Thriving in Law School
Books for First Year Students
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What Every Law Student Really Needs to Know
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This brief book is designed to prepare students for their first year of law school, thereby decreasing their anxiety and increasing their chances of achieving academic success. Also appropriate for non-J.D. students, including LLM students from foreign countries and graduate students outside law school. Features: Gives student basic grounding in discrete non-legal topics that are important to the contemporary study of law Includes and#8220;Test Your Understandingand#8221; boxes to allow students to use what they are learning Friendly writing style Images and graphics help students remember material
Call Number: KF283 .G46 2016ISBN: 9781454841524Publication Date: 2016-05-06 -
1L of a Ride
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1L of a Ride essentially answers the questions, "What's the first year of law school really like and how can I make the most of it?" Following a chronological road trip metaphor, it tells new students what to expect, when to expect it, and how to respond to it. No other law school prep book takes this approach. The book addresses each aspect of academic success, including the top five habits of successful law students, effective class participation, how to interact with professors, case-briefing, note-taking, outlining, exam preparation, and essay and multiple-choice exam strategies. Several law school prep books include substantial content about the law (e.g., explanations of court systems, roles of judges and juries, legal theory, etc.) 1L of a Ride is all about law school. Instead of a chapter on types of courts, for example, it has a chapter on "Twenty Law Student Types."
Call Number: KF287 .M38 2009ISBN: 9780314194831Publication Date: 2008-11-17 -
Coming to Law School
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This book demystifies law school and the process of studying the law. Rather than just describing the various necessary study skills -- including case briefing, taking notes in class, and preparing exam outlines -- the book shows how these skills are interrelated and how an incoming student can practice them before coming to law school, making the transition from prospective to actual law student easier and as painless as possible.
Written in an informal and conversational tone, Coming to Law School shows incoming law students the benefits of coming to law school armed with strong study skills already in place and guides them through the process of getting ready for school with examples and exercises to clarify the points it raises. The book also contains information about many practical issues, including the law school process, how to do well in a summer job, and taking the bar exam.
Although this is not a book about the law, it is designed to help all law students get the most out of law school.
Call Number: KF283 .G35 2010ISBN: 9781594606533Publication Date: 2010-05-01 -
Demystifying the First Year
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Demystifying the First Year of Law School: A Guide to the 1L Experience provides law students with explicit frameworks for reading and analyzing court opinions in all first year courses. Using hypothetical classroom dialogues, the book explains how these frameworks will help student understand and participate in classroom discussions, answer questions on exams, and use the skills learned in the first year when representing clients in practice. Unraveling the mysteries of the first year of law school, authors Moore and Binder provide clear definitions, along with concrete examples, of the two types of legal issues typically addressed in court opinions illustrations of the six types of arguments routinely used by courts, lawyers and professors to resolve legal issues. These illustrations should help students understand a court's rationale for its decision and help students make legal arguments on exams and in practice a straightforward explanation for the use of the question-and-answer format in first year classrooms, with numerous illustrative examples of hypothetical in-class dialogues a step-by-step approach for briefing court opinions in preparation for class, along with a companion website with illustrative examples of case briefs of court opinions in subjects addressed in first year courses Written by top scholars drawing on their experience as authors and educators, Demystifying the First Year of Law School: A Guide to the 1L Experience, gives the benefit of experience to the uninitiated. It's ideal as a companion to any first year course, as a text in a legal methods or academic support course, or as background for a law school orientation program. A Teacher's Manual is available at www/aspenlawschool.com/books/moorebinder.
Call Number: KF283 .M66 2010ISBN: 9780735584495Publication Date: 2009-09-17 -
Succeeding in Law School
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As the Director of Suffolk University Law School's Academic Support Program, 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?" Ramy has written Succeeding in Law School to provide an answer. Just as importantly, the text was also written with the Academic Support Professional in mind. The book is mindful of the rigorous learning environment students face. Each chapter and the accompanying exercises can be completed in a modest amount of time. The book incorporates examples, a few cases, hypotheticals, and exercises so that students can practice their new skills and measure their progress. In addition to students receiving the feedback they crave, the exercises allow professors to assess students' progress throughout the semester. Whether students are seeking advice in the summer months or are coming in for help once the school year has begun, this book can be an important tool for helping them get the most out of their abilities.
Call Number: KF283 .R36 2006ISBN: 1594601895Publication Date: 2006-06-01 -
Strategies Tactics First Year Law Student (Maximize Your Grades)
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Strategies and Tactics for the First Year Law Student gives you a detailed, step-by-step program for surviving the first year of law school. Note-taking--Sharpening your note-taking skills will maximize your study time and improve your grades Your law professor's personality--Understanding it can be to your advantage Study traps--What are they and how to avoid them Memory aids--How classic memory systems work and when you should (and shouldn't) use them The pressures of law school--Effective techniques for handling the pressure from classmates, professors, and reading assignments Taking exams--Nine steps to writing exceptional exam answers The Internet--Useful search engines and websites
Call Number: KF283 .W35 2010ISBN: 9780735591073Publication Date: 2010-07-07 -
Law School Survival Manual
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In the Law School Survival Manual, Nancy Rapoport and Jeff Van Niel serve as the friendly voice of experience whose wit and wisdom will guide you through law school from the application process to orientation, and from your first year to graduation - including summer jobs, clerkships, and the bar exam. This concise handbook focuses on all aspects of law school that are mystifying or tricky or both. The Law School Survival Manual: From LSAT to Bar Exam offers complete coverage, Before law school What you'll need before you apply Picking the right law school for you Orientation Your checklist for law school First year Collegiality and etiquette Friendships, romance, and networking The psychology of law professors Reading cases and statutes Outlining and studying Preparing for essay and multiple-choice exams Choosing upper-level courses Managing your time and scheduling your life Exploring joint-degree program opportunities Finding and applying for a summer job Landing a judicial clerkship Studying for the bar exam and the MPRE With reassuring humor and unique perspectives, Nancy Rapoport and Jeff Van Niel show you how to cope with stress, manage your time, study efficiently, nurture new friendships, write a paper, prepare for exams, and make sound decisions - in law school and beyond.
Call Number: KF283 .R37 2010ISBN: 9780735594906Publication Date: 2010-05-24 -
The Law Student's Pocket Mentor
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As the ideal companion for law students, The Law Student's Pocket Mentor: From Surviving to Thriving guides students from the summer before starting law school straight through to their first clerking experience. It is a practical, step-by-step guide that uses exercises, worksheets, and checklists to help students identify their needs, plan strategies, and organize their efforts to maximize success in law school. This pocket companion offers all of the essentials students need for success: It is comprehensive in coverage: covers essential academic skills (e.g., reading and briefing cases, taking notes in class, outlining, writing exams) provides career preparation skills (e.g., building strong resumes, choosing classes) discusses emotional aspects of legal education (e.g., maintaining balance, dealing with grades) addresses special concerns of non-traditional students It is accessible in nature: approaches academic topics in a user-friendly, non-academic style gives a student-eye-view of typical challenges faced by law students, including letters from actual students, narratives, etc. presents skills in a logical, step-by-step manner accounts for and addresses various learning styles provides clear, how-to instructions regarding essential academic skills offers exercises to help students identify challenges, plan strategies, and recognize progress provides ample forms to show students how to best organize their time, brief cases, take class notes, and perform self-diagnoses on their exam answers It has been proven effective: all exercises, techniques, and forms have been student-tested and refined at William Mitchell College of Law An author website to support classroom instruction using this title is available at http://www.aspenlawschool.com/iijima
Call Number: KF283 .I35 2007ISBN: 9780735540347Publication Date: 2007-08-08 -
Bridging the Gap Between College and Law School
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Bridging the Gap Between College and Law School will help students make the transition from their undergraduate experience to law school learning. Unlike other introduction to law school texts, Bridging the Gap offers a different approach because it: -- Explains the why of law, providing students with the context necessary to understand why law school is taught in a certain manner. -- Explains the how of the law, setting out a step-by-step process that will help students adapt to the law school setting. -- Explains the what of the law, giving students the opportunity to practice the problem-solving process by providing numerous exercises in a variety of subject matter areas.Most other introduction to law school books only provide general advice. On the other hand, subject specific aids offer only black letter law and some practice problems, but fail to explain the overall context or provide a problem-solving process. Bridging the Gap does all three -- it provides the context, the process, and the problems. Written by two law school professors who use these techniques in the classroom everyday, Bridging the Gap is an invaluable guide to what really works in law school.
Call Number: KF283 .S77 2001ISBN: 0890899452Publication Date: 2001-05-01
Books for All Law Students
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Academic Success Books OnlineAvailable through the Westlaw Study Aids Subscription.
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Reading Like a Lawyer
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The ability to read law well is a critical, indispensable skill that can make or break the academic career of any aspiring lawyer. In the first semester of law school alone, for example, it is not unusual for law students to read well over 2,500 pages in their assigned casebooks. This reading is challenging not only because of its sheer volume, but also because it is comprised largely of material that is unfamiliar to even the best-educated pre-law students. The reading is critical because it forms the foundation upon which all classroom discussion is built'and upon which exam content ultimately rests.Fortunately, the ability to read law well (quickly and accurately) is not a gift that you're either born with or are not born with. Rather, reading law well is a skill that can be acquired through knowledge and practice'an ability that can be masted, improved, and perfected by any motivated student. The sooner the student masters these skills, the greater the rewards.Using seven specific reading strategies, reinforced with hands-on exercises at the end of each chapter, this book shows you how you can read law like expert law students and expert lawyers do'efficiently, effectively, powerfully, and confidently. Part I introduces the reader to the fundamentals of legal reasoning upon which law-based reading builds; Part II introduces the reader to concrete strategies for reading effectively in law school; and Part III teaches strategies for reading law outside of the law school context.Law students, pre-law students, and any professional whose work touches on law will all find Reading Like a Lawyer to be an engaging, easy-to-read guide to the complex and powerful world of law-based reading.
Call Number: KF283 .M398 2005 (At Central Library, not Law Library)ISBN: 1594600325Publication Date: 2005-03-01 -
A Student's Guide to Law School
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Law school can be a joyous, soul-transforming challenge that leads to a rewarding career. It can also be an exhausting, self-limiting trap. It all depends on making smart decisions. When every advantage counts, A Student's Guide to Law School is like having a personal mentor available at every turn. As a recent graduate and an appellate lawyer, Andrew Ayers knows how high the stakes are--he's been there, and not only did he survive the experience, he graduated first in his class. In A Student's Guide to Law School he shares invaluable insight on what it takes to make a successful law school journey. Originating in notes Ayers jotted down while commuting to his first clerkship with then-Judge Sonia Sotomayor, and refined throughout his first years as a lawyer, A Student's Guide to Law School offers a unique balance of insider's knowledge and professional advice. Organized in four parts, the first part looks at tests and grades, explaining what's expected and exploring the seven choices students must make on exam day. The second part discusses the skills needed to be a successful law student, giving the reader easy-to-use tools to analyze legal materials and construct clear arguments. The third part contains advice on how to use studying, class work, and note-taking to find your best path. Finally, Ayers closes with a look beyond the classroom, showing students how the choices they make in law school will affect their career--and even determine the kind of lawyer they become. The first law school guide written by a recent top-ranked graduate, A Student's Guide to Law School is relentlessly practical and thoroughly relevant to the law school experience of today's students. With the tools and advice Ayers shares here, students can make the most of their investment in law school, and turn their valuable learning experiences into a meaningful career.
Call Number: KF283 .A947 2013ISBN: 9780226067056Publication Date: 2013-10-15 -
Law 101
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Law 101 gives a behind-the-scenes look at what law school's really like. The book condenses ten years of student and professor advice on how to make the most out of one's law school experience. The advice covers all aspects of law school, and ranges from academic advice on such topics as study techniques, classroom skills, and tips for exam success, to the best ways to participate in extracurricular activities, maintain healthy relationships outside of law school, and get a job after graduation.
A companion documentary, available online, provides additional perspectives on life in law school.
Call Number: KF283 .N65 2015ISBN: 9781611637625Publication Date: 2015-09-22 -
Law School Revealed
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You're doing it : important questions to consider before you go -- Financing law school -- Summer strategies for law school success -- What to expect during the first year -- Great ways to study law -- All about briefing and outlining -- Mastering legal research and technology -- Legal writing : what to expect and how to improve -- Writing a great law school exam -- Bettering your oral communication skills -- Law student ethics and interactions -- Joint degrees and advanced law degrees : are they for you? -- Law school concentrations, certificates, and specialization -- Clinics and internships/externships -- International legal study -- Balancing work, life, and law school -- Law school extracurriculars -- Law school diversity : resources for students from typically underrepresented backgrounds -- Focused study for the bar exam throughout law school -- Career planning for new JDs.
Call Number: Online ResourceISBN: 9781593576943Publication Date: 2009 -
A Short and Happy Guide to Being a Law Student
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Written by Seton Hall Law Professor Paula Franzese, A Short and Happy Guide to Being a Law Student is sure to be a student's antidote for law school anxiety and is a must-read whenever worry or doubt creep in. In this volume you will find essential wisdom for the study of law and life. Learn from the unprecedented ten-time recipient of the Professor of the Year award how to be your best in and out of class, how to prepare for exams, how to succeed on exams, how to put your best foot forward in a job interview, how to find teachers to inspire you, what to do in classes that leave you uninspired, how to cope with stress and how to create value in everything you do. Learn more about this series at ShortandHappyGuides.com.
Call Number: KF273 .F728 2014ISBN: 9780314291073Publication Date: 2014-03-20 -
What the L?
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Includes advice about Law Review and Mock Trial.
Law school can be a terrifying experience if you don't know what you're getting yourself into. For students who don't have their career paths or pedagogic goals mapped out, law school is even more terrifying.
