LLM Bar Review Courses – Overview

LL.M. students and graduates typically have needs that are different from their J.D. counterparts when it comes to preparing for the New York and California Bar Exams. For lawyers with first law degrees from countries outside the United States, the challenge is to master the fundamentals as well as to strengthen their standardized test-taking skills. More recently, therefore, established bar preparation providers Kaplan and Barbri as well as newcomer LLM Bar Exam have begun to offer specialized LL.M. Bar Review courses.

Kaplan LL.M. Bar Review Courses

• LL.M. New York Bar Review – On-Demand: $2,550
• LL.M. New York Bar Review – Live: $3,300
• LL.M. New York Fundamentals Only: $599
• LL.M. California Bar Review – On-Demand: $2,440
• LL.M. California Bar Review – Live: $3,290
• LL.M. California Fundamentals Only: $599

Noteworthy Feature: Customized study plan for the last two weeks

Kaplan, one of the most trusted test prep providers worldwide, offers an LL.M. Bar Review course for the New York Bar Exam and an LL.M. Bar Review course for the California Bar Exam. The courses consist of five components: LL.M. Fundamentals; MBE (Multistate Bar Examination) Foundation; NY General Bar Review or California General Bar Review; MBE Final Review; and an intense Final Countdown Study Plan.

Kaplan’s aim with their LL.M. Bar Review courses is to level the playing field between J.D. students and LL.M. students by strengthening the latter’s MBE subject knowledge and objective test-taking skills. In this vein, LL.M. Fundamentals tackles the areas of law that LL.M. students typically need the most help with. LL.M. Fundamentals – which can also be booked separately for both the New York and California Bar Examination – consists of a total of 24 hours of coverage of U.S. legal writing, analysis, and multiple-choice test-taking strategies. It also covers the legal topics that are most often tested on the bar exams in New York or California.

Kaplan delivers its LL.M. Bar Review courses using a mix of on-demand lectures (accessible online), live lectures (delivered at pre-scheduled times by live professors and/or via simulcast), and on-site lectures (delivered in a physical location at pre-scheduled times). Students enrolled in Kaplan’s bar exam prep courses will also have access to its extensive MBE question bank, which consists of 4,000 authentic MBE practice questions. Moreover, Kaplan tutors will assign each student custom-tailored exercises to overcome individual weaknesses and, in addition, provide unlimited essay edits.

Barbri LLM Extended Bar Review

• LLM Extended Bar Review: $3,925 (includes material deposit and lease fee)

Noteworthy Feature: Access to Barbri AMP study tool

Barbri’s LL.M. Extended Bar Review provides lawyers with basic law degrees from foreign jurisdictions with another specialized option to prepare for the New York Bar Examination. However, in contrast to Kaplan’s and LLM Bar Exam’s approach (see below for more on LLM Bar Exam), Barbri does not offer a full course specifically designed for LL.M. students. Instead, Barbri offers an online “extension” of its regular New York Bar Review. Students who book the LL.M. Extended Bar Review portion receive additional online resources but are also automatically enrolled in Barbri’s New York Bar Review Course.

Barbri focuses in great part on those areas of each subject that are tested most frequently as well as those that are particularly difficult to grasp. In addition, students get the opportunity to learn at their own pace with Barbri providing task lists that students work on when they are ready.

LLM Bar Exam

• NY Bar Examination Course – Classroom: $3,300
• NY Bar Examination Course – Remote Streaming: $3,300

Noteworthy Feature: Personal tutors assigned to each student

LLM Bar Exam is a course provider specializing exclusively in helping international LL.M. students and graduates prepare for the New York Bar Examination. Founded by former LL.M. graduates who were unhappy with traditional bar review courses, LLM Bar Exam aims to provide services that are specifically tailored to the needs of LL.M. students. In particular, there is special emphasis on basic U.S. law subjects that J.D. students already cover during their first year but which LL.M. students typically lack knowledge of. There is also more weight given to exam or test-taking strategies.

LLM Bar Exam boasts a strong faculty of academics and practitioners. Moreover, each student is assigned a personal tutor to help them guide through the process and answer substantive questions. Finally, in the worst case scenario, LLM Bar Review offers a refund for students who are not successful.

Note: Prices are current as of December 2013 and are subject to change.  Image courtesy of anankkml / FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

 

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