The tips are based on the mistakes they made during their first year of law school and things they did that worked especially well. The tips are helpful, and some are a bit humorous. The video is less than 8 minutes long.

Click here to view the embedded video.

If you’re in law school, you probably know what a “gunner” is. In short, it’s a person who frequently raises their hand to talk in class.

Gunners seem like they just want to hear themselves talk. They seem to want to impress their classmates and the professor with their knowledge.

Most law students are annoyed by gunners. But not every student who talks a lot has the same motives as a gunner. Sometimes students who are very interested in the subject matter can get the reputation of being a gunner.

There is an impression for new law students that someone who talks a lot in class must be more knowledgeable or smarter. However, as law school progresses, you quickly learn that the smartest kids in the class are often the quietest kids in the class.

This video interviews law students about their impressions of gunners in law school.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Sure, grades are important. But students with high grades still need a good resume. Law students with medium or low grades are especially position to benefit from building other areas of their resume.

The video is encouraging for students who don’t have good grades. There are many things that law students can do to have their CV represent their strengths.

In this video, Thomas Jefferson School of Law Professor David Steinberg gives advice to law students on building the law school resume and networking for jobs after law school.

Scenario 1: During Class.

Have you ever been taking notes in class and missed something important that the professor said? Maybe it was a blackletter rule. Maybe it was a point that could be on the final exam. It would be nice if you could just rewind class. Maybe you can ask a friend about it after class. With EtherPad, you can see your friend’s class notes appear immediately as your friend writes them.

Scenario 2: Preparing for Finals.

Imagine that you are preparing your outline for finals. You notice gaps in your notes. You’re not sure if you were day-dreaming, missed a concept, or the professor just didn’t talk about it. You might have time to ask some friends to see their notes, but you might not have time. With EtherPad, you would have a copy of your friend’s class notes next to yours, so you can fill in the gaps.

Alternatives to EtherPad.

Instead of EtherPad, a study partner and I shared a Microsoft OneNote document over the internet. This allowed us to take notes together during class. It worked great. He often noted information that I missed, and vice versa. However, Microsoft OneNote is not free, and it is not as simple as EtherPad.

GoogleDocs allows collaboration like EtherPad, but notes in GoogleDocs are delayed by about 10-15 seconds, which can be annoying. GoogleDocs is free; you just need a Gmail account.

EtherPad Let’s You Chat During Class.

Using EtherPad, you can ask your friend a question or make a comment during class. For example, your in-class notes might look something like this:

You: Um, did the professor just say that the “mailbox rule” was different under the UCC?

Your Friend: Yeah, dude. Didn’t you read the assignment this week?  Compare UCC 2-207 to Restatement(2d) Contracts 59.

Sharing notes in class isn’t for everyone. You need a study partner you trust. However, many law students may find it very helpful. If you don’t own Microsoft OneNote, check out EtherPad. It’s free.

The video then suggests that you get your resume/CV out to as many law firms as possible. While I agree with this advice, I think students who have a lot of connections in the legal industry would be better served by first focusing time on those connections before mass-mailing law firms. For law students without connections, it is simple math: the more firms that received your resume, the more chances you have of finding an employer who likes your unique qualifications.

Frankly, I think the presenter comes across as pushing mass mailings, which is probably a service offered by his company. However, I still think the advice is good for students with no connections. Of couse, if you have time, start building connections in the legal community by volunteering, getting to know your professors, and find other ways to build a few deep relationships (which are better than many shallow relationships).

Click here to view the embedded video.

As competition increases due to the increasing number of law students entering the job market, having a plan for a job hunt becomes more important.

What do you think? What are good ways to look for jobs as a law student?

For example, people have asked:

• What is the process to get into law school?
• Will having a photographic memory help me get into law school?
• What LSAT score do I need to get into the top 5 law schools?
• I am in (fill-in-the-blank) minority category—will that help me get into law school?

Law school students have less questions, but they want to exchange ideas:

• I’m in a study group, but it seems like a waste of time. Maybe I should quit.
• I’m not sure about creating my own outline when I can buy a professional outline and study that.
• I am behind in my reading. I don’t know what to do.
• Some law students annoy me because they…

For these reasons, I set up a simple way to exchange ideas, ask questions, and discuss law school: a law school forum.

Whether you have questions to learn more about law school or want to connect with others to discuss law school subjects, start up the conversation with your thoughts or questions. I will try to respond to your post within 24 hours, so you will get a quick response. Feel free to bring up any law school subject. The forums cover three general time periods:

1. Before Law School — LSAT, Admissions, Applications, and Pre-Law Questions
2. During Law School — Exams, Study Tips, Grades, Strategies, Study Groups, Life as a Law Student
3. After Law School — Bar Exam, Law Jobs, Salaries, Attorney Careers, Life as a Lawyer

Join the discussion: Law Student Forum.

Even though there are blogs on every topic under the sun, relatively few law school blogs exist. Of the law school blogs available, only a handful have the high quality and popularity of Frugal Law Student.

The Frugal Law Student was created by a law student, providing tips on how to save money in law school while living a simple and happy life. Any law student can tell you that law school is expensive, not simple, and often stressful. For these reasons, Frugal Law Student met a need—and became a hit among law students and people everywhere who appreciated his simple tips and ideas for living a simple, frugal, happier life.

