Friday, May 24, 2013

Bar Exam Preparation – May’s Subject of the Month


Congratulations to all our students who have completed their legal education and will be graduating on May 26th!  We are so proud of you and all that you have accomplished.

In the interest of supporting you as you prepare to sit for the Bar Exam at the end of July, we have a variety of current resources that may be useful to you, even before you begin any formal study program.


Our very own Professor Suzanne Darrow-Kleinhaus has written a  comprehensive, practical, and enormously helpful guide to the bar exam, which is available to you in our library:

 

ACING THE BAR EXAM : 
A CHECKLIST APPROACH TO TAKING THE BAR EXAM

This book offers guidance on how to plan for your bar exam preparation while taking into consideration your lifestyle and your study goals.  It further de-constructs the bar exam and the bar review course for you, providing helpful tips on how to practice both the essay questions and the multiple choice questions that you will face on the bar exam.  There’s even advice on what to do when it’s all over.

 



For those of you who are sitting for the New York Bar Exam, Professors Myra E. Berman, Suzanne Darrow-Kleinhaus, & John J. Cooney have written an incredibly helpful resource that will help you prepare for that bar exam, which is available to you in our library:

THE NEW YORK BAR EXAM BY THE ISSUES 

As is stated in its description, this book "tells you how to pass the bar exam."  Every issue tested on the New York bar exam since 2001 is identified in a concise chart, together with the frequency with which it was tested and a rule of law for the issue. This guide is a must for learning how to successfully pass the essay section of the New York Bar exam, as it provides step-by-step guidance for reading, outlining, and writing essays for the bar exam.




The Gould Law Librarians have prepared a LibGuide that provides an organized means of perusing the study aids available to you in our library.  For those of you who like to study on the go, we have lists of our West subscription study aids and Bar Exam prep apps that you may want to use.  We also have a page that links you to all of the print resources we have here in the library, both in the reserve room and in the main collection.

You may also want to check out these online articles, which offer useful tips about preparing to study for the bar exam in a way that makes your studying work for you:

•    12 Tips for a Successful Bar Exam. Retrieved from http://lawyerist.com/12-tips-successful-bar-exam/ on May 13, 2013 (written by S. Gainen on 5/17/11).

•    Ten Tips for Passing the Bar Exam | Cutting Edge Law.com. Retrieved from http://www.cuttingedgelaw.com/content/ten-tips-passing-bar-exam on May 13, 2013 (written by J.K. Wright on 2/28/09).

We wish you all the best as you prepare for the bar exam!

We’ll be back to post again next week with resources on taking care of yourself during this intense study period – the home stretch  before you are a practicing, professional attorney.

In the meantime, keep calm and read on.

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

LIBRARY OPEN 24/6+ FOR EXAMS


In order to maximize your opportunities for quiet study, Gould Law Library is open as a study hall almost around the clock through the end of final exams (May 22nd).  These special hours are for Law Center Students ONLY.  There are only two exceptions to this round the clock availability through the end of finals, which are:
  • EVERY Friday from 6:00 p.m. to Saturday morning at 10:00 a.m.:
    • This closure is in observance of the Jewish Sabbath. Saturday access is subject to special conditions:  You may use the 1st floor only; you must have your Touro ID required and use the special access door to enter; and you cannot bring any food.
  • Tuesday, May 14th  at 7:00 p.m. through Friday, May 17th at 8:00 a.m.:

    • In observance of the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, the library will close at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 14th. It will remain closed entirely until we reopen at 8:00 a.m. on Friday, May 17th.  To learn more, read this blog post.

Please note that library services will not be available during the overnight period and on Saturdays, although a security guard will be on duty.

The entire library (except for the Circulation Desk, the Reference Office, and enclosed study rooms) is now a quiet zone to maximize available study space.  In order to keep the quiet zone as quiet as possible, please take care to remember:

            * No cell phone use is allowed in the library at any time.

            * Conversation should be taken outside the library to the atrium.

            * If you encounter any noise issues, please see a member of the library staff.

We wish you all the best on your exams! For our 1Ls, check out our Study Guide for 1L courses, which includes study guides specifically for your classes on Civil Procedure, Contracts, Torts, and Criminal Law.  You can access it here.

We’ll be back to post again in May.

In the meantime, keep calm and read on.