2017 February California Bar Exam Forum

[sittin_pretty]

Failed. Time to learn the new format, and my ignorances...

Are there any examples published with the new exam format? While I think the old material is good for the substantive law I would be intrigued to see the MPT file and library example with a sample answer.

Also where can I buy a 2017 Barbri set, as mine is getting a bit old... Cheers!

I'll sell you mine!

[Penelopesharp]

Um, for those that failed, would you mind sharing what message you got when you entered your info into the pass list? I get what looks like an error message that says that my information doesn't match any person on the pass list and 4 possible reasons why, only one of which is that I was unsuccessful. Does that mean I definitely failed? Kind of a confusing way to give someone such harsh info....

[9xSound]

Congratulations, passers. You now get to experience the consequences of your achievement — all the things that they didn't put in the brochure. Well done. You outperformed 2/3 of the people who took the test. Pretty incredible.

Repeaters, there are no words that I or A Male Human or anyone here can say to bandage the wound you're feeling right now. You're trying to climb the steepest, most slippery part of the law school mountain. It will take extraordinary courage to face that rock wall again. If you were on your second or third try in February, you probably feel abandoned, lost in the woods. But consider this: if you didn't feel wounded, it could only be because you don't care. And if you don't care, you probably won't ever become an attorney.

For those of you who do care, you who have been dealt this difficult setback, just know that you are not alone. The Committee denied the license to an astonishing 2/3 of the takers. Simply ridiculous. They passed only 34.5 percent of all takers. One-third. That's one of the lowest pass rates in the last 30 years. They've made it so difficult to pass that one almost has to conclude they are doing it deliberately. It's unfair. It's obstructionist. It's flat bullshit. But it's reality.

Take most of the weekend off. Go skydiving — it gives you a hell of perspective on the world. Better yet, go volunteer somewhere, even if it's mowing the angry old widow's lawn next door. She's just lonely. Do it for free. Help someone out just for the sake of lending a hand to somebody who could use it. You'll feel a lot better about yourself. Sunday afternoon, get your outlines out. Flip through a few of them. Note how familiar everything looks. You know that you don't really have to relearn all this BS. You already know it. So rather than face the next 2½ months trying to memorize the law, start thinking about how you're going to study the test this time, not just the law. Because you already know the law. Why is your analysis weaker than the people's who passed? What are they asking you to deliver that you aren't delivering? Why does the MBE cause you to struggle? These kinds of questions have answers. Re-read the instructions on the cover sheet of every essay/PT packet and contemplate the significance of every word with this thought in mind: the bar is not a test of minimum competence. It is a competition for a limited number of licenses, and the goal is maximum competence. When you start studying what it is that the bar is actually testing, instead of focusing simply on learning the law, you'll be taking a step in the right direction. Look to the example of Captain John Paul Jones, who answered his foe, "Surrender? I have not yet begun to fight!"

[9xSound]

Um, for those that failed, would you mind sharing what message you got when you entered your info into the pass list? I get what looks like an error message that says that my information doesn't match any person on the pass list and 4 possible reasons why, only one of which is that I was unsuccessful. Does that mean I definitely failed? Kind of a confusing way to give someone such harsh info....

That's how they do it, Penelope. They don't say, "You failed." They just say that the name you entered doesn't appear on the pass list.

[Kalani111]

1/3 pass rate? Absurd! Take no shame in this draconian hazing ritual if you failed. The format is changing, hopefully for the better.

And to those who passed, holy smokes, well done outliers.

[clockguy]

Passed. Too late to save my legal career. But passed. My tutor helped a lot. If someone needs my tutor's name, just PM me (don't know whether I can give out tutor info in public). PM me if you need the $30 Adaptibar discount. My takeaways and advice:

1. Honestly cannot tell you how I did it. I went with Adaptibar and practiced until I was averaging 75%+ on all MBE topics except Civ Pro. Met 2x/week with tutor in person and did 6 essays/week or 4 essays + 2 PTs. Memorized attack outlines daily (short term memorization only, impossible to memorize outline word for word). Adaptibar helped me get familiar with the test format and memorizing the outlines helped me get the law right. I made sure to read the big themis book everytime I didn't understand the law.

2. "Minimum competence" apparently means the competence of a practicing lawyer with with access to Lexis/Westlaw/Google (along with a strong memory). They apparently expect you to be able to know more legal details on the top of your head than all the lawyers I've met.

3. I highly do not recommend Themis for CA bar. Everyone I knew who took Themis failed CA Bar the first time. Their essay graders are not actual graders and only go by their model answers. Their model answers are also not intuitively organized and miss issues too. Their graders do not give useful feedback and explain why you got only a 60 or why you did well to get a 70. I gave my tutor's model answers to them and they gave it a 55-60. The only thing Themis is useful for is their big blue reference book and their Civ Pro multiple choice because Adaptibar was way too complicated and hard.

[a male human]

Great message from 9xSound. You have a huge advantage over all those first-timer newbies because now you can put more focus on practice for the next 10 weeks!

[kaisaj]

I passed! I was extremely surprised. All of the post mortem things I read made me wonder if I was fooling myself to even try in the first place. I didn't go to law school and while I studied furiously in my Law Office Chambers program, there were many times that I longed to feel the glow of an elucidated concept. I will forever love law professors who put their lectures on the internet.

So, I passed the first time without law school due to some luck , work and a very good sponsor. I did all of the bar review on my own via Craigslist and eBay. There were a few online study sources that I have strong feelings about.

This forum helped me enormously to get different perspectives on concepts. One of my biggest strugggles was conflicting information from various resources. I found a lot of information out just by reading through very detailed arguments in posts.

At any rate, I'd be glad to post my study schedule. It was designed for someone who doesn't have much time in the afternoons and evenings, but can remember things in the early morning.

[rcharter1978]

I failed again.

Can someone PLEASE help me pass this? PLEASE SOMEONE HELP ME.

What will your mom say? Don't tell her.

She called and I told her the bad news. She said that her birthday and Mother's Day is ruined and hung up the phone.

Wow, that is cold. I'm thinking she will come around but she is totally in the wrong for that.

[RavenAgain]

I failed again.

Can someone PLEASE help me pass this? PLEASE SOMEONE HELP ME.

What will your mom say? Don't tell her.

She called and I told her the bad news. She said that her birthday and Mother's Day is ruined and hung up the phone.

Wow, that is cold. I'm thinking she will come around but she is totally in the wrong for that.

Did your mother take the bar?

[armenianBEAUTY]

I PASSED!!!!

What did I do different this second time around? Ignore what everyone else says. I hated life during my first preparation for the bar. My "tutor" had one plan for me. "Do this many hundred MBE's a week, etc." Barbri had another plan for me. I wasn't meeting any of their quotas even though I studied every single day from 8am to around 10pm with breaks for eating. Others' plans for me were probably causing more stress for me than knowing how many weeks were left for the bar. Tutor would literally demand that I let him decide how to spend my precious prep time and to ignore what I thought I needed. And to be fair, I know Barbri says to pick and choose which assignments we find most beneficial for ourselves, but none of us feel good about seeing a total of only 37% of assignments complete.

I knew I needed more time than most to master nearly all of the black letter law-- i.e., be able to recite quick, simple rule statements. I'm never okay with a plan to just wing it / make up something that sounds right. My tutor would constantly tell me, "the rule will come to you when you see the facts." That was sooo stressful. I knew what I needed, but I let everyone else stress me out and ruin my confidence for the 1st administration. I am so glad that I just did what I knew I needed this time around.

Anyway, congratulations to all those who passed.

If you didn't pass, I honestly hope that your ego isn't as big as mine was/is. One of the worst parts about not passing was having to tell everyone about it. Making it worse was the fact that I was literally around 5 raw points away from passing the first time and knowing that people are probably thinking to themselves, "Yeah, yeah, yeah... everyone claims they were so close to passing." Anyway, the feeling of passing makes up for everything and then some. My best wishes for you all!

