A Girl Walks Into a Bar (Exam)...

February Exam

2008-02-10T11:30:00.000-08:00

Dude, I can't believe somebody stole my title.

Anyway, I got to see my friend WT last night and was reminded that he is taking the February Bar in California in only a little over two weeks, and I just wanted to wish all the winter takers good luck.

I'm probably going to deactivate this blog soon. Too much stuff about my old life in here... so thanks for reading way back when.

I'm Writing This Post Exclusively For You, Josh...

2007-11-15T16:17:00.000-08:00

Good luck tomorrow! I can't believe it has been yet another year... we're shepherding our first-years to the local pub at 4pm sharp for shots to ensure that no matter what the 6pm result may be, it'll be aaaaaaall gooooooood.

BTW if any of my friends who work downtown and still have me on RSS will be taking their own first-years out, give me a shout. I have a feeling we might be headed to the same place (not Royal Exchange BTW)... or we could make it that way.

Bar Exam LOLcats

2007-07-12T16:58:00.000-07:00

Hi everybody,

I just had to come out of deep freeze to post this link that my favorite summer associate was kind enough to forward to me:

Bar Exam LOLcats

Good luck in a coupla weeks!

UPDATED SEPT 2007: Thanks to this post, this blog is now YOUR #1 SOURCE for quality Bar Exam LOLcat links according to Google. Thanks PH!

Oh and also hi, I'm still alive. I may have to take the blog down soon though for [long story redacted].

Hi

2007-03-10T10:26:00.000-08:00

As I am occasionally wont to do, I just did a Technorati search on this blog and found that apparently people preparing for the 2007 Bar are still checking out my archives and reading this blog, which is really cool and was always my intent in leaving it up here.

So I just wanted to say hello and good luck, I can't speak for anyone else but I love being an attorney and my firm ended up being terrific -- so for me all the crap of studying for the Bar was well worth it (although I feel the need to qualify that by saying that I do corporate/securities and would have hated being a litigator, because I know a lot of people went to law school to do litigation).

Hang in there, and I promise that once you are licensed you will never think about the Barzam again... except for twice a year when those poor first-years are waiting to get their results, and then it's your job to take them out for drinks to celebrate. Soon you'll be one of them.

Hot Hot Heat

2006-07-24T11:03:00.000-07:00

Um, I don't know if anyone will see this but I just realized that the July Bar starts tomorrow, and it occurred to me that some people travelling from outside California to take the exam might not be familiar with the fact that our state's power supply is about as reliable as India's. And it happens to be about 150 degrees right now. No honestly, at my house it was 117 on Saturday. Oakland may be OK, I forget where the SoCal location is, but Sacramento will undoubtedly be about a bazillion degrees.

So please be prepared to (1) melt and/or pass out and (2) lose power. Don't freak out if the electricity goes off. It may happen. We were without power yesterday and most people in our area didn't have it Saturday either. PG&E has already announced that today they are probably going to randomly turn people on and off to relieve stress on the electricity grid. It's not supposed to get much cooler tomorrow so that may continue to be the case.

Anyway, good luck! Even if there is no power, you will survive!

Pics Redacted

2006-07-02T11:24:00.000-07:00

When I finished posting to this blog I decided to just leave it up because I thought future Bar takers might find it entertaining, and I assumed (1) no one is going to recognize me from it and (2) even if they did, why would they give a shit?

But after a random stranger came up to me in public recently and told me that they recognized me from the blog *in front of my co-workers* and I was forced to explain, "Yeah it's really stupid but I used to write this blog blah blah blah," and I felt like an idiot, and I realized that that's just what I need, to be on some transaction and have somebody recognize me from the blog and out me in front of a partner or something. So I was going to delete it entirely but then decided to just delete all the pictures with me in them and tweak the header.

It's too bad because I think some of the pictures were funny (although I probably just amuse myself too much), but you know how it is. So if you read a post and it doesn't make sense it may be because there used to be a picture with it. Good luck to anybody who is studying!

Hi!

2006-06-01T17:27:00.000-07:00

While checking the stats for my current blog, I happened to notice that this one was getting like a thousand hits a day again and I realized that it's because all y'all have started studying for the 2006 Bar and I'm sure doing all sorts of Google searches that end up leading you here. Well anyway, I just wanted to say good luck, happy studying, and I hope you find something here that's useful!

Here are some blogs I know of from other people currently studying, some of whom need to come up with more catchy titles! Sure a lot more than last year:

California Bar Girl
On My Way to the California Bar Exam
Bring on the California Bar
Virginia Bar Exam Blog
A Blog about the NY Bar Exam
Clearing the Bar (Exam)
2006 Bar Exam
Rudy Takes on the Bar Exam
The Bar Exam is a Bitch
The Pass Lane
Live from Blogdahd
Screaming Bean
And Now the Bar

Please Do -NOT- Email Me

2006-02-12T08:04:00.000-08:00

I intentionally do not list an e-mail address anywhere on this blog, and turned off the comments a long time ago because people were using them as a means to direct questions about studying for the Bar Exam to me personally. So why on earth do some people think I would want them to figure out my e-mail address by whatever means and e-mail me a question?

I'm working at a large law firm now, and having long passed the Bar, I don't think about it anymore. I created this blog for my personal entertainment/diversion, and left it up because I thought it might be amusing for future takers. Please do NOT try to e-mail me about your Bar Exam-related questions, your Bar materials questions, your comments on the blog, whatever.

Thanks.

And if you want advice about the Bar, buy Eve's forthcoming book!

Comments Off, Bye!

2006-01-06T08:12:00.000-08:00

The comments are now off for reals (although you can still view the old comments)... but regular readers of this blog know where to find me!

Bye and thanks for reading!

Move Along, Nothing to See Here

2005-12-08T21:19:00.000-08:00

For some reason, even though I stopped posting, this blog still gets hundreds (literally) of hits per day. Why? I have no idea. I think they must mainly be Google searches. But anyway, now I can direct anyone who came here looking for a *live* Bar Exam journal over to my friend's new blog, where the party is just getting started:

go west, young (wo)man

She just started studying for the February administration of the California Bar, and I happen to know that she is an excellent writer. So you should go check it out and all that.

By the way I got sworn in today by a notary at my firm so now I am finally a real boy. Feels rather anticlimactic.

Guy Who Passed After Taking the CalBar 47 Times

2005-12-05T23:48:00.000-08:00

I remember noticing once that quite a few people come to this blog via Google searches on some variation of "person who passed after taking the bar [x] number of times." After reading this WSJ story about how Kathleen Sullivan, a prominent attorney and former Stanford dean failed this July* (she had been licensed in NY and Massachussets already, obviously), I think I can provide you with the information you are looking for:

"Ms. Sullivan is unlikely to need as many attempts as Maxcy Dean Filer, who may hold the California bar endurance record, having passed in 1991 after 47 unsuccessful tries. The Compton, Calif., man, who says he'll practice any kind of law that "comes through the door -- except probate and bankruptcy," says he always tried to psych himself up before taking the test by repeating, "I didn't fail the bar, the bar failed me.""

Another bit of trivia from the story:

"The California bar exam has created misery for thousands of aspiring and practicing lawyers. Former California Gov. Jerry Brown passed on his second try, while former Gov. Pete Wilson needed four attempts. The recently elected mayor of Los Angeles, Antonio R. Villaraigosa, never did pass the bar after failing four times."

*I note that the story reveals that she didn't study at all, so it's not even fair as a story about how hard the California Bar is (is there any state that has a Bar Exam you can pass without studying?), but whatevs.

From the CalBar Website

2005-11-21T19:26:00.000-08:00

STATE BAR ANNOUNCES RESULTS FOR JULY 2005 CALIFORNIA BAR EXAMINATION

San Francisco, November 17, 2005 — The State Bar of California's Committee of Bar Examiners reported today that 48.8 percent of the applicants passed the July 2005 General Bar Examination (GBX).

This rate is slightly higher than the 48.2 percent passing rate on the July 2004 GBX. If the 4,072 people who passed the July 2005 exam satisfy other requirements for admission, they will become members of the State Bar.

Preliminary statistical analyses show that of the 8,343 applicants who took the GBX, 70.8 percent were first-time takers. The passing rate for 5,909 first-time applicants was 63.7 percent overall.

The passing rate for the 2,434 applicants repeating the examination was 12.7 percent overall. Preliminary statistical analyses show the first-time and repeater percent passing the GBX (rounded to whole numbers) by law school type as follows:
School Type First-Timers Repeaters
California ABA 70% 18%
Out-of-State ABA 65% 12%
CA (but not ABA) Accredited 26% 7%
Correspondence 22% 7%
Unaccredited 8% 5%
All Others 39% 14%
All Applicants 64% 13%

The applicants not included in the above totals either were attorneys admitted in other states who either chose or were required to take the GBX, attorneys admitted in foreign jurisdictions, law students in the Law Office/Judge’s Chambers Study Program or law students who qualified to take the GBX through four years of law study.

More detailed statistics, including passing rates by individual law schools, will be made available in approximately four to six weeks and published on the State Bar’s Web site at www.calbar.ca.gov.

One Last Thing.

2005-11-20T16:57:00.000-08:00

It's bad enough when people you feel you "know" via their blogs didn't pass, but it's even worse when someone you actually know in real life doesn't pass.

Now that the list is public, I just happened to notice that my friend's name isn't on there. I haven't talked to him since before the Bar (yes I am a horrible friend), but he's somebody who sat with Loyal Friend & Co-Worker Ballzac and I every day in BarBri and who never failed to cheer me up or make me less bored out of my mind.

I don't like most people. But he's somebody I like a lot. He might be the nicest, most upbeat, friendliest person I know. And he is going to have to re-take. Of course, nobody "deserves" to pass or fail, but I guess there are just some people you root a little more enthusiastically for, and he is one of them.

So the bottom line is that, while of course I am glad I passed, I'm also angry. Angry that California makes it this way. Angry that I have had to jump through so many hoops to show, not that I'm smart enough to be an attorney, but that I am a good test-taker and am good at memorizing a lot of information that is not even (in many cases) good law anymore.

I'm angry that good people are dealt serious setbacks on their chosen career paths because California can't figure out a smarter way to keep the number of lawyers in our state manageable.

And I'm angry because in the end, I'm licensed. I don't have to care anymore. I'll never do anything to change the system because hey, it worked for me, and I've got billable hours to rack up and plenty of other things to worry about. Pretty soon the Bar Exam will be a distant memory that I tell a story about to the new first-year Associates every November. I'll never get off my lazy ass and try to change the process, and neither will anyone else who passed. We're done with it.

So it just sucks. Good people who deserve better got bad news this weekend. It shouldn't have to be like this.

P.S. See You in Hell, Flashcards!

2005-11-19T23:02:00.000-08:00

"You May Justly Be Proud of Your Achievement"

2005-11-19T12:39:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it already came in the mail. It's finally there on a piece of paper... it's OVER!

Thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who posted encouraging comments or even just bothered to read my ramblings, and to all the other Bar Exam bloggers who helped keep me sane. Pass or fail, you are all rockstars!

My deepest condolences to everyone who got the news that they will have to go through this all over again. And to everyone who is spending today celebrating the first day of the rest of our lives,

CONGRATULATIONS!

And This is What Relief Looks Like

2005-11-18T21:54:00.000-08:00

[pics redacted]

How Do You Spell Relief?

2005-11-18T18:10:00.000-08:00

E-mail From a Friend

2005-11-18T11:51:00.000-08:00

"You are going to check at work? No way I'd do that. I'm probably not checking till 7:00 and then I'll make sure I'm two beers in and at home, clutching the third."

Correspondence With LF&CWB, Who Works in a Different Regional Office of Our Firm

2005-11-18T09:32:00.000-08:00

-----Original Message-----
From: Loyal Friend & Co-Worker Balzac
Sent: Fri Nov 18 08:32:28 2005
To: Me
Subject: THE SHIRT is on.

(EOM)

-----Original Message-----
From: Me
Sent: Friday, November 18, 2005 8:56 AM
To: Loyal Friend & Co-worker Balzac
Subject: RE: THE SHIRT is on.

What shirt ??

-----Original Message-----
From: Loyal Friend & Co-Worker Balzac
Sent: Friday, November 18, 2005 9:29 AM
To: Me
Subject: RE: THE SHIRT is on.

