The Bar

[matt1978]

DrGonzo:
Wow, sounds as if you had bad luck when it came to getting your MPT assignment.
As for my two (Indiana makes people do two MPT's), the weird MPT was the "persuasive memorandum" one. The assignment was something like this:
"You're a new deputy prosecutor. Joe Doakes has been charged with child endangerment, but the case against him is weak, and the prosecutor thinks there's not enough of a case to justify filing charges. But a more senior deputy prosecutor wants you to write a memo to convince the boss to go ahead and file charges anyway. So here's the file on Joe and some relevant law in this state--write a memo to the prosecutor trying to persuade him to file charges."
I read this, and I think, huh? First, office memos are traditionally supposed to be objective, not persuasive. Second, although I work for a private practice firm (and not the county prosecutor), I'm not going to write a memo to convince the senior partner to change his mind on something! Sure, I might politely express my views, but if the partner ultimately tells me to do X, then I'll shut up and do it.
Oh, and speaking of the bar exam in general... I have no idea what my score was. Indiana only gives you your score if you flunk. I suppose I could get my MBE score from the folks who handle that part, but you know what? I don't care whether I had the minimum passing score or whether I had the top score in the state. All I care about is that I'm getting sworn in next week.
[ 01 November 2002: Message edited by: matt1978 ]

 

[DrGonzoESQ]

CA doesn't give result either, just pass or fail.
Congrats on passing!!
[ 01 November 2002: Message edited by: DrGonzoESQ ]

 

[matt1978]

Originally posted by DrGonzoESQ:
CA doesn't give result either, just pass or fail.
Congrats on passing!!

Thanks! So under what circumstances did you find out that you passed the bar?
According to an attorney at our firm who was admitted about 20 years ago, it was strictly by mail back then. If you got a thin envelope with regular postage, you passed. And if you got a thicker envelope with extra postage, you failed, because they sent you information on sitting for the exam again, and I think they even sent you back your graded essays--this was back when Indiana's bar exam was a set of 20 essays written entirely by our own law examiners. (Back then, some folks who initially failed were then passed by appealing their scores. But now the rules now say no appeals until after your third exam.)
As for me... this time around, the law examiners released the results about a month early by posting a "passed" list to the Internet. I got this cryptic email from a friend saying "Congratulations!" And I'm thinking, "Congratulations for what? He can't be talking about the bar exam... those results aren't due for almost another month." But on a whim, I checked the law examiners website, and there was the July 2002 exam pass list posted, and my name was on it. The next day I received a thick (not thin) envelope at home with my official pass letter and a bunch of paperwork.
It's such a weight off my shoulders to know that I won't have to sit for the exam again next February!
[ 01 November 2002: Message edited by: matt1978 ]

 

[PLURalism]

Originally posted by miamistu:
I have recently sat for two bar exams (passed both New York and Florida). I am a lawyer in NY (where I live) and am still fighting to be admitted in Florida (where I am from).
In NY, the questions much less intrusive and unless u have actually been convicted of a felony, they will probably admit you without a hearing if you answer honestly. (Everyone gets a 15 minute interview which is a total joke. If you show up sober theyll admit you.)
The Florida Bar examiners are a bunch of pricks and ask you to disclose everything from traffic tickets that were dismissed (who even remembers that shit?) to your credit card debt. Its pretty fucking insane.
I am planning on taking the FL bar and I have heard as much. I don't have any skeletons in my closet but I am certainly not looking forward to filling out all those damn forms in addition to studying for the exam.
For those who have taken the exam, which bar prep program did you use, and were you satisfied with it?

 

[matt1978]

Originally posted by PLURalism:

I am planning on taking the FL bar and I have heard as much. I don't have any skeletons in my closet but I am certainly not looking forward to filling out all those damn forms in addition to studying for the exam.
Fortunately, you'll probably have the forms done well in advance of actually studying for the bar. Here in Indiana, where I took the July 2002 bar, my application was due on April 1st, I think, with a "late deadline" of April 15th. (If you submitted your application during the late period, you had to pay $500 to the Law Examiners instead of $250.) My bar application was done and filed well before my final law school exams.

For those who have taken the exam, which bar prep program did you use, and were you satisfied with it?
I used BAR/BRI, which seems to be the giant in the bar review industry. I did so because I was happy with their MPRE review course.
Was I satisfied with it? Well, I passed the bar, so I guess it worked. But I have to confess that I didn't study very much for the bar either... I was too mentally drained after three years of law school, being on the law review, and clerking at a law firm during the school year. Also, I caught a glaring error in BAR/BRI's Indiana Constitutional Law outline, which lowered my confidence in them.
I'm not aware of any other national "full service" bar review companies, so your choices will probably be limited to whatever is offered in Florida. Here in Indiana, if you don't want to do BAR/BRI, you can do the "Indiana Bar Review," which is run by the Indianapolis Bar Association. It was highly recommended by an attorney at my firm... maybe they have to try harder because they're #2? (Think of the old Avis slogan.)
In addition to your "full service" bar review class, you'll probably see ads for something called PMBR, which is a national, supplemental program that focuses solely on the MBE. I used to think that PMBR was just preying on the fears of over-anxious bar examinees. But I had a chance to listen to some of their lectures on CD, and I thought it was good stuff. PMBR will teach you the "tricks" commonly used by the people who write the MBE. And as I've previously explained, you'll want to rock the MBE.
I think, in hindsight, I would have taken the Indiana Bar Review course (the "alternative" course), on the theory that it's Indiana practitioners who teach it, and supplemented it with PMBR to ensure a good MBE score. But I guess it's all moot, since I somehow managed to pass with BAR/BRI and minimal effort on my part.
Good luck!