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An article in the Los Angeles Times reported that nearly 9 out of 10 law school students do not graduate from unaccredited law schools in California.

The article featured a former student of Northwestern California University School of Law (NWCU), my alma mater, discussing his experience with this online law school, “…almost from the start, the Marine Corps veteran struggled. He said he frequently asked for help, but got little. Less than two years later, he gave up.”

After reading more about this student, we find out that he had poor law school grades and dropped out after failing the Baby Bar twice: Read More →

hard easy fdpAnyone who has ever taken the California bar exam has heard this before – the state of California has the hardest bar exam in the country. But, is it really true? Sure the pass rates are very low in California, but then, California allows students from non-ABA-accredited law schools to sit for the bar. This could tip the scales since results do show that on average, these students perform more poorly on the exam than their ABA-approved counterparts. Well, finally, we have some data to prove once and for all, which state really has the hardest bar exam in the country. Read More →

I remember Thclock - freedigitalphotose Wait.

Yeah, that wait.  Bar exam results.

Is results day weighing on your mind?  Do you have a feeling one way or the other?  Understandably, many bar candidates don’t.  After the 3 day mental marathon that is the California Bar Exam, you may have lost all perspective.  Many walk away thinking, “Huh. I hope that was enough.”

If you’ve since come to the conclusion that your exam score is probably going to be right on the line, hovering around that magic number of 1440, you may or may not have given this some thought.  With 65% of your score based on humans reading your written work and assigning a numbered grade to it, what if one grader gave you a 60 but another would have seen a solid 65.  Okay that’s 5 points.  Now multiply that by 8 answers (6 essays, 2 PT’s) and that’s 40 points.  And 1440-40 = close but no cigar.  You see where I’m going with this?

Apparently the bar examiners have thought about this too.  So they have a mandatory second reading built right into their protocol.  For applicants who came in right on the line it’s a way to make sure the 40 point scenario above didn’t happen.

Here’s how it works: Read More →

 

Stack of essaysIt’s ironic.  You spend years in law school, a fortune in tuition, and months in bar review to prepare for the most difficult bar exam in the country.  You study harder than you’ve ever studied in your life.  Then your bar review instructor informs you that the bar exam graders get paid about $3 to spend an average of 90 seconds to read and grade an essay – that precious product of all your hard work that could make or break your future career plans.

 I’ll admit I was glad to know up front about the brevity in which my answers would be reviewed by some anonymous grader, flying through hundreds of blue books at the speed of light.   It forced me to write more succinctly and answer the call of the question. Read More →