Hello All,

I want to wish everyone who is taking the bar exam tomorrow all of the very best of luck!

Some additional thoughts on potential areas for testing on the essays:

Typically a few subjects repeat from one bar exam round to the next. And, sometimes a subject will repeat three times back to back. This means that really anything can be tested. If you have been following this blog, you will know this as it is a theme here – be prepared for anything, as anything is testable.

That being said, I do have some additional thoughts on what could potentially show up on the exam either Tuesday or Thursday.

Of the topics from the July bar exam that might be a bit more likely to repeat, I think that perhaps Wills or Constitutional Law are possibilities.

Possibly Wills: The reason I suggest Wills, is because it could easily be tested as a cross over with Trusts. This would bring in a new topic and repeat Wills. It makes sense, but of course there are no guarantees. If you were to see Trusts (either as a cross over with Wills or alone as a Trusts only essay) I am leaning towards the essay involving either a Spendthrift/Support/Discretionary Trust scenario (these three are typically tested together) or a Charitable Trust issue (requiring a discussion of the Doctrine of Cy Pres and Equitable Deviation). Another point worth making about Trusts is that the area of Testamentary Trusts has not come up in some time. It is worth noting that the last time Trusts was on the bar exam it was in the context (primarily) of Trust Remedies, specifically a constructive trust.

Possibly Constitutional Law: Another area to keep in mind for the essays is the possibility of Constitutional Law repeating. So why Constitutional Law? There are a few reasons: 1) subjects repeat back to back, and 2) there are several areas within Constitutional Law that were not tested on the July bar exam that could make up an entirely different Constitutional Law essay exam. For example, a First Amendment Speech issue could be tested (which was not tested on the July bar exam) or a Commerce Clause or Dormant Commerce Clause issue could come up. I think the latter is more likely than First Amendment Speech.

One possible scenario would involve a state statute that essentially taxes out of staters – in this type of scenario you are faced with balancing the state’s interest in the regulation and the burden that is placed on interstate commerce. I think this is a very likely area for testing. Should you see an exam like this, you will need to identify the power that the state has to act (those powers that are reserved to the states via the 10th Amendment: safety, health, welfare, education and morals of its citizens). You will also need to identify the state’s interest and ultimately determine whether upholding the regulation places an undue burden on interstate commerce.

Torts is not my first pick of topics to repeat. However, if it were to be tested, I think that Defamation is a real possibility. It could, someday, be tested as a cross-over with an anti-slapp motion (which has yet to be tested from California Civil Procedure). An anti-slapp motion is a type of responsive pleading available in California and could be an appropriate response to a suit for defamation. This has yet to show up on the California bar exam and I do think it will some day. Of course whether that is tomorrow is another thing.

I will be posting again tomorrow after I hear what was tested on the essays. I will not address the performance test tomorrow. The reason for this is because there are examinees with accommodations who will not be taking the performance test until Wednesday. As a result, I will not be posting anything here about tomorrow’s performance test until after Wednesday evening.

I want to thank you again for following my blog.

I wish you much success on the bar exam!

All the best,

Lisa Duncanson
Program Director/Founder (213) 529-0990
Bar None Review and The Bar Exam Cram Session (TM)