WARNING: This post may be long and boring to you, so you may not want to read it. It details my bar exam experience. I want to do it for myself to have a record, but thought you might be interested to know what a bar exam looks like.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This will probably (read: praying to Jeebus that this will) be the last post on here. Of course come February we might be doing it all over, who knows.
The bar exam sucked. Big Time. It was by far, no exaggeration, the hardest thing I've ever had to do. It was a thousand times harder than any lawschool exam. In fact, it was like having 12 law school exams all at the same time.
I felt pretty confident going in because I had kept on the barbri study schedule for the most part and was doing ok. I was improving on multiple choice and I was spotting most of the issues when I was essay writing. I also thought I had a lot of the law memorized. Obviously I could have spent more time studying.
It probably didn't help that I started reading Harry Potter as soon as I got it. I didn't read it straight through, but I took a few hours each day to read. I couldn't help it. It was just adding to my anxiety and having read it actually made me feel more relaxed. So I'm not sorry that I did it.
The first day of the exam was 4 essays and the performance test. The essays were brutal. Right off the bat there was a race horse evidence question. Evidence was always one of the weaker subjects and one I was hoping wouldn't be a full blown question on the exam. But there it was. It sucked.
The next question was a torts question crossed over with conflict of laws. We were expecting torts, conflicts was a surprise. It sucked because I could only see one tort. Normally, torts is a race horse question. There are a ton of plaintiffs, a ton of defendants and a lot of torts. Here, there was one plaintiff, a few defendants and only 1 car accident. It's negligence. No other torts that I Could see. So I was freaking out because i couldn't spot anything else.
And then I totally knew the conflict of laws, but I didn't outline it all the way, so I forgot the last issue. Even though I totally knew it. So I was kicking myself a little for that.
Then there was a wacky contracts question crossed over with remedies. When I say "cross-over" I mean it can either be a full blown essay where only one topic is covered or it's one topic "cross-over" to another topic, so it can be 2 or more topics in one essay. This was a contracts crossed-over with remedies.
I didn't spend a lot of time on remedies because it's not a huge topic. But it sucked because it almost looked like a property question because it involved the sale of homes. And the sale of property can either be contracts or property. I only wrote about contracts because I honestly couldn't see the property issues.
Finally there was family law/community property cross-over. I wasn't worried about this because I had awesome professors for both family law and community property, so I felt it was my best subject going in. Unfortunately the essays were not on the regular topics.
In the Barbri essay book, we have sample answers from all the past essays. The examiners usually test on the same core group of subjects. Well this time it was all over the place. Very strange. But I felt it was ok.
At this point I knew it was going to suck. Three cross-overs in one day! Barbri had given us this little chart mapping out exactly when the topics have been tested. In the past 5 years, there is usually only one cross-over question. And it's usually family law with community property. Here, we had three cross-overs in one session.
I figured that with the brutal essays we had on Tuesday, Thursday had to be easier. After all, they always test on Professional Responsibility and Criminal Law, so I knew that those would be 2 of the 4 essays for the next session.
In the afternoon on Monday we had our performance test. In the performance test you get a packet of material. A case file with a memo from a senior attorney giving you an assignment, and then you get stuff that would be in a client file - an interview sheet from the client, a deposition, other records or letters. And then you get a 'library" which contains statutes and cases. Basically you read the "library" to figure out the law and then the client file and then draft a memo.
It's not that hard, but it's 90 minutes and it can be tough. We were totally expecting something persuasive because NV routinely tests that. Our memo was objective, meaning you look at all sides. I think I did ok. My tone may have been too persuasive though. END OF DAY ONE.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wednesday was the multiple choice. It consists of 2 - three hour sessions of 100 multiple choice questions. 200 questions total doesn't seem like a lot but some of the questions are half a page long. So it takes you several minutes just to read.
MC is always my worst subject because I usually narrow it down to 2 answers, one of which being the right one and then I agonize over which to choose.
It also sucked because it felt like some of the questions were from subjects not normally tested on the multiple choice. Like there was at least 2 questions that looked like Wills/Trusts. But wills is not an MBE subject. So it must have been "Property". Even though I dont' remember reading that particular subject in the property outline.
Needless to say it sucked. I forced myself to stop agonizing and just choose when I couldn't figure it out so I wouldn't run out of time.
Fortunately the multiple choice is only 1/3 of the exam grade. But it still sucks.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Day 3
The last day was 4 hours of essays with no break. Just a straight shot to the finish line.
As I mentioned, we were expecting criminal law and professional responsibility. I was also expecting Constitutional Law, because it's tested 90% of the time.
Well, the bar examiners were not done fucking us over.
The first question was criminal law and I know crimes well enough, so it was ok. However the "criminal Procedure" part of the question was very bizarre. Normally it's about searches and seizures without a warrant or an interrogation without a Miranda warning. But these were more like professional responsibility topics.
The prosecutor failed to disclose evidence, the judge gave the wrong standard to the jury, etc. I knew the answers because it was obvious but I was surprised nonetheless.
Then there was a wills question. But again, it was fucking crazy because there were 2 wills involved and I couldn't tell if either of them were valid.
The first will was written after the guy had drunken some "punch" laced with LSD. SO he was hallucinating and seeing flying monsters when he stumbles into the attorney's office.
Then the 2nd will was written by the man, but it said it was "typed". In NV, a handwritten will is valid, but only if it's actually handwritten. The fact that it was typed threw me off, so I didn't know if it was valid or not. So I decided to analyze it as if the 2nd will was valid AND if it was invalid what would happen through intestacy (when you die without a will).
Then there was professional responsibility. Not much to say about it.
Finally, the bar examiners decided to finish us off and gave us another contracts question. Contracts is by far my worst subject. I hated the first question on Tuesday so I was not expecting to see it again. But lo and behold, there it was again. And it wasn't a straightforward question either. It was about the Uniform Commercial Code and the sale of goods (in this case it was mushrooms). And all the wacky rules that come with the UCC.
But that's not the best part - oh no. The best part is that it was ANOTHER FUCKING crossover question. I stared at it for at least 5 minutes trying to figure it out. There was a checkbook involved. Checks and promissory notes are called "commercial paper".
But it couldn't be commercial paper. After all, it has only been tested ONE TIME in the past 15 years. The last time being 1993. I had memorized the very basic generic rule of commercial paper. That's what the lecturer told us to do. I hadn't memorized all the details and defenses because what's the fucking chance that they're going to test it.
Finally I threw something down about commercial paper because I couldn't think of what else it could be. I got the basic rule down but I didn't know what happens after that.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
All in all, I'd say this was the hardest NV bar exam in the past 5 years. Judging from the essay questions we got from Barbri, definitely a lot harder.
Thank Jeebus for the curve. I bet the passage rate is going to be really low.
The only upshot is - the february exam is only offered in Las Vegas. So if I have to retake it, we can all roadtrip down there and have a party! Woo!
