Law School Confidential: A Complete Guide to the Law School Experience: By Students, for Students

by Robert H. Miller

Law School Confidential is written for students about to embark on this three-year odyssey by students who have successfully survived. It demystifies the life-altering thrill ride that defines an American legal education by providing a comprehensive, blow-by-blow, chronological account of what to expect. It arms students with a thorough overview of the contemporary law school experience. This isn't the advice of graying professors or battle-scarred practitioners decades removed from law school. Miller has assembled a panel of recent graduates to act as "mentors", all of whom are perfectly positioned to shed light on what law school is like today. From taking the LSAT, to securing financial aid, to navigating the notorious first semester, to taking exams, to applying for summer internships, to getting on the law review, to tackling the bar and beyond...this book explains it all.

Genres: Law, Nonfiction, Legal, Reference, Education, Self Help, School

352 pages, Paperback

First published July 14, 2000

About the author

Robert H. Miller graduated from Yale University in 1993 and from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where he was senior editor of the Law Review, in 1998. He is presently a trial lawyer at Sheehan, Phinney, Bass & Green in Manchester, New Hampshire, where he specializes in intellectual-property and commercial litigation. He is the author of the critically acclaimed grad school preparatory books Law School Confidential, Business School Confidential, and the hot new college preparatory book Campus Confidential.

Reviews

[Elizabeth Pyjov · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very useful ! Highly recommend it for a pre-law school read.

What I took away from it:

WHY GO TO LAW SCHOOL: - I like being challenged intellectually daily;
law school teaches you to "think" in a way that even the best undergraduate education does not.

Law school feels natural given my love of advocacy, reading, writing and expressing my ideas into words.

I relish the challenge of thinking on my feet.

I like laws pragmatic, "let's get things done" attitude. "For me, college was spent developing a firm idea of all the things that I wanted to change about the world, but it didn't give me the tools I needed to bring about those changes." Those changes came later, with compassion training at Stanford Medical School and the law degree.

Law school: the hours are long, but they are usually happily spent absorbing material.

Advice: I generally read for about 4 hours a day, six days a week.
ADVICE TO SELF: Get up at 4 am each morning, read until 8 am each morning. But go to bed by 8 pm each night. Read in the morning when you can absorb the material and your mind is fresh. Keep a binder for each class, with dividers that have the date each class meets.
Put in a page into each divider with the case that you briefed. Read the case, brief it, and then put it in your binder for that class. Keep your notes from that class along with it, on a separate piece of looseleaf hole-punched paper. Read ahead, never for the following day. Start out by getting up at 4 am, making yourself a green smoothie, reading for 4 hours. Then make yourself breakfast.
After class, only exercise and eat dinner. Don't need to do anything at all after class. Keep the same schedule every single day.

Rough: "Law school is no place to try to find yourself. Law school is the kind of place that will force you to repress just about every other competing interest in your life as you struggle to to stay afloat. There are no free summers and no vacations. Once you matriculate in law school and the train starts rolling, it is hard to get off.

If you want to be an academic, you should consider going to the most prestigious schools, ones that will give you many chances to interact with professors and develop your ideas into scholarship.

"A man who suffers before it is necessary, suffers more than it is necessary." - Seneca

Before law school: "Having a working knowledge of the framework of the 'black-letter' law in each first-year subject at the beginning of law school would have been immensely helpful."

For law school, GET A BIG DESK.

Print your resume on heavy white bond paper - or the best paper you can afford.

"It is enough if one tries to merely comprehend a little of this mystery every day." - Albert Einstein

CIVIL PROCEDURE
You will discover that an elegant, sensible structure underlies the rules of procedure-- and that the system actually makes sense.
A civil action is an action brought to enforce private rights and/or seek private remedies in which money damages or some other court order is sought.
A civil action = any noncriminal case. Civil Procedure at its most basic level is the study of the rules, procedures, regulations, and process governing these noncriminal actions in state and federal courts.
The first thing to realize when you're reading a CivPro case is that you're not really concerned about the underlying substantive law dispute. It's not the contract issue or the First Amendment claim you need to evaluate. Instead, in Civil Procedure, you need to be on the lookout only for the procedural questions underlying the case that the court was forced to decide. !!!!!
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure = extremely useful, a compendium of 86 rules that governs every aspect of bringing a civil action in the federal court system. Reading the applicable rule will greatly aid your understanding of the case law precipitated by that rule. It also states the intended function of each rule, and the purpose of any amendment thereto. The Federal Rules often hold the key to ambiguous language in a rule, or even to an entire case!

