How a UK lawyer passed the CA Bar Exam on his second try

Today’s story is from Sam, who is YET another passer of the 2023 February CA Bar Exam.

I KNOW I KNOW… I want to share some UBE stories too. Blame too many of my CA readers for being part of the 32.5%.

But Sam had to go through a first round of suffering.

It’s not an uncommon story to do what you’re “supposed to” the first time, and then switch to a more conscious and effective approach and pass as a second-timer.

I stayed up late and spent a whole week studying this story because it’s an excellent example of taking control of your bar studies. It’s a lesson for first-timers who want to avoid mistakes and an inspiration for repeaters who have been there before.

💬 “Statistically I shouldn’t have passed this exam (a repeater, taking the February exam, who didn’t attend a US law school), but I did. I did because I took control and did what worked for me.”

This UK attorney passed the California Bar Exam on his second try (and checked results while on vacation in Maui, like a BALLER).

Quick stats

Attempts: California Bar Exam 2 times
Weakness: MBE
Unique challenge: Reacquainting with the process of studying for an unfamiliar exam format that tested unfamiliar subject matter

💬 “For me, as a foreign trained attorney who went to a UK law school some 10 years prior, I needed to spend time reacquainting myself with the process of studying, for an examination format that I haven’t encountered before (the UK utilized a mixed of open book, closed book and practical examinations), and with a set of material that was wholly different to English law. In particular, the latter was not only different, but voluminous.“

Resources Sam used for his second time preparing for the bar exam

▶▶ Magicsheets & Approsheets

▶▶ Passer’s Playbook

▶▶ Mental Engines

▶▶ AdaptiBar

Find a code here for 10% off your entire cart (including any add-ons such as video lectures)

▶▶ Emanuel’s Strategies & Tactics for the MBE

▶▶ [CA only] Mary Basick’s Essay Exam Writing for the California Bar Exam

▶▶ MTYLT graded essay answer bank

Golden nuggets from Sam’s success story

I extracted a 6-piece nugget combo for you today:

show

1️⃣ Realize whether or not you’re doing busy work.
2️⃣ Learn the exam, not just the law. Learn how to learn.
3️⃣ Craft your own study plan.
4️⃣ You can still be strategic about your preparation.
5️⃣ Use resources that are proven to work.
6️⃣ Do what works for you.

So how do you know what’s for you or not?

Sam’s unedited full story

1️⃣ Realize whether or not you’re doing busy work.

I say this all the time. Well, I’m gonna say it again since Sam’s experience is validating me. Deal with it:

There is a difference between knowing the law and knowing how to use the law.

💬 “Given my concerns about knowing the sheer volume of US law required to pass this exam, in preparing for attempt number one, I felt like I wanted to “know” the law before I used the law. This, as I later found out, was a mistake.“

This internal drive to know everything just in case can lead to MASSIVE time loss.

Your job isn’t to transcribe video lectures, take perfect notes, or recreate outlines.

Personally, I made this mistake in law school, and I made it again in bar prep. Meanwhile, the guy who was top 4 in his class never took notes 🤔

If you’re watching lectures, simply pay attention. If you’re going to take notes, only write down key parts you’ll come back to. If you’re thinking about creating outlines, why not use one of the many streamlined options out there?

💬 “I did a lot of ‘busy work’; in short, I completely re-wrote the outlines I was provided by my tutor. I didn’t like the formatting, some of the law was wrong (!) and some of the outlines simply didn’t make sense, or at least to me. I spent an inordinate amount of time (indeed almost all of my time) rewriting sections of outlines, and supplementing the same with some outlines given to me by a friend who attended a top law school.“

2️⃣ Learn the exam, not just the law. Learn how to learn.

This is a trap many experienced attorneys fall into, which is that they write like a lawyer.

Instead, write like a bar taker. Write in a way that the graders care about. Here’s a stupid simple walkthrough of how to IRAC.

While the PT came more naturally to Sam since he was an experienced attorney, he also needed to learn:

a specific way of writing essays for the bar exam (e.g., formulaic, issue-focused) and
a way of learning (e.g., using the material to memorize).

💬 “Being an experienced attorney was a blessing and a curse. For example, I was comfortable with PTs in that I was experienced in assessing voluminous information and quickly sorting what was relevant or not and writing about the same. On the other hand, this exam requires a very specific type of writing which certainly didn’t reflect that which I had used in my practice to date. For example, to maximize points, one needs to discuss legal theories that whist relevant, clearly don’t apply, which is something I wouldn’t have done prior.“

💬 “I set aside my concern for getting the law right first and leant into the theory that by constantly using the material and through recall, I would naturally memorize what I needed. This golden nugget, amongst others, was set out in the section of the Passer’s Playbook on creating your own schedule.“

3️⃣ Craft your own study plan.

“Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”—Old logging aphorism (not Abraham Lincoln contrary to belief)

Sam spent more than 4 hours sharpening his axe—crafting a study schedule that took HIS needs and weaknesses into account.

💬 “For me, my study schedule was key. I spent a day getting this right, having considered what I felt I needed to do to pass and what I lacked last time.“

I feel like a big part of the value of a course is a sensible study schedule.

Does it make sense that courses give everyone gets the same schedule, whether the student is a 20-something fresh grad or someone who is working full-time or has family duties?

(The answer is no.)

Pop quiz: Which approach would you go for?

Go through each subject quickly (2-3 days) even if you don’t “get through” it, and cycle through the subjects multiple times.
Go through each subject in full even if it takes a week.

💬 “This golden nugget, amongst others, was set out in the section of the Passer’s Playbook on creating your own schedule. For example, on my previous course, there was a 2 week block of memorization immediately prior to the exam. By the time I got to the end of the two weeks, the law I had ‘memorized’ two weeks prior was a distant memory. My new schedule combatted this by moving through all topics in 4 cycles, ensuring there was constant recall.“

My answer to the pop quiz is (1) to keep your memory charged.

If you do (2), you will have forgotten everything when you come back to the first subject after 12 weeks, leading to panic, despair, and desperate decisions.

4️⃣ You can still be strategic about your preparation.

Sam used two of my favorite techniques: the Tripod Approach and Essay Cooking. This allowed him to save time by focusing on the parts that were more valuable.

💬 “In addition to a solid schedule, I also really connected with the ‘tripod approach’. In short, there are points that can be gobbled up and that you KNOW will be on the exam, namely the MBEs, PT and PR.“

💬 “Lastly, another theory which really stuck with me was ‘essay cooking’. In short, rather than writing out full essays, you issue spot an essay and write out the rules, leaving out the analysis and conclusion. I took this one step further by also adding brief notes of facts that aligned with rule elements. This can be done in 15 minutes, with 15 minutes used to review against a model answer. This is half the time of writing a ‘normal’ essay, allowing for more practice overall.“

5️⃣ Use resources that are proven to work.

That’s a bit of clickbait because it’s not the tool but the wielder of the tool (you).

In other words, everything can be “proven to work.” It’s your responsibility whether you pass or not.

But it’s difficult to do it by yourself. It’s practically necessary to use some sort of supplementary resource, even if it’s a bloated supplement like a bar review course.

That doesn’t mean bar prep has to be expensive.

💬 “I settled with a provider who was eye wateringly expensive, and wrongly assumed that must mean they were worth the price tag.“

I listed the resources Sam used above (tap to see them above). Combined, they cost less than any single bar review course.

Sam describes how he used them in his full story reproduced below. Use them yourself, or find your own. But don’t obsess over minutiae.

6️⃣ Do what works for you.

The old way wasn’t working for Sam.

💬 “On the topic of picking what works for you, I also didn’t like the way in which my course was taught. Whilst I was doing my assigned course tasks, we really didn’t do many essays, and very few of those that we did were closed book.“

Despite everything I said so far, it’s up to YOU whether to listen to me or not.

I mean that sincerely. Don’t call me a guru or ask me for “tips and tricks.” I’m merely sharing an autobiography, what I’ve learned from a decade of talking with thousands of bar takers, and showing you options as a sherpa on this dark terrain we’re on.

