ACS

Regardless of which bar preparation program students choose, TJSL continues to support students and supplement the bar review experience. Our bar prep support program supplements the content students receive in BarBri® or any other commercial program. Often students receive substantive lectures in a commercial bar preparation program. However, the key to success for any bar taker is practice. We afford students the opportunity to submit practice essays and performance tests, which our bar faculty grades and assesses. In this way, we are committed to helping students succeed, regardless of the bar program selected. At TJSL, we simply want our students to succeed!

California currently administers what is widely considered one of the nation's most difficult bar examinations twice each year, in February and July.

As of July 2017, the California Bar Examination is administered over two days in four test sessions. The format is:

• Day One (Tuesday): 3 essay questions (9 am – 12 pm); 2 essay questions and one 90-minute performance test (2 pm – 5:30 pm)
• Day Two (Wednesday): 100 Multistate Bar Examination (MBE) questions (9 am – 12 pm); 100 MBE questions (2 pm – 5 pm)

The written portion (essays & PT) and MBE portions are equally weighted at 50% of the overall scaled score. 

The exam currently tests 17 different subject areas:

• Constitutional Law (Federal)
• Contracts (Common Law and Uniform Commercial Code)
• Criminal Law and Procedure
• Evidence (Federal Rules of Evidence and the California Evidence Code)
• Real Property
• Torts
• Wills (California law)
• Trusts
• Civil Procedure (Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the California Code of Civil Procedure)
• Community Property (California law)
• Professional Responsibility (California law and the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct)
• Business Associations (Corporations, Agency, all forms of Partnerships, and Limited Liability Entities)
• Contract and Tort Remedies

Applicants sitting for the California Bar Examination do not know which of the 17 subjects will be tested on the essay portion of the examination. In recent years, it has become common for the exam to feature one or more "crossover" questions, which test applicants in multiple subjects. Examples of past-tested essays with sample answers are available on the California State Bar’s website at http://admissions.calbar.ca.gov/Examinations/PastExams.aspx.

California-specific legal knowledge is required only for Evidence, Civil Procedure, Wills, Community Property, and Professional Responsibility; for the other topics, either general common law ("bar exam law") or the federal laws apply. Applicants may be tested on the California Evidence Code and the California Code of Civil Procedure in the essay portion of the exam in addition to the Federal Rules of Evidence and Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

Applicants have the option of using Examplify software to type on a laptop computers.

The Multistate Bar Examination (MBE) portion of the exam is a nationally-administered, 200-question multiple-choice exam. As of February 2017, only 175 questions will be scored, and the other 25 are unscored experimental questions used to gauge their appropriateness for future exams. The MBE covers only the topics of Contracts (including sales of goods under Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code), Real Property, Torts, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law and Procedure, the Federal Rules of Evidence, and the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. While the essay section of the exam may test one or more of these areas as well, the MBE section is dedicated to these subjects. The MBE currently counts for 50 percent of the total score in California.

Examples of past MBE questions can be found at:

http://www.ncbex.org/exams/mbe/preparing/

The performance test portion of the exam is designed to test practical lawyering skills by presenting applicants with simulations of actual legal tasks such as client letters, motions, and memoranda. The performance exam is a "closed universe" setting, meaning that the only substantive information the applicant needs to know is provided during the exam. Even if cases and statutes are provided, they are often different from the real law in the area at issue, so that applicants who studied that area of law in law school will have no special advantage. Each performance test is worth as many points as two regular essays.

At Thomas Jefferson, we take bar preparation very seriously. California has an extremely difficult bar exam and we strive to provide our students with support to succeed on the bar exam. We have several bar preparation faculty work collaboratively together and with other faculty members to prepare our students for the bar exam.

We also offer several pre-graduation, for-credit bar preparation courses, including MBE Mastery, Mastering the Performance Test, and Bar Exam Fundamentals. Bar Exam Fundamentals, taken in the last semester of law school, provides students with an intensive review of critical topics in the subject areas tested on the California and UBE bar exams.

After graduation, students have the option of participating in any bar program of their choosing. Throughout the bar cycle, we offer support. Our talented bar faculty routinely meet with recent graduates, coordinate with bar study programs, host a mock bar exam, and review and comment on practice exams to help our students succeed on the bar exam.

At Thomas Jefferson, we will do everything we can to support students in passing the California Bar Exam on the first attempt.

What are Study Groups?

Study groups are small groups (usually of 2-5 students) who have a course in common and an interest in working together to learn the course material and prepare for exams.

What are the Benefits of Participating in a Study Group?

• Having a group of people to study with may motivate you to learn.
• A study group is a safe, low-risk place to try new skills and practice together.
• Talking about cases, issues and practice exams provide you and opportunity to consider all sides of an issue and help you understand and retain the material.
• An effective group will help you explore more deeply the information, so that you are more likely to catch nuances and subtleties.
• Regularly meeting with classmates helps keep you on schedule and on task.

When are Study Groups Effective?

Study groups tend to me most effective when:

• members share common goals.
• the group meets regularly.
• the group focuses on the material they have agreed to cover and discuss.
• the group members have the same course.
• each member of the group does all the work for himself or herself.
• the group is comfortable taking risks and trying out new approaches and arguments.
• the group is respectful of each other’s time and ideas.

