As I understand it, “He needed killin’,” is a valid defense in Texas. 
Good thing you do securities and M&A work.
Way to beat that oil & gas section, DCU!
New York is harder. Texas is longer (2 1/2 days to New York’s 2). Not that Texas is a cakewalk or anything.
Texas throws a whole bunch of short essays on relatively fixed set of topics at you. You know you’re going to be asked a question in each of the general topic areas, and you don’t have time on any specific essay to go into a heck of a lot of detail. You just have to show a basic understanding of each topic area.
New York has a huge list of topics but only throws a few essays at you – your answer has to be detailed, and you’re less sure of what’s going to be asked. They don’t ask a question from every possible topic area, but you have to be prepared for a question from any of them.
FWIW, I felt more time pressure in Texas, but thought writing a good answer in New York was tougher.
Also, a big part of that extra half-day in Texas is the Multistate Performance Exam, which New York does not use. The MPE is an easy, easy, easy place to rack up points – it’s basically a test of practical lawyering skills (e.g., here are some facts, here is some law; go write a brief or draft a contract based upon them). You don’t have to know anything except how to write clearly and how to read cases and statutes reasonably well.
IIRC, New York and California regularly vie for the title of “state with the lowest bar passage rate;” I think those results bear out my feeling that New York is tougher.
(N.B.: I took the NY bar 3 1/2 years ago, so I’m working from my memory of what it was like – which may not be the most reliable source).
No, I’m a University of Texas J.D. I did get my undergraduate degree from Baylor, though (in accounting, if anyone’s interested).
So, for the exam, do they time how fast you can chug a case of Lone Star? Or, do they check to see if you drive a pick-up truck?
Zenster, you’d have failed right there. The proper beer is Shiner Bock.
Hey! I wish you joy in your second license. If you go to Texas do you really think it earns you any extra points to have an asterisk by your name on the letterhead noting that you are also admitted in some Yankee State or another. In all seriousness, good on you and best wishes on your move.