DE Bar common mistakes
DE Bar · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
Treating the Delaware essay questions as generic MBE-style issue-spotting and writing a broad survey of every doctrine that might apply, instead of identifying the specific Delaware rule the call of the question targets and applying it to the facts.
Most candidates prepare primarily with multistate materials and carry over the habit of dumping rules; Delaware essays are graded by Delaware practitioners who reward precise statements of Delaware law and penalize padding that ignores the call.
What to do instead
Before writing, underline the call of the question and the operative facts, then outline in three to five lines: the controlling Delaware rule, the elements, the facts that satisfy or defeat each element, and the conclusion. Practice with released Delaware essay questions under timed conditions and have someone score you strictly on whether every sentence advanced the analysis of the called-for issue.
Reciting the Delaware General Corporation Law sections from memory in the abstract without connecting them to the facts, producing an answer that states the rule but never reaches a conclusion on the question asked.
The DGCL is statute-heavy and candidates memorize section numbers under pressure, then freeze when facts require judgment about fiduciary duties, waste, or standing rather than a simple recitation.
What to do instead
For each major DGCL topic (board action, shareholder voting, mergers, appraisal, indemnification, books and records), write a one-page decision tree that starts from the client's goal and ends in a conclusion. Drill by writing answers that begin with a one-sentence bottom line, then support it, so the habit of concluding is automatic.
Ignoring the Multistate Performance Test's instruction memo and library, and instead writing a generic legal memo from outside knowledge rather than using only the provided file and library.
Candidates who have practiced only essay writing underestimate the MPT's closed-universe constraint and its weighting; they run short on time and default to remembered law, which the graders treat as off-task.
What to do instead
Practice at least four full MPTs with a strict ninety-minute clock, and after each one compare your product line by line against the task memo's explicit instructions (format, tone, recipient, required sections). Build a checklist of what the memo demanded and verify each item appears in your answer before time expires.
Spending the full ninety minutes drafting and never leaving time to proofread, so the MPT product contains incomplete sentences, missing headings, and a memo addressed to the wrong reader.
Time pressure on the performance test is severe and candidates chase completeness at the expense of presentation, but the MPT is graded as a professional work product where format and polish are part of the rubric.
What to do instead
Adopt a fixed internal budget: forty-five minutes reading and outlining, thirty-five minutes drafting, ten minutes revising. During revision, check only four things: correct addressee and format, every instruction from the task memo addressed, headings present, and no unfinished sentences. Rehearse this budget until it feels routine.
Writing the Multistate Essay Examination answer without stating the governing rule before applying it, jumping straight into fact analysis so the grader cannot tell which legal standard is being used.
Experienced test takers rush because they assume the rule is obvious, but MEE graders score on a rubric that awards points for rule statement separately from analysis, and a missing rule caps the score regardless of analysis quality.
What to do instead
Use a rigid three-part paragraph structure for each issue: rule sentence, application sentences, conclusion sentence. In practice, highlight the rule sentence in a different color and confirm every issue has one before moving on. If the rule has multiple elements, enumerate them explicitly.
Failing to spot all the issues in an MEE question because the fact pattern contains multiple parties or transactions and the candidate analyzes only the first and most obvious one.
MEE questions are deliberately constructed with two to four distinct issues, and under time pressure candidates latch onto the first recognizable doctrine and stop reading for others.
What to do instead
Before writing, read the call of the question, then read the facts once solely to list every party and every transaction, and match each to a doctrine. Write the issue list at the top of the answer space and cross items off as you address them. Practice with released MEE questions and compare your issue list to the published representative answers.
Memorizing the elements of individual crimes and then failing to apply the specific mens rea to the facts, giving a conclusory 'therefore it is murder' without walking through each element against the evidence.
Criminal law on the bar rewards element-by-element application, but candidates who studied from outlines recall labels rather than the analytical steps, and the pressure of the exam pushes them toward conclusions.
What to do instead
For every crime you study, write a template with each element on its own line and a blank for the fact that proves or undercuts it. During practice, fill the template in prose form. Do the same for defenses, and always address the defense the facts most clearly raise even if you think the prosecution prevails.
Answering a Delaware evidence question by citing the Federal Rules of Evidence rather than the Delaware Rules of Evidence, or assuming the two are identical on every point.
Most study materials are federal, and the differences are narrow enough that candidates never notice them, yet Delaware essay graders expect the Delaware rule and may treat a federal citation as an error in a question testing a divergence.
What to do instead
Build a short comparison chart of the Delaware and federal evidence rules limited to areas where they diverge, and review it weekly. When practicing Delaware evidence essays, cite 'D.R.E.' and note the corresponding federal rule only as a parenthetical comparison, never as the governing authority.
Treating the Delaware-specific subjects (such as Delaware civil procedure, Delaware constitutional law, and Delaware statutory topics) as optional because they are not tested on the multistate components, and allocating no study time to them.
Candidates budget study hours by multistate weight, and because the multistate subjects dominate commercial prep courses, the Delaware-only material feels low-yield even though it is a guaranteed portion of the essay day.
What to do instead
Reserve a fixed weekly block for Delaware-only subjects from the start of the study period, and source the governing statutes and rules directly from the Delaware courts and code rather than from secondary outlines. Track your coverage on a one-page checklist and do not let a week pass without touching it.
Managing the two-day schedule poorly by arriving at the essay day without having rehearsed writing by hand for six hours, then producing illegible or abbreviated answers in the afternoon session.
Candidates practice on a laptop or in short bursts and underestimate the physical and cognitive fatigue of a full handwritten essay day, which degrades handwriting and stamina exactly when scores are earned.
What to do instead
Run at least three full-length timed simulations under exam conditions, handwriting every answer, and include the lunch break and travel time. If handwriting legibility degrades, practice a consistent print script and leave a blank line between paragraphs so graders can read quickly.