The state examination for licensing to practice as a lawyer is known to be difficult and selective. Many have to try several times before they can pass it, and many eventually give up, discouraged. The new professional forensic law has made the examination even more difficult by abolishing the possibility of using the commented codes during the written tests. This article aims to give you some tips on how to pass the exam without risking a nervous breakdown.
Steps
Part 1 of 2: The Basics
Step 1. Find a good law firm to practice
During the eighteen months of internship, you will spend most of your time in the office or in court. It is important to choose your dominus well to ensure that your time is spent in the most formative way possible.
- Avoid overspecialized studies. To pass the exam you need to know civil and criminal law well. For example, if you practice with a tax expert, without dealing with any civil or criminal matters, you will make your internship absolutely useless for the exam. The ideal is to find a multidisciplinary studio, which allows you to deal with both civil and criminal matters. With the new professional law it is possible to carry out an internship with more than one lawyer. This prediction could be useful for you to start practicing right away in the particular field of specialization you want without neglecting generalist practice.
- Don't be a secretary. Many law firms employ trainees by having them do non-educational activities, such as queuing at the stationery or notification office, or making photocopies. Not that there is anything wrong with doing a little stationery business every now and then (a lawyer must know how to do this too), but, if it becomes systematic, it is a sign that you need to change your firm.
Step 2. Find a good preparation course
The new professional law has also made it compulsory to attend a training course. These can be organized by professional associations, trade associations or other authorized subjects. Find out about the training offer in your area. In general, professional forensic schools are probably the best choice.
Step 3. Keep yourself in good physical condition
Your physical well-being affects your mental well-being, so be careful to keep fit.
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Eat healthy foods.
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Get enough sleep.
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Practice regularly.
Pass the Bar Exam Step 9
Step 4. Find a way to relax
In addition to being physically fit, it is important to be mentally relaxed, to relieve the tension you are subjected to.
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Visit an exhibition, go to the cinema or have dinner out, do anything that can relax you.
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Part 2 of 2: Prepare for the Skills Exam
Step 1. Don't neglect the practice, but don't overestimate it
Many candidates fail the exam for opposite reasons: some favor practice over theoretical preparation, others do the exact opposite. In reality, you need to find the right balance, and combine practice with preparation as much as possible. So, if, for example, you are entrusted with the task of drawing up a preliminary sales contract, why not pick up the books and study the sales contract, the obligations to contract and the related action?
Step 2. Study from the start
Don't wait until you are close to the exam to pick up your textbooks. You have at least a year and a half of time to study, try to do it all the time. Then when the exam approaches you will obviously intensify your commitment.
Step 3. Get the right texts
To prepare the civil writing it is not enough to study a manual of institutions, where you will find little more than what is written in the codes, but you need more in-depth texts. For the criminal paper, you can use your university textbook, possibly adding at least a second text. You can save on buying books by using the library of the study or the council of the order.
Step 4. Keep up to date with the latest jurisprudential rulings
It is essential that you have the availability of databases and legal journals. It is not necessary that you subscribe, even in this case you can use the resources of the studio and the council of the order.
Read the sentences in full. In professional practice we are often satisfied with finding the jurisprudential maxims that interest us, without worrying about reading the sentences in full, but you are interested in the argumentative path for which a certain solution has been reached
Step 5. Write
To pass the written tests you must write clearly and cleanly, as well as grammatically correct. It is essential to train yourself to write both opinions and procedural documents
Step 6. Identify the hot topics that may come up for the exam
The written tests usually deal with hot topics, that is, the subject of jurisprudential conflicts or topics in which there has been a conspicuous revirement. The instructors on your training course probably already do this identification work for you, but it may not be enough.
Step 7. Start preparing for the exam after the written tests
Many candidates wait to know the outcome of the written tests before picking up their books and preparing for the oral exam. Nothing more wrong. Certainly you need some rest after the written tests, which are very stressful, but it is a mistake to stay away from the textbooks. Even if you fail, there is another attempt to make the following year and you must arrive well prepared.
Step 8. Don't underestimate the oral exam
Since the biggest hurdle to overcome is written tests, many candidates simply don't study enough for the oral exam. In reality it can happen to be rejected even the oral one.
Step 9. Keep an eye on what's new
It is not a good idea to use outdated university texts to prepare for the exam, as they may be outdated by now. So buy recent editions, and do not neglect the latest legislative innovations.
Advice
Try to be objective and understand if the qualification is within your reach. If you had a hard time passing civil law, criminal law, and procedural exams in college, then the lawyer profession may not be for you
Warnings
- Don't study like a desperate at the last moment. You need to arrive at the exam fresh and rested.
- Avoid taking alcohol and drugs.
