So many potential attorneys take the exam and fail it, and don’t take it again, or don’t take it enough times to pass.

If you don’t pass on your first attempt, keep trying.  You’re bound to pass it, and when you do, I can assure you that your clients won’t ask you how many times it took for you to pass.  A lot of employers won’t ask either.

Best wishes for a happy report in November.

Jonathan

It turns out that an attorney admitted to California who did not graduate from an ABA-approved school can sit for State of Washington Bar Exam based on Washington’s reciprocity rules.

Huh? Washington and California have reciprocity? Well, not exactly, but here’s how it works according to a non-ABA California attorney who was allowed to sit for the Washington State bar exam (and he passed).

Under the state reciprocity rules in Washington, that state will permit an attorney from another state/jurisdiction to sit for the Washington Bar exam if the other state will permit attorneys admitted to Washington (but not from an ABA-approved school) to sit for the bar.

California allows non-ABA grads who are attorneys in other states/jurisdictions to sit for the California Bar (including attorneys admitted to the Washington State Bar), so Washington reciprocates.

Washington’s view of reciprocity, while a major step short of their very friendly cross-admission policy for Oregon and Idaho ABA-grad attorneys, is still very enlightened.

Jonathan

They are, in reading order: “The Perfect Crime”, followed by “Tabloid Constitutionalism: How a Bill Doesn’t Become a Law”.

Abstract of “The Perfect Crime”:
This article argues that there is a 50-square-mile swath of Idaho in which one can commit felonies with impunity. This is because of the intersection of a poorly drafted statute with a clear but neglected constitutional provision: the Sixth Amendment’s Vicinage Clause. Although lesser criminal charges and civil liability still loom, the remaining possibility of criminals going free over a needless technical failure by Congress is difficult to stomach. No criminal defendant has ever broached the subject, let alone faced the numerous (though unconvincing) counterarguments. This shows that vicinage is not taken seriously by lawyers or judges. Still, Congress should close the Idaho loophole, not pretend it does not exist.

…and then

Abstract of “Tabloid Constitutionalism: How a Bill Doesn’t Become a Law:
What does it take to get Congress to pass a law? To get a judge to declare a statute unconstitutional? To get your law-review article featured in the National Enquirer? Based on one data point, at least, I can say that two of those three things are difficult.

This piece is a follow-up to my 2005 Georgetown Law Journal article, The Perfect Crime. Back then, I argued that there is a fifty-square-mile swath of Idaho - a so-called zone of death - where one can commit crimes with impunity.

In this piece, I first discuss the attention that The Perfect Crime generated: it was covered not just by the Enquirer but by mainstream media, and it inspired a best-selling novel.

I next discuss my efforts to lobby Congress. I initially tried to get Congress to change the law. When that failed, I tried to get Congress to acknowledge my existence. That effort essentially failed as well, at least until a senator read the aforementioned novel.

Finally, I discuss the treatment of my theory in an actual criminal case where the defendant invoked it. The handling of the theory there was almost as dispiriting as Congress’s.

The theory I set out in the Perfect Crime had plenty of limitations and counterarguments; it is not my intention in this piece to criticize people for disagreeing with me. Rather, my intention is just to recount one case study - amusing in some parts, infuriating in others - of the American system of government and law.

Click to download “The Perfect Crime.”

Click to download “Tabloid Constitutionalism: How a Bill Doesn’t Become a Law.”

Enjoy!

Jonathan

Brian’s honesty, openness, and writing style make his blog a must read for any bar candidate anywhere in the U.S., but especially in California.

You should must check out Brian’s blog at: http://californiagbx0707.blogspot.com/

Jonathan

In an effort to improve the quality of law schools, the government is considering setting minimum curriculum criteria for such institutions, sources said.

…the government plans to draw up a so-called minimum curriculum, under which most education programs at law schools will be made uniform with the aim of guaranteeing and improving the quality of education.

When the government decided to set up law schools as part of efforts to reform the country’s judicial system, it was hoped that 70 percent to 80 percent of graduates would pass the new national bar exams, the first of which was held in 2006.

In reality, however, only 40 percent of examinees passed the second bar exam held under the new system last year.

Follow the link and read the whole story.

