I just found out that I passed the February 2014 bar exam and I have Steven to thank for that! Before working with Steven, I struggled terribly with the California Bar Exam. I work at a large firm and had been practicing in another jurisdiction for about 8 years before moving to California. I have two very young kids, I was working full time and I hadn’t taken a Bar Exam in over 8 years. I really had no idea what I was in for until I failed the test.
I heard about Steven and his tutoring program through word-of-mouth and my decision to work with Steven before this last exam was one of the best decisions that I made! I worked with Steven for about three months and focused on the essays and the PTs (since I was only required to take the attorneys’ exam). Steven’s tutoring program is very structured, but manageable, and I really needed that. His schedule of writing one essay and outlining one essay every single day, kept me on track for this last exam. Also, Steven had me write one full PT at least once a week and would give me detailed feedback on where I went wrong, what I needed to do to accumulate more points, and how to better manage my time on each PT. One of the most beneficial components of Steven’s tutoring program was the constructive feedback on my practice essays and PTs. I met with Steven once a week at Hastings to go over the essays/PTs that I had turned in the previous week. Steven’s feedback was honest and very detailed. There was no “grade inflation” at all. Another key component to the tutoring program that really helped me was the WINNIN’ TIME! and The Trigger List books. Steven’s approach is to have you write your practice essays “open book” in 70 minutes. WINNIN’ TIME! is a single volume book that includes manageable outlines for all of the subjects tested on the bar exam. What makes it so helpful is that the rules you need to write in your essay answers on the exam are included right there in the book! Also, The Trigger List became essential once we got closer to the exam and undertook Steven’s “Essay Review Week.” During that week, I reviewed numerous sample essay questions and answers so that I could see exactly what issues I needed to spot to write a passing answer. After a grueling “Memorization Week,” I felt prepared for the exam.
Even being prepared for the exam, I still felt that it was a difficult test. In particular, there were two essay questions that were very challenging for me. I defaulted to Steven’s “requires…because” language and did exactly what he told me to do and I passed! Steven and his tutoring program were instrumental in helping me pass the February exam and I am very appreciative for that.
Thank you Steven for all of your help! — Heather S., Esq., passed the February 2014 California Bar Examination