Law Preview reviews

Our alums explain how Law Preview has helped thousands of incoming 1Ls become top law students

Our students thrive

Since 1998, BARBRI Law Preview has been helping students find success in law schools across the country. Consistently, they attribute their law school success to Law Preview and the important difference it made for them during their first year and beyond.

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"Practice, practice, and MORE practice. I am four years removed from getting my undergraduate degree. Law Preview immersed me back into the “student mindset” that I needed in order to do my best this semester. You have to be open and willing to learn about yourself in order to effectively use Law Preview. Take heed to the timing suggestions, practice, and outline early. Your grades will reflect the hard-work. Remember, law school is marathon not a sprint. Law Preview gives you that refresh of water between each lap."
Adrieene Brown, University of Florida College of Law, Class of 2022
"The course allowed me to enter the semester with greater confidence in my preparation than I would have had otherwise."
Homer L., Georgetown University Law Center, 2022
"Law Preview gave me the tools to succeed from the start. Walking in your first day knowing the material, knowing how to brief, and knowing how to handle the Socratic method is the greatest advantage you could ever give yourself."
Clark D., Campbell University School of Law, Class of 2021
"I think Law Preview helped me most by simply improving my confidence as I entered my 1L year. Granted, we learned a lot within a week’s time, but there was still PLENTY to learn once arriving at school. Where many students were frazzled just getting an idea of what law school was going to take, I had calendars and attack plans to govern how I organized my semester. Therefore, I was able to concentrate on the substantive material while many students were concentrating on how to attack the semester."
Chelsea G., Louisiana State University, Paul M. Hebert Law Center, Class of 2013
"Law preview was definitely useful in that it stressed the rigors of the first semester to the point that I was prepared. By preparing me for what was to come, as well as setting out effective tips for study and work habits, I was able to to focus on the work itself by adopting what I had learned in Law Preview rather than waste time developing my own strategy. The schedule plan laid out by Law Preview allowed me to achieve academic success during my first semester."
Joshua V., New York Law School, Class of 2013
"Law Preview kept me on course while my classmates seemed confused."
Joshua W., University of Arkansas Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law, Class of 2011
"First and foremost, the law preview course gave me confidence. I followed the advise and schedule that was provided to the best of my ability, and I feel that it was the defining factor is my success. I received the highest grade on the memo that we wrote for the Research, Writing and Advocacy class, and the second highest grade in that class overall. I got all A’s and B’s in all of my classes. I used my notes from the Law Preview course on multiple occasions for clarification on various topics that we covered during the first semester. On that note, I feel that the instructors were amazing in their ability to convey so much information in such a concise and understandable way."
Anonymous, Ave Maria University School of Law, Class of 2012
"Since I just received my grades from the first semester yesterday, I do not know what I’m ranked yet, but I did get 3 As and 1 A-!! Law Preview definitely made a huge impression on my law school experience. The most important thing I took out of it was how much Don stressed to us that the 1st year matters the most. I always had that in the back of my mind at all times and that is what kept me going and striving to succeed. While everyone around me I felt complained about how hard it was and basically wanted to give up, I just kept remembering what Don said every day that once you get through the 1st year, the rest is easy! It also made me not want to settle for anything less than a 4.0 and so that’s what I worked toward and I’m extremely pleased that I have no regrets about the effort I put in because I did everything I could have possibly done. . . . I also benefitted from Law Preview in that it stressed the importance of taking note of the things professors said in class that other students would think were trivial because those actually can matter the most and always find their way on the exam. For example, my torts professor mentioned one small detail in class that a certain case (that we were required to look up on our own time) might be on the exam, and I was SO happy i took the time to do that because the facts and issue in that case were EXACTLY the same on the exam and worth 20 essay pts! I really liked all the professors that came and lectured at law preview as well. My favorite was Jody Kraus who taught us Contracts because although he was intimidating at first, that definitely prepared me for some of the professors I had last semester! (I also really appreciated Don telling us to make sure we were well-prepared for that lecture!) Whenever I was called on to recite in class I just kept thinking how Jody told us that even if you’re not sure what you’re talking about, SOUND confident, and that helped a lot. . . . I also really found the schedule Law Preview laid out for us very helpful because I think a lot of people go into law school not knowing what the average time commitment is and I just kept thinking 9 hrs a day and would try to aim for that! In the beginning of school, I was trying to do my homework for class the night before and then I realized that on the schedule we were given it said to do the assignments 2 nights in advance and that definitely was helpful!! Much less stressful that way. . . . More than anything, thank you Law Preview for being my motivation to strive for a 4.0 and constantly remind myself how important the first year grades are!"
Chirstina G., Thomas M. Cooley Law School, Class of 2012
"As I have just gotten back my last grade from my fall exams, I wanted to share with you my deep appreciation for Law Preview. I succeeded this past semester even more then I could have ever imagined: A+ in Torts, A in Crim, A+ on my Property midterm, A+ on my Civ Pro midterm, and an A on both my Legal Writing memos. I remember you mentioned in one of the sessions that we should reach out to you halfway through the year with success stories, so I wanted to do that and to say a HUGE thank you to you and to this awesome program you’ve put together! I can confidently say that I would not have been in this position without seeing the forest through Law Preview. It was such a helpful tool for me that I know put me several steps ahead of my classmates. So thank you so much, and I only hope to continue my success this upcoming semester as well!"
Tal E., Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, Class of 2022
"Law Preview was beneficial in that it helped strip away some of the anxiety and myths about first year law school while also conveying the reality of the large amount of time and effort that would be required of students if they wanted to succeed. There are no magic words or formulas to success but Law Preview passed on tools and techniques for studying so that I was able to hit the ground running from the very first day of school. The tools and practice from Law Preview allowed me to focus on the substance of what was being discussed in class and in the readings. Rather than trying to remember what the heck IRAC was or learning how to write case briefs and read case books effectively the first few weeks of the semester I’d already had a week of practice on how to accomplish those tasks thanks to my time with Law Preview. One of the first legal writing assignments at my school during first semester was to write a case brief which I already knew how to write thanks to the templates from Law Preview and session on the topic. I got 100% on the brief. The familiarity and introduction to various topics and projects covered during the first year of law school became a huge time saver. And any law school student will tell you that anything that saves time is invaluable in law school."
Anonymous, Whittier Law School, Class of 2011
"Law Preview laid the foundation for my study routine. Coupled with Barbri Mastery, I tried to adhere as closely as possible to Don’s schedule for reading, briefing, etc. Demystifying 1L was immensely helpful and I encountered many of the cases I read during Law Preview. It goes without saying that reading cases in advance is tremendously beneficial. Moreover, having a concrete process for briefing allowed me to hit the ground running for the first semester."
Anonymous, Georgetown University Law Center, Class of 2024
"I felt I was definitely more prepared at the beginning of the semester when a lot of people wondered what a case brief was and what IRAC stood for whereas I could focus on the substantive courses because Law Preview taught me how to approach briefing and exam taking. The exam-taking strategies and advice from the professors were especially helpful. It’s like I knew what it took to get an ‘A. Thank you [ranked #15 out of 166 after first semester]."
Anonymous, Loyola University Chicago School of Law, Class of 2011
"Law Preview was helpful in that I found out how law school worked before I got to law school, so that it wasn’t all completely new. Like pretty much all law students, I was overwhelmed when classes started, but I feel like I would have been much more so without Law Preview."
Anonymous, Duke University School of Law, Class of 2013
"At the beginning of school, Law Preview helped me feel comfortable in my classes because the cases we brief in Law Preview were almost all used in class. Having already briefed those cases and pinpointed the relevant law helped considerably at first. However, probably the biggest benefits of Law Preview were large scale. Having some idea of how and what to outline is important, and I didn’t find myself horribly behind when November rolled around like many people."
Anonymous, University of Oregon School of Law, Class of 2012
"Law school is a lot about expectations. Many people enter law school thinking that this is undergrad part two, but it is much more than that. Law Preview helped me to understand the type of time and effort commitment that law school would require of me. My last semester in undergrad, I took one class on Monday nights and basically just hung out the rest of the time. Law Preview was a fantastic eye-opener to the reality that awaited me in law school and no doubt my success was greatly predicated on the preparation and advice Law Preview provided."
Conrad S., SMU Dedman School of Law, Class of 2013
"I was out of school for several years before returning to law school. Law Preview helped me get back into the student mindset and helped prepare me for what to expect in the law school classroom."
Anonymous, Yale Law School, Class of 2012
"Law Preview really gave me a head start on the subject matter as well as some helpful advice on how to navigate law school. Being not only a first-generation law student, but also a first-generation college student, I have often had to figure out higher education on my own. Having the Law Preview experience before beginning my first semester gave me peace of mind and showed me what to look out for in my 1L year and what things I needed to prioritize. This definitely got me off on the right foot and led me to achieve a 4.0 GPA my first semester."
Jared G., American University, Washington College of Law. 2019
"Law Preview did introduce me to course material and case briefing. Clearly, I did a nice job on my exams and have a good GPA. I think following the Law Preview schedule certainly helped."
Matthew S., Washington University School of Law (St. Louis), Class of 2011
"The program placed a lot of the important legal concepts and doctrines in my mind early in the semester. This helped shape and sharpen my thinking for my first year courses."
