Book to prepare for 1L year? Forum

[Tullstone]

Any recommendation on a book to prepare you for the first year in law school?

[ColomboHeat]

you've been a member on this site for nearly a year with almost 100 posts... and you still ask this question?

[Seminole_305]

Any recommendation on a book to prepare you for the first year in law school?

1L of a Ride
Law School Confidential

For exam prep the following are commonly suggested by some of the more successful members.

Getting to Maybe
LEEWS
How to do your best on Law School Exams

Hope that helps.

[Heartford]

I recommend a book called You Will Be Spending All of Your Time Reading Stuff Until May, So Take A Nap Instead of Reading Anything Before 1L.

[thecilent]

Prob best flame I've seen in a while. Touché

[futurelawyer413]

no book, just enjoy your summer.

[lawgod]

1L by Scott Turow.
And don't forget to watch Paper Chase.

These will prepare for exactly what law school is like. The details are uncanny. I literally had every person from that movie in my section. Except the guy with the big fat outline did his on computer, but still managed to drop it out the window. And the police didn't come when the motel people called because we made a mess in the room.

[kalvano]

1L is an awful book.

[vamedic03]

The only two books even worth your consideration are:

Getting to Maybe and

Thinking Like a Lawyer: A New Introduction to Legal Reasoning . . .

If I only had time to read 1 book before 1L, it would be Thinking Like a Lawyer.

[txadv11]

1L is an awful book.

Why is that?? I thought it was a decent read...

[JamMasterJ]

use the search function.
kthanxbye

[txadv11]

Maybe Getting to Maybe. Maybe. It was more useful when I skimmed it during law school than when I read it before law school.

LSC, 1L, etc... those "what is law school about" books don't really help you during law school, but they aren't too bad for calming your nerves during the summer not knowing what to expect. If you think reading them will make you feel calmer, then do it. But know that it won't give you any sort of advantage during law school.

+1 Although I am not a 1L, yet, I agree. I have several friends at schools in each "tier" that all agree the book was good for giving some insight into what to expect, but only books like GTM and LEEWS can provide substantive tips, and the benefits are debatable.

Overall, I thought it was worth the $15 I paid for it (so far).

[Bronte]

I was going to be a jerk and suggest you read Black's Law Dictionary (Deluxe Ninth Edition, of course), but instead I'll give some conventional advice and some unconventional advice.

Conventional advice: Don't do any substantive 0L prep. Read Getting to Maybe if you want, although it's probably better skimmed over thanksgiving after you understand what goes on in law school a bit better.

Unconventional advice: Here's a couple entertaining books about litigation and finance:

• Courting Justice by David Boies. The memoirs of super litigator (and V25 name partner) David Boies.
• A Civil Action by Jonathan Harr. A nonfiction novel about a class action lawsuit.
• Liar's Poker by Michael Lewis. A cult classic about securities trading in the 1980s.
• Monkey Business by John Rolfe and Peter Troob. About investment banking.

These books won't help you get good grades in law school. (I don't think any books you read 0L summer will.) However, I think they'll help you better understand the difference between litigation and transactional work, and understand the legal and big business industries in general. A lot of people, especially people with liberal arts background who come straight through from undergrad, really have no idea what goes on in the business world and what big law firms do. This is a source of anxiety for them and makes it harder to make educated career decisions.

[schooner]

...

[09042014]

Maybe Getting to Maybe. Maybe. It was more useful when I skimmed it during law school than when I read it before law school.

LSC, 1L, etc... those "what is law school about" books don't really help you during law school, but they aren't too bad for calming your nerves during the summer not knowing what to expect. If you think reading them will make you feel calmer, then do it. But know that it won't give you any sort of advantage during law school.


Really, all you need to read about 1L is this: For 99% of all people, it is incredibly intense. It's a crucible in many senses of the word. You will work harder than you think you can (and you won't understand what that means until 1L). You will make some good friends because you are going through this together. You will freak the fuck out a couple times each semester, no matter how calm a person you are.

