Passing the California bar exam...

Well, I know what that's like. Because I did it. (!!!)

I found out at 6pm last night that I passed the bar. This was after spending several nervous hours and several hundred dollars at the mall because I just couldn't wait at home anymore. SP looked up the results for me on the computer and told me when I was in the car on the way home, at a stoplight. I screamed. I laughed. I fist-pumped. I "whohooed." And then I cried. They were tears of happiness and relief -- the end of a long, sometimes terrible journey was here. I thought back to all the stress, self-doubt, anger, and work, and was just relieved that it was all behind me and that I NEVER HAVE TO TAKE A LAW EXAM AGAIN.

Of course, now I'm thinking about tomorrow, and preparing my heart for hearing who among those I know did not pass. I am very mindful of how that could have been me, and my heart is breaking today for those who worked so hard, only to be disappointed.

I'm finding it hard to concentrate and focus today at work, which is understandable I guess. I'm going to just enjoy this as long as I can, and be proud of all that I have accomplished.

More Mnenomics; Last Night At Home Before the Exam

At the request of my hockey teammate Amy, here are the other hockey mnenomics that I came up with to remember the bar stuff.

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First Amendment (Speech) Rules: There are three separate ways to analyze a statute to determine whether it unconstitutionally inhibits free speech (I promise if you have studied for the bar exam these make sense):

Method #1 -- Facial Attack
Federov's Overt Velocity Proves Unsettling
Facial Attack
Overbreadth
Vagueness
Prior Restraint
Unfettered Discretion

Method #2 -- Restraint on Specific Content of Speech
Sadness Pervades Selanne's Upcoming Retirement
Specific (content)
Protected Speech
Strict Scrutiny
Unprotected Speech
Regulation (by government) Lawful

Method #3 -- Content-Neutral Regulation of Speech
Nabokov Tries Pushing Mountains, Mostly Fails
Neutral (content)
Time
Place
Manner
Middle-Tier
Forum Types

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Mnenomics for Trusts

Tucker Probably Can't Produce Hat Tricks
Types
Private Express
Charitable
Pour Over Wills
Honorary
Totten

(PS -- I am obviously a fan of neither Tucker nor the Leafs)

Raising Stanley, Selanne's Ducks Enjoyed Raucous Celebrations
Restrictions
Spendthrift
Support
Discretionary
Equity
Resulting
Constructive

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General Evidence Issues (as opposed to hearsay exceptions, which I listed in an earlier post):

Roy Left, Logically Fuming -- Nobody Cared About Bad Defense
Relevance
Legal
Logical
Foundation
Notice
Competency
Authentication
Burden
Determination

For Mean, Reckless Play, Every Player Hates Pronger
Form
Method
Response
Purpose
Exclusions
Privilege
Hearsay
Parol Evidence

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That's all I've got. I probably should have done more, but oh well.

I am feeling pretty much "oh well" at this point. I am tired, worn out, and calm after this day of napping, shopping at the mall, and going to to dinner and drinking wine.

I am ready to go and "get 'er done" as they say. My gosh, I'm sick of talking about it, thinking about it, and worrying about it. I need to just rest and be calm, because I'm pretty well-prepared. I won't get the top score, but I should do okay.

Tommorrow, we're off to the hotel. Let the adventure begin!

Apparently, I rock!!

My friend Sue named me a Rockin' Girl Blogger. Sue and I go way back to my San Diego days when we worked together. What an honor that she chose me as a Rockin' Girl!

This was just the boost I needed with two days left to go before the exam. 7:30am and I've been at it for an hour already -- I have a lot of nervous energy and am a bit panicked because there is still so much I don't know. But it's getting too late to concern myself with all by now.

I went to the gym yesterday for the first time in ages and ran for 40 minutes. I barely thought about the test at all while I was doing that, and by the end I felt a billion times better. I'm going back today for more. My brain is pretty full at this point and I think I just need some time to absorb what I've learned and to let the rest go as much as possible.

Ready for it to be here and be over so I can get my life back.

6 days away

So this time next week I will be 2/3 done. Small comfort, considering there is still so much I don't know. I keep thinking about the PMBR guy on the Property CD who kept saying "You can't know everything!" Indeed. But I just feel like there is so much I still don't know, and I effectively only have a few days of studying left.

