The Kansas Essay Exam

1. The Kansas Essay Exam Tips &Techniques Washburn Bar Services

2. The Essay • Two 3-hour blocks • 16 questions total • (8 in the morning & 8 in the evening) • 22.5 minutes for each question • Each essay is worth the same amount of points.

3. The 19 Subjects Tested: Agency and Employment Conflicts of Law Constitutional Law Contracts Corporations Criminal Law Criminal Procedure Evidence Domestic Relations and Family Law Federal Civil Procedure Kansas Civil Procedure Legal Ethics Non-corporate Business Organizations Personal Property Real Property Torts Trusts and Administration UCC and Commercial Transactions Wills

4. Tips for before writing the essay • 1. Your outlines and materials should be created with essay analysis strategies in mind. • 2. Your rule statements should be good to go in your head before the bar exam. • 3. When you flip to a fresh question, read the call(s) of the question first before going into the fact pattern. • 4. You should spend some time planning/outlining your response before writing. • (A) Identify which issue you are discussing • (B) List elements of the rule • (C) Lay out the facts

5. An Exercise Dan Driver and his girlfriend, Wanda Witness, were headed home from a political fundraiser at the Rich Ranch late one summer evening when Dan's car struck Penny Pedestrian on a dark county road. Though seriously injured, Penny was still alert at the scene. Penny told the Sheriff that she looked over her shoulder as the car approached and "felt like the car swerved toward me as if the driver intended to hit me." The Sheriff included it in his Accident Report. Penny lapsed into a coma and remains hospitalized, unable to communicate. You represent Penny's family, and your automobile liability action is ready for trial. Is there any hearsay? Please discuss.

6. Tips for writing the essay itself • ULTIMATE GOAL: Sound like a lawyer—but a concise one and one that cares about the grader. • 1. Follow directions in the call of the question and then answer the question asked. • 2. Formatting: Everything you do format-wise is to aid the grader’s job. • A. Use headings and short sentences. • B. Skip lines between paragraphs. • C. Use and define legal terms. • 3. Use CRAC (but if you have to fudge, use either CRA or RAC)

7. Let’s do this again… Following Directions on the Bar Dan Driver and his girlfriend, Wanda Witness, were headed home from a political fundraiser at the Rich Ranch late one summer evening when Dan’s car struck Penny Pedestrian on a dark county road. Though seriously injured, Penny was still alert at the scene. Penny told the Sheriff that she looked over her shoulder as the car approached and “felt like the car swerved toward me as if the driver intended to hit me.” The Sheriff included it in his Accident Report. Penny lapsed into a coma and remains hospitalized, unable to communicate. You represent Penny’s family, and your automobile liability action is ready for trial. Write a memo addressing to your senior partner whether Penny’s statement is hearsay.

8. Oh, it’s you again...Answering What the Bar wants Dan Driver and his girlfriend, Wanda Witness, were headed home from a political fundraiser at the Rich Ranch late one summer evening when Dan’s car struck Penny Pedestrian on a dark county road. Though seriously injured, Penny was still alert at the scene. Penny told the Sheriff that she looked over her shoulder as the car approached and “felt like the car swerved toward me as if the driver intended to hit me.” The Sheriff included it in his Accident Report. Penny lapsed into a coma and remains hospitalized, unable to communicate. You represent Penny’s family, and your automobile liability action is ready for trial. Is this evidence admissible at trial? Why or why not?

9. More tips about writing: Let’s talk CRAC. • (1) Every essay answer must substantively: • State the RULE of law • APPLY the rule to the facts • Reach a CONCLUSION • (2) But every answer must be organized in a CRAC form.

10. Begin with the CONCLUSION • Instead of an issue statement, just start with the conclusion. • The conclusion should be a restatement of the question with a clear answer. A short heading is fine. • Do not hedge. Be definitive! • But what if I don’t know what my conclusion will be before I do my analysis?

11. Set out the RULE of Law • Use Kansas law. • Default to common-law rules if you don’t know what Kansas would use. • Set forth the rule that governs the issue from your rule-driven outline or template and only the rule. • Again, define legal terms contained in the rule. • If you don’t know a law, make it up and apply it to the facts while sounding like a lawyer.

12. Set out the ANALYSIS. Apply the law to legally significant facts. • Always, begin your application sentence with “Here,…” • Avoid conclusory analysis and avoid just reciting the facts. Use the following syntax/formula for a balanced analysis: “Here, [insert legal conclusion] because [insert legally relevant fact].” • Do not leave facts on the table. And don’t paraphrase them if possible. • Be aware of the different levels of depth in your analysis.

13. Different levels of analysis • Complete CRAC analysis • All issues and sub-issues are discussed with complete rule statements and in separate CRACs. • Semi-complete CRAC analysis • Similar as above but sub-rules statements are left out • Truncated CRAC analysis • All issues and sub-issues are discussed within one CRAC. • Melded CRAC analysis • Same as the truncated analysis except rules and analysis are more closely inter-mingled. Only do this is if you’re desperate for time. This will get you the very least amount of points.