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The Insider's Guide to Your First Year of Law School: A Student-to-Student Handbook from a Law School Survivor
They say that there are more students in law school than there are practicing lawyers. If they're right, then you need every possible advantage. In this insider's guide, Georgia State University School of Law student Justin Spizman helps you get the head start you need. Whether you are considering law school or are already ensconced in the curriculum, Spizman tells you what you need to know to survive--and thrive! With firsthand experience and interviews with both professors and practicing attorneys, Spizman gives you the edge you need to manage your workload; figure out what your professors really want; get an edge on your future in the legal field; determine the right type of law to pursue; reduce stress; and more. In addition, this guide addresses current issues that law students like you face every day, including computers in the classroom, electronic databases, the Socratic method, outlining and study tips, balancing a heavy workload with everyday life, and making time for friends and family. The Insider's Guide to Your First Year of Law School promises to show you not only how to get through your first year--but how to get ahead!
- GenresNonfictionLaw
240 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2007
14 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 7, 2015
I skimmed that last few chapters after realizing I was wasting my precious free time before I start law school. The advice is mediocre and the writing style is off-putting. The first section is devoted to important topics such as how to succeed in class. You, too, can succeed in law school if you follow such gems of advice like "show up to class", "take notes", "do the assigned reading", and "don't play games on your laptop in class." Every opportunity for more in-depth, specific advice is headed off by statements along the lines of "talk to your professor", "every professor/law school has different opinions/preferences." Well thanks, but I don't need this book to get obvious advice and what is frankly not really advice at all.
I had a huge problem with the chapter on legal writing. Spizman makes an incredibly belabored point on not being repetitive in your legal writing. Don't repeat yourself. Professors will roll your eyes when you repeat statements. Repetitiveness is bad. If repetitiveness is bad, why does he advise "don't repeat yourself" about 5 times in the same chapter?! Other advice is repeated throughout the book, almost word for word. Sections on making a good impression are repeated with the same tips in both the chapter on "networking" and the chapter on "the job search" (spoiler: to make a good impression, don't wear sweatpants and don't be a sulky bastard!)
The book is poorly edited, as well. At one point, a page ends mid-sentence, and the next page picks up in the middle of a completely different sentence. I thought that my book was missing a page, but the page numbers check out. Spizman's writing style is also obnoxious. Each chapter begins with a "journal entry" from his year as a 1L and chronicles the mistakes he made. I wish I could feel sympathetic to his mistakes, but they seem over-dramatized and unrealistic. He also mixes metaphors, makes unidentifiable puns that he identifies with "no pun intended", and comes off as arrogant and immature. He uses his own writing samples as examples of "good writing," and neglecting how self-absorbed this seems, they are also not particularly great.
In the chapter on exam-taking, Spizman writes "follow the steps we have talked about to be part of the top 10 percent in your first year" (page 110). This is ludicrous. By definition, if more than 10 percent of my law school's class reads this book, then no matter how closely some of those people follow Spizman's advice, they will not be part of the top ten percent. And that would be true even if his advice was decent. It was this haughty attitude, coupled with the fact that the book could have been condensed into about 50 pages, that made me put it down and step away — fast!
On the other hand, I just started Barron's How to Succeed in Law School, and it is proving delightful, realistic, and refreshing.
I had a huge problem with the chapter on legal writing. Spizman makes an incredibly belabored point on not being repetitive in your legal writing. Don't repeat yourself. Professors will roll your eyes when you repeat statements. Repetitiveness is bad. If repetitiveness is bad, why does he advise "don't repeat yourself" about 5 times in the same chapter?! Other advice is repeated throughout the book, almost word for word. Sections on making a good impression are repeated with the same tips in both the chapter on "networking" and the chapter on "the job search" (spoiler: to make a good impression, don't wear sweatpants and don't be a sulky bastard!)
The book is poorly edited, as well. At one point, a page ends mid-sentence, and the next page picks up in the middle of a completely different sentence. I thought that my book was missing a page, but the page numbers check out. Spizman's writing style is also obnoxious. Each chapter begins with a "journal entry" from his year as a 1L and chronicles the mistakes he made. I wish I could feel sympathetic to his mistakes, but they seem over-dramatized and unrealistic. He also mixes metaphors, makes unidentifiable puns that he identifies with "no pun intended", and comes off as arrogant and immature. He uses his own writing samples as examples of "good writing," and neglecting how self-absorbed this seems, they are also not particularly great.
In the chapter on exam-taking, Spizman writes "follow the steps we have talked about to be part of the top 10 percent in your first year" (page 110). This is ludicrous. By definition, if more than 10 percent of my law school's class reads this book, then no matter how closely some of those people follow Spizman's advice, they will not be part of the top ten percent. And that would be true even if his advice was decent. It was this haughty attitude, coupled with the fact that the book could have been condensed into about 50 pages, that made me put it down and step away — fast!
On the other hand, I just started Barron's How to Succeed in Law School, and it is proving delightful, realistic, and refreshing.
May 27, 2008
Not a terrible read, but a lot of the advice was very basic. I appreciated the section on outlining and case briefing.
October 9, 2008
A decent "insider's" view of law school. Would recommend reading, along with others, to get an idea of what law school is like.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews