BarWrite® Blog

BarWrite® Blog: Michigan soldier in Iraq to be sworn as attorney in via live video conference

"The Michigan Supreme Court announced today that a recent Cooley Law School graduate serving in Iraq will be sworn in as a new attorney this week – with over 6,300 miles between him and Chief Justice Marilyn Kelly, who will preside at the swearing-in ceremony." So says a story by Margaret Lucas Agius in the June 30, 2009, Detroit Legal News Examiner, "Michigan Soldier in Iraq to be Sworn in as Attorney Via Live Video Conference."

Army Major Miles Gengler of Grand Blanc will take his oath and be admitted as an attorney licensed to practice in Michigan, despite being on the other side of the globe, thanks to a video conference arranged by the Thomas M. Cooley Law School.

According to the Detroit Legal News Examiner story, Major Gengler took the February 2009 bar examination in February 2009, which was "two days before he was deployed to Iraq."

Says John Nussbaumer, dean of Cooley's Auburn Hills campus, “I promised Miles that if he passed the bar exam, I would find a way to get him sworn in even though he would still be in Iraq.” Nussbaumer continued, “Miles is putting his life on the line for our country; arranging for his swearing-in is the least we can do to show our appreciation for his service.”

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And now a key hint for how to study effectively, from Bar Write Blog's sponsor:

SCORING HIGH ON BAR EXAM ESSAYS . This book "may be the best money you can spend on bar exam preparation." -- The St. John's Law School Forum. The BARWRITE® ALL-STATES MPT BOOT CAMP boosts your score on an often-overlooked source of competitive advantage, the Multistate Performance Test (MPT).  THE BARWRITE® TEN-DAY GROUP COACHING SCHOOL helps you pole-vault the bar. "My MBE went from a 126 to a 149!" Gemma Waananen Kenney (Member, New York and New Jersey Bars). Dr. Gallagher recommends that foreign-trained attorneys supplement BarBri or Pieper with BarWrite's TEN-DAY ESSAY-INTENSIVE GROUP COACHING SCHOOL.  THE BARWRITE® THREE-DAY NEW YORK ESSAY BOOT CAMP boosts essay scores. "Dr. Gallagher takes the mass of information studied and teaches her students how to apply it effectively in essays," says Christina Valentine, Australian solicitor (Member, New York Bar).

BarWrite® Blog: Persistence for the bar exam

Bar candidates should keep in mind what Calvin Coolidge said about persistence: "Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan 'Press On' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race."

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And now a key hint for how to study effectively, from Bar Write Blog's sponsor:

SCORING HIGH ON BAR EXAM ESSAYS . This book "may be the best money you can spend on bar exam preparation." -- The St. John's Law School Forum. The BARWRITE® ALL-STATES MPT BOOT CAMP boosts your score on an often-overlooked source of competitive advantage, the Multistate Performance Test (MPT).  THE BARWRITE® TEN-DAY GROUP COACHING SCHOOL helps you pole-vault the bar. "My MBE went from a 126 to a 149!" Gemma Waananen Kenney (Member, New York and New Jersey Bars). Dr. Gallagher recommends that foreign-trained attorneys supplement BarBri or Pieper with BarWrite's TEN-DAY ESSAY-INTENSIVE GROUP COACHING SCHOOL.  THE BARWRITE® THREE-DAY NEW YORK ESSAY BOOT CAMP boosts essay scores. "Dr. Gallagher takes the mass of information studied and teaches her students how to apply it effectively in essays," says Christina Valentine, Australian solicitor (Member, New York Bar).

BarWrite® Blog: It Takes a Village to Pass the Bar Exam

BarWrite® has issued the following press release:

It Takes a Village to Pass the Bar Exam

Dr. Mary Campbell Gallagher's Five BarWrite® Tips for Persuading Family and Friends to Help You Focus While You Prepare for the Bar Exam

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nobody passes the bar exam alone. Successful bar candidates say their families helped them focus not just by encouraging them but by letting them study in peace. One successful bar candidate sent her husband home to his mother for two months so she could study for the New York bar exam. Another candidate sent his two-year-old son back to his home country. Long-time bar-preparation educator Dr. Mary Campbell Gallagher, president of New York-based BarWrite®, says that the bar exam is stressful for everyone. But with support from family and friends, bar candidates can sail confidently through the bar-preparation period.

