Programs for foreign-trained attorneys, retakers and first-timers
Mary Campbell Gallagher, J.D., Ph.D., Lecturer and Consultant 

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Dear Bar Candidate,

I am Dr. Mary Campbell Gallagher, the founder and president of BarWrite^®. I am here to answer your questions, and to ask you a few of my own. If you came to BarWrite.com because you have heard about my Under-Here-Therefore™ legal writing system for the Bar Exam essays and you think my book and CDs called Scoring High on Bar Exam Essays might help you, or because you are concerned that you may not be on the right track preparing for the New York Bar Exam, or because you need help with the Multistate Bar Exam (MBE) or the Performance Test (MPT), then you’re in the right place. We can also help you, if you simply want information about hiring one of our experienced bar exam tutors.

The Bar Exam is a high-stress, high-stakes marathon, and I know how you feel.

I passed the New York Bar Exam myself in July of 1989, and I had passed the California and Massachusetts Bar Exams before that. Since the winter of 1988-89, using my own experience, and my training in law, logic, and linguistics, I have been helping candidates to pass the Bar Exam. What is my training? I am a graduate of Harvard Law School, and I earned a Ph.D. in linguistics at the University of Illinois. I am a member of the Bar in Massachusetts and Washington, D.C. 

Whether you are a first-time bar exam taker or a retaker, I am sure you can succeed.

But you may be asking yourself, “Where do I start?” If you feel like you’ve got too much to do and too little time, I have some suggestions.

First, make sure you get the free booklet, as our gift to you, on "How to Raise Your Scores on the Bar Exam Essays." Second, whether you are taking Barbri or Pieper as your main Bar Exam review course, whether you are an American J.D. or a foreign attorney, whether you are going to enroll in one of our BarWrite courses or not, I suggest you start by signing up for BarWrite's Free Bar Exam Teleseminars. You should also be taking a look at the contents of BarWrite’s supplemental 10-Day Group Coaching Group. The information and skills we teach in that course are key. And for extra attention from an experienced coach, you can work with one of our bar exam tutors.

Does the New York Bar Exam require different information and skills from law school?

I don't want to scare you, but the answer is yes. You do not want me to tell you that the New York Bar Exam is a snap; you know that cannot possibly be true. No matter where you went to law school or how well you did, preparing for the New York Bar Exam is tough.

To pass the New York Bar Exam or any state's Bar Exam, you need a disciplined mastery of a great deal of basic black letter law.  If you are taking the New York Bar Exam, be aware that this exam is not just issue-spotting like some law school exams. If you were in the bottom half of your law school class, the New York Bar Exam essays may be a special challenge for you, because you just may not know enough black letter law. Moreover, you may not have a good system for acquiring more black letter law, and the study systems you used in law school may take up too much time with too little payoff.  All of our BarWrite Essay Boot Camps and our 10-Day Group Coaching Group support you in developing efficient study systems and in memorizing the most important basic black letter law for the New York Bar Exam. They focus on the most-frequently-tested law. On Graduation Day for our 10-Day Group Coaching Group we even have a competition called the “World Cup of Memorization.” Take a look at Christine Champey’s testimonial for an enthusiastic report. It’s a lot of fun. (By the way, Ms. Champey won the World Cup of Memorization!)

Develop your lawyer-like speed-writing skills…

The New York Bar Exam also requires the ability to turn out a lawyer-like essay in 45 minutes. My book “Scoring High on Bar Exam Essays” and the companion “Scoring High” CDs will help you develop the special kind of lawyer-like speed writing you’ll need for the New York Bar Exam. The book and CDs teach my trademarked Under-Here-Therefore™ essay-writing method, which the St. John’s Law School Forum said “is the best money you can spend on bar exam preparation.”

The Scoring High on Bar Exam Essays book & CDs may be just what you need, and you can order them right here.

We also offer an intensive 3-Day Boot Camp for the essay portion of the New York Bar Exam. We focus on the New York Bar Exam essay portion in our 10-Day Group Coaching Group, too. You receive special New York Bar Exam essay materials, including both law and essay answers in Under-Here-Therefore™ format for every essay day you are present in class. We know that you are worried about feeling confused when you sit down to write your Bar Exam essays, so we teach you how to organize and write lawyer-like essays, and we teach you how to manage your time, so you will go into the exam feeling confident. You need practice to become competent, so we give you many practice essays, with answers in the Under-Here-Therefore™ format. Rest assured, you’ll get plenty of practice.

