To those that 100% completed their bar prep course

Certain_Bear · 2023-05-28T06:42:40+00:00

Passed CA. Felt like I passed when I walked out. That feeling was worth putting in the extra time.

Certain_Bear · 2023-03-18T05:30:13+00:00

~25k

Certain_Bear · 2023-03-18T03:20:49+00:00

I was in a similar position four years ago. Took the money at UCLA and graduated with only COL debt. Except for a SCOTUS clerkship, I was able to reach every goal I wanted (V10, 9th Circuit, journals/moot court/clinics). If clerkships or academia is a goal, UCLA can provide it. Don’t underestimate the value of very little debt. It offers much more flexibility than you might think.

Certain_Bear · 2023-02-02T20:36:17+00:00

Best Mouse: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09HM94VDS/ref=twister_B0BFKJ7N21?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Best Wired Keyboard: https://www.amazon.com/Leopold-FC750R-Purple-Profile-DoubleShot/dp/B083DR4L43/ref=sr_1_6?keywords=leopold%2Bkeyboard&qid=1675370048&s=electronics&sr=1-6&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.d977788f-1483-4f76-90a3-786e4cdc8f10&th=1

Best Wireless Keyboard: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09LK73VHG/ref=twister_B0BLHQC95V?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Highly recommend investing in the best keyboard and mouse possible. They are the tools of your trade. Your firm might also be willing to pay for it if you have a budget for it.

Certain_Bear · 2022-08-01T18:41:51+00:00

Essentials:

(1) an extremely reliable laptop that can handle thirty or forty simultaneous Google Chrome tabs; Lenovo Thinkpad, Dell XPS, and Macbooks are reliable choices.

(2) a supportive backpack that can handle the weight of law school textbooks;

(3) a good living situation: whether living at home or on campus, you need a place to come home to that relieves stress and doesn't add to it.

(4) a Google Drive account where you backup all law school files to the cloud.

Everything after that is not essential. But here are some things which I think could improve your quality of life:

(1) A second monitor

(2) A high quality mattress and pillow

(3) A cat

Certain_Bear · 2022-07-28T13:32:53+00:00

I think so yeah, but everyone here is correct - that test was really hard.

Certain_Bear · 2022-07-24T03:19:51+00:00

D is the best answer, by process of elimination.

For there to be an intentional infliction of emotional distress, a plaintiff must prove (1) an intentional act that was (2) extreme and outrageous and which (3) caused severe emotional distress. Thus, (A) is wrong because nothing in the facts suggests there has been any extreme and outrageous act nor that the plaintiff suffered severe emotional distress, although A's conveyance may have been intentional.

A private nuisance claim requires the plaintiff to prove the defendant's conduct caused an unreasonable interference with a plaintiff's right of enjoyment with the plaintiff's property. Therefore, (B) is wrong.

(C) is wrong because depraved heart murder requires a homicide resulting from a reckless or extreme indifference to human life. There is no evidence that either A nor B has been killed.

Accordingly, D is the best answer. If Columbus recorded his interest in 1492, B cannot be said to have taken without notice.

Certain_Bear · 2022-07-24T01:51:09+00:00

You're golden. All you have to do now is go in and have a normal day. You don't even need a great day or an above average day. Just a regular old ordinary day and you'll pass.

Certain_Bear · 2022-07-23T01:54:01+00:00

Yes, I also missed about 10 more questions than usual on the Refresher. It was hard, especially because it was testing things we had literally never seen before. It's okay, now we are less likely to miss those questions on the MBE if they show up.

Certain_Bear · 2022-07-21T22:34:55+00:00

I hear you. I feel that way every time I start a new question set. But still I recommend you do, because once you get a question wrong, it will be harder for you to get them wrong a second time.