The exam shirt.

It's really quiet around my office right now. Eerily quiet, almost too quiet.

-----Original Message-----
From: Me
Sent: Friday, November 18, 2005 9:30 AM
To: Loyal Friend & Co-Worker Balzac
Subject: RE: THE SHIRT is on.

OMG you are wearing the "[Totally-inappropriate-for-work lucky shirt that you wore to every law school exam]?????"!?!?!?!?

-----Original Message-----
From: Loyal Friend & Co-Worker Balzac
Sent: Friday, November 18, 2005 9:30 AM
To: Me
Subject: RE: THE SHIRT is on.

Yep. But I do have a dress shirt over it. But there is a good chance that is coming off.

My Two Cents

2005-11-17T23:51:00.000-08:00

I feel like I have to throw in a bit of my own worthless personal advice for everybody getting results tomorrow. So here it is.

If you get bad news, don't beat yourself up about what you could have done differently or whether you didn't study hard enough or how maybe you would have passed if you had just done X. Because it doesn't matter anymore.

I've had major setbacks in my life that weren't my fault, where I was just unlucky. I've also had major setbacks that were caused by poor decision-making on my part, because I'm an idiot. There's no difference between them. You're in the same position no matter how you got there.

The only thing you can do is assess that position and decide what to do going forward.

This is the only life you're going to get. Pass or fail, it's still the only life you're going to get. And its waaaaay too short to waste on beating yourself up over a past you can't change.

That's it. Good luck.

HOLY SHIT, is it Really Tomorrow?

2005-11-17T12:00:00.000-08:00

Seriously? I've been thinking all day that today was Wednesday. Then I just had to put a date on a document and saw that results come out TOMORROW!!!

Ugh.

Well, as a co-worker told me yesterday, "If failing the Bar Exam is the worst thing that ever happens to you, that's a pretty good life."

Comments

2005-11-14T22:12:00.000-08:00

Blogger finally got around to adding a feature where I have to approve comments before they are visible. So the downside is that you won't see the comment you posted right away, because I have to approve it first. The upside is that it makes me comfortable allowing anyone to comment, including people who don't have a Blogger account.

So comment away!

Eight Bar Exams, Anyone?

2005-11-14T18:53:00.000-08:00

I won't bore you with why I was looking up information on how you get to be an attorney in Canada (it's actually related to a project I'm on), but I came upon this website which explained:

"Attaining a law degree in Canada requires three years of classroom study. Almost immediately upon graduation in Ontario, the Bar Admission course administered by the Law Society of Upper Canada begins. The first phase lasts a month and consists of workshops that focus on practical skills necessary to perform competently at articles [articling is apparently equivalent to clerking]. These workshops include legal drafting, interviewing clients, advocacy skills and ethics and professional responsibility. The second phase lasts twelve months. It is during this phase that you article at the firm. The third phase consists of further classroom study in eight general areas of substantive law. Each of the eight areas contains an examination component. One is required to pass each of the eight examinations in order to be called to the bar of Ontario."

That's just Ontario. Other Canadian states are probably different. But still... I don't feel so sorry for us Californians anymore.

Phone Call From Mom

2005-11-13T19:09:00.000-08:00

The readers of this blog will remember that my mother is crazy. So in place of what I didn't say, just imagine the sort of polite, non-commital reponses you would give to someone who you can't really get annoyed with because she is a crazy person, a small child, your in-laws, etc.

Mom: I know I just called you yesterday but I looked at the calendar and, I'm sure you remembered this, but your Bar results come out on Friday!

What I didn't say: Really? Oh thanks for calling, because the fact that I was going to get some news that would determine whether I have to spend another two months in studying hell followed by another four months in waiting hell, had sort of slipped my mind. But anyway, it's great that you reminded me because now I remember and can get stressed out about it again. Because I'm pretty sure that the more I worry about it at this point, the more likely it is that I will pass!

Mom: Are you excited?

What I didn't say: Yes! The suspense is so exciting! It's almost as fun as Russian Roulette. Maybe you get shot, maybe you don't! The fun is in not knowing!

Mom: You'll have to call and tell us when you find out!

What I didn't say: I'm sure that won't be necessary because you'll have already called me so many times that day, that when I finally answer one of your calls and tell you that results aren't up until 6pm, you will call me at 6:01. Maybe 6:05, if you happen to notice that maybe people like, say, the ones I am married to, might be getting the first phone call. In other words, 6:01.

What I did say: You know, some people are smart right from the get-go and don't tell anyone the exact date that results are released. I wasn't one of them, unfortunately! (HINT! HINT!)

Mom: Why would you want to do that?

Me: Well, if you find out you failed, you don't want everyone in town calling you before you even have a chance to process the information yourself.

Mom: Oh you're so smart, I'm sure you passed!

What I didn't say: If there's one thing we Bar-takers love to hear from people with no knowledge of the legal field, it's that one! Yessirree!

Sigh.

The "What I Did" Stories

2005-11-12T16:19:00.000-08:00

Suggestions to us first-years from co-workers at the firm happy hour last night:

1. One person wanted to be at work and go out with her friends afterward if she passed, but didn't want to be in the office if she failed. So she pretended to leave, came back, and hid under her desk, and checked from there.

2. Another person went to the gym and had her boyfriend check while she was gone. When she came back there was to be a big sign on the door if she passed, but not if she failed, so she would know right away without having to sit there hitting 'refresh'.

Also, when I voiced my fear about only one person grading each essay for $2.75, and the idea that some guy could just take the money, not read any of them, and give each one a 60 out of spite, someone told me that you have a chance to request that your exam be re-graded by a new set of people if you fail. I don't really think this is true, but I'm going to pretend it is.

Getting a Mite Nervous, Are We?

2005-11-10T20:13:00.000-08:00

I happened to notice that the traffic for this blog was going way up, so I decided to amuse myself with the search referrers... I guess we can all tell results are coming out soon...

Google: making a mistake on the bar exam
Google: "july 2005 bar exam"
Google: MBE Ca scores
Google: california bar exam results 2005
Google: what to say to someone about failing the bar exam etiquette
Google: When do the NY bar results come out?
Google: Nervous about California Bar Exam results
Google: calbar "pass list" july
Yahoo: new york bar exam and MBE cut off score
Google: blog "Bar results"

And of course, the obligatory
MSN Search: girl shaving sex with animals

Sounds About Right

2005-11-08T14:34:00.000-08:00

From WT:

My blog is worth $0.00.
How much is your blog worth?

Actually the thing is broken, because if you do my other blog it comes up as $41,775.96, and that one has many fewer incoming links/posts/traffic or whatever metric they are using to measure it.

But I think the result for this one is more accurate...

It's Not Like You're Playing With People's Lives or Anything

2005-11-06T15:25:00.000-08:00

From my friend, pursuant to a group Reply-All e-mail we have been circulating about going for drinks after results come out, because no matter what the result, clearly alcohol should be involved:

"I now know of 10 different people who passed but whose name was not posted on the first day (Remember [[someone we know]] - her name was posted 2 days later!!); the Bar reserves the right to ADD names for I believe up to one week. So do NOT freak out if your name is not there - it is quite common for it to show up later.

Oh, and one more thing ... My friend who works at [[xxx]], with me in her office, jokingly checked the day before just for fun, and her name was posted.

The 18th really is just an approximation, and not a magic date."

I really wish I had the patience to just *NOT* check the website and wait until I receive my letter in the mail. But the tediousness of having to explain that to everyone who asks me, on Nov. 19th, whether I passed or not, would probably be worse than getting the wrong result online.

The e-mail string also contained a reminder that our firm lets us retake if we fail once. Again, while it's nice to know that I don't have to worry about my job hanging on the results, the point is that if I have to do all this again, I'll probably have to kill someone. Or myself. Maybe both at the same time.

I mean seriously, life is so short, it's one thing to waste all that time studying when it's only once in your life and you know you'll never have to do it again. But if I end up having to retake, I think it will be a lot more difficult to put "real life" on hold for two months to study, because I will be doing so with the knowledge that it all might be a waste of time because I might fail again anyway, and then that's two months of my life I can never get back.

By the way, unlike some horrible, horrible person who employs a friend of Heather's, no one at my firm is going to care if I go home early Nov. 18 and get my results there. Which was my original intent. But then after further consideration, I realized I would *rather* be at work. If I fail, I'll be in close proximity to several good friends who can give me a hug and say reassuring things. As opposed to being here, in an empty house, all alone, freaking out.

Anyway, I don't want to give the impression that I am obsessing about getting results. I actually don't think about it unless someone reminds me. Like I did, to you, just now. Yeah, you're welcome.

Excuse Me for Swearing

2005-11-05T10:51:00.000-08:00

Eve was wondering on her blog about the whole swearing-in ceremony, and I had been asking this question myself, because I don't feel like going to the one being held at my school (about which they have e-mailed us, so if you haven't gotten such an e-mail, I assume you will).

So I asked around and did some research, and according to this item from the CalBar page, even a notary public can swear you in!

Loyal Friend and Co-Worker Ballzac reports that you can probably go to one of the ceremonies at a law school that's more conveniently located, if you find out when it is. I would assume there has to be reciprocation among schools, because think of all the people who have already moved to another part of the country.

He said you can also make an appointment with a judge and they can do it at the courthouse, but I would hate to bother a judge that I don't know personally.

I called the CalBar Admissions office because I was hoping there would be something at the San Francisco office, which is right here in the Financial District. Of course, that would be too easy. The only CalBar-sponsored ceremony in the Bay Area is going to be at the OAKLAND CONVENTION CENTER at Dec. 7 at 10:30am.

Because yeah, I really want to relive THAT memory.

Congratulations!!!

2005-11-04T15:24:00.000-08:00

A big congrats to my friend WT who found out about an hour ago that he passed the Maryland Bar.

I'm so happy for him that I'll forgive his abruptly ending the conversation because someone more important was calling. ;)

Just TWO WEEKS FROM TODAY when we will (hopefully) all be making the same spazzed-out phone calls.

Congrats to everybody else who found out they passed today as well!

Today on "Overheard in the Office"

2005-11-04T02:25:00.000-08:00

Cut and pasted from Overheard in the Office:

1PM Lunch

Worker #1: Did you pass the bar?
Worker #2: Yeah, the salad bar.
Consultant: I don't eat salad.
Worker #2: That's why you passed it.

100 Summer Street
Boston, Massachusetts

The Lawyer Humor Never Stops

2005-11-03T19:59:00.000-08:00

My friend sent me an MP3 of this joke lawyer song called "I'm Billing Time" (a parody of "Time After Time" by Cyndi Lauper, well, actually not really a parody by the standard of Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc. but AAAAAAAAAAAA stop me).

Anyway it turns out it's from an ENTIRE CD of humorous lawyer songs by "The Bar & Grill Singers." You can get the CD here, and can also listen to some of the tracks for free.

What's crazier is that I followed the link for Licensed to Grill and found that this was not even their first CD. The first is here.

According to the website, "This is the perfect close-harmony present for your (least?) favorite attorney. All practicing lawyers in Austin, TX, the 13 singers roast themselves and their kin with alternative lyrics to familiar tunes: "Jury Jive," "Reversed and Rendered," "Mr. Foreman" and more."

Oh my.

For All Your Bestiality and Shaving Needs

2005-10-30T17:45:00.000-08:00

Because I'm bored and a loser, I was entertaining myself by looking at the search referrers for this blog (which terms people entered into on Google to get them here). One search was "july 2005 California bar exam blog," and I figured that was pretty specific, so I clicked on it to see where the blog turned up. No joke, this is the exact thing that shows up as the #1 result (cut and pasted):

A Girl Walks Into a Bar (Exam)...
My experience studying for the July 2005 California Bar Exam. ... Welcome to my Bar Exam/bestiality/shaving fetish blog. Enjoy! ...
barexam2005.blogspot.com/ - 334k - Cached - Similar pages

It's from this... but it still cracked me up.

More Law-Related Blogs

2005-10-29T20:22:00.000-07:00

I can't add them to my blogroll, since I forgot my Blogrolling.com password. So I'll just stick them in a post.