Ok, that's about it. TTFN.
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Thursday, July 26, 2007
F*CK YOU Bar Examiners - Part Deux
Yeah, so I feel very violated right now. Those fuckers.
They screwed around with us on Tuesday, but today they were just cruel. It's like they were kicking a sack of puppies or something.
I'll write more later, right now I'm gonna go cry myself to sleep.
They screwed around with us on Tuesday, but today they were just cruel. It's like they were kicking a sack of puppies or something.
I'll write more later, right now I'm gonna go cry myself to sleep.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Friday, July 20, 2007
Emergency Shutdown
As you can see from the graph, the Harry Potter threat level has reached critical mass.
I'm going into seclusion for fear of opening my email and seeing a spoiler. I probably shouldn't be on the interenet anyway, you know because of that whole exam thing next week.
If I survive, I'll be back next week.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Huzzah
One week left before the big "UH OH".
I'm down to my last days of studying. I've saved the big topics for last - the ones that will be on the multiple choice and very likely to appear on the essays as well.
So today I reviewed criminal law / criminal procureds, commonly known as "crimes". I feel comfortable with it. It's just a matter of knowing the wording of the definitions.
I have been writing essays every day but have waited to do multiple choice questions. I just got done doing some "released questions".
Released questions are actual past bar exam multiple choice questions released by the national board. The questions are copyrighted, so Barbri is not allowed to use them. Instead, I've heard that they pay people to take the exam so that they can read the questions and then go back and try to copy them down as they remember them.
Then barbri changes the questions, so as to avoid copyright violations, and then uses them in their materials. But the Barbri questions are alot harder than the actual bar questions. The barbri lecturers even said this during class.
So I did 34 criminal law questions - I only missed FIVE. Fanfuckingtastic! I missed a good 12-13 on the sample exam I took two weeks ago. It is such an amazing confidence booster.
I am going to tear that fucking exam apart and eat it for breakfast. YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Not to mention I'm super giddy about Hairspray and Harry Potter coming out on Friday. I still haven't decided if I'm going to read the book. On the one hand, if I don't read it, there's a chance it might be spoiled for me. But on the other hand, if I do read it and I hate it, I might go into a catatonic depression.
What should I do?
I'm down to my last days of studying. I've saved the big topics for last - the ones that will be on the multiple choice and very likely to appear on the essays as well.
So today I reviewed criminal law / criminal procureds, commonly known as "crimes". I feel comfortable with it. It's just a matter of knowing the wording of the definitions.
I have been writing essays every day but have waited to do multiple choice questions. I just got done doing some "released questions".
Released questions are actual past bar exam multiple choice questions released by the national board. The questions are copyrighted, so Barbri is not allowed to use them. Instead, I've heard that they pay people to take the exam so that they can read the questions and then go back and try to copy them down as they remember them.
Then barbri changes the questions, so as to avoid copyright violations, and then uses them in their materials. But the Barbri questions are alot harder than the actual bar questions. The barbri lecturers even said this during class.
So I did 34 criminal law questions - I only missed FIVE. Fanfuckingtastic! I missed a good 12-13 on the sample exam I took two weeks ago. It is such an amazing confidence booster.
I am going to tear that fucking exam apart and eat it for breakfast. YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Not to mention I'm super giddy about Hairspray and Harry Potter coming out on Friday. I still haven't decided if I'm going to read the book. On the one hand, if I don't read it, there's a chance it might be spoiled for me. But on the other hand, if I do read it and I hate it, I might go into a catatonic depression.
What should I do?
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Ha ha, It is to Laugh
This website cracked me up.
They Didn't Study
It's awesome, not only for the humor, but because that's what my exam answers might look like. The Barbri essay lecturer actually told us that if we don't know the answer we should MAKE UP THE LAW. Yes, he told us to make it up.
He said that last year or the year before, the highest grade in the Criminal Law essay applied the wrong law. They applied Tort principles instead of Criminal Law, but it was still the best essay.
How fucked up is that?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I saw Harry Potter yesterday morning. I got there at 8:45 and there was already a line at the door because the theater hadn't opened yet. But it wasn't too crowded. It was funny though because everyone had fandango. I think one person bought their ticket at the window, and everyone else had fandango tickets. Damn you fandango.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A woman that my mom works with knows someone that has Yorkie puppies for sale. And she lowered the price to $650. I think it's like a sign from Jeebus or something. He wants me to have a puppy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I went and had an allergy test today. It was a really weird experience.
For those that have not had the pleasure, let me explain. You lay on the table and the nurse puts little drops of the allergen on your back. They test for 55 allergens total. Then she takes a needle and pokes through the allergen into your skin. Then they let it sit for 20 minutes and see if there's an allergic reaction.
It turns out that I'm NOT allergic to the cats or dogs, which is good news. I am allergic to olive trees, russian olive trees, sagebrush (which I already knew), ragweed, and a few other kinds of trees. But not feathers, so I get to keep the nest on my bed. We have a lot of Russian Olive trees around the yard and then there's the sagebrush field next door. So that's probably what's causing my allergies to go crazy.
The doctor gave me a new kind of nasal spray. It's different from Flonase because it's an actual antihistamine. I'm going to give it a try. Not sure if I want to go to the allergy shot route just yet.
Pajama, what are your thoughts on allergy injections? He said there's an 80% chance of success in acquiring tolerance, but I'd have to go in 1-2 times a week for shots for many months. Seems very time consuming.
They Didn't Study
It's awesome, not only for the humor, but because that's what my exam answers might look like. The Barbri essay lecturer actually told us that if we don't know the answer we should MAKE UP THE LAW. Yes, he told us to make it up.
He said that last year or the year before, the highest grade in the Criminal Law essay applied the wrong law. They applied Tort principles instead of Criminal Law, but it was still the best essay.
How fucked up is that?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I saw Harry Potter yesterday morning. I got there at 8:45 and there was already a line at the door because the theater hadn't opened yet. But it wasn't too crowded. It was funny though because everyone had fandango. I think one person bought their ticket at the window, and everyone else had fandango tickets. Damn you fandango.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A woman that my mom works with knows someone that has Yorkie puppies for sale. And she lowered the price to $650. I think it's like a sign from Jeebus or something. He wants me to have a puppy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I went and had an allergy test today. It was a really weird experience.
For those that have not had the pleasure, let me explain. You lay on the table and the nurse puts little drops of the allergen on your back. They test for 55 allergens total. Then she takes a needle and pokes through the allergen into your skin. Then they let it sit for 20 minutes and see if there's an allergic reaction.
It turns out that I'm NOT allergic to the cats or dogs, which is good news. I am allergic to olive trees, russian olive trees, sagebrush (which I already knew), ragweed, and a few other kinds of trees. But not feathers, so I get to keep the nest on my bed. We have a lot of Russian Olive trees around the yard and then there's the sagebrush field next door. So that's probably what's causing my allergies to go crazy.
