2018 July California Bar Forum

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cabartaker92

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Re: 2018 July California Bar

Post by cabartaker92 » Tue Nov 20, 2018 7:31 am

catechumen wrote:I have failed the CA exam 8 times. Scores always arrive on Monday regardless of where I live. Today, nothing. I always wait for the letter so I can see scores if I failed. Has anyone who passed received their letter in the mail yet? And if so where do you live approximately. Heard about a guy in So Cal that got a pass letter today. Trying to figure out if they send out passing letters separate from failing letters. Thanks!
Yes, I received my passing letter Monday. I live in SoCal.

Ksapatlawyer

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Re: 2018 July California Bar

Post by Ksapatlawyer » Tue Nov 20, 2018 11:16 am

Took and failed the attorney exam. Subscribed to Baressays (great resource) and read/studied "Essay Exam Writing for the California Bar Exam" (another great resource). Used Barsecrets for submission/feedback of some practices exams (waste of time and money).

Considering retaking attorney exam next July. So, does anyone have names and contact info for CA essay tutors? I've read other posts where people mention prior CA bar exam essay graders who offer their services. Clearly I could use some guidance on what is required for a passing essay.

Omgzomb

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Re: 2018 July California Bar

Post by Omgzomb » Tue Nov 20, 2018 12:04 pm

Ksapatlawyer wrote:Took and failed the attorney exam. Subscribed to Baressays (great resource) and read/studied "Essay Exam Writing for the California Bar Exam" (another great resource). Used Barsecrets for submission/feedback of some practices exams (waste of time and money).

Considering retaking attorney exam next July. So, does anyone have names and contact info for CA essay tutors? I've read other posts where people mention prior CA bar exam essay graders who offer their services. Clearly I could use some guidance on what is required for a passing essay.

Feel your pain man - I think passing rate for attorneys was 18-20%? Makes NO sense. I feel like a 1L again, have to re learn how to write.

Auxilio

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Re: 2018 July California Bar

Post by Auxilio » Tue Nov 20, 2018 12:17 pm

cabartaker92 wrote:
catechumen wrote:I have failed the CA exam 8 times. Scores always arrive on Monday regardless of where I live. Today, nothing. I always wait for the letter so I can see scores if I failed. Has anyone who passed received their letter in the mail yet? And if so where do you live approximately. Heard about a guy in So Cal that got a pass letter today. Trying to figure out if they send out passing letters separate from failing letters. Thanks!
Yes, I received my passing letter Monday. I live in SoCal.
If you have completed all the other stuff (C&F, MPRE, etc.) did your passing letter include the oath card et al as well? Or just telling you you passed.

brorepresentation1

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Re: 2018 July California Bar

Post by brorepresentation1 » Tue Nov 20, 2018 1:03 pm

cabartaker92 wrote:
phoebe123 wrote:I failed (first time taker) and am feeling really, really depressed - questioning if I’m even cut out to be an attorney. Anyone have any advice for picking yourself up again for the next one?
This test has no bearing whatsoever on your ability to practice law. Maybe the performance test, but that's it. It's just a right of passage. The law community wants you to prove you can work your ass off studying completely mundane material for 10 weeks straight. Your second bar exam will likely be easier than the first since you'll be able to correct the mistakes you made in prepping for your first bar. Don't give up. Channel that negative energy into fierce determination for your second bar exam.
I agree 100%. I could not have said it better. There is wisdom here.

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lexingtonhr

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Re: 2018 July California Bar

Post by lexingtonhr » Tue Nov 20, 2018 1:14 pm

phoebe123 wrote:I failed (first time taker) and am feeling really, really depressed - questioning if I’m even cut out to be an attorney. Anyone have any advice for picking yourself up again for the next one?

I was unsuccessful too. You're not alone. I'm feeling really dejected.

malki_a

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Re: 2018 July California Bar

Post by malki_a » Tue Nov 20, 2018 2:42 pm

lexingtonhr wrote:
phoebe123 wrote:I failed (first time taker) and am feeling really, really depressed - questioning if I’m even cut out to be an attorney. Anyone have any advice for picking yourself up again for the next one?

I was unsuccessful too. You're not alone. I'm feeling really dejected.
This is exactly how I feel. SUPER depressed. But it's okay, next time will be better. Just got to get the courage to re-focus :(
I ran out of time for 20 Questions in the first half of the MBE ! I still can't believe how that happened. I just have to figure out a couple of good study tools for MBE.

lexingtonhr

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Re: 2018 July California Bar

Post by lexingtonhr » Tue Nov 20, 2018 2:49 pm

malki_a wrote:
lexingtonhr wrote:
phoebe123 wrote:I failed (first time taker) and am feeling really, really depressed - questioning if I’m even cut out to be an attorney. Anyone have any advice for picking yourself up again for the next one?