Fresh Pepper?, formerly Attorneys Suck
Angry Yellow, by a former attorney
One-L-ove, by a 1L in Canada
Order of da Coif, which gets my vote for best law school-related blog title ever
Life, Love and Law School, by a 2L in Canada
Johnny Law, by an American University student
Alex's D.C. Comical Life, by a 2L in (duh) D.C.
Law After 40, by a "non-traditional" law student
Barely Legal, a two-person law student blog by a couple of young guys
I'm a PD (guess what her job is)
Narkoleptomania, by a law student
Avoiding Billable Hours, by a poor little girl who's only 23 and is somehow already a lawyer!!! Poor lil' thing!
Parenthetical Statements, by a 2L at American University

Interview Season

2005-10-29T07:46:00.000-07:00

I don't normally read the blog "Anonymous Lawyer" (fake blog written by a law student, who I think has graduated by now), but Husband is still asleep and I'm bored, and I ran across the following post, which should be particularly amusing for any 2Ls out there who are currently going through interview season:

http://anonymouslawyer.blogspot.com/2005/10/
at-least-i-didnt-have-to-be-in-office.html

An Eternity

2005-10-26T20:42:00.000-07:00

Another friend I hadn't talked to in awhile asked me if I had found out the Bar yet.

(SIGH) "No. Not until November 18th." Goddammit, why didn't I remember Michael's very smart idea about not telling people the date?

"It must be killing you having to wait so long."

"Uhhh yeah. But they do have a lot of exams to grade and all. I mean, I understand why it takes so long. Actually, no I don't really understand. Actually, it makes me want to kill someone. But whatever."

At least I know I'm not alone because I've been reading everybody else's blogs about how sick they are of waiting! Thanks you guys, if any of you are reading this!

And of course, that's what all of us First-Years talk about whenever we come together at every firm event. Then everyone gets silent and someone goes, "Um let's not talk about this!" Especially since one of us is pretty sure about having failed, thanks to coming down with a very serious illness at the beginning of the summer.

At least I haven't started having really entertaining nightmares about getting results. Ah, something to look forward to!

Since I came around to post I guess I will turn the comments back on, until/unless I end up having to police them, so say hi if you're out there in the ether! :)

But I Play One on TV

2005-10-04T14:00:00.000-07:00

[pic redacted]

Took this with my Treo's camera after closing my first deal today (well, not me personally obviously, but I participated). Started at 5am yesterday and finally finished things up at 8:45am this morning -- tiring, but an amazing learning experience!

At least I got to drive back to the house last night and get on the early-morning conference calls from home. Anyway, the funniest part of all of it was talking to the other firm's lawyers, the clients, and everyone else on about a million different conference calls and having to resist the urge to explain that I'm not a "real" lawyer, I'm just pretending, it's not like I've gotten my Bar results yet or anything.

I just want to get this over with so I can stop prefacing everything with, "Well I started working at my firm, but we don't get our Bar results until November, so I'm not licensed yet so I think technically I'm not really an attorney.... blah blah blah...."

P.S. I recently looked up the website where we will go on Nov. 18 to see if we passed, it's here.

Advice for the Lawlorn

2005-09-17T10:44:00.000-07:00

NYlawer.com's "Advice for the Lawlorn" this week answers the question, "I just took the bar exam and am pretty sure I didn't pass it. I took the exam very seriously and dedicated nearly all of my waking hours to studying for it over the course of two months, but I still feel like my performance on the days of the exam fell short of the mark.... How do I cope with the next few months of waiting to hear results? What do I do if the worst happens?"

Link

The login is kos@dailykos.com, password: dailykos.

"Next few months" makes me think they are in California too...

Anyway the bottom line of the advice is, "I suspect you are one of thousands of first-year associates anxiously awaiting the results of their bar exam, certain that they didn’t pass and happily toasting a glass of champagne on the day the results are published."

Hear, hear!

P.S. ABSOLUTE BEST recent searches that led people to this blog:
16 Sep, Fri, 11:18:30 Yahoo: NIPPLE MOLES
17 Sep, Sat, 00:43:10 MSN Search: bike jumping that go's bad

A Huge Congratulations...

2005-09-15T11:47:00.000-07:00

...to my good friend WT of Expressio Unius, who recently found out he is going to be clerking for the 10th Circuit.

Go wish him all the best and such.

And congratulations to the judges of the 10th Circuit, who are very fortunate to have him join the team, and who I'm sure will reward him with a great experience.

Much Love to Louisiana

2005-09-11T17:43:00.000-07:00

As I was wasting time surfing the Internet this afternoon, I came across this person's blog, and learned that people who took the Bar Exam in Lousiana still don't know whether their exams survived the hurricane, and there are rumors that they will have to take it again in February!! According to one of her professors, the place where the exams are normally housed was underwater at one point.

Of course I realize that having to retake the Bar is substantially less painful than losing your home or a loved one, but it's still something I wouldn't wish upon my worst enemy.

So send some warm thoughts to our fellow Bar takers in Louisiana today. Yikes.

UPDATE: I finally remembered to wander back over to Southern Law Girl's blog and see what was up, and it turns out that most of the exams ended up being safe and sound. Whew! Unfortunately for her, she will have to retake anyway, so that's not much comfort. But good news for those who ended up passing!

JDAmicus

2005-09-11T17:04:00.000-07:00

Count me as one of those people that would probably visit a message board for lawyers and law students, but who avoids JDJive because of all the wackjobs. So I was very pleased to see that right after the Bar they apparently created "JDAmicus," which is still run by JDJive but doesn't allow anonymous posting:

http://www.jdjive.com/list.php?4

I don't know if anyone is monitoring to remove offensive content, but from my 5-minute glance it looked like people were engaged in intelligent, normal, law-related discussions.

My School Sucks

2005-09-11T13:53:00.000-07:00

I realized I never got my diploma, so I e-mailed Loyal Friend & Co-Worker Ballzac about it, and got the reply, "You have to order it. They don't just send it to you. And I haven't ordered it yet. I do have the form though. Remember I gave you that form one time."*

I think that's pretty much the ultimate in cheapness. They can't even mail me the diploma I paid them 60,000 goddamn dollars for? Geez.

They did take in 20 displaced Tulane law students this semester though, so I'll give them that.

*Yes I do remember him giving me the form, but of course I have no idea where it is now because I am retarded and also can't keep track of anything for more than 5 minutes.

T.G.I.F.

2005-09-09T12:32:00.000-07:00

Wow, it just occurred to me that this is probably the last Friday of my life where I won't initially realize that it's Friday, because I haven't been paying much attention to what day it is.

And the bummer part of it is that I'm SICK, so I can't even enjoy my last weekend before starting work Monday. Husband and I both have head colds. I am all stuffed up and lethargic. I'll be a real sight to see my first day at work -- sick, with a broken wrist, and my face is breaking out. I can just imagine all the people I worked with last summer thinking, "Boy that Bar Exam sure did a number on her!"

Yesterday was the changing of the shoes. It was a sad day. I took all my Skechers-type sneakers in fun colors like pink and glitter, as well as the flip-flops, and put them in the back of the closet. Then I took all the work-appropriate shoes, shined them up and threw out the ones for which there was no longer any hope, and put them (along with the new pairs I bought this week) in the front-and-center position.

And I realized, what a metaphor for the rest of my life.

Not that I'm not excited to be starting work, and positive about my firm, and looking forward to seeing all the terrific people I worked with as a summer associate, but it's still sad to see this three-year vacation come to an end. In my previous career I worked a lot of hours as well, so at least I really appreciated the glorious luxury of being a full-time student, while it lasted.

I mean, law school was sometimes a pain... but at least you could wear flip-flops and shorts when it was hot out. I'm pretty sure that's not permitted by my firm's dress code.

Attorneys Useful in Hurricane Aftermath

2005-09-09T09:53:00.000-07:00

I thought I should pass this along, because I remember thinking, when we came back from Mexico and found out about Hurricane Katrina, "Boy it sure would be nice if I could do something to help those people, what with having the whole week off and all, but it's not like I have medical training or am a communications or tech expert or have any skills that would be of use."

But then today NYlawyer.com had an article about the various types of pro bono assistance needed, some of it presumably a couple months down the line when we all have our law licenses and stuff:

Attorneys, Bar Groups Draw on 9/11 Experience To Aid Legal Community Devastated by Katrina (If it requires you to log in, get a logon on bugmenot.com.)

From the article:

"Barbara Berger Opotowsky, executive director of the city bar, said at least six areas of need were identified at yesterday's summit:

• Aid to legal service offices, attorneys and bar groups in the Gulf Coast region by New York [they're just saying NY b/c that's where this bar group is] lawyers with expertise in national legal matters such as insurance and immigration.
• Home rental and mortgage assistance that may be available through the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
• Use of one-page Medicaid applications developed in the aftermath of 9/11, as well as self-documentation guidance for those who lost vital documents.
• Policy development for federal legislation as required.
• Technical or hot-line assistance for individual attorneys and legal agencies.
• Assisting law firms and other legal entities in getting back to business."

Post-Bar Trip #3

2005-09-05T16:54:00.000-07:00

Well we got back from the third and final post-Bar trip yesterday and of course I already have the pictures online. I created a separate page for my family:

[link redacted]

The text is probably pretty boring unless you know me. But you can just look at the pictures if you want!

[pic redacted]

No Comment.

2005-08-26T11:38:00.000-07:00

We're off to Mexico so I'm turning off the comments, but because [boring technical reason redacted], it still looks like you can comment. And since I know how annoying it is when you craft your little perfect piece of prose and then realize you can't post it, I'm warning you. Bye! I'll bring back pictures!

Post-Bar Trip #2 Part 2

2005-08-22T09:37:00.000-07:00

I said in the last post that I thought the cliffs that start about a mile south of where my parents live are the most beautiful area in Southern California. Well my friend and I went letterboxing in Malaga Cove yesterday, which is where that starts (where the sandy beach ends at Torrance Beach) so I thought I would post some pics. We were there at low tide so I got to see the tidepools we used to hike down to when I was a kid.

By the way the houses that are up along these cliffs are absolutely spectacular. We're talking MANSIONS on huge lots overlooking the ocean. I wonder if the people who live there appreciate it... I hope so!

That picture at the bottom is a very lucky sea anemone (that's a crab or lobster leg)!

All of these are shrunk down so click to view full-size.

I guess I will go home tomorrow since I miss Husband and the animals... and there's probably some stuff around the house I should take care of before we leave for Post-Bar Trip #3 on Sunday!

Post-Bar Trip #2

2005-08-19T15:33:00.000-07:00

So here I am in my hometown of Torrance for my second post-bar trip. I just got here yesterday and my mother's already driving me crazy but I'm only going to stay until Tuesday I think. Enough time to see my friends and go to the beach. I also brought my bike so I could go bike riding on The Strand.

Here is the view from my parents' front yard. By the way these pics are all shrunken down but you can click to view the normal size.

When you get down to the beach this is what it looks like. Those cliffs in Palos Verdes off to the left are pretty much the most beautiful area in Southern California in my opinion.

When I was a little kid and my parents would ride by on their bikes with me in the baby seat, I would yell out "Seagull! Turtle!" etc. as we went by.

This is at the Redondo Beach pier, looking south towards my parents' house.

This is on the other side of the pier looking north towards the marina. When I was a kid one time a big storm destroyed most of the pier. This wasn't covered by insurance, because of course nobody will insure a pier against storm damage. So a little while later the rest of it "mysteriously" burned down. I'm sure that was a total coincidence.

Obviously the Panorama Maker software is not rockin' so much on this one. My parents' computer doesn't have PhotoShop so I couldn't really fix it.

Hennessey's in Hermosa Beach is where you go around Christmastime if you want to see people from my high school who are in town for the holidays.

Sometimes it bums me out that all the houses along the ocean used to be these cute little beach bungalows where the college kids would hang out on their decks facing The Strand and drink beer and talk to everybody who went by. Then all the rich non-locals started taking over and building crap like this monstrosity. I can't complain too much though since the 3-bedroom house my parents bought for $69,000 in 1975 is now worth a couple million. Still, seeing your elementary school bulldozed to build luxury condos is still pretty depressing.

On the right there is an example of what the houses used to look like. On weekends everyone would be sitting out there in their deck chairs. Doesn't it look like that guy jogging is about 5 seconds away from dying of skin cancer?

