Barwinners

It was a privilege to enroll in Barwinners as a first time taker! I got to know all of the tutors, instructors and grader and Alan and Sara definitely do not work for Barwinners.
OUTLINES: The approach book that Shari created is worth its weight in gold. A lot of my friends who took the bar twice told me that they spent too much time memorizing the law and not enough time practicing. The approach book lays out each topic the way it should be approached on the bar exam and takes away the anxiety of wondering how to approach a subject.
During my 3L year, I received two other outline books from bar prep courses and while they also list the law, they do not provide an approach to follow. The way other courses present the law is overwhelming to say the least so I understand why my friends taking other courses had so much anxiety over the summer. Memorizing a Con Law outline doesn’t do any good if you don’t know how to approach a Con Law essay question.
MBE: My initial diagnostic score was low, but by following Shari’s advice and doing everything the MBE course set out, I drastically improved my score. Doing MBEs for hours will not improve your score, which is what I was doing before the MBE course began. Shari and her team read me like an open book and during our first one-​on-​one session together, identified what I needed to change in order to improve my scores.
PERFORMANCE EXAMS: I completed eight full PT exams and received individualized feedback on each of them. There are many approaches for scoring well on a PT, but without customized feedback and corrections, it’s difficult to receive a high score. The PT Professor was one of my favorites — she was so clear in way she broke down the explanations.
TUTORING: Seeing Shari and my tutor each week was the best part of bar prep. Each week, new concerns, anxiety and issues would arise, but my tutor simplified everything. By the end of each weekly session, I left feeling confident. These tutoring sessions were key in not letting anxiety build up as the summer went on.
I graduated from a great law school, but ranked in the middle of my law school class. Thanks to the individual attention I received from my tutor, my legal writing skills improved.
Bar prep is a tremendous amount of work and it’s not easy, but having an entire team of people (Shari, Leonard, my tutor, instructors, graders) to hold me accountable and constantly encourage me made a huge difference. My friends that took other bar prep courses were full of anxiety and constantly worried that they were not improving because they did not receive any individualized feedback on their essays. Two of my friends received the same «canned answers» on their essays.
I am so grateful to my friends for recommending Barwinners, but I am even more grateful to Shari and the entire Barwinners team.

Alana and Sara reviewed this course? They are instructors/​mentors that work at Barwinners. Phoney reviews from them.

I just passed the CA February 2015 bar and I believe it was all due to Barwinners. I had finished law school middle bottom of my class and just failed the 2014 July bar, i had scored about a 1300. I had taken Barbri for the previous bar and switched over to Kaplan. My essays would never get above a 60 based on Kaplan’s graders (or barbri’s the year previously).
After the final practice test i still couldn’t break a 60 on an essay and my scores had gone down overall. Not what you want to see going into the bar and needless to say I was freaking out.
I heard about bar winners through a friend who had a similar experience and another who was taking the course. I spoke with Shari and I decided that despite the high price tag for a 2 hour private session, I had nothing to lose but more time and energy (and $$$) wasted studying for another bar. I thought that at least I would have peace of mind that I had done everything in my power to pass and these additional funds in the long scheme of money spent on lawschool and the bar (twice) is really just one percentage point of my total costs. To pass after spending the additional bucks would be the best ROI ever.
I went with the idea to be a sponge and take everything they said as the word of God. within minutes the team had read my previous essays and found my problem with my essays. I was shown their methods and all the little tips and tricks to save those precious seconds during the bar.
Of my study group I was the only one who didn’t check right at 6:00 p.m. When I checked my phone I saw a slew of messages which basically said that all the members in my study group had failed again. I did not want to even check having labeled myself as the dumb one because my score from the July bar was the lowest. I finally checked hours later and found to my astonishment that my name MATTHEW CRAIG BRIGGS was on the list for the CA Feb 2015 bar examination.
I was the only one who took bar winners and truly think that without their advice and encouragement I would not have had the confidence to pass. I cannot speak to their other programs but those who’s writing is lacking can and should take advantage of them and pass this stupid test.