What you will learn in Civil Procedure
1) how to determine whether you bring a case in state court, federal court, or both, and which courts within those systems are available to hear different cases. this question raises the issues of 'subject matter jurisdiction,' 'personal jurisdiction,' 'proper venue,' and 'removal.'
2) how lawsuits are shaped through the evidence-collecting procedures of interrogatories, discovery, and depositions, joinder of additional culpable parties after the commencement of the lawsuit, and supplemental jurisdiction over additional claims involving those parties; how courts can hear counterclaims and cross-claims between these parties; complex litigation and class actions.
3) which law governs the case - federal statutory law, state statutory law, or common law. and if state law, then which state's law.
In considering these issues, you will encounter a) the infamous 'Eerie question' which requires you to determine whether the issues raised in a federal court case implicate federal procedural law or state substantive law, and accordingly, which law to apply and then b) the choice-of-law conflicts that arise when citizens of different states appear in a federal court, each alleging that the law of his own state should govern the lawsuit; plaintiffs, of course, seek the court that will apply the most favorable law to their claims.
4) motion to dismiss; motion for summary judgment; motion for judgment as a matter of law
5) res judicata - claim preclusion
6) collateral estoppel - issue preclusion
Beautifully worded: "When the clouds do finally part, the elegance of the system of American civil procedure will be yours to keep."

TORTS
A tort is an act or omission, perpetrated by one individual against another, for which a civil remedy is available.

BRIEFING CASES - traditional way
"If I could do it all over again, I would have taken an entirely different approach to my study strategy during those first few months. I would have been more diligent about keeping up with the reading, forced myself not to get bogged down in the minutiae of cases, started using commercial outlines sooner, and started making my own outlines right away.

Name of the case:
Citation in proper form:
Procedural posture, how the case got to the court it's in:
Relevant facts:
Carefully frame the question presented:
Answer it:
Add a few lines to flesh out the court's reasoning:
Hook: How the case advanced the ball in that particular area of the law. why was the case significant? What did this case contribute to its area of law?

HOW TO STUDY
Step 1: Start each night with a lesson from your commercial outline.
One of the most critical secrets of law school success is being able to put the hundreds of cases and case excerpts you'll read for each law school class in some kind of context. The most efficient way to do this is to start with the commercial outline. Why reinvent the wheel struggling for countless hours to create a context when someone has already done this for you? You're looking to put each night's reading in context, and consequently each night's reading should start with a reading of the relevant section of the applicable hornbook.

"If I could do it all over again, I would focus much more on the 'black-letter' law- the holding and how each case advanced the ball in that particular area of the law.

a) Grab your syllabus and determine what pages in the textbook your professor has assigned for tonight. Go to the textbook and see what the general topic heading is. If you're having trouble determining what it is, don't forget to check the table of contents of the book. When you've determined the general topic area, Write it down.
Next, flip through the span of pages the professor assigned, and Write down the name of every case that appears. There will be 'major cases,' the ones that are excerpted in edited form, and 'squibs,' the cases that are mentioned and discussed in a paragraph or two in the professor's linking text between major cases.

b) In commercial outlines find the pages where the cases you've listed are discussed. Read that section of the commercial outline for understanding, marking the holdings of your listed cases, and any explanatory text discussing how the cases affect each other. Don't try to memorize things or write anything down yet - just read for general understanding. What you're looking for is an overview of the night's reading in that subject - a context in which to put the cases you're about to read. Think of the law as a series of somewhat linear lengths of chain. Each case you read adds another link to the development of the law. That the magic epiphany you're striving for in each of the subjects you'll study in law school - to be able to follow the cases, link by link down the chain, until you finally grasp the big picture of how all the cases work together to develop and govern a particular area of law, and where the unanswered questions remain, and what the next links in the chain might look like.

