How to pass the State section of the Virginia Bar Exam

Excellent advice on how to prepare successfully for the State section of the Virginia Bar Exam here:

When you first realize how much material is being tested on the state sections of the bar exam, you will be overwhelmed. Depending on how you count, the New York Bar Exam has eleven subjects, the California Bar Exam has at least five major subjects, and the Virginia Bar Exam has a whopping twenty plus. The sheer volume of the state materials is frightening, which is compounded by the fact that the state law is entirely new to many of the bar exam takers.

The best way to get past this overwhelm, and to really start concentrating on learning the law, is to very rapidly become familiar enough with the material that you lose all feelings of panic and overwhelm. You need a healthy and realistic view of the bar exam that leads to serious studying but panic and overwhelm are utterly useless emotions that lead to procrastination and fake studying, i.e., going through the motions of studying without actually learning.

With these points in mind, I offer the following method for quickly becoming familiar with the state materials. It only takes a few hours of your study time to implement this method, so you really have nothing to lose by trying it.

First, get a good set of outlines that hit a medium point between a quick attack outline of a page or two and a monster outline with every detail. Generally, a good outline for a state subject should be 10 to 30 pages long in small print.

Second, if you have downloaded outlines off of the internet or borrowed outlines from a friend, put all your outlines in front of you and make sure your materials match what will be tested on the state bar exam. Google the official information page for your state bar exam and check your outlines. You do not need to waste time on a subject that is not being tested.

Third, purchase three highlighters in three different colors. Pick up the first outline and take a look at how it is organized, how the headings are set up, etc. Go through and highlight the top level headings in one color, the second level headings in another color, and the third level headings in another color. Do this with all of your outlines.

Fourth, make quick mini-outlines of all your outlines with the first, second and third level headings. This should not take too long; just write it out if that is quicker than sitting down at the computer.

Fifth, move away from your usual study area and find your TV chair or other relaxing spot. Take out your mini-outlines and look them over in a relaxed way. Count the headings and sub-headings. Arrange them by length and alphabetically. If you are taking a review course, look over your syllabus and put your mini-outlines in the order they will be covered in class. See what rings a bell from law school and what seems totally new. Ask yourself questions: Which subject looks easy? Which one looks hard? What could that new term mean? Why are there eight subheadings about something called section 2003 FGRPN? Just get comfortable with the material!

Sixth and last, do a rapid read through of the longer outlines. Get a timer and give yourself about thirty seconds per page. Use a pencil to mark sections that seems confusing or interesting. Mark areas that will probably require sheer memorization. Basically, mark the outlines in a way that makes sense to you. You are doing this with an eye towards familiarity, not toward actually getting the subject down pat, so do not stress about actually learning anything at this point.

It should take no more than a few hours to do all of the above, but the pay-off will be enormous. Familiarly is a key concept in learning. The more you see and play around with the state materials, the less daunted you will be by the sheer volume. If you follow these guidelines, you will be more prepared in a day than most people are in the first month of studying.

Virginia Bar – a test focusing on both breadth and depth

Found the following helpful advice here:

The Virginia bar exam is a grueling two day event.  On the first day, there are nine essays and twenty short answer questions which emphasize Virginia law.  The particular subjects tested are Agency, Commercial Paper, Conflict of Laws, Constitutional Law, Contracts, Corporations, Creditors Rights, Criminal Law and Procedure, Domestic Relations, Equity, Federal Practice,  Local Government Law, Partnerships, Personal Property, Professional Responsibility, Real Property, Sales, Secured Transactions, Suretyships, Taxation, Torts, Trusts, UCC, Virginia Practice, and Wills and Estates. The second day is the MBE (Multistate Bar Exam) portion of the exam, which consists of 200 questions covering six subjects: contracts, constitutional law, torts, property, evidence, and criminal law and procedure.

There is a misconception among bar exam takers that the Virginia bar exam is more about breadth than depth and that, consequently, the Virginia exam is easier.  Comments have been made that the questions on say, the California or New York bar exams, are tougher and require more analysis.  I heartily disagree with this notion.  The questions on the state portion of Virginia bar exam require knowledge of minute details, such as deadlines, exceptions to exceptions, and so forth.  This is compounded by the fact that there is a whopping  twenty-five subjects. (Although there is much overlap with the material tested on the MBE, it should be noted that some subjects, such as Wills and Estates are really two subjects: wills and the administration of estates are quite different.)  Students studying for the Virginia Bar Exam should view the test as one of both breadth and depth.

