Like a mole in the middle of your back - one you can't ever see but know is there - the thought has occurred to me from time to time that I should have it taken care of.
In other words, I occasionally think about shutting this Blog down. But then I get busy again and that thought vanishes.
Decisions, decisions ...
Tuesday, September 26, 2017
Wednesday, June 1, 2016
Bar Exam Numbers Dip Again in February
From the June 2016 California Bar Journal (http://www.calbarjournal.com/June2016/TopHeadlines/TH4.aspx) ...
"February’s bar exam pass rate slid again for the second year, ending an upward swing that reached its peak in 2014."
The percentage of candidates who pass in February has always been lower than the July exam but this is one of the lowest - "According to the State Bar’s Committee of Bar Examiners, 1,700 of the 4,758 people who took the general bar exam in February passed, or 35.7 percent. The results mark one of the lowest pass rates since February 2009, when only 33.5 percent passed the exam. Only two years ago, February bar exam results peaked with a pass rate of 45.3 percent."
All the more reason to sign up with OneTimers.com.
"February’s bar exam pass rate slid again for the second year, ending an upward swing that reached its peak in 2014."
The percentage of candidates who pass in February has always been lower than the July exam but this is one of the lowest - "According to the State Bar’s Committee of Bar Examiners, 1,700 of the 4,758 people who took the general bar exam in February passed, or 35.7 percent. The results mark one of the lowest pass rates since February 2009, when only 33.5 percent passed the exam. Only two years ago, February bar exam results peaked with a pass rate of 45.3 percent."
All the more reason to sign up with OneTimers.com.
Thursday, April 28, 2016
Shameless Plug
Hi Folks,
This is a "shameless plug" because I am advertising my legal practice and asking for referrals.
My practice focuses on the recovery of civil money judgments. After a judgment has been entered, and the losing party has been ordered to pay the winning party some amount of money, I use the legal remedies available to the winner to compel the loser to pay what he owes.
Naturally the loser doesn't want to pay, so I levy bank accounts, garnish wages, take assignment of streams of income, seize and sell property, etc., in an effort to get the winning party's money back.
It's a tough proposition in this economy, so most judgment creditor's could use some help in getting this done.
Lest you think ill of me for adding to the hardship of people who are already in dire financial straits, I don't enforce judgments against people who already have no money. Besides, the old saying about not being able to squeeze blood from a turnip (or money from someone who is broke), is applicable here. It costs money to enforce judgments, and another old saying is applicable in that I don't like to throw good money after bad. As such, I focus on enforcing judgments against the bad actors who take advantage of others by not following through on their promises.
For example, I recently recovered a $40,000 judgment for a company that performed work on a construction project but wasn't paid by the project owner. The project owner had plenty of money, but thought he could save money by not paying the sub-contractor. This happens all the time and I enjoy holding the bad actors to their promises.
I am also a Licensed Private Investigator (CA Lic #27613), so I can easily locate a debtor's assets (if any). This helps me to screen out the debtors with no money and lets me focus on those who can afford to pay (but choose not to!)
Also, as both an Attorney and a Private Investigator, my clients get the benefit of the Attorney/Client privilege. Regular Private Investigators don't get this privilege and anything their client reveals to them can be used in court. A P.I. without this privilege cannot refuse to disclose details of their conversations with the Creditor/Client. But as an Attorney, my clients automatically get this protection.
So if someone you know has a judgment that they cannot collect on, I can help. And when you get your license, and win cases for your clients, I can help make the time and money spent on suing the debtor worth the effort.
This is a "shameless plug" because I am advertising my legal practice and asking for referrals.
My practice focuses on the recovery of civil money judgments. After a judgment has been entered, and the losing party has been ordered to pay the winning party some amount of money, I use the legal remedies available to the winner to compel the loser to pay what he owes.
Naturally the loser doesn't want to pay, so I levy bank accounts, garnish wages, take assignment of streams of income, seize and sell property, etc., in an effort to get the winning party's money back.
It's a tough proposition in this economy, so most judgment creditor's could use some help in getting this done.
Lest you think ill of me for adding to the hardship of people who are already in dire financial straits, I don't enforce judgments against people who already have no money. Besides, the old saying about not being able to squeeze blood from a turnip (or money from someone who is broke), is applicable here. It costs money to enforce judgments, and another old saying is applicable in that I don't like to throw good money after bad. As such, I focus on enforcing judgments against the bad actors who take advantage of others by not following through on their promises.