c)
GREEN: facts
YELLOW: critical legal reasoning
PINK/RED: holding; court; judge; procedural posture, deposition (affirmed reversed, remanded)
BLUE: important precedents cited and their holdings
ORANGE: important dissenting remarks

Now do the case book reading.
First, skim the case completely from beginning to end. Just read. No pen, no highlighter, nothing.
Force yourself not to get too bogged down in minutiae. Just get a sense for how the case is organized, what the case is about, what the holding is, and how much good supporting reasoning is provided. Resist the urge to mark anything. An average-size case should take you ten to fifteen minutes to get through.
When you've finished skimming the case, you're ready to start briefing it. Highlight SPARINGLY. Mark the court, writing judge, procedural posture, and holding in red, the most relevant facts in green, the most persuasive or historically important reasoning in yellow, significant case precedent in blue, and andy notable reasoning in the dissent in orange. You should see a lot more black-and-white, unmarked passages than you do highlighted sections.

Then go back and brief it on a separate piece of paper and put into your binder for that week.

d) In class, when called on, you'll be able to look at your casebook to answer questions (or your brief)
Take notes on loose-leaf paper and put it in that same section, or take notes on your brief.

e) The most crucial step in the learning process and also the hardest step, because it requires the most discipline. Every day after class, for every class you had that day, you need to consolidate your knowledge into a concise but comprehensive outline summarizing that day's material.
Here's how to do it:
- Go somewhere quiet where you can spread out your materials and plug in your laptop.
- Start just as you did last night - by typing in the names of the cases you read in chronological order. Be sure to include the name of the court and the date of the decision to aid understanding and avoid possible confusion.
- Now, taking each case one at a time, write down 4 sentences of the most relevant facts. Keep the facts short and simple - only the critical ones to the opinion. You may want to set off these facts in italics to make them more easily distinguishable.
- Next, go back to the casebook, and after looking quickly for red, plug in the holding. you may want to set this off in bold to distinguish it from the facts. Force yourself to make the holding as succinct and clear as you can.
- Now go back to your class notes and see if the professor had anything interesting to say about the case historically, politically, or contextually. What, if anything, did you scribble down in the margins? Skip a line after the holding and plug it in.
- Finally, go back to the commercial outline where you started last night and remind yourself of what it had to say about the case. What did you highlight? Did the outline help put the case in a framework by linking it to the cases that preceded and postdated it? Did the outline make any other remarks that your professor didn't? If so, add these notes from the commercial outline right after your professor's comments.
- Do this for every case you covered, in every subject you had that day, during every day of the semester. It will probably take you about an hour, on average, to update your outline for each class. That is a heck of a lot less than it would take you to brief every case, and the advantage is that you are both actively engaging the material and incrementally building your blueprint of the course for the exam.
Assuming you have three classes a day, you'll be spending three hours every day developing your class outlines. This is absolutely crucial to your mastery of the material, and it is by far the most valuable time you'll spend studying. If you keep to this schedule daily (which requires a great deal of discipline), at the end of the semester you'll have an outline for each class which will represent in one neat, concise package, everything you need to worry about for the exam.
- By December, your outlines should be done and you'll have time to start taking practice tests. Work through prior exams with a study group, compare answers, and then go back and augment your outline as necessary. It's very systematic.

SCHEDULE
4 - 8 am: Green smoothie. Read for your next day's classes in bed. Then scrambled eggs with brodo.
9 - 10 am: Class 1
10:30 - 12 pm: Class 2
12 - 1 pm: Lunch
1:30 - 3 pm: Class 3
3 - 6 pm: In law school building, write an outline for Classes 1 - 3
Done for the night.
8 pm: in bed, asleep.

HOW TO PHRASE QUESTIONS: "Professor, I don't understand this. I'm confused as to how it's foreseeable to the guy on the hill that his gas spill would cause a fire that far away. Can you explain that?" (instead of "but I thought__").
Understand that when you express confusion and ask the professor to break a direct question, she's more likely to break the Socratic dialogue and respond with a direct answer rather than another confusing hypo.

The most respected students in law school were the ones who showed respect for others. They had humility, they weren't afraid to admit their confusion.

