As I have posted previously, when starting a law firm, you need to be licensed. No brainer. How do you get licensed? You study mind-numbing information that is mostly irrelevant to the day-to-day obligations of running a solo law practice.
My perspective on the requirement of being licensed to practice law is a little different because I am already licensed in one jurisdiction (Indiana) while trying to be licensed to practice law in another (Minnesota & North Dakota). I find the situation ironic and mildly amusing. One one hand, I am running a small, but profitable, law practice out of my home. On the other hand, I am studying for the bar exam (again) to try and learn legal principles I’ve never used in practice. It is truly an odd feeling.
But, this blog is not supposed to only be about my journey to start and build a law firm. No, this blog is meant to try and help anybody out there who has questions which I may be able to answer while they go from zero-to-hero (or some variation thereof). Today’s question is how to study for the bar exam twice.
My perspective on studying for the bar exam again after a four year layoff is a little different from the first time test taker. Foremost, the focus should be on studying and memorizing lots of information for the multi-state examination or the MBE. The MBE is the real bear and it needs to have the most time spent on it. (Caveat: this is only my perspective from my own experience and from speaking with former exam takers). Focusing on the MBE means two things (1) know the substantive area of law and all the elements VERY WELL, and, (2) do as many multiple choice questions as you can.
If you can focus on these two things, and you successfully graduated from law school, I think you can pass the bar exam. Furthermore – and this is a cliche I’ve found to be true – studying is a marathon and not a sprint. I am currently training for a half-marathon and I know what that means. It means work. It means sticking to a routine and doing things over-and-over-and-over again. It means not missing runs (MBE test) when you are scheduled to make those runs (MBE tests).
Now, the rest of the bar exam is not a cake walk. You have to know the substantive law of your jurisdiction so that you can pass the essay portion and the MPT. This means going to lectures and taking notes and not blowing stuff off. As long as you have done this, you should be fine. The essays are relatively straight forward law school type questions. One interesting change is that the bar examiners now allow people to take the essay and MPT on their laptops in many jurisdictions. This should be an interesting wrinkle, but I believe it is most likely for the best given how sloppy many peoples’ hand writing must be. I know mine is terrible.
I’ll post more on these subjects as I go through the process, but those are my initial thoughts as I dive back into bar exam studying. So, if you thinking about starting a law firm and how to start a law firm, think first about being licensed. Think first about the bar exam. Think about it a lot and go through the paces. You’ll be fine.