I still feel like I’m wading through a waist-deep swamp of $&*! as far as bar studying goes and now the test is basically one month away. Obviously I can’t go on like this if I’m going to pass.

What to do? Energy Spatula solicited a list of tips from her readers last week so perhaps I’ll find the magic bullet there. Oh, there is no magic bullet? Damn.

Elsewhere, Monica is taking simulated MBEs already, and that seems like a pretty good idea except I haven’t reviewed all the MBE topics yet. The last oneââ�¬â��propertyââ�¬â��is next week. I guess that’s good. I can use the 4th of July break to start finish my attack plans for the MBE and take a simulated test on my own. Oh yeah, one of the “benefits” of taking the least expensive BarBri class in the country is that you don’t get a simulated MBE, either. Cheaper obviously isn’t always better, but again, I have to remind myself that no one else in MT is getting a simulated MBE as part of their exam preparations eitherââ�¬â��at least not through BarBri.

Monica also recently pointed to this list of bar exam mnemonics. Maybe some of those will help, too.

Meanwhile, Energy Spatula expresses the frustration many of us are feeling about now (oh, and here, too), but she’s got it even worseââ�¬â��her BarBri classes are apparently seven days a week! Suddenly my three-day weekends are looking much, much better. But she’s also turning in practice essays to be graded. Here in MT? No. Our review course has so far been silent on essays except for those brief moments when the MBE video professors give you tips like, “so if you run into an essay where strict application of contract law leads to unjust results, be sure to end with a paragraph discussing the possible equitable remedies available under the theory of quasi-contract.” That’s helpful, but I bet those graded practice essays are going to be much more helpful for those who do them.

I’m sure I’m being unfair b/c we’re going to have a bunch of courses on MT-specific issues coming up so I’m sure we’ll get more tips on how to handle the essays on each of those subjects. Speaking of which, it’s almost time for my first-ever introduction to tax law. Yay.

And maybe I don’t have all that much to worry about. Wayne at the 2006 Bar Exam blog says studying for the bar is just like law school, and I’m sure he’s right, but something tells me my slacker ways will have to improve at least a little if I’m going to beat this monster.
[tags]barbri, montana[/tags]

Just finished three days of contracts lectures w/Professor David G. Epstein. He’s a funny guy, but for some reason the funniest thing he said in the whole three days was:

I’m just like Heidi Fleiss . . . for purposes of this hypothetical.

I’m doubtful that “Armadillos from Texas play rap, eating tacos”¹ is really going to help me remember this material, but here’s to hope. [tags]barbri[/tags]

1. This is the mnemonic device he suggested for remembering the major areas of contract law. It stands for: Applicable law, Formation of contracts, Terms of contract, Perfomance, Remedies for unexcused nonperformance, Excuse of nonperformance, Third-party problems.↩

“I have been writing in crayon and marker for years, and now I feel like I can do so without a dozen puzzled faces trying to figure me out at Starbucks.” ââ�¡â�� [via]

“For some reason, our elected officials decided against holding a news conference [to announce the latest pay raise they just gave themselves]. Maybe that’s because they didn’t want to draw attention to the fact that they raise their own salaries almost every year while refusing to raise the pay of our lowest-paid workers.” ââ�¡â��

“You think studying for the bar exam is hard - try balancing a life, 2,300 billable hours and therapy.” ââ�¡â��

“I find it strange,” he said to the investigators, on the grounds that as a government official “the laws apply to me” anyway. ââ�¡â��

“It may well be that putting to rest the barely breathing carcass of the exclusionary rule will finally require us to confront the consequences of allowing American law enforcement to police the public without any meaningful deterrent.” ââ�¡â��

“The dissent correctly views the decision as a doctrinal shift, but it is only one more step in a lonstanding move towards a “common sense” (i.e., defendant unfriendly) approach to criminal justice.” ââ�¡â��

“I’ve studied, but I haven’t studied.” That makes two of us, AP! ââ�¡â��

“The arc isn’t a rainbow in the traditional senseââ�¬â��it is caused by light passing through wispy, high-altitude cirrus clouds.” ââ�¡â��