I was unsuccessful too. You're not alone. I'm feeling really dejected.
This is exactly how I feel. SUPER depressed. But it's okay, next time will be better. Just got to get the courage to re-focus :(
I ran out of time for 20 Questions in the first half of the MBE ! I still can't believe how that happened. I just have to figure out a couple of good study tools for MBE.
Same. I'm just trying to figure out a game plan for the MBE's. I thought I did pretty well after it was done, but I was dead wrong. Adaptibar sucks. It provided me with such a false sense of security...

barjamie8

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Re: 2018 July California Bar

Post by barjamie8 » Tue Nov 20, 2018 3:14 pm

lexingtonhr wrote:
malki_a wrote:
lexingtonhr wrote:
phoebe123 wrote:I failed (first time taker) and am feeling really, really depressed - questioning if I’m even cut out to be an attorney. Anyone have any advice for picking yourself up again for the next one?

I was unsuccessful too. You're not alone. I'm feeling really dejected.
This is exactly how I feel. SUPER depressed. But it's okay, next time will be better. Just got to get the courage to re-focus :(
I ran out of time for 20 Questions in the first half of the MBE ! I still can't believe how that happened. I just have to figure out a couple of good study tools for MBE.
Same. I'm just trying to figure out a game plan for the MBE's. I thought I did pretty well after it was done, but I was dead wrong. Adaptibar sucks. It provided me with such a false sense of security...
Adaptibar and some other services use the released older MBE questions. I heard from several people that the MBE is different now. Did you find this to be the case?

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lexingtonhr

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Re: 2018 July California Bar

Post by lexingtonhr » Tue Nov 20, 2018 3:29 pm

barjamie8 wrote:
lexingtonhr wrote:
malki_a wrote:
lexingtonhr wrote:
phoebe123 wrote:I failed (first time taker) and am feeling really, really depressed - questioning if I’m even cut out to be an attorney. Anyone have any advice for picking yourself up again for the next one?

I was unsuccessful too. You're not alone. I'm feeling really dejected.
This is exactly how I feel. SUPER depressed. But it's okay, next time will be better. Just got to get the courage to re-focus :(
I ran out of time for 20 Questions in the first half of the MBE ! I still can't believe how that happened. I just have to figure out a couple of good study tools for MBE.
Same. I'm just trying to figure out a game plan for the MBE's. I thought I did pretty well after it was done, but I was dead wrong. Adaptibar sucks. It provided me with such a false sense of security...
Adaptibar and some other services use the released older MBE questions. I heard from several people that the MBE is different now. Did you find this to be the case?
YES!!

mathandthelaw

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Re: 2018 July California Bar

Post by mathandthelaw » Tue Nov 20, 2018 3:36 pm

phonylawyer2017 wrote:Well, requested the NCBE score advisory and my MBE score exceeds 150, yet still failed. Great.
That's a great MBE score! Do you mind telling me what information was provided to you in your Score Advisory Report? I passed and I'm considering possibly taking the bar in another state. Does it actually tell you what your scaled score was? Or just that it exceeds 150? Thanks in advance. I'm sure you'll get it next time, just focus on those essays AND PT (worth two essays), and don't sleep on the MBE just because you are good at it.

mathandthelaw

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Re: 2018 July California Bar

Post by mathandthelaw » Tue Nov 20, 2018 4:37 pm

scard wrote:Passed on my sixth try!!
Yay! I knew you had it in you.

narfkarta

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Re: 2018 July California Bar

Post by narfkarta » Tue Nov 20, 2018 4:44 pm

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phonylawyer2017

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Re: 2018 July California Bar

Post by phonylawyer2017 » Tue Nov 20, 2018 4:48 pm

mathandthelaw wrote:
phonylawyer2017 wrote:Well, requested the NCBE score advisory and my MBE score exceeds 150, yet still failed. Great.
That's a great MBE score! Do you mind telling me what information was provided to you in your Score Advisory Report? I passed and I'm considering possibly taking the bar in another state. Does it actually tell you what your scaled score was? Or just that it exceeds 150? Thanks in advance. I'm sure you'll get it next time, just focus on those essays AND PT (worth two essays), and don't sleep on the MBE just because you are good at it.
It'll tell you whether you meet or exceed minimum MBE score requirement for transfer to 3 different jx's, one that requires 133, one that requires 145, and one that requires a 150 (North Dakota).

JakeTappers

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Re: 2018 July California Bar

Post by JakeTappers » Tue Nov 20, 2018 5:11 pm

Posted before. Had 3 mostly solid weeks of studying for the attorneys exam. I didn’t get the job until June 15 and while I was short on time, I did study quite a bit for a few weeks (not full time but more than I will be given that I’ll be trying case). Got my score today and want to solicit advice — ie whether to take full exam or attorneys exam again (and, if there is some reason to take February or July).

