I have done no prep for law school. Am I screwed? Forum

[audrey hepburn]

Hey all,

I am starting law school at a T2 in the fall. I have done absolutely no prep of any sort. I have no idea what a tort is, or any other law topic for that matter. I don't know what "briefing" means, nor do I know anything about outlining. Basically, I have zero knowledge about what to expect for law school, except:

A. It will be very hard.
B. The final is worth 100% of your grade (unless you have a professor who gives points on participation).
C. Exams are curved.

So my question is, am I at a huge disadvantage? Should I start prepping for the next 3-4 weeks before school starts, or does it really not matter?

[cahesu]

TLS prevailing wisdom is that 1L summer is prep is not necessary, especially substantive (subject-based) prep. However, it might be advisable to read Getting to Maybe.

[Bumi]

All the advice I ever heard about prepping for law school was "Don't. Enjoy your summer."

Stands to reason that you'd benefit from poking around in some of the "how to study in law school" threads, though.

[DoubleChecks]

TLS prevailing wisdom is that 1L summer is prep is not necessary, especially substantive (subject-based) prep. However, it might be advisable to read Getting to Maybe.

+1 from what ive read on TLS...i plan on being a decently active poster even during my law school days so ill let you know after 1L how accurate i personally found that info haha

that being said, im reading Getting to Maybe and plan to read it again before exams...besides that, im doing nothing but reading a few threads on TLS that seem useful like Arrow's guide to lawl school success

ps - ive been enjoying my summer lol

[MrKappus]

ZOMGZ !! Withdraw now!

Kidding. It's fine. Pick up GTM if you can and read it before school starts, but don't do a lot of prep. It really isn't necessary.

[audrey hepburn]

Thanks for your replies. I have been enjoying my summer too (maybe a little bit too much). I do feel that the best thing I can do for myself is to go into law school with a completely clear and relaxed mind. The worst thing to do is to be burnt out before law school even begins.

Do you guys thinking reading Getting to Maybe will be enough?

[chicoalto0649]

Thanks for your replies. I have been enjoying my summer too (maybe a little bit too much). I do feel that the best thing I can do for myself is to go into law school with a completely clear and relaxed mind. The worst thing to do is to be burnt out before law school even begins.

Do you guys thinking reading Getting to Maybe will be enough?

I liked Delaney's Learning Legal Reasoning or w.e. its called and Whose Monet? by John Humbach. I'd honestly read those 2 books b4 G2M. G2M will be the last book I read b4 school.

[audrey hepburn]

Thanks for your replies. I have been enjoying my summer too (maybe a little bit too much). I do feel that the best thing I can do for myself is to go into law school with a completely clear and relaxed mind. The worst thing to do is to be burnt out before law school even begins.

Do you guys thinking reading Getting to Maybe will be enough?

I liked Delaney's Learning Legal Reasoning or w.e. its called and Whose Monet? by John Humbach. I'd honestly read those 2 books b4 G2M. G2M will be the last book I read b4 school.

why would you recommend those two books before GTM? any specific reasons?

[pkpop]

Bramble Bush.

[chicoalto0649]

Thanks for your replies. I have been enjoying my summer too (maybe a little bit too much). I do feel that the best thing I can do for myself is to go into law school with a completely clear and relaxed mind. The worst thing to do is to be burnt out before law school even begins.

Do you guys thinking reading Getting to Maybe will be enough?

I liked Delaney's Learning Legal Reasoning or w.e. its called and Whose Monet? by John Humbach. I'd honestly read those 2 books b4 G2M. G2M will be the last book I read b4 school.

why would you recommend those two books before GTM? any specific reasons?

Good intro books to law/the legal process. Whose Monet? walks you through an actual lawsuit all the way through to the appeals process. Delaney outlines his way to brief a case. I think I'd want to be familiar with how to study what I'm gonna be reading/familiar with the American legal system than preparing for an exam....altho I am sure I will re-read G2M a few times as the semester goes on. There's some stuff in g2m I just dont think most 0Ls really get, even if they think they "get" it, until they actually balls deep in actual classes.

[audrey hepburn]

Bramble Bush.

I don't get it?

[audrey hepburn]

Thanks for your replies. I have been enjoying my summer too (maybe a little bit too much). I do feel that the best thing I can do for myself is to go into law school with a completely clear and relaxed mind. The worst thing to do is to be burnt out before law school even begins.

Do you guys thinking reading Getting to Maybe will be enough?

I liked Delaney's Learning Legal Reasoning or w.e. its called and Whose Monet? by John Humbach. I'd honestly read those 2 books b4 G2M. G2M will be the last book I read b4 school.

why would you recommend those two books before GTM? any specific reasons?

Good intro books to law/the legal process. Whose Monet? walks you through an actual lawsuit all the way through to the appeals process. Delaney outlines his way to brief a case. I think I'd want to be familiar with how to study what I'm gonna be reading/familiar with the American legal system than preparing for an exam....altho I am sure I will re-read G2M a few times as the semester goes on. There's some stuff in g2m I just dont think most 0Ls really get, even if they think they "get" it, until they actually balls deep in actual classes.

THIS is exactly how I felt when I read the first 10 pages of GTM. Thanks for your response. I will order the other 2 books.

[pkpop]

It's a book by K.N Llewellyn. It's kind of old, but still a somewhat entertaining quick read for a pre-1L.

"Bramble Bush text is required reading in numerous law schools and it is recommended by Law School Deans as the best introduction to the study of law for both potential and enrolled law students."

edit to include quote

[audrey hepburn]

It's a book by K.N Llewellyn. It's kind of old, but still a somewhat entertaining quick read for a pre-1L.

