Minimum Competence Does Not Mean Bare Minimum

How would you narrate your hopes, desires, and dreams to pass the bar exam?

I want to improve.

I want to start my career and live my life without this hanging over my head.

I feel that painful yearning inside. I’m not content with this! I’m upset. I’m frustrated! I’m tired of being frustrated!

I want to pass the bar exam. I want to be special.

I’ll find my way forward, whatever that means. I don’t know where to go, but I’ll start, wherever that leads me.

But anyone can say that they want to pass.

How do you do this efficiently and effectively?

Are you confusing busy work with actual learning?

How to get and STAY motivated in your journey?

What do you do when you see fluctuations and plateaus?

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How a mother of two passed the California Bar Exam while working in biglaw (32.5% pass rate)

Hannah passed the 2023 February CA Bar Exam, one of the HARDEST exams with a 32.5% pass rate (even lower than the 2022 Feb exam).

She did it efficiently and effectively:

  • on her first try
  • with 7-8 weeks of studying
  • while attending to two toddlers and a biglaw job!

I’m excited to share Hannah’s story and 4 BIG nuggets of wisdom I distilled from her story. 

(Babe, wake up! Another banger of a passer story just dropped.)

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The 3 Things You Need When Starting Bar Prep (Live Stream Replay)

“What should I know when I’m starting bar prep?”

I did a live stream with Jennifer Duclair to talk about how to take the guesswork out of bar preparation and get a better sense of direction as you start studying for your next bar exam.

It was fun! Japes and nuggets of insights were dropped, and I’m pleased with how this turned out. (Maybe I’ll do another one next year…)

Here’s me throwing Kaplan under the bus:

What to do with your schedule when starting bar prep

Here’s the recording (go to 8:12 where I talk about the study schedule shown above), along with timestamps so you can jump to the parts you’re most interested in:

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Don’t obsess over the “best” bar exam supplement. Be the BEST STUDENT instead.

Bar exam takers have passed using Barbri.

They’ve passed using Themis.

They’ve even passed using Kaplan Bar Review… And this is despite all the shit I talk about Kaplan because they’re like Olive Garden trying to be everything which ends up being bland and giving you diarrhea. Just look at how many fucking tests they prep for LOL

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What to Do in the Weeks Leading up to the Bar Exam

Not really sure what’s working in the weeks leading up to the bar exam? Or what you should be doing?

If you’re taking a bar review course like Barbri, Themis, or Kaplan, then first make sure that you’ve been using it correctly (and that it hasn’t been using you to fill up its completion meter). Sometimes they don’t make clear what you should be doing to be prepared by the end of it all, other than the endless lectures and review sessions they make you sit through.

It’s like you aren’t feeling as confident or ready as you feel you should be after all that time spent. Studying for the bar exam can be a grueling process, so it’s important to have strategies in place to help you stay focused and motivated — and most important — make progress.

What should you be doing to make sure you’re really preparing enough for the big day? Here’s a framework to help you in the weeks leading up to the test:

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