[rcharter1978]

For those of you who passed....congratulations! Its an amazing feeling.

For those of you who didn't pass, you'll get your scores Monday, review them and see if it was honestly just a funky one off situation where you probably got a bad reader, or if there are substantive areas you didnt do well in.

When I failed, it was pretty obvious that essays and PT's were my problems, and when I think back on my first exam, I could totally see why. My writing was unfocused, rambly, I didn't use many subject headings, and if I did the subject headings didn't make any sense. For some people MBE's and essays were low, which probably signals an issue with black letter law, and maybe writing. If your MBE's are low, but your essays are fine, you probably need to focus in on black letter law and understanding the nuances.

If you failed, take a week or two off to be pissed off at the world. But then you need to put all that aside and focus on July, start thinking of how happy you'll be in November when you find out you passed and just put the failure out of your mind as much as you can. Failing can shake your confidence to the core, and you can't let that happen.

[CalBar3Day]

Officially giving up. I've taken this damn test too many times and I just can't do it anymore. Between the money, the stress of studying, taking, and waiting, I am defeated. I thought this was it this time. I just think about how much time and money I invested into this including the debt I accrued for law school, the multiple times I paid for the test, and a tutor (twice), and my heart is broken. This is all I've ever wanted and I am repeatedly told by the California bar examiners that I'm not good enough. Worse, the embarrassment of telling the people I work with that once again, I can't pass a test when they have me doing all the same work as all of their associates. My family is devastated because now we don't have any clue as to how I will ever put a dent in my student loans based on my current salary. Woke up three times last night in tears and I still can't manage to face the day without feeling like a failure.

I am lost, defeated, devastated, and mad as hell. California will never let me be an attorney. It's over.

[maxmartin]

Officially giving up. I've taken this damn test too many times and I just can't do it anymore. Between the money, the stress of studying, taking, and waiting, I am defeated. I thought this was it this time. I just think about how much time and money I invested into this including the debt I accrued for law school, the multiple times I paid for the test, and a tutor (twice), and my heart is broken. This is all I've ever wanted and I am repeatedly told by the California bar examiners that I'm not good enough. Worse, the embarrassment of telling the people I work with that once again, I can't pass a test when they have me doing all the same work as all of their associates. My family is devastated because now we don't have any clue as to how I will ever put a dent in my student loans based on my current salary. Woke up three times last night in tears and I still can't manage to face the day without feeling like a failure.

I am lost, defeated, devastated, and mad as hell. California will never let me be an attorney. It's over.

Don't give up. What is your MBE score? If you are around 1500, there is a much higher chance to pass under 50/50 format. I didn't even bother with this 3 day scam format.

[rcharter1978]

Officially giving up. I've taken this damn test too many times and I just can't do it anymore. Between the money, the stress of studying, taking, and waiting, I am defeated. I thought this was it this time. I just think about how much time and money I invested into this including the debt I accrued for law school, the multiple times I paid for the test, and a tutor (twice), and my heart is broken. This is all I've ever wanted and I am repeatedly told by the California bar examiners that I'm not good enough. Worse, the embarrassment of telling the people I work with that once again, I can't pass a test when they have me doing all the same work as all of their associates. My family is devastated because now we don't have any clue as to how I will ever put a dent in my student loans based on my current salary. Woke up three times last night in tears and I still can't manage to face the day without feeling like a failure.

I am lost, defeated, devastated, and mad as hell. California will never let me be an attorney. It's over.

Take a week, cry your tears, curse the examiners, deal with humiliation and then start studying again. Because I can tell you two things for sure: 1) not passing will always hang over your head, 2) you won't become any more able to pass as time moves on.

Do not tell anyone you are taking the exam, or if you do, lock yourself away from people. If you need to just get a win under your belt try an easier state just to get some confidence and to be able to say you're an attorney.

Really look at your scores. Did you improve? How is your MBE score? Everything starts with knowledge of black letter law, honestly, how comfortable are you with black letter law? When I studied the second time, i scrapped Barbri, used a tutor for essays but really took time to review black letter law (3-5 days per subject). I used the strange methods I used in law school and it worked.