The doctor gave me a new kind of nasal spray. It's different from Flonase because it's an actual antihistamine. I'm going to give it a try. Not sure if I want to go to the allergy shot route just yet.
Pajama, what are your thoughts on allergy injections? He said there's an 80% chance of success in acquiring tolerance, but I'd have to go in 1-2 times a week for shots for many months. Seems very time consuming.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Two Weeks
You know that scene in Total Recall where Arnold Schwarzenegger is trying to get into Mars and he's disguised as that fat woman. And when they ask how long he plans to stay, he says "two weeks" and then the head begins to malfunction and keeps repeating "Two weeks" but it gets long and drawn out "twoooooo weeeeeeeks".
Yeah, so anyway the exam is 2 weeks from today.
Barbri did a mock exam this past weekend. On Saturday we had 4 essays and a performance test and then on Sunday we did 200 multiple choice.
Let me say, it goes by a lot faster than I expected. The essays were self-graded and I think I did pretty well, considering I hadn't really started studying yet. And then on the multiple choice, I got 126 out of 200.
Surprisingly, that's a really good score. According to Barbri, the average is 105-110. And that's the "raw" score. They put it through some crazy math formula to get the "scaled" score, which barbri says adds about 10-15 points to your score. So I was pretty happy with that.
It's funny because I sucked really bad at contracts, which I expected, but then I was equally bad in everything else. Except for Property. They said that Property was the hardest subject on the multiple choice, but it was in fact my best subject. Haha, craziness.
In these final 2 weeks I have to memorize all the law and I plan to do a lot of essay writing. I'm not sure if I'll do much more multiple choice questions. It's only 1/3 of the score, so it doesn't make sense to waste time on it, especially now that I see how well I did even before studying.
There are 17 subjects that could possibly be tested on the essays and I think I have 13 days to study. So I have to double up and basically memorize one or more subjects a day.
This morning I memorized family law and I plan to memorize community property before i go to bed. So we're off to a good start.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I really wanted to go to the midnight preview of Harry Potter tonight but can't get anyone to go with me. Plus I think it's sold out at the Summit Sierra. Or at least Fandango isn't selling anymore tickets.
There's a 9:30 show tomorrow at Parklane, so I think I'm gonna go see it. I don't know if I can wait until after the bar to see it. I think I've already committed to waiting to read the book until after the exam, but I just can't put off both. I'd go crazy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I had an appointment with an allergist today. My allergies have been killing me, my nose running to the point where its red and sore because of all the tissue.
But they didn't tell me that they can't do the test if I've taken an antihistamine. So I had taken alavert yesterday so he told me they couldn't do testing today. Of course, no one told me that when I made my appointment over a week ago.
So I'm going back on Thursday to do the test. Hopefully they'll figure out what I'm allergic to. None of the over the counter stuff has helped and my prescription for flonase doesn't do anything either. My mom thinks I might be allergic to the cats.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I want a puppy. At first I wanted a corgi. But then I found out how much they shed. My mom's friend has one and I was over at her house and she let me hold it. When it jumped down...hair EVERYWHERE.
So now I want to get a Yorkie. We had a Yorkie before and I thought he was super adorable. But they're so damn expensive! Anyone know a reputable Yorkie breeder in the area? So far I've found one in Fallon who has male dogs starting at $700 and females at $1000.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That is all, I'm gonna go back to memorizing and then try to crank out an essay or two.
I miss everyone! I feel so isolated, but I know if I try to make plans to go out, I'll feel super guilty about not studying.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Oh! So I went to a new doctor a few weeks ago because my old primary care doctor was an asshole. The new doctor is wonderful!
I asked him if he could prescribe something that would help me sleep the nights before the exam because I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep otherwise.
But he said if I was going to take something, I should start taking it while I'm studying so that I don't have a weird reaction to it right before the exam. So he gave me a low dose prescription for Xanax. I must say it's really helped with the anxiety. I don't feel the impending sense of failure.
Yay for prescription medicine and the doctors that prescribe them!
Yeah, so anyway the exam is 2 weeks from today.
Barbri did a mock exam this past weekend. On Saturday we had 4 essays and a performance test and then on Sunday we did 200 multiple choice.
Let me say, it goes by a lot faster than I expected. The essays were self-graded and I think I did pretty well, considering I hadn't really started studying yet. And then on the multiple choice, I got 126 out of 200.
Surprisingly, that's a really good score. According to Barbri, the average is 105-110. And that's the "raw" score. They put it through some crazy math formula to get the "scaled" score, which barbri says adds about 10-15 points to your score. So I was pretty happy with that.
It's funny because I sucked really bad at contracts, which I expected, but then I was equally bad in everything else. Except for Property. They said that Property was the hardest subject on the multiple choice, but it was in fact my best subject. Haha, craziness.
In these final 2 weeks I have to memorize all the law and I plan to do a lot of essay writing. I'm not sure if I'll do much more multiple choice questions. It's only 1/3 of the score, so it doesn't make sense to waste time on it, especially now that I see how well I did even before studying.
There are 17 subjects that could possibly be tested on the essays and I think I have 13 days to study. So I have to double up and basically memorize one or more subjects a day.
This morning I memorized family law and I plan to memorize community property before i go to bed. So we're off to a good start.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I really wanted to go to the midnight preview of Harry Potter tonight but can't get anyone to go with me. Plus I think it's sold out at the Summit Sierra. Or at least Fandango isn't selling anymore tickets.
There's a 9:30 show tomorrow at Parklane, so I think I'm gonna go see it. I don't know if I can wait until after the bar to see it. I think I've already committed to waiting to read the book until after the exam, but I just can't put off both. I'd go crazy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I had an appointment with an allergist today. My allergies have been killing me, my nose running to the point where its red and sore because of all the tissue.
But they didn't tell me that they can't do the test if I've taken an antihistamine. So I had taken alavert yesterday so he told me they couldn't do testing today. Of course, no one told me that when I made my appointment over a week ago.
So I'm going back on Thursday to do the test. Hopefully they'll figure out what I'm allergic to. None of the over the counter stuff has helped and my prescription for flonase doesn't do anything either. My mom thinks I might be allergic to the cats.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I want a puppy. At first I wanted a corgi. But then I found out how much they shed. My mom's friend has one and I was over at her house and she let me hold it. When it jumped down...hair EVERYWHERE.
So now I want to get a Yorkie. We had a Yorkie before and I thought he was super adorable. But they're so damn expensive! Anyone know a reputable Yorkie breeder in the area? So far I've found one in Fallon who has male dogs starting at $700 and females at $1000.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That is all, I'm gonna go back to memorizing and then try to crank out an essay or two.
I miss everyone! I feel so isolated, but I know if I try to make plans to go out, I'll feel super guilty about not studying.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Oh! So I went to a new doctor a few weeks ago because my old primary care doctor was an asshole. The new doctor is wonderful!
