Law Preview Review Forum

[aladdinismyprince]

So, when I was searching for information on Law Preview, there really wasn't much advice besides "don't go." Well, I thought I would add my own review of Law Preview.

Disclaimer 1: I am a 0L. So, you will probably disregard my advice anyway. But, if you read my advice, you will realize why as a 0L I can criticize it. [My criticism is that I basically knew everything anyway because of TLS.]
Disclaimer 2: I won a scholarship. So, I only had to pay transportation and hotel costs.

Even with the scholarship, I would say Law Preview is not worth it. I wish I hadn't come. It was just a colossal waste of time. There is no way it is worth the $1200 they charge you for class.

Law Preview is only good if you know ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about law school. I came into Law Preview already having read many books (Getting to Maybe, 1L of a Ride, Law School Confidential, Planet Law School, LEEWS, etc.). I have also perused the TLS forums a lot, especially the advice from top students. I also had taken various law classes in undergrad, so I knew the very basics (For example, I know about negligence vs. strict liability, I know about consideration, I understand the basics of mens rea and actus rea, etc.) Because I already had this background and done all this research, I really felt like I learned absolutely nothing at Law Preview. None of the law school "success" stuff (like how to take exams, how to outline, how to brief) was anything I hadn't heard before. The substantial law stuff is nice, but I had a hard time bringing myself to pay attention, since I knew I would have to learn it again, under a different lens, given my professors' tastes. It's just hard to be lectured at for eight hours on something you will have to relearn anyway.

Law Preview also focuses on trying to "scare" you into studying, which is something TLS has already successfully done for me.

One thing I did notice was that most of the students were from Tier 2 and below schools. Out of probably forty students, only 3 were going to a school even in the top 50. Mostly everyone else there was going to law schools I had never even heard of. But this might be a function of where I took the class (not that close to any T14s).

At least all the free stuff they gave us made up for the cost of my hotel room. In addition to two course books, I got access to Barbri's first-year program online, a law school exam how-to book, a pdf file of a book similar to Law School Confidential, law-in-a-flash for contracts, a commercial torts outline, Glannon's Civil Procedure (score!), barbri's "first year law school success" book, and barbri's "first year in review book." So, you do get a plethora of free material. Whether I will use it is another question.

There were some minor benefits worth mentioning. You get to practice case briefing, which can be helpful if that is something you are scared of. But I am sure you will get tons of practice in law school. One professor actually did the socratic method (it was scarring for many). It was nice when the professors give you little insights into what they are doing and why during class and during exams. Having some practice exams and model answers is sort of helpful, but they obviously aren't tailored to your professor. Another benefit of Law Preview, I guess, is the "psychological advantage." You can go into law school knowing how to brief and how to outline (kinda-I didn't think the outlining lecture was all that great). You also get to go in knowing some of the terms and cases you will hear about, which could provide a sense of familiarity in the scary world that is 1L.

Anyway, the point is, if you have absolutely no clue about anything law school related (which I doubt if you are on TLS) and have no desire to just buy all the suggested "prep" books about how to succeed in law school and teach yourself, then maybe Law Preview is for you. I would have rather spent the 60 hours reading about law school on my own. Or writing cover letters. Or researching employers. Basically, anything else law school related.

I hope this helps!

[daydreamer]

Thanks for the great review! Did you notice if anyone just stop going a few days in or did everyone stay for the whole week? Also, what's your opinion on skipping out if attending on a scholarship? Do you think the sponsoring firm would know or even care?

[aladdinismyprince]

Thanks for the great review! Did you notice if anyone just stop going a few days in or did everyone stay for the whole week? Also, what's your opinion on skipping out if attending on a scholarship? Do you think the sponsoring firm would know or even care?

I didn't notice any one stop going a few days in. Everyone seemed very dedicated and engaged in the material (unlike myself). The person sitting next to me missed half a day, but she was back the next day.

I don't think the firms would find out. It's not like they take attendance or anything. I doubt anyone in the class knows my name or the school I am going to. The person "in charge" of the class was a 2L who worked out his own stuff the entire day, so he didn't make an active effort to learn anyone's name.