Do not buy a ton of shit. Figure out the top 3 things that work for you and focus on those. July shouldn't be as tough with a 2 day exam and 50% MBE. But nothing IMO can make up for not having a good grasp of BLL. There is no way around it, no tricks, you just have to know the law. If you don't it doesn't matter who you hire or how many resources you but.

You can do this! You can! You.can.do.this.

[gaagoots]

.

[ur_hero]

I PASSED!!!!

What did I do different this second time around? Ignore what everyone else says. I hated life during my first preparation for the bar. My "tutor" had one plan for me. "Do this many hundred MBE's a week, etc." Barbri had another plan for me. I wasn't meeting any of their quotas even though I studied every single day from 8am to around 10pm with breaks for eating. Others' plans for me were probably causing more stress for me than knowing how many weeks were left for the bar. Tutor would literally demand that I let him decide how to spend my precious prep time and to ignore what I thought I needed. And to be fair, I know Barbri says to pick and choose which assignments we find most beneficial for ourselves, but none of us feel good about seeing a total of only 37% of assignments complete.

I knew I needed more time than most to master nearly all of the black letter law-- i.e., be able to recite quick, simple rule statements. I'm never okay with a plan to just wing it / make up something that sounds right. My tutor would constantly tell me, "the rule will come to you when you see the facts." That was sooo stressful. I knew what I needed, but I let everyone else stress me out and ruin my confidence for the 1st administration. I am so glad that I just did what I knew I needed this time around.

Anyway, congratulations to all those who passed.

If you didn't pass, I honestly hope that your ego isn't as big as mine was/is. One of the worst parts about not passing was having to tell everyone about it. Making it worse was the fact that I was literally around 5 raw points away from passing the first time and knowing that people are probably thinking to themselves, "Yeah, yeah, yeah... everyone claims they were so close to passing." Anyway, the feeling of passing makes up for everything and then some. My best wishes for you all!

Congrats! I was rooting for you

[ur_hero]

Officially giving up. I've taken this damn test too many times and I just can't do it anymore. Between the money, the stress of studying, taking, and waiting, I am defeated. I thought this was it this time. I just think about how much time and money I invested into this including the debt I accrued for law school, the multiple times I paid for the test, and a tutor (twice), and my heart is broken. This is all I've ever wanted and I am repeatedly told by the California bar examiners that I'm not good enough. Worse, the embarrassment of telling the people I work with that once again, I can't pass a test when they have me doing all the same work as all of their associates. My family is devastated because now we don't have any clue as to how I will ever put a dent in my student loans based on my current salary. Woke up three times last night in tears and I still can't manage to face the day without feeling like a failure.

I am lost, defeated, devastated, and mad as hell. California will never let me be an attorney. It's over.

The new 2-day format is I think the perfect opportunity to make this the one. There is no way to minimize the difficulty of not passing, but most will at least understand that SOMETHING is wrong when 2/3 of thousands of applicants were failing. It's shocking and completely inexcusable on the State Bar's part. Anyone who has practiced knows this has very little to do with how you perform as an attorney (especially me, who does corporate/transactional work!!!)

You'll have MUCH more objectivity in the MBE weighting this time. I think you obviously already know the substantive law so well, so reinforce that strength as your buffer under the new format and figure out what you can do to pull up the essays as much as possible. I seriously think THIS is the opportunity for you.

[alexmares50]

Passed. I can't believe the passing rate and I cannot imagine how everyone feels right now. For all of those that did not make it this time please don't give up. During law school I was academically in trouble, dropped out, came back and forced to re-start, missed graduating with my friends in May 2015 because I caught a softball with my face and had a cerebral fluid leak that required a bi-frontal crainiotomy and a titanium plate in my forehead to fix (Dec 2015). I share that because I know at that time I felt close to death both physically and mentally...like the world did not want me to move forward. I believe life gives us the issues we can handle and perspective helped me get back. I was worried about law school while kids elsewhere did not have clean water.