We used to ride our bikes down to the Manhattan Beach pier to watch the pro volleyball tournaments, so it was funny that they happened to be having one today. I didn't stop though, I haven't followed volleyball for about 15 years... I can't remember who I was in love with but I think it was Kent Steffes.

That's it for now. I'll have to put up some pics of my parents' new cockatiel (their old one died in January at 17 years old). He is hilarious. He is terrified of my pajamas for some reason (they are just regular striped pajamas). I came out this morning wearing them and he freaked out, banging into windows, and even after my mom put him back in the cage he was freaking out if I approached. I went back and changed into my running clothes and suddenly he was perfectly fine with me. Birds are so weird.

He is also obsessed with feet. If you sit on the ground and have your feet straight out, he will walk around them in circles, singing and chortling to them. I think he thinks they are some creature instead of a part of our bodies. It's very strange but amusing to watch.

Anyway, gotta run to the store but maybe I will post some more pics later if I take any.

What I Wanna Be When I Grow Up

2005-08-17T20:11:00.000-07:00

I just had occasion to look something up in this book and it reminded me to recommend it to anyone who's not sure what kind of law they want to do. It's called The Official Guide to Legal Specialties and is by Lisa Abrams of the NALP.

I found it to be incredibly helpful. What it does is is HONESTLY profile a bunch of different practice areas (you can see the full list here -- be sure to view the 2nd page). For each area, it addresses topics such as what types of tasks lawyers in this area spend a lot of time on, what they like and don't like about the practice area, what their typical day is like, and what skills are important. All the information is based on interviews with attorneys who work in the field.

Good stuff. It's $22.

Sell Your BarBri Books on eBay!

2005-08-16T18:12:00.000-07:00

I mentioned before that I was auctioning my BarBri books on eBay, and I just wanted to follow up and say that it was a good choice, at least here in California where BarBri only gives you $125 back for them.

My auctions ended today and I made a total of about $235, plus I was able to charge the buyers for shipping rather than having to pay for it myself to send them back to BarBri. So assuming shipping would have cost $15-20 bucks, that's a profit of about $125. Not bad for the probably 2 hours I spent listing the books and packing them.

You could probably get more if you waited for a more optimal time to sell them (like in October-November) but I'll be working approximately 9000 hours a week by that time and wouldn't want to have to deal with it.

So whoopee, cash money. I can throw it towards the approximately $1200 bill I'm found out today I'm going to get from the mechanic, which is what happens when you have a 1995 Buick LeSabre that you never did any maintenance on because you were in law school, which you previously inherited from someone who never did any maintenance on it because he was a very old man. (BTW no I'm not getting ripped off, the car's getting its first major tune-up EVER and also needs a bunch of other work).

Oh well. It was a free car. So I'm still ahead of the game.

Anyways, don't let anyone tell you BarBri won't let you sell your books either, they're not allowed to. There's an exception to the Copyright laws called the First Sale Doctrine that essentially says that if you buy a book (or other copyrighted work) you can do whatever you want with that individual copy, including resell it. BarBri can't monopolize EVERYTHING!

Although I have no doubt they've considered making you sign something saying you won't resell the books in order to take the class... then they could threaten you with breach of contract. That would look good for their antitrust suit.

Bar Questions Released

2005-08-16T14:03:00.000-07:00

In case you had so much fun taking the Bar that you want to sit at home and do it all over again, the CalBar has posted all six essays and both performance tests on their website:

Link

Note that these are just the questions, not sample answers. Thanks to Naomi for posting the info on the California Bar Exam Primer message board!

Quitting My Job

2005-08-16T09:31:00.000-07:00

Although I thank my lucky stars every day that I have a "real job" lined up to start four weeks from yesterday (the time is going by so quickly!), it unfortunately means that I am going to have to quit my volunteer job at Tony LaRussa's ARF.

So I figured at least I can give them a plug in my blog and say that it's a great place to donate money, volunteer, or adopt a pet (see available dogs here and cats here).

I have worked with a lot of animal assistance groups and ARF has a really creative and effective strategy. By way of background, county/city shelters are required to take in every stray animal they pick up or which is surrendered to them, but they are always short on space, and are only required by law to keep the animal for less than a week. So if new animals come in, they kill the ones that have been there longer than the required waiting period, because they have to make room. This means a friendly, highly adoptable Golden Retriever might be killed in a few days, even though he would likely be quickly adopted given a little more time, and even though the new animal coming in might be feral or vicious and unlikely to find a home as a pet, ever.

ARF works with these shelters and rescues animals that have less than 24 hours left to live. They get as many animals as they have room for which have a good chance at being adopted given extra time, medical care, or behavior training. Their goal is not to save every animal, but to efficiently use their resources to save the animals which have the best chance at finding a new home. And they do a terrific job of it.

You can check out their website at arf.net or stop by their beautiful new facility in Walnut Creek (hours and directions are here).

BTW my favorite dog right now is Deanna, who has been with ARF way too long because she is part Pit Bull, but she is honestly one of the sweetest, friendliest dogs I have ever met. Also, she is adorable. She isn't in the shelter facility as she's currently in a foster home, but you can contact ARF if you are interested in adopting her. Click the picture for more info.

Countdown

2005-08-11T08:11:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Eve at Legal Insanity for pointing out (awhile back) that the counter at left was wrong. Which is very weird, since I used the same exact javascript to count down to when the Bar started, and it was just fine. Ah well. I plugged in some other free script I found on the Internets and yes indeedy, we have 98 days left to wait... and wait... and wait.

By the way, I hope it's customary at work for the first-years to go home early that day so they can get their results at home. I can't imagine finding out you failed while in the office with everyone around, you know? I'm pretty sure I would start crying, at the very least.

Anyway, here are some recent search engine queries that led people to this blog. Remember that they have to actually click over to A Girl Walks Into a Bar (Exam)... for them to show up in the referrer logs.

Yahoo: wedding bar exam
That's going to be an awesome theme wedding. Will the invitation specify a dress code of "sweatpants only" and remind guests that they must carry all their possessions in a ziploc bag, because purses will not be allowed?

MSN Search: girl shaving sex with animals
Welcome to my Bar Exam/bestiality/shaving fetish blog. Enjoy!

Yahoo: how many weeks do people study for the bar exam
About nine too many

Yahoo: Opinions of the July 2005 Bar Exam
SUCKED

Yahoo: Quotes about asking a girl out
"So... how about that Bar Exam?"

MSN Search: ncbe v. pmbr
Now that's a fight-to-the-death I think we'd all like to see. Because no matter who was the loser, we'd all win.

Google: bar broke foot running criminal procedure oakland blogspot
I really have no idea what you were searching for, but now the curiosity is killing me.

MSN Search: essay topics for students going into 8th graders
I think the punishment for statutory rape should be slightly more onerous than being forced to write an essay about it.

Google: larry sonsini boalt exam
It's closed-book, which really sucks. BTW when did I ever mention Larry Sonsini on this blog? He's a very nice guy by the way, and a super professor.

Google: "florida bar exam" "fail"
Awww, you don't know that yet!

Yahoo: who are all the spouses previous girlfriends
All of them? Also, you might want to just try asking your spouse first.

Google: "camisole" "costco"
The brand is French Dressing. They come in a package of 3 for $9.99. They rule the school when it comes to Bar Exam studying wear. Super-comfortable, built-in bra, and you can sort of wear them on emergency trips to the store, especially if its 2 weeks before the Exam and you're stressed out enough that you don't care how you look anymore.

Selling My Books on eBay

2005-08-09T16:47:00.000-07:00

I figured I could do a lot better by selling my Bar/Bri books on eBay than by shipping them back to The Monopolists for my measly $125 deposit refund. Also, I just want the goddamn things out of my sight. So if you know anyone who might want to buy any of them, here are the links:

California Performance Exam
Big CA-Specific Outline
Big Multistate Outline
California Essay Book
California Graded Assignments Book
CA Conviser Mini-Review
Multistate Drills & Released Questions
Practice MBE Questions Book
Simulated MBE
Also: Strategies & Tactics for the MBE

The auctions will end at around 5pm next Tuesday.

Post-Bar Trip #1

2005-08-08T13:03:00.000-07:00

Last night I got back from my first post-Bar trip, to Minnesota, for my aunt & uncle's 40th anniversary party, which ended up blossoming into a weekend-long family reunion. We took our first family portrait with that side of the family in 29 years!

I have never been to Minnesota before, but it's absolutely gorgeous. They really mean it with the motto "Land of 10,000 Lakes." I didn't realize you could find this kind of lushness in the United States outside of the deep South. It was beautiful.

My parents drive me a little bit nuts but it was still nice to see them. We timed our flights so they arrived at the same time out of LAX. That way we only had to rent one car. I got to see my cousins' two kids for the first time in person, they are so cute -- born just two months apart! The little boy's mother (my cousin) is EIGHT MONTHS pregnant, so we were so happy her doctor gave the OK for her to join us -- even though it meant they had to spend 11 hours driving from Illinois!! What a trooper!

I got to see my aunt and uncle's home for the first time, on which they have an awesome hobby farm. My uncle gave us the tour of the approximately 1/4 acre they have planted with every crop you can think of.

This is what walnuts look like when they're growing on the tree!

The last day we took a two-hour cruise around Lake Minnetonka, which was beautiful. But it certainly felt strange to be out on a large body of water without the smell of the salty ocean breeze!

We also visited the Mall of America... oh my... that deserved its own full post in my other blog here, if you're interested.

It was a great trip, and also nice to spend time relaxing with the midwestern side of the family, who have all the stereotypical virtues of good-hearted friendliness, hospitality, and a great sense of humor. And the Minnesota accent, yah sure!

By the way, I never had Bar Exam dreams before the test. I had general stress dreams, where something stressful was happening, but it was never the actual test. But in the past week I've had two! Isn't that wierd? For example, in one, I finish early on the third day, and I'm so glad to be done that I just pack up my computer and go. It isn't until I get up to the hotel room that I realize I NEVER REMOVED MY DISK AND TURNED IT IN!! So I run downstairs as people are leaving the Exam and frantically try to explain what happened and ask if I can still turn in my Exam disk even though I took it out of the secured area. I don't remember if they let me. It's sure a relief to wake up and realize WAIT, I DID THIS ALREADY!!

Next trip is to my parents' in L.A., they live a couple blocks from the beach so I can just hang out there, and after that Husband was finally able to finagle that week off work (assuming he still has a job at that time...) so we're going to Mexico... check out what our room is going to look like... YAY!!!

Hope everyone is enjoying their post-Bar time. I highly suggest you bookmark this absolutely terrific post that Eve wrote in her blog, on the off chance that you receive bad news Nov. 18th. Then you can go back and read it and remember to keep this whole mess in perspective.

Happy travels/job-hunting/relaxing!

My Personal Bar Exam Advice: The Wrap-Up

2005-08-02T07:14:00.000-07:00

Now that the stress has subsided, I wanted to write a wrap-up post for future takers of all the advice I can think of about the California Bar. Most of it probably applies to other states too, but just know that I have CA in mind here. Where I wrote a full post on that particular piece of advice, the link to that post is provided.

One important caveat about Bar Exam advice -- from any source -- is that you have to take it all with a grain of salt. Studying for and taking the Bar is a very individualized process, and you have to decide what works for you in particular. And this is purely my opinion, others may disagree!

Try to understand your studying methods, what stresses you out, and what works for you -- and USE THAT. Don't let the fact that other people do things differently, or that they're trying to tell you that you are weird for doing things a certain way, make you change your methods. YOU are the only one who knows what it will take for YOU to pass the Bar.

Anyway here we go...

FIRST FIVE SEMESTERS OF LAW SCHOOL:

Take all the subjects tested on the Bar while you are in law school. I wrote a full post about this here.
Sign up for BarBri as a 1L. You save a lot of money by signing up early, and everybody takes BarBri anyway. Even though you may end up getting a job that pays for your course, many firms just give you a lump sum at graduation and let you use it how you choose. So if you save money, that's more leftover for you.
Recognize that you can't take the Bar on an Apple computer, so if you are buying a new laptop for law school, that's one reason to choose a PC. Full post.

