I took the Virginia bar in July. I think I did OK. None of the questions were completely out of left field. But I don't know if I hit all the issues. VA has a reputation of being a very hard bar. How tough do they grade the essays? Is it still possible to pass if you don't hit all the issues on the essays?

i took it too and although i thought 75% was pretty straight forward, I also thought some were hard. Like the criminal law one and the local govt one.

can you tell me more about what you thought with some specificity?

MBE was way harder than Barbri made it out to be.

As you said, crim and lgl questions were tough, but so were the creds rts. Also did not see surety coming.

I bet the pass rate is lower this time around. More like 60-65% than the 70-75% it usually is. VBBE is going to be mad at the scores, I bet.

I think there was a lot of nuance on most of the questions - even the easy ones like the one on warranties and the bailments one. Even if you got the issue and the general legal rule, there were tons of exceptions/alternative tests. I found crim to be fairly straightforward. Surety was a surprise, but fortunately that was the final barbri class so it was probably fresh in most people's minds.

I don't necessarily think there is any reason for the pass rate to be any lower this year. In the past few years it has been 75-80 percent for first-timers.

How did people answer the first Wills question about the contract with the kids?

I don't remember all the specifics of that question (and I threw away my questions after the exam so I wouldn't drive myself crazy). I remember one of the main ones was whether the will takes priority over the contract with the kids - they went over that type of situation in barbri. Then there was something about how to probate a will - i think that just involved the general process, witnesses, etc. there were a few smaller subparts that wanted specific info, but i forgot what they were.

Noname- how did you answer it?

i treated the first contract as a payable on death contract and therefore a non probate transfer but i heard lots of people treated it as a contractual will.

I think you got it right.

me too, they can sue on the k but that's all.

it's just frustrating that (1) they tested on everything barbri advised us they wouldn't and (2) they tested something like 17/19 topics. Both are out of left field.

then, on top of that, the mbe was a slaughter

only 50 or so days until they tell us

the subject choices were very odd. i was shocked that we got absolutely nothing on professional responsibility and very little on civil procedure. barbri predicted a lot on both of those subjects. and then so much on surety, creditors, etc. very weird.

What was the issue we were supposed to spot in part (b) of the Statute of Limitation question where MD and VA had the same SOL for fraud.

I think Part (a) wanted us to discuss the borrowing statute since the SOLs were different for contract causes of action but I don't think i spotted the issue correctly in part (b).

I don't completely remember, but I think you're right that the SOL was the same for both MD and VA. I think the issue might have been whether the statute of limitations prohibited the claim, because it all depends on when the statute begins to run. I completely forgot how I answered it, though. Then there was a part about whether the choice of law provision should be enforced. I also forgot how I answered that, but there was a balancing test that Barbri gave us.

Agree on the answer for the choice of law question.

Does anybody know if there are any private bar tutors in Richmond or Norfolk area? I took the July exam, but left feeling like it was a total bust. I am holding out hope that I passed, but I have to be realistic and start preparing for the "what if" (I didn't). Thanks.

Your feelings about the VA bar are completely normal. You should worry more if you felt great afterward. The three friends of mine who felt amazing about the exam missed a TON of huge issues. They felt great about it because they didn't know any better. The ones who really worry are the ones who are able to see the fine-line distinctions.

Contact crflinn@aol.com
He is a professional bar exam tutor for VA. He is a BarBri instructor. He has hundreds of 'passed' students under his belt. He is VERY good, thorough, efficient, and reasonably priced. I used him--passed. He lives and works in Richmond. Best of luck