In 2012, the Arizona Supreme Court provisionally approved a proposal from the state's law schools to allow qualified third-year students to take the bar exam in February instead of waiting until after graduation. The “3LFebBar” proposal and the associated Post-3LFebBar theory-to-practice experiential curriculum developed to compliment the 3L FebBar initiative are part of The University of Arizona College of Law’s continuing efforts to respond to fundamental changes in the practice of law and to respond creatively to national debates about legal education. In this powerpoint lecture presentation, Professor Robert A. Williams, Jr., Faculty Co-Chair of the Law College’s FebBar Curriculum Working Group, explains the impetus and background leading to the Arizona Supreme Court’s implementation of the 3LFebBar. He describes the unique curricular innovations in experiential learning developed by Arizona Law in response to the opportunities presented by the accelerated bar exam option. Professor Williams also discusses the Pre-FebBar “Professional Skills Study Course” which he teaches as part of the 3L FebBar curriculum. Designed by Professor Williams in collaboration with Kaplan Bar Review, the course utilizes specially developed “Flipped Class” Videos in a series of experiential simulation and problem-based professional skills development workshops. The course, offered in January and February while 3L students are preparing for the bar exam, is designed to improve student chances for success on the bar, provide a path to the law college’s post-Bar experiential learning program, and offer a head start on developing the set of fundamental professional, life and career building skills needed for success in the practice of law. Professor Williams delivered the lecture on May 30, 2014, at the Association of Academic Support Educators (AASE) Second Annual National Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana.

1. Robert A. Williams, Jr.
The University of Arizona Rogers College of Law
E. Thomas Sullivan Professor of Law
Faculty Co-Chair, FebBar Curriculum Working Group
Arizona’s 3L February Bar Experiment
A Mid-term Assessment with February 2014 Bar Exam Results

2. Timeline for Launch of 2014 Arizona 3L FebBar
Summer of 2011
The University of Arizona College of Law investigates feasibility of
allowing students to take the Arizona Bar Examination in February
of their third year of law school as a way of addressing some of
the greatest challenges facing law schools and law school
graduates today:
•The cost of legal education;
•An increasingly complex and tight job market;
•Criticism that law schools do not pay enough attention to
producing graduates who are ready to practice law;
•Doubts about the distinctive purpose and value of the third year of
law school.
Potential Benefits of 3L FebBar Option:
• A Jump Start on Practice
•Increased Employment Opportunities
•Readiness for the full range of legal jobs
•Transforming 3rd
year curriculum

3. RETOOLING THE THIRD YEAR LAW SCHOOL CURRICULUM
•The 3L FebBar presents the opportunity to develop a new
curricular approach, focused on the transition from the
classroom to practice, that would benefit February exam
takers and other upper-level students as well;
•February bar exam option provided advocates for expanded
experiential learning opportunities for our students (like me)
with a powerful lever to drive substantial educational
reforms;
•The challenge of retooling the traditional curriculum to
emphasize experiential learning and facilitate the transition
from law school to law practice became a major driver for
many of those who supported the February exam rule
change.

4. January 5, 2012
Petition filed on behalf of all three Arizona Law Schools with the
Arizona Supreme Court, seeking to allow 3L students to take the
February Bar Exam. Public comment period from January through May
2012.
Summer of 2012
While working through the rule change process, UA College of Law:
•Simultaneously planned for the development of a new theory-to-
practice curriculum by convening an Advisory Committee that included
faculty, recent graduates, practitioners (solo and large-firm, litigators,
and transactional lawyers), a representative of the State Bar, judges,
and students;
•Charge of the Committee was to make recommendations on what a
theory-to-practice curriculum should look like in order to help our
graduates be more practice-ready upon graduation.
Late Fall 2012
FebBar Curriculum Working Group established to take the materials
that Advisory Committee had produced and outline a series of
experientially-focused classes for consideration by the faculty.

5. December 10, 2012
Arizona Supreme Court issues an order “effective January 1,
2013 until December 31, 2015,” approving the 3L FebBar and
requiring the law schools to file reports with the Court on the
early examination process by November 1, 2015.
Students wishing to take the early bar exam would have to
demonstrate:
•current enrollment and good standing at an ABA-approved law
school;
•expected graduation within 120 days of the administration of
the bar exam;
•enrollment in a maximum of two credit hours (or equivalent)
during the month of the exam and the preceding month;
•eight or fewer units needed to graduate at the time of
administration of the exam, and
•academic preparedness for early testing, as attested to by the
school.

