Wednesday’s Rundown: Bar Study Firm Fined for False Claims; New Harbor Commission President Named

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Barwinners, a Santa Monica company that offers online courses to law students studying for the bar exam, has been ordered to pay $130,000 in restitution and fines after making false claims about the percentage of its customers who passed the crucial exam.

Barwinners claimed 94 percent of students who took its course passed the bar on their first try and that 86 percent of repeat test-takers passed. for the first time received a 94 percent passage rate on the bar exam while there was an 86 percent passage rate for repeat takers, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office and the Santa Monica City Attorney’s Office.

However, the passage rate for those who signed up with Barwinners actually ranged from 30 percent to 49 percent between 2011 and 2013, according to the District Attorney’s Office’s Consumer Protection Division. Barwinner’s parent company, Legal Education Unlimited, Inc., was also named in the judgment.

As a result of the company’s false claims, Barwinners has been ordered to pay $20,000 in fines and $110,000 to its former students. The company is also under a permanent injunction, prohibiting it from any future false advertising.

In addition, company officials have agreed to pay for eight full scholarships for its courses over the next two years for students in need. The cost of each course is more than $6,600.

Barwinners did not return requests for comment.

New President at Long Beach Port

The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners has elected Lori Ann Farrell Harrison as its new president.

Farrell Harrison is a former chief financial officer for the city of Long Beach and the current director of finance for Huntington Beach. She was appointed to the Harbor Commission in 2013 by former Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster.

In a statement Wednesday, Farrell Harrison said she hopes to build on “our goal of strengthening our port so it continues to be one of the most competitive seaports in the world.” She will serve for one year as president of the commission.

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