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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"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
"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
"I felt that it prepared me to know what was coming at me in the fall semester. I had a good understanding of the timelines and the dates that I needed to schedule for myself in order to be successful in my first semester."
Anonymous, University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law, Class of 2021
"Law Preview prepared me for what I would face in law school. It gave me confidence and relieved a great deal of stress before and during law school."
Anonymous, University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law, Class of 2011
"On the first day of law school classes, I felt completely prepared for the experience. I was already ahead of most of my class in knowing how to brief a case, create an outline, and take lecture notes that would help me prepare for exams. I also had a unique understanding of the subject material in my first-year classes due to the fantastic road map provided by each of my Law Preview professors. I’m currently ranked #1 out of 320 students and I don’t think I would be having nearly the academic success that I’m having today without the solid grounding that Law Preview provided. I can’t say enough good things about my Law Preview experience — it was worth every dime and a whole lot more. It may be the best-kept secret for how to prepare and succeed in law school!"
James C., Seattle University School of Law, Class of 2012
"Law Preview demystified the 1L experience and allowed me to approach my classes methodically and with confidence. After taking Law Preview, I was already familiar with briefing cases for class, taking effective notes, and most importantly, taking law school exams. While many of my classmates had to spend time figuring these things out, I was able to devote more time to studying. As a result of taking Law Preview, I ended up in the top one-third of my class at a top law school."
Angela N., Boston University School of Law, Class of 2022
"Law preview provided me with the right mindset to approach day one of law school. I had an attack plan and knew what pitfalls to avoid because of the Law Preview course! [4.05 GPA after the first semester]."
Anonymous, University of Caliornia Hastings College of the Law, Class of 2023
"I felt more comfortable speaking up in class, and more confident in some of the harder issues in classes. For example, the Rule Against Perpetuities in Property – since I already had been over it with Law Preview, I felt a lot more confident about answering problems in class."
Amanda J., Drexel University College of Law, Class of 2011
"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
"Rutgers doesnt rank [after first semester]. Based on my GPA, I’m probably top 15%. Law Preview helped give an overview of the substantive areas, sampling of the Socratic method, practical advice about how to approach law school, especially the study calendar."
David E., Rutgers University School of Law, Class of 2011
"I was able to begin law school with a basic familiarity of many topics and of the particular vernacular used in law school. Unfortunately for many of my classmates they were tossed into the deep end and told to swim."
Anonymous, University of Pennsylvania Law School, 2023
"Law Preview impacted my study schedule and the daily hours I committed to each day – this was the biggest impact. I understood the dedication I needed to give and held myself to that high standard. Additionally, my GPA was the highest I ever achieved in a single undergrad semester, I attribute this to Law Preview’s frank and direct teaching on how to dedicate myself to achieve success."
Mary M., American University, Washington College of Law, Class of 2023
"It improved my preparation and gave me more overall understanding as a first-generation lawyer/student."
Aaron Y., American University, Washington College of Law, Class of 2022
"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
"There’s nothing better than having a solid organizational structure in place so that you begin law school knowing what you will need to do to achieve your personal goals. That’s what Law Preview provided for me – allowing me to finish in the Top 15% of my class and earning me a spot on the Wisconsin Law Review."
Arie F., University of Wisconsin School of Law, Class of 2022
"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
"Pushing for briefing cases rather than simply reading them was the biggest impact. Also, pushing to start outlines early and taking practice tests really impacted. The actually substantive overview of the courses were significantly less useful than the study skills. However, the study skills were so useful that they we’re worth the price alone. Although UCLA does not rank, my GPA was a 3.7."
Anonymous, University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law, Class of 2011
"Law Preview provided me an outstanding overview of my 1L curriculum and allowed me to grasp the big picture of each course far earlier than I would have otherwise. The professors were really helpful and covered some of the most fundamental and hard to grasp topics in 1L courses, which I really appreciated when they came up the second time around and I was already well-prepared to deal with them. Thanks to Law Preview’s overview, from the moment that classes started I knew how to manage my time, which proved invaluable when reading period began and I was ready to invoke Law Preview’s exam preparation strategies right on schedule. By having a firm background on the basics, I was also able to make time to get a head start on the 1L summer job hunt, which allowed me to secure a position with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York, my first choice job. I would definitely recommend this class to any incoming law student! Thank you for an outstanding class."
