California Bar Exam (July 2014) thread Forum

[Mr. Pink]

I'd also really like to know if you haven't passed character and fitness yet, but passed the bar do they still send you something??

I have no idea - but I would imagine that you don't. Most of the information is about swearing in, and you're not eligible for that yet. Just out of curiosity, for those that still haven't passed, when did you submit your C&F stuff?

I don't think so. I haven't heard back about the Moral Character yet (still "Under Review"), passed the July exam, and all I have gotten so far is the letter from the state bar stating that I have passed. I was out of town for Thanksgiving and just came home today with that letter in the mail, but no other package as of yet. I submitted the Moral Character stuff in February or March, and nothing yet... starting to worry a bit

[lisavj]

I'd also really like to know if you haven't passed character and fitness yet, but passed the bar do they still send you something??

I have no idea - but I would imagine that you don't. Most of the information is about swearing in, and you're not eligible for that yet. Just out of curiosity, for those that still haven't passed, when did you submit your C&F stuff?

I don't think so. I haven't heard back about the Moral Character yet (still "Under Review"), passed the July exam, and all I have gotten so far is the letter from the state bar stating that I have passed. I was out of town for Thanksgiving and just came home today with that letter in the mail, but no other package as of yet. I submitted the Moral Character stuff in February or March, and nothing yet... starting to worry a bit

My moral character took 8 months. And I passed the "qualification for ministry" (long story) exams for the PC(USA). I wouldn't worry yet.

[sundance95]

Random question--does anyone know if you still have to pay the admission fee for admittance into a federal district court if you get admitted at the state bar swearing-in ceremonies? For example, if you go to the Sac swearing you can get admitted to the Eastern District right then and there; at Oakland, the Northern District, LA, the Central District, etc.

Am I missing out on anything if I attend a different swearing in? TYIA

[adonai]

Random question--does anyone know if you still have to pay the admission fee for admittance into a federal district court if you get admitted at the state bar swearing-in ceremonies? For example, if you go to the Sac swearing you can get admitted to the Eastern District right then and there; at Oakland, the Northern District, LA, the Central District, etc.

Am I missing out on anything if I attend a different swearing in? TYIA

We had to pay regardless at mine in la.

[sundance95]

Thx

[Carryon]

I have private messages in my outbox of my account for this forum, but can't get them sent. Does anybody know why?

[Cyberpirate]

Failed the July 2014 bar exam. Here is a quick blurb about what I did to prepare and why I failed. First it's worth mentioning that I am an out of state bar exam taker so I had to learn all the state specific material from scratch. I decided to go lone wolf status and buy a used set of Kaplan books to study from. I made about 1,000 flash cards of the substantive law on all 17ish topics. They are amazing flash cards but, I got so carried away with them, I didn't spend enough time working on my essay formatting, FORMATTING. The content of my essays were amazing (as I recall), however I did not break down the answers into sub headings like every single bar prep course tells you to do. Accordingly here were my scores on the essays:
1. 50
2. 50
3. 55
4. 50
5. 50
6. 55
PT-A. 55
PT-B. 55
accordingly the raw written was 530, which scaled to a 1178.
my MBE score was in the 1200's (which was also junk)

I literally was punished for not breaking down the essays into sub headings... For example, in the evidence essay, I only talked about hearsay and failed to mention the "relevance" sub heading and also the "business document rule" sub heading and such. Those were free points for the taking that I blew because I didn't take a bar prep program. I hope that everyone can learn from my mistakes (including me) and pass the bar this February!

PS- I got a subscription to baressays.com and it is INCREDIBLY useful to see what a great essay looks like and to see why other essays got failing scores. ITS ALL ABOUT THE HEADINGS AND SUB HEADINGS.

So, you are saying format is helpful?
Follow the Harley logo and the dialogue we had.

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 9&start=50

Start at page 3

I am also in and around the same scores that jurisfailure has got.

essays:
1: 50
2: 60
3: 55
4: 55
5: 55
6: 55
PT A: 55
PT B: 60

Raw Written: 560
Scaled written 1272.0480
Scaled MBE: 1308
Total scaled score: 1284.6312

@ 2807 I Tried following ur style to an extent. Could't do it completely. But I'll try better next time. Can any one tell me what my raw mbe scores were. I wish to know how much I have to concentrate on the written part and the MBE part.

[ilovesf]

I have private messages in my outbox of my account for this forum, but can't get them sent. Does anybody know why?

They have been sent. It means that the recipient hasn't read them yet.

[Carryon]

I have private messages in my outbox of my account for this forum, but can't get them sent. Does anybody know why?

They have been sent. It means that the recipient hasn't read them yet.

Ok, thank you.

[injun]

In case anyone is interested:

http://www.barbri.com/states/california ... r-exam.jsp

[bruinfan10]

For those of you who got screwed by the MBE scaling debacle on this past exam, I just heard from a buddy of mine at Stanford that he's counted eight of his classmates (just of the people he knew personally) who didn't make it this time around. No one beats Stanford at CBX pass rates (not even Chemerinsky's "free ride" class from the first year at UCI could top them, although they came close), and assuming half of Stanford's tiny 180 person class took the CA bar (given how national the school is, I don't think that's a crazy estimate), I'd say that their pass rate will confirm the test was a joke this time around. If Stanford kids who studied hard didn't make it, the problem is with the test.

[Carryon]

In case anyone is interested:

http://www.barbri.com/states/california ... r-exam.jsp

After reading the outline answers and the model answers in the Daily Journal, I wonder how they grade. The answers are different.

