2017 July California Bar Forum

[psg190]

Unless you really haven't been able to prepare at all, I might still take it and hope for a very gracious retroactive adjustment by the state supreme court.

My prep tutor is strongly geared toward second time takers who previously took a big box prep course. Given that I've been out of school for 5 years I've been inundated with rust on the substantive law and pounding out open book essays/MBEs hasn't made much of a dent in terms of retention.

[t-14orbust]

Does anyone know how long lunch breaks are and where we can potentially grab food (anaheim convention center)? Can we bring food? Thanks

[SurfLaw]

Does anyone know how long lunch breaks are and where we can potentially grab food (anaheim convention center)? Can we bring food? Thanks

I'm staying @ the Anaheim Marriott and it's like 0.2 miles away, so that property and the Hilton should both be basically across the street and have some restaurants as well as little snack/convenience stores in the lobby. It's a convention center, so presumably there's a few other hotels around all with food options of ranging prices.

Not sure about timing of lunch break or whether we can bring food though.

[jphiggo]

http://www.calbar.ca.gov/Admissions/Exa ... xamination

It looks like about 1.5 hours for lunch.

[InterAlia1961]

Unless you really haven't been able to prepare at all, I might still take it and hope for a very gracious retroactive adjustment by the state supreme court.

Gracious? Good one. Retroactive Adjustment? I nearly wet myself.

[Alt123]

Unless you really haven't been able to prepare at all, I might still take it and hope for a very gracious retroactive adjustment by the state supreme court.

Gracious? Good one. Retroactive Adjustment? I nearly wet myself.

Well, I am not counting on either, but it seems likely it will be retroactively applied from the bar trustee's statement. Whether it will be a big adjustment, I doubt it.

[SurfLaw]

Unless you really haven't been able to prepare at all, I might still take it and hope for a very gracious retroactive adjustment by the state supreme court.

Gracious? Good one. Retroactive Adjustment? I nearly wet myself.

The trustee said it would likely be applied retroactively to the July 2017 administration, so....

[barjamie8]

Unless you really haven't been able to prepare at all, I might still take it and hope for a very gracious retroactive adjustment by the state supreme court.

Gracious? Good one. Retroactive Adjustment? I nearly wet myself.

The trustee said it would likely be applied retroactively to the July 2017 administration, so....

I'm guessing it will be a small adjustment. Maybe 5 points. But every point helps...

[SurfLaw]

Unless you really haven't been able to prepare at all, I might still take it and hope for a very gracious retroactive adjustment by the state supreme court.

Gracious? Good one. Retroactive Adjustment? I nearly wet myself.

The trustee said it would likely be applied retroactively to the July 2017 administration, so....

I'm guessing it will be a small adjustment. Maybe 5 points. But every point helps...

As far as the MBE part, I'd assume about 5 scaled points only equates to ~4 raw questions?

[maxmartin]

Unless you really haven't been able to prepare at all, I might still take it and hope for a very gracious retroactive adjustment by the state supreme court.

Gracious? Good one. Retroactive Adjustment? I nearly wet myself.

The new cut score will be released in Sep and it will apply to July exam. It is not technically retroactive because the cut score is still released before Nov result.

I expect 20-40 points reduction (1420-1400), if nothing else, at least they can do is to change the atrocious regrading policy. Just choose the higher score between two reads.

[Spartan_Alum_12]

http://www.calbar.ca.gov/Admissions/Exa ... xamination

It looks like about 1.5 hours for lunch.

July 2016 taker. It was typically a 1.5-2 hour break (took it in downtown SD).

[goldenflash19]

Just to verify- there's no rule against reviewing material during the lunch break right?

[mcmand]

Just to verify- there's no rule against reviewing material during the lunch break right?

How on earth would they enforce such a rule?

[Alt123]

Just to verify- there's no rule against reviewing material during the lunch break right?

I think as long as you leave whatever it is you're going to use to review outside the exam room its ok based on my reading of the policies.

[CAnow]

Just to verify- there's no rule against reviewing material during the lunch break right?

No rules against it, but I wouldn't spend too much time doing that. That lunch break should be your opportunity to give your mind a rest so that you will come back refreshed for the second round.

The last time I took a bar exam, I walked past countless examinees spending their lunch break sitting on the hallway floors, furiously flipping through their outlines. I think that does more harm than good.

[CAnow]

Unless you really haven't been able to prepare at all, I might still take it and hope for a very gracious retroactive adjustment by the state supreme court.

My prep tutor is strongly geared toward second time takers who previously took a big box prep course. Given that I've been out of school for 5 years I've been inundated with rust on the substantive law and pounding out open book essays/MBEs hasn't made much of a dent in terms of retention.

I have been out of law school for 15 years, so I feel what you feel. I say stick with it and take the exam. Most people who are about to take the exam feel that they don't know enough to pass, and this is about the time when panic starts to set in. Don't let it overcome you. Besides, you don't want to go the next several months (or perhaps years) wondering how you would have fared if you had just taken the exam. Unlike some other states, California doesn't place limits on the number of times a person can sit for the bar exam.

[CAnow]

I'm confused about the difference between land-possessor duties to anticipated trespassers vs. invitees.

Regarding anticipated trespassers, my materials say a land possessor has a duty to "warn of or make safe,..." but also that the land possessor does NOT have a duty to inspect or repair. I always thought make safe meant repair in this context though.

Regarding invitees, it says the landowner has the same duties as for anticipated trespassers PLUS a duty to "make reasonable inspections to discover non-obvious dangerous conditions and, thereafter, make them safe (a warning may suffice)."

I'm not exactly sure what "make safe" means in these two different rules. Is "make safe" supposed to be distinct from a warning or is it the same thing?

