With just a few days until the Feb 2012 bar exam, I thought I'd share a few tips and thoughts.  First on the MBE.  Now is a great time to start reviewing your notecards/flashcard/notes/whatever you used to jot down all those fine line distinctions the examiners love to test on.  Spend some time this weekend refreshing yourself (Past Recollection Recorded or Refreshed Recollection anyone?) on those items to make sure you are clear on the distinctions between similar topics (IIED vs NIED?).

Generally, try not to stress yourself out.  The bar exam is nerve wracking enough as it is, try not to spend the weekend worrying about whether or not you are going to pass.  Instead, focus your energy on studying and reviewing.  After the exam is over, you'll have plenty of time to worry about whether or not you passed.  Until then, have faith in yourself that you have put in the time and effort necessary to pass.

For those of you taking Virginia, be sure you have looked at all topics including the VA multistate distinctions.  There are more subjects on the Virginia bar exam than on any other jurisdiction I know of (27 or more subjects depending on how you break them down).  So, for some of the more obscure ones that you may have neglected (personal property?) do a quick review to familiarize yourself with the main topics.

Other than that, good luck next week!  This is a rare bar exam indeed, falling on a leap year.

With just about 6 weeks left until the February 2012 bar exam, I wanted to share some advice and thoughts for all the bar exam takers out there.

First of all, if you have been putting off studying until now, stop putting it off.  The bar exam is not something many people can cram for.  It requires many weeks of studying to retain the large amount of material that will be tested.  If you have started studying, but have been letting other things (work, personal life, travel, etc.) prevent you from studying as much as you had planned, this is the time to really prioritize your study time and create a plan and stick to it.

Speaking of a plan, everyone should have a plan for the bar exam.  You need to focus on your weak areas, prioritize those areas along with heavily tested subject areas.  Few people have the time or stamina to spend months and months studying every day to learn every subject equally, so we must make trade offs.  Those of us who work full time have one of the biggest challenges as juggling a full time job and studying for the bar don't mix too well.  So, come up with a plan of how many hours a day you can realistically study and stick to it.  No excuses.  If you are serious about passing the bar exam, then excuses should not be part of your universe.

For DC bar exam takers, I can tell you to not underestimate the MBE or MPT.  The MBE is a very difficult exam for most people.  It's 200 questions in 6 hours (1.8 minutes per question) that test fine line knowledge of 6 major subjects.  The MPT is a closed universe of law but it requires practice and sharp legal research and writing skills.  It's a speed reading and speed writing exercise. And, since you cannot use a laptop, you are either handwriting or using a typewriter.  Either one is probably not something many of us are used to doing so keep that in mind.

For VA bar exam takers, realize that Virginia is, in my opinion, the hardest bar exam in the country.  They test a huge number of subjects (almost 30) and the essays are very well written and the graders are usually looking for a clear and concise answer (i.e. - B.S. on the VA bar exam won't get you far).  So, be sure you know the format of the VA bar exam well so you are not surprised on test day.  They recently switched and instead of testing 20 multiple choice and short answer questions, they now are testing 10 multiple choice and short answer questions.

Also, for VA takers, be sure and read the laptop or handwritten instruction letter carefully.  The bar examiners have a strict dress code (yes, you must wear a suit and tie) and what you bring into the exam room is strictly controlled.

I have finalized my roster for tutoring for the Feb 2012 bar exam and am no longer accepting students until the July 2012 exam.  If you have extraordinary circumstances, and are taking the Virginia bar, feel free to send me an email, but I am not likely to take anyone else for the upcoming bar exam.

On a different note, I believe November 2011 MPRE scores should be out this week.  Good luck to everyone who took it.  The MPRE can definitely be a thorn in the side as it's not as "easy" as many make it out to be.

I can see it was a rough July for many of you.  Never before have I received so many requests for tutoring so far before the next bar exam.  I respond to all emails I receive, but remember that I only take on a small number of students for each exam as my methodology and tutoring style are highly personalized and I do not feel it is possible to tutor a large number of students effectively using my methods.

I am in the process of finalizing my roster for the Feb 2012 bar exam.  Anyone who is interested in tutoring should email me sooner rather than later.  And don't forget the deadlines for application/re-application are fast approaching.

With the MPRE coming up this Saturday, no doubt many of you will be studying this week. Many of you will probably start to study this Thursday/Friday as the MPRE has a reputation as being one of those exams that you can study for in 1 day and pass. While it's true that some people are able to study in just one evening and pass, this is not true for a large number of folks. In fact, there are many people who pass the bar but struggle with the MPRE. The mean score on the MPRE is usually somewhere in the high 90s, around 96-97. The "passing" score is different for every state, but the highest required score in most states is an 85. Looking at the distribution, that leaves roughly 1/3 of test takers failing the exam, so we've got a pass rate of about 70%, definitely lower than many bar exams. So why is this? It's not because Professional Responsibility is a more difficult subject than any of the MBE subjects. I feel it is because many take the MPRE for granted. Here's the strategy if you need to pass: Treat the MPRE like you would a single subject on the MBE. So, if you made flash cards for evidence, make them for the MPRE. If you did 200 practice questions for torts, do the same for the MPRE. If you made an outline for real property, do the same for the MPRE. This should only take you 1-2 weeks time since we are only talking about a single subject here. And no doubt, PR is less voluminous than the MBE subjects. Yes, on the MBE you only have approx 33 questions per subject and the MPRE is 60 questions, but still, it's just one subject, with a dash of judicial code thrown in for good measure. So, if you "need" to pass, I recommend you follow the above advice and not skimp on your studying. If you only "want" to pass, or really don't care, then rolling the dice and taking your chances is probably a fine approach. Good luck this Saturday.