If there’s ONE SINGLE THING I want you to take away from all my years of writing about bar prep, it’s that bar prep is personal. It’s YOUR bar prep!

Yes, most people are mostly the same. But you can (SHOULD) try different things assuming you’ve got the basics down.

💬 “Having read Brian’s articles, they just seemed to make sense to me. For example, why would I continue with a prep course that clearly didn’t work for MY style of learning, when I could take charge of how I wanted to learn. After all, who knows me better than me?!“

I find every approach interesting to hear about. It’s part of the reason I study and feature diverse success stories from my readers and customers.

Another reason is to PROVE to you that there are many individual and unique ways it can be done. When I say you can do it, it’s not a platitude anymore.

(Before you call me out on the diversity, I heard from too many successful CA people this round for some reason OK?! You can take what applies to you, or find success stories from other jurisdictions here.)

It’s up to you whether to find Sam’s story inspiring or not. Your situation may call for a different approach, your own personal style.

YOU are the dean of your own studies—not Barbri, not your law school, not your tutor, not me. As the dean, you have a team of advisors and consultants, but you make the final decisions.

💬 “On reflection, this clearly wasn’t the tutor or course for me and I was too concerned with getting the law right, rather than actually using it and therefore understanding it. This was reflected in my overall MBE score which, just prior to the exam, was at 63%.“

So how do you know what’s for you or not?

In Tanvi’s story, she knew things weren’t working because things were not sticking. That’s one clue.

To find that out in the first place, you have to try things before it’s too late.

No one ever showed me a conscious way of approaching bar prep like this. Since you’re in the fortunate position to consider this now, I hope you do with more than a grain of salt.

Don’t come crying to me if you mindlessly follow a stock schedule where you finally finish 7 weeks of cramming lectures and end up in the wilderness left to fend for yourself.

(If you do find yourself in that situation, Passer’s Playbook has emergency “scramble” schedules you could try which are 1-3 weeks long.)

Nice work, Sam! Here are the tools he used to make this his last time.

Sam’s unedited full story

Text format

Background

I moved to California from the UK in October 2021, with my wife, a native Californian. Prior to that, and with over 10 years of legal experience under my belt, prior to my move I hadn’t really worried too much about taking the California Bar. Little did I know. I passed the UK Bar in 2012 and began practice as a Barrister in 2015 in criminal law, with a focus on white collar crime and associated regulation, both prosecuting and defending (a benefit of being a barrister). On arrival in California, I briefly considered taking the February 2022 exam, but concluded I didn’t have enough time to prep, so I signed up for July 2022.

I considered using the usual big name commercial prep courses, but I was advised that as a foreign trained attorney with no US legal education, a tutor who would be able to give more help with black letter law would be better for me. I settled with a provider who was eye wateringly expensive, and wrongly assumed that must mean they were worth the price tag. I was provided with a daily schedule, including specific past essays and PTs to complete, along with MBE work on Adaptibar. I followed the schedule to the tee, turned in my essays on time and saw a steady and increased improvement in my essay scores which, just prior to the exam, were all consistently in the 65s and 70s. My PTs were always a 70 or higher. My MBEs limped up to an overall 63%.

The exam days came and went. I ended up falling 45 points short. “That’s great!” exclaimed my tutor when I called her to tell her. “Foreign attorneys never pass first time and are usually hundreds of points short. You did great!”. I can assure you, it didn’t feel great. My essays were enough to pass. They were a mixed bag, but a strong PT really helped. My MBEs were where I fell down and so I knew this is where I needed to focus moving forward. I gave myself a day to feel like crap, process how I felt, then I was straight back on it.

Challenges

For me, as a foreign trained attorney who went to a UK law school some 10 years prior, I needed to spend time reacquainting myself with the process of studying, for an examination format that I haven’t encountered before (the UK utilized a mixed of open book, closed book and practical examinations), and with a set of material that was wholly different to English law. In particular, the latter was not only different, but voluminous.