6. Spring 2013
Design of the 2014 Inaugural 3L FebBar Curriculum
•The February bar exam is usually given during the
last week of February;
•2014 Spring semester broken down into two parts,
the pre-bar time period (approximately 7 weeks) and
the post-bar (approximately 8 weeks) time period;
•Pursuant to the Supreme Court’s order, students
taking the February Bar are limited to taking no more
than 10 units total during their 3L spring semester
and no more than 2 of these 10 units during the pre-
Bar time period.

7. Fall 2013
FebBar Curriculum announced:
•The 2 credit pre-FebBar “Professional Skills Study Course”
•The 8 credit Post-FebBar Experiential Curriculum

8. Pre-FebBar “Professional Skills Study Course”
Professional Skills/Tools of the Lawyer
The UA/Kaplan Partnership
Flipped Class Videos and Experiential Simulation and
Problem-Based Workshops
The Knowledge Set
•Substantive Law (contracts/property/torts/criminal law)
•Legal Reasoning/Writing and Analysis
•Mindset (dynamic or static)
•Strategic Self-Assessment (Hogan Personality Index)
The Skill Set
•Interviewing the Client
•Counseling the Client
•Advocating for the Client
•Negotiating for the Client

9. Course Syllabus
February Pre-Bar Professional Skills Study Course Law
PRE-PRE-BAR, DECEMBER 5-16, 2013
Take on-line diagnostic assessment of core knowledge and skills (4.5
hour diagnostic test, available on-line at www.kaptest.com.
WEEK 1: JANUARY 7, 2014
Pre-Work Assignments (to be completed by students prior to class)
•Take the Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI) assessment test on-line;
•Take the short “What’s Your Mindset?” test on-line;
•View on-line video on the “The Power of Belief- Mindset and Success,”
given by Eduardo Briceno at TEDX Manhattan Beach;
•View the video “Lecture: Contracts – Formation” on www.kaptest.com;
•View the short on line video on law client interviewing.
In-class Workshops
•“Developing a Growth Mindset” (60 min);
•“Communicating with Clients (Critical Reading/Listening Skills);
1) Critical Listening in Client Interviews (60 min)(Kaplan problem set);
2) Best Practices - Memos-to-the-File (30 min)(Kaplan problem set).

11. January 8-10, 13-14
Schedule and conduct instructor/individual student
interviews to review diagnostic assessment reports and
student-prepared draft learning plans (course requirement).
WEEK 2, JANUARY 14, 2014
Pre-Work Assignments (to be completed prior class).
• View the on-line video “Family Law,” at www.kaptest.com;
• View on-line video for “Mindfulness for Lawyers”
Workshop.
In-class Workshops
Communicating Findings (applying statutes and case law to
specific facts and communicating findings to clients).
1) “Mindfulness for Lawyers” Workshop;
2) Applying statute/caselaw to facts (Kaplan problem set);
3) Counseling Clients regarding legal options (Kaplan);
4) Activity: Can you say that in English? (Kaplan).

12. WEEK 3, JANUARY 21, 2014
Pre-Work Assignments
•View on-line video for “Improv for Lawyers” Workshop, prior to class.
In-class Workshops
• Preparing for Trial: Anticipating and Responding to Objections
(Kaplan problem set);
•Justin Lukasewicz, TucsonImprovMovement, “Improv for Lawyers.”
WEEK 4, JANUARY 28, 2014
Pre-Work Assignments
• Portfolio Preparation (assignment/preparation guide provided at
www.kaptest.com;
• View on-line video for “Negotiation” Workshop, prior to class.
In-class Workshops
• Communicating with Opposing Counsel: Negotiation (Kaplan Problem
set);
•Portfolio Prep and Wrap-up.

13. The 8 credit Post-FebBar Experiential Curriculum
For 2 of the 8 units, students are encouraged to
take the “Advanced Professionalism and Law
Practice Course” covering:
-Bar Association Resources;
-Attorney-Client Relationships;
-Tracking Time and Time Management;
-Economics of Law Practice;
-Common Pitfalls and Ethical Issues;
-Professionalism;
-Methods of Communication;
-Institutional Dynamics;
-Role of the Lawyer in Society.

14. In addition, students can select from a menu of 2-unit
experiential elective courses and/or enroll in a clinic or in an
externship for 1-6 units . Students may also complete journal
credits or a student-initiated substantial paper at this time.
During the 2014 spring semester, the following post-Bar
electives were offered:
•Transactional Practice
•Critical Race Practice
•Advanced Family Law Practice
•White Collar Crime: Ethics and Compliance
•Intellectual Property Transactional Drafting
•Corporate Governance
•Trade Secrets Law
•Basic Trial Advocacy
•Negotiation and Mediation Advocacy
•Externship opportunities in Government, Public Interest
Corporate Law Offices (1 – 6 units)
•Law Clinic opportunities (1 – 6 units)