Memoirs of a Bar Examinee

[slacker]

I agree on BarBri...I started today. It's not enough to just attend and fill in the blanks. You need to do more to learn/memorize the material. We're doing torts. After class this morning, I started filling in my own flash cards based on the lecture. I'm not sure if that's good, or if that's too much effort for the time it's taking. In any case, I want to be more active about what I'm doing, and re-writing tends to help things sink in in a way that typing or reading do not.

[jd06]

Took barbri last summer.  Agree that many of the lecturers (Whitebread in particular) gave relatively short shrift to the substantive material.  However, while I didn't rely heavily on the in-class outlines, I did find that the Conviser Mini-Review did a good job of covering the substantive law you need to know for the essay portion of the exam.  Remember, the bar exam is much more "broad brush" than your law school exam.  As to the MBE's, PMBR was priceless.  By the time I got the exam, having worked through both PMBR books, I felt like I'd already seen about half the bar exam questions. 

[slacker]

jd06 - any helpful prep tips?

[smujd2007]

Im finding that if you are doing the 50 pmbr questions per day as suggested, it helps A LOT to actually write out the explanation  ( in short form) of the questions that you miss, or got right only because of a lucky guess.  They tell you to spend three hours doing the questions and going over the answers, and with writing out the ones I got wrong it took me 2 hours 57 minutes. For me, just reading over the answers and highlighting wasn't good enough.  It helped in reinforcing the questions I got right, but did nothing to keep me from making the same mistakes.

I think this is very beneficial . . . anything active helps! 

How's everyone else's review going?

I agree on BarBri...I started today. It's not enough to just attend and fill in the blanks. You need to do more to learn/memorize the material. We're doing torts. After class this morning, I started filling in my own flash cards based on the lecture. I'm not sure if that's good, or if that's too much effort for the time it's taking. In any case, I want to be more active about what I'm doing, and re-writing tends to help things sink in in a way that typing or reading do not.

[Burning Sands, Esq.]

Im finding that if you are doing the 50 pmbr questions per day as suggested, it helps A LOT to actually write out the explanation  ( in short form) of the questions that you miss, or got right only because of a lucky guess.  They tell you to spend three hours doing the questions and going over the answers, and with writing out the ones I got wrong it took me 2 hours 57 minutes. For me, just reading over the answers and highlighting wasn't good enough.  It helped in reinforcing the questions I got right, but did nothing to keep me from making the same mistakes.

I think this is very beneficial . . . anything active helps! 

How's everyone else's review going?

I agree on BarBri...I started today. It's not enough to just attend and fill in the blanks. You need to do more to learn/memorize the material. We're doing torts. After class this morning, I started filling in my own flash cards based on the lecture. I'm not sure if that's good, or if that's too much effort for the time it's taking. In any case, I want to be more active about what I'm doing, and re-writing tends to help things sink in in a way that typing or reading do not.

Just did the first full day of BarBri in the morning, review barbri topic after lunch and then do the 50 MBE/PMBR questions after that and reviewed all of them.  Started at 9am, just ended around 8pm.  Me and my study partner are just getting started. I know that time will increase as we go along.

I think you're right about writing the stuff out.  It helps to reinforce it. I found myself missing the same question from the first week all over again today b/c I didn't do that.  Gotta make this stuff stick.  This is the biggest closed book exam ever.  Uhg.

[iman]

hey, i got this via email. thought y'all might be interested. good luck!

Below is information on a free supplemental bar tutorial offered by Practicing Attorneys for Law Students (PALS) for recent law school graduates studying for the New York Bar Exam. The Supplemental Bar Tutorial focuses on the writing component of the bar exam, where students often lose what Professor Lakin considers "easy points" because the traditional bar courses do not focus on this area.

The Practicing Attorneys for Law Students Program, Inc.
PALS®
SUMMER 2007 SUPPLEMENTAL BAR TUTORIAL*

Dates & Times:
Friday, June 8, 2007 2 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Friday, June 15, 2007 2:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. (Note later time)
Friday, June 22, 2007 2 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Friday, July 6, 2007 2 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Place: Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
(4 Times Square, 42nd Street & Broadway, New York City, 37th Floor)

Lecturer: Professor Leonard Lakin
(Professor Lakin has successfully taught the PALS Supplemental Bar Tutorial for several years. Professor Lakin was formerly associated with the New York Board of Law Examiners where he participated in drafting of Bar Exam essay questions and model answers. He also participated in drafting New York multiple choice questions. Professor Lakin has lectured for BAR/BRI Bar Review for many years. He has also graded thousands of Bar Exam essays.)

R.S.V.P. www.palsprogram.org By June 1, 2007
Requirements:
1. Intend to sit for the July 2007 New York State Bar Exam
2. Must be enrolled in full-time Bar Review Course (e.g. Pieper, BAR/BRI)
3. Students must commit to attending ALL FOUR SESSIONS
3. MUST RSVP NO LATER THAN June 1, 2007 at www.palsprogram.org

*This program is a supplemental tutorial. It is intended for law students who have graduated and who will sit for the New York State Bar exam in July 2007. Registration is limited and will be on a first come, first served basis.


Please direct any questions to info@palsprogram.org or call (212) 730- PALS

[Burning Sands, Esq.]

OK SMU, today was the first official official day.  My study partner and I have been gettin it in for the past couple days, but today was the first serious day.  When I say serious, I'm talking 50 PMBR questions, plus writing an essay from the BarBri book, plus going over and reviewing today's BarBri lecture, on top of going to BarBri in the morning of course.   

Whoever gets this Crim question correct really paid attention during Crim Law and my hat goes off to you:


Junior was playing cards with a group of friends at their weekly poker game. Earlier in the evening, Kermit, one of the players, handed Junior a gun and told him it was unloaded.  As a joke, Junior pointed the gun at Malcom [yes they spelled Malcom wrong] and pulled the trigger.  Unknown to Junior, the gun was loaded and it discharged.  The bullet grazed Malcom's shoulder, slightly wounding him.

Junior was charged with assault with intent to kill.  In this jurisdiction battery is a lesser included offense of assault.  At trial, Junior requested that the court instruct the jury if his mistake was honest, whether reasonable or unreasonable, it would be a valid defense to assault and the lesser included offense of battery.  Conversely, the prosecution wanted the court to instruct the jury that in order for the defendant's mistake to be a valid defense for either crime, it must be reasonable.

Regarding propriety of the jury instructions, which of the following statements is most accurate?

(A) Defendant is correct with respect to assault and the prosecution is correct with respect to battery.
(B) Defendant is correct with respect to battery and the prosecution is correct with respect to assault.
(C) Prosecution is correct with respect to both the battery and assault charges.
(D) Defendant is correct with respect to both the battery and assault charges.

[A.]

Hmm.  Since battery is a lesser included offense, it can't be A.  I'm going to say C, since reasonableness should always be a requirement.  Alternatively, D, since a mistake is a mistake and negates the requisite intent.

[Burning Sands, Esq.]

Hmm.  Since battery is a lesser included offense, it can't be A.  I'm going to say C, since reasonableness should always be a requirement.  Alternatively, D, since a mistake is a mistake and negates the requisite intent.

No other takers out there?

[«ě»]

B)