LLM passes California Bar Exam on her FIRST try by “cramming” strategically
Tanvi passed the 2023 February California Bar Exam, which had a 32.5% pass rate.
Pass rates don’t mean anything to MTYLT readers (you) because pass rates have no bearing on their own chance of success.
Like many of the other passers you hear about here, this featured passer did it her own way after she realized things were not working for her.
There are many ways you can pass the exam! You are the dean of your own studies. Bar prep is personal.
Quick stats
Attempts: California Bar Exam 1 time
Weakness: Multiple choice
Unique challenge: Lack of familiarity with U.S. law, lack of time
💬 “This process is extremely taxing and the mental strain doesn’t feel worth it, but you can absolutely do this!! Don’t feel pressured to stick to a bar prep course if it’s not working for you.”
Tanvi’s three steps for strategically“cramming” her bar preparation
1️⃣ Determine if your current approach is working for you or not.
Tanvi started going through her bar review course, but she noticed it wasn’t working.
How do you tell if it’s working or not? In Tanvi’s case, things were not sticking.
💬 “I initially used the BarMax prep course lectures to help me learn the law, but after going through all their material once, I realized things weren’t sticking.“
This is a fundamental flaw of big box review courses: They tell you “WHAT to study” but now “HOW to learn.”
This is an outdated approach to exam preparation.
Not just because it’s got a single point of failure…
That’s why I do what I do. The overpriced courses that dump information actually have the easiest job in this process. My readers tend to be pretty good at questioning and modifying this traditional approach to suit them.
So assess whether whatever you’re doing now is working for you, instead of bruteforcing your way through frustration and a sunk-cost fallacy.
It’s not too late to revisit your approach to studying. No need to regret getting a course too much.
How?
2️⃣ Seek to be efficient AND effective.
Many students get cold sweat around June or July when they realize they’re running out of time and it’s not coming together. Their course or whatever they’re doing still hasn’t progressed them in a meaningful way.
Bar review courses are simply supplementary to what is a self-study process at its core.
💬 “While I did find the bar prep company’s lectures helpful to get a lay of the land, in the end the more affordable resources like Magicsheets, Emanuel’s Strategies & Tactics, and BarMD’s workshop for PT worked best for me.“
Relying solely on a course to turn you into GPT-4 is a risky first-timer mistake (that I made). And if you’re a repeater and STILL making the same mistakes, it’s time to try something different.
This was especially true for Tanvi, who had a busy life outside of bar prep! It’s possible that she would have LOST time and progress if she had forced herself through the course.
💬 “I’ll note that I didn’t stick to one set study schedule. I was networking and volunteering on a Board at the same time, so I had random meetings throughout the day that made it hard to stick to a daily schedule. I just made sure to do a mix of MBE, essay practice, and active memorizing every day. Some days, I studied 10 hours (with breaks!), while other days I only got in 5 hours. The week before the exam, I tried to emulate exam day by waking up at 7, doing practice questions and reviewing Magichseets from 8-5pm, and took the evenings off.“
It’s not that taking a bar review course is bad, but you should make it work FOR YOU.
For example, consider what Tanvi did:
Use tools and resources (other than your course) designed to help you see the big picture.
Focus on DOING.
Actively fill in the gaps in your knowledge and memorize them.
Focus on issues and rules.
Be strategic about what’s important in the exam.
💬 “I found studying the Magicsheets and doing practice questions from Strategies & Tactics by Emanuel was the most effective use of my time. As I did MBE questions, I would add the things that I missed/ struggled with to the Magicsheets and I set time every day to actively memorize my amended versions.“
💬 “As I did MBE practice questions, I would add to your Magicsheets based on the concepts that I was struggling with and then literally set time every day to actively memorize my amended versions.“
💬 “For PTs, I watched BarMD’s free workshops on how to approach different PTs and used the recommended strategies. Aside from the Magicsheets, I highly recommend these workshops for anyone taking the Cal Bar. I started by reviewing a few PTs from past years, and did 2 untimed PT memos a few weeks before the exam. In the week before the exam, I completed 3 different types of timed PTs – one memo, one brief, and one client letter.“
💬 “For the essays, I used your approach of “essay cooking” rather than writing out timed essays. I was short on time by the end of my study period, so I only reviewed essays from the past 7-8 years.“
💬 “I started essay practice about 4 weeks before the exam. I mainly relied on your approach of “essay cooking” rather than writing out timed essays. I think I ended up doing 5 timed essays in total before the exam, 2 PR, and 3 of my worst subjects (Civ Pro, Real Property, and CP/Will mix). I spent a bulk of time ‘cooking’ the essays from the last 7-8 years – sticking to 30 minutes per essay, no more. I used both the Approsheets and Magicsheets for help in the first 2 weeks or so, and then practiced closed book in the last 2 weeks before the exam.“
💬 “I’ll also note that I came across your Tripod approach to passing the bar at some point in the last few weeks before the exam. I think I did something similar by focusing on the MBE, PT, and a bit on PR. Having taken and passed the bar, I can confirm that this approach is super helpful for anyone who is learning US law for the first time and overwhelmed (like me!), or has limited time to study.“
You don’t have to treat every area equally. You can instead surgically treat your weaknesses.
If you can free up time, such as by using the approaches above, you can afford to make room for your weak areas.
BTW, focusing on your weak areas is another way to take control of your studies instead of gambling on predictions.
💬 “I focused heavily on the MBE subjects and MBE practice questions. Knowing that multiple choice is not my strong suit, and that the MBE subjects also show up on the essays, I spent 65-70% of my study time on these subjects alone.“
👀 BONUS: Doors fling open once you pass the bar exam.
