Texas Bar Exam July 2014 Forum

[dallaseagle]

Anyone talk about giving notice to defendant and implications of a settlement offer in the consumer law essay?

Just that the failed notice was a potential defense. The part about settlement offers seemed unimportant and unrelated, so given the time restraints, I just left it at the notice defense.

I don't know which question you're talking about, and I don't understand what you mean by "failed notice." I have never heard of that or of "notice defense." The questions didn't ask about any notices, either, if you mean question 6.

Under the DTPA, you are required to give a defendant 60 days' notice before filing suit. The question said the buyer's lawyer filed write away. One of the prompts asked what potential defenses the various defendants might raise. All the defendants had this defense, and it allows them to require the court to abate the case to give them their 60 days' notice.

oh yeah, thanks. Yeah I guess no 25 points for me then.

[DMXdawg]

Yea--remember there's no common law defenses under the TDPTA. Just SoL and maybe the notice as well but I don't know if they gave us enough facts for that, so I just wrote out the law.

[Haymarket]

Yea--remember there's no common law defenses under the TDPTA. Just SoL and maybe the notice as well but I don't know if they gave us enough facts for that, so I just wrote out the law.

Well, there are defenses to the elements that the plaintiff has to prove. For instance, IIRC, there was a pretty decent puffery argument for the first individual seller. Though that wouldn't have covered the omission claim.

But really, it's not about getting 25 points. It's about getting the minimum scaled score to pass on all 12, and anything extra I got on that essay will be sorely needed for the Article 2/3 question and many others.

[arkhamhorror]

Yeah, you shoot for the golden 16/25, a.k.a. 64%. I guess my question is what actually constitutes a 16. I would think the sample essays that TX puts up are around the 24-25 range, but they don't indicate how it's scored and how points are assigned. Most of the essays I got bits and pieces of, some more than others, and I nailed the secured transactions one. But I also know that I'll be lucky to get an 8/25 on the trusts one. I guess I would just like to know what a 16 actually looks like.

[ATXBiglaw]

Yeah, you shoot for the golden 16/25, a.k.a. 64%. I guess my question is what actually constitutes a 16. I would think the sample essays that TX puts up are around the 24-25 range, but they don't indicate how it's scored and how points are assigned. Most of the essays I got bits and pieces of, some more than others, and I nailed the secured transactions one. But I also know that I'll be lucky to get an 8/25 on the trusts one. I guess I would just like to know what a 16 actually looks like.

This was my biggest gripe with barbri. What does an actual passing score (16) look like? I've never seen anything other than a model answer from barbri.

[anonymous54321]

mod edit: discussing specific answers to bar exam questions is not allowed.

[aquasalad]

These test questions were released to us, they gave us the test booklets for the Texas Essay portion to take home. That's the only reason we are discussing the answers, because the questions are public information now.

[txadv11]

Anyone else pursuing a temporary license while waiting for results? If so how long does the process take?

[Neve]

Planning to return my Barbri books today to get my book deposit back (hope I don't regret this but I have a second copy of the CMR from someone lol). If I have to retake, I'm going to go with Themis and/or Adapibar. Barbri is not worth the money a second time around. The MBE was awful!!! The Barbri questions were not representative of the real MBE as a whole.

[aquasalad]

Yes to the temporary law license. I am under the impression it takes around a month, but that could be wrong.

I am taking New Mexico in February for work. I am not sending my stuff back - keeping my Barbri TX outlines as they seem like an incredible reference to have on hand as a young lawyer doing plaintiff's work.

For the NM bar, I plan on getting a hold of the Barbri NM essay book, and again using Critical Pass along with practice questions for the MBE. I need to find some additional sources for MBE questions, I agree that the Barbri stuff did not cover a lot of what we saw last week. The stuff Barbri did cover I knew very well, though. My Emanuel's S&T book seemed pretty similar to what we saw, but I got it so late that I only had time to work about 75 questions from it in only 3 subjects.

[txadv11]

Yes to the temporary law license. I am under the impression it takes around a month, but that could be wrong.

I am taking New Mexico in February for work. I am not sending my stuff back - keeping my Barbri TX outlines as they seem like an incredible reference to have on hand as a young lawyer doing plaintiff's work.

For the NM bar, I plan on getting a hold of the Barbri NM essay book, and again using Critical Pass along with practice questions for the MBE. I need to find some additional sources for MBE questions, I agree that the Barbri stuff did not cover a lot of what we saw last week. The stuff Barbri did cover I knew very well, though. My Emanuel's S&T book seemed pretty similar to what we saw, but I got it so late that I only had time to work about 75 questions from it in only 3 subjects.

Glutton for punishment?

[Haymarket]

Yes to the temporary law license. I am under the impression it takes around a month, but that could be wrong.

I am taking New Mexico in February for work. I am not sending my stuff back - keeping my Barbri TX outlines as they seem like an incredible reference to have on hand as a young lawyer doing plaintiff's work.

