I've been spending at least some time being productive though.
I have emailed and spoken with three people whom I'm considering hiring to help guide me a little more personally during this next process:
- Vivian Dempsey of writingedge.com;
- Steven Harris of calweasel.com; and
- John Crossfield of cabargrader.com.
I liked all three when talking to each on the phone.
Vivian seemed very sharp and relatable. I appreciate that she is a female close to my age; maybe that will help communication and understanding. Appreciate also that she tracks issues and methods concerning memory since I think I've lost a few thousand brain cells since law school a few gazillion years ago. She is the only one of the three who sends out materials on the law itself by way of videocassettes which she has agreed I can copy onto DVDs and/or audio files so long as I send them to her when done. Cost: about $5000.
Steven came prepared with a host of references, phone numbers and/or email addresses included, and not just "M. Jones says..." One other bar administrator/tutor (not named above) was downright cranky when I asked for references, and another was perhaps a little evasive and/or defensive. Steven was also the only one of the three above who could/would provide references from people who have taken another tutor/administrator's course as well as his so that I could compare. I appreciate this. Cost: $4200 for his two-month core program which includes his books--which I will purchase one way or another anyway--and a couple of weeks of a memory study program.
John Crossfield was a delight to talk to as well. He, like Steve, gave me references including way s to contact them (Vivian gave me some names but invited me to go find them on my own without further help). He also sent me a sample of his critique of an essay, and will review my past bar exam answers to let me know what he thinks I will need to do. The cost of the latter, $300, and the cost for his core program is $2975. He told me that I should not go on cost when choosing, but rather on how I "click" with the person. He says that I should pay the difference if I find that I can work better with the person I choose. This is something I used to tell my clients. I agree. I found myself smiling while talking to John and while emailing with him.
I appreciated that John volunteered that he had heard good things about Vivian and about Steven. Vivian was uncomfortable talking about any other person I'd talked to. I had not asked Steven about John because at the time, I had not known about John. But Steven did offer to have me talk to someone who had had Vivian first, before himself, as well as others who had taken other courses first. Vivian's response to this was that of course people that she had in her courses had tried other methods first as well.
What to do? Well, first I need to figure out just how much more work I'll need on getting the law down cold, and I plan on having my last exam answers reviewed as well as maybe take a practice MBE. And pray, and reflect, and hopefully not procrastinate too much more.
