birth is not without pain. . .

Illinois Specific Bar Essays (IEE's)

I miss my old haunts. . .

Unlike California, Illinois seems to keep information about their bar exam "close to the vest."  Thus, I drove through the tall cornfields and country roads to visit the law library at Northern Illinois University School of Law on a day when 4,000 students were moving into the student halls and the police were advising against using the main thoroughfare, Annie Gliden road.

When I arrived, one of the Deans showed me to the library, an out-of-stater dressed in blue jeans, starched white shirt and "cowboy" boots, he wondered about me.  I suspect that I was wearing the patina of California. . .

The students at the reference desk of the library were generous; when I asked if they had any bar exam materials on file, a student emerged with a huge box labeled "Bar 101."  And, there inside were 20 years of Illinois specific bar exams of which I now have February 2003 through February 2010 included, sans the model answers.  Perhaps Illinois has a "Recorder" equivalent that publishes the answers?  Or, perhaps I will have to break down and purchase these from July exam passers. . .but at least I have a running start. . .

Although I looked older, and different, I felt welcomed by the Dean and the students and think that this library might be a place for me to call home as I focus on yet another bar exam. . .proceeding with Plan B.

Back in Chi Town

Yes, I was in Chicago today for an interview.  While the interview did not pan out in a job, I called the city of Chicago home for many years.  It was good to be home again.

But, now I need a "study buddy" to get through this next exam.  While I will have my materials ready within one week, and will be applying the "reverse engineering" principle previously discussed on this blog, I am hoping that some Illinois test takers might want to form a study group with me. 

Please contact me via my email address listed under my profile if interested.  And, thanks!

Illinois Bar Exam Checklist

The Illinois bar exam is a 2-day exam with Day 1 offering 6 MEE's (NCBE's multi state essays), 3 Illinois specific exams (each essay is 30 minutes), and 1 MPT (multi state performance exam) which is 90 minutes.  The MBE exam is on day 2 and counts for 50% of the exam. In total, the passing score is a scaled score of 264 points.  Essays count for 43% of the exam while the MPT counts for 7%.

To sign up for the exam, one must fill out multiple sections of the bar application electronically and the first filing deadline is 9/1/10.  Applications can be filed later, but the price rapidly escalates.  In addition, there are limited seats for ExamSoft takers; the majority take a handwritten exam!

Illinois Bar Application Checklist

• Character and Fitness Questionnaire (and Additional Questionnaire, if required)
• Illinois State Police Criminal History Form
• Attorney's Questionnaire (if admitted to the bar elsewhere)
• Authorization and Release Form (non-electronic, signed and notarized)
• Dean's Certification (non-electronic evidencing J.D. degree)
• Non-Standard Testing Accommodation Request (if applicable, plus CV of psychologist, Certificate of Non-Standard Testing Accommodation evidencing accommodations by schools, testing centers, and/or employers)
• MBE Score Transfer (if one had passed an exam in another jx within the most recent 13-months and with a scaled score of 140)
• MPRE score transfer (score of 80 required)
• LSAC applicant ID for Bar Application and for MBE Exam (required the day of the exam)

Old MEE, MPT and MBE exams and essays can be found and printed via the NCBE web site (see links on side bar of this blog) while Illinois specific bar exam essays can be located via local colleges (Northern Illinois Law school has old Illinois essay exams in their law library reference center.)

I added a new blog, "The Modern Woman," to my blog list about a woman who is now an immigration attorney and who failed the IL bar exam the first time, to pass on her 2nd attempt.  It's good to have some local inspiration...

Miles to Go Before I Sleep

The Grand Tetons, Wyoming

When asked, "How do you think that you did on the California Bar Exam?," my stock reply is "I don't know.  I'm moving forward with my life; that's all I can do."

So, in the spirit of moving forward, I have settled in to northern Illinois with Cat (a Maine coon).  We made the 2,100 mile trip and saw Yellowstone along the way.  Albeit brief, this was my "vacation" while we refocus our life on a new bar examination, one with an 89% pass rate.  True, I need to learn Illinois Constitutional law, and civil procedure, and to do so without a tutor or course, but I am prepared to dig in come 9/1/10 and to study for this exam with singular focus.  I am proceeding with Plan B; Plan A's objective (e.g. sitting for the Cal Bar exam for the 2nd time) has been achieved. (We won't speak of Plan C!)

So, today I have a stack of papers from the Illinois bar web site -- in 6 point font -- which I am wading through.  I have already sent off a request to mail my MPRE score to Illinois which requires a score of 80 versus California's 79.

In addition, Illinois is now requiring one's LSAC # on the bar application as well as on the actual MBE portion of the exam.  To find one's LSAC # use the following web site: http://lsaclookup.lsac.org/

Finally, I am completing a paralegal certificate here, with the intent of transferring my credits back to my school in California.  This will help me review criminal law and to learn family law procedures in this separate property state.

I have miles to go before I become an attorney. . . and miles to go before I sleep. . .