I believe duty to repair means they have to fix it whereas the duty to make safe doesn't require fixing. Posting a warning qualifies as making something safe, and repairing is also making it safe, so they could do either. If it's a duty to repair, a warning is not enough.

[thisisxael]

Just to verify- there's no rule against reviewing material during the lunch break right?

No rules against it, but I wouldn't spend too much time doing that. That lunch break should be your opportunity to give your mind a rest so that you will come back refreshed for the second round.

The last time I took a bar exam, I walked past countless examinees spending their lunch break sitting on the hallway floors, furiously flipping through their outlines. I think that does more harm than good.

dumb question but i have no real life skills so
where do people stash their stuff during that time? are there lockers?
relatedly what do i do with my shit on the second day? since we can't bring our laptops and will have to check out of our hotel rooms that day to :/ i was planning on just putting it in a friend's car but that seems risky? idk just curious abt what normally goes on

[yost]

Just to verify- there's no rule against reviewing material during the lunch break right?

No rules against it, but I wouldn't spend too much time doing that. That lunch break should be your opportunity to give your mind a rest so that you will come back refreshed for the second round.

The last time I took a bar exam, I walked past countless examinees spending their lunch break sitting on the hallway floors, furiously flipping through their outlines. I think that does more harm than good.

dumb question but i have no real life skills so
where do people stash their stuff during that time? are there lockers?
relatedly what do i do with my shit on the second day? since we can't bring our laptops and will have to check out of our hotel rooms that day to :/ i was planning on just putting it in a friend's car but that seems risky? idk just curious abt what normally goes on

Hotel front desk will hold your bags.

[thisisxael]

Just to verify- there's no rule against reviewing material during the lunch break right?

No rules against it, but I wouldn't spend too much time doing that. That lunch break should be your opportunity to give your mind a rest so that you will come back refreshed for the second round.

The last time I took a bar exam, I walked past countless examinees spending their lunch break sitting on the hallway floors, furiously flipping through their outlines. I think that does more harm than good.

dumb question but i have no real life skills so
where do people stash their stuff during that time? are there lockers?
relatedly what do i do with my shit on the second day? since we can't bring our laptops and will have to check out of our hotel rooms that day to :/ i was planning on just putting it in a friend's car but that seems risky? idk just curious abt what normally goes on

Hotel front desk will hold your bags.

i'm worried abt leaving my computer and phone just chilling there but yea i guess

[SurfLaw]

Just to verify- there's no rule against reviewing material during the lunch break right?

No rules against it, but I wouldn't spend too much time doing that. That lunch break should be your opportunity to give your mind a rest so that you will come back refreshed for the second round.

The last time I took a bar exam, I walked past countless examinees spending their lunch break sitting on the hallway floors, furiously flipping through their outlines. I think that does more harm than good.

dumb question but i have no real life skills so
where do people stash their stuff during that time? are there lockers?
relatedly what do i do with my shit on the second day? since we can't bring our laptops and will have to check out of our hotel rooms that day to :/ i was planning on just putting it in a friend's car but that seems risky? idk just curious abt what normally goes on

Hotel front desk will hold your bags.

i'm worried abt leaving my computer and phone just chilling there but yea i guess

Most big (read: Convention Center adjacent) hotels don't just leave it casually chilling at the front desk, but have a dedicated "checked luggage" room for guests waiting to check-in, or those who have checked-out but aren't leaving yet. It will be safely tagged and stored in that room, and you'll get a ticket (same process as a valet essentially). Just bring a bag or something that you can put the computer and phone inside so that it's safe.

Also, you don't have to checkout that morning. You could keep the room an extra night, and then have an easy, nearby place to crash after blacking out post-exam...or napping immediately post-exam.

[mcmand]

Also, you don't have to checkout that morning. You could keep the room an extra night, and then have an easy, nearby place to crash after blacking out post-exam...or napping immediately post-exam.

My plan exactly

[thisisxael]

yeah, cuz the reason i said "had to" was because i just had no idea that you could extend a night in the hotel. wow thanks for telling me that is so illuminating thanks for the help tls

[kaytraco1]

This might be a silly question...

My understanding is that essay readers reward you with points for correct law, analysis, etc., but do not deduct points when wrong law, analysis, etc., is included. If that's true (and tbh, I don't even remember where I heard that - maybe a Barbri essay lecture?), then can I include contradictory analysis when I'm in a jam in order to accumulate points?

For example, let's say I can't remember whether withdrawal is a defense to solicitation and I have one heading that says "Bob's Withdrawal is a Defense to Solicitation," followed by analysis, and then, "Bob's Withdrawal is Not a Defense to Solicitation," followed by analysis. Obviously, doing this costs valuable time, but I'm wondering if it's a plausible strategy if I'm drawing a blank.

[t-14orbust]

This might be a silly question...

My understanding is that essay readers reward you with points for correct law, analysis, etc., but do not deduct points when wrong law, analysis, etc., is included. If that's true (and tbh, I don't even remember where I heard that - maybe a Barbri essay lecture?), then can I include contradictory analysis when I'm in a jam in order to accumulate points?

For example, let's say I can't remember whether withdrawal is a defense to solicitation and I have one heading that says "Bob's Withdrawal is a Defense to Solicitation," followed by analysis, and then, "Bob's Withdrawal is Not a Defense to Solicitation," followed by analysis. Obviously, doing this costs valuable time, but I'm wondering if it's a plausible strategy if I'm drawing a blank.

You can definitely do this:
"Bob's withdrawal is a defense to solicitation...
Alternatively, if Bob's withdrawal does not constitute a defense to solicitation..."