What helped me most I think was seeking counsel of both those who passed and those that did not. I used Themis Bar prep and I really liked their materials especially their big outline. I also used the Critical Pass Cards, BarEssays.com and Adaptibar (yeah i went a little bat-ish on it). Oddly...of all things was helped the most was the Quizlet App.

Anyone who did not pass was frustrated at themselves for not having rule statements off the cuff that they could go to for the essays. They all knew the law but getting it out quickly and efficiently was an issue for them (and for me). So i wrote up my own rule statements and repeated over and over. Also, I began memorizing the law 2 weeks into barprep. A lot of courses tell you not to start memorizing and that things will just come, but knowing myself...i knew things would not just come.

Please PM me or MSG me if you have any questions or just need someone to chat with. Dont give up

[a male human]

Officially giving up. I've taken this damn test too many times and I just can't do it anymore. Between the money, the stress of studying, taking, and waiting, I am defeated. I thought this was it this time. I just think about how much time and money I invested into this including the debt I accrued for law school, the multiple times I paid for the test, and a tutor (twice), and my heart is broken. This is all I've ever wanted and I am repeatedly told by the California bar examiners that I'm not good enough. Worse, the embarrassment of telling the people I work with that once again, I can't pass a test when they have me doing all the same work as all of their associates. My family is devastated because now we don't have any clue as to how I will ever put a dent in my student loans based on my current salary. Woke up three times last night in tears and I still can't manage to face the day without feeling like a failure.

I am lost, defeated, devastated, and mad as hell. California will never let me be an attorney. It's over.

The new 2-day format is I think the perfect opportunity to make this the one. There is no way to minimize the difficulty of not passing, but most will at least understand that SOMETHING is wrong when 2/3 of thousands of applicants were failing. It's shocking and completely inexcusable on the State Bar's part. Anyone who has practiced knows this has very little to do with how you perform as an attorney (especially me, who does corporate/transactional work!!!)

You'll have MUCH more objectivity in the MBE weighting this time. I think you obviously already know the substantive law so well, so reinforce that strength as your buffer under the new format and figure out what you can do to pull up the essays as much as possible. I seriously think THIS is the opportunity for you.

Agreed. This new bar format might be the place you can turn things around if you're more comfortable with the MBE.

[dontgiveupthefight17]

Officially giving up. I've taken this damn test too many times and I just can't do it anymore. Between the money, the stress of studying, taking, and waiting, I am defeated. I thought this was it this time. I just think about how much time and money I invested into this including the debt I accrued for law school, the multiple times I paid for the test, and a tutor (twice), and my heart is broken. This is all I've ever wanted and I am repeatedly told by the California bar examiners that I'm not good enough. Worse, the embarrassment of telling the people I work with that once again, I can't pass a test when they have me doing all the same work as all of their associates. My family is devastated because now we don't have any clue as to how I will ever put a dent in my student loans based on my current salary. Woke up three times last night in tears and I still can't manage to face the day without feeling like a failure.

I am lost, defeated, devastated, and mad as hell. California will never let me be an attorney. It's over.

Keep your chin up CalBar3Day. It took me four attempts before I passed the NY Bar so I know exactly how you feel and what you're currently going through. Like others have said, use the next few days to absorb it all (cry/vent/curse) and then get back in the saddle and think of your retake strategy.

You have come so far....you can do it!

[armenianBEAUTY]

I passed. I seriously don't think I could have maintained the drive and motivation to push for this without all of you here (I've been here almost every day since November 19), so thank you. Being part of a community of others who understood what I was going through has been so key to managing my emotional and mental stability, as I've literally refused to talk about the bar exam with friends, family, and my workplace (not to say they haven't offered all the support in the world as well). This has been my outlet. I'm thankful for you all.

Congrats to those who passed. And I sincerely hope those that did not this time around will regroup and direct everything they have into the next one and feel what I felt today.

Word! Congratulations! So happy for you!! I hope the positive vibes from this community help everyone who wasn't able to pass this time. I agree that this community has also helped me a whole lot.