Corey B., Harvard Law School, Class of 2013
"After a personal crisis during the middle of finals, my grades still came back the way I wanted them to because Law Preview had me studying throughout the semester, so I already had the knowledge I needed, and the loss of some study time did not cripple me."
Anonymous, Dickinson School of Law , Class of 2022
"I got the most from experiencing different professors and from thinking about how I might personally go about analyzing the law. Even though I don’t do everything the way that Law Preview recommended, it was good to have a sense of where to begin. It was a worthwhile investment, even though I go to a school with no grades or rankings."
Anonymous, Northeastern University School of Law, Class of 2013
"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
"I had been out of school for 15 years, so LP gave me a good look at what I would be facing as well as techniques for studying and keeping up that I had lost since being out of school. The classes gave me an understanding of each course as whole, which helped a great deal in keeping a big picture in mind once I started law school. I managed to keep my head above the minutae, which is very easy to get lost in. The professors I was lucky enough to get at my LP week were phenomenal and it was so great to be introduced to the law by people who clearly loved what they did. It was not easy. It was one of the most intellectually challenging experiences I’ve ever had, but it made my entry into law school almost seamless and even as I am entering my 2nd semester, I am ever grateful I took it."
Petal H., New York Law School, Class of 2013
"Law Preview was the ‘Dummies Guide to Law School’ that I really needed. While the classes themselves helped give me a brief substantive overview, it was the organizational and study skills that I really appreciated. I was always prepared for class with the 2 day ahead approach but more importantly I was prepared for my exams because I had been studying all along and using the best study tools out there. Don kept telling us that everyone in our classes were going to know the exact same law going into the exam, but what was going to separate us from the rest of them was that we were going to know how to apply it because we hadn’t just been memorizing. Instead, we had been learning it, working with it, and wrestling with it from week one because of all the skills and techniques we learned from Law Preview."
Emily H., New England School of Law, Class of 2013
"The most important thing about Law Preview, and this was something Don mentioned in passing in one of the videos, is the preliminary exposure to the material. There is no way to learn all of a doctrinal class in one sitting or even one week. But being exposed to the materials before law school allows them to be more easily understood the second, third, and fourth time your professors say it, you read it, or practice it on an exam. This made the biggest difference because I was already able to connect different lessons from my classes before my classmates which made the big picture easy to understand and outlines easy to create. As a result, I got the third-highest grade in my contracts course and ended with an overall GPA well above median at my school. [3.63 GPA after the first semester]."
Anonymous, Duke University School of Law, Class of 2024
"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
"Law Preview helped me have a plan before the semester started, and it paid off! I got a 4.0 and really enjoyed all my classes."
Anonymous, Boston University School of Law, Class of 2024
"The Chicago Law Preview course prepared me how to study right and stay on track during my first year. Finishing my 1L year in the top 10% of my class was something I could not have done without working hard and following the guidelines given to me in the Law Preview course. Now, going into my 2L year, I have a foundation of great grades and am confident I will be able to get the job I want after graduation."
Chris E., Michigan State University Detroit College of Law, Class of 2012
"I went into law school prepared and felt ahead of the curve when it came to jumping into the swing of 1L. I felt comfortable while everyone was still learning how to balance the readings and learn to brief. Without Law Preview I don’t believe I could have achieved my 4.0 GPA."
Anonymous, University of Florida Fredric G. Levin College of Law, Class of 2022
"Law Preview gave me both an introduction and an overview of all my first year courses that proved a strong foundation for the success I achieved."
David P., Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, Class of 2021
"Law Preview has given me a firm foundation as to how I should approach my classes to do well. After attending LP, I was able to formulate an attack plan for law school such that when school actually started, I felt better prepared."
Anonymous, University of Chicago Law School, Class of 2022