Saturday, June 26, 2010

Reverse Engineering - Game Theory

MBE's

Rather than do FLASHCARDS, I am following my tutor's approach and writing MBE Journals. The value of journals is that I can organize all BLACK LETTER Rules which I am taking from the answers, along with the "trigger" facts in groups of logically related Black Letter Law.

I will be doing my third MOCK BAR on Monday, during which I will use bar issued exam questions, and doing 200 MBE's under simulated exam conditions. By end of Monday, I will have done 2,000 MBE's.

As a repeater, I spent limited time reviewing the law. I threw myself into the MBE pool to sink or swim. I sank, a lot, but in sinking, I also learned. And, now I am swimming, achieving new highs (and occasional lows.)

ESSAYS

I have written 22 essays, each under timed conditions, and formally outlined 40, for a total of 62 written or reviewed. Over the next few days, I am developing one big FAT essay book with a Table of Contents which details common themes that are tested by subject, for which I have a model answer or outline of my own. I strip off the rules from Conviser or from PMBR's model outline book, a book which, although prepared for the MBE, has excellent rule statements and practical approaches.

I will write at least one essay per day, if not two.

PERFORMANCE TESTS

I have written two, and plan to write two more. This week and up until the weekend before the exam, I will review all 22 PT's provided by the bar examiners so that I am familiar with the types of tasks required - persuasive MPA's, Memos, closing arguments.

FOCUS

My focus is on the exam itself and the discrete issues tested, and the few wild cards.

Come exam time, baby, it's "Game On!" (Perhaps I am a little slap happy?) I love the lawyer down the hall who advised writing 100 essays; this is not humanely possible for a gal who works (a gal has to eat, after all!) But, if I had the time, I'd follow his advice...

Thursday, June 24, 2010

My Life in Storage

Aside from the black letter law, this is all that I can think of. Someone recently e-mailed me and called the bar exam a "ridiculous hazing ritual," and I'd have to agree. But, it is a ritual that we all have to go through to become licensed attorneys; J.D.s we have not yet earned the legal right to call ourselves lawyers. We need a license to practice the law.

Last night, my brain over-saturated with black letter law, revolted. "I'm too tired to go on!" it exclaimed. My body chimed in, "I need some sleep, pleazze!" And, so, reluctantly, I gave in and found myself falling, falling into a deep sleep that even my persistent cat found difficult to awaken me from.

My life is in storage, hanging in the balance, while I focus on achieving my dreams.

Monday, June 21, 2010

Model Answers for Februrary 2010 Bar Exam

are now posted on "The Recorder's" web site. See "Bar Exam Answers" link on the sidebar of this blog.

Friday, June 18, 2010

The Persistence of the Individual

The above title was the name of an article written about a man who hired an architect to design a home for his family – a Swedish man of modest means – who took four years to build the house that the architect, also Swedish, designed.

But, the words “persistent” echoed in my mind last night; persistence is fundamental to preparing for the bar examination, particularly in California.

Persist – to go on resolutely or stubbornly in spite of opposition, importunity or warning. . .

Both the persistent man (above) and the architect were born of poor families who immigrated to the U.S. to achieve the American Dream, a dream that they did achieve through pure purpose, passion and drive.

The man died a top salesperson for his U.S. corporation, the architect died leaving his works for preservationists who recognized that although schooled in a particular tradition, he set out on his own path, influenced by the "master," but achieving works that were uniquely his own.

And, then I thought about the bar exam and how much persistence, passion and drive it takes to prepare and sit for this exam –

Does it take creativity? No.

Having now analyzed many essay exams through formal outlining, and written less than I desire, I now realize that what the bar examiners want is a “cookie cutter” answer.

The examiners want to see familiar essay organization, familiar headlines, standard buzz words, familar territory – there’s a FORMULA to each essay examination. And, while the model examination answers are sometimes eloquently written and well analyzed (and sometimes not), they all follow a template, a template that is repeated throughout the years, with minor tweaking.

Ah, I must live to support myself, and I will be moving from my one-bedroom rental in a house that I share with a polar-opposite to a new room at end of month. . .my time is limited, my capacities are stretched to the breaking. And, yet, I, too, am persisting in life and in my studies to achieve the American Dream – set up a solo practice, buy land on the coast, build a home designed by a Swedish architect – to write pleadings and motions while watching the sea crash against the rocks below . . . and perhaps complete the novella, dedicated to the man I loved and who died while running on the streets of Johannesburg . . .and to find love again.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

One Hundred Ways to a Passing Score

I dropped off my last case files to an attorney whom I have been supporting, part-time,for nearly one year and saw the nearly 70 year old lawyer, who works down the hall, walk into his office.

“Hello,” he said.

“Hello!”

“How are you?”

“I’m taking the July bar exam.” (When did this become a surrogate for "I'm fine"?)

“Ahhhh. . .is this your first-time?”

“No. Second.”

“Ah huh. . .well, here’s my advice. The law is a jealous woman; she must always take first place in your life, particularly as it relates to the bar exam. I took the bar exam three times before passing. Do you want to know how I passed?”

“Yes, absolutely!”

“I wrote 100 essay exams.”

“One hundred!?”

“Yes. 100! You see, one of my attorney friends was a grader for the California bar exam. He said, “If you want to pass, you’ll write 100 exams.”