1382 scales. 60/65/55/55/60/60.

I had never seen the advice re: starting with PT but really felt like I ran out of time. Could have seemingly easily gotten a 65 which would put me in passing zone. I’m pretty shocked by the pr score - just thought that was so easy and the only one I felt like I killed. CP I knew I fucked up. Would’ve thought contracts or conlaw might have been higher but not shocked by any except PR.

For the gurus, what’s my game plan (besides studying more than 3 weeks)

mathandthelaw

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Re: 2018 July California Bar

Post by mathandthelaw » Tue Nov 20, 2018 6:12 pm

phonylawyer2017 wrote:
mathandthelaw wrote:
phonylawyer2017 wrote:Well, requested the NCBE score advisory and my MBE score exceeds 150, yet still failed. Great.
That's a great MBE score! Do you mind telling me what information was provided to you in your Score Advisory Report? I passed and I'm considering possibly taking the bar in another state. Does it actually tell you what your scaled score was? Or just that it exceeds 150? Thanks in advance. I'm sure you'll get it next time, just focus on those essays AND PT (worth two essays), and don't sleep on the MBE just because you are good at it.
It'll tell you whether you meet or exceed minimum MBE score requirement for transfer to 3 different jx's, one that requires 133, one that requires 145, and one that requires a 150 (North Dakota).
Thank you! I just read that on the page as well. I ordered it. I am pretty sure my Essays and PT were my strengths, but I was always above average on the MBE, so it'll be interesting to find out if I would qualify in North Dakota.

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MBernard

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Re: 2018 July California Bar

Post by MBernard » Tue Nov 20, 2018 6:17 pm

JakeTappers wrote:Posted before. Had 3 mostly solid weeks of studying for the attorneys exam. I didn’t get the job until June 15 and while I was short on time, I did study quite a bit for a few weeks (not full time but more than I will be given that I’ll be trying case). Got my score today and want to solicit advice — ie whether to take full exam or attorneys exam again (and, if there is some reason to take February or July).

1382 scales. 60/65/55/55/60/60.

I had never seen the advice re: starting with PT but really felt like I ran out of time. Could have seemingly easily gotten a 65 which would put me in passing zone. I’m pretty shocked by the pr score - just thought that was so easy and the only one I felt like I killed. CP I knew I fucked up. Would’ve thought contracts or conlaw might have been higher but not shocked by any except PR.

For the gurus, what’s my game plan (besides studying more than 3 weeks)
Not sure if I’d qualify as a guru, passed back-to-back exams for TX and then CA, but I’ll offer the tips I think might help. First, I’d suggest taking the general examination. MBE is not that bad and the grading is objective. Your going to be studying the MBE topics anyway because more likely than not a couple essays will test MBE topics. The attorney exam pass rate is like 10% lower than the general bar exam pass rate. If you opt to do the general exam I’d advise buying adaptibar (50 Qs a day), Emmanuel S&T and keep a handwritten log of wrong answers with explanations.

As other posters suggested I think allocating more time to the PT is a good idea. An extra 15 mins seems to be the consensus.

TBH I really tired myself out with my study routine and I was almost burnt out in June. I typically also did 2 essays a day plus going through (reading) 3 mini outlines and reading 3 sets of critical pass flash cards. I passed but it was a rough routine. Perhaps more senior posters like AMH or others might know a better way. Also, I really think both going through the CA essay bank (board of law examiner site) and buying an older essay book is a good idea. Proof is that the the J18 Con Law question was a near repeat from February 2005 (Question 6).

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mimim8

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Re: 2018 July California Bar

Post by mimim8 » Tue Nov 20, 2018 6:37 pm

JakeTappers wrote:Posted before. Had 3 mostly solid weeks of studying for the attorneys exam. I didn’t get the job until June 15 and while I was short on time, I did study quite a bit for a few weeks (not full time but more than I will be given that I’ll be trying case). Got my score today and want to solicit advice — ie whether to take full exam or attorneys exam again (and, if there is some reason to take February or July).

1382 scales. 60/65/55/55/60/60.

I had never seen the advice re: starting with PT but really felt like I ran out of time. Could have seemingly easily gotten a 65 which would put me in passing zone. I’m pretty shocked by the pr score - just thought that was so easy and the only one I felt like I killed. CP I knew I fucked up. Would’ve thought contracts or conlaw might have been higher but not shocked by any except PR.

For the gurus, what’s my game plan (besides studying more than 3 weeks)
inbox!