I took Barwinners because all through law school I spent a lot of time creating outlines that would actually help me write the exam, and Barwinners was the only course I found that actually did this for me. I’ve looked at the outlines offered by other prep companies; they’re great for learning and understanding the law, but they don’t take you from learning the law to applying the law on the essays. The Barwinners Approach Outlines, on the other hand, take you step-​by-​step along the appropriate order of analysis, so you review the law in the way you would actually apply it on the exam.
As part of the course, you have to submit a calendar with your daily schedule, hour by hour, up until the day of the bar. Creating the schedule is helpful in and of itself, but what makes this a very helpful assignment is that Shari and her staff actually give you feedback on it, letting you know how realistic it is and how effective it might be.
In terms of the staff, Shari is great because she’s passionate about what she does, and she won’t hesitate to tell you how it is. If she sees you’re burning out, she’ll tell you to slow down. If she sees you’re lagging, she’ll remind you to step it up. And Anne, the administrative assistant, is hands-​down one of the top three nicest individuals I have ever met (I’m not one for hyperbole, so that says a lot).
The only thing to consider is whether it’s been a while since you last studied the law. I took a few years off after law school before deciding to take the bar, and from my experience, I would recommend brushing up on the bar subjects before taking Barwinners. The course is really focused on practical application, so it doesn’t spend a lot of time giving you background, policies, and context. For someone right out of law school or someone who has already gone through another prep course, this class is PERFECT. If you’ve taken some time off, just brush up a bit before taking the course and you’ll be fine.

Barwinners is THE BEST PROGRAM FOR BAR PREP! After finishing a different prep course, I was left with stacks of materials and tons of anxiety. I sought out private tutoring with Barwinners — and it is AMAZING. Not only do I finally feel like I have direction, but I am calm, and feel better prepared just after one session. The feedback I received is unbelievable and has taught me how to prepare for this exam. Shari Karney is fabulous and Barwinners is the only prep course I recommend.

This is a great bar prep program and truly a hidden gem! Many people walk out of law school thinking the bar exam is just like any other law exam. Boy, was I wrong! The way the information is to be conveyed is truly different and a learning experience. The feedback from individual instructors and all their help really helped me master the material. In fact, we had covered the same types of essays that were tested on the actual exam. This is a must for all bar exam takers! Highly recommend.

Barwinners is changing up the game. I’m not sure why everyone insists that BARBI is the best prep course. I found that Barwinners has phenomenal books that really prepared me for the California Bar. Shari Karney really made the effort to emphasize the important aspects while minimizing exposure to the least tested items. She had one of the best prep books I have seen to date.
Shari Karney is very dedicated to her students and gives it her best. I was a first time taker and she really sat down with me to discuss my personal circumstances before I signed up with her and I felt that she was very professional and helpful in making my decision to join with her.
There are only two potentials issues to be aware of: (1) Barwinners is more expensive than BARBI but I passed the first time and I feel that it was worth the extra expense (2) I also took the 6 day PMBR online course for my MBEs. I felt Barwinner’s MBEs were not as difficult as the PMBR and therefore didn’t prepare me as well for that section.
I highly recommend Barwinners for anyone prepping for the California Bar.

Barwinners is the best prep course for the California bar! Trust me, i had tried most of the other ones before i finally turned to Shari & Leonard for help (including Barbri twice and kaplan). I had graduated with straight A’s from law school, a secure job, and was used to being an overachiever. I could not understand how and why I then could not pass the CA bar. On my first phone call with Shari she was able to diagnose every problem! I was over thinking it, trying to hard to be a perfectionist, instead of understanding that the bar exam is formulaic and you just need to learn and understand the structure the graders are looking for in order to pass. Shari has been helping people pass the bar for years and she is a pro at what she does. She is especially amazing with repeaters, who usually are the group of people who have the hardest time taking the bar. Leonard is great at identifying the psychological blocks that are keeping you from passing and how to face and overcome those blocks. Thanks to Barwinners I not only passed the bar, but also met my future business partner with whom I co-​founded a firm after becoming an attorney. Thank you so much Shari & Leonard!