I asked him if he could prescribe something that would help me sleep the nights before the exam because I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep otherwise.
But he said if I was going to take something, I should start taking it while I'm studying so that I don't have a weird reaction to it right before the exam. So he gave me a low dose prescription for Xanax. I must say it's really helped with the anxiety. I don't feel the impending sense of failure.
Yay for prescription medicine and the doctors that prescribe them!
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
More Quotes
Found a few more quotes written on random pieces of paper:
- Lay people have another word for this, they call it bullshit.
- That's right, another Friday evening without a date.
- Laywers are always wrong, but they're rich.
- You ever see a lawyer in the library? Get over it!
- Your'e alwys wrong in the law, but get the hell over it.
- They're testing whether you can speak english.
- They're not looking for fabulous, get over it.
- They're looking for sheep. You can be a goat and pass the NV bar exam. But we're looking for sheep. People who are munching their way through the meadon pass.
- Unless you're a speed freak or dropped some meth before starting the exam, you can't do both.
- They can only grade sheep.
- Lay people have another word for this, they call it bullshit.
- That's right, another Friday evening without a date.
- Laywers are always wrong, but they're rich.
- You ever see a lawyer in the library? Get over it!
- Your'e alwys wrong in the law, but get the hell over it.
- They're testing whether you can speak english.
- They're not looking for fabulous, get over it.
- They're looking for sheep. You can be a goat and pass the NV bar exam. But we're looking for sheep. People who are munching their way through the meadon pass.
- Unless you're a speed freak or dropped some meth before starting the exam, you can't do both.
- They can only grade sheep.
3 Weeks
The bar exam is officially 3 weeks from today. I'm a little nervous, but I know I shouldn't be. I have nothing to worry about.
Tonight is our last barbri class. It's a shorter class called "final study strategies". I think she's going to tell us how to plan our last weeks or something.
Part of the exam is called the Multistate Performance Test. Basically, it's like getting a client file and having to write a memo. You know, because it wasn't good enough that we know the law in multiple choice and essay format.
So you get a packet that has a "library" with statutes and cases and a client "file" with notes from interviews, transcripts, reports. And you're supposed to read the library and client file and then write a memo. It's 90 minutes and it's a pain in the ass.
We had a workshop on it last night and we wrote out a full exam question during class. I managed to spot all the issues and my organization mirrored the sample answer, so I was really excited.
The only lame part is that the sample answers in the book they gave us were not student written. They were written by a committee of professors over a period of weeks, not 90 minutes. So they are way more in-depth than anything we could ever write on the exam, so it's difficult to gauge how we do by looking at the sample answer.
Now that I'm done with class, I'm going to start memorizing and keep doing the essays. The lecturer last night said that we should write one essay a day and I think that's very doable.
A few random quotes - can't remember which class they were from:
- I guess they didn't care if they kept our lawyers in NV
- You are lead counsel for Enron - YUCK
- As long as you're not handing out legal advice with the chunky monkey
- In the real world money is green, but your client's money is fuschia. And green and fuschia do not look good together (a lesson in not commingling client funds with your own).
- A lawyer is not a bus
- The laywer has a duty not to throw kittens out of car windows
- Reach down inside to that inner ethical child
- You have to be your own ugly self
- No mama, you keep the crack house
Tonight is our last barbri class. It's a shorter class called "final study strategies". I think she's going to tell us how to plan our last weeks or something.
Part of the exam is called the Multistate Performance Test. Basically, it's like getting a client file and having to write a memo. You know, because it wasn't good enough that we know the law in multiple choice and essay format.
So you get a packet that has a "library" with statutes and cases and a client "file" with notes from interviews, transcripts, reports. And you're supposed to read the library and client file and then write a memo. It's 90 minutes and it's a pain in the ass.
We had a workshop on it last night and we wrote out a full exam question during class. I managed to spot all the issues and my organization mirrored the sample answer, so I was really excited.
The only lame part is that the sample answers in the book they gave us were not student written. They were written by a committee of professors over a period of weeks, not 90 minutes. So they are way more in-depth than anything we could ever write on the exam, so it's difficult to gauge how we do by looking at the sample answer.
Now that I'm done with class, I'm going to start memorizing and keep doing the essays. The lecturer last night said that we should write one essay a day and I think that's very doable.
A few random quotes - can't remember which class they were from:
- I guess they didn't care if they kept our lawyers in NV
- You are lead counsel for Enron - YUCK
- As long as you're not handing out legal advice with the chunky monkey
- In the real world money is green, but your client's money is fuschia. And green and fuschia do not look good together (a lesson in not commingling client funds with your own).
- A lawyer is not a bus
- The laywer has a duty not to throw kittens out of car windows
- Reach down inside to that inner ethical child
- You have to be your own ugly self
- No mama, you keep the crack house
Monday, June 18, 2007
Halfway
This post a little late (by about a week). I only have 2 more weeks of class left and then I'm on my own to study until the end of July. I've been keeping on top of all my assignments, but still haven't had any time to really sit down and just memorize the law. But I'm told by friends who've taken the bar that there is enough time to learn it in the 3 weeks we have to study on our own. So we'll see.
We just had constitutional law and I've been rocking the multiple choice questions. According to the DVD workshop video we have, Con Law are the easiest questions. So I'm excited about that.
I've also gotten two very good grades on my last 2 essays that I turned in. I'll definitely feel more comfortable after I start memorizing the law. Like, I know it vaguely now, but can't state specific rules and all the crazy exceptions.
Here are some more quotes. I forgot which class they were from, so think of this as your barbri potpourii of quotes:
- Isn't Kato Kaelin proof that Gilligan and Ginger really ddi sleep together?
- The jury hears this guy molsests parrots and they're going to be upset (Creepy Evidence professor)
- Maybe it's contributing to the delinquency of a canary
- The jury hears he molests parrots and they all gasp. Because they are all bird fanciers
- Never try to prove in court that somoeone's a vampire. I don't care what they do on Buffy, don't try it.
- You're some kind of crazy moron to be doing that.
- It's like being pregnant. You're either pregnant or you're not. There's no "kinda" pregnant.
- Illinois frowns on cousins hooking up with each other.
We just had constitutional law and I've been rocking the multiple choice questions. According to the DVD workshop video we have, Con Law are the easiest questions. So I'm excited about that.
I've also gotten two very good grades on my last 2 essays that I turned in. I'll definitely feel more comfortable after I start memorizing the law. Like, I know it vaguely now, but can't state specific rules and all the crazy exceptions.
Here are some more quotes. I forgot which class they were from, so think of this as your barbri potpourii of quotes:
- Isn't Kato Kaelin proof that Gilligan and Ginger really ddi sleep together?
