COMMON 0L QUESTIONS books, study guides, E&Es, studying,etc Forum

[Tave]

Chalk me up as someone else who doesn't understand why people spend oodles of money on hornbooks and E&Es while multiple copies sit on the library shelves unused...

[RVP11]

Chalk me up as someone else who doesn't understand why people spend oodles of money on hornbooks and E&Es while multiple copies sit on the library shelves unused...

People like to make notations and highlights in their own copies, have a copy at home, etc.

[Tave]

People like to ... have a copy at home, etc.

Does your library not let you check out books?

[RVP11]

People like to ... have a copy at home, etc.

Does your library not let you check out books?

Some law school libraries only have them on reserve.

Point is there are plenty of reasons to have your own copy.

[Thane Messinger]

I'm now firmly in the "for the love of god, wait until you get to school" bandwagon. Meet your professors and get a sense of how they're going to teach the class -- if they're extremely methodical and focus each class on teaching you the BLL, you probably won't need a supplement (that was my contracts professor) but might want to focus instead on doing a ton of practice exams for practice issue spotting. If they're wacky and policy oriented (like my torts, and later my property prof) then you will likely need the supplement to teach you the BLL you aren't getting in class. If they've written a hornbook in the subject, buy that one (my civ pro professor -- I parrotted back nuances he mentioned in his hornbook, and he decided I was a genius. Not at all warranted, but I'll take what I can get). I ended up with a 3.89 for first semester...grades aren't back for second semester, but I followed the same strategy.

Paichka & All -

While it is self-interested of me to write, I think it's also worth an additional consideration:

The problem wasn't that you tried to get a head start, but that you started with Civ Pro. If ever there were a class not to start with, that it is. = : ) And E&E, while quite valuable, is not the very first step.

I suspect there will be vociferous disagreement, and that's fine, but for soon-to-be-1Ls out there, please consider that of the million stories you hear about law school, nearly 999,984 of them relate in some way to some screeching, complaining, whining, or pre-suicide threat. This is not right, and it's in part a result of how disorienting the initial law school experience is. THAT is what is wrong, for most students, and that is why careful preparation is helpful, for nearly everyone (excepting those with trust funds that are simply nettlesome to consume).

Here's a list of sources from the LSAC with a variety of sources. If you can read just a few, read parts of Planet Law School (but not all of it) and, in utter self-interest, the middle ("Getting Good") part of my book, Law School: Getting In, Getting Good, Getting the Gold. In part to agree with Paichka and part to get a sense of just how wrong much of the conventional advice is, there's also the rather funny Slacker's Guide to Law School.

Here's the list:

http://www.lsac.org/pdfs/Resources-for- ... didate.pdf

Thane.

PS: Good point as to using the library before buying a book. In fact, if you ask they will often buy you a copy of whatever it is you would like to see.

[Stanford4Me]

Tagged.

[mikeytwoshoes]

--ImageRemoved--

[StudentAthlete]

Wait until school starts, save for reading GTM

[kehdrms]

bump for reference

[smartblonde87]

Nice post!

[Thane Messinger]

* * *
Here's a list of sources from the LSAC with a variety of sources. If you can read just a few, read parts of Planet Law School (but not all of it) and, in utter self-interest, the middle ("Getting Good") part of my book, Law School: Getting In, Getting Good, Getting the Gold. In part to agree with Paichka and part to get a sense of just how wrong much of the conventional advice is, there's also the rather funny Slacker's Guide to Law School.

Here's the list:

http://www.lsac.org/pdfs/Resources-for- ... didate.pdf

There's a new book out, by Derrick Hibbard: Law School Fast Track, about building good habits. I've read it in manuscript. I'd long ago thought that everything that could be said about law school has been said, but Hibbard does an excellent job, and it's a very fast read.

[Scarletlady]

I haven't recieved my booklist yet, but have begun looking at different sites and 1L books to get an idea about overall cost.

Does anyone have a favorite book site they use? What are your thoughts on purchasing used editions of casebooks, etc.? And does anyone know if the Barnes and Noble member discount applies to textbooks as well? (I can't find that info for certain on their website.)

[nick637]

Do i need to buy the absolute newest editions of casebooks?

[270910]

Do i need to buy the absolute newest editions of casebooks?

Yes.

Or rather maybe not, but even if not you won't have any way to know until half way through the semester in most cases.

[DeSimone]

Great thread!

[inchoate_con]

The E&E is pretty average.

