Bar Exam Preparation
Justine passed the February 2025 California Bar Exam on her first try.
💬 “I’m happy to share that I’ve passed the February bar – on my first try as well!”
She was initially putting in 15+ hours a day with her bar review course!
But I’m about to show you why “working hard” doesn’t always mean you’re going to learn or retain any information.
Continue reading “From “Studying” 15+ Hours a Day (and Feeling Behind) to Actually Learning”Imagine: You’re 20 years out of law school. You’re barely getting half the questions right. You don’t even know American law.
💬 “I have never studied in the US or had any experience with the American legal system (England and Singapore are both common law jurisdictions). So, I knew that before I even started to learn the BLL, I needed to study the exam itself. To me, the bar exam was a game and to play the game well, I needed to know the rules of the game.
This meant starting my bar prep from scratch.”
Lesley graduated from law school in Singapore in 2005. Then she decided to take the February 2025 California Bar Exam and pass on her first attempt.
💬 “I am a first-time taker, foreign attorney applicant (English law and Singapore law qualified). I’m 43 years old and graduated from law school in 2005, so exactly 20 years ago!”
She has never seen a July exam and never will.
How many times do I have to say that bar prep is a learnable, acquirable skill?
How many times do I have to prove that you can pass the bar exam—even if you’re a foreign-trained attorney, 60+ years old, or a left-handed rising water moon sign.
Before I dive into her methods, let’s take a moment to thank Lesley because she sent me a five-page write-up for me to break down just for you.
First lesson: How you do anything is how you do everything. Following through and paying it forward are behaviors of a successful person.
(Yes, I expect a juicy story in my inbox after you pass.)
Continue reading “Singaporean Attorney Passes the CA Bar Exam (Starting from 40% AdaptiBar, 20 Years Out of Law School)”“N” passed the February 2025 Utah Bar Exam (UBE), scoring a whopping 314 on her first attempt.
Epic!
For context, most UBE jurisdictions require a score 266 or 270 to pass, and scores over 300 are rare. So N really outdid herself.
Of course, I had to ask how she pulled it off so I can share it with you.
Continue reading “Lessons from Passing the UBE (Utah Bar Exam) with a 314”The bar exam can be an emotionally intense experience.
We all need a witness to our struggles. Don’t keep it locked up inside you. Sharing the ups and downs can be cathartic.
Jonathan took the time to send me a raw, heartfelt story of what it was like to fail…and then PASS the 2024 July CA Bar Exam.
💬 “When I found out I did not pass the bar, I was devastated; I let down myself and seemingly my family, my girlfriend, mentors, and everyone who had invested in me — how would I recover from this professionally and personally?”
Repeaters will know about the devastation and the identity crisis that comes with failing the bar exam.
Am I being dramatic?
Maybe. Regardless, if you don’t pass, there’s suddenly a ton of uncertainty and volatility about your future.
Choose resilience, or give up. It’s up to you.
💬 “Over my time re-studying for the exam, two thoughts persisted:
‘No…no, this is not how my story ends! I am not a failure or a quitter… I’ve never quit and why would I do it now? No…I have more in the tank’; and
the other was, ‘what if this repeats again…is it better to just take the foot off the gas? There are many people who understand how difficult this exam is…maybe I should use my degree for something adjacent.’ And then it hit me . . .”
How did he finally overcome the past that haunted him so?
Continue reading “Repeating (and Passing) the Bar Exam by Choosing Resilience”Tristan passed the 2024 July California Bar Exam on his first attempt.
He credits his success to self-awareness of his strengths, weaknesses, and what would work for him.
He was a glass cannon (super good at the MBE) and not confident about passing, but he was composed and calculated about the whole process.
Let’s see what Tristan went through in his first and only successful attempt.
Continue reading “Pass the Bar by Being Aware of Your Strengths and Weaknesses”