This may seem obvious, but you may not realize how big the barriers are before you clear this final hurdle called the bar exam.
Tanvi IMMEDIATELY started interviewing for jobs and is optimistic about her future. I had a similar experience where suddenly a lot more people wanted to work with me once people knew I passed.
So get excited! The best is yet to come.
💬 “Post-bar, I’ve been working in a legal adjacent job, and am currently interviewing at a few companies and firms. I’m not set on one particular path, but passing the Cal Bar has definitely opened up doors. I’m excited to see what the future holds!“
A bit of background on me: I went to law school in Canada, and worked in big law for two years before moving to Seattle late last year for my husband’s job. I was debating whether I wanted to practice law at all in the US, but I figured it would be good to use the transition period to attempt a bar and keep my options open. The NY bar is a popular choice for Canadian lawyers, but since my partner and I were moving to the west coast, the California bar made more sense. I also wasn’t eligible to take the Washington bar yet (it requires 3 years of practice experience and I only have 2), so that factor also made the decision easier for me.
My study plan:
When I left my previous firm, I was lucky to be able to take a break and focus on our move. Since I had no background in US law, I signed up for the BarMax prep course to learn the law. I found the lectures and MBE questions to be helpful, but the outlines were overwhelming. I had heard about your Magicsheets from another Canadian lawyer who took the Cal bar and after seeing all the great reviews, I gave it a go! And I’m so glad I did!
While my plan was to study from November – February, we had a lot of immigration related woes and some moving mishaps, so I didn’t start studying properly until December. We also had a long planned family vacation that I needed to accomodate for.
Overall, I spent about a few weeks in late November/ early December just learning and familiarizing myself with US law. While I hoped to study 2-3 hours a day on vacation, that didn’t happen. It was really in the last 5 weeks before the exam that I cracked down on actual study and practice.
I used the following resources: – BarMax prep course (standard course, completed the lectures but less than 50% of MBE practice questions) – MagicSheets & Approsheets (as my primary resource for studying and memorizing all subjects) – Strategies & Tactics, 7th Edition, by Emanuel (completed 70-80% of questions in each subject, and speed reviewed 2 MBE practice exams) – BarMD’s free PT workshops for PT prep
MBE:
I focused heavily on the MBE subjects and MBE practice questions. Knowing that multiple choice is not my strong suit, and that the MBE subjects also show up on the essays, I spent 65-70% of my study time on these subjects alone. I found studying the Magicsheets and doing practice questions from Strategies & Tactics by Emanuel (and sometimes BarMax) was the most effective use of my time. As I did MBE questions, I would add the things that I missed/ struggled with to the Magicsheets and I set time every day to actively memorize my amended versions.
Essays:
I started essay practice about 4 weeks before the exam. I mainly relied on your approach of “essay cooking” rather than writing out timed essays. I think I ended up doing 5 timed essays in total before the exam, 2 PR, and 3 of my worst subjects (Civ Pro, Real Property, and CP/Will mix). I spent a bulk of time ‘cooking’ the essays from the last 7-8 years – sticking to 30 minutes per essay, no more. I used both the Approsheets and Magicsheets for help in the first 2 weeks or so, and then practiced closed book in the last 2 weeks before the exam.
PT:
For PTs, I watched BarMD’s free workshops on how to approach different PTs and used the recommended strategies. Aside from the Magicsheets, I highly recommend these workshops for anyone taking the Cal Bar. I started by reviewing a few PTs from past years, and did 2 untimed PT memos a few weeks before the exam. In the week before the exam, I completed 3 different types of timed PTs – one memo, one brief, and one client letter. As luck would have it, the PT on the Feb 2023 bar was an oral argument – something I didn’t practice :). Using BarMD’s general strategies on timing and structuring analysis, and basic knowledge of oral arguments, I got through it!
I’ll note that I didn’t stick to one set study schedule. I was networking and volunteering on a Board at the same time, so I had random meetings throughout the day that made it hard to stick to a daily schedule. I just made sure to do a mix of MBE, essay practice, and active memorizing every day. Some days, I studied 10 hours (with breaks!), while other days I only got in 5 hours. The week before the exam, I tried to emulate exam day by waking up at 7, doing practice questions and reviewing Magichseets from 8-5pm, and took the evenings off. I only took off the day before the exam, but wish I had taken 2 days off to feel better rested.
I’ll also note that I came across your Tripod approach to passing the bar at some point in the last few weeks before the exam. I think I did something similar by focusing on the MBE, PT, and a bit on PR. Having taken and passed the bar, I can confirm that this approach is super helpful for anyone who is learning US law for the first time and overwhelmed (like me!), or has limited time to study.
Final thoughts:
I just want to say to test takers that I know this process is extremely taxing and the mental strain doesn’t feel worth it, but you can absolutely do this!! Don’t feel pressured to stick to a bar prep course if it’s not working for you. I asked other Canadian lawyers what they used, and googled articles/watched Youtube videos on how other foreign lawyers approached a US bar. While I did find the bar prep company’s lectures helpful to get a lay of the land, in the end the more affordable resources like Magicsheets, Emanuel’s Strategies & Tactics, and BarMD’s workshop for PT worked best for me.
Post-bar, I’ve been working in a legal adjacent job, and am currently interviewing at a few companies and firms. I’m not set on one particular path, but passing the Cal Bar has definitely opened up doors. I’m excited to see what the future holds!
