Brian, Author at Make This Your Last Time

January 27, 2023May 8, 2025 - 5 Comments

How to Pass the California Bar Exam with a Focused Approach of Discipline and Consistency

Got yet another success story, by a reader who shared with me a very detailed and specific recap of her journey to pass the 2020 February California Bar Exam (26.8% pass rate) on her second try.

It was too good not to share.

Before:

Big bar course made her “dumber,” wasted her time, DRAINED her energy and time. She was too wiped out to memorize or practice
Did not even know how to START any essay
Panic, doubts, insecurities, mind games, pressure

After:

Practical and effective approach
Used the right tools for her
Enjoyed herself because she could see herself getting better

Key takeaways and full story below…

January 25, 2023July 15, 2024 - No Comments

Constitutional Law Updates for 2023 and Beyond: What Are Kennedy and Dobbs and What to Do About Them?

There were two recent major changes in constitutional law—based on Kennedy (2022) “abandoning” the Lemon test and based on Dobbs (2022) revising abortion’s status as a fundamental right.

First, note that the NCBE drafts and pre-tests questions years in advance. See these NCBE statements about the MBE and the MEE. These statements are in turn linked in this NCBE statement about the 2022 SCOTUS decisions and the bar exam.

Probably a similar story for essays in various jurisdictions, though each state may do it differently.

This means that you might see questions in these areas and get credit for currently correct answers, or they might replace the questions with backups or something. Who knows.

I think it’s unlikely you’ll encounter questions in these areas. But you can control how to respond if you do see these issues.

January 20, 2023May 8, 2025 - No Comments

Classic Repeater Story of Passing the CA Bar Exam on Her Second Try

Stephanie was a classic repeater of the California Bar Exam, who followed a big box course on her first try and then switched to better (more efficient and effective) learning strategies on her second, successful try.

It’s a familiar story you see all the time. Too many stories of repeaters regretting using Barbri and other cookie-cutter programs.

Here’s how she did it and the tools she used to do it:

January 20, 2023March 7, 2025 - 1 Comment

Don’t obsess over the “best” bar exam supplement. Be the BEST STUDENT instead.

Bar exam takers have passed using Barbri.

They’ve passed using Themis.

They’ve even passed using Kaplan Bar Review… And this is despite all the shit I talk about Kaplan because they’re like Olive Garden trying to be everything which ends up being bland and giving you diarrhea. Just look at how many fucking tests they prep for LOL

December 21, 2022June 17, 2023 - 3 Comments

How an Australian Lawyer Passed the California Bar Exam Despite the Sheer Overwhelm

Surprise, surprise… Barbri doesn’t work for everyone. As a foreign-trained Australian attorney, James needed a way to get a handle on the sheer volume of material and become skilled at USING it.

To do that, he also needed to understand the bar exam in the first place because there were differences in legal practice in Australia and in the U.S.

He then passed the 2022 July California Bar Exam and put together a thorough write-up in collaboration with me, linked below.

This is a rare opportunity to dive DEEP into the mind of a recent bar taker. He drops many gems on what worked for him, with commentary by me such as:

💬 “A distinction between those who perpetually struggle and those who are successful is that they find an approach that works for them and trust themselves more.

One of my readers put it this way: ‘Make the bar exam process work with your learning style, not the other way around.’“

But enough about me. This is about celebrating and empowering bar takers like you to overcome this hurdle.

My breakdown and James’s full story below: