0L starting in may, order of books to read? Forum

[morris248]

One thing that will probably help you is to go ahead and get familiar with Lexis Nexis and Westlaw. You
can find links to the tutorials at

http://www.law-school-books.com/legal-writing.html

While now is a good time to buy the E&E's and other supplements I would not spend any time reading them. You need to wait for class.

Most people use One Note so you might want to get familiar with how to take notes


http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 2&t=127496

[Natty28]

Which E and E is recommended for elements? Thanks.

[Black Face Law]

I'd start boning up on the big Emmanuel outlines. Can never have too much of a head start. The more time you spend getting the black letter law down to make the knowledge reflexive the better.

[Yardbird]

Planet Law School II,
Getting to Maybe,
Learning Legal Reasoning-Delaney
Contracts-Blum
Contracts-Chirielstein,
Acing Contracts

There's no reason to read supplements before law school starts. You won't know what topics you'll hit and which ones you won't. I would read Delaneys and then GTM. PLS has mixed reviews here, I wasn't a big fan.

When you do start classes, ask the professor what supplement he/she recommends. If they recommend one, buy that supplement. If they don't recommend one, I'd buy Chirelstein. Then just follow along with the supplement as you move through the syllabus.

For most of my classes, I would read through a syllabus topic in the supplement over the weekend and then do readings for specific classes under that topic as the week progressed. Some people I know read supplements after finishing a topic. Just do whatever works for YOU.

I will say that at my school, I don't know a single person who did supplement reading BEFORE school started that claimed to do well because they read stuff early. In fact, most of them said they didn't remember much of what they read before school and one particularly said it was a waste of time for his classes since none of his classes touched on even half the topics in the supplement.

Just my two cents.

[Rahviveh]

Which E and E is recommended for elements? Thanks.

Who would write a supplement for this TTT class.

[First Offense]

Don't read anything law school related before law school.

HTH.

[la_flauta]

Which E and E is recommended for elements? Thanks.

Who would write a supplement for this TTT class.

There are so many TTTs that it almost seems like a good idea, actually. *strokes chin*

Someone mentioned OneNote. I used Evernote. It might not have all the bells and whistles of OneNote (I've never used OneNote so I wouldn't know) but it is free and can be synced to your mobile devices for free. When outlining, I actually read my notes off my Ipad. You can also access it online. I liked being able to review my notes from my phone on the bus ride to school, especially if I knew there was a good chance of being called on.

The only thing I did was look up past exams from various schools, and my own school once I got my logon details. I read up on how to approach exams and read the guides here. I didn't follow all the advice in the guides, but I escaped with decent, probably around top 15%ish grades at a T1, top 30 school. We only have top 10% and 33%, and I'm way above the third mark and close to the 10% mark.

Tip: I outlined fairly religiously, unless it was a really short case, for the first half of the first semester. The outlines were fairly useless, but it helped me learn to break apart cases more quickly. It helped me learn to filter information as I went along so I was outlining from a manageable piece of notes and not scrambling in class to copy everything a prof said.

[Octaviankid]

Hello all. So, I am starting LS in a little over a month. My classes during the summer trimester will be Elements, Contracts, and Criminal.

I have Planet Law School II,
Getting to Maybe,
Learning Legal Reasoning-Delaney
Contracts-Blum
Contracts-Chirielstein,
Acing Contracts

I'm a quarter in to Getting to maybe. Of the other books, which do you think I should read, and in what order? Unfortunately, I will be working full time until the start of LS, so the time I have to read is limited for now, so I want to make it count. Should I order LEEWS in addition to this?
Thanks in advance.

Learning LR and Planet law school II were a waste IMO

Contracts- Blum/Chirielstein/Acing--wait until school starts then read the sections that correspond with your weekly assignments.


I had the same mentality when I started last year..wanted to read everything before school started. Don't. You'll have more than enough time to learn the material. The only thing I found helpful 0L was LEEWS.

The main thing is to find schedule that works..and STICK TO IT. I personally found to helpful to spend weekends doing the casebook readings and then use supplants throughout the week. Even spending 10-20min a day doing simple hypos on your current lessons will pay off a TON at the end.

For now...just chill and relax..

[Rahviveh]

Which E and E is recommended for elements? Thanks.

Who would write a supplement for this TTT class.

