2018 February CA Bar Forum

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onlythreemonths

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Re: 2018 February CA Bar

Post by onlythreemonths » Tue Jan 30, 2018 7:04 pm

YuckNotTheBar wrote:
onlyoncemore wrote:lololol I don't understand how Property was my best subject the first time around.
I'm like wtf-ing every other question right now. I haven't calculated today but I'm sure my % is around 50%...

Side note to comment on the MBE vs. Adaptibar discussion.
I didn't take Adaptibar the first time around so I can't comment on that. I did Kaplan the first time. Kaplan is supposed to be a real good MBE prepping bar company - the best one according to their reps, their stats, past graduates, stories online... but guess what, I felt the same way after the MBE's even after doing Kaplan Questions. I came out of the MBE's feeling like WTH DID I JUST SEE?! My other Kaplan *AND* Barbri friends felt the same way. So... not exactly sure where I was going with this... but I guess the point is, each bar prep company/book is just a tool. The most important thing to know is the actual BLL and especially the ones CA likes to test the most/in most detail, like torts/contract (fuck me), and practice as many questions of all types you can get your hands on to hit the topic at all angles possible as much as possible before the actual test.

The big thing for me is trying not to care too much about how many I get wrong/right each day... ugh.


30 DAYS UNTIL BAR EXAM.
LET'S GO!
I wish this enthusiasm were infectious. I am stressed, burned out, and ready for this to be over, while simultaneously cursing that there is not enough time left!

Dude, I'm right there with you. I don't wanna do this shit anymore. I'm sick of studying. I'm sick of being shitty at the MBE questions and not remembering all the rules that I should have down by now. I'm just so done with this...

FinallyPassedTheBar

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Re: 2018 February CA Bar

Post by FinallyPassedTheBar » Tue Jan 30, 2018 8:26 pm

PorscheFanatic wrote:What's the reasoning for no Community Property essays?

CP was tested July 2017

PorscheFanatic

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Re: 2018 February CA Bar

Post by PorscheFanatic » Tue Jan 30, 2018 8:32 pm

FinallyPassedTheBar wrote:
PorscheFanatic wrote:What's the reasoning for no Community Property essays?

CP was tested July 2017
I realize, but WRT completely leaving it out of a study plan, I guess my question is whether or not the chances of seeing CP again are really that close to 0%.

justanotheruser

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Re: 2018 February CA Bar

Post by justanotheruser » Tue Jan 30, 2018 9:56 pm

PorscheFanatic wrote:
FinallyPassedTheBar wrote:
PorscheFanatic wrote:What's the reasoning for no Community Property essays?

CP was tested July 2017
I realize, but WRT completely leaving it out of a study plan, I guess my question is whether or not the chances of seeing CP again are really that close to 0%.
To be fair, I meant CP as a full-blown essay. I'll end up probably doing several CP-Wills/Trusts crossover essays.

justanotheruser

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Re: 2018 February CA Bar

Post by justanotheruser » Tue Jan 30, 2018 10:51 pm

justanotheruser wrote:Trying to get the timing down with a practice PT today... and it's a struggle.

Gave myself an 1hr15mins just to simulate working under a time crunch. I had a very rough outline completed, but no facts filled in yet. Then gave myself the 15 additional minutes (that I initially deprived myself of), and I had the basic facts filled in, but not much analysis.

Maybe I'll improve with time, but I'm starting to wonder if I shouldn't try to finish the two other essays within 45-50 minutes to give myself even more time on the PT.
- Working towards having an outline set up by the 40 minute mark, but today it took me 42 minutes just to read through / highlight the library
- Probably going to abandon highlighting/underlining and stick with writing key facts/legal points as I read through the file + library
- I just need to focus on finding the 1-2 key legal points in each case and 1-2 key facts of cases (to compare/contrast with the facts in the library) and not get lost in the weeds
- I think the difference between scoring 55 vs. 60 on the PT is managing my time, quickly setting up the outline, all so I have plenty of time to get the facts in the file and analyze the hell out of them

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supa_mitsu

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Re: 2018 February CA Bar

Post by supa_mitsu » Wed Jan 31, 2018 1:17 am

justanotheruser wrote:- I think the difference between scoring 55 vs. 60 on the PT is managing my time, quickly setting up the outline, all so I have plenty of time to get the facts in the file and analyze the hell out of them
That's what I think landed me a 55 too last time. This time around I will try to do the PT first (before the two essays) and take 1h50m for it. Getting a 65 on the PT would help IMMENSELY according to the one-timers calculator.

needbreak

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Re: 2018 February CA Bar

Post by needbreak » Wed Jan 31, 2018 10:54 am

justanotheruser wrote:
bacillusanthracis wrote:
needbreak wrote:I keep hearing that con law is due and that is may be tested in Feb 2018. What do you guys think? What about real property? Is that due as well?
I'm hedging my bets by doing a lot of conlaw, real property, crim/pro and contracts essays. With that in mind, remedies is a big deal too. I'll cop to slacking on both evidence and civ pro though. But civ pro has often been tested two exams in a row, so I need to get on that.