[paulshortys10]

So, when I was searching for information on Law Preview, there really wasn't much advice besides "don't go." Well, I thought I would add my own review of Law Preview.

Disclaimer 1: I am a 0L. So, you will probably disregard my advice anyway. But, if you read my advice, you will realize why as a 0L I can criticize it. [My criticism is that I basically knew everything anyway because of TLS.]
Disclaimer 2: I won a scholarship. So, I only had to pay transportation and hotel costs.

Even with the scholarship, I would say Law Preview is not worth it. I wish I hadn't come. It was just a colossal waste of time. There is no way it is worth the $1200 they charge you for class.

Law Preview is only good if you know ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about law school. I came into Law Preview already having read many books (Getting to Maybe, 1L of a Ride, Law School Confidential, Planet Law School, LEEWS, etc.). I have also perused the TLS forums a lot, especially the advice from top students. I also had taken various law classes in undergrad, so I knew the very basics (For example, I know about negligence vs. strict liability, I know about consideration, I understand the basics of mens rea and actus rea, etc.) Because I already had this background and done all this research, I really felt like I learned absolutely nothing at Law Preview. None of the law school "success" stuff (like how to take exams, how to outline, how to brief) was anything I hadn't heard before. The substantial law stuff is nice, but I had a hard time bringing myself to pay attention, since I knew I would have to learn it again, under a different lens, given my professors' tastes. It's just hard to be lectured at for eight hours on something you will have to relearn anyway.

Law Preview also focuses on trying to "scare" you into studying, which is something TLS has already successfully done for me.

One thing I did notice was that most of the students were from Tier 2 and below schools. Out of probably forty students, only 3 were going to a school even in the top 50. Mostly everyone else there was going to law schools I had never even heard of. But this might be a function of where I took the class (not that close to any T14s).

At least all the free stuff they gave us made up for the cost of my hotel room. In addition to two course books, I got access to Barbri's first-year program online, a law school exam how-to book, a pdf file of a book similar to Law School Confidential, law-in-a-flash for contracts, a commercial torts outline, Glannon's Civil Procedure (score!), barbri's "first year law school success" book, and barbri's "first year in review book." So, you do get a plethora of free material. Whether I will use it is another question.

There were some minor benefits worth mentioning. You get to practice case briefing, which can be helpful if that is something you are scared of. But I am sure you will get tons of practice in law school. One professor actually did the socratic method (it was scarring for many). It was nice when the professors give you little insights into what they are doing and why during class and during exams. Having some practice exams and model answers is sort of helpful, but they obviously aren't tailored to your professor. Another benefit of Law Preview, I guess, is the "psychological advantage." You can go into law school knowing how to brief and how to outline (kinda-I didn't think the outlining lecture was all that great). You also get to go in knowing some of the terms and cases you will hear about, which could provide a sense of familiarity in the scary world that is 1L.

Anyway, the point is, if you have absolutely no clue about anything law school related (which I doubt if you are on TLS) and have no desire to just buy all the suggested "prep" books about how to succeed in law school and teach yourself, then maybe Law Preview is for you. I would have rather spent the 60 hours reading about law school on my own. Or writing cover letters. Or researching employers. Basically, anything else law school related.

I hope this helps!

Random question: how did the people dress?

I got the free scholly also and don't want to go looking like some bum.

[aladdinismyprince]

some people dressed up really intensely (dresses, black pants), but I would say it was 2 people. Everyone else wore what you would wear to any law school class (jeans, shorts, sweat pants, sun dresses, etc.) In fact, the guy in front of me wore a shirt with a giant hole in the back every single day. So, you won't look like a bum. (This might be different if you go to like the NY or Chicago programs.)

[CanadianWolf]

Which location did you attend ?

[shock259]

Interesting. Haven't heard of this program before.

Thanks for the review

[2014]

My schools gives scholarships to it and I was sort of regretting not going as I'm sitting on my ass anyway, but thanks for posting this as my regret has vanished.

[shock259]

Your law school gives scholarships to this thing?! How does it determine who to give scholarships to?