Jeffrey F., George Mason University School of Law, Class of 2011
"Law Preview really made me aware of how much time is required to prepare for classes and successfully perform. Law Preview also stressed the importance of beginning outlines early, and the schedule provided was also a very beneficial guide. [Ranked 50 out of 300]."
Anonymous, University of Florida Fredric G. Levin College of Law, Class of 2012
"My experience with Law Preivew was instrumental in the achievements of my first semester. Without the study skills and insight it gave me I would not have received the only A+ in my Criminal Law class. I highly recommend taking this course it was very helpful in preparing me for law school."
Beth P., William & Mary Law School, Class of 2021
"I went into law school knowing what to expect. When everyone didn’t know how to write a case brief, I did. I went in knowing when to start outlining and how to prepare for class from day one."
Anonymous, Rutgers University School of Law, 2021
"It gave me the confidence to approach each class with an open mind and a solid foundation to start with."
Darryl B., New York Law School, Class of 2022
"My school does not provide student rankings until the end of the first year. However, my current GPA (with 4 of 5 grades reported) is a 3.78/4.00. Law Preview certainly helped me achieve sucess in my first semester of law school. Probably the biggest benefit for me was that it made me feel comfortable with the material right from the start. It helped me keep my fears to a minimum and so I was able to learn and participate in class right from the start. Many of the cases we covered in Law Preview were cases that we covered in my classes. Having previous exposure to these cases made the transition a lot easier for me. While overall, the substantive law that I learned at Law Preview did not give me an edge, I was able to pick up what my professors were discussing more easily because it was not the first time that I had seen the material. It is an expensive program, but I think that it is worth it."
Melissa C., Roger Williams University School of Law, Class of 2013
"Law preview gave me the tools and confidence I needed to hit the ground running when school began. It was just like you said, when I was outlining everyone else was still reading, when I was breaking my outline down to something I could internalize, everyone else was outlining. This left me time to take plenty of practice exams and bring my A game during exams. [Ranked #14 out of 150 students]."
Anonymous, Brigham Young University J. Reuben Clark Law School, Class of 2013
"The Law Preview was truly an outstanding introductory course. I would strongly recommend it to my friends. It provided me with all the basic knowledge that has proven essential for me to successfully handle the first year in law school. It has really saved me a lot of time because I was able to avoid the mistakes that I would have otherwise made. I was also very impressed by the high quality of the professors and the one-day preview classes for each course. It has made me much comfortable to go into a class knowing what to expect."
Wanli T., Duke University School of Law, Class of 2013
"Law Preview helped me create a plan to manage my time and stay on top of my work load. I especially thought that Law Preview’s recommendation of outlining each Sunday was particularly helpful and not something I would have thought of."
Anonymous, Rutgers University School of Law, Class of 2013
"Law Preview allowed me to gain an edge over my fellow classmates by familiarizing me with the content most law students cover during their 1L year, and by exposing me to strategies that helped me manage my time appropriately. Additionally, I was able to bypass most of the usual anxiety associated with the first semester of law school because I knew what to expect from both professors and the material I would be faced with. Law Preview has helped me achieve a 3.88 GPA (top 5 ranking) and an invitation to join our school’s Law Review. I would highly recommend this course to anyone looking to achieve success in law school. Thanks, Law Preview!"
Anonymous, Stetson University College of Law, Class of 2023
"When I entered my first year of law school at The University of Florida School of Law, I was very happy with that opportunity. Although I was an ‘average’ student going in, I ended up doing very well — finishing in the top 2% of my 1L class. The success I enjoyed as a 1L at Florida allowed me to transfer to Harvard Law School, and that’s something that was certainly not an option I had prior to starting school. I definitely think that Law Preview was one of the reasons I did so well my first year. Law Preview gave me a process to follow and an understanding about how to study and absorb the material I’d be learning. In addition, the law professors who teach with Law Preview provided me with an overview of each of my 1L classes, so I had a good understanding about the material I’d cover throughout the year. Finally, learning how to take a law school exam and walk through Law Preview’s exam-taking strategies with a law professor from a top law school was a great opportunity and something that I truly appreciated; I was able to use these strategies many times throughout the first year of law school. I would recommend the Law Preview program to anyone — whether you are planning to go to a small regional school or a large national one. No matter what law school you attend, how well you do during your first year is going to dictate the job opportunities you’ll have in the end, which is why I think this program is really for anybody."
Mike P., University of Florida Fredric G. Levin College of Law, Class of 2011 (transferred to Harvard Law School)
"I think it helped me be better prepared for my classes and how to study for finals."
Anonymous, University of Southern California Law School, Class of 2022