Anyway, yeah, it seems a good bet conlaw will be on the february exam because it's now been two full cycles since they tested it.
I'm trying to do at least a few essays on every topic (except Community Property), but I have tiers of priority...

High priority: Wills/Trusts, Evidence, Remedies, PR, Business Associations, Con Law
Medium priority: Property, Crimes (I really think we're gonna get homicide next month), Contracts
Low priority Civ Pro, Torts (everything except negligence)
Nice schedule. I think I'm done with Community Property as well.

bacillusanthracis

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Re: 2018 February CA Bar

Post by bacillusanthracis » Wed Jan 31, 2018 3:46 pm

"I'm not gonna let one bad MBE day get me down..."

"I'm not gonna allow a couple of bad MBE days destroy my confidence, and besides, I'm supposed to be getting it wrong now because that means I'm learning..."

"Okay, don't panic, maybe it was just a bad run of questions..."

"Oh God, why has thou forsaken me..."

"Oh what the fucking fuck---how am I worse at this than a month ago??? This is stupid, the whole thing is stupid! Why didn't I just sell used cars--it would've been better than this bullshit!"

One day of good MBE questions: "Man, I'm killing this!"

onlyoncemore

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Re: 2018 February CA Bar

Post by onlyoncemore » Wed Jan 31, 2018 4:03 pm

bacillusanthracis wrote:"I'm not gonna let one bad MBE day get me down..."

"I'm not gonna allow a couple of bad MBE days destroy my confidence, and besides, I'm supposed to be getting it wrong now because that means I'm learning..."

"Okay, don't panic, maybe it was just a bad run of questions..."

"Oh God, why has thou forsaken me..."

"Oh what the fucking fuck---how am I worse at this than a month ago??? This is stupid, the whole thing is stupid! Why didn't I just sell used cars--it would've been better than this bullshit!"

One day of good MBE questions: "Man, I'm killing this!"
i am so there with you.
Like how the hell can my MBE scores be fluctuating that much?

And also, this will probably be my last post on TLS >> see:reddit's law school sub for details.
And, my last two posts with the alternative site names never got posted - HELLO THERE MODERATORS.

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Re: 2018 February CA Bar

Post by a male human » Wed Jan 31, 2018 4:04 pm

bacillusanthracis wrote:"I'm not gonna let one bad MBE day get me down..."

"I'm not gonna allow a couple of bad MBE days destroy my confidence, and besides, I'm supposed to be getting it wrong now because that means I'm learning..."

"Okay, don't panic, maybe it was just a bad run of questions..."

"Oh God, why has thou forsaken me..."

"Oh what the fucking fuck---how am I worse at this than a month ago??? This is stupid, the whole thing is stupid! Why didn't I just sell used cars--it would've been better than this bullshit!"

One day of good MBE questions: "Man, I'm killing this!"
Yeah, you feel like a goddamn genius when you get a good score on one set because usually your scores are unspeakably bad!

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Re: 2018 February CA Bar

Post by a male human » Wed Jan 31, 2018 5:41 pm

^ By that, I mean "you" in the abstract, not you specifically :)


Unrelated, but can a mod shed some insight into this? I can't seem to edit my posts or view PMs anymore. Just me?

PorscheFanatic

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Re: 2018 February CA Bar

Post by PorscheFanatic » Wed Jan 31, 2018 5:50 pm

Yeah TLS is fucking up. My posts now have to be "reviewed" by a Mod before they're publicly available.

justanotheruser

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Re: 2018 February CA Bar

Post by justanotheruser » Wed Jan 31, 2018 7:17 pm

Are civ pro questions on the MBE these days just like the ones on Adaptibar?

I just did a practice MBE with Emanuel's S&T and the civ pro questions were super convoluted/long + kicked my ass. The Emanuel civ pro questions are author generated and I'm doing really well overall on civ pro on adaptibar, but it got me wondering if the real MBEs have been testing longer/convoluted fact patterns for Civ Pro lately. I don't remember at all what the civ pro questions were like last July.

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rationaljd

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Re: 2018 February CA Bar

Post by rationaljd » Wed Jan 31, 2018 7:51 pm

justanotheruser wrote:Are civ pro questions on the MBE these days just like the ones on Adaptibar?

I just did a practice MBE with Emanuel's S&T and the civ pro questions were super convoluted/long + kicked my ass. The Emanuel civ pro questions are author generated and I'm doing really well overall on civ pro on adaptibar, but it got me wondering if the real MBEs have been testing longer/convoluted fact patterns for Civ Pro lately. I don't remember at all what the civ pro questions were like last July.

I have the opposite experience with civ pro - I did well on S&T but then it single handedly destroyed my % on Adaptibar. I don't think civ pro hypos were that long like S&T in July but then the whole thing is a blur...... The bar examiners not releasing enough civ pro questions is total wtf. How the fuck are we supposed to prepare? The samples they posted are a complete joke.

FinallyPassedTheBar

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Re: 2018 February CA Bar

Post by FinallyPassedTheBar » Wed Jan 31, 2018 8:01 pm

This will be my last post here. Thanks everyone for the support. It really helped me finally pass the bar. Because of recent events concerning the ownership of this site, I am moving on.

rayforoc

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Re: 2018 February CA Bar

Post by rayforoc » Wed Jan 31, 2018 8:35 pm

Can anyone elaborate on what Finallypassedthebar is referring to? Moreover, why are moderators reviewing my posts before I submit them. I forgot I was living in [fill in the blank with state controlled country that no one wants to live in]. Moderators, I do believe many folks will terminate their membership after passing. Sad.

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Re: 2018 February CA Bar

Post by a male human » Wed Jan 31, 2018 9:03 pm

FinallyPassedTheBar wrote:This will be my last post here. Thanks everyone for the support. It really helped me finally pass the bar. Because of recent events concerning the ownership of this site, I am moving on.
rayforoc wrote:Can anyone elaborate on what Finallypassedthebar is referring to? Moreover, why are moderators reviewing my posts before I submit them. I forgot I was living in [fill in the blank with state controlled country that no one wants to live in]. Moderators, I do believe many folks will terminate their membership after passing. Sad.
Also curious about this. Ownership changed? Couldn't find anything about this on the home page.

I'm hoping a mod can shed more light on this.

I'll stick around as long as there are people posting.

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neb

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Re: 2018 February CA Bar

Post by neb » Wed Jan 31, 2018 11:17 pm

justanotheruser wrote:
bacillusanthracis wrote:
needbreak wrote:I keep hearing that con law is due and that is may be tested in Feb 2018. What do you guys think? What about real property? Is that due as well?
I'm hedging my bets by doing a lot of conlaw, real property, crim/pro and contracts essays. With that in mind, remedies is a big deal too. I'll cop to slacking on both evidence and civ pro though. But civ pro has often been tested two exams in a row, so I need to get on that.

Anyway, yeah, it seems a good bet conlaw will be on the february exam because it's now been two full cycles since they tested it.
I'm trying to do at least a few essays on every topic (except Community Property), but I have tiers of priority...

High priority: Wills/Trusts, Evidence, Remedies, PR, Business Associations, Con Law
Medium priority: Property, Crimes (I really think we're gonna get homicide next month), Contracts
Low priority Civ Pro, Torts (everything except negligence)
I went back to 2006 regarding the frequently tested CA essay topics and I think it is almost a guarantee that we will see both Constitutional Law and Contracts.

In the past 12 years, Con Law and Contracts have never not been tested at least once every 3 administrations - often they're either back to back or every other administration. Neither came up in either February or July last year, so unless this is the year they buck a decade old trend, we are highly likely to see both. Now, contract remedies were tested last July, but, given that the examiners typically repeat 1-2 topics from the previous administration (not including professional responsibility), I think contract remedies is a good bet to be one of these 'repeat' topics in connection with a standard contracts question.

Real Property is also due. In the past 12 years, only one time has it not come up at least once every 3 administrations. The last time it was tested was July '16, so, do the math.

The non-MBE subjects are a bit less predictable. Partnerships are a good possibility, as they hasn't come up since Feb. 2015 - 5 consecutive administrations. 50% of the time Partnerships have been crossed over with Professional Responsibility, so it's a good chance that this is where the mandatory Professional Responsibility essay pops up.

I'm also banking on Trusts. Since 2006, Trusts have been tested at least once every 4 administrations. We have not seen them for the past 3, so they're due as well.

These are obviously to be taken with a grain of salt given how much of a crapshoot it is, but at least there is some methodology behind them.

I guess that puts the predictions as follows:

(1) Con Law
(2) Contracts + Remedies
(3) Real Property
(4) Trusts
(5) Partnerships + Professional Responsibility

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Re: 2018 February CA Bar

Post by Excellent117 » Thu Feb 01, 2018 12:06 am

a male human wrote:
bacillusanthracis wrote:"I'm not gonna let one bad MBE day get me down..."

"I'm not gonna allow a couple of bad MBE days destroy my confidence, and besides, I'm supposed to be getting it wrong now because that means I'm learning..."

"Okay, don't panic, maybe it was just a bad run of questions..."

"Oh God, why has thou forsaken me..."

