3 Days Until the February 2011 California Bar Exam

Friday, February 18, 2011

Dear California Bar Reviewers,

Welcome to the latest installment of our CA bar exam newsletter. In this issue, we consider:

  • Important Upcoming California Bar Exam Dates
  • California Bar Exam-Taking Strategy: Avoid Silly Mistakes
  • California Bar Exam Essays In-Depth: Common Professional Responsibility Mistakes
  • Good Luck!

Important Upcoming California Bar Exam Dates

  • California Bar Exam: February 22-24, 2011

California Bar Exam-Taking Strategy: Avoid Silly Mistakes

For weeks, if not months, you've been preparing and reviewing for the CA bar exam, including countless hours of review and practice. However, do not forsake this personal investment in time and effort by making "silly mistakes" during the exam. Silly mistakes are those mistakes that have nothing to do with the substantive material that is tested on the bar exam, and these mistakes are all preventable, regardless of your level of bar exam preparation. The most common of these mistakes include:

  1. Time Mismanagement: Follow the suggested time limits for all components of the exam. Answer the essays in the order presented (the "hard" essay will not magically become easier 120 minutes later).
  2. Worrying About Others: Ignore what others have to say about the exam, including what will be tested and what has been tested. This can only lead to an acute condition: "bar exam paranoia."
  3. Dwelling on the Past: Remember, once an essay or performance test session is over, there is no going back. Likewise, thinking about what should have been or could have been will be of no benefit to you. Instead, focus on the task at hand.

Remember, silly mistakes are "silly" because they are easily preventable.

California Bar Exam Essays In-Depth: Common Professional Responsibility Mistakes

Our Essays In-Depth feature is an excerpt from our upcoming California Bar Exam Essay Solution On-Demand Workshop or one of our upcoming subject-specific California Bar Exam Essay Primers. In this issue, we identify common Professional Responsibility mistakes. Identification and prevention is especially germane, as Professional Responsibility is the most frequently tested subject on the California Bar Exam essays.

Common Professional Responsibility Mistakes

In our experience, there are several frequent, recurring mistakes individuals commit when writing Professional Responsibility essays, including:

  1. Failing to understand the role of ethical duties within Professional Responsibility issues. All Professional Responsibility Rules are rooted in an overriding ethical duty; otherwise, the ethical Rules, which are based upon the Duties themselves, would simply not exist. For example, the conflict of interest standards are actually tests that measure whether the duty of loyalty to a client is upheld.
  2. Failing to identify differences between ABA and CA Professional Responsibility standards.
  3. Failing to apply and distinguish differing ABA and CA standards.

The Professional Responsibility Solution: Frame Discussions Around the Duty and Utilize ABA and CA Distinctions

To avoid these common mistakes, frame Professional Responsibility issues around the overriding Duty. Then, define the duty, provide the standard(s) that measures the duty, including any CA or ABA distinctions, and apply all of the standards to the specific, pertinent facts.

For example, the duty of loyalty is a duty that a lawyer owes to a client that can be measured in one instance by the conflict of interest standard. If the facts and call of the question raise a conflict of interest issue, then you need to address how the conflict of interest standard fits within the larger duty of loyalty. We would suggest organizing such an issue in this manner:

Duty of Loyalty [Issue Heading]

[Define and explain the duty of loyalty][provide the conflicts of interest standard, noting any ABA and CA distinctions if necessary]

[Apply all of the stated law, including any ABA and CA distinctions, to the specific, pertinent facts]

[Provide a conclusion, noting any differences in the application of the ABA and CA standards]

Note, the information in the brackets above is explanatory and should be omitted or replaced with the suggested content.

Good Luck on the California Bar Exam!

We wish you the best of luck on the California bar exam. Hopefully, we've been able to impart a bit of guidance via our newsletter. If you have any questions or comments about this newsletter, then please feel free to Contact Us.

Study smart,

-The BarReviewSolutions.com Team