- The jury hears this guy molsests parrots and they're going to be upset (Creepy Evidence professor)
- Maybe it's contributing to the delinquency of a canary
- The jury hears he molests parrots and they all gasp. Because they are all bird fanciers
- Never try to prove in court that somoeone's a vampire. I don't care what they do on Buffy, don't try it.
- You're some kind of crazy moron to be doing that.
- It's like being pregnant. You're either pregnant or you're not. There's no "kinda" pregnant.
- Illinois frowns on cousins hooking up with each other.
Monday, June 11, 2007
Terrified
Just as I start to get a grasp on a subject, we learn something new. And then as I start to go over that subject, I realize how much I don't know and how much I'm supposed to know and I'm terrified that I'm going to fail the bar exam.
I know I'm probably being irrational, but it's such a scary thought.
I hate how I've memorized all of this stuff before, only to forget it the day right after the final exam. About half of the subjects are things we learned during the first year. Aside from Criminal Law, I can barely remember any of the substance.
Booo! Why didn't I choose a different profession?
I know I'm probably being irrational, but it's such a scary thought.
I hate how I've memorized all of this stuff before, only to forget it the day right after the final exam. About half of the subjects are things we learned during the first year. Aside from Criminal Law, I can barely remember any of the substance.
Booo! Why didn't I choose a different profession?
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Torts - Not Just a Delicious Treat
I had an essay lecture, Torts, and family law this week. I managed to get all caught up with my assignments, but then I fell behind today because I didn't get any work done because it was my mommy's birthday. But it was worth it. I'll just work harder tomorrow to get caught up.
As I may have mentioned, the class is at the Atlantis. So usually we're in these conference rooms near the arcade, which is fine because we can't really hear the arcade. Well on Weds. they moved us to another room on the other side of the hotel....overlooking the casino floor....right next to the stage.
That was a problem. One "wall" was not really a wall, but pretty much all windows covered by these wooden slats, almost like big wooden blinds. Well they did nothing to deafen the sound.
So all during the lecture, we could hear the lousy cover band singing. Terrible.
I called the next day and complained to Barbri. Absolutely unacceptable that we pay that much and they can't secure the same room for us. I mean, we're there for almost 2 months and the Atlantis can't just keep us in the same room.
It was definitely annoying, but not that detrimental because it was an essay workshop, so I didn't really have to listen intently to take notes. But if we're ever in there again, I'm going to flip out.
I have more quotes. The Torts professor was hilarious. I loved the guy. Unfortunately with all the stories he told and the wild hypotheticals, class was almost 4 hours each day. BOOOO! And I miss grandma cheryl because I had class. I hate this stupid bar exam.
No matter what people say, I think NV has a harder bar exam than California. We have 9 essays to CA's 8. We have way more topics that are covered that CA doesn't. It's such BS.
Anywho, I'm gonna get to bed so I can get up early and study. Enjoy the quotes from Torts, Community Property, and Family Law: As usual, my favorites are bolded.
Community Property
1. What’s your bitch man, he left you his entire estate?
2. The case involved Barry Bonds, I’m not sure but I think he’s a baseball player.
3. Relying on a law professor, always a stupid thing to do.
4. I went to law school because I couldn’t handle algebra
5. capitalization of excess earnings – whatever the hell that means
Torts
1. I have issues about my shoulders, just don’t touch my shoulders.
2. Don’t touch me, you’ve deeply offended me and I’m going to sue.
3. Normal people find tapping on the shoulder to be acceptable touching.
4. I’m pretty sure that’s the kind of touching that’s not acceptable.
5. What the hell is that, that’s battery city. We don’t pet each other
6. She’s like a creature of mythology – half woman, half horse.
7. Ooh, those devious bastards!
8. If you leave this room, I’m going to blow up the planet Jupiter.
9. Yes he could get out. But in order to get out, he’d have to suffer a few rodent
bites to be on his merry way.
10. How do they write the bar exam questions? They sit around a big conference table and then drop tabs of acid. And then they get flashbacks. “Hey, you remember that game Clue………”
11. You get on the NY City Subway and there’s a guy sitting across from you with a severed human head. What do you do? You don’t make eye contact. Continue playing suduko and if he throws the head at you, throw it back.
12. Here’s a NY insult in case you ever need one – “I used to have a shirt like that and then my father got a job.”
13. You were having the best erotic dream. There was synthesizer music, people wearing billowing robes, and animals are everywhere. Oh, did I say that out loud?
14. They’re supposed to carry your luggage and kiss your ass, not insult you.
15. I’m not suggesting that all elderly people are incontinent. Only when you get in their face and are mean to them.
16. Elderly people ARE incontinent – go to the drug store. There’s a whole aisle devoted to that concept.
17. Pregnant women….I have no hypos. Just imagine people being mean to pregnant women.
18. My whole family was killed by snakes
19. What the hell is up with defibrillators? Haven’t they figured out how much
electricity to use the first time?
20. The entire office smells like an open pit barbecue from the burning chest flesh.
21. Bar examiners are fascinated with hats, so hats often come to grief on the exam.
22. 13 year olds can’t consent to sex. If this is news to anyone, please see me after class. We need to have a chat about your social life.
23. They have an awkward breakfast of cold cereal and instant coffee
24. What the hell? You invite the guy to watch the game and he ends up in the attic. Stay the hell in the family room. Stay out of the attic.
25. That was one rude looking honker on your face.
26. Bad doctor, very naughty doctor.
27. Timmy was Lassie’s owner and June Lockhart was his mom and you have no idea what
the hell I’m talking about because the show went off the air in 1968.
28. And next week, Timmy would fall down another well. Because these people had 80 wells on their property and Timmy has an unnatural attraction to wells.
29. I just shot Lassie and Timmy knows the next time he goes out to play, he’s a dead man.
30. He’s gonna sue you for conversion of the dog. What’s he gonna do? Sue you for putting a yamaka on the dog? Throwing some holy water on him?
31. You have syphilis; I can see that by looking at you. You might want to get that taken care of.
32. The fact that mother’s cover the eyes of their children when they pass you on the street is not legally relevant
33. If married people couldn’t defame the neighbors, what the hell else are they going to talk about?
34. A reasonably prudent person would arrange for the plants to be watered and the pets to be fed when they go out of town. I don’t. I go on the road for two weeks and come home and find a skeleton of a cat in the kitchen. And then I think “Aww! Fluffy….I’ll have to change your name now. I’ll call you Boney”
Torts Part II
1. Billy runs over Susie’s widdle bitty hand. Susie sues widdle Billy’s ass because she wants some cash.
2. Your intellectual curisosity has been beaten out of you.
3. I’m doing whatever one does on a tractor. I don’t know what that is, I’m from New York.
4. You ignorant slut, you blew up my apartment.
5. Don’t do drugs…..Well, let me say this. If you are on drugs, stay on them until the Bar. Now is not the time to go to rehab. Wait until August and then get some
help.
