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.

youtube-video-thumbnail
youtube-video-thumbnail
youtube-video-thumbnail
youtube-video-thumbnail
youtube-video-thumbnail
youtube-video-thumbnail
youtube-video-thumbnail
youtube-video-thumbnail
youtube-video-thumbnail
youtube-video-thumbnail
"Great overview of the subject matter covered. Also instilled in me an internal clock/checklist so that I had a sense of where I needed to be–in terms of final exam preparation– during the course of the semester."
Anonymous, Notre Dame Law School, Class of 2012
"By the time I got into classes I already knew how to read an analyze cases. I also knew the basic concepts so I was able to get up to speed about the intricacies introduced in class much faster. Other people struggled with the more complicated concepts, but I had already gone over them once in Law Preview and the second time just helped my clarify my understanding. Learning to brief the cases before starting was helpful because I did not need to spend an inordinate amount of time on each case. I knew what I needed to extract from the cases and had a template in which to place the information. Law preview helps you hit the ground running in your first year."
Anonymous, University of California, Hastings College of the Law, Class of 2011
"Law Preview taught me the habits that I used to succeed during my first semester of law school. Had it not been for the class, I would not have understood the importance of briefing cases, integrating my notes from class with my initial notes, and outlining, and how these practices impact performance on the final exam. Because I knew how imperative it was to discipline myself into practicing these strategies on a daily basis, I was able to stick to an efficient schedule that ultimately produced successful results."
Monica C. Georgetown University Law Center, Class of 2021
"Law Preview gave me a good grasp on the different fields of law studied during the first year of law school. It also introduced me to famous cases and how to brief them, which gave me a monumental step up over my colleagues. [Ranked 10 out of 160]."
Anonymous, Florida International University School of Law, Class of 2012
"Law Preview was really helpful. After taking the Law Preview course, I went into my first semester of law school knowing what to expect and I had a better handle on how to manage my time and all of my work. I knew how to brief cases, I knew how the Socratic Method worked and I knew how much study time would be required of me before I got to law school. This was great because law school can be intimidating but if you attend Law Preview and really take what you learn there seriously, you have nothing to worry about. I was very happy with the program and I highly recommend it to anyone going into law school."
Paige C., Florida A&M University School of Law, Class of 2012
"The Barbri 1L preview made me comfortable with the subject matter that I would encounter during my 1L year. The Legal Writing workshop directly contributed to my final grade in the actual course. The most useful aspect of the course was the study aids that were available, which gave me additional support through the semester."
Tracey B., Widener University School of Law, Class of 2022
"Law Preview helped a lot. Wish I would have taken it even more seriously [3.77 GPA after the first semester]."
Anonymous, Washington University School of Law (St. Louis), Class of 2023
"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 really helped to acclimatize me to law school and put me on the right track to performing very well on my first-semester law school exams. [4.0 GPA after the first semester]"
Anonymous, New York University School of Law, Class of 2024
"I just wanted to shoot you a quick email to give you another Law Preview success story. I took Law Preview last summer in DC before my 1L year. Upon starting law school, I felt very prepared and confident, largely in part to the preparation I received in Law Preview. I booked a class, and finished in the Spring in with all A’s. I started at a tier 4 law school, Florida Coastal School of Law, and have made huge leaps in the law school rankings through my transfer acceptances at American and George Washington University School of Law — I am still waiting on hearing back on my transfer application from Vanderbilt and Georgetown (my #1 choice). I just wanted to shoot you a quick email to thank you for the program and share some success."
Ashley M., Florida Coastal School of Law, Class of 2012 (transferred to George Washington University Law School)
"The experience allowed me to start my 1L year with more direction and confidence."
Anonymous, Cornell University Law School, Class of 2023
"Law Preview gave me an introduction to each core first year course and helped prepare me for the shock of trying to understand what I was reading. Almost all of the cases we reviewed in Law Preview were crucial cases in my classes first semester."
Anonymous, Seton Hall University School of Law, Class of 2012
"I attended the Houston seminar at University of Houston in July 2010. I think the product you offer is excellent. Law Preview provided me with an advantage over my peers in a fair academic way. I would recommend taking the six day class to anyone entering law school. The class provided a foundation that allowed me to find clarity in the pile of case law assigned. The week before my Law Preview class, I read the entire prep book. I did not understand much of what I read, but I went though the exercise. I struggled to interpret the class discussions, but managed to stay focused. The six day work load was a serious grind, like a law school boot camp. While it may have been difficult, the course gave me exactly what I wanted out of it. It gave me a vision of what was to come. I was able to brace myself for impact and ride the turbulent wave through the first semester finish line. Even though preparation is key to success, hard work through out the semester is an essential element as well. My goal for this semester is to study more efficiently, to work smarter not harder. By finals in the fall, I was losing stamina. The work load started to wear me down and I may have wandered into the forest losing myself in the trees. In the end, I still managed to finish in a good place. This semester I have a new and improved game plan, but it is important to note that my original game plan came from Law Preview. Without this original game plan, I would have been lost in the trees from day one. Now, as my peers are wandering to a clearing, I am already crossing the field."
Lucas C., South Texas College of Law Houston, Class of 2013
"I wanted to write and let you know that BARBRI was extremely helpful to me during my 1L year! I was able to get a summer associateship at Vinson & Elkins and just made the Texas Law Review! Thanks again for all your help."
Thuy N., University of Texas School of Law, Class of 2022
"It’s pretty unbelievable to me that a year ago right now, I was getting ready to begin Law Preview. It’s been a long, hard year, but a successful one. I finished out the year on Dean’s List, and in the top 10% of my class at Fordham University School of Law! Not bad for someone who graduated from college five years ago with a degree in acting, and hadn’t read more than a magazine since then. There were times over this past year that I would be in class, and would have a deep sense of deja vu, or I would somehow just instinctively know what the professor was asking or how to look at the issue. Of course, I realized pretty quickly that it wasn’t actually deja vu or amazing natural legal ability on my part; so much of what was covered in my classes this year, we talked about in Law Preview. Just that one week of studying made so much of my coursework in the first year seem familiar, and much less intimidating. I guess this is just a long way of saying THANK YOU! And I would be happy to act as a reference for anyone who has questions as to whether or not they should do Law Preview (they should!)."
Anonymous, Fordham University School of Law, Class of 2012
"I’m not sure of my final class rank, but my GPA is 3.73. I’m so pleased with the outcome, and I feel Law Preview had a huge impact on my accomplishments. I knew exactly what to expect and when to expect it. The practice at case briefing was particularly valuable and having an opportunity to experience the Socratic method helped tremendously when I was called to perform for the FIRST case on the FIRST day of Contracts. Finally, having an overview of all the classes gave me great confidence that I would not get lost during the first semester. I referred back to my Preview notes as I was preparing for midterms and finals for extra pearls that helped me to excel on exams. All the Instructors at your course were OUTSTANDING. And what a pleasure to be taught by Professor Farnsworth himself! Thanks so much. I would take the course again in a heartbeat."
Anonymous, Western State University College of Law, Class of 2013
"It introduced me material and helped the learning curve on subjects before the first day of class started. It reduced the fear of not knowing the subject material and gave me the confidence knowing I had a plan from the very first day of classes."
Anonymous, Marquette University Law School, Class of 2022
"First, a note about my rank: University of Michigan does not rank its students. I do know, however, that our classes are curved around a mean of 3.19, which means that 50% of students get higher than that GPA overall. Also, I’ve heard that a 3.4 represents the lower limit of the 25th percentile. After my first year at UM Law, I have a 3.75 GPA. I went in with an LSAT that put me in the lowest quartile, and now I have a GPA that puts me maybe in the top 10% of the class! At the beginning of the year, my goal was to get a 3.2, and I have exceeded that by far. I believe that part of the reason for my success was indeed the Law Preview program. By taking Law Preview, I was able to get a solid base for all the substantive material that I was to learn in class. In at least every one of my first year courses, I read cases that I read in Law Preview. For example, in Torts during my first semester at law school, I think the first 3 cases we read I had read in Law Preview. That gave me a huge advantage in class because while doing my reading, I knew what to look for and what nuances were important. Also, I was able to participate confidently in those classes. Also, procedurally, Law Preview helped me tremendously. I knew how to brief cases before the first day of class so when I was engaging in my reading, I could really focus on the material. My classmates at this time were still struggling with their cases briefs. Also, I closely followed the suggested schedule that Law Preview gave us and kicked into high gear at the appropriate moments. I was able to finish my outlines by the last day of class and was able to use our entire study period brushing up on material, using my study aids, and taking practice tests. Again, at this time my classmates were barely finishing their outlines and maybe taking one practice test. I believe both the substantive and procedural information I learned from Law Preview was monumental to my success in my first year of law school and enabled me to achieve much more than I had expected. Thank you!"
Anonymous, University of Michigan Law School, Class of 2011
"The program helped me understand the challenges that lay ahead. Specifically, it was good to learn how to brief a case… since I did not use this format in undergrad, it was nice to know ahead of time the importance of briefing cases. While my law school does not rank, ultimately, I was satisfied with my grades."
Anonymous, Boston College Law School, Class of 2011
"Law Preview was so helpful as I️ navigated my first year of law school, especially when it came time to prepare for finals. The videos and instructors synthesized complex doctrine and made the course material much more clear. I️ would recommend Law Preview and the BarBri 1L Mastery Courses to everyone!"
Anonymous, Yale Law School, Class of 2024
"I would definitely recommend Law Preview to any incoming 1L. I found the subject lessons to be extremely helpful and many of the cases in the Law Preview book were also in most of the school casebooks. I also benefited greatly from the advice Law Preview gives about how to brief, study, and manage time. The continuing emails I received from Don were also very helpful and encouraging. I believe the program is very worth taking. After my first semester I earned a 3.75/4.0 GPA."
Anna K., University of Miami School of Law, Class of 2013
"I was prepared for the first few weeks of classes and I know what to expect from class. The biggest advantage was that I knew how to outline. The study guides recommended by Law Preview are truly the best ones and I used them a lot. Don Macaulay is wonderful! He is so helpful even after the course is over!"
Anonymous, Duquesne University School of Law, Class of 2012
"Law Preview helped me feel more confident and prepared going into 1L and helped me to beat the curve in two of my courses and hit median on the curve in two others, putting me in approximately the top 30% of students after the first semester."
Lindsey C., University of Virgina School of Law, Class of 2023
"I think Law Preview helped me most with preparation. I felt much more comfortable going into my first year with a few strategies, some basic comprehension and overall less anxiety about what I was about to face. I can’t say with certainty that it helped my GPA but I do think it helped me feel more confident going into exams and it definitely helped me stay on a schedule. The calendar provided to me was a godsend because I have a lot of trouble setting deadlines for myself and even if I didn’t stick exactly to the calendar I had constant reminders to keep me on track. [3.67 GPA after the first semester]."
Anonymous, Georgetown University Law Center, 2023
"Law Preview prepared me for my 1L experience by giving me confidence, skills, and education about 1L year and law school in general. The program pushed me to aim to be at the top of my class and was an amazing tool to help me make the right decisions and study habits to help me achieve almost all As in my first semester as a 1L. I’m so grateful to have experienced Law Preview and highly recommend the program to ensure that you excel in law school."
Melissa J., University of Miami School of Law, Class of 2024
"It was fabulous, and really realistic about how much was needed for certain placements in class rank. If I followed their advice to the letter I think I could have made the top percent."
Taylor B., Boston College Law School, Class of 2012
"Law Preview did a great job in preparing me for what each course was going to entail. They gave me some insight into what contracts really was, what a tort is, and how legal writing would be part of the curriculum. Attending Law Preview so close to the start of classes also got me mentally prepared to go back to an academic setting and be ready for readings and classrooms again. The materials from the case brief skeleton to the online multiple-choice to the year-long calendar were impactful for maintaining a good pace, briefing cases with speed, and preparing for finals."
Tai K., University of Southern California School of Law, 2022
"As a student with a media arts background, I was apprehensive about starting law school. I tried to read some cases on my own and become familiar with the terms of art in the legal profession, but nothing could prepare me as well as Law Preview did! I completed some of the recommended additional readings, took the on demand course in the weeks before law school, and felt prepared to dive in with my case briefs and confidently answering questions in class. My first semester was abundantly challenging as it was; I would hate to think how difficult it would have been without the foundation I obtained during Law Preview."
Anonymous, Gonzaga University School of Law, Class of 2022
"Law Preview really helped ease the transition into law school. Less confusion. I felt like a 2L compared to several of my fellow students."
Francis M., Boston College Law School, Class of 2013
"[Law Preview’s] exam techniques and study tips were helpful [ranked #20 out of 400 after first semester]."
Anonymous, University of Florida Fredric G. Levin College of Law, Class of 2011