With only one week to go before the July 2019 California Bar exam panic no doubt starts to set in. Many applicants find themselves scrambling to read over all the material in hopes that it will all sink in. Not the best idea for the last week. Presumably you have studied your outlines, condensed them onto manageable bits, and have to some extent practiced essays, MBEs and MPTs. Now your job is to decide how you will convey what you know.
A smart tip for this final week before the California bar exam is to figure out HOW you are going to address a certain area of the law. Compiling rule paragraphs which contain the exact wording you will use on the exam will allow you to finish the written portion of the essay exam on time. So, by way of example, you may have a Business Associations outline that includes topics such as the Duty of Loyalty, the Duty of Care, and the Business Judgment Rule. As California attorney bar exam prep professionals, we know that this cluster of topics is often tested together, so create a paragraph with a steady ebb and flow that combines the topics into a well-crafted paragraph. Something to the effect of:
Officers and Directors have two primary fiduciary duties: The Duty of Care and the Duty of Loyalty. The duty of care requires officers and directors to make careful, informed decisions by assuming an active role throughout the entire decision-making process. In so doing, directors should: Assure themselves that they have the information required to take action; devote sufficient time to reviewing such information; and obtain, if useful, the advice of experts. The duty of loyalty suggests that these primaries to act in the best interest of the corporation and its stockholders by not putting any personal interest ahead of the interests of the corporation or its stockholders. This duty is implicated when: Directors stand on both sides of a transaction or otherwise stand to receive a benefit not shared with the stockholders (an “interested” director); or Directors are beholden to a party with an interest in the transaction (a “non-independent” director). The Business Judgment Rule operates as an implied defense to certain decisions in that in making business decisions, the directors of a corporation acted on an informed basis, in good faith and in the honest belief that the action taken was in the best interest of the corporation and its shareholders.
With a well thought out paragraph like the one identified above; you can now take your time to carefully consider whether the actors in your fact pattern violated these duties. We spend so much time figuring out what the rule is that we lose sight of the analysis. The analysis requires application of the facts to the law. Take the time to craft these paragraphs or seek the assistance in the last week from a bar exam expert who can help you put these together. The ultimate result here will be very much in your favor.
Executive Bar Review wishes you the best of luck on the July 2019 California Bar Exam.