LAST SEMESTER OF LAW SCHOOL:

Try and take care of things that you won't have time to worry about during Bar Review. For example, get your car serviced, go to the dentist, etc.
Take advantage of time to shop during your last semester, and stock up on shorts/pants with stretchy waistbands. You will need them for your Bar Review fat. Trust me.
In my humble opinion, you don't need to sign up for PMBR. Full posts here and here. Recognize that this, of course, is my personal opinion and other people find PMBR worthwhile. But don't feel like you have to do it. Especially in California, where the MBE is worth only 1/3 of your score.
Do, however, get the PMBR CD set (29 CDs) on eBay if you are an auditory learner like me. I found that listening to them while working out really helped my memorization.
If you have time, try and start listening to the PMBR CDs while you're in the car or working out. It can help limber up your brain for the crunch time.
Consider setting up a food delivery service (full post) and/or maid service (full post) if you can afford it.
Pay attention to deadlines -- this year the "timely filing" (i.e. not having to pay a late fee) deadline was April 1. Some states don't even allow you to register late (VA is one of them, I happen to know from a friend's personal experience!).
Make your hotel/airplane/rental car reservations for the actual exam.
Buy a little analog clock, less than 4"x4". This is the only type of clock allowed in the California Bar (full post). There were no wall clocks at my location.
If you don't already have an exercise program, start one. It can be as easy as taking a 30-minute walk every day. But physical exercise really helps relieve stress and build up physical endurance for the exam.
If you're not taking PMBR, get the book "Strategies & Tactics for the Multistate Bar Exam." You can buy it used on eBay. Full post.
If you register for the CalBar online, there's a piece of paper you have to mail in IMMEDIATELY after registering, thereby completely obviating the purpose of online registration. So if you register online, be sure to mail it in. I think they have to *receive* it within 7 days.
You have to separately register your ExamSoft. Don't forget! Full post.
When you go to pick up your BarBri books, keep in mind that you will get a giant box with 9 ginormous books in them that is VERY HEAVY and awkward to carry. Plan accordingly. Full post.
California Bar Exam expert Travis Wise often gives free talks about passing the Bar. Check his site (links at left) to see if he might be speaking in your area. Full post.
Decide whether you want to handwrite or type the exam. I was told to do whatever you did in law school. There is not much difference in the passage rates for handwriters versus typists. There is some discussion in the comments section here.
You might find it useful to learn and practice meditation breathing techniques in order to calm yourself down when you start to panic (for use during the actual exam). Full post.

DURING BAR REVIEW:

Very early on, figure out how you are going to manage the stress of studying and the actual exam. Don't just say that you don't get stressed that easily, or decide that you'll just take it as it comes. Learn how you as an individual best reduce stress, and plan how you will incorporate that into your routine. Full post.
Plan to take Sundays off. Schedule it into your study plan. Full post.
Make sure your significant other understands that he/she is not permitted to break up with you during this time. Full post.
Your family and friends won't really understand what you're going through, and this can be isolating. I found it helpful to ask them to imagine that I was pregnant and due at the end of July. It's analogous -- you will need their support during an intense and stressful time; you will have to do what's best for *you* and be more selfish than normal during this unique experience, and they will have to be understanding about that; your mood swings may make you unpredictable; and they will need to remember that it's only temporary, so you are not being unreasonable.
You might want to check out some of these links. Definitely visit Travis Wise's site.
I found it useful to bring a stack of flashcards to class and take notes directly onto the flashcards. This way I didn't have to waste time creating them later, and it kept me engaged with the lecture when I otherwise would have zoned out.
Practice writing a few essays by hand, so that in case your computer freezes you have had at least some experience with handwriting them.
Recognize that a lot of people aren't able do all the BarBri homework. Don't beat yourself up if you can't keep pace.
Outline as many practice essays as you can get your hands on. Once you're used to writing out a full essay, it's OK to just outline. Spot the issue and write out the rule statement. Don't look at your notes, and see how much you can remember. Write the best outline you can. Then look at your notes and add in stuff you forgot. Get the outline all organized as if you were going to write an essay. Then compare it to the model answer. Make a mental note of issues you missed.
Plan ahead for the actual Exam. For example, think about where you will eat lunch, and what you will do if you can't sleep. Your goal is not to have any surprises during that 3-day period.
If you learn through the process of making outlines (I do), then make them. If not, don't, just use other people's or the ones in the Conviser Mini Review. You can download mine here (right click and "Save As"): Civ Pro, CA Community Property, Con Law, Corporations, Contracts, Criminal Law & Procedure, Evidence, Property, Professional Responsibility, Torts, and Wills. I didn't do trusts since I refused to learn that subject. Remember that these were created by ME and only ME under the stress of the Exam and probably have tons of mistakes. Don't take them as gospel!
Use BarBri's StudySmart software! For some reason they didn't even tell us about this, but I found it after Roonie posted about it. You can download it from the BarBri website.
I found this stuff very helpful in dealing with the acne you will inevitably be plagued with during Bar Review.
Go read the sample essay answers provided on the California Bar website. You will see that they are MUCH worse than the exacting "sample" answers found in the BarBri books. And they all earned high scores, according to the Cal Bar. This can help if you are freaking out that your essays aren't good enough. Here are some.
Plan ahead and ask a close friend or relative if they can bring your dog or cat to the vet if it becomes necessary right before the Exam. Animals are very observant and will know that you are stressed, and this may in turn make them stressed, and they might start feeling ill or start doing weird things.
Don't read the message board JDJive, because a lot of people intentionally post obnoxious messages there around Bar time to rattle nervous takers. But DO go solely for the purpose of looking near the top of the threads (it will usually be made "sticky" so it stays on top) and find the thread with Bar mnemonics in it. I found them very helpful.
Remember that life doesn't stop during this time, and bad things may happen. Just muddle through and try to do your best, it's all you can do. Full post.
Go read Jay's hilarious post about how you know you're studying for the Bar here.
Recognize that some days will be less productive than others, and don't beat yourself up about it. Full post.
Don't flip out if you receive this letter right before the exam. A lot of people do. Just call the CalBar office and make sure everything is OK.
It's going to feel like you never have a spare minute to prepare meals towards the end, so stock up on healthy snacks. Full post.
Don't sacrifice sleep to get more study time, it can backfire (unless you're just one of those people who doesn't need a lot of sleep). Full post.
Don't believe essay predictions from Sakai at BarBri or anyone else. It's my opinion that the CalBar Examiners are now actively trying to throw off people who look for patterns. Be ready for anything.
The BarBri weekend-long "review" of the practice MBE answers is, by all accounts I heard, a waste of valuable time. Read the answers on your own in the back of the book.
There are some free flash-powered online flashcards here. Full post.
You should receive your CalBar admission ticket towards the end of June. If you don't get it, call and ask them what's going on. Full post.
If you and your friends get too stressed out while studying, take a break and hold a BarBri Olympics.
If you have trouble finding a quiet place to study, try my ultimate white noise maker.

RIGHT BEFORE, AND DURING, THE ACTUAL EXAM:

Remember to call and verify your hotel/plane/rental car reservations before you leave.
You might want to request an upper floor of the hotel, if it's tall, because in the mornings the elevator will be completely packed by the time it gets halfway down and you'll have to walk down the stairs. Also there's less street noise.
Don't work out at the hotel gym, unless you have headphones you can turn up loud to block out sound. Don't eat at the hotel restaurant either. Both these locations will be full of people talking about the exam and about their stress. Of course, if commiserating with fellow takers soothes your nerves then ignore this advice.
Be sure to bring a battery-powered alarm clock! Don't rely on the hotel's wake-up call or on the power not going out!
Figure out how to deal with the CalBar's retarded rule that you can't bring food. Some people wear cargo pants and put a Clif bar in there for eating in the bathroom stall. I wouldn't reccommend the solution of just eating a very big breakfast and lunch so you won't get hungry during the Exam -- a very heavy meal might make you drowsy. Either way, plan ahead.
Make your CalBar purse so you don't have to juggle your laptop and everything else in your hands. You could make a backpack version with two straps also!
Bring the two pillows without cases they allow you to bring. Some locations stick you with uncushioned, metal chairs. Also, our desks were way too tall so I had to pile the pillows underneath my butt to get to proper typing height (and I'm tall!).
In California, something like 72% of first-time takers pass. Based on my anecdotal observations, about 70-80% of first-time takers walk out of the test thinking they failed. That means that 40-50% of first-time takers who are convinced they are going to fail, actually pass. Don't write yourself off until you get the results.
Recognize that on the MBE, you may need to skip some questions. That's just fine. A Real Property question that takes up an entire page counts just as much as that short Evidence question. Full post.
Once you're done, follow JM's 12-step program to Bar Exam recovery here.

That's all I can think of for now. I'll add more if and when I think of them. Hope this is helpful. Again, this is all my personal opinion and others may disagree with this advice!

Enjoy your post-Bar trips if you've got 'em -- I'm off to 'Minnesoter' shortly for my family reunion, I'll probably turn off the comments then since I won't be able to monitor them (believe it or not this blog has more than one blog troll, I guess that's a sign of popularity or something!). Until then feel free to post your own bits of advice in the comments. The future Bar Exam takers will thank you!

Bar Exam Humor

2005-08-01T08:15:00.000-07:00

There is a very funny series of posts at the message board for Travis Wise's site... I cut and paste for your amusement.

NOTE THAT THESE ARE **A JOKE**. PURELY FOR HUMOR PURPOSES. THERE WAS NO SUCH QUESTION ON THE EXAM.

Subject: MULTI CROSSOVER?

WOW when I saw that Criminal Law, Contracts,Community Propery,
Evidence AND PR combo (multi-crossover) (CLP,K,CP,EV,PR) essay I
almost freaked out!!

I really pulled it out of the fire though. I saw that the murder victim's separate property was consideration for the contract to kill the suspect...but there were issues with the acceptance and ...the contract was against public policy! But when the officer tried to testify about the lawyers ethical violations (representing the three defendants with conflicing insterests...then suing their families), it was double hearsay....and I am sure that the "reasonable" legal fees were reimbursable to the quasi-community property because the victim was the defendants first lawyer and his putative spouse (alas another conflict of interest)....did I get all that right?

I was not sure who should get Whiteacre or if I should have used the McNaughton rule?

You've probably earned partial credit. However, based on the threads going recently, you REALLY needed to mention Pereira and Van Camp!

Wasn't the lawyer's suit in federal court? I also analyzed diversity jurisdiction and third-party standing. Unfortunately the proctors called time before I could address whether the murder victim's last-minute holographic will could be admitted.

I can't believe you guys missed the issue about the lawyer having formed a professional corporation which he was really using fraudulently as an alter ego, ignoring all corporate formalities, such that the victims could pierce the corporate veil in their malpractice suit.

Reassurance

2005-07-29T19:41:00.000-07:00

I thought this might be reassuring to anyone who is worried about their performance...

I talked to someone today who is a very close friend, so I have personal knowledge that he/she is brilliantly smart, not to mention in the top 5% of the class at a highly-ranked law school, an incredibly focused studier, who knows every point of law COLD and rocked all practice MBEs. And did almost all the BarBri homework and took PMBR.

Well this person also thought our MBE was REALLY hard. Someone who was probably the most MBE-ready individual in the entire state of California, thought our MBE was REALLY hard. So you KNOW they're going to have to scale that sucker up like crazy.

Meaning even if you feel like you were unsure about a lot of questions, you're gonna get a heck of a lot of free points.

So don't stress.

Feeling unsure about your performance on the MBE is not a product of *your* preparedness or abilities, it's a product of how hard that particular test was.

And again, you guys all rock.

Yay SOs!

2005-07-29T18:55:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to give a shoutout to all the SOs out there and hope you are getting some much needed payback pampering for all your hard work and putting up with us.

I have to give the gold medal to Husband who not only BROKE HIS TOE during the Bar Exam and didn't tell me since I had warned him about not giving me any upsetting news, but left work in time to meet me when the test got out yesterday even though he had a major deadline today and had to go into work at about 4:00 this morning to finish in time.

And did I mention, that he broke his toe because I was worried he would forget to clean the catbox, so I left the 20-pound box of litter partially in the hallway where he would notice it, and when he was awakened in the middle of the night to what sounded like the dogs tearing apart a raccoon, he ran out into the darkness of the hallway and slammed his foot into the box. Go, me.

