Themis Bar Review Hangout - July 2016 Forum

[Chardee_MacDennis]

Contacted Verizon...the issue is not on them. They conducted a test and the Themis site is unresponsive. Ugh I'm done obsessing over this. The bar exam is stressful enough...I don't need this so I'm letting it go and am just going to suffer through these lectures.

That sucks. I didn't have any difficulty with lectures, and I was using shitty Starbucks wifi. Wonder why some had trouble.

[ndp1234]

OH NO. Schott Evidence guy is back for round two with Family Law. This sucks! I can't take another long winded and convoluted hypo!

[PotLuck]

How are you all handling evidence? There seems to be an insane amount of rules in this handout. I've been trying to make my own short outline but I'm not sure that I am fully comprehending the lectures. (I didn't take evidence in law school - which seems like a big mistake).

The lectures are SCHITT PURE SCHITT. skip them and outline evidence on your own. focus on hearsay, character, and impeachment. i didnt take evidence in LS either, was really strugglng in the beginnning but now I'm killing it.

Did you just make an outline based off of the ones in the Themis books? I'm considering not finishing up these lectures. I'm on 9 and seriously feel like i have no fucking clue what is going on.

[Rahviveh]

How are you all handling evidence? There seems to be an insane amount of rules in this handout. I've been trying to make my own short outline but I'm not sure that I am fully comprehending the lectures. (I didn't take evidence in law school - which seems like a big mistake).

The lectures are SCHITT PURE SCHITT. skip them and outline evidence on your own. focus on hearsay, character, and impeachment. i didnt take evidence in LS either, was really strugglng in the beginnning but now I'm killing it.

Did you just make an outline based off of the ones in the Themis books? I'm considering not finishing up these lectures. I'm on 9 and seriously feel like i have no fucking clue what is going on.

Yep. I feel like once you have a basic knowledge of the material, going back to the big outlines and trying to condense them is not so bad. go topic by topic.

[ndp1234]

How are you guys approaching studying the MEE topics?

Pls respond. I'm not sure how we fit all these shit topics into studying while also preparing for the MBE. is it safe to say we should just memorize the general rules from each topic and not study in any detail?

I'm not sure what state you're in, but for my state (a UBE state) I figure I should spend most of my energy and time on the MBE portion only because of the distributions. The MBE is 50%, the MPT is 20% and the MEE is 30%. I figure for the MBE I should know the nuances well, but for the MEE, I don't think it's worth the extra time and energy. Without the MEE, the other portions add up to 70%. If I can rack up enough points in the MBE and MPT sections, I figure as long as I can write a coherent essay with general baseline rules, I should be fine.

Hope this helps!

[bobbypin]

How are you all handling evidence? There seems to be an insane amount of rules in this handout. I've been trying to make my own short outline but I'm not sure that I am fully comprehending the lectures. (I didn't take evidence in law school - which seems like a big mistake).

I created a mindmap of the subject and color coded the material. You can use a free website. I use mindmeister.com. I paid for the upgrade because I'm doing all of my outlines this way.

[Rahviveh]

How are you guys approaching studying the MEE topics?

Pls respond. I'm not sure how we fit all these shit topics into studying while also preparing for the MBE. is it safe to say we should just memorize the general rules from each topic and not study in any detail?

I'm not sure what state you're in, but for my state (a UBE state) I figure I should spend most of my energy and time on the MBE portion only because of the distributions. The MBE is 50%, the MPT is 20% and the MEE is 30%. I figure for the MBE I should know the nuances well, but for the MEE, I don't think it's worth the extra time and energy. Without the MEE, the other portions add up to 70%. If I can rack up enough points in the MBE and MPT sections, I figure as long as I can write a coherent essay with general baseline rules, I should be fine.

Hope this helps!

I'm in a UBE state as well (NY). Does the MEE include essays from the MBE topics?

[ndp1234]

I'm in a UBE state as well (NY). Does the MEE include essays from the MBE topics?

Yes. All MBE subjects are fair play for the MEE, Civ Pro has been consistently on there since its addition. From the MEE only subjects, Family Law has been tested pretty consistently.

[Eldon Tyrell]

/Watches 9 lectures in a row at 2x speed.

/Doesn't remember shit.

[Claire93]

If you need any help with written assignments you can ask professionals to deal with them.
They for sure will follow the structure. And you'll be able to get a high-quality service with SPAM.

[Fivedham]

I've seen a lot of dramatic improvement in pretty much every topic but Property and Contracts; I don't know if this is because we haven't revisited it for a few weeks or what, but I keep getting slammed by those MBE questions. I need to go back and review.

[NaeDeen]

I'm sorry but con law prof's explanation of obscene content is friggin' hilarious.

It must make you itch or long with desire

YES--a desire to cry!!

Felt like I was watching one of those old school sex ed videos — I was just waiting for him to pull out the condom and banana

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeees!!!! I could not believe my eyes. The way he said defendant was something else. Just everything. He's a classic lecturer. Very old school and rightfully so teaching con law!

[NaeDeen]

How are you all handling evidence? There seems to be an insane amount of rules in this handout. I've been trying to make my own short outline but I'm not sure that I am fully comprehending the lectures. (I didn't take evidence in law school - which seems like a big mistake).

The lectures are SCHITT PURE SCHITT. skip them and outline evidence on your own. focus on hearsay, character, and impeachment. i didnt take evidence in LS either, was really strugglng in the beginnning but now I'm killing it.

