This classic answers questions that all students have when starting law school, and virtually takes them inside the classroom like no other text. It gives factual examples, detailed information, and practical explanations.

Contents: The law school experience -- What is your learning style? Travel style? -- Learning to read and brief law school cases -- Effective notetaking in law school -- Putting it together, part one : synthesis -- Putting it together, part two : the role of the law school outline -- Putting it together, part three : flowcharting -- Law school examinations -- Tips on exam preparation -- Time management -- Additional strategies for success -- Bridging the gap as a 2L or 3L: what else can I expect in law school? -- The importance of gaining legal experience.

This book demystifies law school and the process of studying the law. Rather than just describing the various necessary study skills –– including case briefing, taking notes in class, and preparing exam outlines –– the book shows how these skills are interrelated and how an incoming student can practice them before coming to law school, making the transition from prospective to actual law student easier and as painless as possible.

Contents: The case method and its myths -- Legal issues -- Common argument strategies -- Sources of law -- Casebooks -- Briefing cases -- Rhetorical class discussions -- Final exam strategies -- Sample contracts final examination essay question and annotated answer -- Sample constitutional law final examination essay question and annotated answer -- The common law tradition (with civil law comparisons).

Contents: Introduction -- Family and the law school experience -- Preparing for and participating in class -- Preparing for exams and learning the law -- Writing a law school exam -- Other variations of law school exams : multiple choice, true-false, short answer, policy questions, take-home exams, and pass-fail exams -- Legal research & writing classes -- Tough decisions after the first year -- Student Organizations, moot court, and clinics -- Journals and law reviews -- Writing seminar papers and notes -- Winning scholarships, awards, fellowships, and grants -- Working in law school -- The 1L job search -- The 2L job search -- The judicial clerkship maze -- Becoming a lawyer : planning for the bar exam.

Contents: The Socratic method : learning to think like a lawyer -- The Socratic method : how to prepare for class -- The Socratic method : strategies in the classroom -- Making a formal presentation in a class or on the job -- First-year moot court and beyond -- Trial practice classes and mock trial teams -- Leading a student organization -- Interacting with professors -- Job interviews -- Communicating on the job.

Contents: The purpose of legal education -- The five types of legal arguments -- Text -- Intent -- Precedent -- Tradition -- Policy -- Identifying the five types of legal arguments -- Creating persuasive arguments -- How to attack legal arguments -- Intra-type attacks on textual arguments -- Intra-type attacks on intent arguments -- Intra-type attacks on precedent arguments -- Intra-type attacks on tradition arguments -- Intra-type attacks on policy arguments -- Cross-type arguments -- Foundational cross-type arguments -- Relational cross-type arguments -- Text versus intent -- Precedent versus policy -- Text versus policy -- Text versus precedent -- A logical demonstration of the theory of the five types of legal argument -- Reasoning by analogy is the bridge between formalism and realism -- Discovering a court's judicial philosophy and your own philosophy of life.

Contents: Your life in the US -- Your law school -- The legal system -- Your classes -- Your papers -- Your oral arguments and presentations --Your exams --Your glossaries.

Contents: Law School: The best of schools, the worse of schools -- The Second Case in the World -- Legal Analysis Made Simple -- Thoughts on Stare Decisis, Relative Value and Ethics -- Studying Law: Looking Busy is Not Enough -- Reading Cases -- Briefing Cases -- General Study Tips -- Writing Law Exams: The Only Skill Worth Having -- More Stuff on Exams -- Fear and Loathing in the First Year -- The Pretrial Process -- Trials -- Legal Argument (Moot Court) -- Mechanics of Oral Argument -- Legal Research: High Drama in Dull Places -- Legal Writing -- Second and Third Years -- Career Choices -- Lawyers talk about what they do.

Contents: The documentary -- Preparing for the journey -- Law school Zen : mind, body, and spirit -- The students speak : advice, tips, and thoughts on law school life -- Final exams -- Advice from law school professors -- Summing up the law school experience -- After graduation : the bar exam -- Conclusions

Contents: Lesson from the labyrinth, or how I learned to stop worrying and start booking classes -- The money minotaur: keeping law school costs at bay -- How to hit the ground running your first day as a 1L -- Your law school study approach -- How to prepare for final exams -- Summer clerkships -- Your second and third years -- The bar exam and beyond.

Contents: Should I apply? -- Getting in -- Strategic applications -- Getting ready -- Class -- Exam preparation -- Law review -- Law professor -- Lawyer.

Contents: Cutting through the fog of case analysis -- Minimizing the bewilderment of the Socratic method -- Studying law -- Writing for law school -- Preparing for exams and exam writing -- Managing precious time -- Coping with the emotional stress of law study

Contents: Orientation to critical thinking (exercises 1-9) -- Introduction to legal analysis -- Rule-based reasoning for mastery (exercises 10-34) -- Analogical reasoning with depth (exercises 35-64) -- Statutory analysis for success (exercises 65-89) -- Statutes with legislative history (exercises 90-100) -- Written sample answers with annotations

Contents: Understanding legal analysis -- The essential skill : reading cases -- Mastering the skill : how to take notes and brief cases -- Constructing an outline of a course -- Analyzing legal problems -- The art of communication : writing your analysis of a legal issue -- Strategies for studying for and taking exams -- Staying afloat : your emotional and psychological well-being.

Scott Turow's journal of his first year at law school is a virtual bible for prospective law students.

Expecting only the basic pressures of attending Harvard Law School, a serious, hard-working student (Timothy Bottoms) finds himself the fearful adversary of the school's most imperious, sarcastic professor (John Houseman).

Contents: Reading in law school -- Basic briefing : developing an initial strategy for managing cases -- Advanced thinking leads to advanced reading -- Expert reading : a new take on a familiar skill -- Engage with energy -- Monitor your reading and read for the main idea -- Always (always!) read with a clear purpose -- Get oriented and "own" your prior knowledge and experience -- There's more to the five Ws (who, what, when, where, and why) than meets the eye -- Evaluate what you're reading -- your ideas matter -- Review, rephrase, record -- Casebook reading : a summary -- Reading statutes -- Reading cases outside of casebooks -- Reading on a screen.

Contents: The first days -- Maintaining a healthy mental approach to law school -- Reading and briefing cases efficiently -- What your classes will be like -- Taking notes : a three-step process -- Creating a course outline -- Legal synthesis -- Legal analysis and answering the question "why" -- "However, ... " Constructing your counterarguments -- Legal writing -- Study groups, study aids, and study schedules -- Law school exams -- Résumés and writing samples -- Acting your job interview

Contents: What to expect in law school -- Government and law -- The structure of the American legal system -- The legal toolbox: basic techniques -- The legal toolbox: concepts -- The legal toolbox: strategies.