Cleveland State University



First-Year Student Advising Information Sheet—Spring 2012Bar Exam InformationWhat do I have to do to be licensed as an attorney in Ohio?To get your license to practice law in Ohio you must:Have a J.D. degreeComplete the Character and Fitness Evaluation Pass the MPRE (Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination)Pass the Ohio Bar ExaminationWhat is the Ohio Bar Examination?The Ohio Bar Examination is a 2 1/2-day test, given every February and July. It consists of three parts:(1) 200 Multistate Bar Examination (MBE) multiple-choice questions covering Constitutional Law, Contracts/Sales, Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure, Evidence, Real Property, and Torts (Federal Civil Procedure will be added to this test at some future date-2013 or later);(2) 12 one-half hour essay questions covering the MBE subjects (see above), Business Associations (Corporations, Agency, and Partnership), Civil Procedure, Commercial Transactions (Commercial Law and Secured Transactions), Legal Ethics, Personal Property, and Wills (Estates and Trusts); and(3) Two 90-minute MPT (Multistate Performance Test) consisting of a writing assignment based upon a closed universe of materials.What do I have to file with the Office of Bar Admissions in order to take the Ohio Bar Examination?You must file two Applications with the Ohio Supreme Court’s Office of Bar Admissions: Step 1: Application to Register as a Candidate for Admission (Character and Fitness Application), andStep 2: Application to Take the Bar ExaminationStep 1: Application to Register as a Candidate for Admission (Character and Fitness Application)All applicants for the Ohio Bar Examination must file an “Application to Register as a Candidate for Admission” (also called the Character and Fitness Application) and complete the character and fitness evaluation process before the applicant is allowed to take the bar examination.Application: The deadline for filing the “Application to Register as a Candidate for Admission” is NOVEMBER 15, 2012. This is the deadline for all second-year law students, full or part time, to timely file the application. Please start early because the application contains a detailed questionnaire that covers many aspects of your personal, educational, and employment history. It takes time to gather data and complete the forms. Late filing of the Application increases the fees you must pay and delays your evaluation which can affect the date of the first Bar Exam that you are eligible to take. Students who have potential character and fitness issues to address during the process are advised to timely file. The application is on the Supreme Court of Ohio’s website at: : After your Application is filed, the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) compiles your supporting documents and returns your record to the Supreme Court. You will then be interviewed by members of a local bar association. Your application will be submitted for review to the Board of Commissioners on Character and Fitness at the Supreme Court. The Board meets only twice per year. The answers to the written and oral questions must demonstrate that you possess the requisite character, fitness, and moral qualifications for admission to the practice of law. You cannot sit for the Bar Exam until this evaluation is finalized and you are approved. Step 2: Application to Take the Bar ExaminationA second, separate application, the “Application to Take the Bar Examination,” must be timely filed before an applicant may take the Ohio Bar Examination. For example, the deadline for the July 2012 Bar Examination is APRIL 2, 2012. Please check the Supreme Court’s website for future Bar Examination dates and deadlines. The application is located on the Supreme Court of Ohio’s website at: can I contact the Bar Admissions Office ? The Supreme Court’s Office of Bar Admissions contact information is: Phone: 614.387.9340E-mail: BarAdmissions@sc.A list of important dates and current and future deadlines is located at: is the MPRE (Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination)?The test is a 60 question, two-hour and –five- minute, multiple-choice exam administered three times each year in March, August and November. This is a separate test from the Ohio Bar Exam. Passage of the MPRE is an additional prerequisite to admission to the Ohio Bar. This test is administered by National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE), not the Ohio Supreme Court. It is not part of the Bar Exam and must be taken separately. The dates are available at: MPRE Administrations: March 17, August 10, and November 3. Law students often take this exam shortly after completing a course in professional responsibility. The MPRE tests applicants on the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct and the ABA Code of Judicial Conduct. Ohio applicants must receive a score of 85 or better on the MPRE. You must take and pass the MPRE before being admitted to the practice of law in Ohio, including participation in the swearing-in ceremony.Application deadlines are about six weeks prior to each test, although applicants may apply up to two weeks after that deadline if they pay an additional fee. Registration can be done online. Registration forms and other helpful information are provided at a commercial MPRE preparatory course. Law school professional responsibility courses are not MPRE preparatory courses. Prep courses are offered by companies such as Barbri, Supreme Bar Review, Kaplan PMBR, and Themis. They offer courses free of charge. Practice books are also available through the course providers. The National Conference of Bar Examiners also offers a one-year subscription for an online practice test.What are My Chances of Passing the Bar Examination?