I took the Bar in Feb 2008 and got the results last night and
passed on the first shot using Celebration. If you want an honest
assessment, here goes.
First, purely objective stuff:
1) I went to Concord, so am of the online ilk. There is no
question that doing law school online is a different experience
than brick and mortar.
2) I took Celebration because two of the three lawyers in an
office I am closely associated with took his course. One went to
a Canadian law school. All three of us passed the bar on the
first shot.
3) I know of another classmate who took the course and passed on
the first shot.
4) As far as I can tell, the Celebration pass rates are very high.
Considering that the overall pass rate is about 40-50% and his
pass rate is in the mid 80's, and considering that most students
take a review class, this says something
Now for the subjective:
1) Jackson will tell you things like they are and not like you
want to hear. For me, I needed someone to be appropriately firm
with me to keep me focused. That focus was a tremendous help in
the end and when I was taking the exam, it was almost like in the
Karate Kid. You don't seem to understand why you do some things,
but when the pressure is on, it all clicks.
2) Jackson is not your mother. He expects you to follow the
course and choosing not to do so substantially affects your pass
rate. I wonder if the students who failed followed the course.
When I took the class, even though some of the methods seemed
unconventional, I committed to putting aside my own beliefs and
following one who has the statistics to back up the method.
3) I travel more than 100 nights a year and have a very heavy work
schedule. His longer, less intense approach works well and I did
not feel like I had to cram at the end. I started at a slower
review pace in august.
4) Using Celebration, it is not as effective if you wait till the
last minute.
5) The materials were superb and I thought the lectures were as
good as can be expected from bar review lectures. I used no other
materials other than a few crunchtime books I had been comfortable
with my whole law school time. In reality, I didn't need them.
6) It is true that the writing method is different. It takes a
while to let go of the IRAC structure they beat into our brain
which nobody actually uses in the real world. Just like with the
force, you have to let go and trust the method. At first it is
tough, but practicing does really work.
7) Had I failed the test, it would not have been because of
Celebration's methods. It would have been because a) I thought I
knew better and didn't listen b) I didn't put in enough time c) my
education was inadequate or d) I just failed under pressure. With
that, I would have gone down the path with Celebration again.
The bar exam is obviously a personal battle for each one of us.
Just like a baseball coach, Jackson doesn't take the test for us.
In the end you simply have to deliver.
The proof as they say is in the pudding. Four for Four of the
people I know including myself.
I hope that is a meaningful review.
On 5/04/08, A. Amandi wrote:
> Being admitted to any jurisdiction doesn't necessarily mean
> you can't transfer "teaching" skills. The question was
> whether or not this company can actually teach anyone to pass
> the Bar.
>
> Also, having "two" classmates having lower scores than other
> students doesn't mean that it will apply to others who employ
> their methods.
>
> My former classmate recently took his course and swears by it
> (although the CA bar results for Feb. do not come out until
> May 16th) and I've heard numerous people out there who swear
> by Celebration's methods. And their Bar passage rates speak
> volumes.
>
> However, I want to hear some more opinions. Is there ANYONE
> out there who has an HONEST opinion of this place? A
> legitimate opinion? I'm wondering too.
>
> On 4/19/08, Concerned wrote:
>> Ask the guy who runs this course if he is admitted to any
>> bar that he is teaching. :)
>>
>> On 3/12/08, Alvin wrote:
>>> Be very careful in considering a bar review from this
>>> Florida resident who runs coffee shops. Two students from
>>> my graduating class took the course failed the bar exam.
>>> What was most telling is that their scores were
>>> substantially lower than others who had failed. It seems
>>> that the guy who teaches this bar review has a hang-up
>>> about IRAC and instead instructs his student to re-write
>>> the relevant facts and then argue those facts. You waste
>> a
>>> lot of time copying facts which are not considered in the
>>> grading. Of course, the people at Celebration will tell
>>> you otherwise but, they've never graded a single exam for
>>> any test. Pure speculation which costs the students
>>> dearly; they have to retake the bar exam!
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