DO YOU REALLY have to get the latest EDITION? Forum

[Newb2law]

Hello, I have already purchased 2 of my textbooks and chose the latest edition. I have 3 left and I am curious if I should buy the current edition or one earlier? Also I am looking at the e&e books and I realized the civ pro one I bought was a 6th edition one (2008) whereas now there is a 7th edition (2013) should I buy the newest edition?

[Neal Patrick Harris]

Pages may be different but most everything else is the same. Decision turns on whether or not you're willing to translate the pages

[Mal Reynolds]

If you're not lazy go rent the newer editions at the library and check all your reading assignments and make copies of the pages you don't have. I'm lazy so I don't do this.

[BigZuck]

I'm also too lazy to go through the work of buying older editions. Unless its a supplement, I'll happily buy an old edition because there's none of the aforementioned page number confusion.

If its civ pro I would buy the latest edition just because that stuff changes from time to time.

[Lacepiece23]

I buy the old edition for every class. Never really have a problem. If there is a case not included I look it up. Usually I have a friend in the class to let me know if there are any page differences. Usually it goes in order for the most part and you can figure out which pages you are supposed to read. Plus the case book isn't all that big of a deal in law school IMO. As a 3L I realized that.

[banjo]

A professor at CLS sometimes refers to casebook page numbers on his exams (e.g. apply Oklahoma statute on pg. 56).

[notedgarfigaro]

depends on the # of years between editions. My Corporations teacher straight up told us to get the older edition if possible, and I did it in several other classes...but I did get burnt on one class. Took an insurance law weekend course and the teacher for some reason thought it was kosher to assign a $200 textbook for a weekend course. Got the previous edition, but it was 10 years old and ended up having print off most of the cases from lexis. Of course, I did find out that auto-erotic asphyxiation does not DQ someone's life insurance policy, so there was a perk from getting the older book.

TL;DR Go ahead, but check to make sure the edition isn't too out of date.

[suzige]

def get the newer editions for civ pro. Honestly, i could have gotten away with the older editions for my torts and contracts classes. Those professors hadn't changed a thing as per what they teach in years and only have the TAs update their syllabus with new page numbers as needed.