Author: Dwight Zenzano

With the VA and DC bar exams behind us, let’s look at the subjects that were tested. Most of the predictions were accurate this time around, with the usual few surprises.

Feb 2011 DC Bar Exam:

MEE’s:
Evidence (witness credibility impeachment, hearsay, lay witness)
Contracts (formation/damages)
Family Law(settlement agreement, spousal support, adoption)
Wills (validity, beneficiary conflicts, abatement)
Corporations (creation, liability)
Fed Civ Pro (service of process, cross claims, supplemental jurisdiction)

MPT’s:
1) Objective Memorandum
2) Objective Memorandum (short) and persuasive closing argument

Nice to see the return of dual memos, but the difficulty level was high again. And this marks the 2nd time that only 2 MBE subjects were tested instead of the usual 3. Nothing shocking, but interesting to note.

Feb 2011 Virginia Bar Exam:

As we enter the “T-minus 5-weeks till the bar exam” zone I wanted to share a few thoughts regarding both the DC and Virginia bar exams. Now is definitely the time to start focusing on your studies if you have not already. No doubt with the holidays and other personal and work commitments, you may not have studied as much as you had anticipated up to this point. Well, now is the time to turn over a new leaf and get a solid plan in place where you dedicate X hours/day or Y hours/week to studying for the bar exam. For most of us, the bar exam is something that requires many weeks of study in order to pass, not just 1-2 weeks of cramming right before the exam.

For the DC bar exam, you do not want to underestimate the MPT. It is a challenging part of the exam and requires excellent time management and organizational skills. Practice makes perfect so start practicing your MPTs now instead of putting them off till the last minute. The MPT is 25% of the total weight on the DC bar exam, and if you are an essay only taker, it’s 50% of the exam. Either way, it’s a significant piece of the pie.

For the VA bar exam, remember that the MBE deserves specialized attention and simply knowing the law is not going to help you unless you are naturally gifted at standardized test taking. Practice questions are key but they only help insomuch as you review your answers carefully and understand why you are getting questions wrong OR correct. The trickiest MBE questions are fine line law distinctions that are tested repeatedly on MBE after MBE and it has been this way for decades. Learn those fine line distinctions and learn to spot the fact patterns that test them. That is how you will improve your MBE score, which is 40% of the total weight on the VA bar exam.