ProfessorTommy.Tips

Today is World Poetry Day . You're probably thinking, “Professor Tommy, what does poetry have to do with passing the bar exam?” Stay with me. Photo by yeongkyeong lee on Unsplash Bar prep is all about structure, rhythm, and repetition. Sound familiar? That’s poetry. Just like a good essay answer follows a predictable format, a good poem does too. And when things get stressful (and they will), sometimes the best way to remember key strategies is to make them a little more … m

It is sad to learn today the passing of Chuck Norris , man whose name became bigger than movies, television, or even martial arts. For many people, he wasn't just an action star. He was a cultural icon whose toughness became the stuff of legend, and whose persona somehow managed to be both admirable and fun at the same time. That is what makes him such an interesting bar exam tie-in. The bar exam has a way of making people feel small. It can feel overwhelming, unpredictable,

It didn’t take long. Day one of the NCAA Tournament , and my bracket was already done. Not “in trouble.” Not “hanging by a thread.” Done. I had BYU winning it all—an unorthodox pick, a little bold, definitely outside conventional wisdom. And within hours, it was over after the AJ Dybantsa -led Cougars lost to the University of Texas 79-71 . That’s the appeal of March Madness. A bracket pool isn't usually won by simply picking every favorite. If you want to separate yourself f

I recently saw a comment on a Pacers post that said, “Every loss is a win in disguise.” In this context, the comment was not just generic motivation. It reflected something much more specific about where the Pacers are right now. The thinking is simple: a loss in the short term may improve the team’s lottery position in what is expected to be a talented upcoming draft. Add the possibility of Tyrese Haliburton returning healthy from his Achilles injury, and a frustrating seaso

Somewhere along the way, the em dash became suspicious. Not misused. Not overused. But suspicious. Apparently, if you use an em dash, you must be using ChatGPT. Or some other AI tool. Or at the very least, you must have “AI vibes.” That’s the conventional wisdom floating around online right now. And it’s ridiculous. I Checked the Receipts When I first started hearing this, I did what any slightly annoyed, mildly stubborn law professor would do. I went back and looked at my ol

If you’re not a basketball person, this is going to sound backwards: Sometimes fans root for their own team to lose. That’s where some Indiana Pacers fans found themselves this season. Last year, Indiana made a surprise run all the way to the NBA Finals and pushed the Oklahoma City Thunder to Game 7, but ultimately lost the series. And in the gut-punch moment that made it feel even crueler, Tyrese Haliburton went down with a torn Achilles early in that Game 7. It was an inju

At 48 hours out, you’re not building new knowledge. You’re protecting what you’ve already built. Rest is strategy. Composure is power. 🎥 Watch the short video below and give your brain the reset it deserves.

The Lunar New Year begins today, and it ushers in the Year of the Horse (specifically the Fire Horse). If you’re taking the bar exam next week, that timing feels almost too perfect. Horses don’t win by darting all over the track. They win by staying controlled, conserving energy, and moving forward with purpose. That’s exactly what the bar exam rewards too, especially at this stage. Here’s the theme for the remaining few days of your bar preparation: Stay in your lane . And

As the NextGen UBE gets closer, I'm seeing a very common misunderstanding about the star symbols in the NCBE’s NextGen UBE Content Scope Outline . The NextGen UBE is the NCBE’s redesigned bar exam, created to better measure foundational lawyering skills (reading, analysis, reasoning, writing, and using legal materials) while still testing a defined set of doctrinal concepts. The exam is designed to feel more like the work lawyers actually do, often with a mix of what you know

The Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics are currently underway. I thought it would be fun to imagine the MBE subjects as Winter Olympic sports. The point isn't to become a sports expert overnight. The point is to use the sports as a simple way to remember what each subject feels like on test day, what it rewards, and what usually causes people to lose points. Civil Procedure = Curling Curling is the sport that looks like “shuffleboard on ice.” Two teams slide heavy granite st