0L Books

adpiucf · #1 07-16-2006, 10:06 PM

A spin off of the law school thread!

Thinking about law school? Then read: Should you really be a lawyer? by Deborah Schneider and Gary Belsky

Great books to have for LSAT prep:
Nova's Master the LSAT
Powerscore Logic Games Bible
Powerscore Logic Reasoning Bible
LSAC official released tests (available via lsac.org)

Get a digital kitchen timer and cut the alarm buzzer out! Use the timer when you're taking practice LSAT tests to keep time. You can use this on test day, too.

Great books to support you through the admissions process:
The Ivey Guide to Admissions by Anna Ivey
How to get into the top law schools by Richard Montauk
Essays that worked for law school
Princeton Review Law School Essays that made a difference

Websites to drive yourself crazy:
lawschoolnumbers.com
lawschooldiscussion.org
chiashu.com

Ok, now that I've suggested these books, I want some advice from our resident law students and lawyers! What are good books to read about getting through your first year? Is Law School Confidential worth reading? Planet Law School? 1000 Days to the Bar? How to succeed in law school?

Thanks for the advice! Looking for books that discuss outlining, study techniques, etc.

Kevin · #2 07-16-2006, 11:19 PM

The only book I read that wasn't for class was "Getting to Maybe." It's a good manual on how to write good tests. All of my professors praised the IRAC method. I, on the book's advice ditched IRAC and did pretty well (5th in class).

I'm not huge on self-help books. Mostly, if you just manage your time well, and do whatever works for you as far as learning the cases and rules, you'll be fine.

Don't read too much, once class starts, there'll be plenty to read. Go play some video games for now.

kstar · #3 07-17-2006, 02:00 AM

The only thing I would reccomend is "One L."

I am not in law school, and this book is what made me change my mind. I realized that it really wasn't for me. However, it was good to read it (my bf is a 2L) because I knew what to expect. It is a frank and honest description of life in law school.

shinerbock · #4 07-17-2006, 02:26 AM

I can't really give advice on the subject, but what I've been doing is reading things that will help me fill in gaps. I did this for some undergrad classes I thought might be tough as well...I just read history/law books, often ones that are still entertaining to fill in gaps that I know about, but should be more sure of. I have a habit of sometimes breezing over the basics, so getting the back story is helpful. For example, this summer I realized that while I'm by no means ignorant of the American Revolution, I haven't had a class on it in a while and I feel like my knowledge of it has faded. So rather than read a history book, I read John Adams and 1776 (Both by David McCullough), which are great books and very informative. I also have a friend who just graduated from law school, and he mentioned that I shouldn't try and "study" this summer, but rather just to read and pay attention to law-related things to keep abreast. He recommended I read books like The Supreme Court by CJ Rehnquist (which I found informative because he goes through the various courts...its a good refresh and may give you background on some things that could be brought up during law school). I also just spend a few minutes checking the washington and legal sections of the WP and CNN everyday, just because I think exposing myself to decisions and terminology may prove helpful. I've heard from law school friends that it is very frustrating for people who come in without even so much as a "hollywood" legal vocabulary.

kddani · #5 07-17-2006, 09:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kstar

The only thing I would reccomend is "One L."

I am not in law school, and this book is what made me change my mind. I realized that it really wasn't for me. However, it was good to read it (my bf is a 2L) because I knew what to expect. It is a frank and honest description of life in law school.

One L is rather dated and overdramatic. It's interesting to read, but it's certainly not very applicable to today's law school world. It was probably overdramatic when it was written... otherwise no one would have bought it! Law school is NOT that exciting. It's a work of fiction.

Really, there's nothing you can read or do to prepare. There's no set method to outline cases, etc. You need to figure out what works for you. But figure it out as you go. These books aren't going to do anything but get you all worked up.

The only book I would recommend buying is a full copy of Black's Law Dictionary. You will refer to it millions of times, particularly first year.

Otherwise, don't sweat law school until you actually get there. The books are pretty much useless moneymakers aimed at overanxious law students with a need to buy something to feel more prepared. Nothing- not a book, not any person, movie, etc. - can prepare you for law school.

KSigkid · #6 07-17-2006, 10:19 AM

I don't plan on reading anything extra relating to legal works; I work for a bar association and help to copy-edit a major bar journal.

I'm just going to relax as much as possible before I start classes.

kddani · #7 07-17-2006, 10:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KSigkid

I don't plan on reading anything extra relating to legal works; I work for a bar association and help to copy-edit a major bar journal.