Why did law student Brett McKay start Frugal Law Student? How did he get into blogging? How did he find the time? What blog did he recently launch with huge success? If you are a law student interested in blogging, or if you just want to know why Brett’s blogs became so popular, you will enjoy this short interview with Brett McKay, one of the original law student bloggers.

LawStudent.tv: What did you enjoy most about law school?
Frugal Law Student: The intellectual challenge. I loved synthesizing the law into something that’s understandable. I called it “cracking the code.”

LawStudent.tv: Why did you decide to start a blog about law school?
Frugal Law Student: Law school pretty much consumes an individual for three years of their life, so it was natural for me to write about it. The main reason I started to blog was I wanted a creative outlet from the formality and rigors of law.

LawStudent.tv: How did you find the time to learn about blogging and do so much writing while in law school?
Frugal Law Student: I just had to make time. I kept a pretty strict schedule, so I always had time for it. Getting up early and writing on the weekends helped.

LawStudent.tv: What did you enjoy most about blogging?
Frugal Law Student: The connections you make with others. Also, it’s pretty cool to see something you wrote get discussed in the blogsphere.

LawStudent.tv: Do you plan to continue to blog during your law career?
Frugal Law Student: I sure do.

LawStudent.tv: What other blogs do you have and what are they about?
Frugal Law Student: The Art of Manliness. It’s a men’s interest online magazine that discusses how men can be better men without all the emphasis on scantily clad women like other men’s magazines have.

LawStudent.tv: What tips or resources would you suggest for law students who want to start blogging like you?
Frugal Law Student: Read some good blogs about blogging. Problogger and Daily Blog Tips definitely helped me out.

LawStudent.tv: Do you have any tips or advice for law students regarding how to survive law school?
Frugal Law Student: Don’t take it too seriously. Manage your time well. Do those two things and you’ll survive.

After Brett started Frugal Law Student, he started the Art of Manliness blog. The Art of Manliness has over 15,000 subscribers and even more general visitors.

See for yourself why Brett’s law school blog and men’s blog have become so popular.

Today’s blog is from a 2L who was formerly a law student in New Orleans until a certain hurricane chased him out. Kristopher A. Nelson is currently a law student in San Francisco.

On his blog, in propria persona, Kris lists the 13 things he learned in his first year of law school. Some of my favorites include

• 11. Everyone agrees that one exam at the end of a semester is pedagogically unsound, and bears little resemblance to the above-mentioned “real world,” but no one does anything about it.
• 10. If stress is good preparation for the “real world,” I must be really prepared now.
• 7. Lawyers are the biggest fans of lawyer jokes.
• 1. There is one true answer to any legal question: “it depends.”

Read Kris’s entire list at 13 Things I Learned in My First Year of Law School.

The tips excerpted below are from the tips for law school students and new lawyers. However, check out the entire list if you are interested in a number of good tips for lawyers and life as an attorney.

84. LSAC: College students and law school students who are starting to plan their legal careers need to go over the resources on this official site.
85. About Law School: The Princeton Review: Get an overview of what to expect in law school, from applications to the first year experience to picking a specialization to legal clinics.
86. There’s No Competition in Law School: A group of 3Ls shares advice for younger law students while also doling out the real-life misery and fun of being a law school vet.
87. Tips for Summer Associates: Lydia R.B. Kelley stresses the importance of knowing deadlines for summer associates.
88. JD Law Students Blog: Various law students “share their thoughts and experiences” for the benefit of other students and future law students.
89. Links for New Lawyers: Get survival tips and help choosing a firm with this guide.
90. Marketing and Networking: A Conceptual Framework: New lawyers get a crash course in networking and promoting themselves and their practice in this article.
91. Five Indispensable Tips for Law Students and New Lawyers: The Legal Underground shares tips like “learn to use legal technology” and “don’t be an asshole” to give new lawyers’ careers a boost.
92. Firm Attorneys Offer Tips for Summer Associates: The Virginia law school site posts this article that will help summer associates land a job at the firm.
93. 10 Survival Tips for New Associates: Tips like “don’t be afraid to be a new associate,” “know the rules,” and “stay in touch with friends” will help new associates adjust to their new life.

When you are working hard this fall, you want to be able to tell yourself, “I had a great summer, but now it’s time to work” rather than, “I’ve been working so hard all year and never get a break.”

Plan Your Schedule. Towards the end of the summer, get your law school class schedule together, plan your study times, exercise routine, free times, work (if you are employed), and other commitments. Having your time organized will help you start the busy school year with a clear head.

Shop. Once school starts, you may not have much time to shop. Make sure you have your clothes, school supplies, and other personals so you can focus on studying.

Preview Your Law School Subjects. If you are a type A law student and want to do everything you can to get ahead, you may want to preview the major themes and concepts in your upcoming law school courses. This could include reading a study aid or Nutshell on the topic. It might also include listening to a Sum & Substance CD on your particular law school subjects while driving in the car. See Sum and Substance for Law Students. The point is to learn casually while you are interested, but don’t burn yourself out. I found I was getting excited about course to start, and wanted to jump into them by listening to Sum & Substance a few weeks before school started.

