I have had multiple requests to tutor some of the visitors to this blog. Mostly, this has regarded preparation for the California Bar Exam (CBX for short), especially the written portions.
Back when I was taking the Bar, I was soooo frustrated that I couldn't find any good, substantive information about how to take the CBX without having to pay $5,000 - $10,000 for a full bar course!
It sucked.
I mean, I knew that I had to know the law, but there is so much more to the "how" of taking the Bar than learning the elements of a ton of legal issues. This fits in with the general theme of this blog in that I like to address the "hows" of law school, the Bar, and other things because, frankly, this information is absent (at least, for the most part, and if existent at all, you usually have to pay a premium in the hopes of getting the "how" that should be taught in the first place!).
I also remember feeling so frustrated as a Bar-taker that I couldn't just get an hour or two of tutoring without buying a whole 2-month-long course from god-knows-who for thousands of dollars. I just wanted to pick someone's brain for an hour or two, but this wasn't really available as a service.
Another thing that I wanted that was unavailable as an individual service was for someone to go over an essay that I had written as part of another bar course piece by piece. I wanted someone to sit down with me personally and give it to me straight: the good, the bad, and the ugly. For someone to tell me what my bad patterns were and, most importantly, how to change them would have been invaluable. I felt that there had to be a formula out there but that I was just missing it. "The formula!!! Could somebody please clue me in without charging me a ton of cash that I simply don't have!?" Again, though, this was just nowhere to be found. There were lots of promises with little substance: lots of "whats" without any "hows."
A couple of years ago, I thought that I could swing tutoring people one-on-one for the California Bar, but it has proven to be simply too time-consuming. Even taking on one student at a time required many hours that I simply didn't have.
I truly try to put everything that I know in the posts on my blog, which, as you know, is free. There are no gimmicks or scams. There aren't even any ads. The resources that I used are all listed below my How I Passed the California Bar Exam (CBX) post. I wanted to create for you some sort of proverbial "pot of gold" at the end of the rainbow for all who have enough gumption to search for it and to land here.
I mean, I knew that I had to know the law, but there is so much more to the "how" of taking the Bar than learning the elements of a ton of legal issues. This fits in with the general theme of this blog in that I like to address the "hows" of law school, the Bar, and other things because, frankly, this information is absent (at least, for the most part, and if existent at all, you usually have to pay a premium in the hopes of getting the "how" that should be taught in the first place!).
I also remember feeling so frustrated as a Bar-taker that I couldn't just get an hour or two of tutoring without buying a whole 2-month-long course from god-knows-who for thousands of dollars. I just wanted to pick someone's brain for an hour or two, but this wasn't really available as a service.
Another thing that I wanted that was unavailable as an individual service was for someone to go over an essay that I had written as part of another bar course piece by piece. I wanted someone to sit down with me personally and give it to me straight: the good, the bad, and the ugly. For someone to tell me what my bad patterns were and, most importantly, how to change them would have been invaluable. I felt that there had to be a formula out there but that I was just missing it. "The formula!!! Could somebody please clue me in without charging me a ton of cash that I simply don't have!?" Again, though, this was just nowhere to be found. There were lots of promises with little substance: lots of "whats" without any "hows."
A couple of years ago, I thought that I could swing tutoring people one-on-one for the California Bar, but it has proven to be simply too time-consuming. Even taking on one student at a time required many hours that I simply didn't have.
I truly try to put everything that I know in the posts on my blog, which, as you know, is free. There are no gimmicks or scams. There aren't even any ads. The resources that I used are all listed below my How I Passed the California Bar Exam (CBX) post. I wanted to create for you some sort of proverbial "pot of gold" at the end of the rainbow for all who have enough gumption to search for it and to land here.
I can tell you what I don't recommend. I don't recommend cheap e-books that you can tell were slapped together by the sheer number of grammatical errors that pop out in the sample pages (even books that I've been told were inspired by me). I certainly don't recommend certain tutors, but I cannot write their names here because... well, you should know if you're studying for the Bar.