And, as for being in love and loving. . .perhaps it is also time to move life along?  Or, not. . .

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
By Robert Frost

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow. 

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there's some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Reverse Engineering - Did it Work?

Self-Portrait (early artist days)

Only the actual results will tell. . . however, after examining 120 essays over the past ten years, there were some "wild cards." 

Crime Pro -

Pedestrian checkpoint - I was lucky to have experienced my first (and only) sobriety checkpoint and put the handout the police gave me in my Con Law essay book.  Having gone through a checkpoint, I researched the law out of curiosity.  I drew upon this knowledge in answering the question.

At the end, the examiners asked if the D could be convicted of attempted kidnapping.  I did not know the rule; I made up the elements and argued against my made-up rule.  Also needed to know the elements of waiving one's rights to a jury trial.

PR -

The lawyer gave each client, all of whom were jointly represented with one client paying for all three parties involved, separate retainer agreements.  Ethics?

Business Associations -

Partnership was tested in Feb. 2010 and again in July 2010.  For future examinees, know the rules of liability between the partners, and for good measure, the distinctions between LP's, LLP's and LLC's.

MBE's -

Included questions on Choice of Law, Diversity, Double Jeopardy, and numerous questions on appeals - basis of, when to bring, procedure of.   I checked the subject outline issued by the NCBE to check if Civ Pro had been slipped in when I was not looking.  No, it had not.  However, I was surprised to read the following:

"The MBE consists of 200 multiple-choice questions, 190 of which are scored. The 10 unscored questions are being evaluated for future use; because these questions are indistinguishable from scored questions, examinees should answer all 200 questions. The 190 scored questions on the MBE are distributed as follows: Constitutional Law (31), Contracts (33), Criminal Law and Procedure (31), Evidence (31), Real Property (31), and Torts (33)."

Although I knew that some questions were discarded, I did not know that, in specific, ten questions were discarded, and, like the MPRE, are evaluated for future use.

Was I prepared?

In comparing the July 2010 bar exam to the February 2009 exam, which had a 33% pass rate and one of the lowest in five years, the exam seemed comparatively less difficult and the PT's reasonably straightforward.

I was much more comfortable with the MBE's than I was before.  In Feb. 2009, I had done 750 MBE's and guessed at half of them.  This showed in my MBE results.  As it relates to the July 2010 bar exam, I did over 2,000 MBE's and found that I could "logic" out many of the questions.  The afternoon MBE session was significantly more difficult than the morning session; I struggled to keep pace with the time.

Strategy?

I am taking a 4-week break and then will purchase the 2010 Strategies and Tactics book and subscribe to Adaptibar and do 33 MBE's per day.  If I've done 5,000 MBE's prior to my next bar examination, the territory should be very familiar. I will be taking the bar examination in Illinois where there is an 89% pass rate.

Results?

I can't look and have asked my tutor if he would kindly do this for me.  I remember seeing the results before; and the bottle of wine I drank immediately afterwards.  It was better to be "blotto" than conscious.

Now I have a healthy respect for the difficulty of the California bar exam and if I have any advice it is as follows:

1. Begin to study for the bar exam months -- not 8-weeks - before the exam

2. Do at least 2,000 MBE's.  Read "Strategies and Tactics" cover to cover and do all practice questions and simulated exams.  Purchase the on-line NCBE questions and do these, too.  Do the MBE's under TIMED conditions.

3. Prepare an MBE journal.  In hindsight, I plan to keep a copy of each question that I missed and to do these until I get it correct.  For this reason, I may purchase two copies of S&T.

4. Practice writing exams.  Begin 3-months prior to the exam and write one essay per day, 5-days per week under TIMED conditions.

5. Purchase self-hypnosis tapes developed for the bar exam.  Use to unleash your memory under exam conditions; learn how to relax.  But caution - Don't listen to a hypnosis tape just prior to taking the exam.  Due to an upset stomach and nerves, I did this in an effort to calm down and to better focus.  I was so relaxed, that I had to force myself to speed up and gain ground the morning of Day 1.  You need adrenalin to carry you through the exam -- I would have better off with an upset stomach and nervous energy.  This was also no time to experiment!

6. Don't fall in love until after the bar exam.  Love can be distracting. . . :)

My little car, cat and I will be leaving California mid-day on Wednesday.  We went to Mt. Tampalais and scattered Tiffany's ashes as we had promised (Tiffany was my 19-year old cat who died one year ago.)  We sat on the mountain overlooking the Bay, and we cried - we cried great, big crocodile tears.  We cried because we miss Tiffany.  We cried because we will miss the sea, and the mountains, and the California sky.  We cried because we will miss our friends, friends who have been taking us to dinner, and bringing us lunch, and who accept us for the free spirits that we are. . .

We will be leaving our hearts in California and hoping to return. . .

But we are now focused on building a new life in the Chicago area where we can regroup, meet new friends, and become a member of a more forgiving bar. . .