Getting to Maybe

Getting to Maybe
Author: Richard Michael Fischl
Publisher: Carolina Academic Press
Total Pages: 383
Release: 1999-05-01
Genre: Study Aids
ISBN: 161163217X

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.

Law School Confidential

Law School Confidential
Author: Robert H. Miller
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Total Pages: 364
Release: 2015-11-16
Genre: Law
ISBN: 1250107873

I WISH I KNEW THEN WHAT I KNOW NOW! Don't get to the end of your law school career muttering these words to yourself! Take the first step toward building a productive, successful, and perhaps even pleasant law school experience—read this book! Written by students, for students, Law School Confidential has been the "must-have" guide for anyone thinking about, applying to, or attending law school for more than a decade. And now, in this newly revised third edition, it's more valuable than ever. This isn't the advice of graying professors or battle-scarred practitioners long removed from law school. Robert H. Miller has assembled a blue-ribbon panel of recent graduates from across the country to offer realistic and informative firsthand advice about what law school is really like. This updated edition contains the very latest information and strategies for thriving and surviving in law school—from navigating the admissions process and securing financial aid, choosing classes, studying and exam strategies, and securing a seat on the law review to getting a judicial clerkship and a job, passing the bar exam, and much, much more. Newly added material also reveals a sea change that is just starting to occur in legal education, turning it away from the theory-based platform of the previous several decades to a pragmatic platform being demanded by the rigors of today's practices. Law School Confidential is a complete guide to the law school experience that no prospective or current law student can afford to be without.

The Legal Analyst

The Legal Analyst
Author: Ward Farnsworth
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 714
Release: 2024-05-31
Genre: Law
ISBN: 0226238369

There are two kinds of knowledge law school teaches: legal rules on the one hand, and tools for thinking about legal problems on the other. Although the tools are far more interesting and useful than the rules, they tend to be neglected in favor of other aspects of the curriculum. In The Legal Analyst, Ward Farnsworth brings together in one place all of the most powerful of those tools for thinking about law. From classic ideas in game theory such as the “Prisoner’s Dilemma” and the “Stag Hunt” to psychological principles such as hindsight bias and framing effects, from ideas in jurisprudence such as the slippery slope to more than two dozen other such principles, Farnsworth’s guide leads readers through the fascinating world of legal thought. Each chapter introduces a single tool and shows how it can be used to solve different types of problems. The explanations are written in clear, lively language and illustrated with a wide range of examples. The Legal Analyst is an indispensable user’s manual for law students, experienced practitioners seeking a one-stop guide to legal principles, or anyone else with an interest in the law.

Law School Confidential

Law School Confidential
Author: Robert H. Miller
Publisher: Macmillan
Total Pages: 372
Release: 2000-07-14
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9780312243098

I wish I knew then what I know now! Don't get to the end of your law school career muttering these words to yourself! Take the first step toward building a productive, successful, and perhaps even pleasant law school experience...read this book! Written for students about to embark on this three year odyssey, by students who have successfully survived law school. Law School Confidential demystifies the life-altering thrill ride that defines an American legal education by providing a comprehensive, blow-by-blow, chronological account of what to expect. Law School Confidential arms students with a thorough overview of the contemporary law school experience. This isn't the advice of graying professors or battle-scarred practitioners decades removed from the law school. Fresh out of University of Pennsylvania Law School, Robert Miller has assembled a panel of recent law school graduates all of whom are perfectly positioned to shed light on what law school is like today. Law School Confidential invites you to walk in their steps to success and to learn from their mistakes. From taking the LSAT, to securing financial aid, to navigating the notorious first semester, to exam-taking strategies, to applying for summer internships, to getting on the law review, to tackling the bar and beyond...Law School Confidential explains it all.

Don't Go to Law School (unless)

Don't Go to Law School (unless)
Author: Paul F. Campos
Publisher:
Total Pages: 100
Release: 2012
Genre: Law
ISBN: 9781480163683

Going to law school has become a very expensive and increasingly risky gamble. When is it still worth it? Law professor Paul Campos answers that question in this book, which gives prospective law students, their families, and current law students the tools they need to make a smart decision about applying to, enrolling in, and remaining in law school. Campos explains how the law school game is won and lost, from the perspective of an insider who has become the most prominent and widely cited critic of the deceptive tactics law schools use to convince the large majority of law students to pay far more for their law degrees than those degrees are worth.DON'T GO TO LAW SCHOOL (UNLESS) reveals which law schools are still worth attending, at what price, and what sorts of legal careers it makes sense to pursue today. It outlines the various economic and psychological traps law students and new lawyers fall into, and how to avoid them. This book is a must-read if you or someone you care about is considering law school, or wondering whether to stay enrolled in one now.

