New York has a reputation for being tough. One of the Kennedy kids failed it a few times, I think. I haven’t heard anything about Texas or California being harder than any other state.
I’ve taken exactly one bar exam, passed it, and never intend to go through that again. It was brutal. Three days of writing, clock watching, stark terror, and other unpleasantness.
Took it the summer after I graduated in May…think the exam was sometime in late July.
I strongly recommend taking a bar review class. They cost several hundred dollars, but mine was well worth it. I went to law school in one state, took the bar in another. The bar review program covered all of the state-specific stuff very concisely, and also included a review for the multi-state. There were live lectures from Professors at local law schools for some topics, and video-tapes for others, and the materials included excellent outlines for all subjects plus old exams from previous bars and practice tests.
In terms of format, going from my memory of 15 years ago, I think the three days were divided up thusly–1 day for the multi-state, 1.5 days for the state-specific essay portion, and half a day for the multi-state essay part.
The multi-state is (or was, I assume they still use it) a multiple choice test covering general principles of law in certain areas. The multi-state essay part was similar, except that it was in essay format. The state-specific essay portion was very state specific–my state does not follow the majority rule in certain areas, has adopted particular options from the U.C.C., maintains the division between law and equity, and has a few odd procedural rules unique to this state.
My state also required a professional responsibility exam…possibly called the MPRE or something like that, that was given separately from the bar. It was a 50 question multiple choice test, also in a multi-state format, based on the Model Rules.
I think scores on the various multi-state exams were transferable to other states within a certain time limit…maybe a year or two.
Some states will allow a lawyer admitted in another jurisdiction to take an “Attorney’s Exam” instead of the full bar. In my state, someone admitted in another state for at least 5 years and in good standing would qualify. The Attorney’s Exam is just the state-specific essay portion. I don’t know if being admitted in another country would qualify for that or not.
Again, please note I took the bar 15 years ago. Things may have changed since then. I know we have several new lawyers on the board, so maybe they’ll be able to provide more current info…