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a male human

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Re: 2018 July California Bar

Post by a male human » Tue Nov 20, 2018 7:04 pm

JakeTappers wrote:Posted before. Had 3 mostly solid weeks of studying for the attorneys exam. I didn’t get the job until June 15 and while I was short on time, I did study quite a bit for a few weeks (not full time but more than I will be given that I’ll be trying case). Got my score today and want to solicit advice — ie whether to take full exam or attorneys exam again (and, if there is some reason to take February or July).

1382 scales. 60/65/55/55/60/60.

I had never seen the advice re: starting with PT but really felt like I ran out of time. Could have seemingly easily gotten a 65 which would put me in passing zone. I’m pretty shocked by the pr score - just thought that was so easy and the only one I felt like I killed. CP I knew I fucked up. Would’ve thought contracts or conlaw might have been higher but not shocked by any except PR.

For the gurus, what’s my game plan (besides studying more than 3 weeks)
How confident are you with the MBE? If I were you, I might consider taking the full exam just to introduce a decompression zone. Put another way, let's say you got really good at the MBE last time and scored a 1500 scaled on the MBE side. You would have passed, with a composite score of 1441 (avg of 1382 and 1500).

You're studying MBE subjects anyway, so it may not be a substantial burden to add it to your regimen. Plus it may also help with your essays by enabling you to become more aware of small sub-issues and nuances that the MBE is likely to test you on.

Then again, you might do very well next time solely by focusing on essays over the next 3 months as opposed to 3 weeks. 1382 is already not a terrible score. I've seen people jump 150+ points between exams. I myself had a written score in the 1330s the first time.

There is no right answer. You're the dean of your own studies.

JakeTappers

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Re: 2018 July California Bar

Post by JakeTappers » Tue Nov 20, 2018 7:22 pm

Thanks for replies so far. The problem is that I have no idea how confident I should be on MBE. I specifically stayed away from multiple choice exams in law school (only took one or two). I went to a t14 and booked 3 1L courses and only didn't get an A in one (though that was property and it was a B). Thus, I thought essays were always the way to go. And when I passed the bar 6 years ago, I didn't and can't get my score. I'd prefer to not sit for two days and not do 10000 practice questions but if people think that's actually an easier way to go 1390-1440, i'm game i guess.

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Re: 2018 July California Bar

Post by a male human » Tue Nov 20, 2018 7:28 pm

In that case, I'm optimistic that you can get by with the Attorneys' Exam if you learn how to write the way they want you to (see BarEssays, selected answers). As far as I can tell, bar essays and finals are pretty different. You better be cranking through those essays and studying how they're supposed to be done for the next 3 months, though.

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FinallyPassedTheBar

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Re: 2018 July California Bar

Post by FinallyPassedTheBar » Tue Nov 20, 2018 7:59 pm

Successful essay performance in law school is not necessarily indicative of success on the CA bar. I passed every single law school essay with ease, sometimes not really studying too hard. Nearly all my law school essay grades were A range or B+ at the lowest.

But, I never got higher than a 60 on any CA bar essay. The only reason i think i passed the CBX was because the CA bar raised the MBE weighting to 50% of the total score.

I usually recommend that people take the full exam, instead of the atty exam, because with the MBE you can at least eliminate subjective grading. So, only half of your total score (essay/PT) is based on subjective grading.

If you take the atty exam, your entire score is based on subjective grading.

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ckyo01

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Re: 2018 July California Bar

Post by ckyo01 » Tue Nov 20, 2018 9:50 pm

is it possible to see essay/mbe scores if you pass?

NYattorney25

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Re: 2018 July California Bar

Post by NYattorney25 » Tue Nov 20, 2018 11:41 pm

Failed the Attorney's exam. I passed NY with a high MBE score more than 10 years ago. Graduate of top 10 law school, scored in top 1% on LSAT. Shocked at this result and my career is now in jeopardy as I've already moved to CA and am working here. What are they looking for? Why is the pass rate on the Attorney's Exam so low? It's lower than overall pass rate. But the real comparison should be to first-timers pass rate, because anyone taking the Attorney's Exam was capable enough to pass another jurisdiction's bar exam - on that basis, the pass rate on the Attorney's Exam was 23 percentage points lower than first timers pass rate. That is insane and raises questions about how they are grading the exams.

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catechumen

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Re: 2018 July California Bar

Post by catechumen » Wed Nov 21, 2018 3:30 am

Just got the letter in the mail today that I passed. I have been a long-term member of the board. My Cousin Vinnie took 6 times to pass the Bar. Well, it took me 8! Boy, do I hate this test! For those that failed, keep at it. Everyone will tell you to quit. Ignore them. Change your study tactics, keep fighting this stupid test. It can be beaten. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBarc_-Eoek

Seriously? What are you waiting for?

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