Dr. Gallagher offers bar candidates five tips for persuading family and friends to help them focus while they prepare for the bar exam.

1. Empower your family to help you eliminate non-essential activities. Explain that bar-preparation is all-consuming for everyone, not just you, and ask them to tell Uncle Harry why you can't go to his house for dinner on Sunday.

2. Enlist your spouse or significant other. You can't see much of him or her while you are preparing for the bar exam, let alone plan your wedding, but you can pledge your eternal gratitude.

3. Promise your roommates a great party later if they will help shelter you from outside voices now. Just for these two months, you must unplug your television set and seal yourself off from newspapers, radio, and the internet.

4. Ask for understanding from family and friends when you can't respond to telephone calls and emails. Then put a message on your phone line that says, "I will return calls after August 1," and an autoresponder on your email account that says, "I will answer messages after August 1."

5. Don't forget your mother. Your mother will be very proud when you become a lawyer, and she deserves your call. Staying in touch with your mother and saying Thank you will clear your conscience and help you focus on studying for the bar exam.

BACKGROUND ON DR. MARY CAMPBELL GALLAGHER. A graduate of Harvard Law School who holds the Ph.D. in linguistics, Dr. Mary Campbell Gallagher is president of New York-based BarWrite® and BarWrite Press, which offer large courses preparing candidates for the bar exam, and author of the book and CDs Scoring High on Bar Exam Essays, which the St. John's Law School Forum called possibly "the best money you can spend on bar exam preparation." Dr. Gallagher is preparing a study guide for the Multistate Performance Test (MPT). She is an Adjunct Instructor in the School of Continuing and Professional Studies at NYU.

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And now a key hint for how to begin studying and study effectively, from Bar Write Blog's sponsor:

SCORING HIGH ON BAR EXAM ESSAYS . This book "may be the best money you can spend on bar exam preparation." -- The St. John's Law School Forum. The BARWRITE® ALL-STATES MPT BOOT CAMP boosts your score on an often-overlooked source of competitive advantage, the Multistate Performance Test (MPT).  THE BARWRITE® TEN-DAY GROUP COACHING SCHOOL helps you pole-vault the bar. "My MBE went from a 126 to a 149!" Gemma Waananen Kenney (Member, New York and New Jersey Bars). Dr. Gallagher recommends that foreign-trained attorneys supplement BarBri or Pieper with BarWrite's TEN-DAY ESSAY-INTENSIVE GROUP COACHING SCHOOL.  THE BARWRITE® THREE-DAY NEW YORK ESSAY BOOT CAMP boosts essay scores. "Dr. Gallagher takes the mass of information studied and teaches her students how to apply it effectively in essays," says Christina Valentine, Australian solicitor (Member, New York Bar).

BarWrite® Blog: Selected Top Picks for Bar Study

NEW! Owing to popular demand, our FREE BarWrite® teleseminar on "How to Plan Your Bar Exam Study Schedule" will be repeated next week. Tell your friends they can sign up at http://www.BarWrite.com

The time is 7pm Eastern Time on Friday, May 29, but participants should plan to come on the line five minutes early. Sign up FREE at http://www.BarWrite.com

OTHER SELECTED TOP PICKS FOR STUDY FOR BAR STUDY.

If you are preparing for the California bar exam, take advantage of all the resources Travis Wise offers, starting with his California Bar Exam Primer. http://www.twise.com/barexam/index.htm, and the CaliforniaBarExamPrimer@yahoogroups.com.

Our supplemental BarWrite® courses, both the New York courses and our ALL-STATES courses for the essays and the MPT, are the most demanding and rigorous courses in the entire bar-prep field, using state bar materials and our own proprietary systems. For more information visit http://www.BarWrite.com

HELP PREPARING FOR THE ESSAYS

Mary Campbell Gallagher, Scoring High on Bar Exam Essays (Third edition), New York: BarWrite Press, 2006 (Book and CDs) Available at http://www.BarWrite.com

HELP PREPARING FOR THE MBE

Steve Emmanuel and Kimm Alayne Walton, Strategies and Tactics for the MBE, New York: Aspen Publishers, Inc., 2005.

Steve Emmanuel, Law in a Flash Cards: Contracts. New York, Aspen Publishers, 2004

Steven Finz, Strategies and Tactics for the Finz Multistate Method (Second Edition), New York, Aspen Publishers, 2004

Adaptibar. http://www.Adaptibar.com

National Conference of Bar Examiners, http://www.ncbex.org

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Wishing you all the greatest success on the bar exam,

MCG

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And now a key hint for how to begin studying and study effectively, from Bar Write Blog's sponsor:

SCORING HIGH ON BAR EXAM ESSAYS . This book "may be the best money you can spend on bar exam preparation." -- The St. John's Law School Forum. The BARWRITE® ALL-STATES MPT BOOT CAMP boosts your score on an often-overlooked source of competitive advantage, the Multistate Performance Test (MPT).  THE BARWRITE® TEN-DAY GROUP COACHING SCHOOL helps you pole-vault the bar. "My MBE went from a 126 to a 149!" Gemma Waananen Kenney (Member, New York and New Jersey Bars). Dr. Gallagher recommends that foreign-trained attorneys supplement BarBri or Pieper with BarWrite's TEN-DAY ESSAY-INTENSIVE GROUP COACHING SCHOOL.  THE BARWRITE® THREE-DAY NEW YORK ESSAY BOOT CAMP boosts essay scores. "Dr. Gallagher takes the mass of information studied and teaches her students how to apply it effectively in essays," says Christina Valentine, Australian solicitor (Member, New York Bar).

BarWrite® Blog: Free and Other Programs for the July 2009 Bar Exam

Here is a list of the FREE and other programs BarWrite® will be offering for the July 2009 bar exam, either for ALL States, or for the New York bar exam. Most Early Enrollment discounts end May 31. The Early Enrollment discount for the 10-Day Group Coaching School ends May 15. ALL For-Fee courses include the opportunity to enroll for online MBE tool Adaptibar at a discount. For further information about all programs visit http://www.BarWrite.com.

* FREE FOR ALL STATES. Chapters from book Scoring High on Bar Exam Essays.

* MAY 21, 2009. FREE FOR ALL STATES. BarWrite® Teleseminar on "How to Plan Your Bar Exam Study Schedule."

* JUNE 15, 2009, or JULY 20, 2009. BarWrite® 1-DAY MPT BOOT CAMP FOR ALL STATES. $85.00 Early Enrollment. Discount to May 31. * Intensive practice organizing real MPT tasks and finishing on time.

* WEDNESDAY, JULY 8, 2009. BarWrite® 1-DAY ESSAY BOOT CAMP FOR ALL STATES. Early Enrollment Discount is $97.00 to May 31. * One full day of essay organization, analysis, and performance.

* JUNE 22-24-26 or JULY 21-23-24. BarWrite® 3-DAY NEW YORK ESSAY BOOT CAMP. Strenuous training to boost your New York essay scores. Early Enrollment Discount is $457.00 to May 31.

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* STARTS MAY 31, 2009. BarWrite® 10-DAY NEW YORK ESSAY-INTENSIVE/RETAKER GROUP COACHING SCHOOL. MBE-NY ESSAYS-MPT. Early Enrollment Discount for new students is $1947 to May 15. BarWrite alumni qualify for additional discounts. Visit http://www.BarWrite.com

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BarWrite® 10-DAY PREMIUM PACKAGE INCLUDES

* 10-Day BarWrite New York Essay-Intensive/Retaker Group Coaching School

* Private Consulting Program on Study Schedules

* Private Coaching Program on BarWrite MBE Study System(TM) with Dr. Gallagher.

