Make This Your Last Time

June 5, 2026June 4, 2026 - No Comments

How Waylon Finally Beat the Utah Bar Exam (UBE) (After Years Away from Law)

Waylon took the Utah Bar Exam (UBE) four times, from 2020 to 2026. His first two attempts ended with him giving up on law altogether.

💬 “I took the July 2020 bar exam in the middle of the Covid pandemic and came up short by ten points. Rather than get back on the horse, I gave up on the idea of being a lawyer. I ended up finding a decent job in banking compliance but the ghost of the failed bar exam kept haunting me and I could never really let it go. Fast forward to 2022 I succumbed to the pressures of other people and the nagging feeling from failure and took another half-hearted (probably more like quarter-hearted) attempt at the bar. This time I did even worse than the first time.”

What eventually pulled him back to bar world was that very nagging feeling. (Your bar nightmares might last for months or years btw)

He came back differently for his third attempt in, three years later. He was confident!

💬 “Again, the demons would not leave me alone so, I decided I would take that damn test one more time. I signed up for the July 2025 exam. . . . All this while working full time, and raising a family. I walked into that exam more confident than I ever had been for any exam.”

He improved but still missed the mark.

💬 “When the dust settled and the scores came out, I missed it by four points. Four points! Some people would have been discouraged, and my old self would have given up, but those four points unlocked something in me.”

What did those four points unlock in Waylon?

May 30, 2026June 3, 2026 - 6 Comments

Two Biggest Fears of a Bar Exam Taker

“I need to know all the law first!”

What were those three years of law school for? Never mind.

There’s this strange concern in the atmosphere floating around.

A concern that if you don’t know it all, then you won’t be prepared to solve the problems… The thought that all you need to do well on the bar exam is to “have the information”…

So you sit there, fold your arms, and wait for osmosis. Maybe your soulmate will suddenly come knocking on your door, too.

And then when you finally flip open that essay after weeks of “studying”…

You stare at the blank page.

In front of you, a blank canvas ready to be filled but only reflecting an uncomfortable stillness.

The cursor blinks at you, urging you to fill the awkward silence.

Cold sweat squeezes out of pores you didn’t even realize you had on your body. 😓

“…”

You decide to hit the books and videos again. Maybe you just need to study a little more…

You’re mostly grasping the material, but then when you take a practice exam it’s like everything you know is out the window.

WTF? Why didn’t it work?

May 29, 2026May 29, 2026 - No Comments

“I was certain I was screwed.” Said the guy who scored a 300 on the UBE (with 3 perfect essays)

Ryan did everything Themis told him to do. He followed the study plan, stayed on schedule, kept up with the material.

But he wasn’t able to write anything on his practice essays. He couldn’t even start.

This was 6 weeks before the February 2026 Michigan Bar Exam (UBE).

Then he walked out of the exam room with confidence. He passed with a score of 300 on his first attempt.

💬 “When it came time for exam day, I walked out of the room feeling like I had actually killed it. I wasn’t sure if I was delusional or had really actually done well.

Upon receiving my results, I did actually kill it. I scored a 300, with three perfect essay scores.”

May 23, 2026May 23, 2026 - 28 Comments

You Need a Personalized Study Plan: How to Make Your Own Bar Prep Study Schedule

Haters will say it’s impossible:

I’m not saying the haters are right.

I’m just saying…maybe…it’s not about mindlessly stacking assignments and being too busy completing them to absorb what you’re doing.

Maybe…you don’t actually have to do everything they tell you. Why are you acting like you read every case and footnote back in Con Law class?

(I did, but that’s beside the point because I got a B-. Knowing the “information” but not knowing how to take the exam will do that.)

The only thing I remember from law school is my negotiations professor saying this in class randomly (and giving me an A because, what can I say, I like practical things I use IRL):

“Anything worth doing is worth overdoing.”

Is bar preparation worth doing? Then it’s worth doing right. Doing it intentionally. Being an overachiever without being a tryhard.

After all, you’re the dean of your own studies. And we know that enjoying the process creates sustainable momentum (not just fixating on the goal of passing the bar).

Just as what’s enjoyable is personal, bar prep is also personal. Your study plan and schedule—and even the materials you use to support your prep—are personal.

There are many reasons your schedule will look different from everyone else’s:

You might be working while studying for the bar exam and have 3 hours scattered throughout a workday.
Maybe you live in your parents’ basement and have every day free. Your mom shakes her head as she sees you shitposting on Reddit instead of studying.
Or maybe you only have certain hours of your day free while the kids are at school.

Meanwhile, your bar review course hands you a cookie-cutter schedule that packs in an overwhelming number of tasks that turn into “self-study” sessions where you have no direction on what to do.

Does it make sense that you get the exact same study schedule for every scenario above? Not to me.

Is there a smarter, more effective plan that would serve your needs more and improve your odds of passing?

Yes, one that’s customized to you. It should work for you and serve your needs, not the other way around.

While I encourage a bespoke study plan, I suggest adhering to a few ideas when starting to plan your bar prep. Here are some immediately actionable guidelines for your study schedule.

May 22, 2026May 31, 2026 - 1 Comment

Foreign Attorney Scores 302 on New York UBE Without a Bar Prep Course (First Try)

Steve is proof that passing the bar exam is about being strategic and intentional about how you study.

He bypassed the typical bar prep course entirely and gathered a team of supplemental materials instead.

💬 “As a practising foreign lawyer, I knew I didn’t have time to take a formal bar prep course and also believed self-study was all I needed if I was able to focus enough.”

Steve then passed the New York UBE with a 302 on his first try while keeping his law practice intact.

💬 “Thanks Brian for all your help and your materials in particular the Magicsheets. I ended up with a 302 (MBE 151.9). MPRE 140.”

What’s interesting is the systematic precision of how Steve did it.

He mapped out a three-month plan in November, executed it with discipline during the holidays and final weeks, and paid close attention to what wasn’t working.

(Pretty lawyer-like!)