6. My people don’t hunt, we go to the deli.
Family Law
1. I’m thinking coitus
2. There’s Harry, sitting on the bed in Pampers, holding a bottle of Wesson oil. She has grounds for an annulment.
As I may have mentioned, the class is at the Atlantis. So usually we're in these conference rooms near the arcade, which is fine because we can't really hear the arcade. Well on Weds. they moved us to another room on the other side of the hotel....overlooking the casino floor....right next to the stage.
That was a problem. One "wall" was not really a wall, but pretty much all windows covered by these wooden slats, almost like big wooden blinds. Well they did nothing to deafen the sound.
So all during the lecture, we could hear the lousy cover band singing. Terrible.
I called the next day and complained to Barbri. Absolutely unacceptable that we pay that much and they can't secure the same room for us. I mean, we're there for almost 2 months and the Atlantis can't just keep us in the same room.
It was definitely annoying, but not that detrimental because it was an essay workshop, so I didn't really have to listen intently to take notes. But if we're ever in there again, I'm going to flip out.
I have more quotes. The Torts professor was hilarious. I loved the guy. Unfortunately with all the stories he told and the wild hypotheticals, class was almost 4 hours each day. BOOOO! And I miss grandma cheryl because I had class. I hate this stupid bar exam.
No matter what people say, I think NV has a harder bar exam than California. We have 9 essays to CA's 8. We have way more topics that are covered that CA doesn't. It's such BS.
Anywho, I'm gonna get to bed so I can get up early and study. Enjoy the quotes from Torts, Community Property, and Family Law: As usual, my favorites are bolded.
Community Property
1. What’s your bitch man, he left you his entire estate?
2. The case involved Barry Bonds, I’m not sure but I think he’s a baseball player.
3. Relying on a law professor, always a stupid thing to do.
4. I went to law school because I couldn’t handle algebra
5. capitalization of excess earnings – whatever the hell that means
Torts
1. I have issues about my shoulders, just don’t touch my shoulders.
2. Don’t touch me, you’ve deeply offended me and I’m going to sue.
3. Normal people find tapping on the shoulder to be acceptable touching.
4. I’m pretty sure that’s the kind of touching that’s not acceptable.
5. What the hell is that, that’s battery city. We don’t pet each other
6. She’s like a creature of mythology – half woman, half horse.
7. Ooh, those devious bastards!
8. If you leave this room, I’m going to blow up the planet Jupiter.
9. Yes he could get out. But in order to get out, he’d have to suffer a few rodent
bites to be on his merry way.
10. How do they write the bar exam questions? They sit around a big conference table and then drop tabs of acid. And then they get flashbacks. “Hey, you remember that game Clue………”
11. You get on the NY City Subway and there’s a guy sitting across from you with a severed human head. What do you do? You don’t make eye contact. Continue playing suduko and if he throws the head at you, throw it back.
12. Here’s a NY insult in case you ever need one – “I used to have a shirt like that and then my father got a job.”
13. You were having the best erotic dream. There was synthesizer music, people wearing billowing robes, and animals are everywhere. Oh, did I say that out loud?
14. They’re supposed to carry your luggage and kiss your ass, not insult you.
15. I’m not suggesting that all elderly people are incontinent. Only when you get in their face and are mean to them.
16. Elderly people ARE incontinent – go to the drug store. There’s a whole aisle devoted to that concept.
17. Pregnant women….I have no hypos. Just imagine people being mean to pregnant women.
18. My whole family was killed by snakes
19. What the hell is up with defibrillators? Haven’t they figured out how much
electricity to use the first time?
20. The entire office smells like an open pit barbecue from the burning chest flesh.
21. Bar examiners are fascinated with hats, so hats often come to grief on the exam.
22. 13 year olds can’t consent to sex. If this is news to anyone, please see me after class. We need to have a chat about your social life.
23. They have an awkward breakfast of cold cereal and instant coffee
24. What the hell? You invite the guy to watch the game and he ends up in the attic. Stay the hell in the family room. Stay out of the attic.
25. That was one rude looking honker on your face.
26. Bad doctor, very naughty doctor.
27. Timmy was Lassie’s owner and June Lockhart was his mom and you have no idea what
the hell I’m talking about because the show went off the air in 1968.
28. And next week, Timmy would fall down another well. Because these people had 80 wells on their property and Timmy has an unnatural attraction to wells.
29. I just shot Lassie and Timmy knows the next time he goes out to play, he’s a dead man.
30. He’s gonna sue you for conversion of the dog. What’s he gonna do? Sue you for putting a yamaka on the dog? Throwing some holy water on him?
31. You have syphilis; I can see that by looking at you. You might want to get that taken care of.
32. The fact that mother’s cover the eyes of their children when they pass you on the street is not legally relevant
33. If married people couldn’t defame the neighbors, what the hell else are they going to talk about?
34. A reasonably prudent person would arrange for the plants to be watered and the pets to be fed when they go out of town. I don’t. I go on the road for two weeks and come home and find a skeleton of a cat in the kitchen. And then I think “Aww! Fluffy….I’ll have to change your name now. I’ll call you Boney”
Torts Part II
1. Billy runs over Susie’s widdle bitty hand. Susie sues widdle Billy’s ass because she wants some cash.
2. Your intellectual curisosity has been beaten out of you.
3. I’m doing whatever one does on a tractor. I don’t know what that is, I’m from New York.
4. You ignorant slut, you blew up my apartment.
5. Don’t do drugs…..Well, let me say this. If you are on drugs, stay on them until the Bar. Now is not the time to go to rehab. Wait until August and then get some
help.
6. My people don’t hunt, we go to the deli.
Family Law
1. I’m thinking coitus
2. There’s Harry, sitting on the bed in Pampers, holding a bottle of Wesson oil. She has grounds for an annulment.
Sunday, June 3, 2007
Graduation
So I hate photobucket. I hit "blog this photo" to post the picture album, thinking it would post to the other blog but it appeared here. And then the spacing on the photo was really too big.
So I moved one of the pictures to flickr and just kept the link to the photobucket album. You should be able to click on the picture and see the rest of the graduation pictures.
So I moved one of the pictures to flickr and just kept the link to the photobucket album. You should be able to click on the picture and see the rest of the graduation pictures.
I Shot the Sheriff
I planned to get a lot done this weekend, but as you might have guessed that didn't pan out. Yesterday was Alex's birthday so I went shopping with my mom to get him a present and then to get stuff for dinner. Then I made chili and that took a while. Then Alex came over and I felt guilty about not spending time with him, so I didn't really get anything done yesterday.
Then today I felt super sleepy and couldn't concentrate. I tried writing an Evidence essay and it was just brutal. We had Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure and Evidence in lecture last week.
I'm excited about Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure. I got the highest grade in Crim law and I just took Criminal Procedure. So I've been rocking the crimes questions. It's the one bright spot in an otherwise gloomy week.
