Anyone do law preview?

[ericptk2000]

I was wondering whether law preview was worth the money?  I want to hear your thoughts from those of you who did the 1 week training.  You can PM me if you would prefer.

[werls21]

I did law preview and would highly recommend it.  They bring in some of the finest law professors from around the country to teach you an overview of every one of your law school 1L classes.  More importantly, they really give you an idea of how to succeed.  For me, especially as a student coming directly out of undergrad, they really established how hard you have to work and what is the best way to get to the end goal- good grades.  Lets just say I am in the top 3% of my class and contribute much of that success to Law Preview.  Another great thing about the class is that you get to meet some people from the class that you are going to go to school with.  The student proctor (shes a 3L) of my class in Chicago goes to my school and ended up being a resource to me and provided me with outlines and a lot of practical advise for my school.  Also, Law preview sends you emails every couple of weeks during the year with calendars and updates of where you should in your outlines etc... It was great and definately worth it- if you have any more questions feel free to ask!

[ericptk2000]

Thanks for your input.  Anyone else do law preview? Is it worth the money that you spend?

[StrenuouslyObject]

Lets just say I am in the top 3% of my class and contribute much of that success to Law Preview. 

So wait a second.  You're telling us that more than half of your success resulted from your attending Law Preview?  I'm sure it is a decent program, but I don't know how in the world you can make the correlation that your success resulted from an introductory "get your feet wet" short-term course covering all the subjects. 

I don't know if you're selling yourself short or if you are some kind of marketing representative, but I do know that doing well in law school takes more than attending a week-long class where the professor reads a canned outline.

I met a guy at my school who thought he was the *&^% because he went to Law Preview; he now morosely resides in the bottom-half of the class.

Bottom line:  I'm sure that LP is a way to motivate you and get acquainted with arcane concepts like "privity" before you plunge into 1L, but its a far cry from being a huge part of your success . . . give yourself some credit.

[werls21]

Dont get me wrong I worked my ass off and had some luck too... and I dont remember a thing from those one day classes BUT the thing that law preview does do is gives you a better idea of how to succeed.  I think it would have taken me a lot longer to build up the proper work ethic and figure out the best (most efficient) way to study.  I still havent figured that out but law preview doesn't hurt.  And no I am not a marketing rep- Bottom line is this... it is an expensive week but if you can afford the class, it will really help you in your upcoming first year. 

[StrenuouslyObject]

That makes sense.

[lawmama09]

I didn't do law preview, didn't read a single preparing for law school book, didn't buy any Nutshells, etc. and I still did great my first semester. I don't buy into the scare tactics that these companies use to squeeze more money out of freaked out law students. Your school assumes you did nothing and they start from that point. You got into law school, so presumably you are smart enough to figure things out without shelling out lots of money. One nice thing that our school did though was a pre-orientation over a weekend where they had other students come in and teach us how to brief a case, what to expect in class, etc. That was free though, and it was nice to meet some other students that way. But even people who did not attend did just fine.

[leostrauss]

Your suggestion that there is a financial incentive for lawpreview to suggest that preparation is beneficial for prelaws is irrelevant to whether the course is effective or not.

The fact that you did well your first semester with no preparation is also irrelevant.

As to your argument that since you were smart enough to get in, you don't need to prepare, I would respond that because intelligence is innate, your argument could be pushed to birth . . . a little baby with the potential to do well in law school need not prepare . . . need not learn english, go to elementary school, etc  . ..  just plop them down at harvard and let their natural abilities take over. That's absurd! Further, even if you're right, your argument holds true for EVERYONE who got into school X, but law school students are ranked and competitive with one another. Thus, just being good enough to get in and pass is not nearly sufficient for success. One must outperform other people who meet your criteria of smart enough to get in. How does one do that? Preparation. Baseball players who make it to the majors are "good enough" to get in, but if they wanna be the next Hank Aaron, they darn well better prepare.

Your final position that the profs assume you don't know anything would be effective, except that you assume that profs want to help and nurture you into a fine lawyer. That may well be, but it could also be that they are not trying to teach you the law . .. that they are more like ringmasters of a big game. THough I don't currently attend law school, there are many books out right now that contend that the latter is right and your position about law schools assuming we know nothing and leading us down a prim rose path to legal knowledge in a supporting and encouraging way is not.

[werls21]

There is no doubt that you can do very well without Law Preview and to some it may be a waste of money.  But to others, such as myself, it was an excellent means of grabbing my attention and helping to become mentally prepared for a grueling year.  I guess you have to assess your situation and plan accordingly. 

[jacy85]

You could also spend $4.00 + media mail shipping for "Law School Confidential" and get both an overview of 1L courses, the 1L job search, and different opinions from both the author and students on study techniques that worked well.

If you're really feeling ambitious, you can go to the library or a book store, see if they have the Examples and Explanations series for 1L courses (Contracts, Civil Procedure, Torts, Constitutional Law, Property, Criminal Law), and sit down with them.  Read through the table of contents, maybe skim a few chapters here and there, and get a feel for the subjects and some of the terminology.  That costs you nothing.

Your money is better saved, since law school is expensive enough as it is without companies trying to take advantage of panicked students.

And for the record, NONE of the students I know who did well at my school took a Law Preview course (doesn't mean there aren't any - I don't know for sure everyone who is in the top of my class, but those I do know, didn't take one - neither did I, for that matter).

Any advantage you might get is very short-lived, as the learning curve is steep.  Is $1000 worth it for a 3 or so week advantage?  (and that's assuming it will take your classmates 3 weeks to get their own overview by reading through their syllabus, flipping through the table of contents of the casebook, and looking at supplements).