Movie Therapy for Law Students (and Pre-law, Paralegal, and Related Majors)

Movie Therapy for Law Students (and Pre-law, Paralegal, and Related Majors)
Author: Sonia J. Buck
Publisher: AuthorHouse
Total Pages: 206
Release: 2009
Genre: Justice, Administration of, in motion pictures
ISBN: 1438975287

*Packed with black letter law, dozens of exam study tips, useful Internet links and other valuable resources for law students, legal movie trivia and other interesting nuggets *Geared toward law students, but entertaining and straightforward enough for anyone REVIEWS: Alan M. Dershowitz, Esq., Felix Frankfurter Professor, HarvardLaw: " Reversal of Fortune has been subject to many analyses over the years. This one is the best I have seen for law students and a legal audience. It really gets to the heart of the legal, tactical, and ethical issues in the case. It would be extremely useful for law students who view the film to read this perceptive and insightful analysis." Jon S. Oxman, Esq., "The analysis of Silkwood brings into focus the complex linkages among labor law, workers' compensation rights, and federal and state statutory protections such as OSHA and whistleblower acts. ... Watching Silkwood with the author's insights in mind will deepen the significance of both the movie and the law school experience." Patricia E. Weidler, Esq., "I wish I had this book when going through law school. It's perfect for those times when a student needs to step back from studying legal concepts and yet wishes to learn from a different angle. Attorney Buck's book allows a student to take a couple of hours off and yet apply critical thinking skills, analyze the issues, and critique Hollywood's views on the law. ... Reading this book ... will encourage lawyers, law school students, and armchair lawyers alike to look at real cases, which sometimes are even stranger than the movies!" Susan Quigley, Esq., "I wish I had this book when I was in law school. Sonia does a great job of educating through her analyses of the movies ... a great teaching tool!" Links to longer reviews: http://aallspectrum.wordpress.com/2009/11/17/book-review-movie-therapy-for-law-students-and-pre-law-paralegal-and-related-majors/ http://www.alnyethelawyerguy.com/al_nye_the_lawyer_guy/2009/12/movie-therapy-for-law-students-by-sonia-j-buck-esq.html

Open Book

Open Book
Author: Barry Friedman
Publisher: Aspen Publishing
Total Pages: 305
Release: 2016-04-15
Genre: Law
ISBN: 1454877324

Open Book: The Inside Track to Law School Success, 2E is a book that every JD and LLM law student needs to read, either before classes start or as they get going in their 1L year. Now in an expanded second edition, the book explains in a clear and easygoing, conversational manner what law professors expect from their students both in classes and exams. The authors, award-winning teachers with a wealth of classroom experience, give students an inside look at law school by explaining how, despite appearances to the contrary, classes connect to exams and exams connect to the practice of law. Open Book introduces them to the basic structure of our legal system and to the distinctive features of legal reasoning. To prepare students for exams, the book explains in clear and careful detail what exams are designed to test. It then devotes a single, clearly written chapter to each step of the process of answering exams. It also contains a wealth of material, both in the book and digitally, on preparing for exams. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, Open Book comes with a free suite of 18 actual law school exams in Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Contracts, Criminal Law, Property and Torts, written and administered by law professors. These exams include not only questions, but: (1) annotations from the professors explaining what they were looking for; (2) model answers written by the professors themselves; and (3) actual student answers, with professor comments that explain why certain answers were stronger of weaker. As Open Book explains, there is no better way to prepare for exams than by practicing, and these unique materials will enable students to get the most out of their pre-exam practice.

How to Be Sort of Happy in Law School

How to Be Sort of Happy in Law School
Author: Kathryne M. Young
Publisher: Stanford University Press
Total Pages: 367
Release: 2018-08-07
Genre: Law
ISBN: 150360568X

Each year, over 40,000 new students enter America's law schools. Each new crop experiences startlingly high rates of depression, anxiety, fatigue, and dissatisfaction. Kathryne M. Young was one of those disgruntled law students. After finishing law school (and a PhD), she set out to learn more about the law school experience and how to improve it for future students. Young conducted one of the most ambitious studies of law students ever undertaken, charting the experiences of over 1000 law students from over 100 different law schools, along with hundreds of alumni, dropouts, law professors, and more. How to Be Sort of Happy in Law School is smart, compelling, and highly readable. Combining her own observations and experiences with the results of her study and the latest sociological research on law schools, Young offers a very different take from previous books about law school survival. Instead of assuming her readers should all aspire to law-review-and-big-firm notions of success, Young teaches students how to approach law school on their own terms: how to tune out the drumbeat of oppressive expectations and conventional wisdom to create a new breed of law school experience altogether. Young provides readers with practical tools for finding focus, happiness, and a sense of purpose while facing the seemingly endless onslaught of problems law school presents daily. This book is an indispensable companion for today's law students, prospective law students, and anyone who cares about making law students' lives better. Bursting with warmth, realism, and a touch of firebrand wit, How to Be Sort of Happy in Law School equips law students with much-needed wisdom for thriving during those three crucial years.