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I thought the test was tough. I never took a PR class, though, and I only studied the rules for a few hours. How many do I need to get right to pass (say for New York, Virginia, DC)?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multistate ... sing_score
(as of 2005, I think still good)

floggered wrote:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multistate ... sing_score
(as of 2005, I think still good)

Looks like I need an 85 to pass. How many can I afford to miss?

Why didn't you just sit in a comfy chair for 3-4 more hours and do some practice questions?

Julio_El_Chavo wrote:Why didn't you just sit in a comfy chair for 3-4 more hours and do some practice questions?

I should have. Everybody kept saying it was so easy, so I thought I didn't really need to study.

risingamerican_2l wrote:

Julio_El_Chavo wrote:Why didn't you just sit in a comfy chair for 3-4 more hours and do some practice questions?

I should have. Everybody kept saying it was so easy, so I thought I didn't really need to study.

Its easy but people still fail it. It is easy in the sense that I went from around ~60 to a 135 on the real thing with about 6 hours of practice questions. (I overstudied obviously...) But its no longer a test I'd take without cracking the book, although it used to be.

IIRC, you need about half the questions correct to get an 85. http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 3&t=166105

If you failed, so what? Take it again in November. I can't bring myself to care at all, one way or another.

I care a little because the test is elementary and if you fail it, I wonder about your ability to actually practice law ethically. There, I said it. It needed to be said.

NotMyRealName09 wrote:I care a little because the test is elementary and if you fail it, I wonder about your ability to actually practice law ethically. There, I said it. It needed to be said.

Why would that need to be said? It's not like the most ethical of answer options is always the correct choice.

It is perfectly normal to feel like you failed the MPRE. I, along with others, felt like I got 10 questions right, 10 questions wrong, and the rest could go either way. Ended up getting 100+ with about 8 hours of studying. You'll be fine.

EDIT: Also, why are you taking the exam as a rising 2L? Did you take Ethics during the summer session? Otherwise you usually take it during the spring of 2L (just in time for summer).

I took it now because I wanted to get it over with and save time later.

Everyone feels like they failed it. Seriously. I also got over 100 and felt like I absolutely bombed it.

No worries.

This thread is relevant to me, as I'll be taking the MPRE this winter. I planned to do zero studying (although I've taken PR).

From most of the practice questions, it seems like common sense will get you most of the way to a passing score. As in, I've seen a decent proportion of practice questions that are basically like:

John Lawyer is entrusted with a large sum of money by James Client. John is behind on his mortgage. Should he:

(A) Embezzle James Client's money.
(B) Appropriate James Client's money, but tell James he's doing it [It's OK as long as you're up front about it].
(C) Not steal.

It shouldn't be possible to fail such a test. Is that completely wrong?

They have ways of phrasing the questions to make the wrong answer seem like the most likely at first glance. Practice reveals the patterns of their trickery. I'm really not sure a lay person with no exposure to the rules of professional responsibility could BS their way through it - but who knows? I don't understand though - BarBri had a 2 hour video or whatever, why would you knowingly plan not to study when its right there for you?

But yes, some is obvious - never comingle funds, don't bang your client, don't lie to judges, don't give your client money to pay their light bill, etc. But its not all so easy - I guess one thing to look at will be what conflicts may be waived or not, or when screening may be used to cure a conflict, or, if you or a client have made a material mistatement to a tribunal, what you do to fix it, - that stuff is not common sense.

The video actually isn't that bad. The guy was pretty funny and had some humorous stories.

I failed it. Did exactly like OP did...was told it was a huge joke so I blew off any real studying. Got an 83 (and 85's the passing score where I'm at). Retaking in November.

NotMyRealName09 wrote:I care a little because the test is elementary and if you fail it, I wonder about your ability to actually practice law ethically. There, I said it. It needed to be said.

If you failed, it seriously does not matter at all. Countless people, like myself, didn't study the first time and failed. Then you study a few hours, do practice questions, read the rules, and improve your score by 30-40pts.

Of all law school-related things, this is the thing that should concern you the least.

mrloblaw wrote:This thread is relevant to me, as I'll be taking the MPRE this winter. I planned to do zero studying (although I've taken PR).

From most of the practice questions, it seems like common sense will get you most of the way to a passing score. As in, I've seen a decent proportion of practice questions that are basically like:

John Lawyer is entrusted with a large sum of money by James Client. John is behind on his mortgage. Should he:

(A) Embezzle James Client's money.
(B) Appropriate James Client's money, but tell James he's doing it [It's OK as long as you're up front about it].
(C) Not steal.

It shouldn't be possible to fail such a test. Is that completely wrong?

The questions aren't anything like that. They tend to test the application of rules by asking things like "There is an extingency relating to client's confidential information, may the lawyer disclose that information?" - then two answers are yes, two are no, and you have to select the right answer with the right reason.

Common sense often won't get you far at all, but cursory study of the rules will generally eliminate two answers and you barely need over 50% of the questions right to pass in even the hardest jurisdictions.

Sort of like the bar exam, the test isn't that easy, and definitely requires studying, but the required passing score is quite low.

All that worry, and I passed. Got a 103.

P is for pass.