* $3,250 and up. Call for eligibility (212) 327-2817.

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BarWrite® PRIVATE COACHING

MBE, ALL-STATES ESSAYS, ALL-STATES MPT

* 10-Hour Packages

* At mutual convenience

* In combination with classes or boot camps

* $1,500 and up in addition to tuition for class or boot camp. Call for eligibility (212) 327-2817.

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Our advice is, Enroll today!

"I sat through one course of BARBRI, two courses of PMBR, one Marino Retaker course, and two BARBRI Marino essay courses. Finally, I took the 10-day BarWrite course, and it was the only one that made me feel prepared for the New York bar exam. The only course that I now recommend to other people is the BarWrite course, which I loved."

-- Stefanie Weiss, Brooklyn Law School (Member, New York bar)

For more information visit http://www.BarWrite.com

MCG

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And now a key hint for how to begin studying and study effectively, from Bar Write Blog's sponsor:

SCORING HIGH ON BAR EXAM ESSAYS . This book "may be the best money you can spend on bar exam preparation." -- The St. John's Law School Forum. The BARWRITE® ALL-STATES MPT BOOT CAMP boosts your score on an often-overlooked source of competitive advantage, the Multistate Performance Test (MPT).  THE BARWRITE® TEN-DAY GROUP COACHING SCHOOL helps you pole-vault the bar. "My MBE went from a 126 to a 149!" Gemma Waananen Kenney (Member, New York and New Jersey Bars). Dr. Gallagher recommends that foreign-trained attorneys supplement BarBri or Pieper with BarWrite's TEN-DAY ESSAY-INTENSIVE GROUP COACHING SCHOOL.  THE BARWRITE® THREE-DAY NEW YORK ESSAY BOOT CAMP boosts essay scores. "Dr. Gallagher takes the mass of information studied and teaches her students how to apply it effectively in essays," says Christina Valentine, Australian solicitor (Member, New York Bar).

Bar Exam Pass Rate Drops in New York

The New York Board of Law Examiners released the results for the February 2009 bar exam on Tuesday May 5 for candidates and Wednesday, May 6, for the public. Many BarWrite students reported to me that the February exam was tough, so these results are no surprise. According to the BOLE, first-time takers who graduated from ABA-approved law schools passed February 2009 at only a rate of 73.3 per cent. That compares with last July's pass rate for first-timers of 83.2 per cent.

Foreign-educated first-time-takers comprised 44.1 per cent of February candidates. This time they had a pass rate of only 37.1 per cent, as against July 2008, when foreign-educated attorneys had a pass rate of 54.8 per cent.

A number of factors cause the typically lower scores in February. The main factor is that the MBE is key to scoring the entire exam. When there are more retakers and more foreign-trained attorneys, as in February, the average MBE score will tend to be lower. Hence, scaled scores on all parts of the exam will be lower.

Congratulations to all who passed. The New York exam is a tough one. For those who did not make it this time, remember, all you have to do is keep on taking the exam, and you will pass. Needless to say, there are more and less efficient means for preparing, so look around for the right books, courses, and tutors, but persistence is key. Keep working, and you will succeed!

***** ***

And now a key hint for how to begin studying and study effectively, from Bar Write Blog's sponsor:

SCORING HIGH ON BAR EXAM ESSAYS . This book "may be the best money you can spend on bar exam preparation." -- The St. John's Law School Forum. The BARWRITE® ALL-STATES MPT BOOT CAMP boosts your score on an often-overlooked source of competitive advantage, the Multistate Performance Test (MPT).  THE BARWRITE® TEN-DAY GROUP COACHING SCHOOL helps you pole-vault the bar. "My MBE went from a 126 to a 149!" Gemma Waananen Kenney (Member, New York and New Jersey Bars). Dr. Gallagher recommends that foreign-trained attorneys supplement BarBri or Pieper with BarWrite's TEN-DAY ESSAY-INTENSIVE GROUP COACHING SCHOOL.  THE BARWRITE® THREE-DAY NEW YORK ESSAY BOOT CAMP boosts essay scores. "Dr. Gallagher takes the mass of information studied and teaches her students how to apply it effectively in essays," says Christina Valentine, Australian solicitor (Member, New York Bar).

