For the California Bar Exam, Uniform Bar Exam (UBE), and other state bars
Passer’s Playbook — tools and techniques for effective bar prep
Maximize your score by learning how to learn (not just what to study) with blueprints, study schedules, and strategies to prepare efficiently and effectively
How would it feel to never have to see another hypo again?
“I’ve been basking in the glory of finally passing the bar! . . . The more I simply did what you recommend in the playbook, my confidence steadily grew.”
“I just took the Feb CA bar and you and all of your products were a tremendous help to me, ESPECIALLY the Passer’s Playbook, your study schedules, and other methods.”
“I . . . implemented it into my study routine. Basically, all of it. . . . I raised my [Arkansas UBE] score 20+ points using your study guidance, reminders, and schedules.”
Avoid putting your life, relationships, and professional career in limbo for 6 more months
(and dropping more $$$ on the next round of bar prep)
New York Bar Passer
Get clear on how to spend your limited prep time for bar prep
(instead of doing random things without direction)
California Bar Passer
“Move the needle” and stop spinning your wheels on the most important exam of your life
Learn what Barbri and Themis won’t teach you
(before it’s too late)
If you’re like many bar takers, you see your neat package of shiny new course materials and shrug:
“How hard could it be? Everything I need to know is in that pile of giant books.”
But does it make sense to you that…
- You go through hours of lectures, diligent note taking, and “studying” only to be EXHAUSTED and forget 99% of it anyway?
- “Big box” bar prep courses tell you WHAT to study, but they don’t teach you HOW to prepare for the bar exam?
- Someone balancing a job or family has the exact same cookie-cutter one-size-fits-all study schedule as someone whose full-time job is to study for the bar?
Not to me.
You’re the dean of your own studies, not anyone else. Not Barbri, not your professors, not even me.
You don’t have to follow “The Plan.” No matter what you use, bar prep at its core is still a self-learning endeavor. Courses and supplements are merely there to support your learning. Like a buffet, or your social media feed, what’s laid out for you are just suggestions.
On my first attempt at the bar exam, I did the things that you’re probably doing…
- Meticulously watching exhausting 4-hour-long videos (pausing them to fill in the blanks), and reading outlines religiously (sending myself thoughts and prayers)
- Fixating on checking off all the assignment boxes and filling in the completion % meter
- Grasping at any sense of security knowing that they had it all planned out for me. “Just follow The Plan, and you’ll pass!”—The National Association of Barbri (probably)
EXHAUSTION.
The truth is, these things usually don’t move the needle. You’ve probably thought about doing some of them…maybe redid them multiple times!
It wasn’t FUN or MOTIVATING because I wasn’t seeing any PROGRESS. Enjoying the process is key! The more you enjoy this process, the more energy you will have to absorb the material and sharpen that intuition. Your brain will reject what you don’t like.
I was being a tryhard but not an overachiever. I was going through the motions without doing the mental work.
Ultimately, it was a failure of myself because of arrogance, underestimation of the bar exam, and mindless tactical hell. It was caused by a failure to focus on the right things that moved the needle.
More importantly, I was allowing someone else to dictate my pace, my studies, and ultimately my fate. It was college and law school all over again, just going with the flow.
Well, could you blame me—or yourself? It’s extremely daunting and overwhelming to even think about juggling over a dozen subjects. It’s soothing to do what feels productive (like reading outlines and trying to memorize rules). You feel like you’re still in control. It becomes hard to see that a course is simply a reference tool, not a duty you must fulfill.
What I realized since was that it was up to me to prevent forest fires. No one can teach you. You can only learn.
That’s why someone who collects all the “best” tools, pays for a huge course, and studies for 12 hours a day can still end up spinning their wheels getting nowhere — while someone who knows how to study can pass without the exhaustion or frustration (seemingly effortlessly).
That’s why you don’t NEED a huge course that just eats up your precious time and energy. It provides structure (especially for first-timers and bar takers who have a lot of lead time) but can be inefficient.
You don’t NEED to spend 1,000s of dollars on tutors. They’re great — if you can find the right one for you and afford them. (To be fair, a good tutor can be very helpful.)
Treat the bar review courses as luxury options with bells and whistles, not the default or the only option (even if they tried to convince you otherwise since your first day of law school). You wouldn’t look at first-class flights by default, right?
Courses and tutors CAN and DO work. Supplements DO help. (I’ll show you which ones to use out of the smorgasbord of options depending on your budget, and how to get discounts to offset the cost of Passer’s Playbook.)
But you don’t get an “A” for how hard you work or how much time or money you spend. You earn it for mastery.
You don’t get in shape by hiring a personal trainer or just completing the movements. You push your body consistently and make that mind-muscle connection by actively engaging the target muscle.
Again: No one can teach you. It’s up to you to learn. In the end, you’re the one who has to do it. All the tools out there can work for you as long as you realize that, no matter what you use, bar prep at its core is a self-learning endeavor.
But, as the exam gets harder and more expensive over time, you can’t afford to fall into the same mistakes I did on my first attempt.
It boils down to THREE things for proper bar exam preparation and to succeed on the bar exam:
1
Good source materials: outlines (like Magicsheets), past exam questions, sample answers
2
Will to act. Do you have the ability to self-motivate?
3
Knowing HOW to study (not just WHAT to study)
So it’s time to stop “studying” what to learn.
Let me show you how to learn.
Introducing…
Passer’s Playbook
Passer’s Playbook is a set of step-by-step blueprints, study schedules, cheat sheets, recordings, checklists, and strategies designed to help you learn HOW to learn, improve your scores, and post an award speech (humble)brag about passing the bar exam.
They’re packaged as guides of varying lengths (a few pages to a comprehensive 380 pages), editable documents, audio and video.
What’s included with Passer’s Playbook?
Moving the needle begins today. Kickstart your bar prep with keys to success. Just internalizing ONE insight here can make a difference to your approach to bar exam preparation.
What you’ll discover:
You are the dean of your own studies. There’s no need to follow someone else’s general one-size-fits-all cookie-cutter schedule. Get CLEAR on what to do every day by crafting your own flexible curriculum, tailored to fit you like a handmade glove according to your needs, no matter when the exam is.
What you’ll discover:
Learn how to learn. If you have a question about bar prep, chances are, it’s in this 380-page comprehensive guide called the “Big Playbook.” I regret my naming sense.
What you’ll discover (among other things):
Feel like watching or listening instead of reading? I’ve included video and audio recordings of conversations with a bar exam expert and real bar takers. Timestamps, handout, and notes included.
What you’ll discover: