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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"Most importantly, Law Preview helped me understand what to expect. This, I think, is the most helpful part of Law Preview. As LP alums, we had a head start in having seen and heard terms that our classmates didn’t. We had the benefit of knowing not only what a case brief was, for example, but how to write one up."
Jonathan W., New York Law School, Class of 2011
"Because law school was somewhat of a last minute decision for me at the end of college, I had no idea what to expect. Law Preview completely changed that. Not only did it give me a little taste of what to expect substantively in classes like Torts and Contracts, but more importantly it geared me towards a year of very hard work and dedication. I can easily say that if it were not for Law Preview I probably would have entered law school with a similar attitude as college, but after taking the week of classes with Law Preview I had a much better idea of how many hours I would have to work a week, what the workload would look like, and what my timeline and goals should look like for the first semester, not to mention how to brief a case. I actually ended up using the Law Preview case brief outline for the entire year (and will continue to use it for the next two years) and felt that I was always extremely prepared for class. Overall, I think it was a great program and I am really glad I participated in it. [Ranked #13 out of 484 students at the end of 1L year]."
Anonymous, New York Law School, Class of 2013
"Law Preview gave me an edge in class when we would discuss the same topics and cases that I had reviewed this summer. This was especially so in property when we went over estates. Law Preview also helped me keep on track with the task calendars. I wrapped up the fall semester with a 3.82 GPA and top 7% in my class."
Anonymous, Florida State University College of Law, 2021
"The Law Preview course was a very important factor in the success I achieved in my 1L year. Coming from a family with no lawyers or anyone who has attended law school, I felt very nervous about what law school would be like. Law Preview made me feel comfortable and confident going into my 1L year allowing me to be less stressed and overwhelmed and instead focus on doing well! I am proud to report that at the end of my 1L year I was invited to join the NYU Law Review."
Camila I., New York University School of Law, Class of 2022
"I am a part-time student and ranked #5 of 96 students. The tools Law Preview provided me with did help get me off the ground running. As I stood on top of my outlines throughout the semester, other students were just beginning their outlines the week before midterms, and then did not touch them again until review week while I was taking past exams. The emails throughout the semester were also very helpful, they certainly kept me focused! So far, Law Preview has been worth the money spent. Thanks!"
Anonymous, Thomas Jefferson School of Law, Class of 2013
"The first semester in law school picks up pretty quickly. Law Preview helped me to be prepared in regards to outlining and case briefing. I feel that this left me less overwhelmed than others."
Derya L., Fordham University School of Law, Class of 2021
"It prepared me to know what to expect and how to manage the task load with a solid background and foundation to enhance my learning capabilities."
Barbara H., Northeastern University School of Law, Class of 2022
"Law Preview helped me know early on what would be required of me all semester. It provided a familiarity of the subject matter, and gave me important tips on how to approach outlining and studying for exams. I was one of few students who began preparing early, and taking practice tests early, and taking them in to the professors for help, and it really paid off in my final grades."
Tanvi P., DePaul University College of Law, Class of 2011
"It was absolutely worth it – it got me used to the Socratic method expected out of first semester, and the exam prep provided an invaluable insight into what to expect."
Anonymous, Seton Hall University School of Law, Class of 2022
"Law Preview set the tone for the entire semester. I took the recommendations seriously, studied hard, and stayed focused. Law Preview provided me with an overview of the basic law courses and the structure of our judicial system. This overview helped to lay the foundation for success. The study aid recommendations and real world advice on how to succeed in law school was very helpful. I sincerely enjoyed the Law Preview course and would recommend it to anyone entering law school."
Heather S., Mitchell Hamline School of Law, Class of 2021
"It drilled into me the fact that grades are the most important thing the first semester–otherwise, I would have been lured into all kinds of activities that were advertised by the school. I’m so glad I didn’t–truly, grades are the only things employers seem to care about when it comes to the first semester. I also appreciated Don Macaulay’s lectures–they were super entertaining and all the study skills he shared came in very handy to me. I have a young child, so I didn’t quite ever do 12 hours a day, but I probably did study 8-10 hours every day because Don scared me into believing I wouldn’t be successful without spending those kinds of hours. And he was right! [4.3 GPA after the first semester]."
Anonymous, Santa Clara University School of Law, Class of 2023
"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)
"Law Preview was super helpful for me in getting a sense of large doctrinal concepts that will be covered in law school. It provided a great launchpad for me and I ended up scoring in the top 15% of my section after my 1L fall."
Anonymous, Georgetown University Law Center, 2022
"I am SO thankful I took Law Preview the summer before beginning law school. While I liked to think I had an idea of what to expect, the Law Preview courses prepared me to hit the ground running from day 1. The materials and professors were all top quality and with the help of the lectures and study suggestions I was able to earn three A+ my first semester and rank in the top 5% of my class."
Anonymous, South Texas College of Law Houston, Class of 2023
"I think Law Preview really helped give a foundation to what was going on. First semester was a little overwhelming, but it would have been a lot more so if LP hadn’t warmed me up to briefing, some of the material, research, and what to expect."
Jared M., University of Nevada Las Vegas William S. Boyd School of Law, Class of 2011
"Law Preview made me much more prepared for law school. The specific subject lessons were nice, but it was the overall lessons about preparedness and what to expect that helped me to not be blindsided when I got here. I can definitely say that the program paid off because after my first year I am ranked #15 out of 500 students in my class."
