How To Succeed In Law School

Updated to reflect the current law school experience, this book offers an insightful head start to college students who plan to go on to law school. The author describes the day-to-day law school experience, discussing the subjects to be studied and the typical procedures that define the law school environment. He also advises on methods for taking useful lecture notes, developing effective study habits, doing library research, coping with tests, and handling the inevitable stresses that are a part of law school. Here is a book that prospective law school students will find both interesting and practical.

Are you struggling in law school, or are you going to law school soon? Then, this book is for you. It was written by an expert in legal education, who has taught at law schools for 15 years and who has written six books on legal education.The book shows you what works, and, equally importantly, what doesn't work for succeeding in law school. The book begins by helping you develop a growth mindset and self-motivation. Then, it gives you study techniques that will help you learn efficiently and effectively, such as self-testing, interleaving, and spaced studying, as well as study techniques that are a waste of time. It explains how to read a legal text effectively and how to brief cases. It introduces you to the nuts and bolts of law school and gives you context for law school. It also explains wellness, which will help you survive the rigors of law school. Finally, it helps you become a self-regulated learner, which is important for doing well in law school and as a lawyer.

Professors Fischl and Paul explain law school exams in ways no one has before, all with an eye toward improving the reader’s performance. The book begins by describing the difference between educational cultures that praise students for “right answers,” and the law school culture that rewards nuanced analysis of ambiguous situations in which more than one approach may be correct. Enormous care is devoted to explaining precisely how and why legal analysis frequently produces such perplexing situations. But the authors don’t stop with mere description. Instead, Getting to Maybe teaches how to excel on law school exams by showing the reader how legal analysis can be brought to bear on examination problems. The book contains hints on studying and preparation that go well beyond conventional advice. The authors also illustrate how to argue both sides of a legal issue without appearing wishy-washy or indecisive. Above all, the book explains why exam questions may generate feelings of uncertainty or doubt about correct legal outcomes and how the student can turn these feelings to his or her advantage. In sum, although the authors believe that no exam guide can substitute for a firm grasp of substantive material, readers who devote the necessary time to learning the law will find this book an invaluable guide to translating learning into better exam performance. “This book should revolutionize the ordeal of studying for law school exams… Its clear, insightful, fun to read, and right on the money.” — Duncan Kennedy, Carter Professor of General Jurisprudence, Harvard Law School “Finally a study aid that takes legal theory seriously… Students who master these lessons will surely write better exams. More importantly, they will also learn to be better lawyers.” — Steven L. Winter, Brooklyn Law School “If you can't spot a 'fork in the law' or a 'fork in the facts' in an exam hypothetical, get this book. If you don’t know how to play 'Czar of the Universe' on law school exams (or why), get this book. And if you do want to learn how to think like a lawyer—a good one—get this book. It's, quite simply, stone cold brilliant.” — Pierre Schlag, University of Colorado School of Law (Law Preview Book Review on The Princeton Review website) Attend a Getting to Maybe seminar! Click here for more information.

Offers one hundred rules that every first year law student should live by “Dear Law Student: Here’s the truth. You belong here.” Law professor Andrew Ferguson and former student Jonathan Yusef Newton open with this statement of reassurance in The Law of Law School. As all former law students and current lawyers can attest, law school is disorienting, overwhelming, and difficult. Unlike other educational institutions, law school is not set up simply to teach a subject. Instead, the first year of law school is set up to teach a skill set and way of thinking, which you then apply to do the work of lawyering. What most first-year students don’t realize is that law school has a code, an unwritten rulebook of decisions and traditions that must be understood in order to succeed. The Law of Law School endeavors to distill this common wisdom into one hundred easily digestible rules. From self-care tips such as “Remove the Drama,” to studying tricks like “Prepare for Class like an Appellate Argument,” topics on exams, classroom expectations, outlining, case briefing, professors, and mental health are all broken down into the rules that form the hidden law of law school. If you don’t have a network of lawyers in your family and are unsure of what to expect, Ferguson and Newton offer a forthright guide to navigating the expectations, challenges, and secrets to first-year success. Jonathan Newton was himself such a non-traditional student and now shares his story as a pathway to a meaningful and positive law school experience. This book is perfect for the soon-to-be law school student or the current 1L and speaks to the growing number of first-generation law students in America.

A concise, highly accessible guide to exam success. Provides an insider s view of what professors look for in exam answers, and how exam-taking connects to good lawyering. Accompanied by a Web site with content that is both free (e.g., sample outlines, class notes, case briefs) and for-sale (e.g., sample exams and memos written by professors giving feedback on the answers). Features: High-profile, experienced authors from elite schools with hands-on experience teaching the majority of the courses in the traditional 1L curriculum Distinctive central pedagogy: the pinball method of exam-taking Accompanied by Web site with content that is both free (e.g., sample outlines, class notes, case briefs) and for-sale (e.g., sample exams and memos written by professors giving feedback on the answers). Explains to students not just the how but the why of law school exams what makes law school exams different from exams students have encountered in other settings Detailed examples provide concrete demonstrations of exam-taking techniques Highly readable: prose is straightforward and humorous; key points accented with memorably amusing illustrations Not just an exam prep book; students are offered guidance on getting the most out of classes, and law school more generally

As the Director of Suffolk University Law School's Academic Support Program, Professor Ramy begins receiving phone calls from new 1Ls as early as May. Their common question: "What do I need to do to succeed in law school?" Professor Ramy has written the second edition of Succeeding in Law School to help answer this question. This edition of the book has several new chapters that are geared toward success both in law school and in the job market. A new chapter on legal analysis addresses one of the most common problems professors see on law school exams -- the absence of the counterargument. New materials on interviewing techniques, creating a writing sample, and writing a résumé are designed to help students market themselves to prospective employers. Whether students are seeking advice in the summer months or are looking for help once the school year has begun, this book is an important tool for helping them get the most out of their abilities.

Guidebook for Prospective and Current Canadian Law Students.