When you want to speak, or add on something to what someone else said, a good way to start is: "What caught my attention..."

Be nice to everyone! Everyone can be an ally in the law field later.
"In law school, and in your legal career, your reputation is your most valuable asset. Once you've lost it, it's really, really hard to get back and you may never outrun it either. You never know where the legal road will lead you, and the law community is smaller than you think. The people you mistreat (or are condescending to) today may be in the position to remember those acts one day."

The best answer when someone asks you about grades: "I don't discuss grades" or just simply "I did okay."

Professors sometimes give the same exam twice... so work through every single exam question, and review the model answer in advance, incorporate it into your outline.
But don't do exams until you've finished your class outline.

If looking for a job and emailing contacts, end with the phrase: "Any assistance or suggestions you can provide would be greatly appreciated."

It's a good idea to do research for a professor or intern for a judge 1 L summer.

EXAMS: "The classes in which I had the greatest success were those classes in which I had prepared my own outline, taken time to review the outline and become familiar with it, and then taken time to do practice exams using the outline so i could get comfortable using it."

The particular areas of law your professors are researching and writing about, they will likely test you on.

When you first get an exam, just calmly read over it. Just read over the whole thing and let the subconscious mind begin working on the answers.

WRITING / PUBLISHING
case note = you're basically writing a case brief on steroids
comment = lengthy, thorough evaluation of the controlling law in a particular area. most fertile ground for comments is in areas of the law where splits among the circuit court of appeals have left the status of the law in doubt or disarray. inquire about circuit splits, vagaries in statutes, policy disagreements, or poorly reasoned US Supreme Court decisions.
most professors are happy to assist students with journal articles.
writing comment without advice from faculty member is inadvisable.

Why do you want this job? I want to anchor my legal education in the practical world.

as a 2-year associate, bill all your time.

"The one thing that good lawyers know is that an issue is almost never completely black-and-white. Therefore, a good lawyer recognizes and admits the weaknesses in a position. In other words, 'We think the answer should be this, we recognize that there is some authority to the contrary, and this is our response to that.' Don't puff your position, allow for the fact that it might not be absolutely correct, and work with that. That's rare, but it immediately sets a good lawyer apart." - Chief Justice Dalianis, page 4o1

[Lauren Watson · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is so narrowly focused on the big law path that it leaves anyone desiring to pursue any other legal career paths out in the cold. All of the student authors are from T14 or east coast, old money schools and the preponderance of any chapter is dedicated to advice aimed at securing fast lane, mega-corporate legal careers. As a law student interested in prosecutorial work, this was a great turn off. The overall tone of the book is just ultimately very discouraged, as if the authors are suffering some sort of career-related depression or trying their darnedest to discourage any one else from entering this competitive field. While the boom possesses value for any 0L who wants a look at the personalities that dominate many law schools, i.e., hyper-competitive snobs, any reader should be advised that there are good careers in the legal field that don't involve the type of 80 hour a week, soul-suck that the book enjoys haunting its pages with.

[Shelby · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book that take you through EVERY aspect of law school. However, it is very US centred. Would be nice to see one on law school in other countries!

[Sana Mohammed · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who’s the first in the family to pursue a law degree I thought this book gave a great overview. So many things with law school are not discussed and it’s nice to have someone discuss it plainly. I read the edition from my library written in 2000 which at times was dated but still helpful.

[Shira · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read Law School Confidential, liked it, used some of the methods it suggests, and refuse to be ashamed of any of that. I read a couple of "don't get blindsided by law school" type books, such as Planet Law School, and this one was by far my favorite. It prepares you for all the various sequential occurrences in law school (outlines, the socratic method, exams, 1L job search, on campus interviews, law review, clerkships, etc.), and does so without going all-out negative. The people who wrote it don't generally hate life or the fact that they went to law school. It offers actual tactics. It was a good crutch for me - I think having approaches to fall back on was key to stress management for me.

Law School Confidential recommends a couple of things for first years that I can speak about. For example it recommends that you don't write case briefs to prepare for class. Instead, LSC suggests you use colored highlighters in your casebook to brief cases - pink corresponds to holdings, yellow to reasoning, green to facts, and so on. I still have the colors memorized from doing this. I thought this was a very useful exercise and saved me some time, but my advice is also to master briefing a case the long way, because that's a skill I sort of wish I had now.