Given my concerns about knowing the sheer volume of US law required to pass this exam, in preparing for attempt number one, I felt like I wanted to “know” the law before I used the law. This, as I later found out, was a mistake. I did a lot of “busy work”; in short, I completely re-wrote the outlines I was provided by my tutor. I didn’t like the formatting, some of the law was wrong (!) and some of the outlines simply didn’t make sense, or at least to me. I spent an inordinate amount of time (indeed almost all of my time) rewriting sections of outlines, and supplementing the same with some outlines given to me by a friend who attended a top law school. So, rather than using the material in a way in which I was to be tested, I wasted time trying to create these perfect outlines. Moreover, it became clear to me that no two outlines are the same, and so I spent most of that time trying to resolve which version of a rule or a set of elements was correct (que Brian here to talk about not hoarding reems of material and resources, but picking what works for you and sticking to it).

On the topic of picking what works for you, I also didn’t like the way in which my course was taught. Whilst I was doing my assigned course tasks, we really didn’t do many essays, and very few of those that we did were closed book. Moreover, the essays were graded off the back of a set of essay approaches, which not only set out structure, but actual paragraphs that we were to use, verbatim, when setting out an answer. To my mind, it was too much. Not only did I need to memorize black letter law, but now I was being asked to memorize full paragraphs of text. So, if you didn’t write in that ‘house style’, the grader would mark you down. This just didn’t work for me.

On reflection, this clearly wasn’t the tutor or course for me and I was too concerned with getting the law right, rather than actually using it and therefore understanding it. This was reflected in my overall MBE score which, just prior to the exam, was at 63%.

Lastly, being an experienced attorney was a blessing and a curse. For example, I was comfortable with PTs in that I was experienced in assessing voluminous information and quickly sorting what was relevant or not and writing about the same. On the other hand, this exam requires a very specific type of writing which certainly didn’t reflect that which I had used in my practice to date. For example, to maximize points, one needs to discuss legal theories that whist relevant, clearly don’t apply, which is something I wouldn’t have done prior.

Second Time is a Charm

Prior to finding out my July results in November, I was hoping for the best but had planned for the worst. I first came across makethisyourlasttime.com when I was googling ‘issue spotting’. Having read Brian’s articles, they just seemed to make sense to me. For example, why would I continue with a prep course that clearly didn’t work for MY style of learning, when I could take charge of how I wanted to learn ( https://www.makethisyourlasttime.com/youre-the-dean-of-your-own-bar-exam-studies/ ). After all, who knows me better than me?! I went all in on Brian’s materials; Passer’s Playbook, Mental Engines, Outlines and Magicsheets.

For me, my study schedule was key. I spent a day getting this right, having considered what I felt I needed to do to pass and what I lacked last time. In short, practice, practice, practice. I set aside my concern for getting the law right first and leant into the theory that by constantly using the material and through recall, I would naturally memorize what I needed. This golden nugget, amongst others, was set out in the section of the Passer’s Playbook on creating your own schedule. For example, on my previous course, there was a 2 week block of memorization immediately prior to the exam. By the time I got to the end of the two weeks, the law I had ‘memorized’ two weeks prior was a distant memory. My new schedule combatted this by moving through all topics in 4 cycles, ensuring there was constant recall.

Specifically, Block 1 focused on just MBEs which allowed for a more focused review of the core MBE subjects. In particular, I started with Emmanuel’s Strategies and Tactics for the MBE; the answer explanations are top notch. I also made sure to really connect with the answer explanations, for both wrong and incorrect answers. Whether I got an answer right or wrong, it was an opportunity to learn. Block 2 focused on review and essays, whilst maintaining MBE practice each day relevant to the subject I was working on. Block 3 mirrored the prior block, adding in daily PR review. Block 4 was a final review, allowing for essay cooking of 2 subjects a day along with some MBE practice. By the time I had completed my schedule, I had completed almost 3,000 MBEs and over 200 essays.