How about You? Are you a law student? What do you do with your summer free time to prepare for law school in the fall?

Is it that you have no time, you have little money, the competition in law school is stressful, relationships are difficult during law school, attorney job hunting is competitive, or the constant criticism in law school becomes too much to bear? Here is a list. Which one has been your biggest challenge?

No Time in Law School

Law students could always use more time. Law students are busy with an infinite amount of studying. That is, the readings for class are difficult to complete, and even if a law student does complete them, the case readings present a number of new concepts that law students could study further. As a result, law students could consume all their time studying and leave little time for any other aspect of life.

No Money in Law School

Law students typically spend over $100,000 in tuition and related expenses to attend law school. Since law students have little time outside of studying, they often can’t hold down a job during law school. As a result, law students have little money and must rely on savings, student loan money, or help from family to cover life expenses during law school. (See How to Buy Law School Books Cheap.)

Competition in Law School

Competition in law school is nothing new. What is new is the intensity of competition. The competition for top grades in law school increases as law schools graduate an increasing number of attorneys despite the fact that the number of attorneys in outpacing the number of available attorney jobs. As a result, law students worry about jobs and feel even more pressure to strive for good grades.

Relationships in Law School

Often in law school, relationships are squeezed out due to the other pressures that law students face. Law students have less time for family gatherings, talking on the phone, and staying in touch with friends from before law school. In addition, law students want to have friends in law school, and like all relationships, that takes time as well. Relationship break-ups and the challenges of dating add an additional challenge. In the end, maintaining relationships can be difficult because less time is available during law school.

Job Hunt During Law School

Law students start job hunting right away. Law students want a summer law job to build their resume. The job hunt heats up as a law student gets closer to graduation. In a tough legal job market, jobless law students can feel a lot of stress (see tips for jobless 3Ls).

Criticism in Law School

Law school involves a series of routine criticism. Law students receive grades or scores for midterm exams, exams, legal writing exercises, moot court, and law journal competitions. In addition, the rejection that is inherent in multiple job interviews without an offer is also frustrating.

Other Law School Challenges?

Maybe there are other categories that should be included here. Can you think of any? Which area is the most challenging for you?

Conclusion

This list of law school challenges is a little depressing. This is a great exercise in listing why the glass is “half empty” rather than “half full.” Maybe a future posting here should focus on the joys of law school. Until then, what are your thoughts on the challenges of law school?

Hours of legal research can be wasted if law students look in the wrong books. One key to success in law school studying and legal research is knowing where to look for an answer.

To find an answer quickly, a law student must (1) know the resources in a law library, (2) know which resource is best for a law student’s particular question, and finally, know how to use that resource.

I learned this approach from law review editors when I served on law review. I still use this approach as an attorney today.

Where to Start

Some law students start their research by searching cases in WestLaw. Normally this is a big waste of time. Law students can spend hours reading through cases that match a search criterion without ever finding a case that answers their question.

Although research should end by finding a primary authority (case or statute) that answers your research question, the best place to start is with a secondary authority or even at the reference desk.

Reference Desk. If you are not sure where to start your legal research, ask an expert. Reference librarians are paid to point law students in the right direction. Not only that, but most reference librarians enjoy this aspect of their job most. Ask the reference librarian how he or she would start researching your particular legal issue.

Secondary Authorities. Once you get the hang of legal research, you may want to skip the conversation with your reference librarian and go straight to the materials that the reference librarian will likely recommend: secondary authorities. Although each research project is different, the best approach is normally to start by using a secondary authority rather than primary authority.

Secondary Authorities

What is a “Secondary Authority?” The answer to this question involves understanding the nature of a “primary authority.” A “primary authority” is simply a law. The law may be a statute, rule, or case established by a government authority. Unlike a “primary authority,” a “secondary authority” is legal reference material that is not the law. Secondary authorities include treatises, hornbooks, law review articles, legal encyclopedias, and potentially study aids.

Study Aids. Study aids are great way to get an overview of the legal concepts and terms involved in the area of law you want to research. Don’t rely on a study aid to give you an accurate legal rule for your jurisdiction, but study aids provide useful overviews of the law. After reviewing a study aid for a few minutes, you should have a general understanding of the concepts you need to research, and you should be able to make a list of the terms you want include in your research.

Hornbooks. Hornbooks are essentially short treatises. Hornbooks could also be considered advanced study aids. A Hornbook gives an overview of the law and cites to authorities (mostly cases) to assist in your legal research. Hornbooks are great for learning concepts.

Hornbooks are more comprehensive than study aids and, unlike study aids, Hornbooks provide citations to cases. However, Hornbooks are not as comprehensive as treatises, and while treatises may cite a number of cases or cases in each jurisdiction, Hornbooks have relatively few citations.

Legal Encyclopedias (Amjur). Legal encyclopedias allow you to look up a term or topic to find a quick explanation and possibly a reference to additional information about the concept. American Jurisprudence (Am Jur 2d) and Corpus Juris Secundum (C.J.S.) are two of the most popular legal encyclopedias. Legal encyclopedias can help law students quickly find legal materials on a topic.

Law Review and Law Journal Articles. Law review articles and law journal articles (hereinafter “law review articles”) are great for evolving areas of the law or when you find a recent article directly on your topic.

Law review articles are generally essays written by attorneys, law professors, judges, and law students on a legal topic. Law review articles can be hit-or-miss. That is, if you find a law review article on the exact topic you are researching, it can be invaluable. But you may not find a law review article on your topic.

Also, law review articles may be outdated. Once a law review article is published, it is never updated. This is unlike treatises, Hornbooks, and other legal authorities, which are normally updated.

ALR. A quick scan of the ALR index can help you determine whether an ALR article exists for your topic. American Law Reports, or A.L.R., are similar to law review articles. However, ALRs are occasionally updated, are often published by noted authors, and are often more comprehensive than a law review article. There is not an ALR on every legal concept, but when there is, an ALR can be wonderful. ALRs are most common on popular legal issue that have many cases on the topic.

Treatises. Treatises are a great way to learn about a topic and find some cases that relate to the topic. A treatise is a comprehensive analysis of a legal subject written by a legal expert. Treatises normally are long enough to encompass many volumes.

Treatises have a table of contents and an index that allows law students to quickly see if the treatise covers a certain topic. Some treatises have been cited by judges in many cases, which makes those treatises especially authoritative.

Primary Authorities

Primary authorities include cases and statutes. Primary authorities are where you want to end your legal research, because primary authorities are the law. However, because primary authorities are not organized by subject and lack the reference and research benefits of secondary authorities, primary authorities are far more difficult to search than secondary authorities. As a result, research that starts with secondary authorities is generally quicker and more efficient than starting with primary authorities.

You can research these in books or online using a service like WestLaw, Lexis, or another service, if you have a subscription. Primary authorities are often available on the internet, but the advanced search features provided by the paid services is still far better than searches on the internet. Still, I must admit that a Google search will often helped find a case or statute that could not easily be found using the paid legal services.

Conclusion

As you get to know your law library, where legal research materials are located, and how to use those materials, you will be able to adapt your research approach to each individual research project. You will know whether to start with a study aid, Hornbook, treatise, legal encyclopedia, or some other item.

For example, if you know nothing about a topic, you might want a quick overview in simple terms. For a case like this, a study aid is perfect.

If you know a lot about a topic, you know there are many cases on the topic, and you need a case from a particular jurisdiction, starting with an ALR or treatise could be perfect.

Regardless of the topic, you might also want to ask a reference librarian if the library has a particular resource that focuses on your research topic.

There isn’t a simple 3-step approach to legal research. Success comes from understanding the legal authorities and how to use them. When you do this, you will be able to customize a plan for each research project, saving yourself hours of researching in the wrong places.

Brain-Free Reading

As you kick into relaxation mode, here are some news stories that don’t require any thinking. While you were preparing for finals and in finals, some law students and law schools were making the news.

Law Schools & Law Students in the News

From this week’s issue of The National Law Journal, read a story about law students who are suing their law schools, and one about conservative, Catholic, and Domino’s Pizza-founded Ave Maria University putting naming rights to the law school on the auction block.

A few other interesting stories: UT law students petition the Supreme Court to hear the case of a 12-year old who murdered his grandparents; Hofstra and the Univ. of Minnesota have new law deans; and Northwestern’s law career dean has advice on how 1Ls can find summer gigs.

Congratulations on this semester being complete! Enjoy the holiday break!

Law students pay too much money. Law school is way too expensive. Maybe this is why Frugal Law Student is so popular. (It also could be because he is cool and writes great articles, but I digress.)

To help law students save money, I’ve been researching for the cheapest price on law school casebooks, study aids, and law outlines at various sites online. Unless you steel or borrow your law school books, you can almost certainly save money buying your law school books at these online stores.

Amazon

Amazon is old reliable. It has a huge assortment of books, new and used. Since you probably already know all about Amazon, I won’t explain more, except to say that Amazon has saved me hundreds of dollars when buying casebooks for law school courses.

AbeBooks

Lately, I’ve been really excited about Abebooks.com . This site has a huge collection of law school books, and its prices are often cheaper than Half.com, A1Books, and event Amazon. I also like how easy it is to search for a book by ISBN, author, or title, so you can be sure you are getting the exact book you need for your law school course.

eBay

eBay has some great prices if you can find what you want, often because other law students are selling their books on eBay. If you’ve looked on eBay for law school books, you’ve probably noticed three things.

1. eBay prices can be very cheap.
2. eBay doesn’t always have the book you want. The selection is very narrow.
3. It can be hard to find law school books on eBay because there are so many products to sort through.

For example, if you want a contracts outline for law school, do you search for the various name brands that product law outlines, do you search for “law outline,” “outline,” “study aid,” “contracts outline,” “contracts law” or some other term?

eBay Law School Books the Easy Way

So I looked for a way to simplify this. I found some software that allowed me run complex searches to gather and sort all the law school books in a particular category. To see this software in action, visit this simple little site that links to eBay: Law Student Books.

The goal is to help you quickly find what you are looking for, and save you money.

But in full disclosure, you should know that a small percentage of eBay’s fees that result from a purchase through Law Student Books will be paid to LawStudent.tv to help support the costs of this site. However, using Law Student Books won’t cost you any more—it just means eBay’s profit on the sale is less. So in essence, you are giving eBay’s money to LawStudent.tv by using Law Student Books.