For example, I recently recovered a $40,000 judgment for a company that performed work on a construction project but wasn't paid by the project owner. The project owner had plenty of money, but thought he could save money by not paying the sub-contractor. This happens all the time and I enjoy holding the bad actors to their promises.
I am also a Licensed Private Investigator (CA Lic #27613), so I can easily locate a debtor's assets (if any). This helps me to screen out the debtors with no money and lets me focus on those who can afford to pay (but choose not to!)
Also, as both an Attorney and a Private Investigator, my clients get the benefit of the Attorney/Client privilege. Regular Private Investigators don't get this privilege and anything their client reveals to them can be used in court. A P.I. without this privilege cannot refuse to disclose details of their conversations with the Creditor/Client. But as an Attorney, my clients automatically get this protection.
So if someone you know has a judgment that they cannot collect on, I can help. And when you get your license, and win cases for your clients, I can help make the time and money spent on suing the debtor worth the effort.
Friday, February 19, 2016
Good Luck to Everyone Next Week! (Especially to you, Farah!)
My buddy, Farah, is taking the exam next week (GOOD LUCK, FARAH!) I know she'll do well because she studied with Jason Tolerico and all the other well-prepared students in his One-Timers California Bar Review course.
Happy Bar Exam Week, Everybody!
Happy Bar Exam Week, Everybody!
Monday, November 23, 2015
Congrats to Those Who Received Good News Last Friday!
I heard that another few friends of friends I referred to Jason, passed this last exam. Yay for them!
And for those of you who who are still struggling, the path is clear. You now know where to go, who to call, to get you over that elusive 1440 mark.
GP
And for those of you who who are still struggling, the path is clear. You now know where to go, who to call, to get you over that elusive 1440 mark.
GP
Thursday, August 6, 2015
I Was Asked to Comment About the New Two-Day Bar Exam Format, So ....
The CA Bar Exam is going to be shortened to two days starting July 2017? Yeah, well, what can I say? The fact that the the State Bar decided to shorten the Bar Exam from three days to two days obviously does not impact me at all, but I am curious about the format for the new Performance Exams. I suppose they're going to be using the Multi-State Performance Exams (MPTs) that are common in other states.
When I was studying for the exam I remember seeing the 90-minute exams discussed in the commercial study guides I bought, and wondered how rigorous they could be. I imagined they were nothing more than a glorified essay, but I suspect they're actually quite different because, after all, they're measuring "performance" in a real-world scenario. I don't really know though because I never looked closely at one.
I've read some of the commentary about the new format and it appears the State Bar is determined to keep California at the top of the difficulty scale, so they're going to have to do something to keep the "bar" for admission as high as it currently is. If I was really interested in the new format, I would dive into the MPT issue by doing some of them. But as busy as I am with the work I currently have, I'm not really that interested.
I read in the latest edition of the California Bar eJournal that one of the motivating factors for the change was cost. The new format will save the State Bar about $1.1 million dollars annually. I can't imagine though that this was the primary reason for the change (but I could be wrong!)
Another reason given was that they wanted to put California in line with the other state's bar exams. Someone commented that this would reduce the "rigorous" nature of the exam, and the reply was that it is not intended to be an endurance test, but simply a minimum competency test for knowledge of the law. I suppose this is valid, and I'm sure the reason some of the people have failed was that they were burned out by the third day.
Some of my peers have already been talking about how they are going to needle people who pass the "easy two-day" bar exam, while "real lawyers" had to pass the "horrible, no good, very rotten" three-day exam. But knowing these people as I do, all of this will be done with a sense of humor.
Personally, I don't think it would make a difference which version of the exam I was taking. But with all of the conspiracy theories surrounding the exam, I know I would be distracted by the thought of all the ways the State Bar could make the new format even more difficult.
It's all theoretical though until July 2017. We should begin to get a picture of the new testing requirements during the preparation period leading up to July 2017, and then everyone will be curious to see the Released Answers. And, of course, the pass rate.
When I was studying for the exam I remember seeing the 90-minute exams discussed in the commercial study guides I bought, and wondered how rigorous they could be. I imagined they were nothing more than a glorified essay, but I suspect they're actually quite different because, after all, they're measuring "performance" in a real-world scenario. I don't really know though because I never looked closely at one.
I've read some of the commentary about the new format and it appears the State Bar is determined to keep California at the top of the difficulty scale, so they're going to have to do something to keep the "bar" for admission as high as it currently is. If I was really interested in the new format, I would dive into the MPT issue by doing some of them. But as busy as I am with the work I currently have, I'm not really that interested.
