The July 2013 Bar Exam: The Analysis of the MBE

Please look at our new website and new MBE Program at barprofessors.com

The Multistate Examination is hard. You have to have a game plan when you go into the exam.

Here are some suggestions:

Reading a Question

Because of time constraints, you will have time for only one reading of the fact pattern. Do not read the fact pattern as a novel.

You must read carefully and actively to spot signal words and legally significant facts. Pay attention to the bar examiners’ particular use of language and look for the following as you read:

1) Relationships between parties that signal the area of law and legal duties: landlord/tenant, employer/employee, principal/agent, buyer/seller;

2) Amounts of money, dates quantities and ages;

3) Words such as “oral” and “written,” “reasonable” and “unreasonable,” among others;

4) Words that indicate the actor’s state of mind.  Look for such language as:

• Intended
• Decided
• Mistakenly thought
• Deliberately
• Reasonably believed

Never Assume Facts

The bar examiners construct MBE questions to contain all the facts you need to answer the question. You must rely solely on these facts and no others, to answer the question. Of course you may draw reasonable inferences from the facts but you cannot fabricate your own or create “what if” scenarios.

Stick to the Law

You must apply the rule of law to the facts . You cannot get emotionally involved with the parties or substitute your instincts for what you know is legally correct. Don’t think someone is guilty when the call of the question says he is not. That is not what the question is asking you.

Contact us at barprofessors.com for more information.

Bar Professors provide private bar exam tutors for students who have difficulty with the MBE, MEE, UBE, Florida, California, and New York bar exams. You can find us at http://barprofessors.com, like us on facebook at BarProfessors, follow us on twitter @BarProfessors or email us at pass@barprofessors.com.

We can help you succeed!

The July 2013 Bar Exam: The Myths and Reality of Passing the Bar Exam as a Repeat Taker

Please look at our new website and new MBE Program at barprofessors.com

Bar Professors has worked with many students who have been unsuccessful on the bar exam.  We have had students who have taken the bar exam 3, 4, 5, 6 or more times before they come to Bar Professors.  Each time the student has taken the exam, he/she has been unsuccessful.  The students’ mind-sets are all similar:  that with the multiple times they have taken the bar exam, somehow the exam taking experience gets easier and they will eventually pass, without help or without changing their method of operation.

The statistical proof is clear and convincing that repeat takers continuously do poorer on the bar exam than first time takers and that the students’ own pass rate declines each and every time they take the bar exam.. Here are the hard facts:

The Pennsylvania February 2013 bar results indicate that the first time takers passed at a 72% pass rate. The second time takers pass rate was 57%, the third time taker pass rate was 53% and the fourth time takers passed at 24%.

In Texas, for the February 2013 bar exam results, first time takers passed at an 81% rate, while repeat takers passed at a 36% pass rate.

In Massachusetts, for the February 2013 bar results, first time takers passed at a 73% rate, second time takers passed at a 62%, third time takers passed at a 39% rate, fourth time takers passed at a 40% rate and 5^th time takers or more passed at a 15% rate.

These statistical repeat taker numbers are a clear representation that repeat takers, on an average, only pass the bar exam at about a 33% rate.

Obtaining a bar exam tutor should be the number one goal for all repeat takers.  You cannot pass the bar exam without help and without changing your methodology.  Do everything you can to ensure that you pass the next time you sit for the bar exam.

Contact us at barprofessors.com for more information.

Bar Professors provide private bar exam tutors for students who have difficulty with the MBE, MEE, UBE, Florida, California, and New York bar exams. You can find us at http://barprofessors.com, like us on facebook at BarProfessors, follow us on twitter @BarProfessors or email us at pass@barprofessors.com.

We can help you succeed!