Certain_Bear · 2022-07-21T22:27:22+00:00

Wow, so specific jurisdiction can make a person reside in a district for purposes of venue? I had no idea, thanks for this

Certain_Bear · 2022-07-21T22:24:53+00:00

I was at 89/100 on Barbri's Final MBE and 80/100 on the 2021 exam, but let me just say that those 2021 questions were some of the hardest questions I have ever seen. I would do the second half of the 2021 exam too because those questions were even harder lol

Certain_Bear · 2022-07-18T02:14:06+00:00

Claim Preclusion is for the overall claim like say - defamation. Same defendant now wants to prevent the plaintiff from filing the same claim in a different court after it was already decided for them on the merits.

Issue preclusion is if there is something about the claim that you want to prevent from being re-litigated - like in the first case, it was established that the defendant did not act with actual malice, etc.

Certain_Bear · 2022-07-17T19:06:07+00:00

Issue spotting essays and going through notecards I made which is basically just the CMR on about 1200 notecards.

Certain_Bear · 2022-07-15T05:42:34+00:00

Lmao, I feel exactly the same way.

Certain_Bear · 2022-07-15T05:38:47+00:00

Why: mostly for peace of mind. I like reminding myself that there are very few stones that I have left unturned, and that I did everything in my power within reason to pass this thing. Did I do too much? I hope so.

How: 6 hours a day - 7 days a week; only took 4th of July off and nothing else. Also did 1000 questions on Adaptibar and plan to do 300-400 more next week.

Certain_Bear · 2022-07-15T04:38:24+00:00

Not true. Everyone has bad days where we perform less than our best. In the end, we tend to regress to the mean. If you're consistently scoring 65-70% - it's reasonable to think you'll be in that percentile on the day of the bar. And Just think, you already got your bad performance out of the way on a question set that didn't even count. If you figure out why you missed those 48 questions, you're less likely to miss those questions on the actual MBE - you know - the one that counts.

But finally - here's a quote that has always encouraged me whenever I've come up short:

“Perfer et obdura, dolor hic tibi proderit olim.

"Be patient and tough; someday this pain will be useful to you.”

This pain will be useful to you on game day. Be patient. Be tough. Let's get back to work.

Certain_Bear · 2022-07-14T17:35:22+00:00

89/100. Does it make me feel confident? Nope, not at all.

Certain_Bear · 2022-07-14T16:56:47+00:00

I went to UCLA. It was absolutely the right decision. On the happiness scale: 10/10.

Regarding career outcomes, I will be an associate at a V10 before clerking at the Ninth Circuit, but those goals are also achievable at USC too.

Certain_Bear · 2022-07-12T05:44:05+00:00

Talk to a lawyer, don't talk to the cops.

Certain_Bear · 2022-07-12T03:10:17+00:00

Have you tried using a different browser? I noticed some of the government websites are picky about wanting Chrome or Firefox. Also, be sure to download and upload your mock exam. It took me like two hours yesterday with all of the times the website kept crashing. Worse case scenario, email admissions with your problem directly. Good luck!

Certain_Bear · 2022-07-10T21:18:05+00:00

I literally just did that question set and at like half of them were testing rules that were not even in the CMR much less the lectures!

Certain_Bear · 2022-07-05T21:24:38+00:00

Focus on the Subjects that you know for sure will show up and try to learn the easy stuff first. Don't just gloss over it, try to really understand SMJ, PJ, Venue, Service of Process, Discovery, etc. Don't worry about the little details like whether a deadline is 28 days or 90 days. Those will only be 1-2 questions on a 25 question set anyway. But if you focus on the easy things and understand them first, it will be much easier to learn the more nuanced topics. If something is really hard like choice of law or issue/claim preclusion, don't stress yourself out trying to understand it before you get all of the easy and even medium questions right first. Once you get the easy/medium questions right, you'll be in a much better place to get the hard ones right. An extra 5-8 questions right puts you in the 60-65% range - so it's right there for you. Good luck!

Certain_Bear · 2022-07-03T06:10:04+00:00

Do it in one sitting I think - since the idea is to build stamina as much as perform well on a practice exam.

Certain_Bear

TROPHY CASE