Jonathan

MEDIA CONTACT: Diane Curtis 415-538-2283

San Francisco, May 16, 2008 — May 16, 2008, 6:00 p.m. – The State Bar
of California’s Committee of Bar Examiners reported today that 39.6
percent of the applicants passed the February 2008 General Bar
Examination (GBX). If the 1,797 people who passed the February 2008
exam satisfy other requirements for admission, they will become
members of the State Bar.

Preliminary statistical analyses show that of the 4,533 applicants who
took the GBX, 33.1 percent were first-time takers. The passing rate
for 1,499 first-time applicants was 53.0 percent overall.

The passing rate for the 3,034 applicants repeating the examination
was 33.0 percent overall.

Preliminary statistical analyses show the first-time and repeater
percent passing the GBX (rounded to whole numbers) by law school type
as follows:

School Type First-Timers Repeaters
California ABA 62% 43%
Out-of-State ABA 54% 40%
CA (but not ABA) Accredited 29% 15%
Correspondence 31% 12%
Unaccredited 0% 6%
All Others 59% 27%
All Applicants 53% 33%

The applicants not included in the above totals either were attorneys
admitted in other states who either chose or were required to take the
GBX, attorneys admitted in foreign jurisdictions, law students in the
Law Office/Judge’s Chambers Study Program or law students who
qualified to take the GBX through four years of law study.

More detailed statistics, including passing rates by individual law
schools, will be made available in approximately four to six weeks and
published on the State Bar’s Web site at www.calbar.ca.gov/admissions.

The three-day General Bar Examination is given twice a year, in
February and July. The exam consists of three sections: a
multiple-choice Multistate Bar Examination (MBE), six essay questions,
and two performance tests that are designed to assess an applicant’s
ability to apply general legal knowledge to practical tasks. The mean
scaled MBE score in California was 1405 compared with the national
average of 1377.

In addition, the Committee announced that 150 (39.7 percent) of the
378 lawyers who took the Attorneys’ Examination passed.

The Attorneys’ Examination, which consists of the essay and
performance test sections of the GBX, is open to lawyers who have been
admitted to the active practice of law in good standing for at least
four years in another United States jurisdiction.

Successful applicants who have satisfied other requirements for
admission – those who have not been reported by local district
attorneys for being in arrears with family or child support payments,
who have received a positive moral character determination and who
have passed the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination –
may either take the Attorney’s Oath individually or participate in
admissions ceremonies held throughout the state during June 2008.

NOTE TO EDITORS: The pass list for the February 2008 California Bar
Examination can be found on, and downloaded from, the State Bar’s home
page: www.calbar.ca.gov on Sunday, May 18, 2008 at 6 a.m., P.D.T. The
list will be organized both alphabetically and by zip code.

Founded in 1927 by the state legislature, The State Bar of California
is an administrative arm of the California Supreme Court, serving the
public and seeking to improve the justice system for more than 80
years. All lawyers practicing law in California must be members of the
State Bar. By May 2008, membership reached more than 216,000.

-Jonathan

It’s a journey.

There is no destination; no time that you must arrive; just stops along the way, some of which will consume more time than others.

Some paths are starkly direct; some are curved; yet others end up forcing the traveler to go back and find another route, and perhaps another.

Most will never journey.

They will say the journey is too difficult. Others will claim that the journey isn’t as important as reaching the goal. Still others will assert that without a certain path to a clear destination, there is no point embarking on the journey. These are people who you don’t understand. You are not one of them.

Keep searching on you journey. You will see many beautiful things. You will also be more likely to contribute to beauty as you travel.

What makes you a special person is remembering that you embarked on the journey years ago, without the certainly that you would ever reach any particular destination via any fixed route.

That you can embark on such a journey is a testament to your determination, and your ability to move beyond your dreams, without ever forgetting how to dream new dreams to follow.

These things are important to us. Most will never understand.

You understand.

I understand.

It is a great comfort to a dreamer to know that others dream.

You know the dream.

I know the dream.

When we meet on our journeys, as likely we will, I’ll smile at you.

One dreamer to another.

-Jonathan Kramer

You can download and read the full stats of this test by clicking on the following link:

Pennsylvania Bar Exam Stats: February 2008

Prof. Jeff Adachi of California Barbri fame has a good page to highlight some of those differences. Click here to jump to that page.

-Jonathan