That seems ... shady for some reason.

Edit: That kind of thing makes me happy I went through 1L when I did. Quite a few people knew about TLS/success in law school/yada, but most didn't know or didn't care too much. God knows I wouldn't have been able to do as well if everyone else knew what I knew prior to the fall (which is apparently the direction this is moving in).

[CanadianWolf]

Some law schools award the scholarship to incoming students (probably below median numbers & often based on need), but most scholarships are awarded by biglaw law firms to incoming students to specific law schools. Several law schools have negotiated a discount for any & all of their incoming 1Ls.

Many other law schools take a different approach and offer or require CLEO for admits with below median numbers. Sometimes CLEO is free if there is adequate funding, otherwise a fee is required.

[2014]

Your law school gives scholarships to this thing?! How does it determine who to give scholarships to?

That seems ... shady for some reason.

Edit: That kind of thing makes me happy I went through 1L when I did. Quite a few people knew about TLS/success in law school/yada, but most didn't know or didn't care too much. God knows I wouldn't have been able to do as well if everyone else knew what I knew prior to the fall (which is apparently the direction this is moving in).

It's sponsored by BigLawl firms and there isn't very high demand afaik.

[swee89024]

Can you just say pass if they call on you if you don't know the case well? I was saving my humiliation for law school, I am not interested in this reading at all, don't think I want to go to law school either, would rather go to business school instead but I paid this and have to go for the week. Thanks

[annieq]

I'm also curious which location you attended.
How much do you think/know the quality varies by location?

[rinkrat19]

Did you get most of those books/study materials you listed at the actual class? Because all I've gotten so far in the mail is the main text, plus instructions to download a revised appendix for the book and a few supplemental things.


In my case, I'm not as worried about it actually being all that useful in terms of the actual substantial law stuff; I haven't been in a classroom since 2002 and I am RUSTY at the whole school thing. (Also, when I was in school, we didn't take notes on laptops.) So I plan on using Law Preview to get back in classroom mode, and to practice working quickly in One Note before it actually matters.

[mmkitkat]

Also attended Law Preview this summer and adding my two cents on the program (also an 0L, I'll try to remember to update after my first round of 1L finals)

There was a nice mix of people from T14s and lower ranked schools in my program and the professors were also a mix from lower and higher ranked schools.

I don't think the program was all that useless actually (although I also received a scholarship and stayed with a friend in the area so it cost me very little to attend; I probably wouldn't recommend it to anyone who had to pay the full price).

The "Academic Success Lectures" were pretty obvious, but it is nice to have a professor right there that you can ask questions about outlining/notetaking/tests/whatever. If you read any of the standard prep stuff, none of this would be new (although I would think that there is some psychological benefit to having that stuff reinforced and hearing it directly from a professor might boost confidence).

However, I think that some of the substantive lectures were at least a little helpful, especially considering that most people don't have a very extensive knowledge of law already. I think that having a lecture that actually literally spells out all the concepts for you (since I've been told time and time again that the bll is never explicitly covered in law school classes) could offer a small advantage and any experience reading cases and with the Socratic method seemed like it would be helpful to me.

I also found most of the classes to be very interesting, and the program got me pretty excited about going to school fwiw. I'm pretty nerdy and love school though so that might be taken with a grain of salt.

Also, we received the same free books (in the class, you only get the coursebook in the mail) and a couple of free lunches. All in all, it was a positive experience that I don't regret at all.

On the negative side, some people did kind of make fools of themselves during cold-calling (all but two of the profs did some form of Socratic) and one guy did get completely chewed out on the first day, which would probably make me apprehensive about law school if it had happened to me.Also, the "classes" are a LOT longer than a typical class which makes them nearly impossible to sit through without at least once wanting to run for your life. I agree that not having your specific professors perspective is a drawback, but not necessarily completely detrimental.

All in all, I would recommend it if you get one of the scholarships. If you've been out of school for a while, I think it could also help you get back into the groove of school and all that. However, if money is at all an issue for you and you have to pay for it, I would just read GTM instead and save your money.

