People often ask how Law Preview students perform in law school. To find out, we retained an outside company to perform a comprehensive survey of over 8,000 alums who attended our 5- or 6-day session from 2005-11. We are proud to report that the median class rank of the students who attended Law Preview between 2009-11 was 16%. Compare that to the median rank after the 1L year of law students overall which, by definition, is 50.0%. Here are some additional data points that illustrate how proper preparation -- and top first-year grades -- can influence a student's academic and professional career:
Law Preview's Effect During Law School
- The median class rank of 2009-11 Law Preview students was 16%.
- 99% of the students said the course met or exceeded their expectations and would recommend it to other incoming law students.
- 69% of our students said that Law Preview positively affected their 1L performance
- 39% of Law Preview students finished in the top 10% of their 1L class.
- 57% of Law Preview students finished in the top 20% of their 1L class.
- 60% of Law Preview students were invited to participate on a law review or journal during their 2L or 3L years.
- 60% of Law Preview students were invited to participate in a summer associate/clerkship program during the summer after their 2L year.
- 33% of Law Preview students served as teaching or research assistants to professors during law school.
- 8% of Law Preview students transferred to a higher ranking law school as a 2L.
Law Preview's Effect On Graduation, Bar Passage & Employment
- 96% of Law Preview students entering law school in 2005-2009 had graduated on time.
- 95% of Law Preview students who took the bar exam had passed in their jurisdiction.
- 76% of Law Preview students who graduated from law school were offered employment in the legal services industry or a clerkship within 9 months of graduation.
We thought it would be interesting to track down our former students and find out what they did with their legal career after graduation -- and many have gone on to do some pretty amazing things.
Our Alums clerk (and have clerked) at all levels of the federal and state judiciaries, from state and federal trial courts all the way to state supreme courts and the US Supreme Court. They work (and have worked) at nearly every Top 100 law firm, while others have started their own solo practices. Others work (and have worked) on Wall Street and in Silicon Valley in both legal and non-legal capacities.
Interested in a career at the Department of Justice, federal and state prosecutors' and public defenders' offices, the Federal Trade Commission, the Securities & Exchange Commission, the US Senate, the US House of Representatives, a State Attorney General's Office, a Governor's Office, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Labor, the Social Security Administration, or in the Judge Advocate General Corps? Law Preview Alums have experience in positions in each of these areas of government.
Law Preview Alums also work (or have worked) in the professional sports and entertainment industries, serving as agents and talent managers for professional athletes and Hollywood actors and studios.
Many LP Alums serve (or have served) in legal and non-legal capacities at non-profits that are helping to change the world.
Below are just a few of our former students who have agreed to be profiled and reflect on how Law Preview positioned them for a successful legal career:
David Abrams
- Fellow, Harvard Law School
- Harvard Law School
Blake Bailey
- Associate, McKool Smith P.C.
- Stanford Law School
Matt Bailey
- Gov't/Legislative Aide & Entrepreneur
- George Washington Univ. Law School
Steven Baker
- Associate, McGuireWoods LLP
- Wake Forest Univ. School of Law
Joanna Bettis
- George Mason Univ. Law School
- Harvard Law School
Heather Bloom
- Associate, Kirkland & Ellis LLP
- George Washington Univ. Law School
Christopher Carbot
- Associate, Greenberg Traurig LLP
- Florida Int'l Univ. School of Law
Anajali Chitre
- Associate, WilmerHale LLP
- Boston Univ. School of Law
Kevin Collins
- Associate, Baker Botts LLP
- Univ. of Texas Law School
Zachary Craft
- Associate, Baker Botts LLP
- Columbia Univ. Law School
Sarah Curtis
- Associate, Patton Boggs LLP
- Roger Williams Univ. School of Law
Nafia Tasmin Din
- Associate, Bingham McCutchen LLP
- Northeastern Univ. School of Law
Dimitri Dubé
- Associate, Vinson & Elkins LLP
- New York Univ. School of Law
Courtney Ervin
- Associate, Andrews Kurth LLP
- Univ. of Houston Law Center
Lindsey Hansen
- Associate, McGuireWoods LLP
- USC School of Law
Glenwood Hill
- Associate, Bracewell & Giuliani, LLP
- Univ. of Texas School of Law
Stephanie Holcombe
- Associate, Porter Hedges, LLP
- South Texas College of Law
M. Renee Huff
- Partner, ITL Law, P.C.