"Oh what the fucking fuck---how am I worse at this than a month ago??? This is stupid, the whole thing is stupid! Why didn't I just sell used cars--it would've been better than this bullshit!"

One day of good MBE questions: "Man, I'm killing this!"
Yeah, you feel like a goddamn genius when you get a good score on one set because usually your scores are unspeakably bad!
I think one of the keys to excelling at the MBE is absolutely being able to compartmentalize each question. It's really easy to get overwhelmed if it's a crescendo in your mind of "oh, that one felt shaky. Oh man, this question is pretty tough too..." Before you know it, you've completely psyched yourself out and you're gonna put up a bad score. Go to the subreddit "LawSchool" to learn about the changes to the site. It's important to just understand how many opportunities you've got to pick up points on the MBE and it's just as likely that on any given set of extended MBE practice sessions, you're overestimating the number of questions you've had trouble with...because those will stick out the most in your mind.

Snowflake1

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Re: 2018 February CA Bar

Post by Snowflake1 » Fri Feb 02, 2018 11:25 pm

How's everyone's study progress going? I feel like I'm so far behind.

Pema

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Re: 2018 February CA Bar

Post by Pema » Fri Feb 02, 2018 11:55 pm

How are the actual bar civ pro Q's? Are they like Adaptibar, clinical, direct, no feel, heavy on pretrial, discovery, motions, sanctions, and more granular civ pro law? They are very painful to do. For lack of a better phrase, they have no soul.

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Re: 2018 February CA Bar

Post by freewing » Sat Feb 03, 2018 3:30 am

I am a new york admitted attorney and moved to california recently. I only need to take the essay and PT exam, and chose not to take the MBE. this is my second time try to take the exam. Now there is only one month left. I am reviewing all essays posted on bar admission website from 2012 to 2017. I also want to finish reviewing once again the outline of all subjects. I wonder if I should also find time to do MBE simulated exam because I feel MBE covers most testing points that essay may possibly test as well. Time is limited, and it seems I cannot finish all my objectives (reviewing outline and all essays from 2012 to 2017 once again and do MBE). I would appreciate some advice re how to prioritize study assignments to be most efficient during the last month. I still feel I should do more MBE although I am not tested on that.

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Re: 2018 February CA Bar

Post by Pema » Sat Feb 03, 2018 1:50 pm

After reading some high scoring essay answers you can clearly see the attorney examinees. For example (Wills Q) you might see the heading: "If Will 2 failed, T's Intent Was To Validate Will 1." Then the analysis: "Will 1 was revoked by execution of will 2, which failed for lack of formalities. If the intent of T was.... then the prior will is. Here, the facts indicate T intended...."

DRR and the formal elements (as found in bar prep materials) are not listed anywhere. Attorneys mostly apply they don't memorize or list. Interesting take away.

YuckNotTheBar

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Re: 2018 February CA Bar

Post by YuckNotTheBar » Sat Feb 03, 2018 4:43 pm

Pema wrote:After reading some high scoring essay answers you can clearly see the attorney examinees. For example (Wills Q) you might see the heading: "If Will 2 failed, T's Intent Was To Validate Will 1." Then the analysis: "Will 1 was revoked by execution of will 2, which failed for lack of formalities. If the intent of T was.... then the prior will is. Here, the facts indicate T intended...."

DRR and the formal elements (as found in bar prep materials) are not listed anywhere. Attorneys mostly apply they don't memorize or list. Interesting take away.

<<< 100% true and this is what I am trying to avoid as an attorney examinee. I am so trained to "cut to the chase" and not bore the client with a statement of rules when s/he just wants to hear the answer (or embed the rule in the answer). I really have to be deliberate in IRAC'ing which is not really how you do anything as a lawyer except write a brief...

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Re: 2018 February CA Bar

Post by Snowflake1 » Sat Feb 03, 2018 8:51 pm

freewing wrote:I am a new york admitted attorney and moved to california recently. I only need to take the essay and PT exam, and chose not to take the MBE. this is my second time try to take the exam. Now there is only one month left. I am reviewing all essays posted on bar admission website from 2012 to 2017. I also want to finish reviewing once again the outline of all subjects. I wonder if I should also find time to do MBE simulated exam because I feel MBE covers most testing points that essay may possibly test as well. Time is limited, and it seems I cannot finish all my objectives (reviewing outline and all essays from 2012 to 2017 once again and do MBE). I would appreciate some advice re how to prioritize study assignments to be most efficient during the last month. I still feel I should do more MBE although I am not tested on that.
If you are not taking the MBE I think it would be a waste of time for you to review MBE questions. You might want to expand beyond the posted questions on the admission website, as they are very limited. I've been using BarEssays.com which has thousands of graded examples going back more than a decade. My advice to you is to practice essays every day - as much as possible and then compare your practice essays to real examples that score 65+. Good luck!

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