Tips and insight for military spouse attorneys studying for the bar exam.

1. Making The Bar
Time and Passing

2. Bar Exam #1: Colorado
UBE jurisdiction
6 essays, 2 PTs
MBE
Worked as drilling Navy Reservist (enlisted)
Married with a two-year-old
No formal childcare
Limited friends and family nearby

3. Study Strategy
BARBRI in the evenings
Husband watched our daughter in the evenings
I studied en route (public transit), in class, and
for 30-60 minutes after class before heading
home
Practice exams on the weekends
Daughter stayed with mother-in-law for exam
evenings

4. Bar Exam #2: California
General Exam (3 days)
12 essays, 4 PTs over two days
MBE
Active-duty Judge Advocate
Divorcing with a three-year-old
Care through the CDC
No friends or family nearby

5. Study Strategy
Self-study from BARBRI outlines
No other strategy
Unsurprisingly, I failed

6. Bar Exam #3: California
Attorney Exam (2 days)
12 essays, 4 PTs over two days
Active-duty Judge Advocate
Married with a 7-year-old and a 2-year old
Five months pregnant
Care through the CDC
Some friends or family nearby

7. Study Strategy
BarMax study application
Listened to lectures while PTing or commuting
Read outlines when I needed additional clarification
Husband was my study partner
DisneyPixar was our children’s study partner
Practice exams focused on the essays and PTs, done during lunch hours
and after children went to bed
Traveled from DC to California one week before the bar, and family
members watched the kids while we studied

8. Carving Out the Time
Listening to lectures during commuting and PT
Taking practice essays during lunch breaks
Write work assignments as you would write
performance tests
BARBRI or other in-person courses force the time block
to be reserved for studying
On off-days, go somewhere to study and take practice
exams

9. Carving Out the Time: Parent
Edition
IKEA offers free childcare for an hour for customers. Drop off the
kids, buy a cup of coffee in the cafe, and study.
Many gyms offer child care. If you have an app you can listen to
or an outline to read, take the kiddos to the gym and and study
while you sweat.
Make peace with screentime. Movies and games will buy you
anywhere from a few minutes to a couple of hours.
Make peace with asking for help. Most friends were willing to
entertain my daughters for an hour or so, even if they weren’t
“kid people”.

10. Available Options
Live, either in-person or online (BARBRI,
Themis, private tutors)
Recorded lecture (BARBRI, BarMax)
Practice exams (BarEssays, Kaplan, BARBRI)
Prepared outlines (LeanSheets, BarMax,
BARBRI)