Additionally, LSC recommends you outline after each class. I did this only for my first semester, and I'm not sure how well it worked. I think it extended my study time beyond the bounds of what was helpful for exams. It certainly didn't HURT me to do it this way, however.

So, not everything in there is gold, but I think their advice is generally good advice. Besides that, the book itself is an interesting and easy read, in addition to being a reference you can go back to when your next step comes along. I certainly feel like I benefited from it.

[Mutant Supermodel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm reviewing this from the perspective of someone who is thinking about Law School but has not yet applied or attended.

It's very useful, very practical. It makes the difficult reality very sharp which is necessary for something so expensive and so stressful and so long-term as law school and a career in it.

A couple of things I found a little meh:

1) There is a lot of law school jargon right from the beginning and it's rarely explained. That's a little annoying for most people who are not in law school. For instance, there's not much of an explanation on what a clerkship actually is. There's very little explanation even as to what a lawyer is and what their days are like which I think is important to understand if you're considering it as a career. Some careers are pretty obvious but the only thing most people know about lawyers is trial-related. The book keeps telling us very few lawyers actually SEE a court but doesn't really explain what most lawyers do most of the time. And when they do mention things, it's in jargon.

2) The book, I believe, is mostly targeted to people who have had law school in mind since high school. They went to prestigious undergraduate universities and are determined to nail a spot in the top 15 law schools. While I think that is well and good, I am not convinced the majority of law students are like this. I'm not even convinced the majority of successful lawyers and judges came from this. There is pretty much nothing for someone considering law as a career change.

If I do go to law school, I do think I would refer to this book again. And if I did, I will happily review it after graduating to weigh in on really just how much of it is accurate, useful, realistic, etc.

[Zach · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book gives a ton of specific advice an I'm excited to try it out. I definitely feel more prepared for law school after reading it, and it was written well enough that I actually wanted to keep reading. I'm giving it 4 stars for now, until I can see how accurate the advice actually is. My only concern is that it was written 20 years ago LOL.

[Bridget · Rating 3 out of 5]

Now that week 2 of law school is over, I feel a little more justified in my review. basically, it's a good overview of the process and it is helpful to see a sketch of what could lie ahead in order to begin with the end in mind. But, it seems to me that although the author bills it as a book with multiple perspectives because he interviewed a bunch of young lawyers, he only interviewed people who have the same general ideas about law school that he does. If you're still in undergrad and gunning for BigLaw, this would probably be more useful. My favorite line was from the "questions to ask yourself before you choose law school" section. Can you handle 4-6 hours of reading/day? To which I said, after 4-6 hours of grading (minimum) every weekend, yes please.
Also, I have a hard time believing this is the updated edition. I really don't think you need to check with the people sitting around you in class about whether your typing will bother them. In fact, I think that would be your one-way ticket to being "the weird kid" in your section.

[Sophoula · Rating 5 out of 5]

Because I was neurotic (and feeling completely undeserving of having just gotten into law school), I read this during my last family vacation before law school. I'm in the end of my third year, and I can still hear my mother telling me to just enjoy my final moments of freedom. To be truthful, I probably should have. But, some of the study tips in this book have proven priceless, even this far into my law school experience. I would completely recommend this book to anyone entering law school -- particularly those who do not have any other lawyers in the family (and therefore, lack of access to the common tricks that many of your peers will know about). best,

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book overall but keep in mind - it is written primarily for Ivy League undergrads (who have never worked full time, made a budget for themselves or lived in an apartment) planning to go to a T14 law school and then go straight to work in Big Law as a corporate lawyer. If you don’t fit those categories you can still get something out of this book (I did), but it’s not written for you.

[McKay Powers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Take this with a grain of salt since I haven’t actually started yet, but I found this book incredibly helpful and reassuring. More than anything, it made me excited for what’s to come.

The book starts with reasons for why people go to law school, picking a law school, each year and its themes, and bar preparation.

[Brittany · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read this book before, but I re-read the relevant parts because it is so good and offers an actual plan of attack for law school in a easy to read manner and not just horror stories meant to scare you or superficial information you can find online.

