Raging Bitch*

1/21/2012    It was high noon. I was leaving a first-year lecture, shaking my head in disbelief over what had just happened. The professor stopped on his way to lunch to inform me that I had a problem common to many older students, namely, I thought like a lawyer, not a student. Then he stuck his head back in the clouds and walked away. Hello! Now what do I do?

I’d taught high school and college for 30 years before law school. If I noticed a student with a problem, I took time with him or her to figure out what we could do to move ahead. Why didn't this guy just ask me to come and see him sometime to talk instead of merely dispensing his dime-store wisdom? Maybe that’s the difference between professing and teaching.

I’d asked a question in class that day to which the prof replied: “How can you not know that?” Three strike-backs came to mind: 1) "Asshole!" 2) “If I knew it all, I’d be teaching the class!” and 3) “I must have slept through that lecture.” I chose the compromise reply (#3). That pretty much characterized my early law school experience. (Remind me to recount the horrors of my legal writing class sometime.)

So is it for many older students. One reader, GP, who entered law school at 45, commented: “both law school and the bar exam are raging bitches!" Like so many older students, GP “worked full time for two years,” taking classes part time. He “never really grasped the ‘correct’ way to write an essay.”  GP “got passing scores in school, but [has been] unable to modify [his] writing style to the requirements of the bar exam.”

            GP began his legal studies after a long career that required him to “break problems down into their smallest component elements,“ treating “all issues, both minor and major, equally." After several cracks at the exam, he’s well aware that “the bar graders want something different.”

            Yo, GP and other friends, the graders do need the elements broken down into their component parts, but only the elements that they consider relevant! See my 12/13/11 posting, paraphrased here: “THE GRADERS ARE SECOND GRADERS!!! They need it simple, like kids in second grade. So explain in simple sentences and WRITE ONE PARAGRAPH FOR THE RULES AND A SECOND ONE TO APPLY THE RULES TO THE FACTS. Assume nothing except that the simple-minded graders won't give you credit for two paragraphs' worth of essay if you don't separate the rules and application to the facts into two paragraphs.”

            I wish I’d learned that basic lesson in law school, but it took me years of suffering through Law School Hell and two rounds of BarBri to finally get it. Like my carpenter friend says: “Measure twice; cut once.” The Scouts remind us to "be prepared." Students and bar exam takers, if this sounds all too familiar, please check out <www.PaBarCoach.com> or comment on this blog. Good luck and thanks for reading!

*Thanks to my wife, Janice, for editing this post.

Familiarity Breeds a Successful Attempt

12/13/11. As promised, this posting is about becoming familiar with the Pennsylvania essay format. Essays are graded according to a formula that you may or may not learn in law school. If you don't learn it in law school, it'll be hammered into your brain by whatever bar essay review you take. I was fortunate to take BarBri twice before I took the bar exam, once in the summer of 2002, before I finished my law-school coursework, and then as an audit just before the February 2003 exam, which I took and passed. (I've learned that you can't do that anymore--the only way you can repeat BarBri now is by flunking the first time.)

     It wasn't till I took BarBri that I learned - finally! - to write a good law-school essay. Either they didn't teach it at law school or I was too thick to get it. Briefly, you have to organize your essays according to an outline that the graders (let's call them second graders!) can follow easily. Write simply, clearly and with authority. Use a separate paragraph for each section: issue, rule, facts and conclusion. Some geniuses will figure it all out before they start writing; the rest of us should leave a couple of blank lines at the top to restate the conclusion as the opening sentence after having completed the analysis. Let's deal with each part of the essay.

     Paragraph 1 - Conclusion: Leave blank for now.

     Paragraph 2 - Issue: State the issue simply, e.g. "Is there a valid contract between A and B?"

     Paragraph 3 - Rule: State all the elements of the rule, e.g. "A valid contract requires 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5."

     Paragraph 4 - Application/Analysis: Apply the elements to the facts. Use all the elements and all the relevant facts, e.g. "A and B did ..., which satisfies ... (an element)."

     Paragraph 5 - Conclusion: "A and B do (not) have a valid contract because ...." Repeat or summarize this in Paragraph 1.

