Reston, VA asked in Contracts, Copyright, Divorce and Real Estate Law for Virginia

Q: In order for an attorney to pass the bar exam, is it safe to say they need to know a little bit of everything?

1 Lawyer Answer
Richard Sternberg
Richard Sternberg
Answered
  • Potomac, MD
  • Licensed in Virginia

A: Preparation for the Bar exam does not involve knowing a little bit of everything. It involves knowing a lot of some things, and it is exceptionally wise to find out which things from a very expensive preparation course that requires intense concentration and memorization of huge amount of state law as well as another huge load of actual law covered by the Multistate portion of the exam and a further slightly smaller huge load of memorization of the Code of Professional Responsibility as applied in the specific state. It then requires the skills of standardized testing that were probably fairly honed as the candidate made it from PSAT through SAT through college finals through LSAT/GREs through 1L issue spotting on to 2L and 3L essays until, well, here you are. The material covered will be rather new to anyone that went to a top-ranked law school, because those schools are focused on teaching how to think and write like a lawyer to make the candidate a better lawyer, while students of lesser, local schools will have spent more time preparing their students to pass the bar exam for the last three years. But, the top-ranked school students will be immensely better at applying the principles of law and the range of treatment of the topics to the changing world and the changing facts in that world, while the lesser school graduates will be better at reciting the present state of the law in the particular state. For neither candidate is it safe to say that they need to know a little bit of everything. For that, they can visit the local pub and ask the guy who looks like he's been sitting there the longest.

Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.

The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.

Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.