Brian, Author at Make This Your Last Time

November 30, 2024November 30, 2024 - 4 Comments

Two Biggest Fears of a Bar Exam Taker

“I need to know all the law first!”

What were those three years of law school for? Never mind.

There’s this strange concern in the atmosphere floating around.

A concern that if you don’t know it all, then you won’t be prepared to solve the problems… The thought that all you need to do well on the bar exam is to “have the information”…

So you sit there, fold your arms, and wait for osmosis. You wait. Maybe your soulmate will one day knock on your door, too.

And then when you finally flip open that essay after weeks of “studying”…

You stare at the blank page.

In front of you, a blank canvas ready to be filled but only reflecting a harsh stillness.

The cursor blinks at you, urging you to fill the awkward silence.

Cold sweat squeezes out of pores you didn’t even realize you had on your body. 😓

“…”

You decide to hit the books and videos again. Maybe you just need to study a little more…

You’re mostly grasping the material, but then when you take a practice exam it’s like everything you know is out the window.

WTF? Why didn’t it work?

November 29, 2024November 29, 2024 - 5 Comments

Cara Passes the California Bar Exam with Everything Riding on Her Third Attempt

Cara passed the July California Bar Exam on her third attempt. The third time was the charm.

But the stakes were incredibly high. Her third try was the decisive attempt where her life would change completely depending on the results.

Everything was on the line, all of her hopes, fears, and dreams riding on this last attempt as a third-time repeater. She was also juggling full-time work while studying for the bar exam.

💬 “I knew when the 3rd time came around, it was my last time to take this exam. My new job was on the line and I knew if I failed, I’d be fired. This would have resulted in me having to move back to the East Coast where I was barred because I could no longer afford to live in CA without income. I had wasted my savings moving, the bar exam (i.e. materials galore and exam fees), and covering myself for the short period I was unemployed. My friends were relying on me, my boyfriend was relying on me, my family was relying on me, and my job was relying on me. I realized then that I had to make some big changes in how I approached the exam the third time, especially with what felt like insurmountable pressure.”

To transform her life in the direction she wanted, she transformed her approach first.

November 23, 2024November 24, 2024 - 17 Comments

You Need a Study Plan: Why You Should Make Your Own Bar Prep Study Schedule

The only thing I remember from law school is my negotiations professor saying this in class randomly:

“Anything worth doing is worth overdoing.”

Is bar preparation worth doing? Then it’s worth doing right.

After all, you’re the dean of your own studies. And for sustainable momentum we know that we must enjoy the process (not just fixate on the goal of passing the bar).

Just as what’s enjoyable is personal, bar prep is also personal. Your study plan and schedule are personal.

There are many reasons your schedule will look different from everyone else’s:

You might be working while studying for the bar exam.
Maybe you have every day free for bar prep.
Or maybe you only have certain hours of your day free while the kids are at school.

Meanwhile, your bar review course hands you a cookie-cutter schedule that packs in an overwhelming number of tasks or “self-study” sessions where you have no direction on what to do.

Is there a smarter, more effective plan that would serve your needs more and improve your odds of passing?

Yes, one that’s customized to you.

Here’s one example of what such a personalized study schedule could look like:

November 22, 2024November 27, 2024 - No Comments

Passing the CA Bar Exam as an Older Candidate

You don’t need to be a 20-something Zoomer studying in your parents’ basement to pass the bar exam.

You could be working full-time, a parent, from another country, or not even know what a Zoomer is.

Brendan, in his 50s, is a second-time passer of the California Bar Exam.

Age itself is not a defining factor in this:

I’m a little concerned that my humor resonated with a 66yo.

But I’m a firm believer that each of us is still the kid who wanted to be a grown-up (we have to GO BACK). So it’s totally fine and encouraged to get help and support from others no matter where you are in the process.

Let’s see if we can find some lessons from how Brendan approached his studies.

November 16, 2024November 16, 2024 - 32 Comments

Should You “Trust the Process”? You’re the Dean of Your Own Bar Exam Studies

Here’s something that people who pass the bar exam never say:

“All I had to do was listen to all the bar course lectures and take a lot of notes. Just complete the course 100% and you’ll pass!”

Could you imagine if that’s all it took tho

Sometimes we think “doing whatever it takes” to pass the bar exam means exhausting yourself and throwing 1000 hours and even more dollars into a black hole. (But it doesn’t have to be expensive.)

Or following some unsustainable cookie-cutter schedule (that doesn’t care if you have other responsibilities like work or family). Good luck if you fall behind by one day.

Or letting a perfectly fine morning slip through by religiously sitting through 4 hours of droning lectures. Worse, pausing lectures to fill in all the notes. Then not even remembering 99% of it.

When you thought the lectures made sense

“Trust the process.”

I remember those days. All of those things above are things I stopped doing on my second attempt at preparing for the bar exam.

Here’s what I’d do instead: