Law Preview -- 0L Prep Forum

[swishin and dishin]

Hey guys,

I am sure we are all getting plenty of solicitations from Law Preview courses and the like, but I was wondering if anyone has any experience with these in the past -- and if they proved to be beneficial at all.
Any 0Ls who are planning on signing up?

What are your feelings on spending that extra money in an already terribly expensive process.

Thanks

[JoeMo]

Hey guys,

I am sure we are all getting plenty of solicitations from Law Preview courses and the like, but I was wondering if anyone has any experience with these in the past -- and if they proved to be beneficial at all.
Any 0Ls who are planning on signing up?

What are your feelings on spending that extra money in an already terribly expensive process.

Thanks

I've spoken to several people that have done other things like LEEWS (not sure if similar) but the response is always "not worth it". Take that as you may but I just don't see where you need to be spending the extra $$$ right before law school. Use that $$$ to offset expenses during the year or if you've got it to blow then have fun this summer. My $.02

[admisionquestion]

I honestly thought LEEWS was worth it. My 2 cents

[JoeMo]

I honestly thought LEEWS was worth it. My 2 cents

How would you know? You're a 0L. I'm talking about people that used LEEWS and then actually went through 1L thus they can talk about whether it was beneficial or not. As a 0L everything is going to seem beneficial until you actually start taking classes.

[law2015]

I took law preview with a friend and we both thought it was the biggest waste of money. We ended up not showing up after the first two dates. That course is in no way helpful. If you are on tls then you already know everything they will tell you there. They go over a few cases which you will forget a few days later. Save your money.

[admisionquestion]

I honestly thought LEEWS was worth it. My 2 cents

How would you know? You're a 0L. I'm talking about people that used LEEWS and then actually went through 1L thus they can talk about whether it was beneficial or not. As a 0L everything is going to seem beneficial until you actually start taking classes.

I am a 0L. To revise my statement. LEEWS did not feel like a scam. It was not boring and the material seemed to be useful. I was skeptical going in, but I'm glad I went.

As a 0L I cannot say if it actually was worth my time, but I can say I will definitely use what I learned.

[JoeMo]

I am a 0L. To revise my statement. LEEWS did not feel like a scam. It was not boring and the material seemed to be useful. I was skeptical going in, but I'm glad I went.

As a 0L I cannot say if it actually was worth my time, but I can say I will definitely use what I learned.

Ah ok, this makes sense. I'm sorry, I didn't realize my tone sounded argumentative, it really wasn't meant to be. I was just wondering what made you think it was worth your time. I was actually looking into getting the LEEWS tapes when I asked some people that I know had used it and they all had the same opinion. Will be curious to see if you end up agreeing with them but I hope that it does end up helping you.

As for law preview, I don't know too much about it but I wouldn't do it. Isn't it like $3000?

[law2015]

I am a 0L. To revise my statement. LEEWS did not feel like a scam. It was not boring and the material seemed to be useful. I was skeptical going in, but I'm glad I went.

As a 0L I cannot say if it actually was worth my time, but I can say I will definitely use what I learned.

Ah ok, this makes sense. I'm sorry, I didn't realize my tone sounded argumentative, it really wasn't meant to be. I was just wondering what made you think it was worth your time. I was actually looking into getting the LEEWS tapes when I asked some people that I know had used it and they all had the same opinion. Will be curious to see if you end up agreeing with them but I hope that it does end up helping you.

As for law preview, I don't know too much about it but I wouldn't do it. Isn't it like $3000?

Its anywhere from 800 to 1200, depending on whether you take 5 or 6 days and if you have a 100 dollar discount.

[envisciguy]

I can't imagine a week long crash course in law school will really make an appreciable difference in law school performance. I'd save the money, maybe read a couple books if you really want to prepare.

[admisionquestion]

They typical advice:

Read GTM
Read 1L of a ride
Read law school confidential
Read a good book on the supreme court
Read a few biographies of some lawyers/judges that interest you

Maybe do LEEWS and maybe read through some basic material like the law school legends audio courses etc

[YYZ]

If you really the need to do 0L prep this summer, keep it pretty simple. Read LS Confidential, GTM and 1L of a Ride. Absolutely no need to read Hornbooks, E&E, etc. You won't have the context of the course material (taught by your professor) to match up with the information in these supplements. I would tell you that if you purchase used supplements in the summer on Amazon or Half.com, you will probably pay less b/c the supply is higher. Once the school year starts, people buy supplements and the prices for used books goes up.

I bought LEEWS at a discount ($100 used), and I went through the course. Do it if you must, but it's not going to help you that much. Each professor will have a particular manner on how they want you to answer essay exam questions, and in my case, every one of my profs explained that to us. I did well the first semester, and I can't think of anything that I used on the exams from LEEWS. Some prof's want the IRAC method, some want just the "analysis" portion, etc. I'm sure every prof wants you to argue both sides of the issue. You don't need to buy a book to figure that out.

[sophistical]

for people who were wondering about the cost and other details of "Law Preview" (it's the actual name of the program, not just a generic term describing multiple prep courses), this is their homepage: http://www.lawpreview.com/

i too am wondering whether it's worth it to take the course. $1000 is a lot, but if it's really useful, i guess i'll fork out the cash. i'm just wondering if there's anything in the course that isn't already mentioned in the books admisionquestion listed.

[Ludo!]

100 % guarantee you this thing is not worth the money. Read the guides on this site, GTM, maybe LEEWS and that's it.

[sophistical]

what are the "guides on this site" that a few people have been referring to? is it a specific section of the site?

[rad lulz]

I honestly thought LEEWS was worth it. My 2 cents

[billyez]

Don't do Law Preview. It's too expensive for what it gives you. I got it for free so whatever, but it is not worth it if you're actually paying. GTM. LEEWS. One or both and that's all.

[Ludo!]

what are the "guides on this site" that a few people have been referring to? is it a specific section of the site?

Three great ones are in the articles for law students section - arrows guide (probably the gold standard), jaycutlercombover's guide and the unique perspectiveone. Scribe also has an amazing guide somehwre on here. And there were two good ones posted in the last year - one called lazy guide or something like that and one called advice from someone number one in the class.

Read all of those, synthesize the info, keep in mind what you think will work best for you, and you'll be vastly more prepared than anyone who paid a grand for that preview course

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

Can't believe I forgot talon xeoh and megatttron. All of those helped me a lot

[sophistical]

A few of you mentioned LEEWS or said that it helped. Does it change much from one version to the next? Ebay has people selling the 6th edition, but Amazon is showing the 7th edition. LEEWS's homepage is showing the 8th edition! Does the content change significantly from one edition to the next?

In addition to titles already mentioned, I was also looking at some of the other books that were reviewed here at TLS: http://www.top-law-schools.com/book-reviews.html

What do you think of the following books?

1. The Law School Breakthrough (ISBN-10 1564147851)
2. Planet Law School II (ISBN-10 1888960507)
-Is this the latest version of the book or is it part 2 of the book with ISBN-10 1888960027?
3. Introduction to the Study and Practice of Law in a Nutshell (ISBN-10 0314194150)

[YYZ]

A few of you mentioned LEEWS or said that it helped. Does it change much from one version to the next? Ebay has people selling the 6th edition, but Amazon is showing the 7th edition. LEEWS's homepage is showing the 8th edition! Does the content change significantly from one edition to the next?

In addition to titles already mentioned, I was also looking at some of the other books that were reviewed here at TLS: http://www.top-law-schools.com/book-reviews.html

What do you think of the following books?

1. The Law School Breakthrough (ISBN-10 1564147851)
2. Planet Law School II (ISBN-10 1888960507)
-Is this the latest version of the book or is it part 2 of the book with ISBN-10 1888960027?
3. Introduction to the Study and Practice of Law in a Nutshell (ISBN-10 0314194150)

Regarding LEEWS, I doubt it changes enough from version to version to really matter. I used an older version I bought off of EBay. I think GTM is enough, but do LEEWS as well if you really want to.

Unless you can buy Planet Law School II cheap, I would avoid it. I didn't find it helpful and I quit reading it half way through. Read "1L of a Ride" if you want a general understanding of what to expect from law school. As I've said many times before, your professors are going to tell you how they prefer you to answer essay questions on exams. In most "issue spotting" questions, you're barely going to have enough time to do a basic analysis of each issue based on how your professor taught you to analyze issues.

One of the most worthwhile things you can do this summer is to improve your typing speed and accuracy. Not only will that help you take accurate notes in class, it will give a leg-up on your competition on the essay exam questions. The more analysis and arguments you can list on your essay questions, the more points you'll probably receive. For example, I would say I type 60 words per minute, and I would argue that's somewhat of a handicap for me during exams. Typing fast than 60WPH would be helpful.

[Mce252]

I read 1L of a Ride before 1L and then went through Getting to Maybe when exam time came around. GTM is much more helpful if you read it after you've covered material at your school.

Other than that, just work consistently hard and never miss class. Don't rely on other people for their work.

[1776]

I was able to take a class at my undergrads law school, and took two pre law courses taught by a law professor. Are those accurate indicators of what law school classes will be like? The tests we took were what our professor said actual ls tests were like. Do you think that's true?

[rad lulz]

I was able to take a class at my undergrads law school, and took two pre law courses taught by a law professor. Are those accurate indicators of what law school classes will be like? The tests we took were what our professor said actual ls tests were like. Do you think that's true?

How the hell are we supposed to know what tests the professor gave; also your question assumes that all law school tests have a fairly high degree of similarity. They do not.

[FlanSolo]

I read 1L of a Ride before 1L and then went through Getting to Maybe when exam time came around. GTM is much more helpful if you read it after you've covered material at your school.

Other than that, just work consistently hard and never miss class. Don't rely on other people for their work.

I'll just throw in my two cents and say that reading GTM before school starts probably helped me because it kept my eyes open for the types of things that would lead to good test performance. I can see why it would be more helpful after you've spent some time covering some of the material the mention, but it certainly wasn't necessary for me.

Obviously, everyone's experience is going to vary, and it's probably way too difficult to actually draw cause-effect relationships here, but I guess my experience stands - at the very least - for showing that you if you are feeling really antsy about 0L prep stuff, reading to GTM may help you. It certainly won't hurt you.

[1776]

I was able to take a class at my undergrads law school, and took two pre law courses taught by a law professor. Are those accurate indicators of what law school classes will be like? The tests we took were what our professor said actual ls tests were like. Do you think that's true?

How the hell are we supposed to know what tests the professor gave; also your question assumes that all law school tests have a fairly high degree of similarity. They do not.

I'm not assuming the tests are alike, that's why I asked if they were similar. If I assumed they were alike, I wouldn't have asked if they were alike. Should I trust a former law professor that her tests were akin to an actual law school exam? You could answer this by saying what is on an actual exam. The ones I took were essays, short answer, and definitions. No need to be mad.

[spleenworship]

I honestly thought LEEWS was worth it. My 2 cents

Meh....

I could've figured out everything useful from the LEEWS method on my own. I didn't honestly think it did much for me other than expose me to hypos and make suggestions for a way to quickly outline at the beginning (which I didn't use- I used my own method). So, yeah.... YMMV.

Personally I would read GTM and spend the rest of the summer enjoying myself. Myabe learn how to briefly brief. Read a good book, go swimming, see a movie, try to get laid. I worked before 1L and read GTM. I wish, however, that I hadn't worked... at least sometimes.

I'm top 25% after 1L if that makes any difference in your evaluation of my advice.