So the adrenaline is finally making its way out of my system, after about 24 hours. I actually feel calm and not like I need to be studying. I'm going to sleep like a rock tonight.

BTW for some post-Barzam mindless fun, I love the weekly "Blue States Lose" post on this blog, where they post their ten favorite pics of the week taken at NYC hipster hotspots like Misshapes. Although I have to admit, I kinda looked like this last night too. ;)

Another Barzam Account

2005-07-29T14:43:00.000-07:00

For future Bar takers who want to know more about the actual experience, Matt at I Fought the Law has an excellent and granular rundown here.

I didn't remember what Sakai had predicted the essays would be, but according to Matt's account (and that of everyone who has mentioned it), he was dead wrong on just about everything.

Oh and now I'm REALLY glad I steered clear of the "Fitness Room." And he is so right about the pool. The Oakland Marriott should stop advertising the fact that it has a pool, because it really doesn't. That's not a pool. It's a jacuzzi that's not heated.

The Most Satisfying Thing I've Done Today

2005-07-29T13:06:00.000-07:00

(Click for larger)

My Pics

2005-07-29T10:32:00.000-07:00

Apparently the Marriott is REALLY into pillows. It looked like a pillow army was going to attack me.

The view out my window:

Taken just before I left on the morning of the first day -- BRING IT ON, BITCHEZ!

[pic redacted]

Moments after the Exam ended. Oooooh YEAH!

[pic redacted]

We stopped by again later so I could take a picture of the Hall of Destruction in case future takers want to see what it looks like.

The flowers Husband greeted me with:

[pic redacted]

Taking stock this morning of the neglected yard... I think I will have to count this one as a sacrifice to the CalBar gods...

THIS was incredibly satisfying (that's my admission ticket).

A Sneaking Feeling

2005-07-29T07:33:00.000-07:00

So, I got up at 6:45 for no reason. OK. Got the newspaper and made coffee so I could have a relaxing read in bed.

But here I am diddling around with the computer. I can't quite calm down. I still feel this residual level of stress. I'm guessing it's because that kind of buildup of adrenaline and cortisol in one's system takes a while to break down.

I have nothing to do today. I can sit around and watch all the shows filling up the TiVo if I want. Or I can catch up on some of the yardwork and all the many things that have been neglected around here in the past few weeks. I can book us some sort of weekend trip to celebrate.

But I still just feel weird because I'm not studying...

BTW my saddest moment ever was yesterday morning when I was packing up my stuff, and got great satisfaction from leaving my bazillion flashcards behind in the trash can (most of which I barely looked at, but I think making them helped, or at least that's what I tell myself!). Then I realized, WAIT A SECOND, if I fail this thing I'm going to want those suckers! So I put them back in my bag. And that really felt like THE MAN had finally beat me down! Hahaha... I think I'll go burn those things now.

Speaking of, I really want to light my admission ticket on fire, but now I can't find it. The thought of watching that POS go up in flames makes it worth looking a little harder for.

Finally, my funny story I was too lazy to tell in yesterday's post. So I got into the exam yesterday morning and realized I couldn't find my driver's license. I started freaking out and was thinking they were going to not let me sit for the third day of the Exam, then kick me out of the room, then probably take me out back and shoot me in the head. "Zis is what we do wit people who cannot follow ZEE RULEZ!"

But actually my 90-year-old proctor just said, "That's OK, I remember you." She didn't even add, "because you couldn't stop twitching during the entire exam and got up to go to the bathroom 19 times." THANK YOU NICE LADY!! I LOVE YOU!!!

Other funny story -- I was so brain-dead from stress yesterday morning that when I went to the bathroom after the first essay, I couldn't figure out how to work my belt buckle. The struggle to put it back on was high comedy.

And lastly, I can't tell you what kind of satisfaction it gave me when I read those last 3 essay questions and saw NO TRUSTS. I feel completely vindicated in my decision to refuse to learn it. I did throw a constructive trust in there for Remedies, but I don't think I'll even get a point for it. So take that, CBA!!! I took your stupid exam and I refused to learn Trusts and I was FINE!!!!!

My final item for the Bar Exam Etiquette tips: DON'T wear loud shoes. At lunch I changed into my heels since we were going out afterward, and was horrified when I got up to go pee during the PT and heard the CLICK CLICK CLICK in the absolute silence of the exam room. When I got to the bathroom my brain started semi-working again and I had the good sense to take them off and walk back to my seat in my socks.

Now, to the coffee and paper. And the not studying.

The Wrap-Up

2005-07-28T22:53:00.000-07:00

WARNING! IF YOU DON'T WANT TO HEAR ME TALK ABOUT ANY SUBSTANTIVE PARTS OF THE EXAM, DON'T READ THIS!

My friend MR, who is a very smart 4th year at my firm, told me at the beginning of Bar study that you don't want to just pass -- you want to walk out of there KNOWING you passed, so you don't spend the next 4 months worrying about it.

He was right.

Based on conversations with other people, I am pretty sure I hit every issue on the essays, and even in the WTF that is question #2, I think I threw in pretty much any potential crossover item I thought they might have been going for. And I know I got the rules right, except for a couple I had to make up in the second full PR question (I couldn't remember the exceptions to when fee agreements had to be in writing, and whether it was OK to solicit a sister-of-a-friend by phone).

I got the Crim Pro issues in the Evidence question. (JUST TO CLARIFY -- they were VERY VERY minor, so don't freak out and go WHAT CRIM PRO?? I'm just saying I feel like I covered all the bases, even the minor ones.) I remembered to discuss Remedies in question 5, even though I almost always forgot when practicing essays. Even when it was obvious. Because I subconsciously loathe Remedies.

Towards the end I was consistently getting 85-90% on the released MBEs, so even if the stress really whacked me out I think I still must have gotten a passing score. Except for the "correlative rights doctrine" question there wasn't anything that completely mystified me. Even when I was uncertain I was able to get it down to 2 answers.

I only have to get into the top 60%, and not to jinx it, but I can't imagine that I didn't.

One thing I will say for future takers, though: I work well under pressure. My former career was very high-stress and I always handled it well. I never freaked out during law school exams. But three days of adrenalin coursing through my veins had a LOT more of an effect than I anticipated. By the end I was shaking, twitching, and my teeth were chattering. At times my mind went completely blank. Staying focused and on-task was a constant struggle. I felt nauseous through parts of it, despite chomping down Pepto Bismol tablets throughout.

It was a wonderful reward to have Husband leave work early to meet me at the test center, after which we went for dinner and drinks, and to see "March of the Penguins" (WOW - an actual movie! Without feeling guilty about not studying!).

I am glad it's all over with, and glad I will pass. But I have a new level of respect for every attorney in California. And I'm never, EVER moving out of state, or at least to any state that won't waive me in!

Good luck to all of you and here's crossing my fingers that you will pass. Remember -- a lot of people who think they failed end up passing. There's no sense worrying until we get the results!

2005-07-28T17:25:00.000-07:00

Fuck Paul. Fuck Sarah. They can take the bus. They can get eaten by pineslugs for all I care, cuz I AM DONE!!!

2005-07-28T12:00:00.000-07:00

Since apparently you guys at home are on the edge of yr seats: 4. Evidence, 5. Contrax-prop-remedies, 6. Full frontal PR.

To the Repeaters

2005-07-27T21:27:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to take a moment to express my incredible admiration and respect for you. After having almost completed this awful process once, I really really REALLY hope I never have to do it again, and the fact that you have the wherewithal to pull it together and do so just certainly gives you absolutely jaw-dropping impressiveness.

Congrats on putting yourself to the task yet again. And for those of you who have taken the time to post comments in regard to your experience as a veteran, I know everyone on this blog has been very grateful.

Here's hoping that you don't have to deal with Bar nonsense anymore from here on out. Good luck -- such tenacity will surely come back to benefit you someday.

You guys rock.

Travels

2005-07-27T20:57:00.000-07:00

I was flipping through the channels and came across some reality show taking place in Tahiti, and it bummed me out all over again about having to cancel our post-Bar trip (although I *am* going to Minneapolis for a family reunion and am very excited about seeing my extended family!).

So anyway I was thinking maybe I could entice the loyal readers of this blog to relate their fantabulous post-Bar plans so that maybe I can live vicariously through you...

Work.

2005-07-27T20:05:00.000-07:00

Even though I'm very glad the last day of the exam is tomorrow, as I was walking around the neighborhood this evening I realized that tomorrow is the last thing standing between me and... WORK.

Don't get me wrong, I know that I am very very very lucky to have a job all set. Especially with Husband's job issues.

But even though I've spent three years in school, I stillremember what it was like to work at a "real" (i.e. career-type) job. It's challenging and rewarding, but it's also a lot of work. And I'm not kidding myself, as a first-year associate I know I'll be working as much -- and probably more -- than I did in my previous career.

It's just that before, all that was going to come after graduation, then THE BAR, and now it's.... looking me right in the face.

Ah well. We can't be grad students forever (but if I could find a way, I would!!).

Alright, back to halfway looking over my checklists to try and freshen up my memory, I mean pretending to look at them for 5 minutes and then watching TV.

P.S. if you're bored, E. Spat is up to Episode 6 in her riveting life story. She is amazing and a terrific writer too. E. Spat you rock!!!

Bar Exam Etiquette: Dos and Don'ts

2005-07-27T18:50:00.000-07:00

DO be attentive to the fact that your neighbor might not want to chat, especially on the first day, and don't try to force it on them.
DON'T talk about the questions loudly, with your friends, whlle you are waiting for the booklets to be collected. Some people are freaked out and this only stresses them out more.
DON'T talk loudly with your friends about The Law while waiting for the Exam to begin.
DON'T run to and from the bathroom during the MBE portion to save time, or the head proctor will give you a beatdown. I should know as this happened to me today.
DO notice if your neighbor is frantic over missing something and offer them one of yours. This happened to me today when my poor neighbor got her clock taken away because it was arguably digital (WTF? I didn't see it before they took it).
If you go to a top law school, DON'T wear your law school t-shirt. Those of us fortunate enough to go to highly-ranked schools already have enough of an unfair advantage (job market-wise) over most other people in the room, and being reminded of that might make them more stressed out than they already are (even if that's not your intent).
DO notice if someone looks really freaked out as you enter or exit, and just give them a smile or something. Who knows, it might make them feel better.
DON'T startle the proctors, causing their fragile hearts to go into full arrest probably counts against you.
When you go to the bathroom during the MBE portion, DO wash your hands afterwards, for everyone else's sake. Please? I know time is precious, but...
If you are staying at the hotel, DON'T have really loud sex and make the rest of us feel bad!! :(
DON'T wear a hood, or DO wear a hood, I can't get it straight. Plenty of people were wearing hoods today and the proctors didn't seem to care.
The last day, DO remember to congratulate your neighbors on a job well done before DASHING OUT OF THERE LIKE YOUR HAIR WAS ON FIRE!!!!

I Just Have One Question...

2005-07-27T16:55:00.000-07:00

...WTF is the "correlative rights doctrine"?

Anyway I mostly pulled it together for the second half, and felt a lot more focused (although I was nauseous the entire time). I was a lot more conscious of moving along quickly so I finished about 30 minutes early, went back over any questions I was iffy on, and left before time was called. I didn't take advantage of those last few minutes because I just didn't feel like I could deal with another 15-20 minute wait while the proctors collect the exams and then another 15-20 minutes waiting at the elevators to get up to my room. I am just too beat today.

Now I have to get all my crap together and partially packed in my car so I don't have to deal with before I check out in the morning.

Hope all my fellow Pineslugs felt reasonably OK about the test today! Or at least not horrible about it!!

Whew.

2005-07-27T13:16:00.000-07:00

I got a 25-minute run in and shower, and now I am eating Triscuits for lunch and feeling much better.

I think I did fine on the first half, but I was feeling the anxiety a lot more than I anticipated. And I'm a person who was very confident about the MBE portion!

First of all, I ended up going a lot slower than I had been during practice. A LOT slower. So that stressed me out and I pressured myself to keep up. I started feeling a tightness in my chest and my teeth were chattering, but I don't know if that's because they decided to refrigerate us with th air conditioning today.

I found myself having to read questions over and over because my eyes were just going over the words, and not sinking in.

I ended up finishing in time and I definitely feel like I got at least a passing score, but it sure wasn't easy.