There are so many questions that accompany the decision to apply to law school: Is it worth the money? Is it worth the time? Is this the right time to go? Will I do well? How can I do well? How do I find a job? What kind of job is right for me? Is law school like college? And if you decide to go to law school, there are even more questions: What is an outline? How is an exam structured? How do I get a job at a big firm? What is a legal fraternity? What is the bar exam and when do I take it?
This book is a firsthand account of trudging through law school without the answers to any of these questions. Three students offer a completely candid student perspective on every aspect of law school, from classmates to bar review, and outlines to studying abroad. While other law school preparation books are helpful, this account is a true story of how things really work, from the ground up. We are not law school experts, we are law school students: just like you. If you've ever wanted to know the real story on law school, this is it.
Call Number: KF283 .M388 2010ISBN: 9781594608605Publication Date: 2010-07-01 -
Cracking the Case Method
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Cracking the Case Method is a concise and down-to-earth guide to the intellectual content of law school instruction, particularly in the first year. Readers will discover why and how law school instructors use appellate court cases as vehicles for teaching legal analysis. This book explains that legal analysis is a process by which judges and lawyers use argument (or rhetoric) to connect stories to legal conclusions, and reveals how to read judges' appellate court opinions as arguments rather than merely as sources of rules. To succeed in law school, students have to apply analytical skills to novel stories by crafting arguments of their own, both in class meetings and when answering final examination essay questions. This book promotes readers' ability to apply analytical skills by: Demonstrating how to "brief" cases in a way that captures both arguments and rules; Explaining and illustrating common types of arguments; Using actual law school classroom dialogues annotated by the authors to explain how instructors use classes to further law schools' goal of teaching argument skills; Setting forth effective final examination preparation strategies and techniques for crafting answers that demonstrate analytical skills; and Illustrating final exam strategies and techniques by providing actual law school final examination questions followed by model answers annotated by the authors. The subjects that readers will study in law school (whether rules of contracts or processes such as jury trials) all emanate from the Common Law Tradition. To further enhance readers' analytical understanding and skills, the book concludes with a chapter that provides a brief and colorful overview of this rich and fascinating tradition. The chapter includes comparisons to the common law tradition's Civil Law counterparts, enhancing the book's value to all readers.. If you want to achieve academic success in law school, this book provides you with the tools you need to Crack the Case Method. Reviews: "Law school study fundamentally differs from university study. Most first year law students therefore find the transition from college to law school difficult and bumpy. This book explains the differences and gives a thorough guide to what it takes to do well in law school, especially during that crucial first year. Students who want a significant edge over their classmates will read it before the first day of 1L. I wish I had." Alex Kozinski Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit "The Authors provide an accessible and often humorous guide to the Case Method. In addition to demystifying legal studies for the new student, the book provides a sound foundation for the future practitioner; the object of the Case Method, in the main, is to allow the application of legal principles to help clients resolve their problems." Hector G. Gallegos Partner and Head of Morrison & Foerster LLP's Los Angeles Litigation Department "Legal education and the legal profession are in the midst of a profound restructuring brought on by a revolution in technology and dramatic changes in the economy. In the midst of such change, Cracking the Case Method is a critically important work that will help all law students develop a lawyer's most important tool - using the venerable case method to carry out legal analysis and to hone their analytical skills - the essence of every lawyer's work. Cracking the Case Method is not an abstract academic exercise, but a nuts and bolts, how to approach to analysis that will train better lawyers and promote just results in our judicial system. The case method may be over 100 years old but how to use it as an effective tool for good lawyering has never been done like it is in these pages." Jeffrey S. Brand Dean and Professor of Law University of San Francisco School of Law"
Call Number: Online ResourceISBN: 9781600421594Publication Date: 2012-05-01
Interactive Tutorials to Support Law School Success
Students should contact the reference librarians to get the CALI Registration Code for Vanderbilt Law School.
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Anatomy of a CaseThis 15 minute lesson will familiarize the student with the basic parts of a case (i.e., the written decision of a court published in a print reporter).
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How to Brief a CaseThis is an exercise designed to introduce first-semester law students to the basic elements of a typical case "brief" and to teach them general methodology for writing their own briefs. The exercise consists of three parts: (1) an introduction to the purposes and uses of a case brief; (2) a detailed examination of each of the ten components of a typical case brief (with examples); and (3) two actual cases that students are asked to read and then to brief, using the methodology described in this exercise. A sample brief for each of the two cases is also provided, thereby allowing students to correct and modify their briefs by way of comparison.
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Learning Legal Analysis Through Its Components: Issue, Rule, Application, Conclusion—IRACThe purpose of this exercise is to help students understand the process of legal analysis and improve their legal writing and legal analysis skills. Specifically, students will work on their ability to apply the law to the facts of a problem.
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Where Does Law Come From?This is an overview of the branches of the U.S. government and how they make law.
