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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Looking back as I finish my 3L year, I wholeheartedly believe that Law Preview is the best antidote to the curse of assumed knowledge. Getting a primer on important doctrinal subjects in digestible but focused sessions—and being introduced to the Socratic method in a realistic but low-stakes environment—was exactly what I needed to prepare for my 1L year. Law Preview taught me concepts that soon become central to my life as a law student: how to brief, what an outline looks like, how to write an exam, and what a tort (disappointingly, not the dessert) is. And, as someone who had not known the ins and outs of law journals before Law Preview, I can confidently say that the program helped earn my spot on the Stanford Law Review. I honestly can’t imagine delving into my 1L year without having participated in the program.  Beyond the academic head start, Law Preview helped me build a strong professional network. I met other law students committed to success headed to my school and schools across the country. I got a taste of several different first-rate professors’ teaching styles. And I became a part of the larger Law Preview network: I finally had folks in my corner. If I had to boil it down, Law Preview helped me start out on the right foot. Law school is intimidating. Maybe you can’t change whether you were born into a family of lawyers or whether you’ve spent years working as a paralegal, but you can change how prepared you feel to start. The key to that, in my experience, is Law Preview. If starting over, I would choose Law Preview again every time.

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Kat G., Stanford Law School, Class of 2021
"As an international student, it helped me to become acquainted with the methods of learning, taking accurate notes and briefing cases, which proved to be essential to every class I have taken and do obtain great grades. I’m proud to report that after my 1L year I was invited to join the CUNY Law Review."
Nelly O., City University of New York (CUNY) 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
"I thought I came in with substantially less nerves about case briefing than many of my classmates. This made the adjustment to law school far easier than I anticipated [3.77 GPA after fall semester]."
Anonymous, Vanderbilt University School of Law, 2022
"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
"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
"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
"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
"I went into law school knowing how to brief cases, knowing the language of the law and knowing the subject matter that was being presented. That was all extremely beneficial to me; however, the best thing about Law Preview is that I met my best friend and a familiar face in my law school section. He and I have helped each other through the semester, formed a study group with other students and relied on our Law Preview materials to help along the way. I was thankful for the experience and the people I met."
Beka P., SMU Dedman School of Law, Class of 2011
"I know that the skills Law Preview taught me made my first semester of law school successful and manageable. As you are well aware, law school is a unique and stressful environment, a mystery to those who have not experienced it. Law Preview demystified it for me. As a result, I knew how much time I should spend studying and when, what I should focus on, and how I should balance my classwork with other obligations. I did not have to waste precious hours acquiring this knowledge by trial and error. Additionally, Law Preview’s engaging professors introduced me to the substantive material I would encounter in my courses and made me excited about what I would learn in law school. Through its courses Law Preview gives incoming law students the tools they need to succeed in their first year and beyond."
Frances K., Mitchell Hamline School of Law (formerly William Mitchell College of Law), Class of 2013
"I think it showed me not so much of the mechanical tools (briefing, etc) but more of a nice lay of the land, and some other useful tips to get a head start [ranked #10 out of 256 after first semester]."
Anonymous, Villanova University School of Law, Class of 2011
"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
"As the first in my family to attend law school and having grown up with no exposure to the legal world, Law Preview provided the perfect introduction into the start of my legal studies. The combination of classes, workshops, and materials equipped me with the knowledge and proper mindset I needed to begin my first year of law school with confidence and ease. I was able to begin the semester feeling reassured and familiar with the structure and pace. I truly owe the success of my first semester to the headstart this program gave me, and I cannot recommend Law Preview enough for any student about to begin their 1L year! [3.91 GPA and ranked #2 after the first semester]."
Anonymous, University of Houston Law Center, Class of 2023
"Law Preview completely prepared me for what was to come. It taught me exactly how to study in order to succeed and gave me tips along the way. Nothing came as a surprise, due to my Law Preview experience, which not only helped boost my confidence, but ensured that I was doing everything I needed to do in order to reach my desired outcome."