Compare Law School Book Sites

But whether you use Law Student Books, eBay directly, eBay’s Half.com, Abebooks.com , A1Books, Amazon, or another online book seller, I think you’ll be impressed with some of the cheap prices on eBay. Still, I suggest comparing prices if the item you want is fairly expensive. Also, pay attention to shipping fees, which vary depending on the site.

Closing Reminder: Don’t Get Old Casebook Versions

As a reminder to new law students, be sure any textbook you buy is the version you need for your course. See Why Buying Old Casebook Editions is Stupid.

Part-time Law Mom wrote her answer here. She explained:

I had spent months combing law student blogs trying to find blogs by part-time law student mothers with kids. The only great blog I found existed through the author’s first year before she ended it. I decided that I would start a blog in order to both chronicle this adventure and also to help other mothers who might be considering law school in addition to a full-time job.

The Frugal Law Student wrote his answer here. He explained his reasons for starting a blog:

After a few years of being an avid blog reader, I decided to start my own. Because I was big fan of personal finance blogs and law school blogs, I thought I would marry the two and create a blog dedicated to helping law students mitigate their crippling law school debt. I figured it would be a good way to keep track and hold me accountable for how I managed my finances in during law school

My reason for starting a blog was similar. I wanted to read a blog by other law students and couldn’t find any. In particular, I wanted a blog with tips for doing better in law school.

Learning Law School Success from Others

As a 1L, I was constantly finding ways to improve my performance. I wished I could have learned these law school tips from the beginning rather than through the “school of hard knocks.”

Law School Tips

Since that time, I have happily encountered many law student blogs. Some of those blogs had law school tips, but none of them focused exclusively on law school tips. If you search the archives here, you will find many of the law school tips I found along with some of my own.

Publicize Your Law Student Blog Here

If you want your law student blog featured here, stay tuned. My next plan with Law Student .TV is to find a way to promote the blogs of other law students.

You can already promote your law school blog posts at School Blog Vote using its law school student section, but I’m working on another option that could further promote law students’ blogs. Come back soon for more details.

In the meantime, you could add some more interesting blog posts to your law school blog, so that when visitors arrive in a few weeks, they have more interesting material to read.

*NOTE: I promised to link to the blogs of whoever answered. My delay is inexcusable, but it relates to having a baby and taking the bar exam. I am finally making good on that promise. Thanks to the authors of these great law school blogs for their patience.

Does your law school have a blog directory listing law students’ blogs? If so, please leave a comment here with the link for other law students to enjoy.

There are two ways to enter:

1. write a blog review (you must have a blog) OR
2. post a comment response (anyone can do this)

Every blog review wins a license to all 3 of the courses. A random winner will be drawn from the comment entries.Here is the blog review post: Free Law School Review Courses – Calling 1L Bloggers

Here is the first comment post (3 others coming soon): What 1L Contract Topic Worries You? – FREE Review Course

The numbers are interesting. In 2006, the average starting salary for an attorney at a small firm (2-10 attorneys) was $50,000. The average starting salary for an attorney at a large firm (over 500 attorneys) was $135,000.

It is worth noting that the survey covers a large geographic area, so some adjustment is necessary for your local region. If you are in a small city, rural area, or city overpopulated by law schools, the average salary for your area may be less than the survey average. If you are starting in New York, or some other top paid city, the average salary for your area may be more than the survey average.

I suppose the results could be further criticized for being unscientific in one way or another. However, as a general guide to new associate salaries, the survey results are enlightening.

To see the survey results, visit NALP’s What Do New Lawyers Earn?

11-23-07 Update: This article has been updated. Please read Many Law Graduates Disappointed: Few Jobs, Low Salaries, High Stress. For help finding the law job that is right for you, visit our law jobs section.

A note from a reader:

Law graduates always prefer to attend the traditional educational institutes in a hope to get high salaries in the market than are offered to the graduates holding online degrees. Although a traditional academic experience is matchless but, online learning resources such as 000-253 are a valuable means to enhance one’s skills. Online certifications in a technical area, such as 000-415, not only grant the educational qualifications but also shape one’s career. Some of these certifications like 000-664 even enable the students to work at top notch laboratories to have an on hand experience of the technical details. Once at a competent level, professional can keep up with the latest tools and techniques (000-730) to aid in their progression.

• Exams and Other Fun Topics
• General Study Skills Sites
• Courses in the First Year
• Research Tips and Guides
• Study Strategies
• Property—How the Law Student’s Tackle It
• Managing Law School Competition
• New Law School Students’ Most Common Questions
• Recommended Study Aids & Commercial Outlines (or get free law school outlines)
• Law Student Computer Buying Tips: 1. Buy a Laptop
• Law Student Computer Buying Tips: 2. What Size Laptop Should I buy?
• Law Student Computer Buying Tips: 3. Should Law Students Consider a Tablet PC?

Best wishes in your 1L year!