Just finished it. EE is bad, but I've thought they sucked since reading Criminal Law. the explanations are terrible compared to exams of class discussions.

[uwb09]

Civ Pro E&E, is it important to get the 2008 edition, or should I be ok with the 2006 edition?

[Stanford4Me]

Civ Pro E&E, is it important to get the 2008 edition, or should I be ok with the 2006 edition?

My (Civ Pro) professor today said that you shouldn't get any supplements prior to 2008, citing some change in federal procedure that took place in 2007.

[emmersonian]

Hi guys and gals, I have a class called Legislation and Regulation at my school and was wondering what supplements are recommended for that class? I know it's relatively recent at my law school so I'm not sure on what supplement to get.

[Cmoss]

is there an end all be all list of everything an 0L needs?


Here is an idea for you young entrepreneurs put together a packaged deal and sell it to 0L's

[Amy wineBerry]

I'm currently a 1L taking crim law, civ pro, contracts, and torts. Because of my casebook authors, I chose Gilbert Law Outlines for each class. I also have E&Es for each class. Is there any benefit to having the Crunchtime series for classes?

[Paichka]

I'm currently a 1L taking crim law, civ pro, contracts, and torts. Because of my casebook authors, I chose Gilbert Law Outlines for each class. I also have E&Es for each class. Is there any benefit to having the Crunchtime series for classes?

That might be going a bit overboard. I don't think that you need all of the supplements that are out there for every class -- try to pick one that YOU find helpful (or better, that your professor wrote) and go from there. The nice thing about supplements is their utility in highlighting ambiguities in the law. Ambiguities are what form exam questions...knowing how to spot them, and knowing how to argue through one to resolution, is the key to (A) getting a great grade, and (B) being a good advocate in actual practice.

So no, if your Gilberts and your E&E are helpful, stick with that. Don't drop any more cash unless your chosen supplements aren't doing it for you.

[Amy wineBerry]

I'm currently a 1L taking crim law, civ pro, contracts, and torts. Because of my casebook authors, I chose Gilbert Law Outlines for each class. I also have E&Es for each class. Is there any benefit to having the Crunchtime series for classes?

That might be going a bit overboard. I don't think that you need all of the supplements that are out there for every class -- try to pick one that YOU find helpful (or better, that your professor wrote) and go from there. The nice thing about supplements is their utility in highlighting ambiguities in the law. Ambiguities are what form exam questions...knowing how to spot them, and knowing how to argue through one to resolution, is the key to (A) getting a great grade, and (B) being a good advocate in actual practice.

So no, if your Gilberts and your E&E are helpful, stick with that. Don't drop any more cash unless your chosen supplements aren't doing it for you.

Thanks for the advice. It's greatly appreciated.

[cgs230]

I'd also like to endorse the Chirelstein contracts book. I've used the E&E for contracts as well, but it is a lot more dense and long than Chirelstein for essentially the same result. Plus, I've found that the Chirelstein book uses virtually all the same cases that were used in my class, which makes it particularly relevant and helpful. I'd say use the E&E like a month before your exam or throughout the semester, but closer to the test and especially if you are in a crunch, use the Chirelstein.

The torts one is good too, at least for my teach. Easiest supp's to buy for are contracts and torts because they're very formulaic (esp. contracts). Civ Pro is too (the rules) but then you get into the theoretical stuff, and it becomes subjective (one teacher refuses to teach Pennoyer, another spends a month on it, etc.) and crim is so statute-heavy there's no golden supplement, though I've heard Dressler's Black Letter Outline (not his Understanding) is good at differentiating between the MPC and CL. Does this make sense?

[huckabees]

Contracts everyone at my school had CASENOTES- which was keyed to their book. Never had to open the text book.

I was reading elsewhere that some advise just using casenotes instead of reading the cases in the text book. They claim that this allows you to focus on the relevant issues for the case while saving time to read other material. Is this a good idea? Something that you would use in certain classes and not others?

Any more commentary on this? I feel like in Conlaw, I'm getting very very little out of reading the cases and pay attention to all the wrong details... but when I use the Casenotes, everything makes sense. Specifically, I'm planning to Use Emmanuels + Casenotes + maybe Chemerinksy to get through this course. Does this sound like a risky strategy? Should I be paying more attn to the casebook? FWIW, I do plan to listen and take careful notes in class and read the sections of cases the prof points out, but otherwise, I am planning to ignore the casebook.