Study Smart For the Bar Exam and See What a Difference a Year Makes!

Originally posted on www.helenpartlow.com 

This week last July 2012, I had knots in my stomach and felt like I was going to be ill.  It was bar exam week.  The week that every law school student dreads from the moment they enter school as a 1L.  Last year I had worked so hard in my bar prep - studying 12-15 hours a day, taking close to no breaks (although I did travel to a friends wedding in June - which was just enough of a break to re-charge and forge ahead), outlining, asking questions, quizzing myself, and making flash cards.  Thank God for my mom who helped quiz me on the flash cards that I had.  This time last year I literally had memorized paragraphs of law that I could recite on a whim in case that topic presented itself on the exam.  A very helpful studying tactic and I would recommend it to everyone.

This week last year I also was taking both the New York and Massachusetts bar exams.  Since I am from New York, taking that exam was a given.  But taking the Massachusetts exam, that was a planned strategic move.  My husband had his eyes set on Rhode Island School of Design for the fall semester of 2013 and we had to plan my career strategy way back in the spring of 2012.  We both had always enjoyed New England.

This week last year I had no idea if I would pass both tests or none at all.  I was so scared of failure that it drove me to success.  There is almost no better feeling in the world than hearing that you passed the bar exam, let alone two. 

My test strategies had worked.  I studied the areas that I did not know as well as others to the point of complete memorization.  I had to break down the legal points and issues almost to kindergarten level at times, but I was determined to understand everything that I could.  Making my own outlines was critical for me in order to achieve this.  When you use someone else's outline, it does not put the law in your own words and in your own way of organizing information in order to understand it.  But on the flip side, I chose to purchase flash cards instead of make them myself.  When I had tried to make my own flash cards, I could feel my mind floating away and going into robot mode instead of staying alert.  Therefore I knew it would just be a major time sucker out of my already tight studying schedule.  I pulled information from every source I could. 

I also had found it impossible to stay current on my Barbri study schedule about half way through.  That was when I really had to take charge and organize my own schedule, using theirs as a model.  Studying for the bar exam can really be a soul searching process to understand how your mind thinks and processes information.  You have to be in-tune with yourself at all times.  When you choose to skip a practice essay, are you skipping it because you don't have time or because it's too hard and your brain already hurts so you don't want to bother?  You know deep down inside which essays you need to tackle.

The weekend before the exam I was studying with extra fervor and I had the goal in sight.  It was way past my breaking point, but since I had already pushed passed it at least (what seemed) ten times before, I knew I could do it at the end.  I had amazing support from my mom in studying with me those last few critical days especially, as well as having my really good law school friends as a sounding board to get through it all.  If I had a question or just was not understanding a certain topic, they would always help and break it down for me so I could digest it.  I was happy that I could return the favor for them as well in other areas.  We complimented each other really well.

The Sunday and/or Monday before the exams, you need to just relax.  Your brain has been in superhero hyper-speed mode for the past 2 months and the dust needs to settle before you can dive in with a clear head and the energy that you will need in order to run this marathon.

Once the exams are over, you deserve a much needed break.  My husband and I had decided to travel around Massachusetts, our hoped to be home, and to visit Rhode Island School of Design.  It made it all worth it when I was able to enjoy and see the things that I had just worked so hard for.

In the time between the bar exam and obtaining your results, I highly recommend a break but also do not disappear from the legal world entirely.  You will be amazed at how much information you still don't know and a lot of what you do retain is not in real-world context.  Volunteer somewhere, ask for a post-graduate legal internship, or at least keep up with the latest blogs.  

It is a harrowing experience that only other law school students/attorneys can truly understand just how nerve-wrecking, demanding, and difficult this can be.  But when you pass, you truly have done an achievement worth celebrating.

Now this week, this year, I am a practice attorney at LaFountain & Wollman in Watertown, MA and it was all worth it.  The experience I am gaining now to match the knowledge I gained then, I hope will be a winning combination for a long and successful legal career.