(1) The single best predictor for bar performance is cumulative grade point average (GPA) at the end of law school. Our research indicates that the higher your Cleveland-Marshall Law School GPA, the greater your possibility of success on the bar exam. C-M Law School GPABar Passage Rate3.25 & above95+%3.0 – 3.2490%2.75 – 2.9975%2.5 – 2.7455%below 2.5< 30%(2) A second predictive factor is your entering LSAT score, although this is less predictive than law school GPA. Gary S. Rosen, Unpacking the Bar: Of Cut Scores and Competence, 32 J. Legal Prof. 67, 96 (2008)(3) Your participation in Cleveland-Marshall’s Six-Point Plan for Bar Success improves your chances of passing the Bar Examination.What is Cleveland-Marshall’s Six-Point Plan for Bar Success?1. Take Commercial Bar Review CoursesTake a full-service commercial bar exam preparatory course such as Barbri or Kaplan. These courses are essential to help you review and fill gaps in your knowledge to prepare for the MBE, essay, and MPT portions of the exam.ANDTake the MBE Boot Camp course ─ the six- and three-day Kaplan PMBR course. This is a supplemental course that specializes in preparing students for the MBE. The Law School provides a subsidy to assist you in paying for this program. You can register at 800.523.0777.2. Take Six to Eight Weeks Off to StudyWe strongly recommend that you take a minimum of six weeks (eight would be preferable) completely off of work to prepare for the rigors of the Ohio Bar Examination. This period requires advance planning and preparation in terms of employment situation, vacation time, family support, and financial matters. You must also address time management issues.3. Make Adequate Financial ArrangementsApplication fees for the Ohio Bar Exam are more than $500, commercial bar preparation courses cost about $3000, and time lost from employment may add to these financial burdens. In addition, you will have to pay for three nights at a hotel during the bar exam. Several loans are available to help cover bar expenses.First, review your law school student loans and plan ahead to have funds available for bar expenses.Second, some private lenders will lend money based on good credit. A list of bar loan lenders is located on the C-M website at: , the Hebrew Free Loan Association will lend money with co-signers. Contact the organization for further information on requirements and terms. or 216.378.9042Fourth, the Cleveland - Marshall Law Alumni Association (CMLAA) has bar review scholarships to help underwrite the costs of Barbri Bar Review. For an application, contact Mary McKenna at 216.687.2368 or Mary.McKenna@law.csuohio.edu.Fifth, bar review scholarships, tuition assistance, and financing options are available through the commercial bar review courses, such as Barbri, Kaplan and other courses. Contact their representatives or access their websites for information. 4. Take the Ohio Bar Exam Strategies and Tactics Course Ohio Bar Exam Strategies and Tactics (“OBEST”) is a three-credit law school course that provides you with an opportunity to preview some of the substantive law covered on the bar and to become familiar with the modes of testing. This class is a supplement to a commercial bar review class, NOT a substitute for one. Data analysis conducted for a review of our bar preparation program confirms that students who successfully complete the OBEST course and who also participate in other bar preparation programs have higher passage rates than their non-participating counterparts. The data for the last eleven bar exams indicate that the passing rate for those who took OBEST is 87% compared to 80% for those who did not take the class. The difference in passing rates is even more pronounced for students with a law school GPA below 3.0—those most likely to benefit from the class: 74% of students with a law school GPA less than 3.0 who took OBEST passed while only 48% of students with similar law school GPAs who did not take OBEST passed the exam—a difference of more than 25 percentage points. 5. Take Bar Subjects in Law School In addition to the first-year curriculum and other required courses, such as Constitutional Law, Evidence, and Legal Profession, the following courses will be helpful: Corporations Commercial Law (covers Sales and Negotiable Instruments)Criminal Procedure I (and possibly Criminal Procedure II)Estates and TrustsSecured TransactionsFirst AmendmentCourses Required in Law School after first-year courses:3rd semester Legal Writing (drafting courses are good practice for the MPT)Administrative Law RequirementSkills RequirementConstitutional LawEvidenceLegal ProfessionPerspectiveUpper Level Writing Requirement 6. Participate in C|M|LAW’s FREE MPT Workshops After graduation, C|M|LAW offers a series of free MPT Workshops. The MPT Workshops meet weekly for six weeks before the February and July bar exams. Each week you will discuss strategies for approaching the MPT and take practice MPTs from past bar exams.? You will get feedback on your work including suggestions on how to improve your scores and you will receive copies of the official Point Sheet used by bar graders, and copies of a high-scoring MPT response released by the Ohio Supreme Court. The MPT is worth 13% of the possible points on the bar, more than 75 points. The best preparation for the MPTs is to practice taking them.What Additional Resources are Available?Mary Jane McGinty is the Director of Bar Exam Preparation. She can be reached at 216.687.2297 or maryjane.mcginty@law.csuohio.edu.Daniel Dropko is our Academic Excellence Program Manager. He can be reached at 216. 687.2226 or daniel.dropko@law.csuohio.edu.The law library has bar-related materials and other study guides in Room A066 and on reserve. Our website contains bar-related links: Please Note: We strongly advise that students taking more than 12 credit hours in a semester not work at all.? The American Bar Association regulations state that a student who takes more than 12 credit hours in a semester may not be employed for more than 20 hours a week.? Our Academic Regulations state that absent permission of the Dean (please see Assistant Dean Jean Lifter), students who work more than 20 hours per week may not register for more than 12 credit hours in a semester.? ................
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