The Truth shall set you free

I want to mail my Moral Character & Fitness App tomorrow, but there are a few lingering questions. How truthful should I be in the application? I don’t mean that i’m considering lying at all on the app, but when they ask a simple question, do you JUST answer the question, or do you respond with everything but the kitchen sink? For example, if they ask - “Have you ever been diagnosed with a mental illness/disease, including depression?” do you respond “No” or do you respond “No, I’ve never been diagnosed with depression, but I see a counselor/psychologist on a weekly basis and am currently taking herbs and vitamins to stabilize my mood swings.” I’d think that the latter is a more “truthful” answer, even though it goes into more detail than what is asked. Really, we are training to be lawyers here - you’d think they would tell us to only respond to the ”call of the question” or suggest that perhaps we adhere to the “spirit” of the question, which might elicit a reponse like the above. I feel comfortable saying that I’m a relatively moral person, and there is only one question that makes me second-guess my reponse (thankfully, it is not anything to do with mental illness!), so I’m not too worried. More horrible than failing the Bar, though, would be failing the Moral Character & Fitness requirement because I didn’t disclose something I felt was unnecessary, yet there were facts the Committee wanted to know.

I wonder if I should also disclose the feelings of jealousy and bitterness I’m experiencing towards those who have post-graduation jobs, with big pst-graduation salaries, whose firms are paying for their post-graduation bar study courses, who are able to spend all their pre-graduation money NOW going out to dinner, shopping, enjoying life because they know there will be more money in the bank tomorrow. I added up my loans tonight, and - without including some interest - they total approximately $106,000. It’s hard to be excited about the next few months (or even this weekend) looking at that enormous amount and then at the miniscule amount in my checking account. I wish life wasn’t all about money. I wish so many of my decisions weren’t based on how much money I have. I know that I’ll get a job eventually and everything will work out - it always does. But…. this definitely has not been as easy as I’d hoped it would be.

California Bar Application - Completed!

Submitted the CA Bar App today. I dragged out the application process a little bit because I couldn’t decide whether to write or type the exam. My only fear about using the laptop software is that my computer will choose one of those two essay days to suddenly wig out (as it’s done at least once a year since I purchased it) and that, perhaps, is a stress I don’t need. But - I paid the additional $100+ to use my laptop and will just keep my fingers crossed that it behaves. I’m sort of irritated that the CA Bar doesn’t tell you what is needed for the bar app until the day they post it. Last month, I ordered transcripts from all my various schools in preparation for sending it to the Bar, figuring that’s the kind of thing they would ask for. BUT- CA contacts the school and the school has to send the transcripts in. So, basically, I wasted about $30 for nothing, and will actually have to pay the schools so they can send more transcripts.
I also finally completed my Moral Character & Fitness App. Went to the police dept to get the required finger-printing and while I was waiting, I listened to some undergrads debate which came first - beer or bread. Apparently, a professor made the comment, “The desire for beer may be what led to the spread of civilization…” According to Undergrad #1, “Beer is made from barley, and the desire for beer resulted in a barley surplus. People then used that extra barley to make bread - so, the discovery of bread, now a food staple, actually happened because people were trying to make more beer.” Undergrad #2: “Really? Do you really think that’s how it worked?” Undergrad #1: “Um, well, I am an archaeology major, so I think I would know better than you.”

Wipe that look off your face!!

Yesterday, I was talking to one of my professors about skin cancer, san francisco and other life-related stuff. Like a good caring faculty member he asked about my future plans and where I planned to take the Bar. I mentioned that I didn’t have a job lined up *yet* but I felt California was the place for me and I intended to take the California Bar. In response, he gave me that look.
The look. The one that says, “Are you crazy? Do you enjoy inflicting unnecessary pain on yourself? Do you really think you can pass?? Don’t you know how many people FAIL that exam?? Haven’t you heard how difficult the California Bar is?? Although I won’t say it aloud, you’re a complete idiot and since you don’t have a job and technically don’t need to take that bar, you should probably reconsider… Are you sure you’re thinking clearly? because, what i’m hearing sounds like the ramblings of one f&^*$(#d raving lunatic.” THAT look.

And then, as if the look wasn’t enough, he groaned.

Thank you. Thank you for that vote of confidence. I KNOW the reality of the California Bar. I’ve seen the numbers, heard the stories, talked to the passers and re-takers. I KNOW that the Bar is hard. BUT - I know that people pass it. I know that it’s possible to pass. And I know that I’m capable of passing it. It’s not guaranteed, but I believe I can do it. When you talk about taking the California Bar, the look is the general reaction you get from others. WHY?!? As a third-year law student, less than 2 months away from graduation, the last thing I need is for someone to poke at my self-esteem with their doubt stick. When I talk about the Bar, don’t give me that expression (a mingling of shock/fear/distress/concern for my sanity) and groan. Instead, say, “Wow! That’s great! I hear it’s hard but I know you’re capable of doing what’s necessary to pass it.” Granted, i’ll probably write you off and offer my own rendition of the look, but HEY that’s my perogative. *I’m* the one taking the thing and am therefore entitled to complain about it all I want!! It’s sort of like voting, right? If you vote, you get to complain about the outcome. If you didn’t, don’t talk to me. If you’re not taking the CA Bar, don’t talk to me about how hard, impossible and soulsucking it is going to be. And, please, whatever you do, don’t give me that look.

PMBR Books are Thick and Heavy

My Education Law Prof just informed us 3L’s that this past week of Spring Break would be our last real “vacation.” That is not true, but it was, momentarily, a discouraging thought. But, my spring break was so over the top fantastic even if it WAS my last vacation I’d be ok with that.

