0L Books

kddani · #1 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 · #2 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 · #3 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 · #4 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 · #5 07-20-2006, 09:59 AM

Has anyone tried LEEWS?

kddani · #6 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 · #7 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 · #8 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 · #9 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.

adpiucf · #10 07-24-2006, 04:07 PM

Did you ever attend any of the law school forums? Any advice about the kinds of questions to ask that you can't find in a viewbook about the school? (IE: I am not going to waste the recruitment rep's time with questions about median LSAT scores or how many student orgs are at the law school).

GeekyPenguin · #11 07-24-2006, 04:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by adpiucf

Did you ever attend any of the law school forums? Any advice about the kinds of questions to ask that you can't find in a viewbook about the school? (IE: I am not going to waste the recruitment rep's time with questions about median LSAT scores or how many student orgs are at the law school).

Are you talking abut the official LSAC ones? I went to one in Madison when I was applying and I thought that was fairly useful. I asked if there was anything special they were looking for in an application, expressed my interest in their school, and mentioned something unique about it - like "I really like that you have a Nacho Law Clinic, I'm very interested in Nacho Law." It also gave me a chance to get a feel for the school - if the school has rude admissions staff, what is the rest of their staff going to be like?

valkyrie · #12 07-24-2006, 04:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by adpiucf

Did you ever attend any of the law school forums? Any advice about the kinds of questions to ask that you can't find in a viewbook about the school? (IE: I am not going to waste the recruitment rep's time with questions about median LSAT scores or how many student orgs are at the law school).

I never did, but then I applied to only one school. I can't imagine recruitment people being terribly informative -- they're basically in sales, you know?

The only law school research I did was reading that Princeton Review book about law schools -- at least I think that's what it was. They were super-awesome because they used one of my quotes in a later edition, which was like the coolest thing ever.

KSigkid · #13 07-25-2006, 02:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by adpiucf

Did you ever attend any of the law school forums? Any advice about the kinds of questions to ask that you can't find in a viewbook about the school? (IE: I am not going to waste the recruitment rep's time with questions about median LSAT scores or how many student orgs are at the law school).

I never attended a forum, but questions I asked had to do with the following:

What clinics are available, and to what years?

What's the typical class schedule for a 1L?

What are the library's hours, and what kind of technology is available for those hours?

Is there a certain type of computer I should have on campus?

I mainly just called places and asked questions, so I might not be the best model.

adpiucf · #14 07-26-2006, 12:39 AM

Thanks for the great advice! Some of my friends from my LSAT class and I will be attending one of the upcoming LSAC forums together next month. I'll definitely keep these ideas in mind!

Is it ok to follow up with a handwritten thank you note or is email the way to go?

GeekyPenguin · #15 07-24-2006, 05:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AXiD670

Make sure you sign in at EVERY TABLE even if you only grab a viewbook. Generally, they will send you a follow-up email thanking you for visiting, and here's a fee waiver if you apply! Those are very helpful.

I can't believe I didn't mention this. I also think it's nice to sign in because later you can email or call admissions and say "I stopped by your table at the Somecity law forum and wanted to ask a few more questions" and they'll still have the list. I'm a tour guide and I know they appreciate it when you show interest like that.