I also wished I had gone to my Evidence class more last semester. I had a great professor, which I waited to take so I could take it with her, and then I blew off class. Now Evidence is so fucking hard! There are so many rules to remember.
Where can I get some illegal study drugs?
Here are some funny quotes from the Criminal Law lecture. I loved this guy. The bolded ones are my favorite. I'm praying I get caught up today and tomorrow. If I get anymore behind, I'll drown.
1. It’s gonna be just like church. I’m gonna say stuff, you’re gonna say stuff. I have never come home to L.A. and not had a terrific congregation.
2. Studying for the bar exam is intensely boring. Let’s try to liven it up and you can go to sleep later.
3. Don’t love them, don’t hate them. Don’t get involved with these animals, they don’t care about you.
4. If you need to write this down again, you’re the hurtingest buckaroo in the entire county.
5. This question is based on the presumption that if you knew any math, you would have gone to med school instead of law school.
6. If you had put a gun with only 5 bullets in its chamber is not a deadly weapon, you are in trouble on the bar exam and you are in trouble in life.
7. If you had put that down as the right answer, you will never own your own home.
8. If you want to read about the crimes against nature, do it on your own time. I admit, I love to lie awake at night and conjure the bestiality questions that might be on the bar exam.
9. Look out for these animals, they’re almost always there to screw you up.
10. These books are so full of quotes that they could choke a horse.
11. Do you know what I mean by wired? I don’t mean an extra cup of coffee. I mean won’t you just speak a little more clearly into the bowtie.
12. All police cars are wired – that won’t be on the bar exam and I’m sure that won’t ever be of any use to you.
13. You forget that I can see you.
14. If you really don’t know what the Miranda warnings are, I want you to study less tonight and watch some cop show on tv
15. Two of those jurors rocked so hard they fell off their chairs
Then today I felt super sleepy and couldn't concentrate. I tried writing an Evidence essay and it was just brutal. We had Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure and Evidence in lecture last week.
I'm excited about Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure. I got the highest grade in Crim law and I just took Criminal Procedure. So I've been rocking the crimes questions. It's the one bright spot in an otherwise gloomy week.
I also wished I had gone to my Evidence class more last semester. I had a great professor, which I waited to take so I could take it with her, and then I blew off class. Now Evidence is so fucking hard! There are so many rules to remember.
Where can I get some illegal study drugs?
Here are some funny quotes from the Criminal Law lecture. I loved this guy. The bolded ones are my favorite. I'm praying I get caught up today and tomorrow. If I get anymore behind, I'll drown.
1. It’s gonna be just like church. I’m gonna say stuff, you’re gonna say stuff. I have never come home to L.A. and not had a terrific congregation.
2. Studying for the bar exam is intensely boring. Let’s try to liven it up and you can go to sleep later.
3. Don’t love them, don’t hate them. Don’t get involved with these animals, they don’t care about you.
4. If you need to write this down again, you’re the hurtingest buckaroo in the entire county.
5. This question is based on the presumption that if you knew any math, you would have gone to med school instead of law school.
6. If you had put a gun with only 5 bullets in its chamber is not a deadly weapon, you are in trouble on the bar exam and you are in trouble in life.
7. If you had put that down as the right answer, you will never own your own home.
8. If you want to read about the crimes against nature, do it on your own time. I admit, I love to lie awake at night and conjure the bestiality questions that might be on the bar exam.
9. Look out for these animals, they’re almost always there to screw you up.
10. These books are so full of quotes that they could choke a horse.
11. Do you know what I mean by wired? I don’t mean an extra cup of coffee. I mean won’t you just speak a little more clearly into the bowtie.
12. All police cars are wired – that won’t be on the bar exam and I’m sure that won’t ever be of any use to you.
13. You forget that I can see you.
14. If you really don’t know what the Miranda warnings are, I want you to study less tonight and watch some cop show on tv
15. Two of those jurors rocked so hard they fell off their chairs
Monday, May 28, 2007
Contract with the Devil
I've finished the first substantive area for bar review: Contracts.
The way class works is that we have a study schedule. Each day we are given assignments to do. By signing up for Barbri, I got a huge box with about 8 or 9 books in it. Two are big outlines of substantive law and the rest are either multiple choice or essay practice questions.
Each day I have reading for a particular topic and then at night, I got to the wonderful Atlantis where I watch a DVD lecture for 3 hours with 3 ten minute breaks. So we had 3 lectures on Contracts alone. This weekend I'm doing the first real practice questions.
I just finished the first set of practice contract multiple choice questions and I got about 1/2 right. I'm not sure how it compares but I'm just happy I didn't get them all wrong. After all, I haven't had contracts since my 1st year of law school and I only read the outline from Barbri once. Then I listened to a DVD explaining the answers.
According to the lecturer, "Contracts is not an area that you can beat, it's only an area where you can hope to minimize losses." Both DVD lectures said that Contracts is the hardest subject because the bar examiners are not consistent in the questions and they don't have "patterns" in the questions. It's just all about knowing the black letter law. Worst still is that several of the questions I got wrong contained the correct statement of law, but the answer was some bizarre exception that wasn't covered in the lecture. Another question said that the answer was wrong because "D was the better choice". Meaning it was close, but not close enough.
WTF?! I hate that. Two can be the answer, but one is slightly better. How the hell do you prepare for something like that?
I've kinda been slacking and I need to kick it up a notch. Friday we went and saw Pirates of the Carribean and today we went and saw Shrek 3. Really, I can't get behind on my summer blockbusters because so many are coming out that I doubt they can remain in the theaters long. Ahahaha.
Tomorrow I have to write 2 Contracts essays. Not sure how I feel about that. I'm generally better at essays, but still iffy on the substance. I'll let you know how it goes. Next week we have criminal law and criminal procedure. I got the highest grade in Criminal Law and I just took Criminal Procedure, so I'm feeling good about those.
I'm off to bed now. Here are some funny quotes I wrote down from the DVD Lecture:
Mnemonic: Armadillos from Texas, Play Rap Eating Tacos = Applicable Law, Formation, Terms, Performance, Remedies for nonperformance, Excuses for nonperformance, Third Party Issues
- Irregardless of the dollar amount
- You virtually have an armadillo whispering in your ear as you approach a contracts question
- It's necessary that Sharon Stone be in the shower with me
- I'm old enough to be the father of most of you and I'm up here blushing about lusting after Sharon Stone
- Remember this shit, it will be on the bar exam
- The word house reminds you of that wonderful TV program that you're missing while studying for the bar
- Anything less than putting paint on the damn walls is mere preparation
- I offer you my cadillac for $400 and you say HELL NO
- How long will John Tesh perform? It might feel like years if you were there.
