California Bar Exam (July 2014) thread Forum

[Anonnn]

Sorry to ask again, but for people taking the test at Pasadena does anyone know if 1) there's a place to put stuff outside of the exam room (thinking about lunch, not wanting to really walk back to my hotel) and 2) if there isn't, what the lunch options look like around the area?

[jarofsoup]

Pretty sure I am fucked right now. Studying all summer. Still missing major issues.

[bruinfan10]

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[pkt63]

Same here. I read through a Con Law essay from a few years ago on partial vs. full takings, and a Torts essay on defamation qualified privileges and I just want to cry. I can say like two sentences, AT BEST, about each of those things. Even on topics I'm good at I could get completely fucked, very easily, like a Contracts essay I read yesterday part of which hinged on whether a condition in the contract was a condition precedent to effectiveness or a condition precedent to performance. Screwed.

I even went to baressays.com to look at some lower scoring essays on those topics to try to make myself feel better, and was super stressed to see that even the people scoring 60 on that torts essay knew all the nuances of various qualified privileges.

I'm terrified of what I will see on those essays...

[Charles Barkley]

Don't go into the exam expecting to fail. You have a chance.

[bruinfan10]

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[jarofsoup]

Doing Barbri was the worst decision I've ever made. I should have been drilling leansheets, the Critical Pass flashcards/Barxmax Qs, and doing baressays instead of spending a month and a half memorizing outlines and listening to lectures. What a pointless waste of time.

I only realized in the last two weeks that nothing matters compared to doing a million practice essays and just memorizing the fact patterns they repeat. I've been putting in 14 hour days since then to try to get an edge on the "tested areas," but the chance I'm not going to miss an issue once in a while is zero. I knew this was gonna be bad, but I had no idea how bad. And I know some really horrible California lawyers. How did they pass this test?

Ah well. I just thank god I'm clerking for the next two years, instead of heading into a firm. At least I have a chance to recover without too dramatic career damage. Best of luck to the rest of you guys, I don't mean to be such a downer. If 70% of all ABA accredited takers pass, odds are you'll pass too. But based on the essay answers I've been drilling, I'll be joining the Thomas Jefferson kids at a bar in November.

Barbri is terrible. The MBE practice is a joke. The model answers are incorrect and riddled with typos.

Those fucks.

[jarofsoup]

Doing Barbri was the worst decision I've ever made. I should have been drilling leansheets, the Critical Pass flashcards/Barxmax Qs, and doing baressays instead of spending a month and a half memorizing outlines and listening to lectures. What a pointless waste of time.

I only realized in the last two weeks that nothing matters compared to doing a million practice essays and just memorizing the fact patterns they repeat. I've been putting in 14 hour days since then to try to get an edge on the "tested areas," but the chance I'm not going to miss an issue once in a while is zero. I knew this was gonna be bad, but I had no idea how bad. And I know some really horrible California lawyers. How did they pass this test?

Ah well. I just thank god I'm clerking for the next two years, instead of heading into a firm. At least I have a chance to recover without too dramatic career damage. Best of luck to the rest of you guys, I don't mean to be such a downer. If 70% of all ABA accredited takers pass, odds are you'll pass too. But based on the essay answers I've been drilling, I'll be joining the Thomas Jefferson kids at a bar in November.

I actually think you largely pass on getting a high MBE score. If you get a 140 or above you only have to get around 57-60 on all the essays.

[bruinfan10]

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[Anonnn]

Idk where all this panic is coming from. Go on line and look at the CA bar model essays. They are far from perfect.

As far as blowing 1 major issue, honestly and this is just based on my reading of the model answers you could partially miss a non-minor issue on ONE essay question and still pass so long as you state the relevant law. Really guys, this isn't a 100% to pass test. Unless the Barbri grading sheets have been COMPLETELY wrong AND the model essays are not indicative, I really think you don't need to know every single little nuance of the law.

Also for those doing Barbri, go back and look at the first essay they showed us for Torts. That person's essay scored a 70 on the first read and it was a) terribly written and b) missed at least some statements of law I believe.

