I am planning to take the California BAR in July before I start my LLM program. I do not even know how to start studying for the test. Have any of you done the test? If yes, how was it? Do u know any good online course for that purpose?
Thank u

Just order the Bar Bri books (approx. $900) and study yourself - the books contain all the substantive law, and enough practice questions (MBE, MPT, and Essay) to keep you busy between now and July.

That's what I did for my bar exams.

Are u a foreign attorney?

I took and passed the California Bar in 1990 on my first attempt. If you plan on taking the July exam, I would recommend that you begin studying no later than mid May. You will definitely need to sign up for the BarBri review course. BarBri will you you a study schedule where you will watch lectures (probably by internet if you intend to study in the UK), practice literally thousands of MBE questions, and write numerous answers to essay questions and performance examinations, which you will send to BarBri to be graded. I am not sure what the cost is, but I am sure you can find out that information on the BarBri website. I would recommend that you sign up for the full course rather than just review the course materials.

Do you intend to complete a U.S law LL.M degree in the States? If so, you might have a better chance of passing the bar exam once you have some exposure to US law, especially on the specific subjects tested on the bar exam, by completing the LL.M. But hey, if you are eligible to take the bar exam in July and have a few months to spare, you might as well give it a try. From what I recall, the material tested on the bar exam was not that difficult. However, the way the exam is graded, you need a high score to pass. Good luck.

Are u a foreign attorney?

Can really have only LLB degree from foreign country and qualify sit for the California Bar( Or any State bar? )

For California, yes if you have the equivalent of two years of undergraduate studies and four years of common law legal studies. See the website at www.calbar.org.

Then what' the qualification for graduation of LLB from Asian coutries like Taiwan, China, etc, JD only?? Thank You

you have to take up an LLM from an ABA accredited law school to cure your non-common law legal education from a foreign jurisdiction and qualify for the California bar exam. hope that helped.

If you have a license from any country you are eligible take the California BAR exam.

Call the below person for questions regarding eligibility:

Norma Florentino Esperida
Section Chief
Eligibility
Office of Admissions
State Bar of California
(213) 765-1510

If you have a license from any country you are eligible take the California BAR exam.

I am 100% positive that if you are licensed as an attorney in any contry you are eligible to take the California BAR test.

I believe CristianeK is correct.

Interesting discussion. Do you know any lawyer from any civil law country that passed the CA bax exam without having a LLM? The CA bar exam is one of the most difficults in the country (much worse than NYC) and even the passage rate of Stanford JDs is not that good.

Another question: why someone would sit for the bar exam before the LLM and nor after?

Cheers,

Paul

Why not if you have the time, especially if you are an attorney with a common law legal education. Most LL.M programs start in August while the bar exam is in July. You can take the bar and start school the following month. If you pass, you are a lawyer and can immediately start looking for a post-graduation job. If you fail, you can finish the LL.M and be better prepared for the exam the following July. By the way, everybody who takes the exam, even recent JD graduates, will prepare by taking a bar review course such as BarBri.

If you are an attorney from a common law legal education, then maybe... For a civil law attorney I would strongly recommend to have one year of legal education in the US before taking the bar. The bar exam is not easy, it is a lot of money, time and why do it before the LLM.

I would say 95% of the LLM employers expect that you will sit for the bar during the summer after your LLM year and before the starting date of your job (usually September). From a job standpoint I think it makes no difference if you tell your employer you will sit for the bar in June or that you already have the bar.

Finally, why sit fo the CA bar anyway? I think it makes much more sense for a civil law attorney to sit for the NY Bar. It is easier (again, remeber that it costs real money...) and gives you more jobs opportunities. NYC and not CA is the business/legal center for Europe and Latin America.

I just run into this site while surfing aimlessly. I noticed that the last post was yet in 2006. Anyways I'm interested to hear from foriegn lawyers specially from the Philippines who are planning to take the test. I'm a member of the Philippine bar but I strayed too much off from the legal field. I'm still hoping that maybe I could take the California and the Multistate Bar someday. I made inquiries about the Califronia State bar back in 03 but was unable to continue the process.
Back then I learned that foriegn lawyers from Civil Law jurisdictions can take the California State Bar and the Multistate Bar exams if they continue to hold good standing membership to the foriegn bar.