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Posted on - 9 Comments on “Be Arrogant”: Arrogance as a Bar Exam Mindset

“Be Arrogant”: Arrogance as a Bar Exam Mindset

Not even gainful employment can save you from the terror of the bar.

The other day, I was talking about the bar exam with David, a coworker. Although he is a first-time passer, he passed each of the California, New York and Massachusetts bar exams on the first try some time ago.

I usually discuss the more tangible side of bar preparation.

But are there any mental attitudes that you may want to consider cultivating when preparing for the bar exam and during the daunting task of taking the exam?

We were having such fun exchanging our thoughts about the bar that I started recording our conversation (there go our billables). I interviewed his thoughts revolving around his core advice that day: Be arrogant.

What did he mean?

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Posted on - No Comments on How to Gain 20/20 Foresight Studying for the Bar Exam

How to Gain 20/20 Foresight Studying for the Bar Exam

No fortune teller would accept me as an intern because I am a terrible predictor of the future.

In fact, you, me, everyone else—people in general are terrible at predicting the “best” outcome or solution. “Hindsight bias” is also expressed as “hindsight is 20/20.”

If you don’t believe me, write down your hypotheses so that later you can see what your track record is for predicting the future. (This is also a good way to hone your understanding of something and also your humility.)

But imagine that you could know what you should do before it’s too late. Having 20/20 FORESIGHT would be like benefiting from a second chance on your first time.

You can still use 20/20 foresight to “look ahead” with a crystal ball so that you can avoid mistakes in your bar preparation.

Come again? Yes, even if you’re a first timer studying for the bar exam, you actually have a crystal ball!

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Posted on - 7 Comments on The 20/10 Cycle: How I Hacked My Motivation to Study 12 Hours a Day

The 20/10 Cycle: How I Hacked My Motivation to Study 12 Hours a Day

I’ll be the first to admit that it is difficult for me to concentrate, to achieve flow. I’ll be the first to tell someone “I can’t focus because I have the brain and charisma of a goldfish.”

Yet at one point I was studying for the bar 12 hours a day and getting stuff done, from getting up to going back to sleep. Part of it was an honest admission that I need to work around the fact that I can’t concentrate for long.

I dub it the 20/10 cycle. I used the 20/10 cycle to crank the productivity dial to a level worthy of my middle name (Danger, unofficially) and churn out those condensed outlines, cooked essays, and even time for entertainment.

You can also tweak it to suit your needs. Maybe you can even make time to “work out” or “have brunch” or “watch the game” or “travel” or “sign up for Barbri” or whatever weird activities you people do.

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Posted on - No Comments on I Messed Up

I Messed Up

Something happened on Friday that I thought was relevant to the topic of an upcoming post: dealing with your weak areas on the bar.

For weeks, I’d been corresponding with a patent examiner giving me the runaround regarding a patent application close to allowance. But he was a nice guy who was willing to work with me (when available) and share information.

We exchanged emails (i.e., on record) discussing the merits of the case when I should have used email only to set up a phone call. I sent documents that were not in compliance with the guidelines. I had not CC’d the client manager (who is ultimately responsible for the case) until today when I forwarded the entire exchange as a FYI.

In addition to getting chewed out by the exasperated client manager, I got called in get a stern talking to by two other partners. I thought I was going to be reborn into the next life.

Will I get over it? Sure, it’s a learning experience and an inspiration to do better.

But you can bet your sweet ass that I will from now run email and document drafts by the responsible supervisor (so that the case doesn’t get compromised if it ever goes to litigation or even be grounds for malpractice).

My neurons have locked in these jarring experiences to avoid this mistake at all costs.

Keep this in mind as you read the upcoming material and think about how messing up is not always such a bad thing (for example, if I happened to pass the bar the first time, I’m not sure if this project would exist).

Sometimes all you need to get unstuck is permission to fail, and you have it from me.

Posted on - No Comments on Should You Get a Bar Tutor?

Should You Get a Bar Tutor?

A question that comes up sometimes is whether one should get a bar tutor. Since I have no experience with that, I had to find out how others have dealt with this issue.

On your behalf (because no one else did), I asked three people who took the bar the second time with a tutor and passed. There is a lot of great information here for those on the fence, so pay attention!

Since I usually talk too much, I’ll let L, D and E handle it from here.

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