Nothing we could possibly say will make those of you starting the bar exam on Tuesday feel any better. So, on the heels of Elle's post, let's use this thread to impart wisdom onto our fellow attorney hopefuls.
How about it, readers? Any advice for our friends on how to tackle what is likely the most difficult bar exam in the nation? Funny bar stories are also welcome.
You need to back off riding ATL's coattails; Nevada has one or two of the firms they regularly cover, and it makes you look desperate...
ReplyDeleteI'm a big proponent of taking advantage of all the benefits of taking the bar in a casino/hotel. Get a massage, play some cards, drink heavily, use the fitness center, ask the doorman for escort referals, stare dumbly at the carpet and ask yourself "does anyone else put this ugly %&@* in their house?", and when you have finished taking advantage of the air conditioning (because only hell-bound demon children practice in LV), sit back and bask in the knowledge that no other practicing attorney knows anything about secure transactions or commerical paper either. OH, and the answer to any community property question is "1/2". Good luck
ReplyDeleteGood luck to all the bar takers!!!
ReplyDeleteYou might as well start drowning your sorrows now so that the edge is taken off the bad news you will inevitably receive in two months time.
ReplyDeleteMy advice - go to bed no later than 10:30pm the three nights before the exam, get up about 6-6:30am and have breakfast at the cafe there. Then after you're done with the exam, go see a movie at their movie theater or relax a bit then go bowling downstairs with friends. Study the one page outlines for each subject a few times before going to bed, but don't waste your time studying in the morning.
ReplyDeleteRepeat again for Wednesday & Thursday except this time after the exam's over, go meet the NV State Bar's Young Lawyer's Division at the bar and purge your brain of all you learned in BarBri.
@ 8:40
ReplyDeleteHe said "Elle" as in "Elle Woods, Esq" NOT "Elie" who is the ATL writer.
Also, this isn't the first time this site has had a "good luck bar takers" post. Get over yourself.
My advice is: if you can help it, don't live at Texas station. I gladly commuted in exchange for the ability to eat home-made food and the comfort of my own bed. I was able to relax at home, and stayed away from the temptations of gambling and drinking.
ReplyDeleteI stopped studying on Sunday and only reviewed the one-page outlines right before exams started.
Does anyone have advice on where to eat for those of us who will be "living" at the Texas Station?
ReplyDeleteThe food court wasn't bad for lunch, but I made it a point to get out to dinner every night. Sorry, second bar...less stress, but I did that first bar too. Takes your mind off the matter for an hour or two. Go west towards 97 North and you'll find some chain restruants.
ReplyDeleteFor living at Texas Station, request a room with a refrigerator. You can store things for a simple breakfast or lunch. Be careful eating out and make sure your food is cooked properly. You don't want food poisoning.
ReplyDeleteI also commuted to the Bar Exam and really recommend it.
ReplyDeleteI liked the fact that I could stay in my car during lunch and take a quick nap. Of course, back in Feb the climate inside my car was pretty good, but I don't recommend that to the July test-takers.
I don't remember if they offer earplugs, but if they do, get those, and if they don't, bring your own. You might not think you need it, but if you happened to sit next to someone who breathes really loudly or likes to make odd noises, you'll appreciate having those ear plugs.
@ 8:40 AM
ReplyDeleteYou have no idea what you are saying. Besides, ATL looks to WWL for news in this jurisdiction.
See
http://abovethelaw.com/2009/07/unlv_con_law_professor_is_runn.php
&
http://abovethelaw.com/2009/07/missing_unlv_professor_says_i.php
Notice that Elie @ ATL is the writer. Nice try though.
Best advice for the bar...take a second to breathe before the exam starts. If you find that you get nervous, take a quick bathroom break, splash water on your face, and pull yourself together. If you manage your time wisely, you'll answer all the questions. On the other hand, if you suck at the MBE, there's nothing you can really do about that. Sorry.
ReplyDeleteTo Anon @ 9:54am - I got the exact opposite advice. I live in the Green Valley area so commuting to the Texas Station would have been too risky in that if there was an accident or any unexpected delays it would cause a problem.
ReplyDeleteI played it safe and stayed in one of their newly remodeled rooms with the fridge. I brought water, energy drinks (for that ~2pm nudge) and snacks instead of buying them at Texas Station.
I definitely appreciated staying at the Texas Station instead of commuting because I could sleep an extra 45mins-60mins instead of having to get up early to commute to the hotel for the exam.
I would also recommend having your significant other drop by to go out for dinner the 2nd night (Wed) and a stress relief for the night before the last day of the exam :-)
It helps release the tension after the all day MBE.
I stayed at Texas Station and even though the hotel part was quite loud with respect to doors slamming a lot, I think it was still the best option because you know you are never more than five minutes away. Plus, for lunch, you can grab something and eat in your room away from everyone else.
ReplyDeleteWith respect to the exam itself, the best thing to do is try and relex as much as possible. If you just accept that you know whatever you know and there's nothing more you can accomplish by studying more, I think that will help a lot. Of course, I read outlines out of anxiety more than anything else. There will likely be questions that will seem out of left field, so you just need to realize that everyone else finds them as frustrating as you do and it may be that no one else really knows what to do either.