I am taking people's general advice and quitting studying on Sunday afternoon. I have to go to the mall and get a new watch. I will also need to go to decompress at that point because I will pretty much be a wreck by then. I keep reminding myself how much luckier I am than a lot of people, and I don't have to pass the bar to keep my job. But I have spent every day for the last two months studying for this thing, and it would be a major bummer to fail it.

I have had a pretty good studying day today though. I really did a lot with wills and trusts and finally feel like I can handle an essay. Of course that means I probably sacrificed a bunch of other things. But the time left is so limited that I can only do and learn so much more at this point.

I have barely done anything with the California distinctions in evidence and civ pro, and I think I will be reviewing them briefly this weekend in hopes that will suffice. I do have short outlines with each subject that have the distinctions in those comment bubbles, but I've barely looked at those outlines since I made them a few weeks ago because there was so much else to get done.

I'm in a constant battle to assure myself that I've done enough. I did not really put in 12-15 hours days every day on studying for this thing, like I have heard some people say that they do. It's just too boring. I studied on my own between 4 and 8 hours a day, and I heard every BarBri lecture except one. I have done over 1600 MC questions at this point, and will probably do less than 2000 by the time the studying is over (I've seen websites that suggest doing 3000 -- that's not going to happen here). I have written a bunch of essays, and will have done 5 performance tests by the end of this week. I never run out of time, and by now I am writing concise essays that address all the issues in most subjects in 45 minutes.

That is going to have to do. I think preparation is important, and I have devoted two months to preparing. But I have also spent two months trying to convince myself that I'm smart enough to handle whatever comes my way with a reasonable amount of grace and coherence, and with as little panic as possible.

You can't know everything. Let's just hope that by Tuesday I'll know enough.

Barristers Bid Farewell to Wigs

Interesting article in the UK Times online about doing away with wigs for English barristers.

I kind of like the idea of trial lawyers have a uniform, like a wig and a gown, to lend solemnity to the whole occasion. So I am sad about this change. But I'm sure the government is happy to be going away with the wig allowance. I knew they were expensive but I didn't realize they were $5K expensive!

I have been thinking a lot about my Comparative Law class from last semester. Not only did we talk a lot about the English legal system, including barrister wigs, but we also briefly covered Chinese law, and one of the assigned readings was the Chinese constitution, which I think is one of the biggest pieces of propoganda fluff ever committed to paper. I was thinking about that yesterday, when I saw in the NY Times the confession of the Chinese equivalent of the USDA, who was executed recently for taking bribes. It's a fascinating piece of writing by this condemned man who, probably, based on a few other articles I've read about it, really had the country's best interests at heart and just got greedy. In China they don't mess around with that kind of stuff -- you do something like this, you pay the ultimate price.

I bet Duke Cunningham, the former Congressman from San Diego (only in San Diego could a guy like that get elected to so many terms) sure is glad that he lives in America and not China.

Bar studying, of course, continues. I feel at this point like I need to learn the law, make up more mnenomics, and keep pushing forward. But I also kind of feel like reviewing the law is a colossal waste of time at this point because I need to do a million more essays so that I have seen as much as possible and don't panic. They kept telling us in Barbri that the graders really don't care if you know the law or not, but I'm sure they want you to at least know the elements so you can spot issues. If you don't know the minimum contacts test elements for personal jurisdiction, how can you expect to get any points for a PJ answer? So I am pressing on with trying to stuff my brain with as many elements as I can, and then trying to remember them when I do practice essays.

I am also really looking forward to playing hockey this week. I have not really exercised at all and feel fat and lazy. An hour on the ice should cure some of that, at least.

Making up hockey mnenomics makes bar studying (kind of) fun

Okay, only kind of fun. But I came up with some cool ones to remember all the hearsay exceptions. These are rules in evidence that allow hearsay (out-of-court statement offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted) to be admissible anyway. Hearsay is generally inadmissible if it is being offered for truth because it is not reliable (no chance to cross-examine the declarant or otherwise confirm if the declarant was making up the statement).

