(239) 687-5300
Bar Preparation Courses
Ave Maria School Of Law Offers An Innovative In-House Bar Prep Program Taught And Supervised By Professors Brittney Riordan and Margaret Antonino.
Ave Maria School of Law continues to adapt to the latest updates to the bar exam, including changes made by the Florida Board of Bar Examiners and the expected rollout of the NextGen Bar Exam in Uniform Bar Exam jurisdictions in 2026. In addition, we continue to reinforce and expand upon our bar preparation resources so that every graduate has all he or she needs to pass the bar exam and enter the legal profession as a force for good.
Bar Prep Strategies
Goal: To adequately train and fully prepare students for the Florida and out-of-state bar examinations.
Program Components and Bar Prep Strategies: For-Credit Bar Review Courses and a Supplemental Bar Preparation Program.
Ave Maria School of Law offers additional resources to further assist third-year students in preparing for the bar examination of their choice. After graduation, Ave Maria will provide programs to supplement your commercial bar review course.
In addition, the required courses offered include:
- Advanced Legal Analysis-Multistate – 4 credit hours (required for all third-year students)
This course focuses on instilling specific test-taking strategies essential to success on the Multistate Bar Exam (“MBE”). Skills covered include exploring how typical MBE questions are constructed and how they can contain traps for the test-taker, as well as how to avoid those traps.
- Advanced Essay Writing – 2 credit hours (required for most students taking a bar exam in a state other than Florida)
This course focuses on instilling advanced essay writing techniques for timed essay questions similar to those found on most state bar examinations.
- Florida Legal Practice – 2 credit hours (required for most students taking the Florida bar exam)
This course focuses on Florida-specific essay writing and multiple-choice questions.
Outside of the commercial bar courses, Ave Students can attend afternoon workshops covering multi-state subjects as well as subjects unique to Florida bar-takers. We will give students the chance to write practice essays and receive extensive feedback on both their organization and substance. These workshops typically take place twice a week during bar preparation. In addition, students can take in-person practice exams. Students can also sign-up for individual tutoring sessions. These resources are meant to supplement, not substitute for, a typical commercial bar preparation course that students take while studying for the bar after graduation.
Ave Maria School of Law offers an unprecedented effort to prepare its graduates to succeed in the bar exam. The Bar Preparation Department offers mandatory and elective courses during the 2L and 3L years, extending into Bar Exam preparation after graduation.
Ave Maria School of Law continues to reinforce and expand upon our bar preparation resources so that every graduate has all he or she needs to pass the bar exam and enter the legal profession as a force for good.
Progression of Study
First Year
During your first year at Ave Maria, you will receive extensive information about the nuts and bolts of the exam—how to apply, when to apply, how to deal with character and fitness requirements, and a host of other topics relating to the procedural requirements of the various state boards of bar examiners. Perhaps more important, you will be introduced, in your doctrinal classes, to the substance of the Bar Exam and will gain experience in answering bar-like test questions, both essay and multiple choice. This experience will serve you well as you make your final push to the Bar Exam after graduation.
Second Year
In your second year you will have the opportunity to take a for-credit course called Common Law Synthesis that will review and solidify your knowledge of the subjects that will appear on the Multistate Bar Exam. In some ways, this course represents the formal beginning of your intensive bar preparation.
Third Year
Things get even more interesting in your third year with several required bar preparation courses. In Advanced Legal Analysis (4 credits) you will study each of the 7 Multistate Bar Examination subjects by participating in class lectures, completing weekly multiple-choice-question quizzes, and sitting for timed practice exams. You will also be required to take either Advanced Bar Essay Writing, or Florida Legal Practice (2 credits each). The former will polish your essay-writing skills through extensive practice, and the latter will prepare you for the Florida-specific subjects for those students sitting for the Florida Bar. Throughout the third year, Assitant Professors of Academic Success and Bar Preparation will be available for individual tutoring of students seeking additional bar prep assistance.
Post-Graduation
Students perform better on the bar exam when they create a study environment conducive to focused and intense concentration. Such, an environment is often difficult to attain when students study in a comfortable, home environment. As such, we will take several steps to encourage bar takers to do the bulk of their studies on-campus where they have access to classrooms for attending bar lectures and workshops, and a library well suited to efficient and undistracted studying.
The following programs will be available to all graduates, whether they sit for the February or July bar exams:
- Commercial Bar Review Courses. (BARBRI). These will run for 10 weeks, including videotaped lectures.
- Bar Review Workshops. These workshops, usually twice per week, will cover both multi-state and Florida-specific topics.
- Individual Tutoring. Students can sign-up for individual tutoring sessions in one-hour blocks beginning immediately after graduation up to the day of the bar examination.
For more information contact the Bar Prep team:
jGenerazzo@avemarialaw.edu (239) 687-5367
Education: J.D., 2005, Suffolk University Law School, cum laude; B.A., 2001, English, Suffolk University, magna cum laude
Courses: Legal Case Analysis and Skills Enrichment, Applied Critical Thinking and Legal Analysis
Director Program for Academic Success and Bar Preparation
Jamie Generazzo
jgenerazzo@avemarialaw.edu
(239) 687-5367
briordan@avemarialaw.edu (239) 687-5348
Education: J.D., 2017, Ave Maria School of Law, summa cum laude; B.A., 2014, University of Florida, cum laude
Courses: Advanced Legal Analysis, Florida Legal Practice, Common Law Synthesis, and Advanced Essay Writing.
Assistant Professor Academic Success & Bar Preparation
Brittney Riordan
briordan@avemarialaw.edu
(239) 687-5348
Education: J.D. 2015, Ave Maria School of Law, Magna Cum Lade; BA, 2012, Financial Economics, University of Maine at Orono, Cum Lade.
Courses: Advanced Legal Analysis, Common Law Synthesis, and Advanced Essay Writing
Professional Experience
Professor Antonino has worked as litigation counsel since 2015, and was a Partner at a multi-state civil defense firm representing hospitals, Doctors, property owners, and construction companies in New York, New Jersey and Florida.
Assistant Professor Academic Success & Bar Preparation
Margaret Antonino
mantonino@avemarialaw.edu
(239) 687-5356
Professor Kate Shaffer
Prior to joining the Ave Maria School of Law faculty, Professor Shaffer practiced corporate law as in-house counsel in the manufacturing industry for 12 years. She earned a B.A. in Economics and International Studies from Northwestern University and a J.D. from Southern Illinois University School of Law. After law school, Professor Shaffer clerked for a judge on the Illinois Appellate Court and served as a state prosecutor in Illinois. She is an active member of the Sanibel community and is the President of the Sanibel School Fund, the foundation supporting enrichment programs at The Sanibel School.
Assistant Professor Academic Success & Bar Preparation
Kate Shaffer
kshaffer@avemarialaw.edu
239.687.5371