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I'm taking the UBE in Illinois next year. What bar exam classes are actually helpful? Don't know if this is relevant but go to a t14 and have done well in school, etc.

For multiple choice: already took evidence (and obvisouly the other 1L doctrinal courses), so am considering Con Crim Pro since a good chunk of multiple choice is on this subject. However it wouldn't be useful for me other than bar prep and don't really want to take a gunner class.

For essay: would trusts & estates be helpful? Already took BA and Secured Transactions. Have not taken conflict of laws or family law.

Do not take classes solely for bar study purposes.

exdeanrod wrote:I'm taking the UBE in Illinois next year. What bar exam classes are actually helpful? Don't know if this is relevant but go to a t14 and have done well in school, etc.

For multiple choice: already took evidence (and obvisouly the other 1L doctrinal courses), so am considering Con Crim Pro since a good chunk of multiple choice is on this subject. However it wouldn't be useful for me other than bar prep and don't really want to take a gunner class.

For essay: would trusts & estates be helpful? Already took BA and Secured Transactions. Have not taken conflict of laws or family law.

I think that crim pro class could be useful, but other than that, my advice is not to take other bar exam classes solely for the purpose of preparing for the bar exam (or at least the UBE). If you hadn't already taken Evidence, that's the one exception I would recommend. Take classes that are directly relevant to your interests and career goals. You don't need the full law school courses in addition to the standard bar prep materials to do well on the MEE. And if you displace a class you're interested in with a bar prep class, you will never get that time and opportunity back.

exdeanrod wrote:I'm taking the UBE in Illinois next year. What bar exam classes are actually helpful? Don't know if this is relevant but go to a t14 and have done well in school, etc.

For multiple choice: already took evidence (and obvisouly the other 1L doctrinal courses), so am considering Con Crim Pro since a good chunk of multiple choice is on this subject. However it wouldn't be useful for me other than bar prep and don't really want to take a gunner class.

For essay: would trusts & estates be helpful? Already took BA and Secured Transactions. Have not taken conflict of laws or family law.

The "useful" upperyear bar subject classes you've already taken: Evidence, Corps, Secured Transactions. I would not recommend taking the others unless you have a genuine interest in the subject area.

Though, I would like to flag Family Law as a very fun and interesting class. Along with Contracts and Torts it may be one of the most useful law school classes you ever take for purposes of the party circuit.

cavalier1138 wrote:Do not take classes solely for bar study purposes.

Agreed. If you’ve done well in school you can learn the bar exam in just a few weeks.

Agreed. If you have literally no other preferences, then sure, maybe pick a bar course. But if there are other subjects that interest you more, take those.

Plus I think you’ve taken the big ones already (the only one I think is worth it is evidence - I had profs tell me not to take family law just for the bar, that it was one of the easiest subjects to learn).

nixy wrote:Plus I think you’ve taken the big ones already (the only one I think is worth it is evidence - I had profs tell me not to take family law just for the bar, that it was one of the easiest subjects to learn).

Absolutely don't take Family Law just for the bar. As tested on the bar, it's one of the easiest subjects to study/learn.

But Family Law is very useful to know at a deeper level than the bar requires. The divorce rate is sky-high. Everyone knows someone (possibly themselves) who's gotten divorced or is seriously contemplating it. While of course folks shouldn't start giving out legal advice on the basis of having taken a Family Law course in law school, it doesn't hurt to have enough of an understanding of the subject to be able to talk about it at a high level/correct some common misperceptions.

I tend to be on the side of taking bar classes during law school. Maybe to a fault.

But I'll moderate my views a bit and say that if you're not one who wants to take classes for this purpose at the very least be sure to take Evidence (if not required) and Article 9 UCC. Because these courses are very complex and would not be fun at all to try to learn while studying for multiple other subjects at the same time. Also might want to take Corporations and Wills/Trusts, both difficult subjects.

Sean (Silverman Bar Exam Tutoring)