The results for the July 2011 DC Bar Exam have been posted here:

http://www.dcbar.org/for_lawyers/membership/current_members/examResults.cfm

The results are a low 46% pass rate with a good number (64%) of first time takers passing. Congratulations to everyone who passed! For those of you who did not pass, don't despair. Go over your scores, think about how you did in relation to your studying and practice and then reassess in the coming weeks. And be sure to register for the Feb 2012 bar exam before the deadline, don't be discouraged. My next post will be on MPRE strategy for the upcoming administration of the MPRE exam, stay tuned.

Additionally, you can get the results in PDF format here:

http://www.dcappeals.gov/dccourts/docs/SuccessfulList.pdf

Good showing this summer to all Virginia test takers. The overall pass rate was 76.40% with a great showing by the first time takers at 81.01%. Extra kudos go out to George Mason, University of Virginia, and Washington & Lee first time takers for their schools having a pass rate over 90% and representing Virginia law schools. To those who passed, you are licensed effective October 14, 2011. Don't forget there are TWO pass lists, the first is everyone who passed and are licensed. The second are those who passed but still have pending issues so those on the second list are NOT licensed. Finally, make sure you attend the swearing in ceremony on Halloween. Congratulations to those who passed! For those of you who did not, don't despair. Re-think your approach and sign up for the February 2012 exam. The deadline for signing up is December 15, 2011. Link to the complete list of names on both pass lists: http://www.vbbe.state.va.us/bar/barresultsprint.html

Virginia results should be out Thursday afternoon or sometime Friday at the latest. No big surprises expected but the long wait from this summer is finally drawing to an end. Good luck to everyone as the results are posted. When they are posted I'll do a breakdown and analysis of how the numbers came out. And of course, the same for the DC scores when they are out in the next few days/weeks.

Those of you that have taken Barbri or are taking it know that when you receive your materials (usually in 2 or even 3 shipments), you get about 40-50 pounds of books. This is quite absurd and one of the reasons I developed my own methodology for studying for the bar exam. Nevertheless, I thought I'd go through and briefly discuss all the individual books you get with the Barbri Virginia package, especially for those of you who will be buying these materials used from a previous test taker as many times some materials are missing. This will hopefully assist in your hunt for used study materials.

Multistate (MBE):

First a quick word on the multistate stuff Barbri gives you. I'll be honest, I think barbri's MBE prep is one of the worst out there. Basically, anything else is better (kaplan/pmbr, etc.). They give you a bunch of books, I wouldn't use any of them.

Virginia:

Now to the good stuff, the Virginia specific materials.

1. The large Virginia outline book - Basically worthless for bar exam purposes. If you are interested in learning detail that you won't need to know to pass the Virginia bar exam, then by all means read this book. Otherwise, put it aside.

2. Virginia Conviser outline - This is a decent outline, but the good stuff in here is in the back of the book, the Virginia Distinctions. I talk about that a little further down.

3. Virginia Essays book - This is great stuff. Many of these essays are actual essays from past bar exams with decent answers and some commentary on the questions and how the law has changed since they were written. Definitely my favorite book barbri makes for the Virginia bar exam. And, the short answer questions in the back are good as well. I'll talk more about those below as well.

4. Virginia Lecture Handouts - These are pretty good, as they are condensed outlines that are more on-point that the conviser. Some are better than others (civ pro is excellent) but overall I like them. NOTE: If you are buying the materials used, these must be filled in already because they are keyed to the lectures, which you cannot get unless you buy the class from barbri directly. Repeat: The lectures are not available used, so these lecture notes must be filled in when you buy them.

5. Supplemental Virginia Handouts - Barbri is famous for lots of supplemental handouts, completely worthless.

6. Virginia Essay Advantage Documents Including practice essays and answers - Again, there are more materials and extras barbri is famous for that you can get, many at an extra cost and are called "Advantage". Completely worthless.

7. Virginia Supreme Court Rulings and Statutory Updates - Barbri has handed out last minute updates, most of which are completely useless as well. The Virginia Board of Bar Examiners does not typically test on brand new rulings, they wait at least a few years, and even then, they don't like to do it too quickly. So, I'd say these are completely worthless as well.

8. Virginia Short Answer Questions (located in the essay book) - Good stuff. I like these (they give you 300 of them) because they give you a decent idea of what the short answer questions are like, and a decent chunk of these questions (maybe 1/2 to 2/3) are information that you should know anyway because the essays could test the same material.

9. Virginia Distinctions (located in the conviser) - Excellent stuff. Virginia likes to test on Virginia distinctions. It's not too much information, maybe 20 pages or so in the conviser, but you should know it all and this is a well formatted and concise way to get that info.


There you go. Everything you need to know about what's useful and more importantly, what's not when getting second-hand Virginia barbri materials.

The VBBE has posted that the results should be posted online October 14, 2011, just over 2 months from now. In the past, the exam results are usually posted the afternoon before or on the exact day they say.