- Univ. of Minnesota School of Law
Matthew Johnson
- Associate, Vinson & Elkins LLP
- Univ. of Texas School of Law
Valentin Leppert
- Associate, King & Spalding LLP
- Mercer Univ. School of Law
Jonathan Letzring
- Associate, King & Spalding LLP
- Emory Univ. School of Law
Jason Plowman
- Associate, Littler Mendelson, P.C.
- Washington Univ. School of Law
Ben Richman
- Associate, Eldelson McGuire, LLC
- John Marshal Law School (Chicago)
Joseph Rindone
- Associate, Baker & McKenzie, LLP
- Rutgers Law School, Camden
Alejandro Ruiz
- Associate, Kirkland & Ellis, LLP
- Harvard Law School
Gabriella Ryan
- Professor, Southwestern Law School
- USC School of Law
Luke Scheuer
- Professor, Boston Univ. Law School
- Boston College Law School
Stephan Selenidis
- Associate, Harrison, Bettis, Staff, McFarland & Weems, LLP
- South Texas College of Law
David Thompson
- Former Law Clerk, U.S. Supreme Court
- Associate, Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP
- Stanford Law School
Jorge Torres
- CEO, Plexmarkets
- Univ. of Pennsylvania Law School
Bobak Vazeen
- Associate, McGuireWoods LLP
- Wake Forest Univ. School of Law
Simply put, to suggest that Law Preview is a wise investment in one's legal education is a gross understatement. Truly a 1L boot camp, the program not only demystifies many of the core concepts encountered during the first-year experience, but provides its students with an accessible, comprehensive approach to thriving in an environment where most are content to merely survive. From substantive doctrinal lectures to guidelines for time management and approaches to studying, Law Preview leaves not a single component uncovered. Having participated in Law Preview's 2006 Miami session, I was able to hit the ground running to start my legal career, and have not stopped running since. Many, many thanks to Don and company for delivering such a phenomenal program.
I have had a great run in my legal career and I honestly feel that Law Preview was crucial to my trajectory of success. Not only did the class give me a good overview of the substantive law I would study during the first year, but it also gave me a great road map that allowed me to navigate the challenges I faced in law school so I could get the most out of that experience. I recommend Law Preview wholeheartedly to anyone who is contemplating law school. Sure, it's about $1000, but it's a great investment when you consider how much law school costs and how much first-year grades matter. For example, after graduation, I went and worked at a large law firm and those types of employers often only hire the top 10-25% of students from the very best law schools. Now you may not want to work at a large law firm -- and that's fine -- but at this point in your legal career you need to do everything you can to insure that you'll have as many career options as possible. Law Preview provides you with the opportunity to make those choices and not have choices thrust upon you.
Attending Law Preview was probably the best investment I ever made. It taught me how to study and prepare during law school having a direct impact on my grades and, in turn, job opportunities. Thanks to Law Preview, I finished my first year of law school in the top 10% of my class opening the door to job opportunities I would not have otherwise had, including my job now at Andrews Kurth LLP. At Andrews Kurth, I have a promising career practicing commercial litigation primarily defending large corporations in multi-million-dollar breach of contract and business tort litigation. I can honestly say that I do not believe I would have this practice today if it were not for my participation in Law Preview.
I heard from friends and family that first-year grades were the key to success in the legal job market. I knew I had to work hard, but I had no idea how to work smart. I searched for law school prep programs and found Law Preview. I cannot even imagine what law school would have been like without the week I spent in the Law Preview program. I went to school prepared to work hard and smart, got great grades, made law review, and was lucky enough to land a federal court clerkship. I am very, very grateful to Don and his team for the way they run the Law Preview program and for the opportunities I've been given as a result of my participation in it.