To address questions, I think the quality can vary quite a bit depending on which professors are teaching at the location. One of the best things about my program was the Contracts professor (he did a really good job explaining concepts, answering questions, and showing us how classes work and explaining why professors tend to do things certain ways). The program would have been much less valuable without him IMO..

Some people dressed up, some people went business casual, some people just wore normal everyday clothes, some people wore sweats/yoga pants/pajamas, etc. I say dress how you are planning to dress in law school, but anticipate that the facilities could be freezing (mine were ridiculous; I was shivering in jeans, closed toed shoes, and a hoodie).

People did stop going. Everyday there were one or two less people in the classes.

HTH!

[joetheplumber]

Also attended Law Preview this summer and adding my two cents on the program (also an 0L, I'll try to remember to update after my first round of 1L finals)

There was a nice mix of people from T14s and lower ranked schools in my program and the professors were also a mix from lower and higher ranked schools.

I don't think the program was all that useless actually (although I also received a scholarship and stayed with a friend in the area so it cost me very little to attend; I probably wouldn't recommend it to anyone who had to pay the full price).

The "Academic Success Lectures" were pretty obvious, but it is nice to have a professor right there that you can ask questions about outlining/notetaking/tests/whatever. If you read any of the standard prep stuff, none of this would be new (although I would think that there is some psychological benefit to having that stuff reinforced and hearing it directly from a professor might boost confidence).

However, I think that some of the substantive lectures were at least a little helpful, especially considering that most people don't have a very extensive knowledge of law already. I think that having a lecture that actually literally spells out all the concepts for you (since I've been told time and time again that the bll is never explicitly covered in law school classes) could offer a small advantage and any experience reading cases and with the Socratic method seemed like it would be helpful to me.

I also found most of the classes to be very interesting, and the program got me pretty excited about going to school fwiw. I'm pretty nerdy and love school though so that might be taken with a grain of salt.

Also, we received the same free books (in the class, you only get the coursebook in the mail) and a couple of free lunches. All in all, it was a positive experience that I don't regret at all.

On the negative side, some people did kind of make fools of themselves during cold-calling (all but two of the profs did some form of Socratic) and one guy did get completely chewed out on the first day, which would probably make me apprehensive about law school if it had happened to me.Also, the "classes" are a LOT longer than a typical class which makes them nearly impossible to sit through without at least once wanting to run for your life. I agree that not having your specific professors perspective is a drawback, but not necessarily completely detrimental.

All in all, I would recommend it if you get one of the scholarships. If you've been out of school for a while, I think it could also help you get back into the groove of school and all that. However, if money is at all an issue for you and you have to pay for it, I would just read GTM instead and save your money.

To address questions, I think the quality can vary quite a bit depending on which professors are teaching at the location. One of the best things about my program was the Contracts professor (he did a really good job explaining concepts, answering questions, and showing us how classes work and explaining why professors tend to do things certain ways). The program would have been much less valuable without him IMO..

Some people dressed up, some people went business casual, some people just wore normal everyday clothes, some people wore sweats/yoga pants/pajamas, etc. I say dress how you are planning to dress in law school, but anticipate that the facilities could be freezing (mine were ridiculous; I was shivering in jeans, closed toed shoes, and a hoodie).

People did stop going. Everyday there were one or two less people in the classes.

HTH!

cool. They will be providing free lunch. Also, what free supplements did you get. DId you get the same ones as OP?

[mmkitkat]

It's only free lunch a couple of the days, and yes, they were the same free supplements as OP

[mmkitkat]

Wayyyy late, but update now that I've been through a few sets of law school exams.

By the time I took exams, I had forgotten basically everything from Law Preview, but at UChi, our first round of finals only includes one of the topics that is covered at LP, so it was a very long time between finals and the LP classes. Additionally, depending on where you end up at school (and especially at UChicago), your professor's take on their subject could be vastly unrelated to BLL, rendering most of the things you learn irrelevant.

That said, I met our school's BarBri rep and got a student rep position out of the class as well as selling the supplements, so I got a little more out of it. I stand by my previous advice. If you get the scholly and can go without spending much money, you might as well. If not, don't bother.