I've decided to start prepping for the CA Feb exam. I took a year off for a job a good firm, as a paralegal, and my former study buddy passed in the interim.
Anyone looking for someone to start preping with? I work full-time, so it will mostly be a weekend thing, as my weekday work schedule is pretty hectic. I live really close to Santa Clara University, and work in Palo Alto, near Stanford.
Stanford would be ideal for weeknights, and SCU for weekends.
The people I graduated with have either passed, or are people I wouldn't want to study with..lol. Like i said I got a really good job offer at a good firm, so I had to put off taking it.
Have you passed the bar, or taken it? Like I said I don't who is on here lol. Also, if everyone is so dumb on here, why are you on here? You must find it useful for something.
NO ONE gets a "really good job offer at a law firm" and then AS A RESULT OF THAT puts off the bar exam.................that is BACKWARS AS SHITBALLS you idiot
no
you are too stupid to know we can see through you aren't you?
I don't know why I'm wasting my time, as you're clearly a troll...but here you go:
I took the bar, and failed. As a result, with student loans, I needed to work. I applied for a non-attorney position, at a good firm, with the plan that I would work for a year or two without taking the bar.
It wasnt explicitly stipulated as part of the offer, but it was explicit in they said the only thing holding them back from hiring me was that I had a JD, and they feared I would use the firm for my resume and take the Feb (2015) exam, then leave. I assured them I would commit for a two year period.
Year one is over, and by the time time I take, hopefully pass, the Feb exam, it will be a year and a half. Leaving me 6 months to complete my commitment. At which point, I would prefer to have passed the bar in my back pocket. At that point I hope to parlay my experience and relationships I made here into a job as an associate attorney.
The fact that you sound so bitter, makes me believe that you 1. Never passed the bar, 2. Are simply a troll, and/or 3. You passed the bar but can't find work.
1. Good job passing law school. 2. Best wishes on passing the California Bar. 3. Do not mind the people who attack others on the board. 4. There are some wonderful people who post here and I and others attest to the fact we have been helped deeply and gratefully by some posters responses. 5. YOU ARE IN SILICON VALLEY! That is awesome. Huge opprtunitites exist there and it is one of the most exciting places in the world to live. Jack Ma rfounder of Alibaba I am sure would envy you working there and he is worth $18 billion. 6. Do you use Flemings or Barbri? You might call Emerson Stafford. He retired after 35 years in the bar review profession. He wrote the "What to write books." for the essays. You can google his name and find multiple videos by him explain both the law and helping students to pass. He billed $5,000 per student prior to retiring. I like Flemings a lot. I listen to his cds over and over. You can find them used on Amazon for a lower price. I like his personality, drive and professionalism. He always speaks in a expedient tone because he knows you have to expedite getting th9ings on "paper" when writing 4esays. That alone out of 1 million other things helped me. Plus he can tell you about "trigger" words in the fact patterns for the essays which is how Cal bar test designers hide issues they want you to address. I also recommend the Tim Tyler series of Nailing the Bar. (see lawtutor.or or Amazon.)
Have you tried Whitney Roberts bar code cheat sheets? (Highly recommended. She graded essays for cal bar. Did you do adaptibar? I liked it because it is faster to electronically answers multiple choice questions than paper books even though paper books do not always have online computer automation. 5 adaptibar questions can be answered in the same time it takes to read and write 2 to 3 paper based questions. Most people in San Fran seem very social and like to do things together. Please considered your independence and burning midnight oil because it is only you on the day at the test center that counts. (A bad study partner can hurt you including waste your time.) Hopefully you will get a great partner! (One of my jd professor used study partners in Charleston SC and graduated with honors and passed the bar.)
Finally, consider Stephen Harris for pt performance test review. He is expensive but helped another poster pass because you must know the technical specifics of what they want on the pt essays.
93% of everyone who takes the cal bar goes on to pass it. That is a great statistic!!!
P.S. Some adaptibar users said when they took the mbe the questions were materially different. I do not know. I have yet to take the cal bar. But I thought adaptibar was a great beginning and help. I learned a lot there. And the questions are ncbex authored questions. ncbex makes the mbe test.
Buddy, where I work, you wouldn't be able to shine shoes lol... But good luck with that. You could have passed the bar in every jurisdiction possible, and it wouldn't matter given the level of intellectual acuity you show in your posts. It actually goes to show how hard it must've been to get into the school you went to, or the place you got a job. Don't make me get hired there just so I can show you up.
As for the posters before him, I appreciate your insight. Very helpful tips. I've already purchased some of those materials in preparation for Feb exam.