During spring break, I picked up my PMBR books that I bought online via craigslist for $70 (!!!). They are thick and heavy, but I have to admit I was a little excited when I got them. It’s the first real tangible thing I have in preparation for the Bar. But I’m really glad I got them this early otherwise their size and the amount of materials/information in them could be a bit overwhelming. Just flipped through them quickly, then shoved them back in their box and duct taped the box. I’m excited to have something bar-related, but let’s not go overboard

Where's the Love?

This year, one thing that has displeased me greatly about my law school is the lack of resources/information about the Bar Exam and Bar Preparation. Granted, as law students, we should take matters into our own hands and research the requirements and deadlines for our states, but the school has held our hand through everything else the past two years, you'd think they'd give us SOMETHING. We have one page on our school website that has a bit of bar information, but 80% of the page is devoted to Virginia applicants and irrelevant for the rest of us. It would not be that difficult to post a webpage, send an email, pass around a piece of paper, or hold a mandatory class meeting at the beginning of 3L fall semester with all the bar app deadlines, a description of what might be required by the apps, various bar review programs, etc. As 1L's, we sat through idontknowhowmany hours of career services lectures about how to get a job, where to look for jobs, how to shake hands, how to interview, how to use a spoon properly, and how to write a resume, yet pretty much none of that matters unless we pass the Bar... and the school offers no help with that. I don't think I'm asking too much. I know I am responsible for myself and my future legal career, which is one reason I'm thinking about the Bar NOW, but am I not paying the law school to aid me in these endeavors??!?!?!

Anyway, check out what Golden Gate Univ of Law has posted for their students. They have some useful tips. Maybe i'll email the link to our Dean too...

**Bar Exam: Tips, Study Plan, Sample Self-Evaluation Forms** (Bar Exam Tips #2)

I guess the first and second pages from a GOOGLE search are not the only ones with relevant information, because I found this GEM of a website buried deep in page 7. The website is provided by an Ohio Law Professor and has some focus, therefore, on Ohio Bar Prep, but the information it offers is priceless and can easily be adjusted for one’s own review purposes.*
You can click on the website above and navigate your way through, but here are some of the links I was most excited about:

General Advice on Study Schedules
Know how your Bar Exam works
Study Checklist
Monitoring your MBE Score
Analyzing your MBE Prowess
Essays: Self-Evaluation Form
Sample Study Plan (weekly: May 26-Bar Exam)

* I definitely plan to consider the scheduling suggested, but note that it requires studying 10-12hrs/day on a regular basis and that, we’ve already decided, is a no-can-do.

The Road to being a Lawyer is paved with lots of Paperwork

Tonight a friend and I sat down to fill out our Moral Character and Fitness Apps. We were so paranoid, it made us both laugh out loud - “What do you think they mean by grad school education? Does that include law school?” “What does it mean that something is ‘past due’?” “Can I be a ’resident of California’ if I live in Virginia?” Thankfully, our app was only sixteen (?) pages long and neither of us has a mental disease or prior conviction, so we could skip that half. As my friend said, filling out the App is intimidating, but also a little exciting - This is the beginning of our life as lawyers. This is the beginning of everything we’ve worked so hard for. And, judging by our overly thorough analysis of the Application, its instructions, its language, its “spirit”… I think we’re ready.

MIA - Study Plans for the Bar (Bar Exam Tips #1)

Since i’ve taken such elaborate notes on all of this week’s reading for class, i’ve allowed myself to completely zone out IN class today and instead i’ve scoured the web for bar study plans. Do you know i’ve only came across maybe THREE??? I mean, everyone talks about how important they are, yet very few have actually posted what they’ve done for a study plan. People reference Bar/Bri’s study plan, but almost all the comments are about how impossible it is to follow. I know that all the bar review groups give their registrants study plans as part of the course, but i can’t believe that people actually follow them to a T. Obviously, it’s all about finding out what works for you, but, there is SO much material to cover and it would be really helpful if people would reveal how they were able to cover all that material in the two months before the Bar. I’m already conceding to myself that i cannot possibly study more than 8 or 9 hours a day, 6 days a week, for the Bar. It’s just NOT going to happen. Therefore, I need to be incredibly efficient during those hours… and I don’t know that i am incredibly efficient at anything! However, while I was searching the internet, I did come across some useful advice:

1) Practice the Performance portion of the Bar while in school. It is something that you could easily do once a month each month of the last semester. Devote maybe 4 hours to doing a practice performance test (past CA PT Questions here), then eventually lower your time to the 3hrs allowed in the Exam. **I think this is a good idea because most say this is a fairly easy area to “master” because it’s about skill and time-management, not necessarily knowledge of the law, so if you work on it now then you don’t have to spend time on it during the summer. But, we’ll see if I actually set aside time to do it.

2) Start listening to PMBR Cd’s while still in school. YAY!! I’m doing this!! Although i’m not REALLY “studying” the MBE materials, they are refreshing my memory and making me feel a little bit more comfortable with the concepts.

3) When making your study plan, build in breaks (naps, work-outs, etc) and do it on a big poster that way you can a) cross off the stuff you’ve accomplished and give yourself a gold star; b) have a way of keeping track of your scores on MBE’s, as a way of gauging how you’re doing; and 3) have something else to burn/rip up/kick/spit on/trash/stomp-on-in-victory at the end of the summer when you’re done with the Bar.

As soon as i come up with something that might resemble a bar study plan/schedule, you can guarantee I will post it. Probably not follow it, but at least there will be evidence that i made some effort.