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Hi everyone. I am a Canadian lawyer looking to write the bar in New York in February 2020. I happen to have some time off now to study ahead of time, and was hoping to get advice as to how to approach it. I know basically nothing about U.S. law. I have also been reading around to see which bar prep materials would be most helpful, but would love advice from people who have recently taken the bar.

I wanted to get Themis, but their next course is not accessible until mid-November, and so I would have to waste a couple of months waiting. I know Bar Max is accessible immediately, but I do not know much about it. Would it be enough to take that and have a few supplemental materials (i.e., Adaptibar, Critical Pass Flashcards)? Also, I know a lot of people mention Emmanuel's S&T, but I see it is from 2016. Is it still worth using? Sorry for my ignorance, but I'm totally new to this. BarBri seems too expensive, so I don't really think I want to go down that road.

Any advice would be appreciated. I am trying to figure out what I need to purchase so that I can begin studying effectively right away. If anyone could list out all the materials people generally use for studying that would be great. I am just not sure if I need separate outlines than what Bar Max provides. I really just want to take this exam once. I am pretty good at studying on my own and don't lack motivation, but definitely need a general outline of how to achieve a passing score and don't currently really know how to get started.

Thank you in advance!

See you posted on ls.ca too --- definitely the better call to post here.

Would just wait on Themis and stick to their schedule, tbh. I know that seems a bit laissez-faire, but it's what I'd recommend. You won't be at a particular disadvantage for having gone to law school in Canada or anything, and I don't think it would be efficient or effective to do things like read casebooks or anything.

Do you need to do the MPRE / NYLE and that kinda stuff too? If so, can knock those out of the way / prep for those in the meantime.

Hey, thanks for the response! Yes, I thought it would be better to ask here. Did you use Themis? Did you find it prepared you enough? The only thing is that I will start working in October full time, and I really would like to take advantage of my time now , since I will have much less time available to study once I start working.

Themis is available November 13, but does it set its calendar to begin on that date, or does it expect you to start in e.g., December some time...just wondering how long it expects you to study for, e.g., 8 weeks, 10 weeks...

I do need to do the MPRE/NYLE as well. If I decide to wait for Themis, then I will definitely take care of these now.

They give you a self-calibrating calendar so it's plotted out to give you work every day, but if you skip a day it retools your schedule accordingly. Ideally you just follow the plan, so start doing some work on day 1. It's less work than Barbri in terms of assignments, but even then it's still overstudying -- Barbri is just overkill.

Most people take the NYLE / MPRE before they start studying for the bar (like during 3L or right after grad), and doing them at same time as bar study would definitely suck. Would definitely have those as my two go-to things right now, then when those are done maybe it'll be November. If it's October, then re-assess how to fill a month. But as for right now? NYLE/MPRE all the way. That's efficient since you won't want to do them while bar studying anyway.

Ah ok. So what I'm understanding is that from Mid-November to the end of February is enough time to basically study part-time?

Any suggestions on how to study for the MPRE/NYLE? I have not looked up too much about them yet. I thought there was time after the Bar to complete them.

acal078 wrote:Ah ok. So what I'm understanding is that from Mid-November to the end of February is enough time to basically study part-time?

Any suggestions on how to study for the MPRE/NYLE? I have not looked up too much about them yet. I thought there was time after the Bar to complete them.

They’re both easy. MPRE I would just use Themis or barbri (they have mpre specific study guides — I think you might be able to get them free? They use them as promo tools for law students to sign up for their full course basically).

NYLE is literally just reading the PDF once before taking the thing. It’s super easy.

Yeah, Nov-Feb is 100 percent enough time.

Ok, that's good to know, thanks. I assumed I would need more time as people seemed to be studying 8 weeks full time after law school, and I would not have that luxury. It seems that Themis has free MPRE prep which starts mid-September (in case anyone is interested).

I'm still open to hearing other people's opinions on this as well.

If I did want to get ready for the Bar prior to the Themis course, what would be the best use of my time?

I would just caution that the MPRE and NYLE are not "real easy." A lot of people who have passed them say that but if you don't know the material, you are not going to pass them. Just saying.

perfunctory wrote:I would just caution that the MPRE and NYLE are not "real easy." A lot of people who have passed them say that but if you don't know the material, you are not going to pass them. Just saying.

This!

A lot of folks actually fail these exams, quite regularly, too!

I'm almost positive that a new edition (the 7th edition) of S&T is scheduled to be released in November. I say "almost" because things can certainly change with publication dates. Importantly, this new edition will have licensed civ pro questions which the 6th edition doesn't have!

Regarding prep programs, also consider Pieper Bar Review along with the others you're considering. I think these prep companies pretty much provide the same material (they kind of have to since they are all teaching to the same exam) so shop around for pricing, etc. Definitely go with a program that won't force you to wait till they are ready to start for you to begin.

Sean (Silverman Bar Exam Tutoring)

Thank you everyone for the advice!

Regarding the MPRE/NYLE, I was thinking of just writing these some time after the Bar since I feel that the Bar is the most important one to focus on and complete for now. Really just want to take it once and pass.

Does anyone have personal experience with Bar Max? I see pretty good reviews around, but I'm always wary that people are sponsored by the company so would love some potentially less biased reviews. Any bit of info would really help!

I used Barmax and passed NY 2018.

Barmax is cheap and sufficient if you also do the practice questions. the notes are very concise. the rules referred in the model answers to the essays are sometimes not in the notes.

TheJuryMustDie wrote:

perfunctory wrote:I would just caution that the MPRE and NYLE are not "real easy." A lot of people who have passed them say that but if you don't know the material, you are not going to pass them. Just saying.

This!

A lot of folks actually fail these exams, quite regularly, too!

Agreed but how do you fail the NYLE? You're literally given the answers.

acal078 wrote: Regarding the MPRE/NYLE, I was thinking of just writing these some time after the Bar since I feel that the Bar is the most important one to focus on and complete for now. Really just want to take it once and pass.

The NYLE is like a Canadian bar exam (open book), with everything you need in the PDF the BOLE gives you. You watch the (NYLC) videos bec they're a requirement, but I can say that they weren't of any help. I just plowed through most of the videos in one sitting (I had a few days). MPRE definitely requires a bit more studying, but isn't as bad either. Good luck!

My $.02

Thanks again for the advice everyone.

I was thinking of working on Adaptibar until November when Themis becomes accessible. I figure this way I can focus on the multiple choice portion of the bar exam as Adaptibar provides videos/questions. I thought the benefits of Themis over Barmax might be helpful. If anyone thinks this is a waste of time and I should just jump in with barmax, please let me know. I just want to make sure I have enough to study with to pass. Thanks!

acal078 wrote:Thanks again for the advice everyone.

I was thinking of working on Adaptibar until November when Themis becomes accessible. I figure this way I can focus on the multiple choice portion of the bar exam as Adaptibar provides videos/questions. I thought the benefits of Themis over Barmax might be helpful. If anyone thinks this is a waste of time and I should just jump in with barmax, please let me know. I just want to make sure I have enough to study with to pass. Thanks!

Sounds solid to me. You could work out issues at a relaxed pace. You should have enough material to pass - people have done so with less. Feel free to change it up if it isn't working though.

Good luck!

My $.02

What books should I purchase to self-study the NY Bar? I know people who were working full-time that did this and passed.