I'm just going to relax as much as possible before I start classes.

That's the way to do it. If you want to read, read something fun! You'll be doing plenty of boring reading later.

Cool that you copy edit a bar journal... my best friend is an editor of ours and loves it.

KSigkid · #8 07-17-2006, 10:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kddani

That's the way to do it. If you want to read, read something fun! You'll be doing plenty of boring reading later.

Cool that you copy edit a bar journal... my best friend is an editor of ours and loves it.

That's what I figure - I'll get all the legal reading I can handle in a month or so.

It is a cool job (part of my position working in communications) - I stick to the grammatical editing, but I've learned a lot from our Board of Editors (made up of attorneys in the community). I've also been able to sit in on a bunch of interesting meetings on things such as emminent domain, attorney-client privilege, and statute of limitations in sexual abuse cases (a big topic here in MA). It hasn't made me an expert, by any stretch, but it's really interesting, and it has helped hone my writing and editing skills even further.

GeekyPenguin · #9 07-19-2006, 10:02 PM

I know people who were obessed with Law School Confidential and/or Planet Law School. I did better than all of them and I'm not in the top of our class...

Things I would recommend:

1) Make your own outline and update it weekly. I did this second semester, but not first. My grades got better.
2) Schedule in free time every day. Work out, watch a TV show, call an old friend - do not obsess about the law.
3) DO NOT TALK ABOUT THE EXAM AFTER THE EXAM. I hate people who do this.
4) Do not get a rolly bag unless you weight 90 lbs. I hate people with rolly bags. They run over my feet.

KSigkid · #10 07-20-2006, 07:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeekyPenguin

3) DO NOT TALK ABOUT THE EXAM AFTER THE EXAM. I hate people who do this.

That makes sense. I used to hate people who did that during undergrad.

adpiucf · #11 07-20-2006, 09:59 AM

Has anyone tried LEEWS?

kddani · #12 07-20-2006, 10:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by adpiucf

Has anyone tried LEEWS?

HUGE waste of money!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The guy is from Pittsburgh, too. Rip off. Myself and my little law school clique all took it and it didn't really help much at all. It taught a slightly faster method of issue spotting, but none of us ever used it because it didn't really fit with our classes. Everyone always talks about issue spotting, but it's not really the biggest thing on many of your exams. It is REALLY not worth the money.

You DON'T need any books or special programs to get you through law school. The bar exam, yes, you'll need Barbri and/or PMBR or whatever else is common in your state. DON'T waste your money on this crap.

GeekyPenguin · #13 07-20-2006, 10:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KSigkid

That makes sense. I used to hate people who did that during undergrad.

There was a situation after CivPro when one of my friends (who is the worst exam talker ever) IMed about 10 of us, got freaked out that she had given the wrong answer,then looked up a bunch of stuff and got us freaked out.

She got the highest grade in the class. I got the 5th highest.

KSigkid · #14 07-20-2006, 11:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeekyPenguin

There was a situation after CivPro when one of my friends (who is the worst exam talker ever) IMed about 10 of us, got freaked out that she had given the wrong answer,then looked up a bunch of stuff and got us freaked out.

She got the highest grade in the class. I got the 5th highest.

Have to love the post mortem. Someone in one of my history classes used to do this after every exam, and did it after our big paper for the semester. It was like re-living every class.

valkyrie · #15 07-24-2006, 01:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeekyPenguin

I know people who were obessed with Law School Confidential and/or Planet Law School. I did better than all of them and I'm not in the top of our class...

Things I would recommend:

1) Make your own outline and update it weekly. I did this second semester, but not first. My grades got better.
2) Schedule in free time every day. Work out, watch a TV show, call an old friend - do not obsess about the law.
3) DO NOT TALK ABOUT THE EXAM AFTER THE EXAM. I hate people who do this.
4) Do not get a rolly bag unless you way 90 lbs. I hate people with rolly bags. They run over my feet.

I agree -- although I have to say the only people I saw with rolly bags were like 60 years old, in which case I think it's okay.

Making your own outlines is key. It's a good way to study, and you'll organize the information in a way that makes sense to you -- this is much more helpful than passively studying what someone else put together (unless you somehow get your hands on my bankruptcy outline, in which case you'll have a guaranteed A in that class).

I've never heard of anybody reading books to prepare for law school. That's a road leading nowhere good, in my opinion. I watched The Paper Chase a few weeks before school started and thought, "Oh shit," but unfortunately, it wasn't enough to scare me away.