Law Knowledge

Obviously, you have to know a lot of black letter law to pass a bar exam and get a license to practice. “Law Knowledge” is more subtle than the ability to recite long and complicated passages of law like a trained parrot. You also have to recognize the relationship between issues, both within a subject area (e.g. torts) and between multiple areas (e.g. torts and real property). Finally, you have to be able to explain how the legal result arises from a specific set of facts.

Simply put, “Law Knowledge” includes what could be more accurately described as “Legal Reasoning”. Although there are some superficial differences between various states, the written section of every bar exam in the country requires bar candidates to both recognize the issues presented and explain how the law and facts interact to produce specific answers to all the questions. Similarly, the Multistate Bar Examination requires applicants to use legal reasoning to eliminate incorrect answer choices.

Check out the free edition of the Pearce Micro Review. This series of black letter law lectures isn’t as extensive as that offered by a corporate bar review course – but these short presentations are a lot more practical. These video lectures focus on the key testable issues, not the little details. The premium version, available by download or subscription, includes written outlines and hypothetical fact patterns. The idea is to learn the law through practice, and to annotate the outlines as you learn the details.

Successful bar candidates usually appreciate how the material is tested in addition to having a broad knowledge of the law. Thus, it should come as no surprise that practice is the single most important method of preparing for any bar examination. That means working your way through thousands of MBE questions and dozens of essays. Use your practice to fuel your study! Do not devote a lot of time to studying the material in the abstract. Get into practice and learn how to sharpen your knowledge to best prepare for the task at hand – passing the bar examination. (Back)