Pieper Bar Review

Simply this. Pieper People Pass. I would not have passed the NY Bar or felt so prepared if I had not taken Pieper. I just wish they were in other states like California and Louisiana. To anyone who doesn’t like mnemonics or writing your own outline during a lecture, this may not be for you. Me? I don’t remember by filling in the blanks of an outline (eh hem Barbri). The classes had the right amount of humor and everyone at Pieper including the family are knowledgeable about the law and getting you to pass the bar exam. I was not a straight A student in law school but when I walked out of the Convention Center after taking the bar, I thought well that wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. Why? I was well-​prepared by Pieper. Put in the time and you’ll pass, regardless of your GPA in law school.

I highly recommend Pieper Bar Review. I took Barbri and failed on my first attempt with the New York bar exam. Pieper is far more concise in terms of focusing on what will be tested on the exam. The outlines that I produced from their lectures were gold. I’m not a person who learns anything from a lecture. I have to process my own outlines and teach the material to myself. Pieper does a great job of providing all that you need to pass. Barbri, on the other hand, burdens students with way too many books. Also, they don’t teach from a hard rule perspective — they provide way too many hypothetical scenarios in the lecture books as opposed to black letter of the law. Barbri is akin to a shotgun; Pieper is a sniper rifle.
As the other reviews mention, Pieper has plenty of mnemonics — you’ll use those that you find helpful, and those that you don’t. Also, Pieper does work you very hard, but let’s face it, passing the bar is hard work.
The course is taught by the founder of the business — John Pieper and his sons, Troy and Damien. John tends to talk very fast during lectures which requires considerable rewinding of the lecture tape (at least, that was my experience). Otherwise, the trio are great at their craft.
I highly recommend Pieper, particularly as I’m now preparing for the Virginia Bar exam and have no choice other than using secondhand Barbri books. (I’m not interested in paying four-​figures to study with local bar courses). Fortunately, having passed both New York and New Jersey exams, I’m better prepared to sift through Barbri’s material to organize it in a professional rule-​driven manner. (Barbri actually refers to money as «dough» and prison as the «slammer» in some their childish hypos. They also use celebrity names in hypos when P and D, or X, Y, Z is much easier to follow). In New York, Pieper explains the law, and when they use hypos, it’s done in a manner to support the law.

What a first class organization and group of people. I took Pieper after first taking Barbri and there is no comparison between the two bar prep companies.
The attention to detail, energy, and knowledge of the subjects that John, Damian and Troy have is what separates them from Barbri as you are not just another student to them as they are there for every student. The classes are very well structured and they are always available to answer any questions and there is a big benefit in having the three of them teach the class as opposed to Barbri which brings in 20+ experts as you are able to get consistency from them and they are always available.
I also did private tutoring with Damian and he was remarkable. He helped me focus on properly structuring my essays and made sure I knew what key points to hit on with every topic. I can’t say enough good things about this company and in closing PEOPLE PASS WITH PIEPER!

I highly recommend Pieper Review. I took BarBri for California and Pieper for NY and Pieper is the superior program. The lecturers are fantastic and the material is comprehensive.

I attend the CUNY School of Law. They force students with a GPA below 3.3 to take a class known as Core Doctrine. It is taught by the Piepers. The class is supposed to prepare us for the bar exam. However, I got nothing out of the class.
There were over 100 students in the class. Each class session consisted of either the elder Pieper or one of his two annoying sons regurgitating rule statements and stupid mnemonics. They never explained how to write the essays or the MPT. In fact, they hardly gave any strategies or feedback. Of course, the smart kids got A’s in the class (Core Doctrine is optional for students with a GPA above 3.3). They’re the people who would’ve passed the bar even if they didn’t take this class. I got a fucking C. This class was a waste of time and did nothing except hurt my GPA.
Don’t be a cheapskate. Take Barbri.