Let me explain one difference between the 3-Day New York Essay Boot Camp and the 10-Day Group
Coaching School.

The 3-Day Essay Boot Camp is what we call “High Intensity and Low Touch.”  In the Boot Camp, we move fast, fast, fast. You will correct your own essays and those of other students.

By contrast, the 10-Day Group Coaching Group is “High Touch.” In it you receive direct feedback on your essays from our TAs, who by the way are all practicing New York lawyers.

The New York Bar Exam requires such sound mastery of the law that you must be able to answer very difficult multiple-choice questions under time pressure in the Multistate Bar Exam (MBE). The MBE causes trouble for many Bar candidates, including many who have done very well in law school. Fortunately, we have a trademarked BarWrite study method for the MBE too! BarWrite’s 10-Day Group Coaching Group includes instruction in our study systems, and also personal attention in using the study systems. You will meet twice on the telephone with your own personal mentor for the MBE, a practicing lawyer who understands the challenges you face, and who will guide you in applying the MBE study systems.

Our methods have helped people raise their scores on the MBE by 20 questions or more.

The New York Bar Exam also requires you to have real mastery of New York law, and to perform well on the 50 New York multiple-choice questions. All of our BarWrite classes help you work on that. And so, of course, does working with one of our experienced bar exam tutors.

Finally, something that affects 27 states, not just New York, is the Multistate Performance Test (the MPT). The MPT requires good skills at “office lawyering” and keen time-management, so that within 90 minutes you are able to complete whatever law office task the bar examiners throw at you. It could be writing a memo, a brief, a letter… anything. The good news about the MPT is that it doesn’t require you know any particular area of law. But you do have to be able to manage your time and follow directions. We teach you the Gallagher/BarWrite MPT-Matrix™ method for the MPT, and it works! This is the method that will appear in my new book Perform Your Best on the Bar Exam Performance Test (MPT). You can order your own pre-publication copy.

If you are a first-time Bar Exam taker, let’s look at whether you should take a supplemental course like the BarWrite Boot Camps or the 10-Day Coaching Group, in addition to your regular bar exam review class.

Think about it. Essay writing can account for 50 percent (or more) of your Bar Exam score, and yet so many of even the best Bar Exam review courses don’t teach you how to write lawyer-like essays.

In the BarWrite schools and my highly-acclaimed book “Scoring High on Bar Exam Essays” you get step-by-step instruction, using course materials on how to score high on the New York Bar Exam Essays. Are you a Foreign Attorney? If you were trained as a lawyer abroad, I strongly recommend the 10-Day Group Coaching Group as a supplement to whatever bar review course you are taking. We understand the differences in writing style between law practice in the United States and law practice in other countries, whether common law or civil law. We also recognize that in some cases, your education may actually give you an advantage over American JDs, especially if you can memorize efficiently.

Now you may be thinking, with all this course work, books, daily materials, TAs, and personal coaching… how much does all of this cost?

We offer early enrollment discounts, so if you act quickly, you can save money. Even if you wait until the day of the class, and you come running in with credit card in hand and steam pouring out of your ears, the entire 10-Day Group Coaching Group costs only $2277.  If you enroll early, it can be much less. And the three-day Boot Camps have their own early enrollment discounts available.

Interested in 1-on-1 work with a bar exam tutor?

My assistants and I work one-on-one with a few bar candidates on a select basis. Click here for details and eligibility to work with our bar exam tutors.

Want to start preparing for the Bar Exam Essays right now?

Get the highly-acclaimed book & CD Combo Scoring High on Bar Exam Essays. You'll learn the strategies you need to write high-scoring bar exam essays. Complete with In-Depth Strategies and Essay-Writing That Bar Exam Review Courses Don't Offer! Taking the bar exam is a challenge for everyone.  When you meet that challenge, you and your family will feel tremendous pride.

Wishing you the greatest success on the bar exam!

Mary Campbell Gallagher, J.D. (Harvard), Ph.D.

P.S. Remember to you get your free booklet, as our gift to you,
on How to Raise Your Scores on the Bar Exam Essays.