BarWrite® Says Begin Studying Early for the Bar Exam!

How can I begin right away to study for the bar exam?

A. Here is the answer from BarWrite® founder and president Dr. Mary Campbell Gallagher:

(I.) THREE HINTS FOR PREPARING FOR THE BAR EXAM *NOW.* 

(1.) BarWrite® BAR PREPARATION TIP NUMBER ONE. To maximize credit on both the MBE and the New York essays, concentrate on knowing two subjects cold: (a) contract formation and (b) negligence. These are the topics with the largest numbers of questions on the Multistate Bar Exam (MBE). In addition, Contracts/UCC, usually including formation, appears on 8 out of 10 New York essay exams. The best study aid is the yellow box of Law-in-a-Flash flashcards for contracts. They used to be published by Emanuel, and they are now published by Aspen Law & Business. Click here to order: http://www.aspenpublishers.com/emanuel.asp . The telephone number is (800) 317-3113.

(2.) BarWrite® BAR PREPARATION TIP NUMBER TWO. Do not use taking the bar exam to find out whether or not you are ready for the bar exam! The most important thing for you to *know* now is how you are doing in your bar preparation, and whether you are really getting ready or not. To tell whether you are making progress studying for the MBE as the bar preparation period goes along, locate two 200-question tests now, from the same source. It is important for these tests to be from the same source so that they are of similar difficulty. Give yourself the first test right now, under exam conditions--watch your time. Then, after you have been studying for the bar for a month, take the second 200 questions. Compare your scores. Then compare your scores on contract formation in the two exams. Warning. Do not rely on the percentages of questions you get right if you do twenty or fifty contracts questions at a sitting. That is unreliable.

It is smart to know exactly how you are doing at all times in your bar preparation, and it is foolish just to "give the exam a shot."

Another thing you should do now is to take five questions on contract formation, review the answers, analyze the fact patterns. Then in two days do the analysis on those same five questions again. I don't mean remember the answer choices, I mean work through the analysis: This is an offeror, this is an offeree, this is consideration, etc., etc. Pre-testing and re-testing is a technique educational testers use. It tells you whether you are making progress on your study or just--how to put it--spending your time. You should constantly review the key material, over and over, right until the bar exam. Re-test yourself on the key material many times during your weeks of bar preparation, to see whether you are on track to pass the exam.

Word to the Wise. *Reading* alone is almost useless. Law does not stick to the brain. You must study, review, recite, test, review, recite. Keep testing yourself on the same MBE questions, doing the analysis. The "right answer" does not matter. It is the careful, slow analysis that counts: this is an offeror, this is consideration, etc. The book we use in the LTS - Law Training Schools is The Finz Multistate Method. It has excellent tables of contents that allow you to do five questions on contract formation, review the subject, recite, test yourself on another five questions on contract formation and so on. It is published by Aspen. The telephone is (800) 317-3113. Visit: http://www.aspenpublishers.com/search.asp

(3.) BarWrite® BAR TIP NUMBER THREE. Sign up for the must-take Ten-Day BarWrite Essay-Intensive/Retaker School. It includes two days of MBE study techniques, plus four days of essays and one day of Multistate Performance Test. Gemma Waananen Kenney says, "Dr. Gallagher's MBE Method was phenomenal. I did exactly what she told me to do, and my score went from a 127 in February to a 149 in July 2000." For detailed information, and to enroll, visit http://www.BarWrite.com, and enroll on our secure website. Questions? Email Staff@BarWrite.com.

