Going over the Casebooks for 1L - Good Idea? Forum

bobbyflayed · Post by **bobbyflayed** » Sun Sep 23, 2012 4:21 am

I have a year to kill before law school and I'm thinking about buying/reading all the E and Es and casebooks for 1L to get a head start.

I know that professors teach each class differently but would it be beneficial at all to become familiar with the concepts/seminal cases?

Any other advice as to how to prepare?

EvilClinton · Post by **EvilClinton** » Sun Sep 23, 2012 4:35 am

bobbyflayed wrote:I have a year to kill before law school and I'm thinking about buying/reading all the E and Es and casebooks for 1L to get a head start.

I know that professors teach each class differently but would it be beneficial at all to become familiar with the concepts/seminal cases?

Any other advice as to how to prepare?

No, this is a terrible idea.

dietcoke0 · Post by **dietcoke0** » Sun Sep 23, 2012 5:30 pm

Nothing good can come from reading 7000 pages and 1000 cases without knowing anything about them. You're more liable to burn yourself out.

E&E is questionable success based on this site, but a month in, I say it would be worthless.

I would say a better use of your time would be copying the dictionary word for word or going out and getting laid, your choice.

goldenflash19 · Post by **goldenflash19** » Mon Sep 24, 2012 2:36 pm

If you have to do something, maybe you should work on improving your typing speed? Do some online speed tests a few times per week to help prevent typing from limiting you come exam time.

QuailMan · Post by **QuailMan** » Fri Sep 28, 2012 12:10 pm

From a 2L: no, studying from EE this far in advance is probably not going to be helpful. Especially w/o anyone to bounce ideas off of or to challenge you with counter examples you're only going to trick yourself into think that the law is simple.

Something you could work on (and actually do yourself a favor) is writing. I dont mean learning "legal" writing and citations. I mean taking a class in writing where someone teaches you about sentence structure, the role of passive voice, tense, tone and so on. Being a good writer is such a great way to set yourself apart, even if your LARW is ungraded, employers will ask for a writing sample and if yours is solid, its a great way to tangibly make the employer think you're competent. Once you get beyond knowing the law, the critical part of legal writing has little to do with being a lawyer and more to do with being able to string together clear sentences.

Try to find a class at a JC or grab a style guide with some exercises. You'll be doing yourself a huge favor.

BuckinghamB · Post by **BuckinghamB** » Fri Sep 28, 2012 6:22 pm

You would just be spinning your wheels. Relax.

BEAST_mode · Post by **BEAST_mode** » Fri Sep 28, 2012 6:34 pm

Just awful.

rinkrat19 · Post by **rinkrat19** » Fri Sep 28, 2012 6:38 pm

1. You have no idea what casebook your school/professor will require.
2. You have no idea what small percentage of the cases in the book your class will cover.
3. You have no idea what you're supposed to be getting out of reading cases. (Hint: it's not the who/what/when/where)
4. You have no idea what the professor would have said about a case in class.
5. You're going to be reading these for 3 years and beyond. Don't start early for no reason at all.

bobbyflayed · Post by **bobbyflayed** » Sat Oct 06, 2012 2:37 am

1. If I have past exams and graded tests from the law school I'm going to, this is still not helpful?

2. Also, can someone explain to me why being familiar with the cases would be detrimental to hearing the cases spoken about in class?

I'm not being combative I'm actually very interested.

I legitimately have a lot of free time and, for those of you who say relax before law school, I've spent the last year traveling the world and I have another year free.

I really want to spend time preparing for 1L. What's the best way to do that besides grammar? I tutored sat grammar throughout my college career, I'm pretty good at avoiding things like passive voice. Also I type 76wpm with speed corrected for errors.

Im very interested in tips to prepare.

Would watching all the open course ware available through law schools help? What other things can you recommend doing?

Tom Joad · Post by **Tom Joad** » Sat Oct 06, 2012 2:44 am

bobbyflayed wrote:If I have past exams and graded tests from the law school I'm going to, this is still not helpful?

Also, can someone explain to me why being familiar with the cases would be detrimental to hearing the cases spoken about in class?

I'm not being combative I'm actually very interested.

The important part of most cases can be expressed in 1 sentence. Everybody will know the cases. You won't be at an advantage and you will waste a lot of time and effort.

bobbyflayed · Post by **bobbyflayed** » Sat Oct 06, 2012 2:47 am

Tom Joad wrote:
bobbyflayed wrote:If I have past exams and graded tests from the law school I'm going to, this is still not helpful?

Also, can someone explain to me why being familiar with the cases would be detrimental to hearing the cases spoken about in class?

I'm not being combative I'm actually very interested.
The important part of most cases can be expressed in 1 sentence. Everybody will know the cases. You won't be at an advantage and you will waste a lot of time and effort.

Can I look up these sentences and lesson plans?

Won't knowing the cases help with doing practice law school exams?

Davidbentley · Post by **Davidbentley** » Sat Oct 06, 2012 2:52 am

I'm throwing my full weight and gravitas behind this plan. Gunners gotta gun.

Mick Haller · Post by **Mick Haller** » Sat Oct 06, 2012 3:03 am

Eh, you might download and read over a few outlines from Outline Depot. Those will basically hit the high points from a 1000 page casebook, and do it in only 30-50 pages. Anything more than that would be a waste of time.

BuckinghamB · Post by **BuckinghamB** » Sat Oct 06, 2012 12:34 pm

BuckinghamB wrote:You would just be spinning your wheels. Relax.

RodneyBoonfield · Post by **RodneyBoonfield** » Sat Oct 06, 2012 9:58 pm

There is no point until you know what what your teacher is going to go over.

I think that the purpose of going over old exams is good practice to find out how your teacher wants you to answer his questions. In my experience, this is only helpful if your teacher is willing to go over them with you. Taking some random-teacher-that you'll-never-have's exam is a ginormous waste of time.

Maybe you could start learning how to bluebook. That was a huge pain in my ass 1L year.

Samara · Post by **Samara** » Sat Oct 06, 2012 10:18 pm

bobbyflayed wrote:
Tom Joad wrote:
bobbyflayed wrote:If I have past exams and graded tests from the law school I'm going to, this is still not helpful?

Also, can someone explain to me why being familiar with the cases would be detrimental to hearing the cases spoken about in class?

I'm not being combative I'm actually very interested.
The important part of most cases can be expressed in 1 sentence. Everybody will know the cases. You won't be at an advantage and you will waste a lot of time and effort.
Can I look up these sentences and lesson plans?

Won't knowing the cases help with doing practice law school exams?

Nope. It could actually be detrimental. This is not like anything else. There is no objective answer and exams are highly tailored to the individual professor. If a professor teaches in a way that is different from the E&E, you'll have to somehow unlearn it all before learning how the professor sees it. No one thinks substantive 0L prep is useful.

dingbat · Post by **dingbat** » Sun Oct 07, 2012 9:27 am

bobbyflayed wrote:Any other advice as to how to prepare?

- learn a new language
- if you already have a rough idea what kind of law you want to practice, learn more about that industry
- if at all possible, figure out targets for 1L summer, get your resume and cover letter in order
- spend quality time with friends and family
- pick up a new hobby
- master an old one
- get laid

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