• Adjusting to Law School Life
• Best Law School Books
• Law School Subject Outlines
• Should I Make My Own Outlines?
• How to Outline a Law School Class
• Best Study Aids for New Law Students – Part 1: Case Summaries
• Best Study Aids for New Law Students – Part 2: Subject Guides
• Best Study Aids for New Law Students – Part 3: Nutshell Subject Reviews
• Dictionaries
• Citation Guides
• Class Preparation
• De-Mystifying the Tools of Legal Research

I’m impressed that you have time to read ways to improve your law school performance considering all the law school case readings you have. Best wishes in your first law school year!

Curious about these questions, I did an informal poll among my friends on law review, other law students, and successful attorneys. Please note, this survey is about as unscientific as it gets, but the results might still be of some value as you consider your own situation.

Law Students

First, students with grade in the top 1-3% of our class consistently read all the assigned cases, and often used outlines, study aids, or hornbooks when they didn’t understand an area.

Above Average Law Students

Law students who did above average often did not read all the cases. Instead, they adopted a strategy that worked for their lifestyle or a particular class. In particular, they focused on the goal of knowing the material, using law outlines or study aids to learn some courses rather than reading all the cases.

The Problem of Focusing Solely on Cases

Some students “miss the forest for the trees.” That is, some students focus so much on the cases, they forget that the cases are merely vehicles to learn legal doctrines. Students may understand the blackletter law in cases, but not understand how each rule fits into the larger context of the legal doctrine.

General Strategies

Rather than merely reading cases, many successful students review an outline first. This outline explains the basic legal concepts and how they fit together. Once the student has an understanding of the general concepts, reading cases puts “meat on the bones,” as they say. In other words, the cases provide illustrations of the concepts that the law student already generally understands. The cases also provide more details for the concepts.

The point here is that students who focus on understanding the legal subjects tend to do better than those who merely read the cases.

Why Law Students Skip Reading Cases

Law students often have interruptions in their law school education. These interruptions might be from illness, family or friend relationships, a job, or self-initiated breaks for mental sanity. Whatever the reason, time is limited so law students may have to choose between reading all the cases for class or reading only some of the cases and reading some outlines.

How to Skip Cases

If you are going to skip some cases, here are some things to consider.

1. You can still get an “A” grade if you skip cases—its been done many times—but your odds of getting an “A” grade are probably reduced. Still, skipping cases and gaining some extra time might be smarter for you when considering the broader issues of your life.

2. Do not skip cases in a course if the exam in that course will require knowledge of many case names. If you haven’t read the cases, you may have a hard time learning the case names later and remembering the facts or concepts of the cases. Fortunately, final exams rarely require knowledge of many case names (with exceptions for Criminal Procedure and a few other classes). Normally, if law students need to know the names of cases, law students only need to know a few case names. For example, you will need to know International Shoe in Civil Procedure.

3. Think about what information you will need in each course’s final exam. If you primarily need to know the blackletter law, you can skip through some cases and highlight the blackletter law for later. If you don’t understand the blackletter law, read more of the case so you do understand it.

If you are in a rules-based course, like Civil Procedure or Tax, make sure you understand the rules and how they apply. You may be able to skip other stuff in a case.

4. Pay attention to the casebook’s table of contents. From this, law students can often determine the main concept in a case. If law students don’t have time to read the entire case, they can at least review a study aid explaining the concept before arriving at class.

5. If you skip a case, read a summary of it in a law school study aid or outline, so at least you know the main points.

6. Sometimes, the law school professor teaches from a hornbook rather than the casebook. In these rare situations, you are probably better off buying the hornbook and skipping the casebook. How do you know what a professor does? Talk to upper-level law students who have taken the course.

7. Sometimes a law school professor tells you everything you need to know for the exam during his lectures. In fact, you may not have to read the casebook at all. I had one class like this; I read only three cases, listened to Sum & Substance, took excellent notes in class, and received an “A” grade. I’m not recommending you do this for all your classes, but for me, it worked for this class, and the time I saved allowed me to spend more time reading cases and outlines for other classes.

Conclusion

These tips are not intended to encourage law students to skip their assigned law school readings. Rather, these tips are a part of a much broader strategy in law school: since you have limited time, focus on what counts, learning the best way for your individual style, even if it isn’t the standard approach.

Find the methods of learning that work best for you, whether it is focusing on study aids or cases, study groups or studying alone, studying 16 hours a day or 8 hours a day, etc. Also, find the methods of learning that work best for the final exam in each of your classes—your approach to each class should be customized to that class’s final exam.

You are about to experience a surge of conflicting emotions: excitement, fear, insecurity, intrigue, stress, pride, and ultimately, relief when it is all over. The worst part may be not knowing how to handle every challenge that is thrown at you.

However, the reason law school is like this is probably because the practice of law is like this to some degree. That is, practicing law, at least most areas of the law, requires constant learning. The bad new is, some people do not enjoy life-long learning. The good news is, the longer you work, the more you have learned and the more valuable you become.

But if you don’t like law school, don’t give up hope, because most attorneys agree that law school is much less enjoyable than the practice of law. In fact, law school is down-right painful, especially around the time of law school exams.

As you begin your law school journey, congratulate yourself for having made it this far. To equip you for the ride, here is a large collection of good law school tips and a few law school blogs that might be of interest to new law students. I also recommend these law school books.