For the NM bar, I plan on getting a hold of the Barbri NM essay book, and again using Critical Pass along with practice questions for the MBE. I need to find some additional sources for MBE questions, I agree that the Barbri stuff did not cover a lot of what we saw last week. The stuff Barbri did cover I knew very well, though. My Emanuel's S&T book seemed pretty similar to what we saw, but I got it so late that I only had time to work about 75 questions from it in only 3 subjects.

Gluten for punishment?

[txadv11]

auto correct!

[swilson215]

Planning to return my Barbri books today to get my book deposit back (hope I don't regret this but I have a second copy of the CMR from someone lol). If I have to retake, I'm going to go with Themis and/or Adapibar. Barbri is not worth the money a second time around. The MBE was awful!!! The Barbri questions were not representative of the real MBE as a whole.

If you took Barbri and fail your first test they give you your second course for free (as long as you take it the next time offered--ie, February--and in the same state). Just FYI.

[Haymarket]

I didn't keep my essay questions, but did anyone else enjoy their clever little character names? My twenty-second mental breaks usually involved figuring out the cultural reference they were making. Mad Men was probably my favorite.

[Grapes]

I didn't keep my essay questions, but did anyone else enjoy their clever little character names? My twenty-second mental breaks usually involved figuring out the cultural reference they were making. Mad Men was probably my favorite.

When Harry Met Sally

[Haymarket]

I didn't keep my essay questions, but did anyone else enjoy their clever little character names? My twenty-second mental breaks usually involved figuring out the cultural reference they were making. Mad Men was probably my favorite.

When Harry Met Sally

Pete Rose.

[Neve]

Planning to return my Barbri books today to get my book deposit back (hope I don't regret this but I have a second copy of the CMR from someone lol). If I have to retake, I'm going to go with Themis and/or Adapibar. Barbri is not worth the money a second time around. The MBE was awful!!! The Barbri questions were not representative of the real MBE as a whole.

If you took Barbri and fail your first test they give you your second course for free (as long as you take it the next time offered--ie, February--and in the same state). Just FYI.

Thanks. Hope you are enjoying your post-bar break in Cabo!

I am keeping my Critical Pass flashcards until November...when judgment day arrives.

[dallaseagle]

Planning to return my Barbri books today to get my book deposit back (hope I don't regret this but I have a second copy of the CMR from someone lol). If I have to retake, I'm going to go with Themis and/or Adapibar. Barbri is not worth the money a second time around. The MBE was awful!!! The Barbri questions were not representative of the real MBE as a whole.

If you took Barbri and fail your first test they give you your second course for free (as long as you take it the next time offered--ie, February--and in the same state). Just FYI.

Thanks. Hope you are enjoying your post-bar break in Cabo!

I am keeping my Critical Pass flashcards until November...when judgment day arrives.

This is even worse than waiting for Grand Theft Auto V to come out. Hell, this is even worse than waiting for the second half of Season 5 of Breaking Bad. Three. Months.

[ebo]

Worst wait ever. I keep thinking about how terrible the MBE was and it makes it even worse.

As for the essays, I too would like to know what a passing essay looks like. Obviously, the BarBri samples were all 24 or 25 pt essays, but what's a 16 or 17 look like? If I nailed that first half of the property essay about requirements for foreclosure sale but had no idea what the second part was, what am I looking at for that question? For the commerical paper question I ran out of time, threw some stuff onto the computer screen about reqirements for HDC and warranties under UCC and said she could stop payment of the check as a non-judicial remedy (no idea if that's right); am I looking at something terrible like a 9/25 there?

[THB]

Ya, I walked out of this bar exam pretty sure I failed the MBE, which sucks bc I felt decent about the essays. Literally straight up guessed on what felt like 80-90 percent of the questions... I was really disappointed with Barbri's prep.

[Neve]

Ya, I walked out of this bar exam pretty sure I failed the MBE, which sucks bc I felt decent about the essays. Literally straight up guessed on what felt like 80-90 percent of the questions... I was really disappointed with Barbri's prep.

My friend sat next to the "Barbri plant" in Arlington - an attorney who works for Barbri and was taking her seventh bar exam. The Barbri plant said to my friend that this MBE was incredibly difficult compared to the others she had taken. This information only slightly comforts me because I would not be surprised if I ended up getting zero or one percentile on the MBE. Barbri needs to completely overhaul their system - what worked in the past may no longer work for the MBE of the future.

[OklahomasOK]

Anyone else get a little perturbed by the yellow mailer the BBE sent out? "This is your bar number..." Thanks for getting my hopes up.

I probably cursed myself but I signed up for the Oklahoma bar in February this week. Going to be real awkward if I don't pass Texas.

[akili]

Every day that goes by the more certain I am I failed.
On the plus side, I will be really excited if I did pass.

Is anyone else a bit concerned by the drops in pass rates in (pretty much) all the other states?

[arkhamhorror]

The pass rates certainly aren't encouraging, but they aren't outcome determinative either. A nicer scale would have helped, but if I fail it's because I didn't study enough. Personally, I'm fine with that, although I'll be less pleased to be out $1,000+ for the retake.

Only so much you can do at this point. Plus, it's still a month away. The week immediately preceeding the release of the scores is a total bitch, so at least try and enjoy yourself now.