S.O.U.N.D. Advice for the Bar Exam, 8.15.09

S.O.U.N.D. Advice on Thinking Ahead:

In your last semester of law school, or taking the next bar exam? Don't leave your preparation to the last minute. Start thinking about -- and getting answers to -- the following questions early on:

• In which jurisdiction(s) do you plan to take the bar?
• What are the jurisdiction's requirements to sit for the bar? (For example, what do you need to provide with your application? Do you need to have achieved a passing score on the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam? Will you need to round up letters of recommendation or references?)
• What is the format of the jurisdiction's bar exam? Check www.ncbex.org for a comprehensive listing.
• What subjects does your jurisdiction's bar exam test?
• How much time will you have to study, and how will you allocate that time? Come up with a concrete study plan.
• What resources are available to assist you with your bar preparation?

S.O.U.N.D. Advice for the Bar Exam, 8.8.09

What do you need to suceed on your state's essay exam?

First and foremost (and not surprisingly,) state bar examiners emphasize one important point: in order to pass the essay exam, an applicant must exhibit superior analytical skills. The National Conference of Bar Examiners’ Comprehensive Guide to Bar Admissions Requirements asserts that a state “bar examination should test the ability of an applicant to identify legal issues in a statement of facts, such as may be encountered in the practice of law, to engage in a reasoned analysis of the issues and to arrive at a logical solution by the application of fundamental legal principles, in a manner which demonstrates a thorough understanding of these principles. The examination should not be designed primarily to test for information, memory or experience.”

Congratulations July Bar Takers!

Congratulations to all who survived the July 2009 bar exam! May you receive good news this Fall!

S.O.U.N.D. Advice for the Bar Exam, 7.13.09

S.O.U.N.D. Advice for Bar Essays:

One mistake that students make is in thinking that merely regurgitating facts and then drawing a legal conclusion is sufficient—it is not, if your knowledge of the applicable principles of law is not coming through! For example, simply stating “When Officer searched the car based on spotting marijuana in plain view and seized the drugs, he performed a valid warrantless search” is not enough because it doesn’t allow the examiner to gauge how well you know the law and how well you can define what the plain view doctrine is. State, instead, “The marijuana seized by Officer is admissible under the plain view doctrine. An exception to the search warrant requirement, this doctrine allows the government to seize objects in plain view and admit them into evidence. Here, Officer spotted the marijuana on the backseat of the car in plain view and seized it during a valid warrantless search; therefore, the evidence will be admissible.” Although the second version is longer, it is still a concise yet completely thorough analysis, applying the principles of law involved to the facts.

S.O.U.N.D. Advice for the Bar Exam, 7.6.09

An Evidence S.O.U.N.D. Byte:

Best Evidence Rule: The Best Evidence Rule applies when proving the contents of a writing, recording, or other document: you must produce the original document unless you can satisfactorily explain the loss of the original.

S.O.U.N.D. Advice for the Bar Exam, 6.22.09

As you practice bar essay questions in preparation for the exam, diagram your issues by:

1. deconstructing the question and reading it one sentence at a time;

2. spotting all of the issues within each sentence;

3. spotting the facts or “buzz words” that go to each issue you’ve spotted;

4. and then reconstructing the question based on the issues—diagramming each issue, and including under it the facts that dealt with that issue in the question.

Remember that the examiners won’t necessarily present each fact in chronological order; they won’t necessarily present each issue in the order on which they’d like you to discuss them. By deconstructing and then reconstructing the question and paying attention to which facts and “buzz words” go with each issue, you can draw up an organized diagram to help you better organize your thoughts and points.

S.O.U.N.D. Advice for the Bar Exam, 6.15.09

S.O.U.N.D. Advice for Federal Jurisdiction Questions:

On the topic of rule numbers: must you remember rule numbers on a civil procedure question on the bar? While knowing the right rule numbers and stating them when applicable can’t hurt, it’s more important to focus on knowing the substance of the rules than it is to memorize rule numbers. If you aren’t entirely sure of the rule number, however, don’t include it—better to keep your rules more general and get them right than to state the wrong rule. For example, if you’re dealing with a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b) but aren’t sure which subsection applies, just keep your statement general and write Rule 12(b).

S.O.U.N.D. Advice for the Bar Exam, 6.8.09

S.O.U.N.D. Advice for addressing commercial speech issues on Constitutional Law questions:

Remember: Commercial speech now merits protection, but not as much as protected non-commercial speech. Apply the following methodology:

1. First, ask: is it commercial speech? There are four types that can be identified:
i. Advertisement of illegal activities – no protection
ii. False and deceptive advertising – no protection
iii. True advertising that inherently risks becoming false or deceptive – government may regulate
iv. Laws that limit commercial advertising to achieve other goals such as enhancing the image of lawyers, or decreasing consumption of alcohol or tobacco, etc. – Supreme Court generally does not allow government regulation here.

2. Then, apply the Central Hudson Test:

1. For commercial speech to merit First Amendment protection it must concern lawful activity and not be misleading. Is it?
2. Is the governmental interest substantial?
3. Does the regulation directly advance the governmental interest asserted?
4. Is the regulation more extensive than is necessary to serve that interest (not least restrictive alternative analysis)?

S.O.U.N.D. Advice for the Bar Exam, 6.1.09

S.O.U.N.D. Advice on Bar Essay Exams:

R emember the “6 C’s” of a readable paragraph!

What does a great paragraph look like on the bar exam? It should have the following basic characteristics:

Concision and clarity in expression
Clear identification and statement of the issues
Correct statement of the applicable principles of law, as well as any sub-rules, variations, or limitations that may apply to the facts
Complete and thorough analysis of the law as applied to the relevant facts
Clear and definite conclusion or thesis
Correct language and solid writing style

S.O.U.N.D. Advice for the Bar Exam, 5.25.09

S.O.U.N.D. Advice on Torts Questions:

Remember the mnemonic “PAW” to retain the three theories of strict liability under which a Plaintiff may bring a claim:

o P: Strict Products Liability
o A: Strict liability for engaging in Abnormally dangerous or ultrahazardous activities
o W: Strict liability for keeping Wild animals

S.O.U.N.D. Advice for the Bar Exam, 5.18.09

A S.O.U.N.D. mnemonic for a Wills/Decedents' Estates question:

Revocation refers to the accepted ways of revoking a will. It is best remembered by the mnemonic “COTTON:”
· Cancel,
· Obliterate,
· Tear,
· Torch,
· Operation of law, and
· New Will.

S.O.U.N.D. Advice for the Bar Exam, 5.11.09

S.O.U.N.D. Advice on Contracts Questions:

The Statute of Frauds requires certain agreements to be in a signed writing in order to be enforceable. Be careful to note that a contract exists, but if a statute of frauds defense exists, the contract might not be enforceable. This is because the statute of frauds is a defense to enforcement, much like a minor has the defense of being too young to be bound to a contract. Generally, the agreements covered by a particular jurisdiction’s statute of frauds are best remembered by the mnemonic “MYLEGS:”

• Marriage
• Year
• Land
• Executors
• Goods $500 or more
• Suretyships

S.O.U.N.D. Advice for the Bar Exam, 5.4.09

S.O.U.N.D. Advice on Formulating Your S.O.U.N.D. Bytes on Bar Essays:

The examiners emphasize that applicants must write the rules in a readable, clear, and concise manner. This is why writing out your S.O.U.N.D. Bytes in complete sentences while preparing for the exam is so important: by forcing yourself to put the applicable principle of law into a readable sentence ahead of time, you’ll be less likely to scramble around for the right words to use when trying to state the same on the exam.

S.O.U.N.D. Advice for the Bar Exam, 4.27.09

S.O.U.N.D. Advice for Bar Essays:

On the essay exam, use precise legal terms of art. For example:

* if the applicable principle of law is “adequate provocation,” then you shouldn’t call it “sufficient provocation”
* if the term is “minimum contacts,” don’t write “minimal contacts”
* if the term is “hearsay,” don’t write “heresy"

While you may not necessarily lose points if you don’t state every legal term of art precisely, the graders may pick up on your lack of precision and wonder what else you may be missing. Failure to use precise terms may signal to the examiners that you have a flaw with a basic legal concept with which you should be familiar.

Bar Exam BOOTCAMP Authors in the News

1L BOOTCAMP Author Ursula Furi-Perry gave advice on law school selection on the LSAT Blog

Authors Michael Coyne and Ursula Furi-Perry were interviewed about law student ethics and professionalism in the February National Jurist

The Bar Exam BOOTCAMP website is up and running!

Check us out at www.barexambootcamp.com!

S.O.U.N.D. Advice for the Bar Exam, 4.20.09

S.O.U.N.D. Advice on Practicing Under a Time Crunch:

Pinpoint the specific areas – both in terms of substantive knowledge and writing or exam-taking skills – where you’re spending too much time, or worse, wasting time. Do you tend to create unnecessarily elaborate outlines that are taking valuable time away from writing? Do you state irrelevant facts or inapplicable principles of law? Do you spend too long on Property questions in comparison with other topics? Figure out where you may have some room for improvement.

Bar Exam Recommended Resources

Need help with bar admissions or information about the exam?

We like the following resources on bar admissions and jurisdiction-specific tests:

The National Conference of Bar Examiners Website

The Multistate Essay Exam Official Website

Directory of State Bar Admission Offices

Comprehensive Guide to Bar Admissions

S.O.U.N.D. Advice for the Bar Exam, 4.13.09

S.O.U.N.D. Advice for Evidence Questions:

The common law rules of privilege that are tested on the MBE differ dramatically from most state law rules of privilege, which are tested on the essays. It is imperative to know your state’s rules on privilege, such as the marital privilege and the doctor/psychotherapist-patient privilege.

S.O.U.N.D. Advice for the Bar Exam, 4.6.09

S.O.U.N.D. Advice for Evidence Essay Exams:

Many Evidence questions will have several sub-parts. Answer the sub-parts to the question in the same order as they are presented on the exam: after all, it’s easiest for the examiners to grade your essay in the same order as the question was written.