In addition to a solid schedule, I also really connected with the ‘tripod approach’. In short, there are points that can be gobbled up and that you KNOW will be on the exam ( https://www.makethisyourlasttime.com/pass-california-bar-tripod-approach/ ), namely the MBEs, PT and PR. For me, I was confident with the PT (the only element of the exam that resembled the practice of law) and I knew the PR rules well. With MBEs being where I fell down in the exam prior, I really focused on these, but did so in a strategic way. The NCBE tell you how many questions you will likely see on each topic, and so whilst I didn’t neglect any areas, I focused on the big ticket topics and used the data from Adaptibar and a spreadsheet to track where I was. For example, I struggled with the topic of preclusion, but this accounts for less than a possible 2 questions on the exam, so I didn’t get too hung up on these questions if they just weren’t sinking in. In contrast, Negligence (Torts), Individual Rights (Con Law) and constitutional Protection of Accused Persons (Crim Pro) account for a whopping 21.5% of the exam, that’s around 38 questions.

Lastly, another theory which really stuck with me was ‘essay cooking’ ( https://www.makethisyourlasttime.com/essay-cooking/ ). In short, rather than writing out full essays, you issue spot an essay and write out the rules, leaving out the analysis and conclusion. I took this one step further by also adding brief notes of facts that aligned with rule elements. This can be done in 15 minutes, with 15 minutes used to review against a model answer. This is half the time of writing a ‘normal’ essay, allowing for more practice overall. I liked this approach as I was confident with being able to write an analysis and conclusion, given my prior legal experience, but wanted to focus on making sure I was hitting the correct issues and getting the law right. In fact, I didn’t write a single full essay the second time around! I even applied this approach to PT practice. I did what worked for me.

Other Resources Used

In addition to Adaptibar, I used ‘Emmanuel’s Strategies and Tactics for the MBE’. I started with Emmanuel’s before moving on to Adaptibar, as the answer explanations are very detailed. I tracked my progress, made a note of questions I got wrong and revisited the same at a later date. In total, with both Emmanuel’s and Adaptibar, I completed almost 3,000 questions at around 84% correct.

I also utilized Mary Basic’s ‘Exam writing for the California Bar Exam’. This book sets out not only the black letter law, but practice exams from previous administrations, with both a written commentary and an example answer which I used to critique my own answers.

There were also tools I purchased, but when I got into the flow of studying, just didn’t use. For example, baressays.com. In the event, I was able to effectively check model answers on both the CA Bar website and from the makethisyourlasttime.com graded essay answer bank. I also had Emmanuel’s flashcards but didn’t find these useful as the rule statements were different to that which I had.

Exam Day

If you would have told me, prior to starting my prep, that the subjects that came up in Feb 2023 were what I would be tested on, I would have panicked. To my mind they were heavy hitting subjects, i.e. Civ Pro, Con Law, Real Property and Evidence. In the event, I felt prepared. I found a calmness in my preparation, in my daily action that I knew was actually moving the needle. I knew the law, I understood the law and I could apply the law. Did I feel ready? No, but I think that’s normal. On day 1, I utilized all my time and was typing up until the last minute for each essay and the PT. I walked out of the exam hall feeling like I had given my all and that’s all I could have hoped for. As for the MBEs on day 2, I didn’t have a clue how I had done. They felt harder than any practice question I had seen. I’m still unsure as to whether a mushroom is a product?!

Results Day & Beyond

I received my results whilst on holiday with my wife and family in Maui, Hawaii. I REALLY didn’t want to ruin everyone’s holiday by failing, and I’m pleased that I didn’t! I couldn’t think of a better place to find out that I passed this exam, overlooking the ocean, surrounded by family who had been so supportive throughout this whole process, mai tais readily available (and I can assure you consumed!).

Moving forward, I am about to take the Attorney’s Oath with a judge and now hope to move into BigLaw, where I will practice in white collar crime and government investigations. There is no question about it, this exam is a beast, but it can be done. Statistically I shouldn’t have passed this exam (a repeater, taking the February exam, who didn’t attend a US law school), but I did. I did because I took control and did what worked for me.

Thanks again for all of your help. You really do go above and beyond and to think you do this alongside your full-time job is so impressive.

If there is anything else I can do to help, please do let me know.