Laurel F., New York Law School, Class of 2012
"Last summer I was fortunate to receive a Law Preview Scholarship. The experience was particularly useful to me as a first generation law student. The class introduced me not only to doctrinal material from the first-year curriculum but it also exposed me to the law school nuances no one had told me about, like the Socratic method, briefing cases, and accessing prior exams as study aids. The benefits of being a Law Preview alum are numerous. I am still in contact with some of the students I met during the class. I also have access to Barbri webinars, which provide information on useful skills for the first year of law school and beyond, and the Job Network, which grants access to many of the law firm partners BARBRI has."
Carla L., Harvard Law School, 2020
"Law preview helped me get ahead of the game. I learned what to expect in the classroom and how to do the readings. This helped me prepare for the unexpected, which is the most stressful part of law school."
Anonymous, Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law, Class of 2022
"Felt much more comfortable about what was going to be coming at me than I would have been otherwise."
Anonymous, New England School of Law, Class of 2022
"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
"Law Preview helped very much! I was much better prepared on day one to begin learning the cases, as my classmates were still figuring out terminology and how to brief. Additionally, I already had begun my outlines using the tips I learned at Law Preview, (once I had the books), and it was a lot easier to stay ahead then how most of my classmates were disadvantaged and thus playing catchup. It was absolutely essential to my success and I do not think I would have done nearly as well without it! I would recommend it to anybody, especially if you don’t have the good fortune of a scholarship – it might cost money, but if you are going to pay $100,000 for law school on your own tab – this is the absolute BEST $1000+ I have spent, and the most cost effective means of helping me accelerate to the top of my class."
Ron P., Florida Coastal School of Law, Class of 2011 (transferred to Wake Forest University School of Law)
"Law Preview had an amazing impact on my education and social life – I felt prepared from the very beginning of the year and met my best friends during the week-long class. It covered every aspect of how law school is structured. How to strategically approach classes and exams, and how the legal job process works. While other new students were trying to figure out how to study and how to balance their time, I was already in a comfortable routine after Law Preview. As a true testament to the program’s efficacy, my friends and I (all former Law Preview students) obtained summer associate positions with various big law firms after our 1L year. This is usually very rare for first-year law students, but Law Preview enabled us to start strong and plan ahead for opportunities that other students didn’t even know about. I’m so glad I took Law Preview’s class."
Linda Q., Northwestern University School of Law, 2020
"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 gave me the tools to exceed in my first semester, and heavily reduced my anxiety going into law school. From day one I felt like I had an edge that many other student did not, and received honors grades with a GPA of 3.33! I highly recommend this course to any 0L!"
Samantha J., Marquette University School of Law, Class of 2023
"My undergrad grades were mediocre and I had graduated a few years ago, so law school was very intimidating. Law Preview was great way introduction with valuable, practical advice; my first semester grades far exceeded my hopes."
Andrew Y., Georgetown University Law Center, Class of 2013
"Law Preview gave me an edge my first semester of law school that I would not have had otherwise."
Michael R., Villanova University School of Law, Class of 2011
"Law Preview was a great experience that certainly helped me excel in my first semester. My law school does not rank students but I am thrilled (and surprised!) to report I got an A in two out of my three classes – an honor that only goes to the top 5-10% of the class. Law Preview helped me achieve such success by introducing me to the core, fundamental doctrines and important cases that frequently appeared on my final exams."
Anonymous, Columbia University Law School, Class of 2011
"Going in as a 1L who had no lawyers in my family to ask about what to expect, Law Preview was essential to my success. It taught me a lot about the foreign world of law school which made it less scary from Day 1. It also gave me a schedule to follow during finals, which helped organize a pretty hectic time. At the end of 1L, I was super satisfied with my grades and working for a great law firm. In the marathon of law school, a week up really made all the difference."
Brandi D., Brooklyn Law School, 2019
"The study skills I learned from Law Preview left me feeling prepared during exam season and resulted in a higher GPA than I was expecting from my first semester."
Claire A., University of Richmond School of Law, Class of 2024
"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
"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
"Law preview helped me hit the ground running with regards to my study schedule and outlining. It also gave me an edge on what to look for when reading a case. I finished my first semester with a 3.628 and an A in our 4 credit Torts class!"
Anonymous, Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law, Class of 2019