Pieper is worst course you could ever take. I do not have «i failed the bar» bitterness, but I simply attend a school where they force you to take a class with them and it’s the biggest waste of my time ever. The father is the only knowledgeable one, and the two sons are puppets that have no brains of their own and simply read off the script the father gives them. They have no knowledge, they’re rude, they’re boring and I learn nothing from them whatsoever. I listen to Barbri lectures to prep for their exams because my notes are all regurgitated statements. It’s like listening to a machine…“rule: _​_​_​, now skip a line, close parentheses” literally like that. Nothing made up my mind to do bar review with Barbri more than taking this class with Pieper. If you want rude professors who don’t know anything and teach you nothing (Because the dad is never there and the sons are idiots) take Pieper.

The enthusiasm, care, compassion, and information that John Pieper and his sons possess are unparalleled. Although there are many Bar review courses out there, I have felt confident in the instruction that I received from day one until the actual Bar exam. Also, after reviewing with some of my colleagues taking other Bar review courses, I felt as though I was provided with more information that allowed me to earn extra points on the NY essays. Pieper prepared me well for both the NY and NJ Bar exams, both of which I passed. There is no question about it, Pieper is the way to go.

I guess I should start with the obvious that I passed on the first try (February 2012) but even if I didn’t pass I would still write an excellent review. It was amazing how well the course was taught (I took the full course), I was really able to focus on what I needed to remember and in some instances learn for the first time, and even though I really didn’t think I would remember the mnemonics (there’s a lot of them) it’s amazing how it popped into my head while I was taking the exam. John was dead on in terms of predictions for the NY essays which by itself was worth the money, it eased my stress level when I looked at the essays and saw that this was exactly what he discussed in class. the schedule for self study during February helped me to keep going when I was ready to give up and the night before phone call/​pep talk was excellent. As they say Pieper people pass! So glad that I dropped BarBri and took Pieper instead, I would definitely recommend it to all first timers and definitely to all retakers.

I went through Pieper for the February 2012 New York bar exam. I went to law school in DC, and a classmate heard that a lot of students he knew in DC were taking the NY bar and passing using Pieper. I went home and did my research. Needless to say, I hurried and signed up. Yes, it is a lot of work, and I did have a full-​time job. For those that work, if you get behind, you have time to catch up. I read almost every essay and the answers in the NY essay book, since I did not have time to work them. Two days before the bar, i literally read every NY multiple choice quiz and exams Pieper assigned and READ the answers. I carried the outlines for different topics with me everywhere I went and read them in my spare time. I took off the last two weeks of work and gave it all I had. Plus, the mnemonics and predictions were amazing. Pieper told us to know the statute of limitations, and I did. THANK goodness for mnemonics. I will never forget DIMPLE FIB for saving me on SOL when I went blank!!! Plus, every essay, except for one was actually on the prediction list. Thank God I Believed Pieper’s predictions. I PASSED!!!

I took the bar course from May-​July 2011, and PASSED!
Mr. Pieper has been teaching the New York bar-​review course for almost three decades. His two sons, who also teach some of the bar review classes, started learning the law before they entered first grade.
Pieper notes are thorough (but not overwhelming) and are taught in such a way that you can prepare an outline as you type. Being more thorough than the competitors, their classes are longer (which for me was a plus). It is worth staying an extra hour in class knowing that you are better prepared. Their numerous examples simplify the complex legal concepts which we, as law students, struggled with during law school or did not even learn (because we did not take certain classes, etc.).
The other thing I loved about Pieper Bar Review is that the Piepers and their staff promptly respond to questions via telephone or email. They also require students to write a dozen or so practice essays which are graded by attorneys working at Pieper who also provide feedback on how to improve essay writing skills. Learning how to write bar exam essays is crucial to passing the bar; and Pieper Bar Review dedicates a great amount of time to teaching those skills.
When taking the class, you realize that not only you are learning from the best (when it comes to learning New York and New Jersey law), but you are also dealing with amazing people. Speaking for myself and my friends taking the class this past summer, I can easily say that the Piepers became part of our family and us part of theirs. As insane as this may sound, I loved seeing Mr. Pieper almost every night, making the painful bar exam learning experience much more easier.
I have friends who have taken Mr. Pieper’s class about a decade ago, and they recommended it. I recommend this same course to anyone I would encounter who is looking to take the bar. It is money well-​invested. It is your future; keep it in good hands.