Category: Bar Examination Information

MPT Exam Simulation today (Monday):

1:00 & 6:00 PM – L-325

If you haven’t been able to convince yourself to sit down and write an MPT, today is the perfect opportunity to give it a try!

• Food and casual conversation starting 30 minutes ahead of each session
• The prompt will be one that is not used by any vendor this year or in ALA during the past 2 semesters
• Answer provided
• Submit your essay for feedback, if you want
• Sign up here to make sure I bring enough food (and copies of the prompt) for you!

More bar prep opportunities this week:

• Wednesday – 2:00 PM – Professional Responsibility Essay write (with rule overview by Vice Provost Cravens)
• Thursday – 6:00 PM – Making up the Rules Workshop (repeat with new prompts)
• Friday – 2:00 PM – Study Group Essay Write
• Saturday – 12:00 – 5:00 PM Half-day hangout (food and a chance to ask about whatever you still need to know before the bar exam).

Workshop Series

• Monday, July 10 –  MPT Exam Simulation:  Every year, a few foolhardy souls never get around to writing any MPT essays until the morning of the first day of the bar exam.  That doesn’t usually end well.  Take advantage of the opportunity to write an MPT essay under exam conditions.  (I will select an essay that is not used by any vendor this year, and was not used in ALA in 2016-17.)  I will have a sample answer, the formal point sheet, and you are free to submit it for feedback.
  • 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM
  • 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM
  • Light meal and casual conversation starting 30 minutes ahead of each simulation.
  • Please sign up here so I know how much food to order.

• Making up the Rules:  Date TBD:  I’ve had a couple of requests to repeat the Making up the Rules Workshop.  I’ll come up with a new set of snippets from prompts and run it again.  (With any luck, the Supreme Court will actually release the prompts from February 2017 and I can use some of those!)  Since the snippets will be new, the workshop won’t just be a repeat of the prior one, so if it was helpful you have another opportunity for practice.  Vote here for the workshop date – I’ll pick the one that is convenient for as many of you as I can.

• Saturday, July 15, 12:00 – 5:00 PM:  Half-day Hangout:  Drop in for a meal, or two.  I’ll have homemade food (sloppy joes, multiple varieties of hummus & veggies, and freshly baked bread), an informal repeat of any workshops you missed, a chance to ask whatever you haven’t gotten around to asking.  I’ll time essays, MPTs, or MBE sets.  Whatever (within reason) will help you make it through this final stretch.  Feel free to drop in and grab food, even if you don’t feel the need for any specific assistance.

If plan to take a bar exam someday – even if you aren’t taking one in a few weeks, feel free to drop in to ask questions about the bar exam (Which courses should you take to best prepare for the bar exam – whichever bar exam you’re taking? Is it true that Payment Systems and Secured Transactions are so similar that you only need to take one of them? What is preparing for the bar exam really like?  What difference does it make which bar vendor you choose?)

“Early Start” Bar Study Group (Essay Writes)

Friday, July 7 @ 2 PM:  Professor Dowling will provide a brief overview of the the material you need to answer a previous Ohio Civil Procedure bar question; Chris Crull will act as scrivener/friendly nudge.

Sunday, July 9 @ 6:30 PM:  I’ll be back and we’ll write a remedies essay (e.g. property, contracts, or torts – focusing on remedies).  This session will be available by WebEx and we’ll try using Google Docs so folks attending remotely can actively participate

Wednesday, July 12 @ 2 PM:  Professor Cravens will provide a brief overview of the material you need to answer the Professional Responsiblity question from the  February 2001 bar exam, Question 11.  This session will be available by WebEx and we’ll try using Google Docs so folks attending remotely can actively participate.

Questions?  nlr22@uakron.edu

Making up the Rules

Tuesday, June 20 – L-325

1:00 PM & 6:00 PM

(Food and casual conversation starting 30 minutes ahead of the workshop)

By now the reality of just how many rules there are to memorize is probably hitting you.  It is is unlikely you will be able to perfectly remember every single rule on the bar exam.  (Don’t worry too much – no one remembers them all perfectly – why do you think the “better” released answers are so bad?)

This interactive workshop focuses on how to use your general legal knowledge and the facts in the prompt to help you salvage your essay when your mind blanks out at the most inopportune time.  The techniques are not only good for when your mind blanks, but for fine tuning and customizing the unwieldy rules your bar vendor often supplies and for spotting issues you may have missed.  [This is similar to Spring 2017 ALA, but with entirely new rule snippets.  This is different from earlier ALA classes.]

Sign up here so I make sure to bring enough food!

Remaining workshops in the series:

• Thursday, June 29  – MBE Strategies and Tactics:  How to approach an MBE question, and a compilation of strategies from  multiple sources for avoiding NCBE sneaky tricks, eliminating wrong answers, and choosing between the last two once you’ve eliminated the others.  [Similar to the ALA course – with a different set of questions]
• Monday, July 10 –  MPT Exam Simulation:  Every year, a few foolhardy souls never get around to writing any MPT essays until the morning of the first day of the bar exam.  That doesn’t usually end well.  Take advantage of the opportunity to write an MPT essay under exam conditions.  (I will select an essay that is not used by any vendor this year, and was not used in ALA in 2016-17.)
• Saturday, July 15, 12:00 – 5:00 PM:  Half-day Hangout:  Homemade food (sloppy joes or a summer soup, multiple varieties of hummus, veggies), an informal repeat of any workshops you missed, a chance to ask whatever you haven’t gotten around to asking, I’ll time essays, MPTs, or MBE sets.  Whatever (within reason) will help you make it through this final stretch.

 

Strategies for organizing your MPT and completing it in 90 minutes

Wednesday, June 14 –  L-325

2:00 PM (immediately following the Bar Taker’s Luncheon)

OR

6:00 PM (light supper & casual conversation starting at 5:30 PM)

 

An MPT (multi-state performance test) is easy, in theory.  You don’t need to know anything other than how to write like a lawyer.  The reality – not so easy.  The organizing technique taught in this workshop helps to organize and write your essay in the 90 minute time frame.  This is the longest workshop – it will last approximately 2 hours.

• Sign up here – so I make sure to get enough food for the evening session 

Even if you’re not preparing for the bar exam this summer, feel free to come!  The MPT doesn’t require any specific legal knowledge and it is never too soon to start mastering the bar skill that often requires the most practice.

Questions – nlr22@uakron.edu