Law School Prep Group for Boston Area
Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2015 9:00 pm
Hi! I've started a prep group in the Boston area for those attending law school in the fall. I'll post the group description below. If you're interested in attending, PM me and I'll send you the website for how to find and meet us.
Are you planning to attend law school in Fall (or at some point)? Have you read countless stories about the terrors of 1L, about how you know nothing about how to think, and about how no matter how well you've done up until this point, you're bound to feel like a failure come September?
We may have the hardest year of our lives coming up, but that doesn't mean there's nothing we can do to prepare. Texts exist that introduce the fundamentals of legal reasoning, tools for thinking about ambiguous problems, and what you can prepare for (mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually) during the first year. In short, we may not be able to fully understand what we're up against, but we don't have to go in blind. I've started prepping on my own--and I have to say, these texts are pretty engaging and exciting. If someone wants to join, I'm happy for the company. We could also chit chat about the application process, selecting a school, financial aid, career goals, emotional concerns, etc.
Over the next few months, these are the books I will be reading, and some Amazon summary excerpts:
1L of a Ride - McClurg ("1L of a Ride provides a candid step-by-step roadmap to both academic and emotional success in law school's critical first year.")
The Legal Analyst - Farnsworth (Recommended as reading for entering students to U Chicago Law. "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...Farnsworth brings together in one place all of the most powerful of those tools for thinking about law.")
Law 101 - Fienman ("Covers all the main subjects taught in the first year of law school...including constitutional law, the litigation process, and criminal, property, and contracts law....a clear and accessible introduction to the American legal system.")
Thinking Like A Lawyer - Schauer ("Primer on legal reasoning aimed at law students and upper-level undergraduates...covers such topics as rules, precedent, authority, analogical reasoning, the common law, statutory interpretation, legal realism, judicial opinions, legal facts, and burden of proof.")
Getting to Maybe - Fischl and Paul ("The book [describes] 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.")
If anyone decides to join, I will select a text and an excerpt and we can come prepared to work through some of the problems and tools found therein. They aren't as straightforward as they might seem!
Are you planning to attend law school in Fall (or at some point)? Have you read countless stories about the terrors of 1L, about how you know nothing about how to think, and about how no matter how well you've done up until this point, you're bound to feel like a failure come September?
We may have the hardest year of our lives coming up, but that doesn't mean there's nothing we can do to prepare. Texts exist that introduce the fundamentals of legal reasoning, tools for thinking about ambiguous problems, and what you can prepare for (mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually) during the first year. In short, we may not be able to fully understand what we're up against, but we don't have to go in blind. I've started prepping on my own--and I have to say, these texts are pretty engaging and exciting. If someone wants to join, I'm happy for the company. We could also chit chat about the application process, selecting a school, financial aid, career goals, emotional concerns, etc.
Over the next few months, these are the books I will be reading, and some Amazon summary excerpts:
1L of a Ride - McClurg ("1L of a Ride provides a candid step-by-step roadmap to both academic and emotional success in law school's critical first year.")
The Legal Analyst - Farnsworth (Recommended as reading for entering students to U Chicago Law. "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...Farnsworth brings together in one place all of the most powerful of those tools for thinking about law.")
Law 101 - Fienman ("Covers all the main subjects taught in the first year of law school...including constitutional law, the litigation process, and criminal, property, and contracts law....a clear and accessible introduction to the American legal system.")
Thinking Like A Lawyer - Schauer ("Primer on legal reasoning aimed at law students and upper-level undergraduates...covers such topics as rules, precedent, authority, analogical reasoning, the common law, statutory interpretation, legal realism, judicial opinions, legal facts, and burden of proof.")
Getting to Maybe - Fischl and Paul ("The book [describes] 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.")
If anyone decides to join, I will select a text and an excerpt and we can come prepared to work through some of the problems and tools found therein. They aren't as straightforward as they might seem!