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Non-Hearsay Under the Federal Rules:
Niedermeyer Notices Incoming Crosby, Inhibits Attack
N = Non-admission
N = Not offered for truth
I = Inconsistent statement (prior) under oath
C = Consistent statement prior to rebut charge that witness is lying
I = ID (prior)
A = Admission by Party Opponent

Hearsay Exception -- Declarant is Unavailable to Testify
Unusual Flopping Dominator Stops Pucks Specially
(U stands for unavailable)
F = Former Testimony
D = Dying Declaration
S = Statement Against Interest
P = Personal/Family History
S = Statement offered against party procuring witness unavailability

Hearsay Exception -- Declarant Availability Immaterial
There are a lot of these, so 2 separate phrases needed:

#1 -- Senator Emery Prefers Punching Rival Backstops
S = State of Mind
E = Excited Utterance
P = Present Sense Impression
P = Physical condition (medical diagnosis/treatment)
R = Recorded Recollection
B = Business Records

#2 -- Palffy Always Left Rearguards Flailing
P = Public Records
A = Ancient Documents
L = Learned Treatises
R = Reputation
F = Family Records

***********************************************************************

At this point, it's about whatever makes the boredom a little less, whatever makes the rules a little easier to remember, and whatever it takes to survive with the bar exam a mere 13 days away.

Supreme Court Term Ends, Bar Studying Continues

An excellent (and short) article in the New Yorker by Jeffrey Toobin about the Supreme Court. Their term ended today. They've caused us to have to bid a sorry farewell to certain abortion rights, free speech rights, and affirmative action programs. Since I am studying right now for the bar I have not had time to read opinions, but I will after the studying ends and I've had a few stiff drinks.

I get so sad when I think about the Supreme Court now -- especially Justice Ginsburg. I can just see her sitting there, tiny and fuming (or maybe just sad, at this point), wondering how everything has gone so wrong.

Yes, this is what we got with a 2nd Bush term, and it's not going to change anytime soon. The anti-choice and homophobic zealots on the right must be absolutely salivating at this point. They probably figure it will only take another one or two years for Justice Kennedy to complete his switch to the dark side. Then anyone who's interested in equality and rights for anyone except white guys and corporations can just go and sit in the corner and cry in their beer. That day is not very far away.

Thank goodness the Republicans do not have strong candidates for the 2008 election. If we get another Republican in office then it's REALLY all over. Either Justice Stevens or Justice Ginsburg will probably be the next to go, and there are plenty of judges currently on the federal bench who will have no problem taking a SCOTUS appointment if it means acting as a puppet for a conservative administration. So much for separation of powers and judicial independence.

I'm just depressed. And on top of that it's almost 9am and I haven't started bar studying for the day yet. I try to do three essays a day, as well as doing some MC questions, without watching too many Will & Grace reruns that are stored in my Tivo. I am pretty familiar, at least generally, with the law in a lot of areas at this point. It's just a matter of practicing as much as possible at this point, and memorizing more and more while getting the techniques down.

I still hate Bar/Bri, especially for subjecting us to what was quite possibly the worst lecture in the history of legal studies -- last night's Remedies fiasco. I have a brilliant 60-page Remedies outline from my class last Spring. I could have stayed home and read that a few times and learned infinitely more.

I just want it to be over so I can get my life back.

Bar Exam Studying -- Writing an Evidence Essay

Ugh.....

I just attempted to write my first essay for Evidence. I find Evidence essays really hard to write and organize. There appears to be a few different ways you can do it. I tend to talk about relevance of the evidence offered generally, than the form that this evidence takes, whether it is proper for it to be presented in that form, and if so whether there are any exceptions to admissibility of the evidence.

Of course Bar/Bri's sample answers do it totally differently, and they would admit a lot of stuff I would keep out. It makes me feel like my approach is totally wrong, which is very frustrating. It's hard enough to organize an evidence essay without thinking you're on the right track and doing it in a way that makes sense to you, only to read the sample answer and see that you totally messed up.

Bar/Bri has not been everything I hoped it would be. Granted, I know that most people who take Bar/Bri pass the bar exam. But they expect it to be a real review, and that you already know everything and just need a few hours of lecture to be able to answer really hard questions. I don't learn that way. I'm just not smart enough to pull that off. I do things much more slowly, a lot with open book in the beginning, to give myself a chance to process it all and make sure I am not learning rules the wrong way. I feel like a total Bar/Bri failure because I can't do their schedule all the way as quickly as they want us to. I know other people are having this experience as well. But it's just discouraging.

And now I have to deal with having written a totally crappy Evidence essay and without a real stand-by method to use in the future. I'm going to have to figure out how to do it. But not tonight. It's 12:30am and I'm tired so it will have to wait until the morning.

