Before I came to lawschool I had visions of a John Housman like professor grilling me over some trite, latin statute that had absolutely no relevance in society. And while the reality of lawschool proved to be nothing compared to the horrors of "The Paper Chase", the bar exam is and most likely will continue to be an antiquated and illogical exam designed to impose mental and physical anguish among it's testees.

Consider for a moment that while class exams are designed to test your comprehension of the respective class subject, the bar exam tests your knowledge on law that in many cases is inapplicable. Primarily, the bar exam tests what lawyers call the "common law." The reality is that the common law is a myth. This mysterious commonlaw has been passed down for generations (probably from some 17th century bigwigs late in taverns) and now stands for what is just and true. It's absurd, illogical, and what most people are forced to master if they want a law license.

Now you may begin to ask yourself, how does one deal with such an absurd test? Well, quite frankly many don't. In any given July or February, there are virtually thousands of aspiring lawyers biting their nails to the numbs and visiting synogogues in hopes of some divine inspiration. Enter BarBri. In the spirit of American capitalism, the founders of BarBri realized the widespread panic that would envelop our future magistrates and nobleman. Together, they hired some of the best law professors in the country to go on tour teaching Barbri lectures to hopeful students. Thus, my review of Barbri the course begins. Now, before I begin I must point out that my review of Barbri will be based on my experience in a Texas classroom. And while I can make generalizations about the course itself, each persons experience with Barbri will be slightly different according to the state requirements for the bar exam.

How is the bar exam structured and where does Barbri fit in?

To talk about Barbri, I think it's important that you first understand a bit about the bar exam itself. It is a test which everyone must pass to become licensed to practice law in a particular state. Testing subjects and the length of the exam vary from state to state. In Texas, to become licensed one must take a three day bar examination. The exam is 15 hours long and covers the following subjects:
* Torts * Corporations
*Property * Secured Transactions
*Contracts * Wills
*Constitutional Law * Estate Administration
*Criminal Law * Trusts
*Evidence * Guardianship
*Civil Procedure * Consumer Law
*Criminal Procedure * Oil & Gas
*Agency & Partnership * Income Tax
*Bankruptcy * Community Property
*Family Law * Commercial Paper

As you can see trying to study for such a wide variety of subjects is darn near impossible. If you try, you will go bald from all of the hair that will inevitably fall form your scalp. Barbri however, tries to simplify the terror that is the Barexam. Each morning, students gather in classrooms for a three hour lecture on a particular subject. As part of the class materials, you receive extensive outlines, notes, audio tapes, and more information that you could ever think about reading.

The Strength's about Barbri

It starts with the lecturers. The faculty who lecture at Barbri do something truly amazing- they teach. In a legal classroom, a whole lecture is composed of "ifs" and "maybe". Students get caught up in the socratical hypocrisy that is lawschool and learning evaporates almost as fast as a first-year students confidence. Barbri takes the direct approach to teaching. They give you the information up front and better yet the information is geared towards the exam.

Something truly wonderful about law professors and bar examiners is that they are lazy. They tend to write the same outdated fact patterns. (E.G. Bobby robbed the bank, "change to" Jane robbed the bank) The proctors at Barbri realize this and target the outlines to emphasize these questions. Heck, I even have a few teachers who list the subject matter of every bar exam question in their subject area since 1979. Now, please tell me they need a life!

The Weakness about Barbri

Can we say expensive. Okay, it cost $400 to sit for the bar exam. Barbri however, cost $1500 dollars. No, I did not stutter. Somewhere in the mythical world of Barbri land there is a little man depositing way to much of our money. One would think that after $90,000 dollars of tuition and fees for school the bleeding would stop. One can dream. Honestly though if the people at Barbri charged $5000 dollars for their materials I think people would pay it! I consider myself to be reasonably intelligent, but there is no way I could pass the exam without Barbri. It's just to difficult and diverse to approach without help.

Some tips for Barbri success

Don't skip class. One would think that after paying all that money motivation would set in to attend courses, but this isn't always the case. Students start Barbri almost immediately after classes so the desire for a holiday is strong. The allure of playing 18 holes of golf instead of sitting in a lecture is tempting, but one must resist that temptation and plug ahead. People fail the bar exam because they refuse to put in a consistent effort. The key is to study in May and not July. And although your handicap might decrease, it's not worth subjecting yourself to the inevitable torture that will await you in late July.
Double up on classes. Barbri is not exciting. Sitting in a three-hour lecture on estate administration is about as exciting as washing out trucks at my old warehouse job. Nevertheless, it must be done so it's best to get it over with. Fortunately, Barbri offers the option of going to class in the evenings. And the classes differ from the morning. That means that the perceptive student will go to both courses in May so they don't have to show up at all in July. It gives you more time to study, and less time to freak out.
Finally, don't freak out. If you have the undesirable task of attending one of these classes realize that you will be surrounded by hoards of type "A" people. Don't give in to their unneccesary panic attacks. If you really want to throw them off ask your partner for the last answer b/c your still drunk from last night's bar venture. That will make your neighbor angry and make you feel better about yourself. Good luck.




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