"Bramble Bush text is required reading in numerous law schools and it is recommended by Law School Deans as the best introduction to the study of law for both potential and enrolled law students."

Oh okay thanks. Just found it on Amazon. Surprisingly, there were only 10 reviews on it!

[pkpop]

I really don't think it is the #1 comprehensive book it is made out to be, but for someone who has no idea about law school, it's not bad. Getting 2 Maybe is almost universally suggested on here...I figured I'd switch it up tonight.

So...
1. No you're not screwed.
2. Learn from TLS
3. ???
4. Great success.

[audrey hepburn]

It's definitely nice to switch things up sometimes. And thanks for telling me I'm not screwed...it actually makes me feel better about not prepping.

I do read up on prepping on TLS, but it just ends up being a bit too overwhelming sometimes. However, I would still like to know what torts are lol.

[270910]

It's a book by K.N Llewellyn. It's kind of old, but still a somewhat entertaining quick read for a pre-1L.

"Bramble Bush text is required reading in numerous law schools and it is recommended by Law School Deans as the best introduction to the study of law for both potential and enrolled law students."

Oh okay thanks. Just found it on Amazon. Surprisingly, there were only 10 reviews on it!

I wouldn't wish the bramble bush on my enemies. It's relevant and somewhat interesting, but incredibly dry, and only about the first 20 pages or so are probably worthwhile. It's just very, very dated.

[vanwinkle]

The only prep I did as a 0L was to read Fred Schauer's "Thinking Like A Lawyer: A New Introduction to Legal Reasoning". You'll have plenty of time during 1L fall to do everything you need to succeed, as long as you manage yourself right. I do recommend that book, though.

[romothesavior]

I've read:

-Getting to Maybe
-The Anatomy of a lawsuit
-Lots of threads on TLS

I feel like that's all I needed to do, and it is probably far more than most 0Ls. You'll be fine.

[romothesavior]

So...
1. No you're not screwed.
2. Learn from TLS
3. ???
4. PROFIT Great success.

FTFY

[itsirtou]

If you feel overwhelmed by how much info TLS has, I'd start by reading through some of these, especially Talon's and xeoh85's:

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 3&t=123092

[Encyclopedia Brown]

I would still like to know what torts are lol.

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=what+is+a+tort%3F

[Geist13]

There's some stuff in g2m I just dont think most 0Ls really get, even if they think they "get" it, until they actually balls deep in actual classes.

I've read this sentiment a number of times and have never really understood where it comes from. Every time the authors bring up a specific ambiguity, e.g. an fork between competing statues, they explain the law (or facts) in question which allows the reader to understand why there is an ambiguity. What do you think is hard for 0Ls, like myself, to grasp about this book? I've read it (twice) and think it is very straightforward. Obviously I have not yet seen an exam or practiced "identifying forks" and thus my reading of the book could be wildly off base. However, I really do not think it is difficult to understand what the authors are talking about and why the issues they discuss are issues (in fact I think it is a pretty easy read).

edit: I am a 0L so, by definition, I don't understand where this sentiment, which comes from actual law students, comes from. However, I'd love some explanation of what it is that 0Ls just can't get about GTM.

[pkpop]

I wouldn't wish the bramble bush on my enemies. It's relevant and somewhat interesting, but incredibly dry, and only about the first 20 pages or so are probably worthwhile. It's just very, very dated.

I had to read it more because of Llewellyn's philosophy. As far as legal philosophy texts come, "incredibly dry" wouldn't be the first thing I think of, but I'll agree as a standalone book.

It just seemed when I started reading it, it had the "Today is the first day of the rest of your lives" kind of feel to it.

I would still like to know what torts are lol.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icJ_nmFibr8

[270910]

There's some stuff in g2m I just dont think most 0Ls really get, even if they think they "get" it, until they actually balls deep in actual classes.

I've read this sentiment a number of times and have never really understood where it comes from. Every time the authors bring up a specific ambiguity, e.g. an fork between competing statues, they explain the law (or facts) in question which allows the reader to understand why there is an ambiguity. What do you think is hard for 0Ls, like myself, to grasp about this book? I've read it (twice) and think it is very straightforward. Obviously I have not yet seen an exam or practiced "identifying forks" and thus my reading of the book could be wildly off base. However, I really do not think it is difficult to understand what the authors are talking about and why the issues they discuss are issues (in fact I think it is a pretty easy read).

edit: I am a 0L so, by definition, I don't understand where this sentiment, which comes from actual law students, comes from. However, I'd love some explanation of what it is that 0Ls just can't get about GTM.

A lot of it has to do with the fact that it's very hard to learn or apply law in discrete chunks. In a law school course, things like the fork of whether or not to apply the UCC for the sale of a Winnebago will come as the result of reading a lot of cases often without obvious relation to one another. The application of the law for an exam is contextualized by the breadth and depth of the material you cover, so the things the book (correctly) flags for strong examsmanship and study won't make perfect sense until you actually try it out. It would be like reading a manual for good fielding practice vs. playing your first game of baseball. Nothing that is described will sound particularly difficult or foreign, but until you have a bat or a glove in your hand no amount of extemporization on the topic will really allow you to "get" it.

This is coming from somebody who read GtM 3 times - once before law school, once during the first weeks of law school, and once a few weeks before exams. I whole-heatedly endorse a similar approach, if only because GtM will help you focus on the important parts of law school more than any umpteenth supplement will.