PassTheBarExam.com

The State Bar of California has posted on its website a summary of the pass rates for the July 2007 exam. This is an interesting slip in-and-of itself, however the pass rates are the star.

According to the report (see: http://calbar.ca.gov/calbar/pdfs/admissions/Pass_StatsSummary.pdf), the pass rates are:

General Examinees: 56.1%
Attorney Examinees: 37.3%

The pass rate for general examinees is the highest since July 2001. The pass rate for the attorney examinees is 10.3% LOWER than the February 2007 exam.

Quite interesting.

Good luck to all tonight at 6pm when the results are released to the examinees on a per-examinee basis. The results will be released to the general public via the website on Sunday morning.

Jonathan

Pass Statistics for California Bar July 2007 and Prior

The July 2007 Colorado bar exam results are out, and 72% of the non-attorney candidates of those taking the exam are pleased. The results for the attorney applicants are not as pleasing: only 59.8% of that group passed.

The full break down of the results is attached to this posting.

Colorado 7/2007 Bar Results

The Supreme Court of Minnesota has just approved a substantial rate hike…a rate hike to take the Bar Exam in the state who’s motto is, “L’ETOILE DU NORD” (which means, “Star of the North”). The rate hike kicks in come January 1, 2008.

The basic fee to take the Minnesota Bar Exam rises from $400 to $500, but wait… there’s more…

If you’re attorney in another state who’s been licensed for 6 months or more, and you want to take the Minnesota, the basic fee rises from $900 to $1,100. I guess the state must think that practicing attorneys are richer, so they deserve to part with more of their wealth for the exam. (By the way, if you’ve been in practice for less than 6 months, you get the ‘cheap rate’ of $500…lucky you!).

Repeat exam rates go up from $400 to $500 as well.

What about those who qualify for admission without examination? get their fee kicked up from $750 to $950, and for temporary in-house the fee goes from $500 to $700. It appears the cost of not grading a bar exam is on the rise, too.

On the ‘plus site’ of the order, timely refunds for bailing on an exam rise from $125 to $150.

And so it goes…

Minnesota Supreme Court Fee Order in PDF format

July 2007 Oregon Bar Examination, Pass/Fail Statistics

First Time Takers PASSED: 374/80%

Repeat Takers PASSED: 17/26%

Total PASSED: 391/74%

* * *

First Time Takers FAILED:92/20%

Repeat Takers FAILED:48/74%

Total FAILED: 140/26%

Today, September 17, 2007, is the last day to file a claim in the BarBri class action suit.

If you’re a BarBri alumni (and the likelihood is that you are), you may want to claim your share of the prize (puny as it likely will be).

Go to THIS SITE to get a claim form. Fill it out. Make sure it’s postmarked TODAY! Drop it in the mail. Wait for your share of the riches.

Jonathan

P.S. Don’t forget that if you took BarBri more than once, you can claim for each course. Go, read the details! -J

…may you score every point you need to pass the Bar Exam!

Jonathan

Hoov Esq’s blog has a wonderful and wonderfully funny post about studying for the California Bar Exam. Highly recommended.

A snippet:

“Of course, this is not just any Bar. This is the California Bar. The King of Bars. New York is open-book and in Texas they let you use a crayon to draw out little easement maps.

The California Bar Exam is arbitrary, mercurial, inconsistent, and intentionally tricky. The California Bar always seemed like it would be a female Bar Exam, I can’t imagine why…”

Click here to read Hoov’s post.

…especially if you take the bar in a state that gives greater weight to the essays and performance exams, such as California. Many successful candidates (myself included) firmly believe that the little boost of 10 or 20 more correct answers is what pushed them ‘over the edge’ to pass the exam!

Good luck.

Keep working your essays, too!

Jonathan

(THIS IS A MUST-READ FOR ANY CANDIDATE SITTING FOR THE CALIFORNIA BAR EXAM!)

The State Bar of California has posted a 9-page outline covering the new subjects that may be tested on and after the July 2007 exam.

The subject areas are:

Business Associations (formerly Corporations)
Civil Procedure (now covers California as well as FRCP; formerly only FRCP)
Evidence (now covers California Rules of Evidence as well as FRE; formerly only FRE)

To download the 9-page PDF outline click on the link below:

http://www.calbar.ca.gov/calbar/pdfs/admissions/GBX/Scopeoutlines.pdf

Alternately, you can click on the link below to download the same file from this site (in case the Bar site is down, etc.).

Cal.NewBarSubjects.2007

Jonathan

May 4, 2007
More than 300 Applicants Pass February 2007 Ohio Bar Exam

On May 4th, the results of the February 2007 Ohio Bar Examination were released. In total, 63% of all of the 494 applicants passed the exam (that’s 312 applicants). For First Timers, the passing score was 79%.

If you want to send congrats notes to the passers, go to http://www.supremecourtofohio.gov/Admissions/ASP.