Michael S., University of Miami School of Law, Class of 2012
"Law Preview helped me adapt to law school and have an advantage over my classmates when it came to concepts, how to study, and how to prepare for exams. It resulted in my doing very well in all of my doctrinal classes."
Sydney P., University of Georgia School of Law, Class of 2024
"As an older student, Law Preview provided a good overview of what to expect, both in terms of law and in terms of rejoining the academic environment. In fact, my preparation for law preview alone by briefing 40 cases over the summer allowed me to hit the ground running. The professors at law preview were so good, that even though I have enjoyed my professors during 1L, I remember them fondly and wish I could take their law classes. [Ranked top 10% after first semester]."
Anonymous, University of Baltimore School of Law, Class of 2012
"Law Preview really helped me understand topics in more direct and concise terms."
Anonymous, University of California, Hastings College of the Law, Class of 2022
"I was prepared for the doctrinal exposure. I could see the forest for the trees and knew how to case brief. My class participation boosted my overall grades in part because I case brief consistently as instructed. Overall, very worthwhile experience for an educational journey where so much of the process is not explained by one’s school."
Anonymous, Brooklyn Law School, Class of 2023
"I thought it was helpful to know in advance what to expect. I really followed the methods taught during Law Preview. I did case briefs for each case we read and did outlines well in advance. I felt like Don exaggerated a lot when he talked about the importance of 1L grades, but looking back, I don’t think it was an exaggeration at all. I excelled in the first year and that helped me to earn several 1L job offers, work as a research assistant for a Duke professor, get an invitation to join the Duke Law Journal, earn a scholarship, and lastly, secure a post-grad clerkship opportunity with a Federal Circuit Court judge in Washington, D.C."
Anonymous, Duke University School of Law, Class of 2022
"Law Preview made me feel comfortable walking into my first day of law school and knowing that I had a distinct advantage over my fellow classmates. Instead of spending valuable time figuring out how I was supposed to approach my courses, I was already assessing the material in a way that prepared me most effectively for exams."
Anonymous, Pepperdine University School of Law, Class of 2013
"Law Preview definitely gave me a heads up on the outlining and legal research part of my school’s curriculum. I am so glad that I attended the legal research and writing day because it helped to cut down on the workload during the semester as I was already somewhat familiar with the process."
Chelsea W., University of Virginia School of Law, Class of 2013
"Law Preview is an intense one-week course that gives you a real sense of what 1L looks like: It asks you to read fifty pages a day, make case outlines, and get prepared to be called on by instructors who are experienced professors from great law schools. I felt a lot of pressure when taking the course, but that is exactly 1L, isn’t it? Looking back, I cannot imagine what my law school journey would be like if I did not take the course. The study methods taught in the course helped me get good grades in 1L, and those grades played a crucial role in my applications for 1L and 2L summer internships. All start from that ‘painful’ yet amazingly productive week, so I cannot say enough how impactful it is to my law school journey and my legal career."
Han S., University of Washington School of Law, Class of 2022
"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 the perspective I needed to hit the ground running and reach my goals. While my classmates were still trying to figure out what was happening, I was well into my outlines. At the end of the semester I knew how to use the outlines to write excellent exams because I knew what to expect."
Janet L., University of North Carolina School of Law, Class of 2021
"I think Law Preview prepared me for what law school would look and feel like. The interactive mock classes with professors gave me a baseline foundation of terms and information, but the setting allowed me to ascertain what being in a law classroom would be like."
Lexi W., University of Michigan Law School, Class of 2022
"I can’t explain how much I believe this program helped me. Because of my experience at Law Preview, I came into my first term feeling comfortable with the material and hit the ground running. As I met more and more students, I realized that I was so much more ahead of them in terms of preparedness. I followed the schedule that the Law Preview suggested and I felt that its flow helped me to do my daily work, study on the weekends and to manage my time effectively. Many of my friends would come to me seeking advice or help with their briefs because they saw how streamlined my own process was. As the term went on I began to realize week after week how much the program really helped. And as I came into week ten I did not feel as stressed as most students. While they were spending late nights in the library trying to catch up and write their outlines; I was simply reviewing and developing strategies on how to attack my exams. I felt that the study tips and suggestions they gave at the Law Preview not only helped with learning content, but managing the stress of first term. Not that I wasn’t stressed, but I was substantially less freaked out/emotional than many other students. I would highly recommend this program to anyone interested in going to law school. To put it quite plain, I would call home and tell my parents all the time how thankful I was that I made the decision to attend the Law Preview. [Ranked 51 out of 325]."
Anonymous, Thomas M. Cooley Law School, 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
"Law Preview set the stage for my success at Columbia. I don’t have any lawyers in my family and none of my close friends went to law school, so I didn’t have any guidance before I started. Law Preview gave me practical advice that I could trust on the basics, like how to brief a case, what a supplementary companion is, and when to outline. I still use the templates and timelines provided for all of my law school classes. The course put me in the right mindset going into law school and provided me with the foundational knowledge on how to do well that I would not otherwise have had. [4.0 GPA after the first semester]."
Anonymous, Columbia Law School, Class of 2024