Licensed in other states: Attorneys Studying for the California Bar Exam
For practicing attorneys seeking admittance to the California Bar, the prospect of taking another bar exam can be can be tedious and daunting. As providers of California bar review courses for attorneys, we’ve encountered seasoned attorneys choosing to re-locate to California or render advice to California clients find that “getting back to the books” is a challenge at best. Having to memorize the fundamentals of contract formation while prepping for trial makes for a very irritated lawyer. Common among practioners is the idea that after practicing for so many years, why in the world should one have to subject him or herself to an examination that neither proves relevant to their current field of practice or enhances their practical legal knowledge. To add further insult to injury, California offers no reciprocity. If you want to practice here, you must sit for the California bar exam.
There is some relief for those attorneys who have maintained an active status for a continuous five-year period. These candidates can opt for an abbreviated version of the California Bar Exam, The California Attorneys’ Exam which eliminates the MBE. Even with the exclusion of the MBE, the pass rate for the California Attorney’s exam barely eeks above 30%, thereby creating a group of attorney applicants who attempt this exam more than once. A host of theories account for such a low pass rate, but in reality the low pass rate is commonly due to the fact that professionals simply do not have the time to adequately prepare. Traditional bar review programs offer no relief for time pressed attorneys. Listening to hours of lectures and cutting out large blocks of time during the day simply does not work
Fedora J. Nick, founder and managing director of Executive Bar Review offers suggestions to mitigate the time constraints associated with bar exam preparation. “Attorneys need to draw on their professional knowledge and skills to set themselves apart from the average bar exam candidate”, offers Nick. “With the practice of law comes the ability to weed out the extraneous in favor of relevant law and fact. “These skills are crucial to bar exam success,” adds Nick.
The Executive Bar Exam program custom tailors bar exam preparation with the busy attorney in mind. Attorneys are paired with a licensed California bar exam expert, and a study plan is designed specifically for each exam candidate. “We approach each attorney individually, working strictly on a one-on-one basis. We know exactly when your motions are due, when you are scheduled to go to trial, and what transactional deadlines you are up against”, adds Nick. “Most importantly, we know that schedules are bound to change without notice, and we go the extra mile to accommodate challenging calendars. Our program works with each attorney, not the other way around.”
“Most importantly, we only teach you what you need to know to pass the exam.”
Courtesy of Executive Bar Review
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