What Happens During Study Group Meetings?

What happens during study group meetings depends largely on the members of the study group, who work together for the success of each member of the group. Here is a non-exhaustive list of things that may occur during study group meetings:

• Review material covered during class, including questions the professor raised, trigger facts and hypothetical examples.
• Discuss review questions provided by any course Learning Assistants.
• Discuss material to be covered in upcoming classes.
• Ask questions regarding class or reading material to improve clarity.
• Create and respond to hypotheticals.
• Quiz each other on legal rules and/or case information.
• Take practice exams and compare responses.
• Exchange outline ideas (but complete individual outlines).
• Identify areas of continued confusion to raise with the professor.
• Provide constructive criticism and positive feedback to motivate each other.

What Should We Avoid Doing During Study Group Sessions?

To maintain the effectiveness of study groups, members should avoid:

• Gossiping and socializing instead of studying.
• Dividing up coursework instead of having each member complete all the reading, briefing, outlining, etc.
• Relying on the study group for all your studying.
• Inviting new members to join the group without discussing it with other members.
• Staying in a study group when it is not working out for you individually.
• Feel personally affronted if someone decides to leave the study group.

How Can I Find Others to Form a Study Group?

• Look for classmates in your classes and sections who seem prepared during class.
• Find others who can meet on the same schedule as you.
• Do not be shy about asking others to join you to study (or asking to join an existing study group).
• Contact Academic Success to submit your name on our Study Group interest list so we can help you find others with whom to study.

While we strive to help all students reach their full academic potential, we also recognize that the academic work is just part of students’ lives and that students who address their physical and mental well-being can better focus on their studies. To that end, Student Services provides counseling and support for students. We also sponsor a variety of wellness programs throughout the academic year to help students de-stress and re-group to help ensure optimal performance. Additional wellness programming is sponsored by Student Services.

Bar preparation begins before law school, with the Week One Orientation Program, where we introduce students to the basic skills necessary for successful comprehension of law school subject matter. Students continue to build the foundation of their legal knowledge and skills throughout all their law school classes. During the final year of law school, Thomas Jefferson continues to provide academic counseling, mentoring and support as students prepare to graduate and take the bar exam. For more information on bar-related courses, visit the Bar Preparation page. ASP is vertically aligned to ensure a seamless introduction to bar preparation near the end of students’ law school experience.

Academic Probation and Referral Services

Students may be referred to ASP any time during law school. Referrals can come from any source, including course and seminar professors or based on exam performance. Students who underperform in their courses may be asked to participate in Structured Study Groups or other tutoring programs, or may be required to participate in workshops designed to enhance analytic writing and test-taking skills.

Additional support is available for all students in their second and third years to help ensure academic success. Academic Success faculty provides academic workshops and referral services throughout the three- or four- year law school program.

Midterm Feedback

Most first-year courses at Thomas Jefferson school have midterm exams, so students get individual assessment and personal feedback to help prepare well before finals.

Mentoring, Counseling and Academic Support Throughout Law School

Ongoing academic support is provided to all students, with individual counseling and feedback from academic success faculty to help you succeed. We meet with students individually and in small group to address concerns, to plan approaches to tackling law school course work, and to celebrate student success.

Structured Study Groups guided by ASP Mentors and ASP & Bar Prep professors provide help in studying core 1L courses during students’ second semester. Structured Study Groups use cooperative learning techniques monitored by trained ASP Mentors, who are successful upper-level students. Students who participate in the Structured Study Groups learn to demonstrate subject mastery to peers, learn test-taking skills, and practice exam writing. Structured Study Groups offer the advantages of frequent peer workshops and feedback to help students determine how well they are doing and where they need help.

While most law schools leave it largely up to the student to determine how his or her studies are proceeding, Thomas Jefferson helps encourage ongoing assessment and provides support with our Learning Assistants. Learning Assistants are upper level law students who have excelled in their first year courses and who serve as Learning Assistants and receive training to do so. Learning Assistants are familiar with the course content, and they usually are familiar with the professor teaching the course in which they are assisting. They provide frequent study materials for all students in the course, and they are available for regular office hours to help students determine how well they are doing and where they need help. Learning Assistants to not replace the expertise or guidance of course professors, who are available to meet with students regularly regarding questions or concerns about the courses. Instead, Learning Assistants are an additional resource that helps make up the larger Thomas Jefferson learning community.

Learning Assistants:

• Help students to facilitate the learning process.
• Listen and communicate respectfully as experienced peers.
• Provide tools and strategies to students, understanding that there are many options and multiple ways to brief a case and to understand and practice legal analysis.
• Focus on encouraging students to see the big picture – how rules interact – not just the parts.
• Help students to improve their classroom participation and remain engaged in class.
• Help students to strengthen their skills of organization, including organizing first year materials like class notes, briefs, outlines and study strategies.
• Identify whether students are under an undue amount of stress and make appropriate referrals to professionals.
• Encourage students to consider whether their competitiveness is harmful or motivating.
• Continue to refresh and refine their own skills and develop expertise in particular subject matters.