Law school tips:

• Things I Wish I’d Understood on Day 1 of Law School
• First-Year Law Students: Resources for 1L’s
• Tips for 1Ls From Around the Blogosphere
• Tips and advice for the newest law students
• Law School Goal Setting
• 1L Question: Do Smart Law Students Sit in the Front Row?
• Free Law School Outlines – 1L, 2L, and 3L
• 1L Advice: Ways a 1L Can Prepare for Law School
• Terms and Phrases New Law Students Must Know
• New Law School Students: Frequently Asked Questions
• Law Students Share Their Tips and Advice
• Tips and advice for the newest law students II: Outside
• Tips for Pre-Law Students Preparing for Law School
• More 1L Law School Tips

Law School Blogs:

• Law Student (The site you are currently reading)
• The Rising Jurist (Be sure to check out this humorous post: The Most Interesting Cases You Will Read as a 1L)
• New at Law
• Mac Law Students Blog
• Old Law Guy
• Legal Andrew (he graduated from law school in 2007)
• The Frugal Law Student
• and check out the other blogs listed in the right column under “Law School Blogs”

Unfortunately, Digg caters to geek topics, and despite the fact that most graduate schools have plenty of geeks, it’s really tough to get a popular post on Digg.

As a side note, the only post from TopLawStudent that made it big on Digg was this one, and Digg sent over 7,000 visits in two hours, which crashed our law school blog for the rest of the day.

A possible solution has arrived: School Blog Vote is a new site where students can post their own blogs and vote on other students’ blogs.

Benefits

The benefit of School Blog Vote to student readers is—students can find great websites, blogs, and blog posts of interest to students.

The benefit of School Blog Vote to student bloggers is—more people will find their blog. And that means increased visitor traffic, something every student blogger desires.

Categories for Various Post-Graduate Students

School Blog Vote is categorized into sections for law students, medical school students, MBA students, seminary students, and undergraduate students. This is nice because seminary students probably have little interest in res ipsa loquitur. Of course, seminary students can always check out the law student section for juicy gossip, such as the law student who got naked for Playboy (news story).

Anonymous Voting

One nice feature of School Blog Vote is that the site allows voting without having to create an account first. Once you’ve voted, you can’t vote again (and artificially drive up the votes). This appears to be tied to your IP address, so in theory, students could login to mulitiple computers and vote multiple times. But seriously, how many students have that much free time? Okay, maybe some do, but I presume the administrators at School Blog Vote have a way of taking care of that. Anyway, I like that you don’t have to login to vote.

However, you do have to login to post to the site, which I suppose is necessary to prevent spam (no, I don’t want to read about “Buy Viagra Online” or “XXX Paris Hilton photos”).

Criticism

School Blog Vote is a great idea. It is also a new idea. The problem with new ideas on the web are 1) they may not have much traffic for a while and 2) they may never have much traffic.

Still, I think it’s a great idea for a few reasons. I have a hard time finding other law students’ blogs, and I presume that medical students, MBA students, seminary students, and undergrads might have the same problem. It’s even more difficult to find good blogs. At School Blog Vote, the good posts rise to the top based on reader’s votes.

Also, a site like this gives students an incentive to start a blog, since students can see the best of what other students are writing.

Finally, School Blog Vote rewards students who blog by driving traffic to their blogs, which often generates income through Adsense, Chitika, or other blog advertising programs.

See For Yourself

So if you you support the idea of encouraging students to blog, or if you are a blogger who wants more visitors, check out School Blog Vote.

Often, law school apparel is not the most stylish (but as we all know, that isn’t a problem for most law students). But these clothes are funny and interesting, and are sure to amuse family and friends, and maybe make a law school professor smirk when she sees them.

Nuisance Women’s Pink T-ShirtAttractive Nuisance, you can’t complain about trespass if you set an attractive trap!

I Put The Stud In Studying Fo Baseball JerseyI Put The Stud In Studying For The Bar…Perfect for any law school student or graduate studying for the bar exam. Check out our entire line of funny t-shirts and other items at www.lushlaundry.com.

I’m STRESSED! Women’s Cap Sleeve T-ShirtThese items include the UNCP logo. For nonlogo items, visit Cyndi’s Stuff. Thanks!!

I Own Blackacre Jr. Ringer T-ShirtPROPERTY LAW – I Own Blackacre. Law students everywhere have been haunted by the question Who ownes Blackacre Let everyone know that O conveyed Blackacre to you.

Almost a Lawyer Yellow T-ShirtWell, I mean we’re not quite lawyers yet, so we still have some integrity and honesty

Too Cool For Law Review Baseball JerseyWhy aren’t you on law review? Because you’re just Too Cool For Law Review!

Joint and Several Liability Ash Grey T-ShirtPuff puff give… pass the joint and several liability.

Carbolic Smoke Ball Long Sleeve T-ShirtCarlill v. Carbolic Smoke Ball Company [1893] 1 QB 256 is one of the most famous leading cases in English law that helped establish the requirements for the formation of a contract.

TORT LAW – Loss of Consortium Custom EditionThis shirt was custom designed on request for Mrs. Stephanie Buffa…HI STEPH!!! GO IRISH!!!

Res Ipsa Dark T-ShirtRes ipsa loquitur is a legal term from the Latin meaning literally, The thing speaks for itself.

