Tips To Pass The California Bar

I - Intro - http://wixsun.wix.com/noel-lawrence – noel@noellawrence.com – available as a coach to bar students.

A. Who Am I? Being Bullied Fed My Hunger for Justice > UVM April 1988 > LAPD > Hastings

B. What Was My Experience with the Bar? - > Pursued Film 10 Years, then Retook Bar > Stalked as Bar Student

C. What Am I Doing Now? Building experience in LL-T; Personal Injury; Bullying / Stalking Cases

II - What Do I Suggest You Do To Pass ASAP?

A. Buy / Make an E-copy of Barbri / commercial outline; Insert Your Class Notes into the E-copy

Compare and contrast: use your professor's words for your class exam; use commercial wording for bar exam.
Lock-in Barbri's price early or see Ebay, Craigslist, other sites for savings on used materials.
Additional excellent Free flow-charts and lectures: http://www.emersonsbarreview.com/index.html .
CAVEAT: if you already have a full understanding or outline of a topic, avoid info overload with more “free” stuff.

B. Stay Social; Reach Out for Support to Keep the Learning Process Fun.

Yahoo Groups / Friends / Colleagues / Family - Develop Your Own “Bar Passing Support Group”
Pay for a Coach / Therapist / Special Support People if Necessary.

C. Tackle the Exam Section by Section.

..1. MBE? - tests your skill at providing narrow answers

..2. Essay? - tests your skill at providing broad answers

..3. Performance Test? - narrow & broad application of the law & great way to test your knowledge of Civil Procedure!

..4. TIMING – set your analog watch at 12:00, jot down where you need to be at half-time; & get more sleep closer to exam.

D. Essay Writing Counts A Lot on the CA Bar; So Practice Issue Spotting with Past Bar Exam Questions

Eg - Colleague lent me a book with over 120 Past Bar Exam Questions / Model Answers / All Major Issues
Practice, practice, practice EACH Element of IRAC, starting with Issues.
1. First skill to test yourself on is issue spotting: write down how many issues were spotted by Model v YOU!
a. Sometimes you need to save time by distinguishing Rule statement v Issue Cluster statement
2. As a separate skill, practice outlining (ie use Rule(s)) to format outline
a. Depending on timing, and how large an issue is relative to others; an issue cluster may require you to weave facts into the same sentence as what might normally be a rule sentence.
3. As a separate skill, practice writing out your answer (Analysis) – if weak, practice by re-writing...

E. EXTRA – REMEMBER EXTERNAL FACTORS:

..1. What Are You Eating & How Often?

..2. How Much & What Kind of Exercising?

..3. How Much & What Kind of Sleep?

..4. How Much & How Often are you seeing your Romantic / Sexual Partner?

..5. How Much & How Often Do You Laugh? - Netflix comedies?

..6. When Do You Sing and Dance? - Choir? East Bay Ecstatic Dance?

..7. What Is Your State of Mind? - Meditation / Yoga / Hypnosis?

..8. How Can You Reward Yourself - Pass or Fail? - How many days off can you give yourself? Stay-cation or Vacation?

F. Failure is Not an Option. But Shit Happens. Failure = Feedback.

..1. What Failure Can Teach You. - Bar Tutorial Courses / Teachers Can Help Repeaters Pass.

..2. Commercial Bar Cos Make Sales by Claiming it's a “Do or Die” Moment But It's Just One Test of Many You Will Face.

...Example of My Friends Who Passed The Bar But Then Faced Bigger Battles for Income Security; Sanity & Life..

Set aside 40 – 60 hours / week to study for the Bar; plan to start studying full time at least 2 months before the exam. Many people take a few weeks off studying after graduation, then study full-time. Also, plan to give yourself some kind of reward, such as a vacation, after you take the bar – whether you pass or fail, treat yourself for taking it and trying your best!

III - Conclusion

A. Summary – Like me, YOU have achieved a lot to get into & through law school. Your demonstration of your Skills & Subject knowledge will allow you to pass the Bar. You have no fear of failure; you seek feedback that confirms your abilities.

B. Quick “Skills” Assessment You Can Do Now (and you will need to assess and re-assess as you prep for the exam):

- Identify Strengths and Weakneses; Build on Your Strengths, Correct Weaknesses. -

..1. Put "S" by top 3 strengths (from sections C, D, & E above)

..2. Put "W" by top 3 weaknesses (from sections C, D, & E above)

..3. Also, on a separate page, you can list all bar subjects and assign them an S or W to do a “Subjects” Assessment.

..4. ADJUST your calendar / time / habits slightly to accommodate yourself – set aside 1.5 - 2x as much time for Ws!

..5. At least get your weak areas to a passing level before the exam.

C. “Thinking like a lawyer” is often stupid & has many limits, but the bar tests how well you can do this. Have FUN with it!