Monthly Archives: March 2012

Overview

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The California bar exam is one of the most difficult exams that you will ever take and many people spend hundreds of hours studying and trying to pass this exam. If you want to practice law in California the California bar exam is critical to that goal.

What will be tested

Another thing to be aware of is that the essay questions of the California Bar Exam could involve issues in more than an MBE subject. In addition, certain things could be tested in the essays, some of which are your knowledge of:

-          National majority

-          Important minority rules of corporations, civil procedure, wills, professional responsibility and trusts.

-          Community property, which is also a subject which comprehensively tests California law (meaning statutory law and case law), though the knowledge of some other California rules in professional responsibility and wills

-          Relevant remedies on the various rights previously studied by you

Tips for studying for the California bar exam

The California bar exam is taken after extensive classes and studying for the exam. When you have the hours in the classroom it is still critical to study for the exam. The class knowledge is normally not enough to pass the exam.

Many people have to take the test numerous times before they pass so while you are taking the exam it is critical to weigh your strengths and weaknesses so if you have to retake the exam you will be better prepared the next time.

As with any exam or test when you are attempting to pass the California bar exam you need to heed test taking tips such as getting plenty of rest the night before the exam and eating a healthy breakfast. You can also do basic relaxation to help you get through the anxiety.

Knowing the layout of the California bar exam is crucial. You take the exam over a three day period and it is a total of eighteen hours. The first day consists of three essay questions and one performance test, the second day consists of more than 100 multi-state bar exam questions and one hundred MBE bar exam questions and the third day consists of three essay questions and one performance test. This is a very involved test and the length alone is intimidating. If you can make it through the exam and pass you can practice law in California which is the goal.

Subject areas of the test; constitutional law, contracts, criminal law, evidence, real property, torts, wills, trusts, civil procedures, community property, professional responsibility, business law, corporation law, agency, partnership, limited liability and remedies. These are the major areas where you will be tested.

The California bar exam may be the most difficult exam you will ever take. It also holds the key to your future as an attorney. If you cannot pass the exam then you will obtain your goal of being an attorney. There are programs to assist you with this goal as well as classes to help along the way.

July 2011 California Bar Exam Statistics

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In July 2011, there were a total of 6,312 total first time takers of the California bar exam.  Of those first timers, 68.4% passed the exam (4318 individuals).

2540 individuals were taking the exam again and of those, only 17.9% passed (454).  Overall, there were 8,852 individuals who take the July test.  The overall passage rate was 53.9% (4772 individuals).

Those who attended a California ABA approved school had a passage rate of 76.2%.

If you look at the overall passage rate of 68.4% that shows you how hard the exam is in California.  Attending a very good school does not guarantee that you will pass the bar exam.  For example, there were 108 graduates from Stanford Law School who took the test and 12 of them did not pass the exam.  Berkeley had 222 students taking the exam and 193 passed.

The odds are really against those taking the bar exam on multiple occasions.  A 17.9% passage rate among repeat takers is really scary.  That is why it is really important to prepare and to study hard to pass the exam on your first time because it gets harder with each subsequent attempt.  Adding to the degree to difficult is the added stress and the fact that you are no longer in school and lack the luxury of time to prepare for the test.

Different types of California Bar Exam

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In California, there are three types of bar exam that you need to prepare for depending on where you went to law school.  The first one, which every one needs to take is the Professional Responsibility Examination.  It’s a multiple choice exam focusing on professional rules of conduct.  You have to take and pass this exam before you can register for the real bar exam to get your license to practice.

The second exam is what is known as the Baby Bar Exam (First Year Law Student Examination).  Those who attend a non-credited law school have to take the Baby Bar Exam and pass it before they can eventually take the real exam.  This exam is to make sure that those attending a non credited law school understanding the first year law school course work adequately before they can proceed to the second year of their legal study and eventually take the full bar exam.

Those taking the Baby Bar Exam will need to find a good prep course as the exam is very difficult and not that easy.  Don’t let the Baby Bar name fool you.  We will talk more about the Baby Bar Exam on another date.

Lastly, there is a bar exam that everyone needs to prepare for and pass to become an attorney.  It’s a three day exam.

So those are the type of exams that one might need to take to become an attorney.

Admission to practice law in California

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In order to practice law in California, one must complete the necessary general law course in law school, register with the Committee of Bar Examiners to take the California bar exam, either attend a California accredited law school or pass the First Year Law Student (baby bar) exam; pass the California Bar examination, file for an application and receive a positive review for moral character; take and pass the Multistate Professional Responsibility exam; be in compliance with California court ordered child or family support obligations; and take the attorney oath.

Sounds easy right?  Well by the time you are ready to take the bar exam in California, you should have already taken and passed your Professional Responsibility exam, submitted your moral character application and only need to prepare for the bar exam itself.

After graduating law school, about the hardest thing you need to do is prepare for and pass the California Bar exam.

Welcome to California Bar Exam!

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The California Bar Exam is considered one of the hardest bar exam to take in the United States.  The New York and California Bar exam are generally considered the hardest to pass with the highest rate of examinees each year with the highest failure rate.  So if have just finish law school, you need to take taking the California bar exam very serious and set up a rigid study schedule to prepare.  We are here to help provide some insight and guidance to help those preparing for the California Bar exam.