Anyone questioning themselves right now: just remember that there are some seriously stupid lawyers who have received their CA license to practice. You are capable!! You just need to find what will help you reach that threshold required from this needy ass state.

[a male human]

Big ups again to the minority who passed and condolences to the majority who didn't. I have a request now that the climax appears to be over for now.

I'm searching for old essay answers and scores you may have gotten back from the state bar. I would like to add my free essay answer collection for future generations to use. Any year or exam is fine, though the 2016 July exam is a priority since I haven't had any donations for that one.

If you're willing to donate your old essay answers, please let me know! Scans and photos are all fine.

(Unrelated: If you have recent MEE study materials (Barbri outlines etc.), I'm also looking to study them to better assist UBE people. I could buy my own outlines but would prefer if I could get them passed down from anyone who doesn't need them anymore.)

Thank you!

[LockBox]

Officially giving up. I've taken this damn test too many times and I just can't do it anymore. Between the money, the stress of studying, taking, and waiting, I am defeated. I thought this was it this time. I just think about how much time and money I invested into this including the debt I accrued for law school, the multiple times I paid for the test, and a tutor (twice), and my heart is broken. This is all I've ever wanted and I am repeatedly told by the California bar examiners that I'm not good enough. Worse, the embarrassment of telling the people I work with that once again, I can't pass a test when they have me doing all the same work as all of their associates. My family is devastated because now we don't have any clue as to how I will ever put a dent in my student loans based on my current salary. Woke up three times last night in tears and I still can't manage to face the day without feeling like a failure.

I am lost, defeated, devastated, and mad as hell. California will never let me be an attorney. It's over.

Let me offer some different advice - you should give up.

Not because you failed x number of times, or you're devastated because you failed, but because you want to rail against the bar and California for "not letting you be an attorney."

I can say all of this because I was in your EXACT same shoes. All of it. Explaining to colleagues whom I felt I had a better understanding of the law that I failed sucked. The finances of taking this thing again sucked. But most of all, the stress of trying to study everyday with the anxiety weighing over me. It was rough.

But I didn't give up. I didn't blame the bar. It was me. That's it.

To all who failed it's my opinion that it's not your place to blame anyone but yourself. Your tutor, law school, Barbri, and definitely not the bar. Your job is to pass and then entertain those thoughts. Until then, worry about your job of getting past the finish line. That's all.

Calbar, I don't want to be harsh or to kick you when you're down. After all, I can 100% relate to your post. (I was there 1 year ago). But now I'm an attorney who deals with asshole opposing counsels who want to screw over my clients, coworkers who act like pricks, and even my own clients who think they know better than me even when they acknowledge they are paying me for my advice and that they are acting irrationally.

So should I just blame them and not do my job? Give up and quit? Close my office door, disconnect my phone and hide? (Seriously considering this after just writing it). No.

My point is this. For you (and the rest) who says that "this is all you ever wanted" I say bullshit if you're considering quitting. I'm sure it would be nice and you would like it, but for you (and the rest who failed) you're going to have to pay a special price for it. And that price is thinking of this thing in terms no less than war.

That means a lot to different people. Some need to work harder. Armenianbeauty just posted something I related to as well - I said screw you to everyone's plan including my tutors. I did what I needed to do to pass.

I have a friend who just passed his 4th attempt. His resolve was admirable.

I won't comment on how the test will change in July or chances or whatever. All I'll say is that to pass you need determination. You need to say no matter what I'll figure this out. Not, if I fail a couple of times I'll move on. For me, I saw no way out but passing. That's when I passed.

It's your choice.

[a male human]

Great post, LockBox. I'm glad you brought up the non-"feel good" perspective. I think giving up the culmination of what you worked for the last several years will take some psychological reframing.

And yet, being an attorney is such a taxing position. Non-legal jobs still value your JD and work ethic. You don't have to bill every 6 minutes (while cutting your own hours and looking for more work to do), pay yearly bar fees, track MCLE, feel stuck in one state, address people who think you can handle all sorts of issues whenever they have landlord problems, address people think you're rich, be held to a high standard of conduct (maybe), etc.