Did you just make an outline based off of the ones in the Themis books? I'm considering not finishing up these lectures. I'm on 9 and seriously feel like i have no fucking clue what is going on.

I ripped out the final study condensed outlines in the MBE practice book, stapled each subject together and watch the lectures using them and whatever information wasn't in the outline I wrote on the side. So that saves me time from having to read the big outline and it narrows down the info without having to print out the handouts (I do print out some pages where there is just too much RELEVANT info to write) and I go from there. I won't have this luxury with all subjects but it saves me time for all MBE subjects. At the end of it all, I shall create my own beautifully and thoughtfully crafted condensed outline from all that I've gotten wrong on the MQs, the lectures, and condensed outlines. Max 5 pages for each. Not sure if this helps you.

[NaeDeen]

My final email worked!! I sent them the script between Verizon and I--the rep stated that the problem was with Themis not Verizon. I should have done that since Monday. I'm just grateful it worked!!!!!!!!!

[Nebby]

Bad news. Property Bro might not be the same for everyone. I just realized that he is specifically doing IL Wills and IL Trusts, which means that others may be doing your version of Wills and Trusts

[Fivedham]

Federal Income Tax guy does maybe the worst job I've ever seen at explaining the concept of basis. I took one look at the long outline and was like, "Oh okay. Dude made it way more complicated than he needed to." Sometimes I really wonder how Themis chooses its lecturers. Some, like Geis and Property Bro, are amazing. Others, Themis should really check their work; I'm sure they're brilliant professors, but jeez, you gotta simplify a lot of this stuff. This is the bar exam, not a deep dive law school course.

[ultimolugar]

Bad news. Property Bro might not be the same for everyone. I just realized that he is specifically doing IL Wills and IL Trusts, which means that others may be doing your version of Wills and Trusts

I can confirm that in FL, property bro does not due wills and trusts. Awkward lady handles that for us.

[NaeDeen]

Federal Income Tax guy does maybe the worst job I've ever seen at explaining the concept of basis. I took one look at the long outline and was like, "Oh okay. Dude made it way more complicated than he needed to." Sometimes I really wonder how Themis chooses its lecturers. Some, like Geis and Property Bro, are amazing. Others, Themis should really check their work; I'm sure they're brilliant professors, but jeez, you gotta simplify a lot of this stuff. This is the bar exam, not a deep dive law school course.

What I find is that the more brilliant a professor is, the more difficult it is for them to relay the information to a class. What state are you in? I didn't think fed tax was on the bar exam. That would be wonderful for me, I'm in the LLM tax program at my school and I have taken several tax courses here in MD. Will and trusts are going to be a breeze.

[Fivedham]

Federal Income Tax guy does maybe the worst job I've ever seen at explaining the concept of basis. I took one look at the long outline and was like, "Oh okay. Dude made it way more complicated than he needed to." Sometimes I really wonder how Themis chooses its lecturers. Some, like Geis and Property Bro, are amazing. Others, Themis should really check their work; I'm sure they're brilliant professors, but jeez, you gotta simplify a lot of this stuff. This is the bar exam, not a deep dive law school course.

What I find is that the more brilliant a professor is, the more difficult it is for them to relay the information to a class. What state are you in? I didn't think fed tax was on the bar exam. That would be wonderful for me, I'm in the LLM tax program at my school and I have taken several tax courses here in MD. Will and trusts are going to be a breeze.

I'm doing NJ/PA. NJ is just MBE topics with a little NJ civ pro. But PA has a bunch of added stuff like Fed Tax. The Themis tax guy is another example of somebody who goes way off script with ineffective examples, and then you're left guessing what the fill-ins are. At one point he literally does like a 90-second example about fruits and trees that makes no sense, and concludes with a, "That example might not be very helpful, but whatever."

Come on Themis. Either hire charismatic professors who can explain concepts simply with good examples, like Geis, Property Bro, and Con Law guy, or hire actors to read scripts prepped by the genius absentminded professors who don't know what the world looks like.

[BarPreppin'12]

The guy who teaches Florida Corporations is great.

[ndp1234]

Why does Schott mumble so much?!?!

It seems to happen for the terms to fill in the blanks for family law. I don't remember this being an issue for evidence...

Edit: The subtitles actually notes (mumbles) during these lectures.

[Vantwins]

finishing up civ pro. The pre-trial conference "where the judge tries to bully you into settling." LOL. I do find that those random asides in the lectures stick with me the most. Like inquiry notice in property, I remember "dude, why are you on my farm?"

[Vantwins]

/Watches 9 lectures in a row at 2x speed.

/Doesn't remember shit.

Thought I was the only one. I watch them at 1.5 and only go up to 2x during some of the longer examples, otherwise I don't retain anything.

[bigbossman]

How are you all handling evidence? There seems to be an insane amount of rules in this handout. I've been trying to make my own short outline but I'm not sure that I am fully comprehending the lectures. (I didn't take evidence in law school - which seems like a big mistake).

Evidence is the sort of thing that's hard at first but once you get the hang of it, it's easy. If you didn't take evidence in school I feel for you, it has to be tough learning it here. Just study the hell out of it, especially hearsay and the character evidence/impeachment stuff.

[Easy-E]

Ugh. My graded essay performance has been SPS.

Also, if I finish a day, just let me start going down the list on the next day. Not a big deal, just annoying.