1. Working adult = time crunch = they do not have the time to maintain concentrated focus for months just on the bar exam in prep. (In time it comes together for them.) 2. Emotionally nice person. These are balanced people mentally and emotionally. They are not "straight brain" types (i.e. emotionally "cold" ). Because of their emotional care for others they do not predict the tricks and technical aspects test designers would or do throw at the test applicant. These people need to go "straight brain" and simply intellectually respond to questions and tricks. It is like being on the highway with bad drivers or drivers going to fast for conditions. Any driver facing that dilemma will freeze up and convert from a "relaxed" "easy going" mind focused on other things to "straight brain" where he or she understands now it is a matter of survival to drive down that road. [Emotionally caring people would not place tricks on tests, overload people and hide the directions for how to write a essay, pick the "best" answer or know the format for pt answers without TELLING the test takers. Most passers had to pay for that info from bar tutor professionals.] 3. They did not practice sufficiently. 4. Bad foundation in the law itself = law school professor taught one thing the bar asked for something else. Some passers had a more "pro pass the bar" professor than other students. 5. Did not start review early enough. 6. Did not understand passing the bar is a game. Learn the game and you will pass.
To pass is a lot of work but you can do it. Memorizing rule statements is great but you also must know the interoperation of the rules and exceptions to the rule and how to customize a essay write up not just follow a mechanical path into writing one.
practice + tutors + time = pass
Tutors = private info on how to pass a mechanical test.
Private info = info cal bar does not tell you. -- And some law school, faculty did not tell you or care to tell you. Some faculty help more to prepare students for passing the bar than others. :) See Whittier law school placed on probation by the ABA for low passage rates. And how the increased effort Whittier placed in helping students did improve Whittier's pass rate. :)
1. You see the word "keys" "Employer gave Sally the keys to the safe." The word "keys" is to be used to express a foundational fact Sally f-a-c-t-u-a-l-l-y a-r-g-u-a-b-l-y had more than mere custody of money (Larceny) but potentially "possession" (embezzlement). [Flemings Fundamentals of Law]
2. You see the word "enraged". "Bob became enraged that Bill and Tom did not split the proceeds of the heist with him. Bob shot and killed Tom as a result." Enraged triggers mitigation of murder to voluntary manslaughter analysis BUT where you show a "reasonable person" under the circumstances would not have been provoked sufficiently to warrant a heat of passion/provocation defense. "The ever famous "why not..." answer to a "backwards reverse" question. [Flemings Fundamentals of Law]
3. You see the word "ducked". "Bob ducked after Tom threw the plate at his head." The word duck is factually used to prove Bob experienced "apprehension" as you prove assault. "Bob experienced apprehension (because/when) Bob ducked." [Steve Harris Winnin' Time book and Bar Review]
Key words = private info = tutors who studied the bar exam for years if not decades.
Dude know your elements. (See Tim Tyler Nail the bar series.) (See Finz Strategies and Tactics Book) Most mbe questions hinge on a single elements. Essays show whether or not you know your (1.) elements and (3.) interoperation of rules. Most work is done learning elements. Some (few) factors like for nuisance and why a interference is unreasonable which is factorial not element-al. And knowing interopertations = exceptions, prima facie case, affirmtive defenses, contract law e.g. what if no contract (no breach of contract) but unjust enrichment? (restitution) or reliance damages?" (as justice requires).
sure, justify being a failure by claiming those who pass are less than you. Great job at proving how pathetic you are. Your "work" isn't as a lawyer, so its not real work. The janitor has more seniority than you. Kill yourself.
One evening go to every California bar prep website and just glean from the web their insights. Some things are psychological like how to view a essay or mbe question or pt. The framework of the mind is important in how you psychologically see the test. I went from one viewpoint that was completely wrong and after seeing what professionals wrote things changed. All it takes is two words like "convincingly demonstrate", "don't panic" or "problem solving speed test" to help with writing essays. Get the free help they place on their website. You might find key info or cool info that helps frame the test or a tid bit that helps you on how to look at a problem like mistake of law mistake of fact versus legal impossibility and factual impossibility given how the author phrases or separates key legal rules.
Here is a helpful website. : [external link removed]
You do not have to buy a thing. Just snack on the hors d'oeuvres or dinner mints they place out information-wise. Free info can be worth a thousand dollars. And gold is measured in ounces not pounds. And medicine is prescribed in milliliters not liters and prescribed one pill at a time not the whole bottle.
Always tell your family and friends how tough the bar is so when you turn them down later for a social engagement it will not hurt their feelings because then they will know why and your not making up the reason. So many stories of hurt feelings due to bar review time pressures affecting relationships! Save the relationship ahead of time by telling them the truth. Its a hard test.
Posted By Display Name on 10/14/2015 6:02 PM I've decided to start prepping for the CA Feb exam. I took a year off for a job a good firm, as a paralegal, and my former study buddy passed in the interim.
Anyone looking for someone to start preping with? I work full-time, so it will mostly be a weekend thing, as my weekday work schedule is pretty hectic. I live really close to Santa Clara University, and work in Palo Alto, near Stanford.
Stanford would be ideal for weeknights, and SCU for weekends.
Please reply if interested.
Hi, I am in Redwood City, started studying for the CA bar. It's getting a bit boring doing it alone, so I'd like to find someone to study with.
This is my second bar exam. Passed it in a different state in 2012. Used to have a friend to study with, so trying to do the same this time. Send me an email to katbri15@gmail.com We'll figure out the logistics via email.