July 2016 Texas Bar Exam Forum

[JazzOne]

So this property question due today....I couldn't even attempt it. Not sure how in the hell they expect us to know enough to write out and submit an answer for that based off a few MBE problem sets and the lectures.

Use the outlines (especially the Convisor) if you don't know the rules.

[NolanRyan]

currently going thru 12 tx essay answers a day and extracting the boilderplate.

3 days in. abt two weeks to go.

Uhhhhhh..... how? 12 essays a day?!

[mada]

currently going thru 12 tx essay answers a day and extracting the boilderplate.

3 days in. abt two weeks to go.

Uhhhhhh..... how? 12 essays a day?!

12 essays = 6 hours of writing thats not too bad and with july right around the corner I think I need to start doing that too. I guess with review time 6 hours would be more like 9 but still I really need to do this too.

[longhornlaw]

currently going thru 12 tx essay answers a day and extracting the boilderplate.

3 days in. abt two weeks to go.

Uhhhhhh..... how? 12 essays a day?!

12 essays = 6 hours of writing thats not too bad and with july right around the corner I think I need to start doing that too. I guess with review time 6 hours would be more like 9 but still I really need to do this too.

And also you don't have to do each one cold, closed book. I did a ton with a few sample answers available or looking at the outlines. It's really about memorizing everything, so if you just keep writing this stuff over and over, it'll stick.

[NolanRyan]

but how are you doing this with all the bar prep assignments we already have?

[mada]

but how are you doing this with all the bar prep assignments we already have?

sometimes you have to ditch the assignments in pursuit of something greater

[jduluoz54]

Did anyone actually watch the Federal Income Tax lecture today?

[sydneybristow11]

I woke up from a dream (or nightmare) about judicial foreclosures this morning

[NolanRyan]

Did anyone actually watch the Federal Income Tax lecture today?

Can't decide whether to watch it or not... Worth skipping?

[BVest]

Did anyone actually watch the Federal Income Tax lecture today?

Can't decide whether to watch it or not... Worth skipping?

It has never been on the bar in the time since it was "added" as a subject. But given the BLE there will likely be a first time at some point.

[0lol]

but how are you doing this with all the bar prep assignments we already have?

Self studying

[0lol]

Going... brain dead

[Federalist]

Going... brain dead

Me too. And the Simulated MBE is just coming on Friday.

[BVest]

I answered a PM about how much one needs to know on Tax, Bankruptcy, DTPA, and the UCC's. Thought I'd share it here:

TAX:
If you took Fed Income Tax, there's nothing they'll ever put on the Texas Bar re taxes that you wouldn't be able to recall years down the road. It's a crossover subject and apparently meant to allow tax issues to show up in Family Law, Corp/Partnerships, or Trusts. If it does, it won't be a tax-focused question, but rather might include one subquestion (out of 5 or more) that touches on tax.

If you didn't take tax, you still might not want to waste your time. Consider this: Each essay is 3.33% of the total exam (12 essays account for a total of 40% of the score). If they put tax as a component of an essay question---which, again, they have never done---it would account for something less than 2/3 of 1% of your score. There is little point in studying an entire subject that could be, but never has, such a tiny component of the exam.

BANKRUPTCY:
Know that there's an automatic stay. Know that a creditor can get the stay lifted by the bankruptcy court. Basically everything the BLE wants you to know about the automatic stay and getting it lifted is summarized here.

UCC-2, -3, -9; TDPA:
You need to know all these. Out of these four statutes, there will be three essay questions which will cover at least three and possibly all four of the topics.

Of the UCC articles, UCC-2 is the one most commonly taken in law school since it's normally part of 1L K. Unfortunately it's also the one least frequently tested on the Texas Bar essays. Here's the breakdown from past years (yellow is a combination question):



For TDPA, I relied mainly on these flash cards some prior fellow traveler produced.

[0lol]

you rock

loving the frequency chart

[0lol]

damn my testing center is in ARLINGTON

ill probably get a hotel instead of driving an hour round trip each day from north dallas

[0lol]

does anyone have any self made resources that, like, reorganize and have better answers to the past P&Es? the "answers" on the BLE are not even answers. i hear the tx testing barbri book has solid model answers, but i dont have that.

also bvest/jazz, everything yall have posted itt and in past tx bar threads have been absolute gold. thanks so much and please keep the wisdom coming

means a lot to us to have previous passers come back to tls to help

[NolanRyan]

For those of us that bombed today... where should we go from here?

(looking toward you BVest lol you are our savior!)

[cheesemom]

For those of us that bombed today... where should we go from here?

+1 on this

[fly_lawy3r]

Former TLS user (while I was prepping for law school) with a new name checking in.

For those of us that bombed today... where should we go from here?

I mean, we should define "bombed." I feel like one could have a raw score well below the Barbri median and still do just fine on July 27th because (1) we still have a few weeks to improve (especially w/r/t our weaknesses) and (2) I'm guessing Barbri users are pretty much the cream of the crop in terms of overall test takers, so one's percentile could conceivably be much higher in relation to the actual TX bar-taking population.

That's at least what I tell myself.

[mada]

Can anyone tell me why the shelter rule does not apply in this question. https://ble.texas.gov/getsystemdocument.action?id=1463 I have no idea why but the model answer in the barbri book says absolutely nothing about the shelter rule but I thought the shelter rule changed the entire analysis. Its question 7 of the UCC practice tests in the barbri book and it was in July of 2004. It starts off with "Owner owned graphics..." If anyone could help me out on this one I would be really grateful.

[FloridaBoy]

FloridaBoy here.

Im sitting in Houston for this three day shit show. In Florida, I failed the first time on the bar by 2 points and passed on my second go around. However, Floridas C&F is insane and with a bankruptcy and a few other minor issues that happened over 20 years ago, the Florida Bar wanted to bring me up on an informal hearing on my C&F. My attorney told me it was common practice to delay applicants entry for three to five years. So I withdrew my passing score and applied in Texas. Its been more than 270 days since i first applied in Texas and i have not heard from their C&F, so im hoping that no news is good news. Has anyone been notified that their C&F has been approved, or do you find out after you take the Bar? It was 2.5 years in Florida.

So this is not my first rodeo, just my first rodeo in Texas.

I was wondering what ya'll thought of my strategy, i have the Barbri Books and i have Adaptibar.

Im hitting the P&E and MBE really hard and basically trying to cram the state specific stuff (Oil and Gas, Wills, Community Property, and Family Law).

-FloridaBoy

[BVest]

Florida, you may not know by the time you sit for the exam. And if they're not done by the time results come out, your name can be listed on the pass list with an asterisk.

[FloridaBoy]

Florida, you may not know by the time you sit for the exam. And if they're not done by the time results come out, your name can be listed on the pass list with an asterisk.

I applied for the Feb 2016 Exam and withdrew because i wasnt prepared, and every hotel in Austin wanted 300 bucks a night. So, they have had my file for almost a year now. I thought that i read that they have 270 days to complete their C&F determination and notify the applicant?

[BVest]

Florida, you may not know by the time you sit for the exam. And if they're not done by the time results come out, your name can be listed on the pass list with an asterisk.

I applied for the Feb 2016 Exam and withdrew because i wasnt prepared, and every hotel in Austin wanted 300 bucks a night. So, they have had my file for almost a year now. I thought that i read that they have 270 days to complete their C&F determination and notify the applicant?

That sounds right, but your withdrawal and resubmission might not make it a straight 270 from your initial submission. If you haven't heard, contact your examiner. Everybody has an examiner (by last name). But do it sooner rather than later as they're about to be very busy.