I read in the latest edition of the California Bar eJournal that one of the motivating factors for the change was cost. The new format will save the State Bar about $1.1 million dollars annually. I can't imagine though that this was the primary reason for the change (but I could be wrong!)
Another reason given was that they wanted to put California in line with the other state's bar exams. Someone commented that this would reduce the "rigorous" nature of the exam, and the reply was that it is not intended to be an endurance test, but simply a minimum competency test for knowledge of the law. I suppose this is valid, and I'm sure the reason some of the people have failed was that they were burned out by the third day.
Some of my peers have already been talking about how they are going to needle people who pass the "easy two-day" bar exam, while "real lawyers" had to pass the "horrible, no good, very rotten" three-day exam. But knowing these people as I do, all of this will be done with a sense of humor.
Personally, I don't think it would make a difference which version of the exam I was taking. But with all of the conspiracy theories surrounding the exam, I know I would be distracted by the thought of all the ways the State Bar could make the new format even more difficult.
It's all theoretical though until July 2017. We should begin to get a picture of the new testing requirements during the preparation period leading up to July 2017, and then everyone will be curious to see the Released Answers. And, of course, the pass rate.
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Great News! (for me, anyway)
Got a regular paying gig again. :)
And I just realized that today is the first day of the July 2015 CA Bar Exam! Yippee for all of you taking it!
Hang in there. Two days to go. Study your MBEs tonight.
And I want to make a comment about this profession. There are a lot (A LOT!) of attorneys who are fargin' ice-holes (Johnny Dangerously quote). Don't be one.
And I just realized that today is the first day of the July 2015 CA Bar Exam! Yippee for all of you taking it!
Hang in there. Two days to go. Study your MBEs tonight.
And I want to make a comment about this profession. There are a lot (A LOT!) of attorneys who are fargin' ice-holes (Johnny Dangerously quote). Don't be one.
Monday, July 6, 2015
And The Beat Goes On ...
In case anyone is interested (and I'm not sure anyone is!), my tenure as a "Litigation Attorney" has come to an end. The client decided it was no longer financially prudent to sue his customers so he stopped filing suits against them. Good for him, bad for me. As such, I'm trying to meet my own financial obligations by doing contract work, and I'm talking with a couple of other attorneys about starting our own small firm.
Tough times, but it should be easier to endure as an attorney than it was as an "attorney candidate!"
Good luck to those of you studying for the July 2015 exam. Keep your head down, limit distractions, and know in your heart that you CAN pass this thing!
Cheers! GP
Tough times, but it should be easier to endure as an attorney than it was as an "attorney candidate!"
Good luck to those of you studying for the July 2015 exam. Keep your head down, limit distractions, and know in your heart that you CAN pass this thing!
Cheers! GP
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
The Other Day a Newly Admitted Attorney Asked Me a Question About ...
... how to find a job. She went to an out-of-state law school and so has no local network of law school buddies or attorney friends to help her out in her search for gainful employment. She has an LLM in taxation so she definitely has skills, she just lacks a network in CA to help her find a job.
And did I mention that she speaks three languages? If I didn't, let me tell you that she speaks three languages. I don't know what those languages are, but I suspect they're useful in California (i.e., not Portuguese, Latin, or the Language of the Ancients.)
So, if anyone has any useful suggestions on how a newly admitted attorney, who speaks three languages, and who has an LLM in taxation, can go about finding a job around these here parts, please leave them in the comments.
Your sage advice is muchly appreciated!
GP, Esq!
And did I mention that she speaks three languages? If I didn't, let me tell you that she speaks three languages. I don't know what those languages are, but I suspect they're useful in California (i.e., not Portuguese, Latin, or the Language of the Ancients.)
So, if anyone has any useful suggestions on how a newly admitted attorney, who speaks three languages, and who has an LLM in taxation, can go about finding a job around these here parts, please leave them in the comments.
Your sage advice is muchly appreciated!
GP, Esq!
Sunday, May 17, 2015
Congratulations To My Buddy and Overqualified Paralegal, Larry!
He Killed it DEAD!
And Thanks Very Much to Jason Tolerico! Larry finally got it done (after four (or five)) attempts, after taking Jason's class.
Larry Killed the Bar Exam, and Jason is da' BOMB!
And Thanks Very Much to Jason Tolerico! Larry finally got it done (after four (or five)) attempts, after taking Jason's class.
Larry Killed the Bar Exam, and Jason is da' BOMB!
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