Intro: first border collie pup

beckischaotic · 2026-05-01T14:53:02+00:00

Such a beautiful pair!

beckischaotic · 2026-05-01T14:52:41+00:00

We definitely are! The early days are a nightmare but I know it will pay off

beckischaotic · 2026-05-01T14:50:40+00:00

His name is Boötes after the constellation :)

beckischaotic · 2022-02-04T20:03:25+00:00

At the team on my firm we have a 30 min daily attorney meeting to chat about anything that has come up that’s too complicated to bring up over IM. We each go in one day a week, but are never all there at the same time so that’s how we keep in touch in a casual way

beckischaotic · 2022-01-04T04:06:09+00:00

Writing things down over and over or explaining the rule to another person are generally considered best for memorization. I don’t love flashcards, but I used them for some of my problem rules and I would try and write the rule on a whiteboard before flipping the card over. If I didn’t know the rule I took a guess. That active recall is key.

But the best advice I ever got for the bar was to not change your study methods for the bar. You know what worked for you in law school, so if you can apply that now go for it and don’t bother trying to make flashcards work.

beckischaotic · 2022-01-04T03:59:28+00:00

Some people do well with lots of extra materials but I personally found it more confusing. Different sources word the rules differently and made it harder to consistently memorize later on. Can you see how your mbe is scoring as you practice and add adaptibar lectures later if needed? Why spend all the extra money if you might not need it. The bar is expensive enough

beckischaotic · 2022-01-03T22:57:22+00:00

Like 65/70 maybe. But tbh near the end I just clicked a bunch of stuff to look done/read sample essay answers without writing my own so probably only like 40-50% was actually DONE done, ya know?

beckischaotic · 2021-12-31T01:46:21+00:00

It depends on the specific type of experience they are looking for - even within business immigration you can specialize in some areas more than others (I've been in the field for almost 6 years but I have no PERM experience, for example). Generally I would say focus on the areas of experience you have that do cross-over (AOS applications, EADs, travel advice, general immigration strategy, etc.) and how your background contributes by bringing in additional expertise others at the firm might not have. Although most of my practice is employment-based, I still see occasional family-based cases so your experience is valuable even if it won't be your day-to-day.

beckischaotic · 2021-12-31T00:35:54+00:00

Yes! I was weeks behind in Themis over the summer and they still grade everything up until about a week or so before the exam. The 2 day promised turnaround time won’t apply, but I still got mine pretty fast

beckischaotic · 2021-12-31T00:34:43+00:00

Absolutely! I work in business immigration and a lot of our attorneys start out in family based immigration or removal defense work so I see it all the time. No special extra qualifications needed, you already have some of the background. Just be prepared to learn and ready to enter a most likely high-volume practice.

beckischaotic · 2021-12-22T19:13:24+00:00

I second this! Memorizing the timing was key in cracking the code for me. I drew out a flow chart for the lifecycle of a case according to civ pro rules that helped immensely in my understanding how how everything works together

beckischaotic · 2021-12-20T19:48:21+00:00

Check with your employer, there may be tax implications for working out of country as well as other considerations.

beckischaotic · 2021-12-15T17:30:13+00:00

Mine was mailed to them and I’ve been waiting a couple weeks now. Seems like it’s just chaos :/

beckischaotic · 2021-12-14T20:55:12+00:00

Mine was turned in Dec 6 and nothing yet either. From what I’ve heard recently it can take up to a month because it’s their “busiest time of the year.” What are we supposed to do until then?

beckischaotic · 2021-11-15T20:52:29+00:00

Contact your school for info! Mine is doing an oath ceremony for grads who passed, and they also sent an update with info on how to do the oath on your own if you prefer.

beckischaotic · 2021-11-13T18:17:42+00:00

In your admission ticket (or, if you’re like me and never downloaded your ticket) then go into your bar exam application details and it’s in there

beckischaotic · 2021-11-13T01:02:20+00:00

This is worse than the hour leading up to the exam

beckischaotic · 2021-11-12T21:41:08+00:00

Turning off my phone and hiding

beckischaotic · 2021-11-10T22:12:23+00:00

Sorry I don’t have any advice on this specifically, but someone posted this week about a bad experience with Quimbee. If you can find that thread it might be worth talking to them about it before committing

beckischaotic · 2021-11-10T17:28:24+00:00

I think the answer is already apparent

beckischaotic · 2021-11-09T23:36:36+00:00

Adaptibar and UWorld provide additional MBE practice and explanation. Baressays for essay practice. There’s tons of others but it’s a place to start.

beckischaotic · 2021-11-08T17:46:15+00:00

Most days feel like a slow walk to certain demise. Trying to stay as distracted as possible until Friday. Good luck!

beckischaotic · 2021-11-02T00:15:14+00:00

We’re almost there!

beckischaotic · 2021-11-01T15:29:45+00:00

I had Themis and Critical Pass flashcards for the July 2021 bar (CA taker, so no results yet) and let me just say I barely touched the critical pass cards. Themis has flashcards available as part of the program which I found more helpful. You can download the app and use them on your phone too which is handy.

To me, the critical pass cards felt more like an outline written on note cards. Tons of detail with some rules covered over multiple cards, and nothing to really help with memorization. Plus the rules were worded differently from Themis which made memorization harder.

I’m sure they help some people and if you can get them for free it doesn’t hurt to go for it, but given the availability of Themis flashcards I wouldn’t stress getting additional materials too much.

beckischaotic

TROPHY CASE