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#barpreplife: Preparing to Prepare for the Bar Exam

GUEST BLOG by Harrison Thorne,
Graduate of  UCLA Law

Before taking the Bar Exam, I want to make sure my house is in order.

To do so, I am making sure that all of my tasks are completed, my house is clean, and that I have a plan for taking care of my dog.  Luckily, I have an amazing girlfriend to help out along the way, but nonetheless, I want to get everything done ahead of time, so I can dedicate all my energy to the Bar.

Here is a checklist I came up with for myself, but most of these things can be modified for you.

  1. Make sure my computer is working
  2. Get a printer, load up on paper
  3. Make sure finances are taken care of
  4. Make a Schedule
    1. I have created a schedule with daily “free-time” tasks, including time with friends and family, gym, etc. I will modify if needed, but I wanted to schedule these things in.
  5. Let my family know I will be less reachable – especially during the day
  6. Get my car maintenance done (oil change)
  7. Stock up on non-perishable groceries
  8. Have fun the week before the Bar Prep course begins

I believe that a bit of prep now will save a lot of time and stress once Barbri’s prep course begins.  I’m going to knock all these items off my list, and then have some downtime, before diving headfirst into Bar Prep!

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#The1Llife: NARROWING YOUR LIS[Z]T, PART II

GUEST BLOG by Dani Gies,
1L at UCLA School of Law

NARROWING YOUR LIS[Z]T, PART II (Hungarian Rhapsody No.2)

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This is a continuation of my last post, trying to help 0Ls decide which law school to attend!

  1. Programs: I’ve mentioned this in a previous post, but if you know what type of law you want to go in to, look for law schools with that program. I’m not talking about one sentence on their webpage that says they’re committed to Public Interest. I’m talking about a demonstrated commitment to the area of the law you want to practice. Ask the students you talked to because you read my last post what the school’s actual commitment is. Follow the law school on Twitter. I only applied to four schools and after I nixed one of them because of location (i.e., not in California), I started comparing their Twitter feeds. While all three schools purported to place a heavy emphasis on Public Interest Law, one of them never tweeted about it, only tweeting big law and intellectual property-related material. That told me a lot about the programming they were hosting and what they valued when showing their wares.
  2. After Graduation: I want to stay in Los Angeles and practice law here when I graduate. As such, every connection I make is a potential employer or resource, which makes the value of my networking feel much greater. It also makes learning the California Civil Code in some classes way more useful. However, I have some classmates who came to UCLA knowing that they are going to return to another state. For most of them, it was for the programs UCLA offers that aren’t available at the schools in the state where they want to practice. I don’t have advice on which one is better, except to suggest that you take it into account when making your decision.
  3. Other Priorities: Do you want to get a dual degree? What about taking other classes offered outside of the law school? Do you want to leave the door open to moving later, and thus care more about going to a “national” school as opposed to one that’s known regionally? Are there particular faculty members you want to work with? Do you want to study abroad? The more nuanced the item on your list, harder you may need to look for it. Law schools can differ greatly in their offerings, so don’t just assume that every school will have what you want.

If you have any more questions, please tweet me @The1Llife! I would be happy to talk to you about your decision. Congratulations, and good luck!

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#barpreplife: One Point

GUEST BLOG by Gianna Venticinque,
Graduate of Northern Illinois College of Law

“ these are not matters of life and death.
Keep that in perspective.
If you had to, you would simply take the exam again.
Unlike so many other settings, here you get do-overs.”

—Professor Paula Franzese

Happy Spring (sort of)! I hope you’ve all had a great few months and got to relax a little after the bar – I know I did.

Let’s talk about what really grinds my gears: studying for the bar for 10 hours a day, 7 days a week, only to miss passing by ONE POINT. You need a 266? Well Gianna, here’s a 265. Annoying, right? You have no idea. Honestly, I would have rather missed it by 50 points. At least then I could have figured out what I did wrong and had a chance to change my study habits. But no, I did everything right and just missed the mark.

Initially, I was upset, but now I’m just mad. I immediately let everyone know I didn’t pass so I didn’t have to get asked about it 900 times a day. Almost everyone was equally as mad as I was about it. But I knew this was a possibility and I prepared myself for it, I just never thought it would be over one point.