[Rhea Sharma · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who quite frankly is scared of the inevitable future I read this book through a recommendation from Reddit... Law seems respectable, makes my parents proud, and is financially a good job...however I answered every question honestly, read through everyone's opinions on law school, and I absolutely dreaded it. I can't imagine wasting all the time only to be under serve debt and not even truly enjoy what I do, but if I don't do law I have genuinely nothing else to offer this world. Everything else I could do would only leave me financially unstable and honestly disappoint the people around me. This shed some light about the realities of law school but at the end of the day I don't think I'll like it, but I don't see any other option either.

[Jamie Van Nuys]

This book has the premise of being exceedingly helpful for those considering law school, but I found that the last two thirds of the book were entirely too information dense and would be better read while someone is in school. I skimmed the last two sections and will return to them when needed.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is filled with lots of helpful advice for succeeding in law school. I am entering my third year and have been reading the sections relevant to where I’m at in my law school journey. I highly recommend reading it like that!

[Ella · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gave me anxiety but worth it I think

[Dasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great read for rising first year law students!! It’s a tiny bit out dated though.

[Toe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Much like "Getting to Maybe," this book is good for what it attempts to accomplish, and what it attempts to accomplish is lame and very far removed from anything a well-rounded human being would care about. This book will walk you through the process of "succeeding" at law school, from prior to studying for the LSAT until your first job. Why the scare quotes around "succeeding?" Because I'm using the term as traditionally understood: doing well on exams, being prepared for class, getting on Law Review or some other journal, and preparing for interviews and clerkships. Cool. If that's what you want, and you're gung-ho about doing the whole law school thing, then this is probably worth your time.

If you're so-so about it, as I was, then I'll give you the only piece of advice that I actually used from this book. It is a highlighter color scheme for information from cases. The scheme is:

Green = facts
Yellow = critical legal reasoning (arguments)
Pink = procedural posture (case history, prior rulings, final ruling or holding)
Orange = dissent
Blue = precedential cases cited

I've since learned that case history, prior rulings, and dissents don't matter for exams. So, if you're willing to risk potentially looking foolish during class, you can save yourself a lot of time by skipping these parts of cases. Focus on the holdings. Nonetheless, Scalia's dissents are beautifully entertaining, and you may wish to read them for your own pleasure and understanding of how the law should be.

Taking time to write this angers me, and it angers me that I read these books because law school angers me. It's a big game that is not fun to play. People try to make a big deal out of it, but the substance is not difficult. Engineering and medical programs must be substantially more difficult than law school, and at least you have something to show for it in the end like the ability to add or save people's lives. My advice is to not go to law school at all because it will sap the life out of you, prevent you from being able to make even the most simple statements with confidence, and leave you jaded--with six figures worth of debt.

[Josh Holtry · Rating 5 out of 5]

First, a disclaimer: I haven't been to law school yet, so I can't be exactly certain how helpful this book is for my legal career. But, that aside, I think that this is an incredible book. It seems to check out pretty well with other books on law school that I've read, and it helps fill in the gaps on many topics. What I especially appreciated in the book was the provision of study strategies and effective ways of using time along with things to focus on while in law school. From admissions to finals to interviews and jobs, this book pretty much covers it all. I think that it provides an excellent blueprint, so I'd recommend it to anyone that wants to have a sense of direction in their legal journey.
A good strategy would be to supplement this book with others of the genre as well as advice from admissions and LSAT experts along with law students already attending the school that you'll be going to (once you get that figured out).
But yeah, I think I'll be buying a physical copy of this book to reference as I go throughout the different stages of law school (I borrowed an audiobook version for my first study of it). So again, I highly recommend it to anyone bound for law school.

[Ilana Friedman · Rating 5 out of 5]

For anyone going to law school I 100% recommend reading this book. Robert Miller, a former law student, provides the perspective on how to get through all 3 years of law school, classes, law review, job searching, etc. Of course I had some prior knowledge of going to law school from my research during the application process, however I feel better equipped to start this journey after having read the advice in this book.

[Raquel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am rating this book 5 stars because I found it interesting to read and it helped me realistically think about going into law school. It is easy to read and well laid-out.