Bar Exam Blues

Very dark days in the BP/SP household. I hate studying for the Bar Exam because Bar/Bri gives you more work than you can do, which so overwhelms and discourages me that I don't feel like doing any of it. Very depressed and low right now with the exam just over 50 days away.

However, other people's blogs can sometimes make you feel better. This one (written by someone in Indiana who passed the bar last year -- all her bar related posts are in the site linked above) is excellent. I felt better after reading it.

So apparently your grade on the bar exam does matter (to some)

I realize that by posting this, readers who don't know me will now know where I went to law school. But I can't resist.

Apparently PEPPERDINE alum Land Murphy got the highest score on the Texas Bar exam. Land was the legend of the law school when I was a 1L and he was a 3L. I think he ended up getting one of the higest GPAs in its history, or something (but that distinction might go to some other smart guy who went to Pepperdine -- it's hard to keep straight all the rumors that float around that place). I don't know.

He seems to be equally prolific at taking bar exams as law school exams.

What I think is funny/interestng about this story is that he was a bit concerned about some of the essay questions and THOUGHT HE MIGHT END UP FAILING. This just shows what a self-esteem-killer the legal education and qualification process can be. Even if you have genius-level grades and kick everyone else's butt, self-doubt is never very far away. I'm glad he told that story actually, because it shows SELF-DOUBT HAPPENS....even to the best of us.

I don't mean to make light of Land's accomplishment. I know from 2 weeks of doing Bar-Bri that the bar exam is really really really really hard. It will be the most difficult thing I will ever undertake. So to get the highest score in the state is an amazing accomplishment.

Of course I will never get a good enough score to have a story published about me and it on the law school website ("Well, not with that attitude you won't..." would be SP's response to that remark). But that might be a good thing -- too much pressure. The older I get, the more I realize that MORE pressure is really the last thing I need -- I impose plenty of it on myself without any outside help.

Justice Ginsburg

Fascinating article in the NY Times today about the new (and improved, I think) Justice Ginsburg. Are Alito and Roberts the final straws as far as she is concerned? It's an interesting idea that she is no longer willing to play nice and conciliatory, as she was when Rehnquist was CJ, and has become more and more alarmed at the behavior of the new guys on the block, so much so that she has delivered TWO oral dissents from the bench this term (more than during any other term).

I have written about the abortion decision dissent before in this blog (the post was called, if memory serves, "Enough Already"). Now, this week, she is again pointing out that laws designed to protect women are not necessarily enforced in a way that best protects women's interests anymore. This latest ruling (disclaimer -- I have not read the opinion, only news reports about it) apparently denied the right of a woman who worked for Goodyear to file a sex discrimination claim against them. Apparently she was routinely discriminated against (earning less than her male co-managers for many years), but according to the Court her claim was not filed in a timely matter, and the aim of the law is not to protect women, but to protect businesses from having to defend against stale claims. Since when do businesses need MORE protection from punishment for being involved in discriminatory behavior, especially blatant gender discrimination?

So here's a big shout-out to the Court's might minority -- Justices Ginsburg, Souter, Stevens, and Breyer. It was Ginsburg's dissent, but the fellas joined her in it (as they did in the abortion case), showing a very decent understanding for women's concerns and not giving in to the government or big business. I'm sure it has been really a hard decision for someone like Justice Ginsburg, who according to news articles puts a premium on decorum and tact, to issue her dissents orally. But thank goodness she did it, and thank goodness she didn't have to stand alone in doing so.

Update from the Esq.

Haha, I promise that is the last time I will refer to myself as "Esq." Yes, I graduated from law school on Friday, May 18th. What a wonderful day! Lots of friends and family were there to wish me well, and I had some lovely time off during which I read some non-law books and watched a lot of TV. Of course that was too good to last.

Now I am in the beginning of the hell known as BARBRI. For the uninitiated, this is a very expensive program that everyone who wants to pass the bar exam subjects themselves to during the summer after graduating from law school. I go to classes and do homework every day -- just like law school. UGH. I answer practice test questions, make outlines, memorize rules, and try not to waste too much time (like I am now by writing in my blog), just like in law school. This will be my life for the next two months, until the test itself. SUPER UGH.

Yes, the California Bar Exam -- the days of reckoning for me are July 24-26, 2007. That's right. California is the only state in the nation with a 3-day exam (even NY only has 2 days). This is probably because of all the California-specific subjects they test us on, of which they have added TWO for the first time for the upcoming test (California Evidence and California Civil Procedure --- we have to know that in addition to the federal rules in both of these subjects).

