Welcome back to the Bar Exam Toolbox podcast! Today, we are walking through the July 2017 California bar exam question on civil procedure. This is part of our series of podcasts talking about how to approach questions on the California bar exam.
In this episode we discuss:
- The law pertaining to subject matter jurisdiction, joinder, and pleading requirements
- Reading the facts in the civil procedure question from the July 2017 California bar exam
- The importance of carefully reading the questions you’re asked before you start your answer
- How to determine what law applies in a federal court
- When a civil litigant has a right to a jury trial
- What is the best course of action if two conclusions are possible?
Thanks for listening!
[Read more…] about Podcast Episode 72: Tackling a California Bar Exam Essay: Civil Procedure
In my first few days as a 1L in law school, I think I heard the work “networking” more than I heard the word “law.” Public Relations may want to consider rebranding law school “Networking or Bust.” If you are reading this, you are aware that the bulk of job hunting is during law school. The networking events, the bar association happy hours. Remember? We went out bright-eyed to get coffees with overworked lawyers who are probably wondering when they lost that same bright-eyed wonder.
Does something ever strike you as so simple yet such a To Do™? I’m talking about the situation where a parent asks you to defrost a food item before they return from work and you think, “of course,” then the next thing you know, you forgot?
There are three things I remember clearly from the day before I sat for the bar exam. I remember committing to a half day of study so that I would not overwhelm myself with too much material before the big day. I then remember overwhelming myself with essentially all my notes on Wills and Trusts, as I aggressively tried to force all the material in my brain, as this was one of my weaker topic areas. Finally, I remember speaking with a friend amidst my throes of panic who put me at ease with one question, “did you know that Michelle Obama failed the bar?” The answer to this question was no. I had no idea that this brilliant, exceptional, Harvard-educated woman, whose advocacy for education, global nutrition and poverty awareness throughout her life’s work and her initiatives as First Lady, failed the bar exam. My first thought at the time was, this can’t be real, but after a Google search confirmed my friend’s statement, I felt peace. 
Let me start off by saying, you never have to tell anyone you failed the bar. Not ever. You don’t have to tell a prospective employer, you don’t have to tell your parents, friends, family or any strangers you come by. This can always and forever be your secret.