“The second time, I wrote lots of exams, but the other exams I simply outlined. It didn’t work. But, on my last try, I wrote 100 exams, and I started to see patterns. Around 60 or so exams, something clicked. (The lawyer turned on an imaginary knob to emphasize his point.) And, when I took the bar exam, for the 3rd time, one of the essays was nearly an exact replica of an exam that I had written, and I passed the exam. I shared this tip with another repeater, a young woman, and I gave her the same advice. She wrote 100 exams as practice for the bar exam and she passed.”

“100 exams? One-hundred?”

“Yes, write 100 exams and you will pass the bar exam.”

This attorney’s advice is consistent with Jeff Adachi’s advice, the D.A. who wrote “Bar Breakers.”

I thought about this on my drive back from the attorney’s office . . . I’ve formally outlined, in MS Word, 30 exams to date, and written 13. I had set my goal at writing 48 exams and outlining 72, now I wonder if I can increase my goal of writing essays to a new high. Can I raise the bar?

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Don't Fall in Love (Until After the Bar Exam)

Managing one's emotions during this process of preparing for the California Bar examination can be a "roller coaster ride." Managing the people around you can contribute to the ups and downs or can provide a support system or both. For those surrounded by "significant others," or partners, or spouses, this could be a time when absence does not make the heart grow fonder but when your daily/intensive bar studies test the foundation of your relationship. It takes a secure partner, SO, or spouse to provide the bar taker with the "mental space" required to take on, delve into and prepare for the California Bar examination. In the scheme of things, the 8-weeks or so of intensive study/practice (more weeks for some of us), is a tiny blip of time in one's relationship, after which, if a good foundation is laid, you can return to your normal life of "routine." (I think of Meryl Streep playing Francesca in "Bridges of Madison County," when she forgoes leaving Robert Kincaid, the man with whom she felt a seamless connection, to resume her life of routine with her husband and children, tending to the garden, making sun tea, milking the cows, making dinner.)

In some small way, unpartnered today, the stress of working and simultaneously preparing for the exam has tested my relationship with my housemate. Demanding of attention, and lacking the drive to pursue her passions, we have discovered we are on two opposite ends of the spectrum -- and I am moving out at end of month to rent a room from a friend of a friend who is like me - pure drive and passion for life.

And, even embarking on the long path through law school, albiet older than most, I found that dating and law school did not mix. I had to place my studies over my relationship; no one likes playing second fiddle to another's career for the long haul. So, in fairness, I gave up hopes of a relationship until after school and after the bar exam.

But, then, this giving up has been a sacrifice, because there could be no better feeling than being in love, and loving someone else deeply. (I am still hopeful that I, too, will find that "seamless connection" again. . .but only after taking the bar examination. Come August 2010, let the chips fall where they may but living life will be my priority (and, did I mention that I plan to take the Feb. 2011 bar exam in another state?) I'd like a fall-back plan, just as a matter of good planning.)

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Something Clicked

Now, after doing 1,518 MBE's (with a target of 2,250 minimum), something has clicked. I had reached a mental block. Although I painstakenly journaled each question that I got wrong, the trigger facts, and the elements of the rule, I was unable to understand why I was still getting things wrong. This hit home with last weekend's mock bar exam. So, I decided to read each subject chapter of Strategies and Tactics (see MBE links) and then to do 33 questions immediately afterwards. Now, after having completed Evidence, Con Law, Crim Law/Pro and Torts, something "clicked." You know how that feels - it's that "ah ha" moment when one asks, "Is that all there is to it? Is it really that simple?"

Now, I don't want to minimize the difficult of the MBE. What I do want to say is that my scores have jumped from 55% to 68% in one big leap for womankind. Had I begun with Strategies and Tactics before journaling, I'm not sure that the book would have been as effective. But, now having practiced, and have drilled elemental law into the nureons of my brain, Strategies and Tactics has been that fine-edged tool to surgically address the reasons WHY I have not been succeeding and has lead to a significant increase in my scores.

And, I have found a new "companion," having taken PMBR's 6-day course in 2008, I have their MulitState grey book, an outline of all the rules tested on the MBE. This is a book that I simply shelved away; now I consider it one of my best resources. The book gets down to the brass tacks; I can see the rules - and their finer points - and compare the questions that I missed to PMBR's book, which has only lead to another "ah ha!" moment.

I feel as though I've climbed up another level in my bar exam preparation and am looking down the mountain, half-way up, with some pride about making this climb. Seven weeks to go. Real Property today, Contracts tommorrow and one written essay per day for the next seven days before I take a 2-week assignment for an attorney. A girl has got to eat. . .

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Best Laid Plans

After reviewing the introduction to Strategies and Tactics (latest edition), I now understand that the questions that they use are ACTUAL BAR EXAM questions released by the NCBE in 1998. So, if I use this book (354 practice questions along with the additonal 200 in the simulated bar exam at the back of the book), 150 trial questions in Adaptibar, and 200 on-line questions from the NCBE, I will have practiced 904 actual bar questions, in addition to completing the 2007 Bar Bri MBE's.

What I also realized is that if one's weak point is the MBE's, it would be best to do all of the introductory Bar Bri questions, per subject, and then immediately review Strategies and Tactics, by subject, to learn the fine points about HOW the examiners write the questions, what the distractors are, and how to game the gamers. I feel like I have lost time and am redirecting mid-stream, but with this recent discovery, I can "book time," and refine my schedule for the next 7 weeks before the exam. I'm banking on a more significant improvement in my scores, given this plan.