[injun]

I finally got my scores back. My overall score was 1315.7381 Here is my score breakdown:
Essay 1: 55
Essay 2: 60
Essay 3: 50
Essay 4: 50
Essay 5: 55
Essay 6: 55
PTA: 60
PTB: 60
Scaled Written: 1287.5970
Scaled MBE: 1368

I'm not sure what to make of this. My overall score for February was about a 1282. My MBE score was roughly the same, but my PTs improved 5 points each (received 2 55s last Feb). I feel pretty helpless now because I felt that I addressed a good chunk of the issues we discussed on this thread and thought I IRAC'd my answers in the manner we described. Any feedback on my scores we be great. Thanks!

[Carryon]

I finally got my scores back. My overall score was 1315.7381 Here is my score breakdown:
Essay 1: 55
Essay 2: 60
Essay 3: 50
Essay 4: 50
Essay 5: 55
Essay 6: 55
PTA: 60
PTB: 60
Scaled Written: 1287.5970
Scaled MBE: 1368

I'm not sure what to make of this. My overall score for February was about a 1282. My MBE score was roughly the same, but my PTs improved 5 points each (received 2 55s last Feb). I feel pretty helpless now because I felt that I addressed a good chunk of the issues we discussed on this thread and thought I IRAC'd my answers in the manner we described. Any feedback on my scores we be great. Thanks!

Check the bar bri link for their outline of the answers
http://www.barbri.com/states/california ... r-exam.jsp

Check the daily journal for their answers http://www.dailyjournal.com/public/Pubm ... vId%3Dtab3

Bar Bri says that they will review your exam in detail and give you comments.

[Carryon]

Bar Bri's review is free also.

[Carryon]

Bar Bri's review is free also.

Never mind I think it is just a video about the same exam that is free

[PMan99]

In case anyone is interested:

http://www.barbri.com/states/california ... r-exam.jsp

After reading the outline answers and the model answers in the Daily Journal, I wonder how they grade. The answers are different.

Somewhere in the middle, most likely, though I'd lean towards Barbri due to their clear status as #1 in the field.

Just goes to show that the post-bar groupthink (specific performance irrelevant! 10b-5 half the question!) really isn't something people should get worked up about.

[vastrei]

Re: Question 3 (professional responsibility) and the tender offer (insider trading):

I don't think it was a 10b-5 issue. Rather, the violation was a 14(e)(3).

[lifeafterlawschool]

On the fence about re-taking the bar in February. I don't have a strong desire to practice law in the future and I currently have a full-time job that's not law-related. However, I do want to keep my options open and I think it'd be a waste not to have my license, especially after enduring 3 years of law school. My concern is whether I will have the time/energy to pass next time, having been 19 points shy of passing in July.

Any thoughts are appreciated .


Also, does anyone have advice on how to tackle an essay when you've forgotten the law? Is it even possible to get a decent score? I should have spent more time memorizing the CA distinctions...


Q1: 60
Q2: 67.5
Q3: 52.5
Q4: 67.5
Q5: 52.5
Q6: 60

PTA: 55
PTB: 65

Raw Written: 600
Scaled Written 1396.44
Scaled MBE: 1469

[Carryon]

On the fence about re-taking the bar in February. I don't have a strong desire to practice law in the future and I currently have a full-time job that's not law-related. However, I do want to keep my options open and I think it'd be a waste not to have my license, especially after enduring 3 years of law school. My concern is whether I will have the time/energy to pass next time, having been 19 points shy of passing in July.

Any thoughts are appreciated .


Also, does anyone have advice on how to tackle an essay when you've forgotten the law? Is it even possible to get a decent score? I should have spent more time memorizing the CA distinctions...


Q1: 60
Q2: 67.5
Q3: 52.5
Q4: 67.5
Q5: 52.5
Q6: 60

PTA: 55
PTB: 65

Raw Written: 600
Scaled Written 1396.44
Scaled MBE: 1469

If you plan on taking the bar again, take it in February. Take a look a the below link that shows a video by Barbri thtat reviews the the july exam. The speaker recommends taking the February bar exam, especially for people how were close to passing.

http://api.viglink.com/api/click?format ... r-exam.jsp

[scrowell]

got a congratulatory email from my school re: the bar exam. no pass % for the school was given. wonder what that means.

[BarZombie]

.

[Carryon]

Ok...I looked at the BarBri Review of the July 2014 CBX...also looked at other outlines of the questions from the exam.

I am convinced the CA Bar graders used the stair step method...

For some background I used BarEssays.com heavily in preparation for the exam...my rules and analysis as well as my headers and subheaders were spot on...I missed nothing.

Where it went off the rails...I'm sure...is I didn't spell it out by underling more... ex.: Terry Stop...REASONABLE AND ARTICULABLE suspicion.

...no question in my mind they skim the essays and the grading is arbitrary...unless it is in bold...underlined...stands out...they screw you.

So much for minimal competency...the entire exam was a big Cluster F%$#!

Not sure how they grade too. I think that one should have their essays and pts graded in detailed by ex exam graders, for example, bargraders.com will grade your exam for around $300. They will score you in certain areas (rules, analysis, conclusion etc.). There are other grading services too.

[AguasAguas!]

Just double-checking but... for those of us taking in Feb again... we don't have to submit another moral character app right? I feel like I read awhile ago that determination is good for a few years, but can't seem to find that now on the CA Bar website.

Also, anyone know what testing conditions are like at the Del Mar Fairgrounds?

[reasonable troll]

Just double-checking but... for those of us taking in Feb again... we don't have to submit another moral character app right? I feel like I read awhile ago that determination is good for a few years, but can't seem to find that now on the CA Bar website.

That's right. If I remember correctly, you should be able to confirm where you check your admission status on the bar website.