This course is exam focused.
Whilst this course is not designed to teach you how to be a brilliant barrister, it is designed to teach you how to pass the bar exam so that you can become a brilliant barrister.
We teach you:
- What to study
- What not to study
- What to memorise
- What not to memorise
- And how to minimise what you memorise
Ethics, Practice & Procedure and Evidence are taught as three distinct subject areas.
Always student focused, feedback is collected at the end of each course, enabling the course to be improved and updated every year. Since the first course in 2014, more than 200 candidates have been prepared for the NSW bar exam.
When Peter was 10, he saw Gough Whitlam dressed in wig and robe, and from that moment he knew that he wanted to go to the bar. After completing high school Peter enrolled in law at Sydney uni, only to find that one talking head and 600 students was not his preferred mode of learning.
So, he studied music and education at the New South Wales state conservatorium of music, after which he taught at Mt Druitt, Blacktown, for 11 years, followed by 5 years as Head of Music at SCEGGS Darlinghurst.
After a successful 16-year teaching career, including university lecturing and 3 years on the HSC examination committee for music, Peter followed his first love and studied law.
After completing his JD in 2.5 years, as Peter was completing his last law subject at uni in the January, he began studying for the bar exam. Peter sat the bar exam in the February, found out he had passed in the March, and was admitted as a lawyer in the April.
Peter went straight to the bar from uni. As a result, in his first year, he had no legal experience and not many clients. but he did know how to teach.
As word spread about Peter’s rise from uni to the bar, people would contact him and ask for assistance in passing the exam. After 6 or 7 students contacting him and Peter sharing his philosophy with them over a light lunch, he initially planned to write a book to assist future students, but decided to put his knowledge into a course which then could be updated each year.
The NSW Bar Exam Is Not Just A Test Of Knowledge
Many candidates preparing for the NSW Bar Exam believe the key to passing is to study more, memorise more, and read more cases.
But the NSW Bar Exam is not just a test of how much you know. It is a test of how well you perform under exam conditions.
The exam rewards candidates who can identify legal issues quickly, structure answers clearly, apply the law to the facts, manage time effectively, and answer the question the examiner is actually asking.
These are exam skills. And exam skills can be learned.
This Bar Exam preparation course focuses on exam technique, exam strategy, and how to turn your knowledge into marks in the NSW Bar Exam.
Bar Exam Strategy: Issue Spotting, Answer Structure And Time Management
To pass the NSW Bar Exam, candidates need more than knowledge of Ethics, Practice & Procedure and Evidence. They need a clear and structured approach to answering exam questions under time pressure.
This course teaches candidates:
- A structured method for answering Bar Exam problem questions
- How to identify and prioritise the key issues in complex fact scenarios
- How to structure answers so they are clear, logical and easy to assess
- How to manage time under exam conditions
- How to prioritise what to study and avoid unnecessary work
- What must be known from memory and what can be used from your materials
- How to use an open book exam to your advantage
- How Bar Exam answers are marked and where marks are awarded
- The common mistakes that cause capable candidates to fail
The focus of this course is not just on learning the law, but on learning how to perform in the exam.
Developed By A Teacher, Examiner And Barrister
This course was developed by a barrister with a background in teaching and examination setting.
Before coming to the Bar, Peter taught for many years, worked as a university lecturer in education, and served on an examination committee responsible for writing public examinations.
This experience provided a detailed understanding of how examinations are designed, how exam questions are written, how exam papers are assessed, and how candidates can perform effectively under exam conditions.
This course is based on that experience and focuses on helping candidates develop a structured and effective approach to the NSW Bar Exam.
A Structured Approach To Passing The NSW Bar Exam
Many candidates believe the Bar Exam is about how much you know.
In reality, the Bar Exam is about how well you can apply what you know under exam conditions.
Candidates who pass are usually not the candidates who memorise the most, but the candidates who understand how the exam works, how marks are awarded, and how to structure answers clearly and efficiently.
The difference between passing and failing is often not knowledge, the difference is strategy.
Frequently Asked Questions About The NSW Bar Exam
The NSW Bar Exam is challenging because it tests not only legal knowledge but also exam technique, time management and the ability to apply the law to complex fact scenarios under time pressure
The NSW Bar Exam pass rate is often relatively low, which is why many candidates look for a structured approach to exam preparation that focuses on exam technique and performance.
Many candidates find that studying for the Bar Exam is more effective when they understand how the exam works, how marks are awarded, and how to structure answers before they begin intensive memorisation.
Yes, the NSW Bar Exam is an open book exam. However, because of time pressure, candidates need to know their materials well and have a clear system for finding and applying the relevant law quickly.
The NSW Bar Exam covers three subject areas:
- Ethics
- Practice & Procedure
- Evidence
Each subject requires a different exam approach and answer structure.
Disclaimer
This course is not run by the NSW Bar Association or accredited/endorsed by the NSW Bar Association, and is independent of bar exam tutorials; bar exam preparation tutori-als; NSW bar exam; NSW bar examination; NSW bar exam tutorials; NSW bar examination tutorials.
This course is not affiliated with the UTS bar preparation course; UTS bar exam course; UTS bar exam preparation course; UTS bar preparation program; UTS bar preparation programme; UTS BPP; UTS bar prep course; UTS bar course; LAW17002; LAW17002 bar preparation program; LAW16004; NSW bar exam preparation; ethics; practice and pro-cedure; practice & procedure; evidence; LAW16005; ABN 70 657 814 947