Course prepares law students for bar exam

December 07, 2007

A new course designed to help law students improve their performance on the Arizona Bar Exam has been organized for next semester by Michael Berch of the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law.<separator></separator>Passage of the bar exam is required before law school graduates are allowed to practice law. It usually is taken late in the summer after graduation.<separator></separator>“This course was put together in response to requests by the third-year law students,” Berch says. “They have wanted something like this for a long time. We will look at the past five years of bar exams and, when we find a pattern of questions, we’ll be highlighting those patterns.”<separator></separator>The free, non-credit course will be taught by Berch, and 16 other law professors and adjuncts. It will meet from 3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Fridays, beginning Jan. 18, and requires no registration.<separator></separator>Third-year law students who will graduate in May, first- and second-year students who want a preview of exam preparation, and any previous graduates still preparing to take the exam are welcome to attend.<separator></separator>Each session will give an overview of a section of the bar, including real property, constitutional law, evidence, community property, torts, criminal procedure and constitutional aspects, criminal law, contracts, professional responsibility, trusts and wills, civil procedure and corporations, partnerships and other business organizations. A four-person panel will discuss studying for the bar. Students can come to one session, or to all of them.<separator></separator>Berch says the course is not intended to replace the more intense bar review courses offered by private companies, but instead would supplement those courses.<separator></separator>“The bar-prep courses are often straight lectures, and I hope these will be more interactive, allowing students to ask questions,” Berch says. The schedule is:<separator></separator>• Jan. 18 – “Civil Procedure” – Michael Berch.<separator></separator>• Jan. 25 – “Real Property” – Jones Osborn.<separator></separator>• Feb. 1 – “Corporations, Partnerships and Other Business Organizations” – Myles Lynk.<separator></separator>• Feb. 8 – “Studying for the Bar Exam” – Art Hinshaw, Chad Noreuil, Rebecca Berch and Corie Rosen.<separator></separator>• Feb. 15 – “Constitutional Law/Arizona and Federal” – Paul Bender.<separator></separator>• Feb. 22 – “Contracts” – Jonathan Rose.<separator></separator>• Feb. 29 – “Community Property” – Alan Matheson.<separator></separator>• March 7 – “Torts” – Betsy Grey.<separator></separator>• March 14 – No class (spring break).<separator></separator>• March 21 – “Criminal Procedure/Constitutional Aspects” – Carissa Hessick.<separator></separator>• March 28 – “Criminal Law” – Gary Lowenthal.<separator></separator>• April 4 – “Trusts and Wills” – John Becker.<separator></separator>• April 11 – “Professional Responsibility” – John Tuchi.<separator></separator>• April 18 – “Evidence” – Bob Bartels.<separator></separator>• A course titled “Uniform Commercial Code,” to be offered by Dale Furnish, will be announced at a later date.<separator></separator>Judy Nichols, (480) 727-7895 <a href="/judith.nichols@asu.edu">judith.nichols@asu.edu</a>

Law Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law