Bar Exam Tips: Initials MCs and Evidence MCs

A couple of bar exam tips I was thinking off the top of my head:

You know those first multiple choice problem sets you get from Bar/Bri? The ones that you tend not to do so well on because you just got done with re-learning the law? Sometimes it's not so helpful to plow through them and get a ton wrong that you shouldn't have gotten wrong. What I did was go through these Qs a "bunch" at a time, circling the answers I think were right, and marking my second-best choices. Then, after 5 or so (depending upon how the answers were spaced so I don't accidentally "cheat"), I'd go back to my notes and verify whether my selections were right or not. And then I'd check them against the answers. 

The theory is that I shouldn't self-penalize myself for an answer I was only slightly-off by. Furthermore, why not learn the law while I'm at it instead of trying to blindly convince myself that I was right--and get the law incorrect in my mind? Fix it immediately before you move on, especially if you then later rely upon the incorrect understanding on a subsequent question--thus solidifying that incorrect law in your head. 

Second, really quick tips: When doing those Evidence MCs? Yes, first read the question--and the line or two above the question if necessary to get who's suing who and for what. Then as you read the question, figure out if it's criminal or civil. And make a quick note of that "civ" or "crim." Not that you'll refer back to that note--but just so it's in your head as you get through the question.

Similarly, with Torts questions, jot down "int" or "neg"--it's crucial to know whether you're talking about an intentional tort or negligence.  

Newbie Law: Career Alternatives on Above the Law

The great blog, Above the Law, has a running series on career alternatives for law school graduates. For example, they offer graduates to look to become law librarians, law school administrators, or in law firm recruiting. But these mostly feel like "jobs that you can do with your law degree" as opposed to "jobs you can do because you're really smart and have legal training."

One thing I noticed in law school is that often law school is a "default: good" option for kids who did well in college. But they don't know much about law besides what they see on Law & Order--ADAs and defense attorneys. If they're lucky, they would have seen movies like Michael Clayton. (Any other movies that better portray what law firm associate life is like?)

To an extent, it does the world a disservice to stereotype the legal profession in the purely criminal arena--or even a "law firm" arena. It's similar to the medical profession being reduced to ER doctors. Doctors, though trained in medicine, can still be CEOs or politicians. Likewise, alternative careers for lawyers could be in business and politics. And if you're a do-gooder, than in non-profit administration.

I'd love to see more JDs going into international development--and not as legal scholars, but as administrators of NGOs or political/governmental consultants. That's broadening horizons for law graduates.

Bar Exam Studying Tip: Commercial Flash Cards

So, it's bar exam season. And it's probably about the time (or maybe it's every time) that you start stressing out that you're not getting enough multiple choice answers right--and what did you learn in law school? 

I know it's obvious, but I know a lot of people who don't use these: commercially-produced bar exam flash cards. You can buy a box of these cards covering the MBE for about $100 from Kaplan/PMBR (or $72 from Amazon) or even cheaper ($50) from Law Decks.  Or buy them used online from eBay, Amazon, or Half.com. 

I remember, during some MCs, I was getting like 8-10 out of 18, consistently, which wasn't good enough. But after a few days with the flash cards, I was up to about 14 out of 18 on average--which puts me well in the clear of passing the MBE portion. 

There are many methods of using flash cards, but I used a simple Three Stack Method:

1. I used three colors of rubber bands: green (I know this), blue (I know most of this), and red (I barely know this).
2. I'd go through the entire stack and put each card into the appropriate pile. For green, I had to know the entire card cold--the definition and the common examples. For blue, I knew the general idea but not the details, or I couldn't recall an important example. For red, I just completely flubbed it. 
3. Then, when it came time to study with the cards, which would be whenever I had free time, I'd start with the blue stack. Any blue card that I knew cold, I'd still keep in the blue stack--but after some time, maybe once or twice more, I'd move it to the green stack. 
4. If I had time after going through the blues, I'd hit the reds. 

This method works because (1) the commercial cards are comprehensive, whereas making your own might not be, (2) it trims down your study time by removing cards you know cold (green), and (3) there's no barrier to studying because you can just pull these out any time and just study away.

On top of it all, I *did* create my own cards, but I'll go into that technique in another post.

Good luck with the bar exam studying!

Newbie Law: What is a Pleading?

OK, to start off with, I remember during the beginning days of Civ Pro, wracking my brain trying to figure out, What is a pleading? What's the difference between this specially-treated, mythical "pleading" and a paper, or a motion, or a subpoena?

And I asked my friends, and they all kind of shrugged, as if it wasn't important--and it's not, if all you do is memorize what the professor spits out at you--or they'd suggest that maybe it's something that you file? Well, don't you file "papers?"

These are the kinds of things that people assume that law students should know or that they can easily find out. And I'm sure that there are lawyers (and professors) out there who aren't exactly sure what constitutes a pleading and what doesn't.

And, now, thinking and ranting about this, I'm not sure if *I* know exactly what it is. If I had to define it, I'd say that a pleading is (drumroll)... The complaint or the answer. These two documents set out what each side is "pleaing" of the court.

Everything else is either a motion (but only if it's called a motion) or a paper or some other "document."

I'd also think that "filings" are papers that you file, so a subpoena, which wouldn't necessarily be filed with the court, would *not* be a filing. (And, on a side note, a subpoena, though it collects "evidence" (colloquially) is not "discovery"--but it feels like it, doesn't it?)