I am sometimes asked for my best tip for the Virginia bar exam.  The one piece of sage advice I have, especially for those who are just graduating from law school, is to not be afraid of digging into the Virginia code. (Students who are just graduating feel much more comfortable with caselaw and outlines than with statutes.)  Remember that any outline  you have is simply a paraphrasing of the statute.  In trying to make the statutes more concise, meaning can easily be lost.  The best way to study is to have an outline but to make frequent reference to the Virginia Code, which is written is a very straightforward way.  This is particularly true for certain subjects, such as wills or Virginia Practice. (For study materials and more information about the Virginia Bar Exam, see VirginiaStateBarExam.com)

Study Tip #2

From Blawgin, posted at http://studyfor.com/bar-exam/tips-studying-bar-exam-942/:

Ahh, here we go…yet another post on what someone did to pass the bar exam. I do not delude myself in thinking that I know the magic formula to passing this thing. Not at all. But I put this up in hopes that it provides insight and reassurance to those who are studying. For me, I appreciated knowing what people were doing daily because it made me feel like I was on the right track as well. I’m not going to tell you how many hours a day to study or what books you should use. I’ll list the books I used because I’ve done extensive research on these books, as well as various programs and tutors, and I’ve had the unfortunate experience of having tried many different things. So others should benefit from my costly endeavors and use that time to, you got it, study or do something else for your state of mind. At this point, you all know your studying “style.” I can tell you I went to library from 9-5 every day with 30 minutes for lunch and no breaks and if that’s not your style, you’re not going to do it. Instead, I’ll tell you what books I tried and which programs I used along with how I coped mentally. This and that may pique your interest and work for you. Other things will not. Everyone is different, so use the information available to you to formulate your own unique plan! Study Environment: I’m compulsive. I really want to be able to go to a library at 9:00 after a healthy breakfast and settle in to a day of studying, treating it like a “job.” But I can’t. So I studied in a variety of ways. I really liked studying at home because I didn’t have to wash up or prep, and I could always have something to eat or drink handy. I also like it cozy and dark with one lone study light shining across my books. Sometimes I’d burn a candle. Starting off this way got a couple of hours of studying “out of the way” so to speak. When I was no longer being productive, I’d wash up, pack all my stuff, and go to a bookstore. Since I already got a few hours of studying in, I didn’t feel so bad about taking the time to do this. I’d get some books or magazines and use those as study breaks. And let me tell you, some of those breaks were loooong. Yes, I felt guilty. I’d usually have a bowl of soup or something and stay for 4 hours or so. Then I’d try to get to the gym for a little bit, go home and unwind, and then try to get 1-2 more passive studying in. All in all, it probably took me 14 hours to do about 5-6 hours of solid work. Efficient? No. But I was admittedly tired of the process and no longer filled with the energy and optimism of the first time takers. And my problems with the exam were not writing or the MBEs. Mine were about luck, psyche, and getting the black letter law. This meant I didn’t really have to write out full essays over and over again. I had to memorize, so this plan worked for me.

Tip #1: How to Pass the Bar Exam

Reprinted from http://www.wikihow.com/Pass-the-Bar-Exam.

1. Study only from the mistakes you make on MBE practice questions and by comparing your essays with sample essays provided by your prep course. DO NOT SPEND HOURS READING OUTLINES. READ THEM ONCE. THEN THROW THEM OUT AND START PRACTICING! Still, you should prepare and memorize your own one page outlines that cover particular bar subjects. The bar examination measures how well you spot the issues in the question and a mental outline gives you a checklist for those issues.

Welcome to Passing the Bar, a blog for all July bar takers!

Welcome to PassingtheBar, a blog for all July bar takers!

Two weeks into BarBri study, an unmotivated law student got this idea from talking with his classmates, especially his roommate, who frankly depressed him with a continuous display of worriness, mild symptoms of stress, and a religiously devoted study schedule.  So this blog was born.  It is for the motivated and the unmotivated, the studious and lazy learners.  Our goal is to create an environment for resource-sharing, motivation and peer support.

After three years of law school, this is the last hurdle.  It’s tough.  But together, we will pass the bar. And enjoy ourselves getting there.

Shall we begin, guys and gals?