- Finally we've completed the F word
- I was willing to ignore the boundaries of good taste
- Putting this more delicately, we have a situation where the rats got into the packages of coffee and did nature's calling
- It's best described as a mixed blend (talking about rat poop in a sack of coffee beans)
- All the clerk had to say was pick out your own damn shoes
- It's not law school that screwed you up
- We cannot have a legal doctrine known as the major screw-up doctrine
- For those of you who are culturally challenged....
- You have that damn armadillo eating tacos
- Armadillo eating that damn taco
- In Texas, there are grits everywhere. You can't walk down the street without stumbling on a sack of grits
- They have now extended the internet all the way into Texas
- Get out of here Boy Wonder.
The way class works is that we have a study schedule. Each day we are given assignments to do. By signing up for Barbri, I got a huge box with about 8 or 9 books in it. Two are big outlines of substantive law and the rest are either multiple choice or essay practice questions.
Each day I have reading for a particular topic and then at night, I got to the wonderful Atlantis where I watch a DVD lecture for 3 hours with 3 ten minute breaks. So we had 3 lectures on Contracts alone. This weekend I'm doing the first real practice questions.
I just finished the first set of practice contract multiple choice questions and I got about 1/2 right. I'm not sure how it compares but I'm just happy I didn't get them all wrong. After all, I haven't had contracts since my 1st year of law school and I only read the outline from Barbri once. Then I listened to a DVD explaining the answers.
According to the lecturer, "Contracts is not an area that you can beat, it's only an area where you can hope to minimize losses." Both DVD lectures said that Contracts is the hardest subject because the bar examiners are not consistent in the questions and they don't have "patterns" in the questions. It's just all about knowing the black letter law. Worst still is that several of the questions I got wrong contained the correct statement of law, but the answer was some bizarre exception that wasn't covered in the lecture. Another question said that the answer was wrong because "D was the better choice". Meaning it was close, but not close enough.
WTF?! I hate that. Two can be the answer, but one is slightly better. How the hell do you prepare for something like that?
I've kinda been slacking and I need to kick it up a notch. Friday we went and saw Pirates of the Carribean and today we went and saw Shrek 3. Really, I can't get behind on my summer blockbusters because so many are coming out that I doubt they can remain in the theaters long. Ahahaha.
Tomorrow I have to write 2 Contracts essays. Not sure how I feel about that. I'm generally better at essays, but still iffy on the substance. I'll let you know how it goes. Next week we have criminal law and criminal procedure. I got the highest grade in Criminal Law and I just took Criminal Procedure, so I'm feeling good about those.
I'm off to bed now. Here are some funny quotes I wrote down from the DVD Lecture:
Mnemonic: Armadillos from Texas, Play Rap Eating Tacos = Applicable Law, Formation, Terms, Performance, Remedies for nonperformance, Excuses for nonperformance, Third Party Issues
- Irregardless of the dollar amount
- You virtually have an armadillo whispering in your ear as you approach a contracts question
- It's necessary that Sharon Stone be in the shower with me
- I'm old enough to be the father of most of you and I'm up here blushing about lusting after Sharon Stone
- Remember this shit, it will be on the bar exam
- The word house reminds you of that wonderful TV program that you're missing while studying for the bar
- Anything less than putting paint on the damn walls is mere preparation
- I offer you my cadillac for $400 and you say HELL NO
- How long will John Tesh perform? It might feel like years if you were there.
- Finally we've completed the F word
- I was willing to ignore the boundaries of good taste
- Putting this more delicately, we have a situation where the rats got into the packages of coffee and did nature's calling
- It's best described as a mixed blend (talking about rat poop in a sack of coffee beans)
- All the clerk had to say was pick out your own damn shoes
- It's not law school that screwed you up
- We cannot have a legal doctrine known as the major screw-up doctrine
- For those of you who are culturally challenged....
- You have that damn armadillo eating tacos
- Armadillo eating that damn taco
- In Texas, there are grits everywhere. You can't walk down the street without stumbling on a sack of grits
- They have now extended the internet all the way into Texas
- Get out of here Boy Wonder.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Welcome to the Suck
I decided to create a new blog to chronicle my experience with the bar exam. Then I can look on it later and fondly remember how much this summer sucked.
Tonight was my first class of Barbri. If you recall from the other blog, Barbri is the bar review course that just about every law student takes. Barbri has a monopoly on the market. Seriously, a group of law students got together and filed a class action lawsuit against the company for antitrust violations. It was awesome. Totally the wrong group of people to piss off.
The class is in the Atlantis in one of the conference rooms. The good part is that we're right around the corner from the game room. So I can totally go out and play dance dance revolution on our breaks.
The bad part is that it's a conference room, so the tables are narrow and there's not a lot of space for a laptop plus the huge ass books that we're supposed to bring to class. Also, the chairs are very uncomfortable after a while. We get 10 minute breaks every so often, so I guess that's good.
Basically the way it works is we go in and watch a DVD lecture. Yes, that's right. I paid over $2500 to go and watch a DVD. They have "live" lectures in some places, where a real person is talking to you. But even then, you can't ask them questions. So either way, you have no real way to get help if you don't understand something. It's complete bullshit, but it is what it is.
We received our study schedule. It looks pretty intense. So although I created this blog, I can't promise it will be updated regularly. Probably it will devolve into a bitch fest about how much I hate studying. But I'll also try to post anything amusing or funny that happens during class or studying.
I'm going to try my damndest to go see a movie once in a while. I definitely want to see all the big blockbuster movies while they're still in the theaters. So maybe I'll make sunday afternoon my time off. Otherwise I'll go insane.
Worst. Summer. EVER!
Tonight was my first class of Barbri. If you recall from the other blog, Barbri is the bar review course that just about every law student takes. Barbri has a monopoly on the market. Seriously, a group of law students got together and filed a class action lawsuit against the company for antitrust violations. It was awesome. Totally the wrong group of people to piss off.
The class is in the Atlantis in one of the conference rooms. The good part is that we're right around the corner from the game room. So I can totally go out and play dance dance revolution on our breaks.
The bad part is that it's a conference room, so the tables are narrow and there's not a lot of space for a laptop plus the huge ass books that we're supposed to bring to class. Also, the chairs are very uncomfortable after a while. We get 10 minute breaks every so often, so I guess that's good.
Basically the way it works is we go in and watch a DVD lecture. Yes, that's right. I paid over $2500 to go and watch a DVD. They have "live" lectures in some places, where a real person is talking to you. But even then, you can't ask them questions. So either way, you have no real way to get help if you don't understand something. It's complete bullshit, but it is what it is.
We received our study schedule. It looks pretty intense. So although I created this blog, I can't promise it will be updated regularly. Probably it will devolve into a bitch fest about how much I hate studying. But I'll also try to post anything amusing or funny that happens during class or studying.
I'm going to try my damndest to go see a movie once in a while. I definitely want to see all the big blockbuster movies while they're still in the theaters. So maybe I'll make sunday afternoon my time off. Otherwise I'll go insane.
Worst. Summer. EVER!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