How helpful is it for perspective law students and students in law school? I could not tell you; I know it made me realize I need to start investing in other graduate programs at this time of my life. Thanks to the authors for keeping their experiences real in the text.

[Kate · Rating 1 out of 5]

DO NOT read this book before going to law school. It is alarmist and recommends ineffective study methods (at least for me). It had me thoroughly freaked out by my first day of law school. There will be enough freaking out, you don't need to add to it.

[George · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must read for future law students. No need to finish the book in one go, but go through it as you progress during law schools. Being a 0L at the moment, I will definitely be revisiting this book as I progress in my journey through law school.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Took me a little longer than expected to finish this. I had planned on finishing it before starting law school but that clearly didn't work out. Don't have much to say besides stating that I've learned some helpful tips which I plan on applying to the rest of my legal career.

[Kelsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made me feel increasingly prepared for the three year law school journey. While it is aimed towards those wishing to enter into firms, the strategies and outlook still apply. I am ready to be a 1L!

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great introduction to what law school would be like (I assume) and how to prepare for every aspect of it.

[Will G · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gunners guide to grad school.

[linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Insight into law school from the eyes of students. Recommended if you're considering going to law school.

[Geneva Lewis · Rating 1 out of 5]

I remember reading this book thinking it was a fount of knowledge as I embarked on my law school journey. Now, having graduated I can say with certainty that this book is a crock of sh*t written by someone of enormous privilege who went to law school a LONG time ago and does not have any sense of reality, and how things really are in today's law schools. In particular- I can't believe his shi*ty book briefing method with highlighters, and test taking strategies particularly since he went to a Tier 1 law school where you could bring your BOOK in for a test. Compare my experience in a Fourth Tier Law school where the median created such a feeding frenzy of competition that it was like blood in the water and sharks swimming, and we NEVER had one single notecard, book, or outline allowed in a final- it was all memory and I'm sure some people were snorting Adderall and other white powders to get by. This is the screed of an old man who made partner and decided to spice up his life by writing how-tos for the younger seta and is definitely more fantasy than reality. The only humorous and slightly relatable part was his story was about 1L year and the study period where his meditation, music, and candle practice was failing to de-funkify his 1L mind, and someone in the dorm started screaming or rocking nonstop, and he got the he@L out of the dorm to study, a tactic that I copied, verbatim. His guidance to get settled before school started was helpful, but two weeks ain't enough time in a new city, especially since my school let us move in the day before orientation. Overall, definitely NOT worth your money, just go to reddit /aw school for a reality check (free and funny but full of lunatics as well as few kind souls, kind of like law school). I keep this book as a memento of a time when I was young and dumb, and file it in the "satire" section.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow I learned so much! Such a great resource for anyone interested in law school, especially for those "first generation" folks navigating the field on their own. It was very thorough and covered more aspects of law school than I’ve seen in other resources, without getting too distracted or overwhelming. I would even call this book essential for anyone seriously considering law school, with only a few qualms:

I read the more updated (2004?) version but of course parts were still very outdated. They might benefit from another revised version? I would just ignore or skim the advice that can be made simpler in the age of the internet. LSAT advice was also outdated. Also, I don’t believe Cornell (or most other schools) offers Early Action anymore, so that part is worth skipping too. If you have all that in mind and read with some healthy skepticism, most information is still very applicable.

I also noticed that all but 1 of the mentors had some connection to the author's undergrad, his law school, or his home state — it’s clear the author chose to interview pre-existing connections or friends of his. Because of that, there was some regional and academic bias. I had less of a problem with this given my own goals and interests, but I could see it being a problem for someone who has no interest in attending a T-14 or practicing in the northeast. Some wider breath of mentor experiences would have made this book better (or at least include some caveat in the introduction that frames the book as a guide for prospective students that match this bias)

This version mentions political/economic uncertainty caused a crazy spike in law schools applications in the early 2000s, making it more competitive than ever. I think that’s even more applicable this year with political instability and people losing their government jobs. Funny how things work out like that 😭. All that being said, I’ll definitely be keeping this book around and rereading parts because I found it so informative and helpful!