Baby Bar Exam

I’m Unprepared For The Exam, Now What?

I'm Unprepared For The Exam, Now What?

It happens to many law students, hopefully, no more than once. But, for whatever reason, an exam approaches and you realize that you are unprepared. You fear the worst. While this is not an ideal situation to be in, but it might be possible to avoid an exam disaster. Here are a few tips: An important thing to remember is that this approach will likely not produce an A+ for the exam. The purpose of these suggestions is to help you avoid the worst possible scenario. I would not recommend these suggestions under normal circumstances. *Gather the proper materials. This approach does not greatly involve...

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California Baby Bar Results Are Here

California Baby Bar Results Are On The Way

The State Bar of California released the results of the California First-Year Law Examination, more commonly known as the Baby Bar, on August 6th. If you are a law student at The California Desert Trial Academy, College of Law (CDTA), you most likely celebrated a passing score on this date. CDTA provides a complimentary, comprehensive Baby Bar Review Course from the Master of the Baby Bar, Jeff Fleming. Fleming’s Fundamentals of Law partners with CDTA to provide an intensive review course and boot camp to fully prepare you for the exam.  CDTA also provides the AdaptiBar Multi-State review, included with your...

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Update on the Summer 2021 Baby Bar

Update on the Summer 2021 Baby Bar

The California “Baby Bar” or as it is more formally known, the First-Year Law Students' Examination (“FSYLX”), is a one-day test given in June and November. The test consists of four one-hour essay questions and 100 multiple-choice questions. The exam only covers three subjects: Contracts, Criminal Law, and Torts. As it did for the November 2020 exam, the State Bar California will conduct the FYLSX under special circumstances because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The exam in June will be offered remotely. The Baby Bar is taken by over 700 applicants. Those required to pass the First-Year Law Students’ Exam will not receive credit for any...

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Last-Minute Information On The Online November Baby Bar

Last-Minute Information On The Online November Baby Bar

The State Bar California continues to conduct the California Bar Examination and the First-Year Law Students Examination (the “Baby Bar”) under special circumstances caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The Baby Bar will next be offered to examinees on November 17, 2020. The test will be offered remotely Applicants required to pass the First-Year Law Students’ Exam will not receive credit for any law study until the applicant passes the exam. Passage of this test must be achieved within the first three consecutive administrations after the applicant becomes eligible to take the exam. If the applicant passes subsequent to this occurring, credit will...

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State Bar Lowers Passing Score Necessary For Bar Exam

State Bar Lowers Passing Score Necessary For Bar Exam

On August 10, the California Supreme Court released an order that detailed final arrangements to permanently lower the passing score for the California Bar Exam, which will now be administered online in October 2020. In a letter sent to the State Bar of California's Board of Trustees. the court stated that it would not apply the lower passing score retroactively to past test-takers. Three other states: North Carolina, Oregon, and Washington, have lowered Bar Exam passing scores during the coronavirus pandemic. However, the changes to the passing score in these states are temporary and only apply to future examinees. “With one exception, the court is unaware of...

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The September, Um, October Bar Exam Approaches – Don’t Fear (Bar Exam Moved To October)

The September, Um, October Bar Exam Approaches – Don’t Fear (Bar Exam Moved To October)

The California Supreme Court first announced preliminary plans for administering the October Bar Exam online in a July 16 letter to the State Bar Board of Trustees. These plans have been confirmed and finalized with the next California Bar Exam scheduled for October 5–6, 2020. Under the direction of the California Supreme Court, the exam will be administered primarily online. The California First-Year Law Students' Exam, also known as the Baby Bar, has been rescheduled to November 17, 2020. In July, California Supreme Court justices held a videoconference with California law school deans, then held a three-hour virtual hearing to receive input from law school graduates registered...

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Last-Minute Baby Bar Tips

Last-Minute Baby Bar Tips

The California First-Year Law Students Examination, otherwise known as the “Baby Bar” is scheduled for June 23, 2020. Whereas the Supreme Court of California, on April 27, 2020, postponed the summer California Bar Exam scheduled for the end of July to September 9th and 10th, it chose to carry on with the summer Baby Bar as scheduled. Here are some last-minute Baby Bar Exam tips. CDTA students study and prepare for this test regularly, using weekends to focus their development on test-taking skills. CDTA students have a 65% FYLSX pass rate, one of the highest pass rates in the State of...