Eh 1/3 or more of 1L's don't go balls out. I bet more than 60% never actually* studied more than 60 hours a week, even during finals.

*Actually means sitting aroudn chit chatting in study groups doesn't count.

[Bronte]

I was going to be a jerk and suggest you read Black's Law Dictionary (Deluxe Ninth Edition, of course), but instead I'll give some conventional advice and some unconventional advice.

I'm asking this seriously: is it worth buying a small version of the Black's law dictionary to carry around and use during exams? (I assume there's an online version somewhere, but sometimes it's just easier to flip through a small book instead of powering up your laptop. Plus I assume you can't use any other program on your laptop during exams.)

No it is not worth it to buy a Black's Law Dictionary. Black's Law Dictionary just gives broad definitions of legal terms. It would be of no help on an exam, where you'll already know the meaning of all the terms. The difficulty will be in applying the legal concepts (at a level about 20 times higher than you get in Black's) to complex fact patterns. You will have no time to be flipping through a dictionary, and it would do you no help if you did.

[schooner]

...

[Bronte]

Thanks. What about a small regular dictionary? Wasn't there some example of law students not knowing the definition of "Winnebago" during an exam and not having anyone around to ask? The author discussing that example (in a 0L prep guide, don't remember which one) had recommended buying a small dictionary, just in case.

Lol, maybe so. I've never heard of or even considered this problem. Professors try their best to make sure everything is common knowledge on their exams, outside of the legal concepts of course.

[kalvano]

1L is an awful book.

Why is that?? I thought it was a decent read...

He was such a whiny bitch that I kept wanting to kick him in the shins.

[mj18]

1L by Scott Turow.
And don't forget to watch Paper Chase.

These will prepare for exactly what law school is like. The details are uncanny. I literally had every person from that movie in my section. Except the guy with the big fat outline did his on computer, but still managed to drop it out the window. And the police didn't come when the motel people called because we made a mess in the room.

Amazing.

[MoS]

Law's Empire by Ronald Dworkin

[lawgod]

I was going to be a jerk and suggest you read Black's Law Dictionary (Deluxe Ninth Edition, of course), but instead I'll give some conventional advice and some unconventional advice.

I'm asking this seriously: is it worth buying a small version of the Black's law dictionary to carry around and use during exams? (I assume there's an online version somewhere, but sometimes it's just easier to flip through a small book instead of powering up your laptop. Plus I assume you can't use any other program on your laptop during exams.)

I bought one the first week of school. Then I found out about Westlaw.
(BTW, I am the living proof that you can be absolutely clueless about law school and it will not impact your performance. Everyone just relax and go backpacking. That's what I did.)

[Heartford]

Thanks. What about a small regular dictionary? Wasn't there some example of law students not knowing the definition of "Winnebago" during an exam and not having anyone around to ask? The author discussing that example (in a 0L prep guide, don't remember which one) had recommended buying a small dictionary, just in case.

I can't think of a single way that word could be used where someone couldn't just figure their way around it. You'd think with context it would easy to assume it was either a dwelling or a vehicle, right?

[sharklasers]

This is the new 1L classic.

[AVBucks4239]

I got 1L of a Ride, Law School Confidential, and Getting to Maybe.

I finished 1L of a Ride in about a week mostly because it's written with a conversational tone. The author isn't looking to teach you shortcuts, he's telling you how to succeed and avoid common mistakes through his own experience as a teacher and with anecdotes from hundreds of students. I generally found the book to be incredibly informative with very specific tips.

Law School Confidential, on the other hand, has been an awful read so far. So much of what the author says just seems like common sense. He also has a tone of arrogance which is pretty annoying. However, I'm just now getting to the chapters about second/third year advice, as well as employment advice. Those weren't covered in 1L of a Ride, so that will be some useful stuff.

I'm putting off Getting to Maybe for the week before school. It seems to be unanimously recommended so I'm excited to finally get to it and start law school.