Wednesday, November 24, 2010

To All You Stone-Throwers Out There ...

It's easy to cast aspersions when you're doing it anonymously.  Everyone knows who I am.  Who are you, really.  If you're going to challenge or accuse me of something please remember your Criminal Law and afford me the opportunity to confront you, my accuser.

At the very least, try to respect your peers, elders, fellow humans, whatever.  I would/will respect you if/when we ever met/meet. Please don't further sully the reputation of the profession by acting the idiot.  But if you just can't help yourself, at least try to pretend that you're honorable when you're out in public. 

Don't be this guy. 

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

I know the guy on the video. He is Anonymous 1:02 PM from November 23 2010.

Barbara said...

GP, there are a bunch of haters out there who will always rain on your parade. I say, if you want to put yourself through this again and again, go for it. Who am I to judge.

I am taking the CBX for the first time next summer. I dont have to take the whole thing since I am licensed in IL already but I am dreading having anything to do with it. I have no interest in repeating this exam so I plan on doing all the I can to make this a one time thing. I am going to take the time that I need to study so that I am as prepared as possible for when test day comes.

That being said, I know its not easy to take time off to get prepared but if you want to pass the bar that much, taking the time to prepare for it should not be that much of a hardship. The money you will earn from being an attorney will be more than what you will lose if you only give partial effort each and every time you take the exam. When I studied for the IL bar 7 years ago, I studied 8-12 hours a day, 5-6 days a week, for 10 weeks. I was paranoid about taking and passing the bar. When the results came out, I tripped over my feet as I screamed my head off when I found out I passed. Granted IL is not as difficult as CA but passing is passing.

From what I can tell, your MBE scores seem sufficient enough but its your writing. If you know the law (and your MBE scores show that you do), its the way you are applying the law to the fact pattern for the essays. As I am sure you have heard before, CIRAC is the key. I literally wrote with every issue in every essay: Brief Conclusion. State the issue by explicitly saying "The issue here is whether or not P (D) is...". State the rule of Law by saying "the rule of law in CA is..." Applying the rule of law to the fact pattern by repeating in exact rule of law with the exact facts in the essay and start it out by saying "In this situation P (D) did this which is ..., and Conclude the paragraph by Stating "Therefore P (D) ..." It got monotonous for each issue in each essay but I did it and I passed.

I plan on doing the same thing for the CA bar and for each essay that I write while studying for this thing next year. I am not looking forward to it and I sure hope that you are not taking the test with me. Not because I think you should quit but because you pass the Feb bar instead.

Good luck to you. Dont listen to the haters. Keep trying but try making sure that your study time counts. Practice, practice, practice. Take the time that you need so you can be ready.

Barbara said...

GP, there are a bunch of haters out there who will always rain on your parade. I say, if you want to put yourself through this again and again, go for it. Who am I to judge.

I am taking the CBX for the first time next summer. I dont have to take the whole thing since I am licensed in IL already but I am dreading having anything to do with it. I have no interest in repeating this exam so I plan on doing all the I can to make this a one time thing. I am going to take the time that I need to study so that I am as prepared as possible for when test day comes.

That being said, I know its not easy to take time off to get prepared but if you want to pass the bar that much, taking the time to prepare for it should not be that much of a hardship. The money you will earn from being an attorney will be more than what you will lose if you only give partial effort each and every time you take the exam. When I studied for the IL bar 7 years ago, I studied 8-12 hours a day, 5-6 days a week, for 10 weeks. I was paranoid about taking and passing the bar. When the results came out, I tripped over my feet as I screamed my head off when I found out I passed. Granted IL is not as difficult as CA but passing is passing.

From what I can tell, your MBE scores seem sufficient enough but its your writing. If you know the law (and your MBE scores show that you do), its the way you are applying the law to the fact pattern for the essays. As I am sure you have heard before, CIRAC is the key. I literally wrote with every issue in every essay: Brief Conclusion. State the issue by explicitly saying "The issue here is whether or not P (D) is...". State the rule of Law by saying "the rule of law in CA is..." Applying the rule of law to the fact pattern by repeating in exact rule of law with the exact facts in the essay and start it out by saying "In this situation P (D) did this which is ..., and Conclude the paragraph by Stating "Therefore P (D) ..." It got monotonous for each issue in each essay but I did it and I passed.

I plan on doing the same thing for the CA bar and for each essay that I write while studying for this thing next year. I am not looking forward to it and I sure hope that you are not taking the test with me. Not because I think you should quit but because you pass the Feb bar instead.

Good luck to you. Dont listen to the haters. Keep trying but try making sure that your study time counts. Practice, practice, practice. Take the time that you need so you can be ready.

Anonymous said...

No one's casting aspersions, except for the California bar examiners - who have now concluded seven times that you should not be permitted to practice law in this state. You've chosen to proffer that information to the public, and we commenters are accordingly having a conversation (mainly with each other) as to what you should do about the bar examiners' repeated conclusion. Some of us think you should give up because the bar exam results demonstrate you don't have the aptitude needed to practice law in California (I'm in this category). Others think that you should give yourself a break, then try again. Others think you should keep throwing darts at the wall in case one finally sticks. It's all just a bunch of e-opinions. It's not a criminal tribunal, and you have neither the right nor the need to "confront" any "accusers."

