THEMIS THREAD for CA Feb 2017 Forum

[eafrica17]

Lets get this show on the road.

[Mariah Scary]

Checking in!

[drawingasmile]

Checking in here as well!

[optimistic_owl]

Long time lurker, but am deciding to make an account to prep for the Feb 2017 test.

Checking in!

[stv]

deleted

[ur_hero]

Checking in!

First-time CBX taker -was unfortunately unsuccessful.

For those interested: I did Themis and finished about 60%, then focusing on MBE and BarEssays practice for the last month. My main regret is perhaps all the time wasted on lectures that could have been spent practicing, as I'm not much of an auditory learner. I'm pretty surprised at the result, although I can think of a lot of things I could have done better.

I've been a long-time lurker here, and appreciate all the support and advice I've received. Hopefully I can learn something these next three months and pay it forward.

See you all in the February 2017 thread.

I'm also Big Law, and have one more shot at it in February according to my firm policy. Have to drop the bad news on Monday.

I'll be posting my score breakdown once I receive it. I'm in disbelief, but gotta confront this head on and do what needs to be done.

[drawingasmile]

Re-listening to the Contracts lecture... found it hilarious that they switched the name 'Tronald Dump" to "Will Ferrel" in some of the examples.

[optimistic_owl]

Quick question: how does the Themis retake option work? I haven't found a clear statement on their website. In particular, is it free and do they require a certain completion percentage to get the free retake? I suppose I could reach out to Themis, but I figure I'd ask you all first!

Thanks in advance.

[ur_hero]

Quick question: how does the Themis retake option work? I haven't found a clear statement on their website. In particular, is it free and do they require a certain completion percentage to get the free retake? I suppose I could reach out to Themis, but I figure I'd ask you all first!

Thanks in advance.

I had to e-mail Themis to activate my repeat course. First, I just signed on the Themis bar study portal for February 2017 and just didn't send any deposit or payment. After emailing them, it was activated later that day.

[optimistic_owl]

How do you guys plan to use Themis this time around?

I used it over the summer (along with a few other resources), but didn't reach the magic 75% completion rate. I don't plan to re-watch the lectures in their entirety or use their MBE questions. Curious to hear how other repeaters might be structuring their Themis process.

[GHammy]

Hopefully taking this for the last time

[LockBox]

Good luck, ladies and gentlemen. Counting backwards from the bar, I see that (starting next week) there are only 9 full weeks left until the CBX. My suggestion and mantra is 2 x 50: write 2 full essays out per day and do no less than 50 MBE's per day. If you only worked Monday - Friday by the CBX you will have done 90 essays and 2,250 MBE's. Over 14 subjects this comes out to a little over 6 essays per subject, which is not all that much for some topics given how much they can cover. This method worked for me, so i'm passing it along. Good luck.

[Msnegativity]

Checking in. Fellow repeaters: let's make this our last time.

[eafrica17]

As a first time Themis user and working FT. I think the formula of 2x Essay, 50 MBEs and a PT a Week + adequate memorization and Attack Sheets (for approach) will be the basis of my approach.
I am focusing on the testing materials provided by Themis and spending as much time as possible in PRACTICE MODE. It is always a tough balance between enough substantive law and practice there of.
Compliments of the Season and good luck to all!

[ChunkyTaco]

Does anyone else think the detailed outlines are too much?? Takes most of the day to read them.

[Msnegativity]

Does anyone else think the detailed outlines are too much?? Takes most of the day to read them.

Can't really say much because this will be my second attempt, but my husband passed on his first attempt and never even cracked open his big outline book. I won't be using mine this time around. Lecture handouts and final review outlines all the way.

[LockBox]

Does anyone else think the detailed outlines are too much?? Takes most of the day to read them.

Stop reading outlines just to read them. Continue (as you should have already started) practicing and referring to outlines to clear up any mistakes/inconsistencies.

[optimistic_owl]

Asked in the general CA Bar forum, but I'll also ask here...

I have a question about pulling the legal rules in the PTs. My question/concern boils down to this: Can we recite the rule statements verbatim from the cases/library without using quotes? I'm currently using Themis, and I've noticed that their model answer always cite the rules word-for-word without even using quotes. (At the end of the paragraph, the answer would then cite to the correct case/statute.) I feel like this is bordering on plagiarism, and would be down-graded by the readers.

However, I realize that I spend precious minutes trying to write out the rule statements and/or make them flow using quotations. BUT, perhaps I am doing it all wrong. Can I really just copy an entire rule statement (even if it's 2-3 sentences, and with many factors) word-for-word -- or sometimes insert a "however" or "additionally," as Themis does -- without using quotes??

This would make life seeming so much easier on the PTs and save me a lot of time and headache