Full Description

“A step-by-step, issue-by-issue, walk-through of the challenges that face every new law student, with the emotion and stories that bring the experience to life for the reader!”

—Paul M. Lisnek, author of The Hidden Jury
Executive Director, BarBri Law School Prep Program

Admit it—you’ve been captivated by courtroom dramas, intrigued by national lawsuits, and, overall, fascinated by the opportunity a lawyer has to change the world (while still making a decent living).

The ability to interpret the law and fight for justice gives the legal profession a unique prestige. With more law students than lawyers, however, it now appears that the power and romantic allure of the law has overshadowed reality. The daily life of law school students and attorneys is often misrepresented in popular media, and more prospective attorneys enter law school uncertain of what awaits them both in the classroom and in their career.

Some of the facts that every entering law student needs to know include:

--college majors do matter—but not in the way you think
--grades don’t matter—as much as the LSAT
--there is not a job waiting for you at the end
--an honor code will be instilled in you
--you can make a difference

Finally, the truth revealed

Law School 101 is an insightful, and sometimes humorous, guide to help prospective legal scholars anticipate the trials, tribulations, and exaltation of going to law school. Becoming a lawyer is often a frightening, stressful journey, in which every resource you have must be used. Law School 101 teaches you how to avoid common pitfalls, decode myths, and, finally, how to achieve your dream of becoming an amazing lawyer.

Table of Contents

Introduction -

SECTION ONE: PRE-LAW
Chapter 1: Preparing for Law School
Do You Really Want to be An Attorney?
Law and Disorder
Motivationally Speaking
Take Inventory
Lifelines
Sense and Sensibility
Returning to School Later in Life

Chapter 2: Applying to Law School
Personal Essay
Letters of Recommendation
GPA
Putting it all Together
Play the Field
College Majors
School Rank
Know the Process
Transferring In
What’s in a Name?
The LSAT
Summer Solstice

SECTION TWO: FIRST YEAR
Chapter 3: Welcome to Law School
Honor Thy Self
Re-Orientation
Avoiding First-Day Fumbles
Before Classes Begin
The Law Library
The Assignment Board
The Bookstore
First Year Quarantine
Discover Your Own Secrets for Success
Study Aids
Professors
Bar Review Courses
Socrates Who?

Chapter 4: Non Illegitimi Carborundum
Handling It All
Isolation, Intimidation, and Humiliation
Beer Here
Method to the Madness

SECTION THREE: KNOWING THE ROPES WITHOUT HANGING YOURSELF
Chapter 5: Studying the Right Way
Habitat Habits
Researching in the 21st Century
Reading, Reading, and More Reading
Briefing Briefly
Note Taking for Novices
Recording Rhetoric
Outlining for Success

Chapter 6: Strategic Exam Taking
Tricks of the Trade
Passing is Not Enough
Anonymity
Using Your Laptop

SECTION FOUR: SECOND YEAR
Chapter 7: Freedom to Choose
Get to Know Your Professors Before You are in Their Classes
Grading Methods
Other Important Questions
Prerequisite Intent

Chapter 8: Acclimatized Amnesty
Clinical Programs
Moot Court
Research Assistants
Law Review
Journals
Extracurricular Activities
Studying Abroad

SECTION FIVE: CAREER CHASE
Chapter 9: Finding the Right Job
Résumé Writing—and Rewriting and Rerewriting
Creative Cover Letters
Informative Interviewing
Callbacks
Brush-Offs

Chapter 10: Laboring Legally
Public Interest Jobs
Government Agencies
Judicial Clerkships
Law Firms
In-House Corporate Counsels
Educational Endeavors
Pro Bono Law
Occupational Alternatives

SECTION SIX: THIRD YEAR
Chapter 11: The Last Mile
The Bar Exam
Outside the Test
Other Stressful Stuff
Soothing Thoughts
Nonfatal Failure
Bar None
What Next?

SECTION SEVEN: AFTER SCHOOL
Chapter 12: What You Really Learn in Law School -Objective Thinking: The Key to being a Competent Attorney
Speaking like a Lawyer
Looking at Life in Real Terms
Walking the Line
Comfort Zone
Gender Benders
Perceptive Blindness
A Final Thought

Index -Author Biography

Excerpt

Law School: What to Expect Your First Year

Excerpted from Law School 101 by R. Stephanie Good, Attorney at Law ©2004

First Year Quarantine
In the majority of law schools, first-year students are assigned to their sections, as well as their classes. Sections are made up of groups of students who stay together in the same classes throughout the first year. In my school, there were three first-year sections, A, B, and C. Each section consisted of approximately one hundred students.

There is definitely something to be said for this system. The stress of first-year law can be overwhelming; seeing the same familiar faces each and every day can provide a sense of continuity and reassurance. You have the advantage of becoming close to your classmates. During an incredibly anxiety-ridden year when you feel extremely isolated from all that you were connected to pre-law, it is especially comforting to know that there is at least one constant in the whirlwind of law school.

Your first year schedule will consist of at least five to six yearlong courses, including a legal research and writing class, all of which will be extremely demanding. If you miss a class, you miss an important chunk of material that is difficult to make up by merely getting someone else’s notes. Although it is not out of the question to use other students’ notes to keep up when it comes to some classes, especially upper level courses, the first year is also a time when attendance is carefully monitored. Even if it isn’t, you should attend because keeping up with class lectures and assignments is more important for you than for your professor.