Running just now was a very good idea. i feel like my head is much clearer and I am more relaxed. Alright, time for the second half. Blech.

P.S. When I arrived at my table this morning, TBD1 and TBD2 were discussing FINE POINTS OF SUBSTANTIVE LAW. As in, "Don't forget the such-and-such doctrine! Oh and such-and-such too!" Ugh.

P.P.S. Are they really going to spend ten minutes *EACH DAY* reminding us that we can't have cellphones? Did they think we might have forgotten overnight?

Good luck to everyone on the PM half!

Skipping My Run This Morning..

2005-07-27T12:40:00.000-07:00

Ended up being a huge mistake on my part, b/c the anxiety really built up. Am going running now on the lunch break to hopefully counteract the effect... at least for the PM session.

Damn the Bar!

2005-07-27T07:33:00.000-07:00

Here I am stuck in a hotel with no Comedy Central, and I discover via my Bloglines subscription that Sen. Rick "I'm a nutbag homophobe" Santorum was interviewed on the Daily Show??? And I missed it?? Grrr.

Anyway shoutouts to Eve, whose recap of Day 1 I just read but can't comment on b/c of WebTV -- I'm SO sorry your Day 1 sucked! Poor baby!!! :( You will pull it through on Days 2 and 3!! You can do it!!!

Also, shoutout to my right-hand neighbor. You are one hot mama. Your calmness throughout the day -- even when you had to handwrite the first 3 essays -- inspired me. You rock the Oakland Convention Center.

And finally, shoutout to myself for forgetting that the hotel coffee maker does not have the "pause 'n' serve" feature, so when you pull the pot out while it's still brewing, coffee goes everywhere. Duhrrr....

Remember you guys, NOBODY understood question #2 yesterday. Don't sweat it. Rock the MBE today.

No Workout

2005-07-27T06:57:00.000-07:00

So, since I was awake last night (finally fell back to sleep) I reset my alarms for 6:45 and decided not to go running. I really hope this was not a major mistake by making me all jittery and non-edorphined-up for the MBE.

I think it will be OK, I'll just cut back on the No-Doz to compensate, which was probably what was keeping me awake last night anyway. :/ If I have caffeine past about 3pm it interferes with my sleep. But honestly that was the only thing keeping me awake during the PT!!

I still haven't studied at all during the test. I think that's a good thing. I'm finding that in the pressure-cooker of the Exam, it all comes back to me anyway. Thank god for adrenaline.

Shoutout to My Red Hot Mama Roonie!

2005-07-27T03:52:00.000-07:00

I know you're probably not reading blogs during the Exam. But this goes out to anyone who did not go to school in CA and was hoping to not have a Community Property question.

I hope against hope that you were not totally thrown off by the fact that that was the FIRST QUESTION of the Bar Exam. I know Loyal Friend & Co-Worker Ballzac and I, who rocked our CP class, were super-excited to start out with it, so I hope the inverse is not true.

Just remember, that one essay was just one tiny fractional portion of the entire Exam. You probably kicked ass on the other two essays and on the PT. And guess what? Now you know CP won't be on Day 3. So that's chance to kick ass on 3 more essays.

One CP essay does not a failure make. You can pass, and I know you are going to do so with flying colors.

Rock the MBE tomorrow. I mean today. #$*#&(.

Awake!

2005-07-27T03:37:00.000-07:00

Well, it's 3am, and I'm awake. I briefly considered putting on Stephen Fltcher on Con Law, since his ~~boring~~ soothing voice usually puts me right out. But given that the hotel is dead silent and these walls are thin, I was afraid the people in the adjacent rooms might here it and get freaked out.

"Oh my god!!! Someone got up FIVE HOURS before the MBE to start reviewing their PMBR CDs!!! Should *I* get up and start listening to CDs???"

I'm sure I'll fall asleep again just in time for my alarm to go off. Bitchin'.

Oakland Hotel Stuff

2005-07-26T21:12:00.000-07:00

One thing I'll forget to post later -- for future Bar takers in Oakland -- I just stayed at the Marriott since I'm not familiar with downtown Oakland and it was the obvious choice. But within one block is a Courtyard by Marriott and a Washington Inn, both of which are probably tons cheaper than this place and are a stone's throw away.

But if you stay at the Marriott, stay on the east-facing side, because it's so nice to have the sun in your window as you're waking up and getting psyched for the exam!

Shoutout to Andytothemax!

2005-07-26T20:38:00.000-07:00

Dude I've got friends e-mailing me about your blog with remarks like "Oh my gosh check out this guy's setup" in relation to your power-outage busting alarm clock.

I can't see it on my craptastic (thank you for that word Eve!) WebTV but it must be pretty spectacular.

Wondering...

2005-07-26T20:17:00.000-07:00

As I was just now reflecting on the experience of scarfing down my Clif Bar in the disgustingness of the bathroom stall, I almost have to wonder... could that be intentional?

Could it be the CA Bar Association's way of saying, "Oh yeah? Think you're all hot shit because you're going to have a license to practice law in California? Well you know what we can do? We can MAKE YOU EAT IN THE FUCKING BATHROOM TO GET THAT SUCKA."

Just thinking.

Because it would sort of fit in with their attitude towards Bar Applicants thus far.

And it would also be kind of funny.

A Third of the Way There!

2005-07-26T18:33:00.000-07:00

OMG Chancesare, I just read your comment! What a nightmare! I hope everyone else's computer functioned as planned. And JD, since you asked the essays were Community Property, Corporations/PR crossover, and a Property question that crossed over with something but I'm not sure what. I threw in issues from at least 4 different subject areas just to cover my bases. :)

The PT was in the format of writing a letter to opposing counsel, so there no wacky formatting issues. I was glad about that.

So I was very glad to be on the 16th floor of the hotel this morning, because all the people from the 6th floor on down had to take the stairs -- every elevator was packed by the time we got to them.

Then after getting out at almost 6pm the elevators upstairs had a line out the door to ride them. And wouldn't you know, the Marriott's stairs are for "emergencies only." @#^$#&*. I went and got a Subway sandwich and came back later.

Why did we get out at almost 6, you ask? Well, because after admonishing us that the doors would reopen at 1:30 and we HAD TO BE IN OUR SEATS by 1:45, they didn't bother reopening the doors until 1:55. Then had the gall to insist we hurry up and take our seats because "the instrutions are already beginning!" Well maybe if you had OPENED THE DOORS AT 1:30 I would already be in my seat!!

I have 2 questions for the California Bar Examiners: Why do you set a minimum age of 80 for your proctors? And how exactly is a handwriting sample going to "prove my identity" when I'm taking the exam on a laptop??

Anyway there are about 1500 people taking the test here by my eyeball math. I wonder how many take it in Ontario?

Oh one thing to add for future Bar takers -- the only thing that really threw me off this morning was that the tables are WAY too tall! So instead of typing in a normal way, you had to keep your arms in a raised position for the entire exam -- certain death for people like me who get shoulder cramps. Luckily I had brought the allowed two pillows, and by folding both of them in half and sitting on them I was able to get the proper height. Just one more way the Cal Bar Association shows its love for you.

Alright, dinnertime. Then showertime. Then bedtime.

Three Essays Down

2005-07-26T12:53:00.000-07:00

Three essays down! It all went pretty smoothly. I was very calm. I tend to perform well under pressure, so I was glad that this continued today.

After each essay, before looking at the next question, I got up to stretch, go to te bathroom, and get some water. I used that time to clear the last question out of my brain so I could start the next one fresh.

I started to get very lightheaded from hunger at about 11am so was very glad I had smuggled a Clif Bar in in my pocket. I had to eat it in the bathroom stall -- GROSS -- but desperate times call for desperate measures.

My right-hand neighor is ideal. My left hand neighbor, well, let's just call him Total Douche Bag 1 (TBD1). In the row ahead of us is his friend Total Douche Bag 2, who is apparently desperately in love with TBD1 because he found it difficult to leave his side for more than a moment at a time.
The inevitable result was that TDB2 hovered over our table every minute he could, including the 15 minutes it took them to collect the test materials before lunch (even though we were told to stay seated). TDB2 naturally had to start discussing the test and speculating about what topics we were going to get on Thursday. I rolled my eyes so hard I almost hurt my brain. Finally I had to get up and stand across up next to the wall to get away from them.

Oh, and dumpy girl who thought she was oh-so-clever for wearing her Harvard Law School t-shirt? I'm not impressed. And after we both pass the Bar, I'll still be approximately 50 times hotter than you, no matter which retarded shirt you're wearing! Dumpy girls are bitchin' and Harvard Law School t-shirts totally show everyone that you'e awesome! There, better? :)

Alright enough bitchiness. It was good to see some of my friends such as Mr. Levtastic and Matalicious. And it feels great to already be 1/6th done! Yay!

I've got my burrito and am going to eat lunch and call Husband. And try to chill out!

Lake Merritt

2005-07-26T07:02:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to report that running around Lake Merritt was totally safe, there were tons of people walking to work or out running themselves. And the fresh air and fishing cormorants provided much a much better environment than a tiny "fitness room" crammed with freaked-out Bar takers.

I did almost lose it in Jamba Juice though, when I was in line behind some retard in a Boston Red Sox hat who apparently just flew in from the Planet Venus and had NEVER BEEN IN A FUCKING JAMBA JUICE BEFORE, and was asking all these questions that elicited responses like, "Well, what kind of fruit do you like?" and then had to have the lady explain what a "boost" was. I hope he heard my overly loud sighing and smacking of my water bottle against my forehead.

But I didn't smack it against HIS forehead, so that was a big victory for me. Alright, shower time.

To My Fellow Bloggers

2005-07-26T05:58:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to say that for those of you who continue to blog throughout the exam, I would totally stop by and offer words of encouragement and stuff but this crappy web TV screws up the formatting so much that I can't view any Blogspot blogs (including my own -- you just see the header only) or yours, Eve. And even if I can read them via Bloglines (which is now refusing to log me in), I can't comment there.

(Incidentally, another thing that sucks about WebTV is that if you're watching a show, you basically have to turn it off to check e-mail or look something up on the web).

So just know that you are in my thoughts and that I'm pullin' for ya!

Alright. To the running.

I'm Awake!

2005-07-26T05:44:00.000-07:00

Well, sorta. As awake as a person can be at 5:45am. I actually woke up about 5 minutes before my alarm went off.

I'm not feeling at all stressed but that might be just because I'm not all the way awake yet.

The coffee maker in the room is one of those mini ones that only makes 4 cups. WTF? I guess that's enough for me, but if there were 2 of us staying in this room I'd be forced to kill the other person to get their share of the coffee.

No studying this morning. Just running and music. And coffee. 3 hours and 15 minutes till GO TIME!!!!

BTW when I talked to Husband on the phone last night he said, "I'm really nervous! Please don't fail!!" I had to explain that that's not the kind of thing to say to make a person less stressed! :)

Alright I'm off to run, I'll stop at Jamba Juice on the way back and get breakfast. Probably supplement that with a Balance Bar. I don't want to eat too much and feel sluggish in the Exam, but at the same time I have the urge to stuff myself to make sure I don't get hungry before the 3 hours is up. Ah well.

I'm Here, I'm Bored.

2005-07-25T18:13:00.000-07:00

Well I finally got checked in and naturally went to see if the LAN hookup for my laptop worked. Of course, it didn't (I even called tech support and they couldn't figure it out) so I am now using the Web TV option. But that means no pics, oh well. At least I can post. Although Web TV sucks in terms of usability. You can only see about a quarter of what would be on a normal computer screen at one time, so it means a lot of scrolling around. Whatevs.

So I was a little freaked out when I first got here, because it was like, WOW, I'm really doing this! They let us in to see the convention center room, where all the scary signs are already up ("GUM CHEWERS WILL BE SHOT ON SIGHT," etc.).

Then I spent about 2 hours just wandering the neighborhood. The hotel pool was really small and shitty so I didn't bother. Also, it's only about 75 here -- not really pool weather. I should have taken the test in Sacto!

After I wore myself out and scoped out where everything was (good to know there's a Radio Shack nearby in case of emergncies!), I got a burrito at La Salsa (YUM!) and came back here.

I'm planning to take a bath and read some magazines I brought (the TV here only gets like 10 channels and they all suck -- they don't even have Comedy Central!!!). Hopefully get to bed by 9:00.