     Don't think that you can get away with combining Paragraphs 3 and 4. Remember, THE GRADERS ARE SECOND GRADERS!!! They need it simple, just like your nephew, niece or neighbor kid who's in first or second grade. So explain in simple sentences and WRITE SEPARATE PARAGRAPHS FOR THE RULES AND THEIR APPLICATION. Assume that the simple-minded graders will only give you one paragraph's worth of credit if you don't make it clear to them that you've written two paragraph's worth of answer. BTW, don't repeat unnecessarily and, if you must, it's probably best to paraphrase, lest the spiteful second graders dock you because you made them read the same thing twice.

     We'll review format issues again, but I'll close this posting on the note that you can't get too much practice writing bar exam essays--the more you write, the more familiar you'll become with the process; the more familiar you become with the writing process, the more likely you'll pass, whether you're taking it for the first time or the fifth. I recommend BarBri for general bar prep and PaBarCoach.com for personal, in-depth coaching. I look forward to your comments and questions.

Start Early

12/10/11. It's not too soon to start studying for the February exam. Since the essay portion, at least in Pa & NJ, is weighted more heavily than the multistate portion, it pays to practice as many essays as possible between now and exam day. Buy or borrow BarBri or other exam prep books that have essays from prior bar exams, or go online to the state bar exam site(s) for your state(s) and download essay questions, model essays and grading guidelines from prior bar exams. Then do as many essays as you can from the last 6 years or more. Grade each essay carefully, using the model essays and grading guidelines. Each essay is worth 20 points. If you scored below 12, redo the essay. Shoot for 15 or better; that way, if you blow one or two, your high scores in the others might get you by.
     Don't worry about timing yourself at first, but start working to get your essays done in the allotted 45 minutes by mid-January. The more essays you do, e.g. 2-3 a day, the faster and more accurate you'll get. The trick to doing well for many of us is to become so used to writing bar essays that exam day will be just like another day of practice. Remember my earlier comment about "sweating bullets" during law school exams? By contrast, I was so well prepared for the bar exam that I was able to relax and enjoy the exercise, except for my writing hand going numb by the end of the day. In fact, when I looked at the fact patterns after opening the exam book, I instantly recognized each as being similar to one or more of the practice essays I'd done and, even though I don't have a photographic memory, virtually memorized weeks or days before. No sweat! It's just a question of becoming familiar with the material and the format. More about the latter in a couple of days. Meanwhile, feel free to check my website at the "PaBarCoach" link below and/or e me at <byasgurlaw@gmail.com> with questions or comments.

Welcome!

12/9/11. Welcome to my blog. Thanks for visiting. Special thanks to my son, David, for designing it and to my wife, Janice, for letting us work in the dining room.
     Since the February 2012 bar exam is in less than 3 months, I'll start the blog with a quick introductory note on how to prepare for it. First, however, let me introduce myself.
     I taught high school and college for 30+ years, and earned bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees before matriculating in law school at age 55. Contrary to my expectations, law school was the toughest intellectual challenge I'd faced in all my years of education. Had I known then what I know now, I'd have taken a bar prep course or found a good tutor to help me learn the style of writing demanded by most of my law professors. Despite years of academic and professional writing, I discovered that I had to unlearn my carefully-honed techniques and relearn a whole new writing style. In fact, I was told by more than one of my law school profs that I had to learn to think and write like a law student, and not like a lawyer or a judge. In brief, they expected briefs.
     After sweating bullets through most of my exams, it wasn't until I prepared for the bar exam that I found out the secret to writing the kind of essays that were required for good grades. Based on that bar-prep course and my own teaching experience, I designed a study routine that enabled me not only to pass the PA and NJ exams on my first take, but to do so without losing a drop of sweat. Friends from law school who weren't so lucky on the first try asked for my advice and found that it helped them understand the law, write better essays, save time studying and, best of all, pass! After helping friends and grading bar-prep essays for a couple of years, I began offering my services to the wider community of law students and bar exam takers. The majority of those I coached went on to improve their law-school grades and/or pass the bar exam.
     For my first bit of advice, I strongly recommend taking a bar-prep course that prepares you to construct essays that get you maximum credit. The essay portion varies from state to state, so register for the course that focuses on the exam(s) given by the state(s) in which you wish to be licensed. The course should also provide instruction in the multistate (multiple-choice) portion of the 2-day exam, which is the same in all 50 states. If you'd like information about my tutoring services, please check the link in the bottom right corner.
     Since we are heading into bar exam season, I expect to be adding to this blog on a fairly regular basis. Meanwhile, I you'd like to share a comment or ask a question, please feel free to contact me through my website. Thanks and come back soon!