I Am Not A Lawyer... Yet.

greekphilosophy — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 15:31:12 -0800

Suggestions for getting the most out of BarBri while staying employed full-time? I'm taking the February 2010 Texas Bar Exam. I'm employed full time (a strict 9-6 schedule) and enrolled in BarBri. I have to do the mobile course because I don't live close enough to a testing site to get there in time for the nightly videos. How do I make the most of this experience while remaining employed full time? Is that possible? Is that stupid?*

Factors to consider:

- I'm not a morning person. I would love to wake up at 5am and start studying for a couple hours before work, but that just isn't going to happen.

- I AM a night person. I can stay up until about 2am just about every night and still function the next day. After 2am I'm pretty much no good.

- I have no children and no responsibilities and I'm pretty clear that a social life is out. I'm okay with that.

- I live 10 minutes from work. No need to factor in a major commute or anything of that nature.

- I did not go to law school in Texas, and I graduated in 2007 so any relevant law school studies are probably either stale or irrelevant.

- My work environment is not conducive to studying. I am a case manager for a social service agency, and I see clients on a walk-in basis. That means that I'm constantly interrupted. My office is also tiled and located next to a children's immunization clinic: their little screams reverberate through my skull all day long.

*I'm fairly certain this is a stupid plan, and I'm fully ready to slash my hours. But before I do that, I need to hear any and all suggestions for how to stay employed full-time while preparing for the bar exam.

Best options for an out-of-country Cal Bar Exam taker?

livii — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 20:04:16 -0800

California Bar Exam: not only out-of-state, but out-of-country. Should I pony up for the Bar/Bri? I have an LL.B. and an LL.M. from good Canadian law schools. I'm planning to take the Cal Bar in July and am just going to make it to the U.S. in time for the start of the Bar/Bri courses. I have no job lined up so will have to pay for it myself, and it currently costs just over 3K. What other options do I have? I can afford to pay for the course if it's necessary, but since I know so little about Bar prep in this jurisdiction I'm hesistant to sign up just because it's the only name I know. If it's the best way, I'm willing, but I'd love a little info on other options as well.

I feel quite flustered by the amount of work ahead of me (I know almost zero American constitutional law, for example) so I want something that will show me exactly what's on the test and where I can learn the law I need for the test. Essay writing and test-taking skills aren't as important to me as the actual law that I'll need to learn; I already know how to do standardized tests and would only want a small portion of the time spent on "tricks", etc.

As a bonus, if you want to recommend books that I should start reading/studying now, I'd be very grateful.

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I Am Not A Lawyer... Yet.

Best options for an out-of-country Cal Bar Exam taker?