You're entitled to do whatever you want, at the end of the day. Retake the bar, or don't. Maintain this forum, or don't. Publicize your results, or don't. It's your life, and the only one who really cares is you. So, do whatever you want and don't worry what we think.

Anonymous said...

Yes GP chose to have this blog. Yes GP chose to disclose his scores and his journey taking (and one day passing) the california bar exam. However, I don't see anywhere where he states "please berate me". Maybe I missed that part somewhere.
Yes haters, you are entitled to your opinions, as you know what they say .. opinions are like assholes, everyone has them but
it's his life and he can do whatever he wants to with it.. whether or not you agree or disagree with it.
I don't see any of you haters offering any helpful advice and I just have to ask.. don't you have anything BETTER to do besides hate on GP?
GET A LIFE!
And.. ask yourself this... don't you think he is going to do whatever he wants despite your approval or disapproval anyway?

YOUR WASTING YOUR BREATH!

So kindly keep your negative, unnecessary, unhelpful and uncalled for and undesired comments to yourself!

NOBODY ELSE CARES and nobody asked for your stupid opinions!

Anonymous said...

It is very easy to confuse someone who is giving you tough but fair advice as a hater.

Same with confusing an enabler for a friend. Whether you like it or not, its clear that your current path has been an epic failure. The people who encourage you to keep doing what you are doing are encouraging failure.

Guarantee that if you go ahead with your same old plan, take the February bar, and make no drastic changes you will be back here in May talking about improving your approach, and how you didn't have time to study but next time will be different.

Wait till July, make one last epic run at the bar, if you fail quit kidding yourself and realize you'll never be a lawyer, if you pass come back and rub it in, but give yourself an honest chance to pass. We both know its not going to happen in February.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous 3:21 PM
I believe Shakespeare was thinking of you when he wrote" "First kill all of the lawyers." It would be better if you did not post on this blog again because your posts are without merit and waste the time of intelligent posters. Please skip posting until November, 2011 so we can discuss the July bar results.

Anonymous said...

I find many non-sequiturs in these comments.

1. Just because G. Poobah (do you mind if I call you G?) went to an "unaccredited diploma mill" does not mean he can't pass the California bar.

I myself got an on-line law degree, passed on my first try, and now have a good, stable job, as do some of my classmates. True, the pass rate for the unaccredited schools is much below that for accredited law schools, but these graduates do pass the bar without getting into the Guiness Book of World Records.


2. Disagreeing with a person in a civil manner or counseling that person to rethink a plan is not being a "hater."

It's a form of tough love. You can easily kill a person with kindness, and law is one profession that sometimes demands shooting down a client's plans. We are retained to look after the best interests of the client, not to be patronizingly agreeable (while collecting fees) when it can actually harm the client.

Although the people who make the snide remarks merit tar and feathers, it does not logically follow that people who counsel G.P. to rethink his plans are motivated by hate. In fact, in many cases just the opposite is true. It's genuine concern.


3. The two factions of commenters -- (1) Quit Now and (2) Keep Going -- can coexist peacefully on this board.

The theory is a healthy exchange of ideas, a dialogue. While I personally believe it's time to move on, I welcome any valid, realistic suggestions that would result in a passing score for the next trip to Barexamville.


Have a great Thanksgiving everyone.

Anonymous said...

When pooh bear passes the bar, he will NOT be too old to practice. There are many lawyers with decades of experience who are still working, this is one of the great things about law. One of my professors graduated from harvard law in the early 60s and still works full time. And he teaches also.

Anonymous said...

You seem like a nice guy, and I feel terrible for all the stress you've been through taking the bar exam the last few years. I know some people have been unnecessarily mean to you, and you are well within your rights to call those people out. But some of the criticism is constructive and comes from people who are really considering your best interests. Of course, they are just anonymous posters on a blog, and you have every right to disregard their advice if you don't agree with it. But you may want to consider the possiblity that they are not "haters," but are actually just telling you what you don't want to hear. In any case, don't let people get you down, I hope you have a very happy Thanksgiving!

Anonymous said...

GP,

I agree that each poster genuinely have your best interests in mind when they're leaving their comments. I think you should read every comment carefully before concluding that they're not applicable to you, just like how you would analyze an essay.

I really think you need to re-audit yourself. Is there a way you can post all your previous results? For example, total scores from 06-10, MBE from 06-10, etc?

That would help spot some trends.

Anonymous said...

Ok the thing is you can't quit. Whether you retake it in Feb or July you have to finish it. You've come this far and drawn this much attention to it - it's now become such a mission. Not that you should do it for us, you should do it for you but I feel like you're now so defined by this goal and its supporters and naysayers. It doesn't matter whether or not it's economically efficient to keep at it. Do it anyway. You're scoring close enough to pass soon so I say close the deal. There's no satisfaction in quitting at this point. This is a major part of your life story more so than whatever your money you make as a lawyer will mean so I say it's too late and boring to quit.

Anonymous said...

Agreed with the pp....you do have to finish it. Nevermind all the naysayers and haters. They will always be there no matter what you do. Instead focus on what you have been doing to prepare yourself. All your success on the bar and pretty much in life in general depends on your preparation. What courses and or books/study manuals have you been using? Maybe a thorough examination of your weaknesses and a change in your approach is needed.