[bruinfan10]

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[Anonnn]

Idk where all this panic is coming from. Go on line and look at the CA bar model essays. They are far from perfect.

As far as blowing 1 major issue, honestly and this is just based on my reading of the model answers you could partially miss a non-minor issue on ONE essay question and still pass so long as you state the relevant law. Really guys, this isn't a 100% to pass test. Unless the Barbri grading sheets have been COMPLETELY wrong AND the model essays are not indicative, I really think you don't need to know every single little nuance of the law.

Also for those doing Barbri, go back and look at the first essay they showed us for Torts. That person's essay scored a 70 on the first read and it was a) terribly written and b) missed at least some statements of law I believe.

Yeah I think the issue is what the CA graders classify as major issues. If it's the third day and I'm wiped, I could very easily forgot to analyze say like, a lapse or anti-lapse component of a question on Wills, or maybe I don't remember a CA Ev/Civ Pro distinction that a question hinges on--the question is whether that caps my answer at a 55 right there, or if I can recover. Could I do something like that on 3+ essays? Hell yeah I could. Maybe that means I shouldn't be a California lawyer, but wow, I didn't realize it was gonna be this tough.

And the thing about the Barbri essay grading is, the give you points for each little issue you spot, even their weird, barely relevant bonus issues, and they don't give you any indication of which issues are major and which are minor. So I don't think the Barbri essay rubric is helpful. And people tell me the baressays passing answers invariably hit the major issues.

I mean maybe Barbri's grading keys are all wrong but when I compare the issues they award points on to the model answers posted online they match up pretty nicely. I don't think Barbri is just making shit up when they award points for things like stating the BLL, picking up on little facts that support one side or another, etc. I mean if you totally miss a central component of the problem (like a Pereira vs. Van Camp Community Property Situation) then yeah you're probably in trouble but if you forget a subfactor for involuntariness of a prenuptial agreement then you're probably fine.

But we'll all find out this week won't we!

[bruinfan10]

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[adonai]

At this point, I've heard so many different accounts of what passing equates to that I don't know what to believe nor care anymore. I've heard you can write a completely wrong essay and still pass if you sound "lawyerly." I've heard you can miss numerous issues and still pass because you have great organization and structure. I've heard you can miss one major issue and auto-fail. I've heard you can miss one minor issue and auto-fail. I've heard you can do either of those and still auto-pass. Barbri's score sheets indicate that you can miss half of the issues and still pass. Let's all just conclude that in the end it is subjective and you better have a grader that is on your side and/or in a good mood. Essays that get regraded show this. An essay that gets a 55 on first read could get a 70 on second read. It is entirely subjective.

[jarofsoup]

Doing Barbri was the worst decision I've ever made. I should have been drilling leansheets, the Critical Pass flashcards/Barxmax Qs, and doing baressays instead of spending a month and a half memorizing outlines and listening to lectures. What a pointless waste of time.

I only realized in the last two weeks that nothing matters compared to doing a million practice essays and just memorizing the fact patterns they repeat. I've been putting in 14 hour days since then to try to get an edge on the "tested areas," but the chance I'm not going to miss an issue once in a while is zero. I knew this was gonna be bad, but I had no idea how bad. And I know some really horrible California lawyers. How did they pass this test?

Ah well. I just thank god I'm clerking for the next two years, instead of heading into a firm. At least I have a chance to recover without too dramatic career damage. Best of luck to the rest of you guys, I don't mean to be such a downer. If 70% of all ABA accredited takers pass, odds are you'll pass too. But based on the essay answers I've been drilling, I'll be joining the Thomas Jefferson kids at a bar in November.

I actually think you largely pass on getting a high MBE score. If you get a 140 or above you only have to get around 57-60 on all the essays.

Yeah, the MBE score and the PT score can save you on the essays, but in my opinion the PT is kind of a wildcard, and I've been drilling essay only law so hard, I'm worried my MBE scores (they were like 80%+ consistently a week ago) will have dropped pretty dramatically.