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Update On The Summer 2020 California Bar & Baby Bar Exams

Update On The Summer 2020 California Bar & Baby Bar Exams

According to the California State Bar, the current coronavirus pandemic has caused it to consider all possible options for administering the July bar exam. After discussions with the National Conference of Bar Examiners and other jurisdictions, the State bar finally made a formal announcement in the middle of April. It announced that it was presently considering two different scenarios for the Bar Examination and the First-Year Bar Examination. Health experts expect the COVID-19 pandemic to extend into the fall and winter, at least, until a vaccine is made commercially available to the general public. States such as New Jersey, New York,...

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Tips On Outlining Essay Answers – Analysis & Conclusion

The California Desert Trial Academy focuses on providing an academic experience that emphasizes a practical approach to becoming a lawyer. We believe this is the most efficient and expedient pathway to a successful and rewarding legal career. At CDTA, we train, educate, and develop students to be exceptional attorneys and trial advocates. It’s obvious that law students want to get the most points out of every essay question on a law exam. They also want to do it as expediently and efficiently as possible. Wasting time on a question reduces any time remaining to review, revise, and correct prior finished questions. Outlining an answer to an essay question is a good way to improve any law student’s test-taking proficiency. Without entirely discounting the conclusion, the analysis is the most important component of a law exam answer since here is where examinees “apply the law to the facts.” An important tip for improving an IRAC-styled answer from average to excellent is to develop the analysis by presenting well-structured arguments on behalf of both sides (i.e., plaintiff-defendant, if applicable) for each issue spotted. Ask the following questions: • “What would the Plaintiff argue?” • “What would the Defendant argue?” This removes an essay answer from the IRAC format since the analysis entails more than just the law’s application to the facts. Rather, the answer is now presented as arguing and analyzing both the plaintiff’s case and the defendant’s case. Next, make every reasonable argument possible and include any reasonable creative arguments. Then make a statement as to which side of the issue has a better argument citing specific facts from the question’s details. Arguments may be shaped using and combining the following strategic formats. • Argue that the facts should be interpreted one way or another • Argue that the law should be interpreted one way or the other • Cite policy reasons for why the case should resolve one way or another • Argue that question should apply the traditional rule instead of the model rule (or vice versa) • Argue that the common law rule should be applied instead of the statute (or vice versa) • Argue that the majority rule should be applied instead of the minority rule (or vice versa) • Argue that the holding in one case should be followed rather than the holding in a different case. Any arguments must consider what the course’s professor emphasized in class, whether contradictory rulings in two different cases or a focus on common law vs. statutory law, majority view vs. minority view, etc. Finally, make a statement as to which party is more likely to prevail with an explanation of the underlying reasoning. The conclusion answers the question, “Who has the better legal argument?” This conclusion is not as crucial as the analysis. A conclusion must not be too inconclusive, i.e. “It depends on the view of the court.” After all, an inconclusive “conclusion” is not a conclusion! Just the same, a conclusion should not be too decisive (i.e. “The plaintiff will definitely prevail” or “The Defendant has no legal argument.”). It is a good strategy to avoid extremely strong words or phrases unless they are factually appropriate. Good usable keywords for a conclusion are “probably” and “most likely.” The key to mastering law exam essay questions is practice. This will improve issue-spotting, analytical, and reasoning skills that should culminate with exceptional readiness for the bar exam. Like traditional law schools, CDTA’s curriculum is designed to teach students the substantive law of core subject areas. Unlike traditional law schools, CDTA emphasizes training and developing students to be capable and competent advocates in any courtroom. The California Desert Trial Academy is a 21st Century law school that moves students toward a successful legal career on the first day of class. We believe that practical experience in tandem with legal knowledge is the best road to a successful, rewarding, and prosperous legal career. Call us today at (760) 342-0900 or find out more online here.

The California Desert Trial Academy focuses on providing an academic experience that emphasizes a practical approach to becoming a lawyer. We believe this is the most efficient and expedient pathway to a successful and rewarding legal career. At CDTA, we train, educate, and develop students to be exceptional attorneys and trial advocates. It’s obvious that law students want to get the most points out of every essay question on a law exam. They also want to do it as expediently and efficiently as possible. Wasting time on a question reduces any time remaining to review, revise, and correct prior finished questions....

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Tips On Outlining Essay Answers – IRAC, Issue-Spotting & Relevance

Tips On Outlining Essay Answers – IRAC, Issue-Spotting & Relevance

Whenever the subject of answering legal essays arises, the IRAC technique inevitably rears its ugly head. Why ugly? Because the IRAC method, in its most basic form, is not the optimal way to answer law exam questions. The IRAC method tends toward students devising simplistic and formulaic answers. Nonetheless, for any law student who does not outline his or her answers, IRAC is a good starting point for learning the tools to answer law school exam questions. In fact, practicing and developing it can help students improve their treatment of the analysis section resulting in more sophisticated exam answers. The IRAC method...

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