Then it's up at 6am to go running -- I was right, the "fitness room" is like 4 treadmills and some weights in a tiny little room. Whatever. The fresh air is probably a better idea anyway. I can outrun the crack dealers.

I haven't done any studying since this morning but I may just skim over my checklists one last time tonight so they're fresh in my mind.

BTW sorry if this post is really boring and dry. This interface and keyboard are really awkward to use. Maybe I will get used to it?

A Long Wait

2005-07-25T15:02:00.000-07:00

Arrived at the hotel, there are about 40 people waiting in line @ the registration desk. Cleary the Marriott planned REAL well.

One Last Thing...

2005-07-25T09:17:00.000-07:00

One last thing before I pack it up and head to the hotel... I just wanted to share my Bar Exam Fight Song:

Phantom Planet - "Big Brat" (right-click and choose "save as")

It's about having had enough of a big, loudmouthed bully, and giving him a beat-down. In my mind, that big, loudmouthed bully is the California Bar Exam.

And as I ran my 10 miles this morning, the people in their cars gave me funny looks as I shot past them, tears running down my face in rivers large enough to cause serious damage in a "common enemy" jurisdiction, SHOUTING along to the part that goes:

By the time I needed backin' up,
Yeah he was watching, crackin' up
This time, this time it's tough
Well here I am and now
I think I've had enough.

Staaaaaaaand BACK!

Take that
and that
AND THAT!!!

That's right, California Bar Exam.
Me and my fast dogs are comin' for ya.
You can't outrun us. You can't hide from us.
We've had just about enough of you.
We don't need no backin' up.
And we're ready to KICK SOME BARZAM ASS.

Ready or Not, Here I Come

2005-07-25T06:07:00.000-07:00

They say passing the California Bar Exam is a mix of equal parts intelligence, preparation, endurance, and luck.

I can't make myself any luckier or smarter. So I've focused on the things I can control: Preparation and endurance.

Endurance: I dunno. I mean, THREE DAYS of this. With probably (knowing me) not a lot of sleep inbetween. But I usually find that once the adrenaline kicks in, in a real-life testing situation, I manage to focus pretty well.

Preparation: I don't really know how I could possibly be more prepared. I've done 1720 (yes I counted) MBEs assigned by BarBri, plus 550 more in the Strategies & Tactics for the MBE book, and read all the answer explanations. As to outlining essays, there are 13 sections in the BarBri essay book, and at least 6 (and sometimes as many as 9) essays in each section, so at a bare minimum I've outlined upwards of 80.

I've made flashcards. I've made outlines. I've reviewed my flashcards and outlines. I've practiced exam techniques. I've listened to all the PMBR CDs multiple times.

If I fail, it's really going to suck, because I honestly don't know what more I could have done. I would have no idea what to do differently next time. Read the big outline? Read the CMR more times?

I guess I could have actually learned Trusts (loyal readers know that this is the one topic I have refused to learn). I could have written more than 2 practice PTs. I could have been less of a spazz. Oh wait, I can't control that one.

So yeah, I guess there's things. But no one ever really feels completely prepared for the Bar, right?

Well hopefully, I won't have to figure out what to do differently if I fail. Hopefully I'll never, EVER have to do this again. KNOCK. ON. WOOD.

So anyway, GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE,
and thanks for listening to my ramblings and for all the support/helpful tips/etc. You guys rock!

For all my fellow Bar takers -- go into that Exam KNOWING you are going to pass. Don't give me some B.S. about how you are totally unprepared and know zero substantive law. You won't be the only one. And even if that's true, it is entirely possible that you might get just the right questions, and you might make up just the right rules and apply them to the facts in the just right way and PASS.

But there's NO point in going in thinking you're going to fail. If you're the kind of person who is afraid to get their hopes up and prefers to prepare for the worst, that's OK -- but do it AFTER the Exam. Right now, convince yourself you are going to do it. You'll have 4 months afterward to convince yourself you've failed and decide what to do if that happens. FOR NOW YOU ARE GOING TO KICK SOME ASS AND SLAM DUNK IT.

For those of you following along at home, I'll probably post from the hotel if the WebTV really works, and I am able to force myself to get out of the pool for more than 5 minutes at a time. If not, see you on the other side!

Lawyers are Sexy!

2005-07-25T06:01:00.000-07:00

At least, according to this random poll.

"The top three "hot jobs" were firefighter, flight attendant and chief executive officer. Lawyers ranked just below doctors and just above veterinarians."

But then you get quotes like, "[Lawyer guy] passed the Florida bar exam two months ago. The lawyer at Fisher & Phillips reports steady success on the social circuit. "As long as I slip in how much I make," he added with a laugh."

Uh, yuck.

But still.

Get the Hottest New Item in Bar Exam Fashion!

2005-07-24T19:21:00.000-07:00

When test-takers file in to the administration of the California Bar Exam this Tuesday, they won't be asking, "am I awake?" or "what do you mean my cigarettes don't count as 'medicine'?" -- they'll be too busy asking trendsetting applicants, "where did you get that FABULOUS purse?"

The Official CalBar Purse (TM) was introduced this spring in Milan and has become a must-have item ever since Paris Hilton was seen carrying one to the Oscars. It combines the all-season adaptability of duct tape with the ziploc-osity the CalBar Examiners demand. Personalization with patented Sharpie marker techniques makes each bag a unique work of art.

Applicants who snag one of these in-demand items -- currently available only in a limited number of exclusive boutiques -- will know that pass or fail, their fashion sense got an A+!

Pack it Up, Pack it In

2005-07-24T15:45:00.000-07:00

Here's what's on my packing list:

No-Doz (for cutting in quarters and "sipping" during the Exam)
Sleeping pills (Tylenol PM)
Bathingsuit since my hotel has a pool YAY!
My speaker set-up (for combining with iPod)... don't worry about getting stuck in the room next to me, it will be at low volume :)
Workout clothes
Lotsa lotsa track pants
My Bar Exam t-shirts!
Photo ID + Bar ticket
Balance Bars & Clif Bars for the majority of meals
ALL my BarBri books, just in case I want to look something up
Digital camera for my post-exam report!
Laptop & backup batteries (you never know!)
Pencils, pencils, and more pencils
EARPLUGS
Battery-powered alarm clock
Weights in case the gym sucks, I can work out in my room
My cellphone & charger set to ring upon calls from Husband only!
Map of downtown Oakland marked with where the food places are
My flashcards & outlines
Those bitchin' ziploc bags
Highlighters "for questions only"*

*Seriously, that's what it says on the "allowed items" list: "Highlighters (for use on questions only)." I really want to know what else you could possibly use the highlighters for. Throwing them at your neighbors to distract them? Drawing homemade tattoos on your arms if you finish early? I'm honestly quite curious.

You Gotta Read This One

2005-07-24T10:59:00.000-07:00

If you are taking the Bar on a laptop, Witty Sex Kitten experienced your worst nightmare Friday night...

How I Stopped Worrying And Learned to Love Con Law

2005-07-24T09:34:00.000-07:00

I was just listening to my Con Law PMBR CD while running, and it occurred to me that I don't hate Con Law anymore.

At first I really detested it because: (1) It was full of mushy "sorta" rules with 500 exceptions, and exceptions to exceptions, and I am a UCC/tax code kind of person -- I like rules. (2) I never really took the class in school, because our Con Law class just covered "how your professor feels about certain Supreme Court opinions," as opposed to, say, "principles of Constitutional Law."

But now that I've learned more about it, I agree that it holds a certain appeal. Further, I am glad we have to learn it for the Bar Exam, because it's something all lawyers should know.

As attorneys, I think we have a moral duty to defend the Constitution in whatever ways we can. It's kind of like our Hippocratic Oath. Especially these days, when I'm honestly just waiting for Dubya & Co. to get tired of trying to strip away our individual rights one by one, and just go ahead and repeal the whole Constitution!

So I'm glad I had to learn Con Law for the Bar, and I'm glad I know it now, and I'm glad I can point to particular government actions and know for certain that they violate the Constitution, and why. So bring on the Con Law questions.

By the way, I'm trying to think of mnemonics for the scrutiny tests, because I'm afraid that under the pressure of the exam I'm going to mix them up:

Necessary for a Compelling State Interest: NCSI

Substantially Related to an Important State Interest: SRISI

Rationally Related to Some Legitimate State Interest: RRSLSI

My to-do-list for the final 24 hours:

Go over all my flashcards once
Read all my outlines once through
Look at examples of potential PT formats
DON'T FREAK OUT

Nightmares

2005-07-24T07:46:00.000-07:00

Apparently I am stressed out enough that I am causing *HUSBAND* to have Bar Exam nightmares.

Last night he dreamed that he was in BarBri, except in addition to the classroom partof it it was also a "boot camp" where they had to run all kinds of obstacle courses in the rain, with drill sergeants yelling at them, and at one point had to do a test standing on one leg with the PMBR book in one hand and the piece of paper in the other.

There was a very complicated sequence where Husband and a group of students had to get into a particular classroom to retrieve their BarBri books. It involved all kinds of secret doors and going down a rickety staircase, but apparently they were successful. On the way out, they were all laughing and joking about how stressed out they were.

"And then I realized, I didn't even go to law school!

I'm not even taking teh Bar Exam!

And all the stress just melted away."

Sigh. I wish I could say the same!

Drinxxx Take Two

2005-07-23T22:40:00.000-07:00

For the Oakland takers, I guess the place to get a drink after the exam ends Thursday is the crappy hotel bar. I figured people would wanna get out of there as soon as possible, but I guess that's the most convenient. So... see you there!

Screw You AND Your Goddamn Party

2005-07-23T21:34:00.000-07:00

Our backyard backs up to an EASEMENT where the train tracks go. So there's nobody directly behind our house. But several hundred yards away, are the backyards of people who live a few blocks over. Since it's that much of a distance, they rarely do anything that bothers us.

Except today. One house has been BLARING MARIACHI MUSIC for hours, all day long. I've been inside with the double-paned windows closed (and AC on) and it's still REALLY LOUD. I even drove over there and got the address and called the police twice. When I called the second time the dispatcher said there was some "high-priority case" going on so not to hold my breath. I understand that catching a murderer is more important than my lameass neighbors, but it's still frustrating.

Then about 9pm, in addition to the music, they added microphones and/or megaphones and are making speeches or something and shouting in spanish. And encouraging everyone to get up and dance and shit, to which everyone responds by cheering.

I'm not even able to study anymore, but it's like I can't even enjoy some relaxation time because of the noise... this SUCKS.

OK thanks for letting me vent. I actually feel a bit better now.

Last 100 MBEs

2005-07-23T18:22:00.000-07:00

Alright, I did my last 100 MBEs today -- actual released questions -- and got 86 right. In 2 hours. Does this mean I can stop studying now?

Honestly, I have this neurotic fear that somehow all this knowledge is just going to fall out of my brain in the next 2 hours. So I'll continue studying... and doing flashcards... and looking at outlines... sigh...

Will Work for Favorable Dicta

2005-07-23T15:48:00.000-07:00

I assume everyone reads Will Work for Favorable Dicta, it being the best law school blog out of all of them, but maybe you've been skipping it lately while studying. Well, if you need a little break, E.Spat has begun telling her very interesting life story... and it is a heckuva read. She is awesome.

If anything, it will make you feel less sorry for yourself right about now...

Part One of the story
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four

My Mnemonics

2005-07-23T12:20:00.000-07:00

I am in obsessed-with-mnemonics mode this morning, so if you want to see the 5-page list I put together of mnemonics I liked, it's here as a .doc.

Mostly pulled from other people's blogs, that JDJive thread, and the BarBri in-class workbook. And some I made up.

P.S. When I went to JDJive to get the above link I came upon this little "last minute reassurance" post.

P.P.S. I am so goddamned wound up at this point. I went for a very hard/fast one-hour run just a few hours ago, and just now "Mr. Brightside" came up on the iTunes shuffle and I literally had to get up and start dancing around the room halfway through this post. When I bike or run now, I get to the end of my route and I feel like I could keep going for another 10 miles because my body is so in fight-or-flight mode. I really wish I was a Superball so I could go to a raquetball room and just bounce off the walls over and over again until I lose momentum.

[pics redacted]