Kaplan's MBE App

Another fantastic learning tool that is available for your mobile device is Kaplan's MBE App. Made by gWhiz, the application covers roughly 425 terms, definitions and concepts designed to help you score higher on the MBE.

Also included in the application are instructional videos to help "highlight key concepts."

More about the application can be found on gWhiz's website, located here:

http://www.gwhizmobile.com/Desktop/ContentFocusedProducts.php#Kaplan_MBE

According to the site, the application is free for a limited time, so download it and see what you think.

BarBri Mobile

In studying for the multistate bar examination (MBE), there are a lot of different methods to learning the material. Outlines, lectures, and books of practice questions are always helpful and should be utilized throughout the process.

However, if you happen to get bored with these, I came across two unique and exciting applications that will work with your iPhone or iPod Touch.

The first is from BarBri and can be located here:

http://www.barbri.com/wps/portal/barbri/barbrimobile

The application, which is completely FREE, presents you with 10 MBE questions at a time to be completed within 15 minutes. As you get questions correct, you accumulate points and your "rank" increases. The game places you in competition with your law school classmates who are also using the program, as well as people using the program on a national scale.

I'll discuss the second resource in the next few days. Good luck!

2 Year Law Degrees

A couple of law schools have started offering students the option of obtaining a law degree in two years. This is a fantastic option that everyone should consider. Not only is it saving you money, but it's saving you TIME. During that third year, instead of being stuck in a classroom, you could be out in the world earning experience and money.

Review this June 20, 2008 article from the ABA Journal on Northwestern's two-year program:

College grads with work experience now have the opportunity to go to a top-tier law school and graduate in only two years.

Northwestern law school has announced it will offer a two-year degree beginning next year, reports Inside Higher Ed.

Students who enter the program will start taking courses next summer, the story says. During the regular academic years they will take an extra course most semesters. They will not have to take courses the summer between the first and second years so they can obtain internships or summer associate jobs.

In total, students will attend school for five semesters.

Northwestern is the first top-tier law school to offer a two-year J.D., according to TaxProf Blog. Southwestern Law School and the University of Dayton also offer two-year degrees, the blog says. The move was made possible by the ABA’s 2004 decision to drop a requirement for six semesters at accredited law schools, the Inside Higher Ed story says.

Northwestern dean David Van Zandt told Inside Higher Ed that the accelerated program will only admit students with two to three years of substantive work experience after college.

University of Chicago law professor Geoffrey Stone, the school's former dean, told the Chicago Tribune that two-year program is "irresponsible."

"My sense is that compressing the educational process is likely to seriously derogate from the quality," he said. "What is lost is likely to be much more than anything that is gained by hustling the students through more quickly."

Northwestern also announced it is offering three new required courses on quantitative analysis (including accounting, finance and statistics), dynamics of legal behavior and strategic decision making. The requirement applies at first to the two-year students but will eventually apply to all students.

Van Zandt told Inside Higher Ed that a theme of the new courses is communications skills. He said employers have complained that new lawyers are unable to write a concise one-page client memo that does not appear to “waffle.”

New programs will also allow third-year students to participate in experiential programs for up to a semester, including working in a legal clinic or in a law firm outside the United States.


If you don't have the grades for Northwestern, consider the University of Dayton School of Law in Ohio, which also offers a two-year degree.

Top 10 Cheapest Law Schools

In these tough economic times, I thought it would be nice to recognize the top 10 least expensive law schools in the United States in terms of their annual tuition. For the public schools listed (which are all but Brigham Young University), the listed tuition is for in-state residents.

1. North Carolina Central University
Durham, NC
$6,856

2. University of the District of Columbia (Clarke)
Washington, DC
$7,350

3. Florida A&M University
Orlando, FL
$7,600

4. University of North Dakota
Grand Forks, ND
$9,210

5. Brigham Young University (Clark)
Provo, UT
$9,240

6. University of Mississippi
University, MS
$9,350

7. University of Wyoming
Laramie, WY
$9,541

8. University of South Dakota
Vermillion, SD
$9,620

9. University of Montana
Missoula, MT
$10,174

10. CUNY - Queens College
Flushing, NY
$10,610