This is from a single parent of a special needs child
It largely depends on your knowledge base, strengths/weaknesses, ability to prioritize and stay focused while studying. But, if you can avoid and take off time from work, especially if it is your first bar exam, I would strongly recommend taking time off (personally, I would have done it, if I
could).
As a background, I am a '05 LS grad, took and passed on my first
attempt NY & NJ bars two years ago and CA this Feb. I am also a
single parent of a special needs child and have been working full-
time (9 to 5, no overtime) when I took the Cal bar exam (took one
week off prior to the exam to catch up & get in the exam mode and
one week off for the exam).
I took
BarBri iPod home-study course for Feb 07 -- started studying
(just followed the
BarBri schedule, at a somewhat relaxed pace) in
early December by following
BarBri schedule in the evenings and
weekends.
In January and February, I was studying more intense -- went to
work, studied for the bar, and only did absolutely necessary house
errands. All studying was done over the weekends (hired a sitter)
and evenings (2-3 hours 3-4 evenings a week). During these two
months, I did not do anything but work and study -- no TV, no going
out, no friends or family, etc. I also tried to postpone everything
else, and do whatever I had to do (e.g., shopping, laundry, etc.) in
the evenings when I was tired from my work anyway and to save
valuable weekend time. Also, on occasional evenings I tried to
study but felt it was not productive because I was too tired from
work, etc. -- I took those off and just went to bed early to get
rested so that I'd be more productive the next day.
I must add though that when I began listening to the lectures, I
realized that I remembered a lot of multistate law from two years
ago (
BarBri course, no job, studied 10-14 hours a day for two
months). So, on these subjects all I had to do was to refresh my
memory and to learn concepts I did not quite get in '05. I am also
a good writer, so I did not practice much writing the essays and
PTs -- did a few of those but basically focused on learning and
understanding the law and practicing MBEs.
So, this is my experience. To see if you can do it, you would have
to assess your situation yourself.
E.S.
P.S. I can offer/email my outlines that I created last Feb (hence,
no new subjects) to anyone interested; however, keep in mind that
most of your understanding of the law comes from creating his or her
own ones and uses someone else's (that includes commercial ones) to
compare & clarify some points of law.
Source: greatmorton (a really nice guy online)