It is crucial that you stay on top of your workload. It is also essential that you become fully accustomed with what your professor expects from you regarding class participation, exams, and papers. Understanding their requirements is the only way to achieve success, and to do this, you must be familiar with and able to adjust to their particular mode of instruction.

Besides being assigned to your section, you will also be assigned your first-year class schedule. This is nonnegotiable. You must stay with your section in each and every class.

First-year classes are meant to introduce you to all of the key concepts required to understand the legal system. The following is a brief description of what will generally be included in your first-year courses.

Civil Procedure
Civil Procedure describes how a civil lawsuit is brought and the procedural path that it takes to get through the court system. You will learn about such topics as who has standing (the right to initiate a lawsuit); which court has jurisdiction (the authority to adjudicate a particular case); what types of jurisdiction exist; the statute of limitations (at what point the time runs out to commence an action); and many other issues involving how to function in the legal system.

Tort Law
Tort Law involves civil liability for acts committed by persons or government entities. In other words, who will be held responsible for a slip and fall; a car accident; a foreign object in food; a doctor’s or lawyer’s malpractice; false imprisonment; and many more claims that do not fall within the criminal category. Duty, breach of that duty, harm, remedies, and defenses are also discussed, as well as the difference between an intentional act and a negligent one.

Contract Law
Contract Law analyzes what it takes to create a binding agreement, to breach it, and what remedies are available to satisfy the agreement. Discussed are the concepts of offer, acceptance, and consideration, and how they create a binding contract. To put it simply, a contract is created when one person makes a promise to do some thing in exchange for someone else’s promise to do something else. Of course, this is a primitive explanation, but it gives you an idea of what a contract is.

Constitutional Law
Constitutional Law may be one of the most important classes during your law school tenure. In some schools, this is a first-year course. In others, it is taken later on. Here you will learn that the United States Constitution serves as the supreme law of the land. It is
where all of our rights and privileges as United States citizens are found. It is the document by which we challenge our government when it appears that those rights and privileges are being abridged.

It is then up to the Supreme Court to interpret the Constitution in a way that allows us to fully realize and understand our rights. Since the document is subject to interpretation, there is no guarantee of a win in the Supreme Court. However, by researching prior Supreme Court decisions (precedents), we become better able to argue our cases in a reasonably capable manner and to predict the likelihood of success in front of the Court.

This course also teaches the basics of how the powers of the federal and state governments are kept separate, how the legislative, judicial and executive branches function under those powers, and why it is necessary that there are separate and distinct branches of government. Thus, if you find yourself being discriminated against due to race, religion, gender, handicap, or any one of a number of other constitutionally protected things, or if you are told that you are forbidden from speaking your mind, writing about a certain subject, participating in a specific type of event, or denied your day in court, it is the Constitution to which you will look for protection.

Criminal Law
In a few short words, a Criminal Law course teaches you how to determine what type of behavior is necessary for an act to be considered a crime; the procedural steps to take regarding what type of punishments may be administered; and what constitutional protections are afforded to protect the defendant. You will learn about the difference between committing a crime with intent or preparation and committing a crime out of emotional upset. You will also learn how a person may be guilty of committing a crime just for going along for the ride or discussing the crime with the perpetrator before it happens and not doing something to prevent it from taking place.

Property Law
Property Law tends to be somewhat more complicated in comparison to the others. Generally, the student learns about the development of property law dating back to the feudal period of England and spanning to the present day (which is good because you will finally begin to more easily understand the language). Covered are landlord/tenant disputes, personal property issues, and estate interests.

NOTE: Many students walk into this course thinking that it is all about real estate. But the famous Pierson v. Post case demonstrates otherwise. It involves chasing and catching a fox, and at what point, if ever, possession of the fox is truly achieved. There are law schools where nearly an entire semester will be spent on this case alone.

Legal Research and Writing
Legal Research and Writing is probably the most indispensable class in law school. These are the essential ingredients for getting through law school and successfully practicing law. Legal writing is the lawyer’s artillery. It is through the art of communication that the lawyer makes his or her point. A well-written motion, a thought-provoking brief, a craftily-drafted contract, or a simple letter of intent can all serve as devices that make the difference between winning or losing a case and closing or killing a deal. Your pen is your sword and the more capable you are at putting pen to paper, the more successful you will be in your practice of law.

In your legal writing course, you will be guided through the steps of brief and memoranda writing, advised regarding which books and resources are the most useful for research on specific topics, taught methods to analyze those issues, and finally, you will learn how to properly weave it all together to make your point. Most legal research and writing classes culminate with the writing of a brief, and depending upon the school, a moot court argument.

During first-year law, you may find it somewhat unsettling if you are consistently criticized for your writing skills, or lack thereof, especially if you were a highly successful English student in college. But it is important to remember that there is a huge difference between creative college composition and fact-based law school writing.

At the beginning of the course, you will attempt to draft elaborate papers similar to those you wrote in college English. You will take the information given to you and weave tales around it, embellishing and crafting details to make them more interesting. You will proudly turn it in and wait for your professor’s critique, feeling relieved at how easily you completed your assignment. However, you and your paper will be often be chewed up and spit out if there is even a hint of creativity in it.

Facts, facts, and more facts! That is what legal writing is all about. Your professors do not want to hear that the sharp, red-stained knife that was used to kill the tiny waif of a child was still dripping with her poor, little body’s red blood. More to the point would be that the murder weapon tested positive for the victim’s blood. (Creative writing does not belong in the factual world of law.)

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