Keep perspective. I was so stressed and freaked out that my parents didn't tell me that my father had a heart attack the week before. (They live in NJ.) I found out after the last day of testing. It made me realize just how insane I acted during that time period.
ReplyDeleteYou know the subjects and it is important to try and relax.
Also, on wednesday night, you can take a stab at what subjects have already been covered and do a quick review of those that haven't.
In the essays, make sure you cover every possible topic. Don't forget about choice of law and civ pro issues just because you have a family law or contracts question.
I hope you don't have a pro rep/con law crossover like I had in 2006. That was a miserable question.
Everyone says to stay calm, which is impossible. I was on the borderline of a full-blown crippling anxiety attack for three straight days - which was good because it kept me focused. I also had projectile diarrhea and had to visit the bathroom during almost every section.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I was an average student from an average school and I passed first try. Just keep telling yourself, I've gotta at least be smarter than that dude who almost sharted himself every thirty minutes in '07 but still managed to pass.
In closing, if I can pass, and you can pass, then everyone can pass. I'm just kidding, it's statistically impossible for all of us to pass, I just got carried away with remembering Rocky's pep talk in Moscow which ended up leading to the fall of Communism. No big deal.
I was completely calm during the Bar Exam. I just saw it as a slightly more annoying law school final.
ReplyDeleteReally. It's no big deal. The hardest part of the exam (Bar Bri) is over by now. If you've been following this blog for long enough, you'll know that Las Vegas is full of (perspective) imbecile lawyers, and chances are, you're way smarter and better prepared than more than half of the people in the room.
That's how I thought about the bar exam, and it worked.
The other way to look at it is that you are smarter than 1/2 the people in the room who are taking the bar exam for their 2nd or more times. Sat across from someone that introduced themselves as having taken the NV bar exam 5 times. I smiled to myself and said "50% pass rate....cha ching"
ReplyDeleteI'm not disparaging the 50% of examinees that can't pass, on the contrary. You folks are the reason I read this blog and the Bar Association discipline pages.
To Anon @1:04p
ReplyDeleteThe February bar exam is even better. I graduated early in December and took this past February Bar exam in Nevada.
Something like 75% of the people taking the February exam are re-takers and only around 25%-30% pass. That means that first-timers pass the February exam 3 1/2 times more than re-takers. (eg. ~263 took it Feb 2009, statistically 58 re-takers passed and 205 first-timers passed - I don't have the hard data though)
My only guess as to why is that by only the 1st retake from the previous July exam, they might not have have figured out why they failed the first time.
Do exactly what BarBri tells you to do. Hit it and move on. If you can't come up with the answer then make it up. Having sex nightly and drinking lightly (if you do either of those things) really took the edge off. I kind of "gave up" on Monday afternoon and went for a beer. I resigned myself that my head contained all it was going to contain and did my best. It worked out first time. I also read the PMBR outlines through a couple of times.
ReplyDeletePray, Pray, Pray, to all Gods, whatever their names.
ReplyDeleteIf you don't believe in God, Pray anyway. It's a bit like 'issue spotting' on the bar exam. Make sure you hit them all, one of them has to be right, maybe all of them.
Don't be surprised when folks just start getting up in the middle of the exam and start packing their stuff. They ain't coming back...
ReplyDeleteHold on to the thought that in a few months, you will be able to post barely-helpful exam tips to the next batch of examinees.
ReplyDeleteRelax--you'll be off committing ethically shady moves while the NV Bar looks the other way in no time.
ReplyDeleteThink of it this way--this is the last time you will ever need to know anything about Professional Responsibility in Nevada
ReplyDeleteI have taken and passed three separate state bars, including NV. Every state has its own format, but what I learned from all of them (and know from a friend who was a grader in CA) is to avoid bogging down in details, hit the high points, the time flies, so while it may seem that you have time to write the detailed analysis that shows you know it all, better to hit the basics and repeat in five different ways to show you know them (something you will do with motions for bored judges after you begin practicing), then drown in minutae, this is not your favorite prof who loves to know you paid attention to the world's most boring lecture, the graders spend a few minutes on each essay, they look for the high points, give it to them. As for the MBE, I had to take it for two of my bars (one was waived), both times, I could always narrow it down to two answers, one affirmative and one negative (they are great at wording the answers that way), go with your gut, don't agonize and move on, better to answer all then freak and not finish. The prof responsibility question will be so obvious you will just have to point out the problems, think where's waldo, it is not a problem. Once you start practicing, you will be amazed at the people you encounter who bring to mind "they passed the bar???" question and then you will know that pass or fail, the exam does not judge who will be a good lawyer. Good Luck!
ReplyDeleteI may need to take the Bar (as an attorney) in Nevada in February. Is BarBri the preferred bar prep course?
ReplyDelete4:05: Depends on your style. For me it was. I knew I needed something highly structured that would force me to go to lectures and stay on schedule. I knew I wasn't self-disciplined enough to do it on my own. The others I heard were good were self-study - not for me. I say go with BarBri.
ReplyDelete@4:05 -
ReplyDeleteThe problem is that Barbri has a quasi-monopoly on bar prep. Around 90% of examinees take it, so if you don't, your essays will stand out. As you probably know, that isn't a good thing on the bar exam.