Summer 2009 Wisconsin Bar Exam

Alright bar takers, I know you're out there and I know you're nervous. The Wisconsin Board of Bar Examiners generally does a lousy job communicating information about the exam, and without a current director I can't imagine things will be better this year than they were in the past.* A lot of you have been landing here with questions about the exam and I am always happy to answer them.

To the people Googling "pass wi bar essays" or some variation thereof: I think they are pretty generous graders on the essays. While the essays are definitely important, I think you need to worry more about the MBE. When I took the July 2008 exam all the essays were Multistate Essays and I believe they were in February as well, so if you can get your hands on some sample MEEs, you should be sitting pretty.

To the people wondering about MPTs, when I took the exam last summer there was 1 MPT. The February 2009 exam had 2 MPTs. I don't know if there will be 2 MPTs again but I hope for your sake you are. If you were smart enough to graduate from law school and did any sort of internship or clerkship, you should be able to nail the MPTs. That's where you gain points!

Hotels: I'd stay at the hotel where the exam was at because there's simply less stress that way. This year, that appears to be the Madison Marriot West. I'd try and get a fridge in your room just to have cold water/soda/beverage of choice. I ordered room service for lunch both days of the exam and would recommend that you do the same simply so you don't have to stress about running out to try and grab food.

Failing the bar exam/WI bar impossible to fail: The Wisconsin bar is not impossible to fail. I had a friend from law school do it and some readers did too. If you do, dust yourself off and try again. The odds are good that you won't, but I assure you it is possible. I'm not saying this to scare you anymore, but so that if for some awful reason you do fail, you'll know you weren't the first or last to do so.

Diploma privilege sucks: Yes it does.

Keep the questions and searches coming and good luck studying!
*I'm fascinated by the line that says "A law degree from an accredited law school and eligibility for admission without examination to practice law in Wisconsin." What do they mean by this? An attorney who is already licensed? Or an attorney who is eligible under diploma privilege? If it's the latter, are you kidding me Supreme Court? I think the director of the BAR EXAMINERS should probably be familiar with the bar exam, but hey, what do I know? I also thought special interest money shouldn't buy Supreme Court seats.

"and her bills are paid on time..."

I can't believe I didn't post about this -- I got the house! In September I'll be closing on a beautiful 4 BR/3 BA ranch that is mine all mine on a cute little half-acre lot. It is going to be a whole lot of house for just the two of us, but I'm sure I can buy enough shoes to fill up all the closets! My initial excitement has worn off a little bit because y'all, there are a lot of decisions to make. The house is new construction so I need to pick out a lot of stuff. Like toilets, and flooring, and appliances, etc, etc, etc.

The big decision this week is siding. The builder's plans originally called for a tan but I am kind of opposed to tan houses and there are already a billion tan houses in this neighborhood. I wanted to paint it oxford blue, which is the same color as the house I grew up in, but you can't get cedar-shake shingles in that color. So, I'm looking to my readers for a little input. The house I am building is this house:




with the same color bricking on the patio and the same roof. I am thinking about doing the siding in this color blue:


What do you think? I think it's a color that you either love or hate and I love it, but at some point we'll have to sell this house and I don't want the color to be a detriment.

Next week, we can discuss flooring. :)

Also, bar exam takers - I see you are back again! Hang in there for the next month and I'll start posting some more advice posts for you soon. As always, if there are any questions, email me or comment below. I promise to keep you anonymous.

well, I am barefoot...

I just went to a baby shower wearing a new dress that the Conservinator helped me pick out. I was feeling pretty good about myself, drinking lemonade, eating veggie pizza, whatever, when a lady came up to me and asked if mine was due soon too. Here's some life lessons:

1. Don't ask other people if they are preggo.
2. If you do ask and they say they aren't expecting, don't ask if they're sure.
3. If they say they're sure, don't say "Well, you sure look pregnant."
4. If you are stupid enough to do this anyway, say something like "My apologies, it's just that your hair looks so shiny!" instead of arguing with the person.
   

That's not a baby. That is beer and nachos.

So much for the new dress.

"our house, in the middle of the street, our house..."

I am writing an offer on a house tonight! Holy crap. So, on a sunny Friday afternoon when none of us want to be working, I seek your help, blogland. What do you wish you would have done differently with your house? What features do you wish your house had that it doesn't, or that you put in but think are a waste of money now? Give me advice!

The offer is going in on a ranch, new construction. It's 3 BR, 2 BA upstairs and I'm going to finish the basement as well for another bedroom, .75 bath, and rec room.

Traffic prosecutor fail

I totally backed my car into our garage door as it was going up today. Oopsy me.

We fixed it over lunch.

I'm putting in an offer on a house tonight. I guess it's good I practiced on a rental.