There are so many TTTs that it almost seems like a good idea, actually. *strokes chin*

Someone mentioned OneNote. I used Evernote. It might not have all the bells and whistles of OneNote (I've never used OneNote so I wouldn't know) but it is free and can be synced to your mobile devices for free. When outlining, I actually read my notes off my Ipad. You can also access it online. I liked being able to review my notes from my phone on the bus ride to school, especially if I knew there was a good chance of being called on.

The only thing I did was look up past exams from various schools, and my own school once I got my logon details. I read up on how to approach exams and read the guides here. I didn't follow all the advice in the guides, but I escaped with decent, probably around top 15%ish grades at a T1, top 30 school. We only have top 10% and 33%, and I'm way above the third mark and close to the 10% mark.

Tip: I outlined fairly religiously, unless it was a really short case, for the first half of the first semester. The outlines were fairly useless, but it helped me learn to break apart cases more quickly. It helped me learn to filter information as I went along so I was outlining from a manageable piece of notes and not scrambling in class to copy everything a prof said.

OneNote can be synced to your mobile devices as well. And OneNote is way better for organizing notes, which is the most important value it has over Word. I would not use Evernote over OneNote.

[bombaysippin]

Read yelp reviews to find decent places to eat.

Read movie reviews (unless you like being surprised) for movies you wanna see.

Read nutritional info to help keep your body in check and in tip top shape before LS.

Order doesn't matter much, but probably wanna do yelp before trying a random place to eat, unless like the movies thing, you like being surprised first.

[LetsGoLAW]

Hahaha. Didn't read a single word of this thread besides the title. Get laid, don't give a fuck. You'll be fine.

In b4 gunners go ape shit.

[DoveBodyWash]

Learning Legal Reasoning was kind of helpful, but it wasn't anything i couldn't have picked up in the first few weeks of school.

I wouldn't bother trying to learn substantive law before school starts. And PLS II is basically just a "tries to get you to stop drinking the kool-aid" guide, which is what TLS does anyway

[rivermaker]

Law school confidential was entertaining but useless. Read it in a day and return it. If I were to read anything before 1L it would be E and E's probably, again if anything.

[First Offense]

Law school confidential was entertaining but useless. Read it in a day and return it. If I were to read anything before 1L it would be E and E's probably, again if anything.

Ignore this post. Reading E&Es would be downright stupid as a 0L.

[rivermaker]

explain why

[rivermaker]

It takes like 10-15 hours to read an E and E cover to cover. Gives a rough understanding of a subject. Don't really see how that can be a negative.

[spleenworship]

It takes like 10-15 hours to read an E and E cover to cover. Gives a rough understanding of a subject. Don't really see how that can be a negative.

1. you won't remember it

2. what you do remember, your professor won't test on

3. you are likely to misunderstand something and find yourself having to fix that mid semester while your classmates learn what you were supposed to be learning if you weren't having to relearn the thing you learned wrong during the summer when you should have been watching TV, reading a good book for the last time in three f***ing years, and getting your bone on with someone as drunk as you are.

[lawman4]

You are only doing yourself a disservice if you read anything before law school starts. Go out and get wasted with your NON law school buddies and spend some time with family. Just relax and enjoy yourself and watch the World Cup.

I never read GTM or any of those useless money making books. I finished high in my class this year in 1L and all I did was read my own outlines, practice exams, and Q&A's. Learn the material in the way your professor describes it and do not trust anyone but yourself. Make friends, but do not learn to trust them. Now go away till school starts.

[BVest]

Along the same lines as the above: Take some time to explore your new town; you won't really find time to do so later. Also, identify some good places to eat lunch near the law school (walking distance preferably) and to pick up dinner on the way home from law school. Make sure they have decent law student hours (you may find a great neighborhood restaurant with good takeout, but if they close at 9 (which usually means shutting down the kitchen ~8:45), you're going to need alternatives.

[heavoldgotjuice]

1. Read every supreme court case opinion known to man.


2. Memorize all federal and state statutes.


3. Understand all accessible law review articles.


4. Listen to Scalia's interviews on youtube, in your sleep

.... kidding.

Don't read a damn thing. Enjoy your time now because soon enough, time will be out the window. Then, you will have completed your 1L and will still remember how you felt the summer before you began. The time truly flies, so enjoy the down-time you have now.

[03152016]

OP is probably a 3L by now