I did a real one. that helped my confidence

[Charles Barkley]

Just found out a friend of mine passed away this morning.

Puts things into perspective.

[bruinfan10]

I actually think you largely pass on getting a high MBE score. If you get a 140 or above you only have to get around 57-60 on all the essays.

Yeah, the MBE score and the PT score can save you on the essays, but in my opinion the PT is kind of a wildcard, and I've been drilling essay only law so hard, I'm worried my MBE scores (they were like 80%+ consistently a week ago) will have dropped pretty dramatically.

I did a real one. that helped my confidence

I read that AmLaw article about the guy who passed the CA bar with 100 hours of prep. He pretty much only drilled the MBEs, and relied on his SLS legal writing class to get him through the CA PTs. Passed. So that confirms your approach. I guess anything can happen.

And Charles, I'm really sorry to hear that. Terrible news. Apologies for venting so much.

[Lasers]

Pretty sure I am fucked right now. Studying all summer. Still missing major issues.

yes. me too.

don't think a day is enough for me to shore up my essays...

[Law-So-Hard]

For people taking in Pasadena, what are you doing for lunches?

I just went to the test center today to scope it out and I'm happy to report the floors are fully carpeted so hopefully that will muffle the sounds of people walking a bit. There's a Subway a couple blocks away, the Gelsons is closed, it looks like there's a Starbucks attached to the covnention center but it's actually closed (might be a kiosk open on weekdays) and there's a shopping center sort of across the street with franchise chain places like PF Changs and a couple other places like Rubios.

I was thinking of bringing a cooler in my car but i'm going to be parking a few blocks away at a cheap parking lot (6 bucks) so probably Subway...protein, veggies, some iced tea for caffeine, some sugar

[Law-So-Hard]

Just found out a friend of mine passed away this morning.

Puts things into perspective.

I'm sorry to hear that

[socalclimber]

At this point, I've heard so many different accounts of what passing equates to that I don't know what to believe nor care anymore. I've heard you can write a completely wrong essay and still pass if you sound "lawyerly." I've heard you can miss numerous issues and still pass because you have great organization and structure. I've heard you can miss one major issue and auto-fail. I've heard you can miss one minor issue and auto-fail. I've heard you can do either of those and still auto-pass. Barbri's score sheets indicate that you can miss half of the issues and still pass. Let's all just conclude that in the end it is subjective and you better have a grader that is on your side and/or in a good mood. Essays that get regraded show this. An essay that gets a 55 on first read could get a 70 on second read. It is entirely subjective.

Basically this.

[Anonnn]

For people taking in Pasadena, what are you doing for lunches?

I just went to the test center today to scope it out and I'm happy to report the floors are fully carpeted so hopefully that will muffle the sounds of people walking a bit. There's a Subway a couple blocks away, the Gelsons is closed, it looks like there's a Starbucks attached to the covnention center but it's actually closed (might be a kiosk open on weekdays) and there's a shopping center sort of across the street with franchise chain places like PF Changs and a couple other places like Rubios.

I was thinking of bringing a cooler in my car but i'm going to be parking a few blocks away at a cheap parking lot (6 bucks) so probably Subway...protein, veggies, some iced tea for caffeine, some sugar

Awesome, thanks for the report back.

[Law-So-Hard]

In my crim notes for exceptions to the fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine, next to "inevitable discovery" I have, "Hank Schrader on the toilet"

[Anonnn]

Bleh. Just did the remedies essay from February 2001. Remedies is so frustrating, I can remember the big concepts but when it gets down to the specific sub factors the fact that it's so tort-specific can be frustrating at times.

[Law-So-Hard]

Bleh. Just did the remedies essay from February 2001. Remedies is so frustrating, I can remember the big concepts but when it gets down to the specific sub factors the fact that it's so tort-specific can be frustrating at times.

IKR. I wish the Bar was open book.... YOU KNOW LIKE REAL LIFE.