Three Part Series for Foreign Attorneys On How To Successfully Conquer The Bar Examination

Estimated Reading Time: 2 minutes

We at Fortnight Bar Prep have worked with hundreds of foreign attorneys taking the bar examination for the first time and as repeat bar takers.  If you are a foreign attorney thinking of taking an upcoming bar examination – welcome to our THREE PART SERIES on how to successfully conquer any bar examination.

PART 1 – SUBSTANTIVE PLANNING

The first thing you should do is review the subjects that will be tested on the bar examination you anticipate taking.  Take a look at the National Conference of Bar Examiners website (www.ncbex.org) to familiarize yourself with the different aspects of the bar examination.  Most bar examinations test the following: the MultiState Bar Examination (MBE) – the multiple choice section of the bar exam; a written portion including essays or the MultiState Essay Examination (MEE); and some include a practicum like the MultiState Performance Test (MPT).

Additionally, most states require foreign attorneys to obtain an LL.M or other graduate law degree from an ABA accredited law school in the United States in order to qualify to sit for the bar exam.  Consider taking classes during that graduate law program that will assist you in passing the bar examination. First year law students are generally required to take core curriculum classes and prior to graduation will likely have taken: civil procedure, constitutional law, contracts, criminal law and procedure, evidence, real property and torts.  Many law students will also have taken courses in corporations, family law, decedent’s estates, and professional responsibility.  These are just some of the subjects tested on most bar examinations.

Next, evaluate your personal, educational, and professional background in order to self-assess your substantive knowledge during this planning phase.  If you have no experience with the topics that are tested on your states bar examination then you need to give yourself more than just 2-3 months to prepare for the bar exam.  Remember some bar examinations will test upwards of 20 different topics (including state law distinctions) that you are required to know.  Most bar review courses spend 2-3 days per topic, sometimes less.  It is not impossible to learn a topic in that time frame, but it is extremely difficult to learn every subject in that short amount of time.

A large part of your bar review course will be focused on introducing you to each topic via live lecture or video lecture.  These lectures are 3-4 hours long and are scheduled daily.  In addition to the scheduled lecture for that day, you will be assigned practice questions, have reading assignments, and sometimes written submissions.  If you are expecting to study 3-4 hours after work, which is fine, you are going to struggle to keep up with any bar review schedule.  Inevitably, you will fall behind with your schedule.  Students who fall behind, begin to panic.  Substantive planning is crucial to your success on the bar examination.  Stretch out your study schedule.  We suggest that you  plan on studying earlier than a typical bar student in order to be successful.

Up next, the second post in the series: Your Commitment to Passing the Bar Examination.