[LawyerRon]

Well, if you really want to know….

It’s a 3-day exam, 6 hours per day. You have 3 hours in the morning, a break for lunch, then 3 more hours in the afternoon. You’re responsible for 14 areas of law; contracts, torts, real property, criminal law, civil procedure, criminal procedure, constitutional law, evidence, corporations, wills, trusts, and so on.

The test consist of (6) one-hour essay questions where you will be called upon to analyze a lengthy “fact pattern” spot all the “legal issues” then bring the correct rules of law to bear on the problem; how you conclude is irrelevant. But it takes place under incredible time pressure.

Next you get (2) 3-hour written “performance exams” where you are given a very lengthy fact pattern or assignment; maybe 10 pages or more long, a “library” that contains maybe 10-15 cases you can use to resolve the problem. You might spend 1.5 to 2 hours just analizing and outlining the problem, then maybe 1 solid hour of writing as fast as you can. Again, the time pressure is crushing. To me, this was the toughest part of the exam.

Finally they give you 200 extremely difficult multiple-choice questions. 100 questions in the morning and 100 in the afternoon. Each question involves a very lengthy paragraph, followed by 4 possible choices. The questions (fact patterns) are unbelievably tricky. This area is where they test your knowledge of every element of the law. Most people who fail the Bar exam, fail this section. You must do well here to pass. It’s probably the toughest area of the Bar for most people. Again, the time pressure is very great.

So in summary, you’ve really gotta be hitting on all 8 cylinders when you tackle this baby and a large part of your success will be determined by how well you handle the incredible pressure. Choke for just an instant, and you’re history.