I am trying to get into a routine. I get up and try to be at my desk studying by 8:30am, study through the morning, then have a break for lunch, a shower, and short nap. Then back to it for a few more hours. Then fight the traffic out to Woodland Hills to sit in a tiny conference room at the Holiday Inn from 6pm until 10pm, watching lectures on a large TV. The indignity! Over $3K paid for the privilege and we have to watch the classes on TV. Oh well, I only want to take the exam once so I need to pass it in July. Which I hope I can. The brilliance is you just have to pass. No one cares what your grade is (unlike in law school). How refreshing. But it's a hell of a lot of work and I foresee very little fun from now until 6pm on July 26th. At least SP promised me a trip to Vegas after it's all over.

Another update -- I will be working as a reference librarian in the law school library starting on 8/1. I accepted their job offer a few weeks ago and can't wait to start making $ again. This means, of course, I need to get a library degree. There are some (mainly) online programs, and I applied to one. We'll see if I get in there and how that will all work out. Because of the horror stories of blogging about one's employer, I will continue to keep this blog as anonymous as I have before (although those who know me will know it's, well, me).

My final bit of news -- grades. I have spent 5 semesters bitching about my sucky law school grades, straight B's and C's with 2 A's thrown in by a fluke (yes, 2 A's in 5 semesters). Somehow, however, the stars aligned for me this semester and I got all A's and made the Dean's List, including the highest grade given in my Comparative Law class. How that happened I will never know. I personally think all the other 3Ls in my classes stopped working hard, but because I am a freak I did (could) not. I also know I changed my strategy a bit this semester and pounded the practice essays after finishing my outlines early. They told us to do that during first year, of course. But I am stubborn and it took me 3 years to believe them that that actually works. TRUST ME PEOPLE, IT DOES. I am far from a stellar law student, but I managed to run the table my last semester of law school. Keep the faith, keeping working hard, don't give up or doubt yourself, and it can happen for you too.

These Girls Are Golden

So my hockey team won last Friday, 7-0. But it wasn't just any victory. It was game 3 of the best 2-out-of-3 series against the Silver Team for the championship of our league's Winter season. These girls brought it (as indicated by the score and the 5 different goal scorers). I have never been prouder of them, or to be a part of a hockey game, than I was last Friday.

I'm hoping that victory translates into success here in my last few weeks of law school. One final (Remedies) done, two more (Corporations and Comparative Law) to go, and I have to turn in a paper in my International Litigation class. Then it's over. Not that I need to do well at this point -- as long as I pass, I graduate. But I want the satisfaction of knowing I did my best all the way to the end.

Graduation is going to be one great day.

Enough Already

Okay, NBC has had the pictures and video from the VA Tech psycho for a few hours now, and that crazy guy is sneering at me from practically every news Web site. Why glorify him? He was just a sad, sick, twisted person. My heart is still breaking for the people this lunatic butchered. But I don't think it's necessary to plaster him and his deranged rantings and "justifications" for what he did all over the media. What a nightmare, all the way around.

Although I suppose by blogging about it I'm contributing too. I'm just really tired of seeing his beady hate-filled eyes staring at me whenever I get on the Internet.

The worst, I fear, is yet to come.

Speaking of ENOUGH ALREADY, SCOTUS handed down an abortion rights decision today that, the way I see it, is just step #1 toward the eventual elimintation of a woman's right to choose abortion. And don't think for one minute that they'll stop there. I see a Bush Court as being generally hostile toward the rights of women, other disadvantaged and minority groups, animals, etc. I see them also generally being overly protective of the rights of the executive, corporations, etc. That is not something to celebrate unless you're a rich, white, conservative man, which most of the people in my world (except for my father) are NOT.

I wish I'd been in the Court to hear Justice Ginsburg deliver her dissent directly from the bench. It must have been so powerful to hear. Obviously she was a passionate voice of reason in the middle of the madness.

Prince William

Hmmm....

So apparenly Prince William broke up with his GF.

Now, if you were this Kate, and you had the chance to marry Prince William, wouldn't you find a way to work things out?

Just asking.....

I mean, maybe he's a jerk, or self absorbed, or plays around. Who knows? What I do know is he's hot, British, and richer than God. I, for one, would find a way to hold onto that guy.

But of course such concerns are merely hypothetical, since I'm married to the wonderful SP. :-)