Strategies and Tactics for the First Year Law Student (Maximize Your Grades) by
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
Law School Survival Manual: from LSAT to Bar Exam by
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.
A Weekly Guide to Being a Model Law Student by
This book gives law students weekly checklists explaining the skills necessary to successfully navigate their first year of law school. Each chapter provides a checklist of things to do that week, such as briefing cases, going over notes, outlining classes, or doing practice questions. When a new concept is introduced, this book clearly explains the concept and its purpose and provides examples. Instead of merely providing advice, this book lays out a detailed plan for students to follow. It also includes a bank of over 100 short, medium, and long practice questions in six first year subjects.
1L of a Ride by
Assigned as required or recommended reading at law schools throughout the country, 1L of a Ride provides a candid, comprehensive roadmap to both academic and emotional success in law school's crucial first year. Legal education continues to evolve and so does this classic work. Told in an accessible first-person voice, covered topics in this updated, revised, and expanded fourth edition include pre-planning, top student fears, the first-year curriculum, the Socratic and case methods of teaching, effective class participation, the top habits of successful students, essential study techniques, legal research and writing, exam strategies, maintaining well-being, online learning, career planning, and much more. Combines comments from hundreds of law students, empirical research, and authentic samples of signature documents from the 1L experience, including exam questions, Socratic dialogue, and student case-briefs, class notes, and course outlines. McClurg is an award-winning professor who taught at six different law schools.
Cracking the Case Method, Legal Analysis for Law School Success by
For about 150 years, law schools have relied on the Case Method to teach the skills and art of legal analysis to first-year law students. Yet many first-year students struggle academically. They do not struggle because they lack intellectual ability. Instead, they struggle because they are suddenly immersed in a unique and seemingly opaque educational process where nobody has concretely explained what they should try to learn, much less how to learn it. So these students are forced to try to understand their professors' teaching methods on their own--a difficult task for many beginning students, even those who may "get it" but cannot articulate what "it" is. So students understandably ask fundamental questions like the following. Why do reading assignments consist of appellate court opinions? Why do professors rely on the Socratic Method? Why do law school classes so often leave students with more questions than answers? Why do professors' teaching methods differ from their assessment methods and how can students bridge that gap? What do instructors look for when they grade essay exam answers? Why can law students believe they knew "all the rules," yet get poor grades? Cracking the Case Method, 3d ed., provides concise and accessible instruction on how to succeed in law school by answering these questions--and many others. Students need to know what to study and how the opinions they read and discuss in class relate to law school exams. This book provides an in-depth examination of these critical topics: The Case Method: 1) how it relates to Socratic-style questioning, and 2) how it helps develop analytical skills. Semester-long strategies for learning how to "think like a lawyer" by getting the most out of reading judicial opinions, attending classes, outlining, and preparing for exams. An analytical framework that helps students read appellate court cases to focus on legal issues, legal principles, and judges' reasons for adopting and applying those principles. Twenty examples that illustrate this analytical framework; these examples discuss essential legal principles from first-year courses and use judicial opinions often assigned in these courses. How to develop case briefs and use them to prepare for class discussions, outlining, and exams--with illustrations drawn from two sample annotated briefs. The major types of legal argument--with many illustrations drawn from actual cases. How to use class discussions to practice legal analysis, demonstrated with annotated excerpts from actual first-year class discussions. How to prepare for exams with the following learning and study tools: 1) developing traditional or visual outlines of course materials; 2) analyzing hypotheticals; 3) creating checklists and flowcharts; and 4) practicing exam-taking skills. An approach for analyzing exam questions and writing effective exam answers that display powerful analytical skills--with illustrations drawn from actual essay exam questions and annotated answers. An opportunity for students to practice all the learning, writing, and analytical skills discussed in this book to a new case in a sample torts class, including the following skills: 1) reading the case; 2) briefing the case; 3) discussing the case in class; 4) incorporating the principles from the case into an outline; and 5) answering an exam question related to the case. This book provides indispensable information to people considering law school, preparing for their 1L year, or currently attending law school.
Critical Reading for Success in Law School and Beyond (with Video) by
New book purchase includes complimentary digital access to the eBook and digital resources. Reading cases and statutes is challenging for students and attorneys. However, everybody can learn critical reading strategies and become effective legal readers and advocates. Critical Reading for Success in Law School and Beyond identifies the reading strategies used by expert legal readers and presents the strategies in a systematic sequence. Critical Reading is written in an easy to read style with lots of examples. Readers will learn: the purpose for reading cases, how to read with focus, case structure and important civil and criminal procedure terms, techniques for understanding complex text, strategies for identifying the parts of a case, how to brief a case, legal analysis skills such as analogical reasoning and case synthesis, and strategies for reading statutes. The second edition adds chapters that address reading on screens and techniques for reading bar prep materials. The second edition also has a seventeen part video series with PowerPoint slides. Each video introduces a reading strategy, provides helpful tips, includes a short student exercise, and gives students the opportunity to self-assess their proficiency. Critical Reading can be used in law school pre-orientation and orientation programs, academic success courses, bar prep courses, and legal writing and doctrinal classes. It is also useful for legal readers who want to improve their reading efficiency and effectiveness.
Law School Without Fear - Strategies for Success by
This concise, plain-spoken book is an indispensable guide for beginning law students. Field-tested by students all over the country for more than a dozen years for its practicality and its psychological realism, it has proved an invaluable introduction to cutting through the fog of case analysis; minimizing the bewilderment of the Socratic method; studying law; writing for law school; preparing for exams and exam writing; managing precious time; and coping with the emotional stress of law study.
Law School Secrets by
This book answers the most-asked questions of first, second, and third year law school students. Exam Preparation: How long should my outline be? What should I include in my outline? What secondary sources should I use? Are study groups effective? Should I swap outlines with other students? How do I prepare for open and closed book exams? And much more Writing the Exam: What is the best way to read the exam questions? How do I schedule my time? How do I organize my answer? When do I need to assume facts? How do I impress the professor? And much more
Sum and Substance Audio on How to Succeed in Law School, 2004 by
In How to Succeed in Law School, Professor Dzienkowski walks you through the skills necessary to succeed throughout your law school career. Topics include such things as class preparation, outlining, study groups, and test taking skills. Sum & Substance Audio CD Series allows you to assimilate the essentials of the course at your convenience - listen while working, commuting, exercising or just relaxing. The information and ideas you struggled with previously are now brought to life simply and succinctly. Also provided are exam tips to maximize your performance and Lifetime guarantee. These tapes are time saving, convenient and effective.
Black's Law Dictionary, 11th Edition
Available on Westlaw (password required) or in print.
Ballentine's Law Dictionary, 3rd Edition
Available via LexisNexis (password required) or in print.
A Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage
Available in print.
Bieber's Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations
Available in print.
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