I want to congratulate everyone who did pass – you did it! I wish you all the best with your careers and beyond. It’s a huge accomplishment and you should celebrate – if you haven’t already!

239b6a2I also really want to encourage all those who didn’t pass to get back on the horse and try again. You know you can do it and now that you know what it’s like you’ll be that much more prepared to kill it in July. Be proud of yourself for making it this far and don’t give up.

I want to thank BARBRI for allowing me the opportunity to be your @barpreplife Blogger for Winter 2016. I had a blast. 🙂

Until next time,
G

(Update from BARBRI:  Gianna will be blogging about preparing to retake the bar exam, this July.  When we invited her to share her experiences, this is what she said, “That sounds amazing and I would absolutely be interested in doing that!! I really enjoyed blogging and I think it would be good for people who also did not pass to know they’re not alone. Thank you so much. I’m beyond excited for this opportunity.” )

 

 

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#The3Llife: Lessons I Have Learned in Law School

GUEST BLOG by Harrison Thorne,
3L at UCLA Law

After three years of law school, I have learned a few things.

Each semester has brought out a new set of lessons, and I am extremely grateful for all the experiences I have had—the good and the bad!  From my current perspective, I wish I would have done things differently. Granted, hindsight is 20/20.  But, here are a few things I wish I knew.

1L: Do what works for you.  Everybody will constantly tell you how to approach reading cases, how to outline, what supplements (if any) you should buy, etc. The most important thing is to figure out, within reason, what works for you. Another important thing is to take it easy and not compare yourself to others. Without doubt, you will see people who appear to have their life together and be working harder than you, and you will feel that you are falling short. First, who knows what they are going through. Second, get to work and stop the comparison.  It won’t help you.  Finally, grades are more important than clubs, activities, and bar associations. It is great to become a part of your community, but really, at the end of the day, grades are priority 1.

small_firm12L: Focus on your longer-term goals. If you want to work in a law firm, focus on OCI. But, don’t let things end there. In addition to the interviews you get through your school’s OCI program, you should also reach out to firms and their recruiters on your own. If you want to do public interest work, reach out to your school’s public interest contacts, etc. This is the point at which it is important to lock down a job. Grades are really important, but diverting some attention towards job-search is fine.

3L: Focus on networking, extracurricular activities, and finishing strong. Everybody talks about senioritis and checking out. Don’t be one of those people. It is okay to spend more time on extracurricular activities in place of studying, but don’t get too out of balance.  It is really important to keep grades up—especially if you haven’t yet found a job. On that note, don’t panic if you don’t have a job. Keep reaching out to your school’s career services office, firms, and everybody in between. Don’t lose hope, and don’t wait until after the Bar to start your search.

Things I would do differently: I generally loved my law school experience. I got to serve as the Editor-in-Chief of my school’s Entertainment Law Review, work in two courts (state court and bankruptcy court), compete in a bankruptcy competition, serve as an advisor to the Dean, and work with great professors. However, given another shot, I would spend more time becoming a member of the community. I rarely went to events, and missed out on some great events with amazing speakers. I focused more on studies than anything else, and, while fine, I now wish I would have been more involved at school. There’s a balance, and I feel too far towards “doing my own thing.”

What’s Next: The semester is wrapping up, and things are coming to an end. I am studying for finals, editing a final paper for a class, teaching my last class (I am part of my school’s Street Law program, in which I teach a class of 9th graders weekly), and finalizing my journal for Entertainment Law Review. After my last final, I will attend my graduation, then have a few days off before I begin bar prep with Barbri.

I am actually quite excited for bar prep. I know it sounds “weird,” but I think about bar prep like this: during law school, so many things are constantly pulling my attention. I have to respond to emails, meet with teachers, go to class, work on the journal, etc. During bar prep, I have ONE task: study for the bar. I plan on putting my phone on airplane mode and getting in the zone. And nothing else. I will work from around 6 or 7 in the morning until 5 to 7 at night, then take some time for myself. But, otherwise, my focus during the day will be exclusively geared towards studying for the Bar.

After the Bar Exam, I am going on a vacation with my amazing girlfriend, then taking a bit more time off before starting work. I can’t wait to see what bar prep is like, and, hopefully, to pass the Bar!

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