I find this interesting when looking at online schools...

[calgal27]

I notice that most of these schools have an agreement with Fleming's or some other company that requires its students to buy their materials.  I was looking at AISOL.  You are required to buy Fleming's Legal Essay Workshop which is $260 on cd.  For that, you will be required to write the 6 essays that come with the workshop that will be critiqued by (I am assuming) Fleming.

Now, I have been able to find the workshop CDs of an older version.  As with law books, nothing really changes and you can use older books plus everything is online.  So, I contacted the school and asked if I could use the older version.  I was told I could, but the essays would not be critiqued by "him." 

The school also requires you to purchase criminal law books by one of the professors and those you can't find used anywhere.

Do you think this is fair?  I mean, I am pretty confident in my legal writing abilities but if I am paying for tuition and part of that goes for someone to critique my essays, then my essays should be looked at.  If the idea is to review essays, does it matter which ones?

[Maintain FL 350]

I can't speak to the Fleming's issue because I'm not familiar with program. I don't know if an older version is as good as a newer version. Maybe there are specific changes the school wants to address or something. Or, maybe not.

As far as textbooks, it's fairly common for professors to require you to buy their own book especially if it's an upper level class on some sort of specific topic like International Law or California Mediation and Arbitration, etc. I think it's less common for the first year classes, where pretty much everybody is just going to use Prosser on Torts for example.

[Groundhog]

As far as textbooks, it's fairly common for professors to require you to buy their own book especially if it's an upper level class on some sort of specific topic like International Law or California Mediation and Arbitration, etc. I think it's less common for the first year classes, where pretty much everybody is just going to use Prosser on Torts for example.

I had Epstein, but I'd agree as far as the rest, if the professor actually wrote the book.

That sounds dissimilar to OP's situation, in which the school has basically contracted out a casebook and essay review service.

[🍟💵🌲🍥]

Honestly just go to an ABA law school. This would be the lowest ranked of the reasons why IMHO, but par for the course too.

[Duncanjp]

I don't know about other programs, but online schools endorse Fleming, I suspect, because his materials are tailor-made for independent study. I enjoyed listening to his CDs while commuting during law school and while preparing for the bar. He's a snappy lecturer - a lot easier to endure than the Sleepytime Bar Review audio that some others produce. Never attended any of his writing workshops. His outlines are comprehensive, if wordy, but they always have a good checklist of issues to memorize for exams and two or three essays with model answers at the end that illustrate how to write about the major areas of the subject.

[legalpractitioner]

Don't dis Fleming, without Fleming I wouldn't have passed the bar most likely.

[🍟💵🌲🍥]

Don't dis Fleming, without Fleming I wouldn't have passed the bar most likely.

Not sure if that is true, but honestly most ABA grads could sit it with a 12 hour prep the week before and pass it IMHO.

[Maintain FL 350]

Not sure if that is true, but honestly most ABA grads could sit it with a 12 hour prep the week before and pass it IMHO.

Really??? Not in CA. Look at how many ABA grads who took BARBRI and other prep courses fail.

[🍟💵🌲🍥]

Not sure if that is true, but honestly most ABA grads could sit it with a 12 hour prep the week before and pass it IMHO.

Really??? Not in CA. Look at how many ABA grads who took BARBRI and other prep courses fail.

I agree that I was exaggerating a bit. But ABA pass rate is literally laps beyond non ABA. Granted some states are easier than others all together.

[Maintain FL 350]

Yeah, I know what you mean and I agree. Pass rates for ABA grads tend to be significantly higher, with a few exceptions. For example, we have a couple of Calbar accredited law schools whose pass rates are pretty much equivalent to T3/T4 ABA schools. Also, out of state ABA grads tend to have relatively low pass rates, even from respected schools.   

This is something I've wondered about:

In my graduating class, I think probably 95% of the class took a bar prep course. Maybe even 100%, I'm not sure. But in someplace like, say South Carolina or Arkansas where the pass rates are higher and the exam is shorter, do plenty of folks just study on their own? Or at this point does pretty much everyone at least take an online BARBRI course?