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And now a key hint for how to begin studying now, from Bar Write Blog's sponsor:

SCORING HIGH ON BAR EXAM ESSAYS . This book "may be the best money you can spend on bar exam preparation." -- The St. John's Law School Forum. The BARWRITE® ALL-STATES MPT BOOT CAMP boosts your score on an often-overlooked source of competitive advantage, the Multistate Performance Test (MPT).  THE BARWRITE® TEN-DAY GROUP COACHING SCHOOL helps you pole-vault the bar. "My MBE went from a 126 to a 149!" Gemma Waananen Kenney (Member, New York and New Jersey Bars). Dr. Gallagher recommends that foreign-trained attorneys supplement BarBri or Pieper with BarWrite's TEN-DAY ESSAY-INTENSIVE GROUP COACHING SCHOOL.  THE BARWRITE® THREE-DAY NEW YORK ESSAY BOOT CAMP boosts essay scores. "Dr. Gallagher takes the mass of information studied and teaches her students how to apply it effectively in essays," says Christina Valentine, Australian solicitor (Member, New York Bar).

BarWrite® Blog is Back!

After a hiatus, the BarWrite® Blog is back.  We're ready to roar. We will be offering, as before, study tips for the bar exam as well as news about the bar exam and legal education. The hiatus had a technical cause. But that was Then. Now there is a lot of good advice to give about how to prepare to pass the bar exam, and a lot of news.  Welcome to our new readers!

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From Bar Write Blog's sponsor:

SCORING HIGH ON BAR EXAM ESSAYS . This book "may be the best money you can spend on bar exam preparation." -- The St. John's Law School Forum. The BARWRITE® ALL-STATES MPT BOOT CAMP boosts your score on an often-overlooked source of competitive advantage, the Multistate Performance Test (MPT).  THE BARWRITE® TEN-DAY GROUP COACHING SCHOOL helps you pole-vault the bar. "My MBE went from a 126 to a 149!" Gemma Waananen Kenney (Member, New York and New Jersey Bars). Dr. Gallagher recommends that foreign-trained attorneys supplement BarBri or Pieper with BarWrite's TEN-DAY ESSAY-INTENSIVE GROUP COACHING SCHOOL.  THE BARWRITE® THREE-DAY NEW YORK ESSAY BOOT CAMP boosts essay scores. "Dr. Gallagher takes the mass of information studied and teaches her students how to apply it effectively in essays," says Christina Valentine, Australian solicitor (Member, New York Bar). 

BarWrite® Announces Ten-Day School for July 2008 New York Bar Exam

BarWrite® President Mary Campbell Gallagher, J.D., Ph.D., announces that BarWrite will offer its popular 10-day Group Coaching School, starting Sunday, June 1, 2008. "Students can see whether they are making real progress in their ability to score high on the Multistate Bar Exam (MBE)," Dr. Gallagher explains,

Harvard Law Review Launches Online Version of The Bluebook

Bluebook users rejoice! Harvard Law Review has now launched an online version of The Bluebook! That frustrating, maddening, vital authority on legal citation form had, back in my own time at

To Prepare for the Bar Exam, Get Exercise Every Day

To keep your mental machinery running smoothly for the
bar exam, exercise for one hour every day. That's right.
One hour. Every day. Strenuous exercise, not just

Celebrate National Grammar Day

March 4 is National Grammar Day. Are you ready? Are you careful to keep who and whom straight, as you should? Maybe a visit to the website of SPOGG, the Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar, here, is the ticket.

Plagiarism Keeps Student Out of Bar

Plagiarism is the kind of misconduct that can keep a law student from ever getting admitted to the bar. Hat tip for

New BarWrite® Boot Camp for All States' Bar Exam Essays

BarWrite® and BarWrite Press president Dr. Mary Campbell Gallagher will teach bar candidates how to overcome common essay hurdles and boost their bar exam essay scores in an intensive live One-Day All-States

Justice Clarence Thomas Analyzes the Bar Examination

Jake Lybberty reports Justice Clarence Thomas's saying in My Grandfather's Son that "like every other black law student, I was uncomfortably aware that blacks failed to pass the bar exams at a much higher rate than whites . . . ." At first Justice Thomas assumed that racial discrimination must be to