Since I can't devote time to tutoring individuals, I decided to do the next-best thing by creating two courses that both focus on the "hows" of the written parts of the Bar.
If you're curious, you can find the step-by-step writing formula for the PERFORMANCE TEST HERE, which is live and ready to go.
FOR ESSAYS, my course now lives HERE.
Finally, I have my own e-book, which I wrote myself and rigorously edited. I poured my heart into it, and it spells out everything a person needs to do to pass the Bar. I don't go into teaching the law because there are courses for that. BUT I go through the specifics of how to attack the Performance Test as well as how to write up your essays in a way in which the Bar graders are expecting. You can find the e-book here: Passing the Bar Exam.
These online courses are great because you have constant access and can pause, rewind, practice, go back to any parts where you need a refresher, etc. In that sense, I hope that these courses are even more effective and practical than live one-on-one tutoring.
Most people fail the Bar on the written aspects, so teaching people how to attack and perform the written portions of the Bar is precisely what I address in the resources that I've created beyond this blog via my courses and e-book.
I wish all of you the best of luck. If you have any questions, leave a comment, or email me directly at jessie@jessiezaylia.com.
Thanks and best wishes, Jessie!
ReplyDeleteThis may sound ridiculous but...it's the truth.
ReplyDeleteI have taken the CBX 3 times and I am going to take it again in 2015. I have been out of law school for some tiime and my employment does not afford me a large enough salary to even consider a formal bar prep program. I have purchased all of the books you have recommended in your videos about how to prepare for the CBX (i.e. Whitney Roberts, Strategies & Tactics for MBE, Nailing the Bar Exam, and the Barbri Convisor 2011. Now, I need a program schedule for attacking these that will give me some structure. What do I start with and put all of this stuff to effective use? Help....please!
BTW - in regard to the post I sent for direction in how to use the books you recommended I might also add, which the site did not give me the option of doing before publishing when I tried to preview it, that I live in Michigan, and therefore, my legal education was presented differently. Once again....Help please !
ReplyDeleteStudy plan....please !
ReplyDeleteHi. I know that you're anxious to receive a study plan, but you need to realize that I'm in California, and so I'm not up at 4 in the morning when you left your comment. I also run this blog in my free time, which I don't have much of. So, even though you're anxious, you need to have some bit of understanding and patience as it relates to my ability to reply to your comments. Having said that, I am willing to help. I do not have a study plan. The reason why don't have one is because I don't really believe in them. A lot of big companies will have study plans and will expect people to adhere to them, but everybody's different, and that's a fact. I simply cannot pretend that a generic study plan will work for you or anybody else who needs to pass a California Bar. If you would like help, the only thing I can recommend is that you obtain some sort of individualized plan, which we can do. Have you gone to our site yet? Here is a link to our site, where you can receive individualized tutoring. That might help you more than anything else, & I certainly think it will help more than a generalized study plan.
Deletehttp://cbxtutor.com/
Thank you kindly Jessie for your lengthy comment. I apologize if my comment implied that I needed an expedited reply. Certainly, that was not my intent. I also work full-time, as a Judicial Law Clerk, and understand the time constraints you might have, especially as a new attorney on the block. Hopefully one day we will have an opportunity to work either together on a case, or as sister counsel at opposite ends of the table, when I pass the CBX. Best wishes for your career. :)
ReplyDeleteI wish you the same. If you would like an hour or two of tutoring, please let me know. I would be happy to help. Best of luck to you!
DeleteShort Q: Did you type all of your exams? I'm on the fence here....Thanks for taking a moment for this crazy question. Best wishes :)
DeleteI'm glad you asked. Yes, I typed all of my exams. For me, it was easier to outline and organize on the screen.
DeleteThank you a lot! That's very insted
ReplyDelete