Trust Me I’m a Lawyer Jr. Baby Doll T-ShirtTrust Me I’m a Lawyer

WWRD? Women’s Cap Sleeve T-ShirtNow you can ask the question that comes up once or twice in law school, What would the reasonable person do?

Don’t mind the look…bar exam, again Jr. Ringer TThere’s a certain look. It’s the look of every single brain cell in your head firing in triple time. Taking the Bar Exam again. Wow. Here’s your gear to warn folks. T-shirts, hats & more. Good luck!

My Lucky Bar Exam Shirt Ringer TMy Lucky Bar Exam Shirt…You graduated law school and spent hours upon hours studying for the bar, but everyone can use a little extra luck. Perfect gift for a new law school graduate for graduation.

Honest Lawyer – T-ShirtWe are not saying that anyone questions your integrity. Or your credentials. Or your motives. Or your…

Before law school starts, learn a few things:

• Learn How to Make a Good Impression at Law School Orientation
• Learn How to Read a Case for Law School
• Learn How to Outline a Law School Class
• Learn Important Terms and Phrases
• Listen to Audio CDs to Preview Course Subjects
• Learn How to Cope with Law School Stress
• Consider Take a Law School Prep Course
• Read: New Law School Students: Frequently Asked Questions
• Read: Advice about law school preparation: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
• Read: Ways a 1L Can Prepare for Law School

Buy what you need for law school:

• Buy a Backpack and buy stuff to put in it
  
• Save Money Buying Law School Books Online but don’t get Old Casebook Editions
• Buy Essential Law School Books
• Consider Buying Law School Study Guides
• Consider Buying “Getting to Maybe: How to Excel on Law School Exams”

Prepare for your computer needs:

• Buy a Laptop, Select the Right Sized Laptop, or Consider Buying a Tablet PC
• Buy the best Law School Notetaking Software (for PC)
• Mac Law School Students Check Out These Great Resources
• Prepare a Computer Backup Plan and Consider Free Online Backup Options
• Set Your MySpace Page to ‘Private’
• Reduce Your Time Online with an RSS Reader

Once you start law school:

• Get the CALI CD in your law school library
• Consider Whether to Join a Study Group
• Learn to Use WestLaw and Lexis
• Prepare for Legal Writing in Law School
• Learn About Free Law School Outlines – 1L, 2L, and 3L
• Get Free Lexis Study-Aid Outlines
• Get Advice from Upperclass Law Students and Law Students Online
• Make a Schedule to Prepare for Law School Exams
• Read More Law School Tips Here

A note from a reader:

Goal setting and targeting a specific exam area has become exceedingly convenient by online examinations such as held for 000-229. Rather than taking one or two year long course at some polytechnic institute, a more preferable option is to go for online resources and get a recognized 000-237 certification .For other research based qualifications, some other options such as 000-253 certification may be availed of more preferably than a relatively more time consuming 000-415 certification .

First, buy used law school casebooks and study aids at places like Amazon.com, Abebooks.com, eBooks.com, eCampus.com, Buy.com, and eBay’s Half.com.

Second, see if some of your friends have taken your upcoming law school course and buy or borrow their books.

In addition, here are a few coupons:

• Buy.com: $5 off $50 All Stores Coupon! New Customers Only – See Site for Details! exp 7/31/07
• Buy.com: Get $10 FREE when you use Google Checkout for the first time! Over 2 million items to choose from
• eBooks.com: eBooks.com Buy One, Get One Free!

• Tips for Law Students Who Are Writing Articles on Legal History?
• Tips for Law Students Who Are Doing Empirical Research?
• Reducing False Positives in Lexis/Westlaw Searches
• How Research Librarians Can Help Law Review Article Writing

See also Law School Legal Research Tips and How to Improve Legal Writing in Law School.

Bar Exam. Your textbooks and study aids will be of little use on the bar exam for two reasons.

First, most law students will prepare for the bar exam using Barbri, PMBR, or a similar bar exam preparation course, which will provide all of the bar preparation materials that the student will need. These materials are also more accurate regarding the correct rules to apply on the multistate (one of the bar exam tests). For example, the textbook or study aids may discuss various rules applied in various jurisdictions, but on the bar exam, only one rule should be applied.

Second, law students won’t have time to use their old textooks and study aids because they will have a hard enough time reading all the Barbri (or other bar exam prep course) materials.

Practice of Law. Your textbooks and study aids will be of little use in the practice of law for a few reasons. First, the textbooks don’t necessarily reflect the law in your jurisdiction. Second, you will use a treatise or hornbook to better understand legal concepts rather than an old textbook or study aid because the treatise is probably kept up to date, has an easy topical index, and consisely states the black letter rules.

One Possible Exception. It is possible that you might use a Nutshell or Hornbook to get a quick overview of an area of the law. However, if you do need one of those, you will probably want a recent edition, so it is still probably best to get rid of your current books. Besides, while practicing law, you will probably just get the information online. Further, the availability of online legal information continues to grow, so there may be far more information online in the future than there is now.

Conclusion. Don’t save your old textbooks or study aids. Sell them at your school bookstore, eBay, or at Amazon.com. Or give them to an organization that sends textbooks to Africa or another country where they can be put to use (and save some trees). As an attorney, you will have better resources at your fingertips than your old law school books.