Is Planet Law School II an accurate portayal of what law school is like?

[MiamiLaw]

I am reading this book right now, and all though I am only on page 100, this book is getting me very excited to start school because it all sounds so ridicously interesting to me.  But it is obvious he feels case briefs and basically all you do in class are more or less a "waste of time", and the real things you should be studying is how to spot issues in a fact set.  Is this really accurate, should I basically go in knowing not to sit there and memorize case briefs, and basically spend a lot of time teaching myself to spot issues in case sets? 

Also, is it nuts that I feel this might be fun for me? The book had a few examples of case sets you might see, and it was really enjoyable for me to go through each one and see how many endless possibilities there were with either the prescense or absence of one seemingly miniscule circumstance.  Doing active anaylsis like that is much more entertaining for me then sitting there and memorizing things like I needed to do in college.

[unlvcrjchick]

I am reading this book right now, and all though I am only on page 100, this book is getting me very excited to start school because it all sounds so ridicously interesting to me.  But it is obvious he feels case briefs and basically all you do in class are more or less a "waste of time", and the real things you should be studying is how to spot issues in a fact set.  Is this really accurate, should I basically go in knowing not to sit there and memorize case briefs, and basically spend a lot of time teaching myself to spot issues in case sets? 

Also, is it nuts that I feel this might be fun for me? The book had a few examples of case sets you might see, and it was really enjoyable for me to go through each one and see how many endless possibilities there were with either the prescense or absence of one seemingly miniscule circumstance.  Doing active anaylsis like that is much more entertaining for me then sitting there and memorizing things like I needed to do in college.

I agree with Planet Law School on the "class-is-a-waste-of-time" thing.  I received the best grades in classes where I didn't pay attention.  Be prepared to teach yourself the BLL because the professors will not spoon-feed it to you:  they will "hide the ball."

Also, memorization is still involved in law school - you need to memorize the BLL in order to spot a potential issue in a issue-spotter in the first place.  However, unlike in undergrad, memorization is only half of the equation:  it's how you use the memorized information to solve problems that matters (the "analysis" portion of the IRAC format of exam-taking).

[MiamiLaw]

I am reading this book right now, and all though I am only on page 100, this book is getting me very excited to start school because it all sounds so ridicously interesting to me.  But it is obvious he feels case briefs and basically all you do in class are more or less a "waste of time", and the real things you should be studying is how to spot issues in a fact set.  Is this really accurate, should I basically go in knowing not to sit there and memorize case briefs, and basically spend a lot of time teaching myself to spot issues in case sets? 

Also, is it nuts that I feel this might be fun for me? The book had a few examples of case sets you might see, and it was really enjoyable for me to go through each one and see how many endless possibilities there were with either the prescense or absence of one seemingly miniscule circumstance.  Doing active anaylsis like that is much more entertaining for me then sitting there and memorizing things like I needed to do in college.

I agree with Planet Law School on the "class-is-a-waste-of-time" thing.  I received the best grades in classes where I didn't pay attention.  Be prepared to teach yourself the BLL because the professors will not spoon-feed it to you:  they will "hide the ball."

Also, memorization is still involved in law school - you need to memorize the BLL in order to spot a potential issue in a issue-spotter in the first place.  However, unlike in undergrad, memorization is only half of the equation:  it's how you use the memorized information to solve problems that matters (the "analysis" portion of the IRAC format of exam-taking).

So would I be correct in saying that doing well on a 1L exam is based on how well you can pick out valid legal issues and claims from a fact set, but you will only know what qualifies as a legal claim by knowing the black letter law?

[MiamiLaw]

It also suggests to do some serious pre-prepping, like 8 weeks of fulltime prepping before school starts. Is that really necessary for sucess in school?

[unlvcrjchick]

I am reading this book right now, and all though I am only on page 100, this book is getting me very excited to start school because it all sounds so ridicously interesting to me.  But it is obvious he feels case briefs and basically all you do in class are more or less a "waste of time", and the real things you should be studying is how to spot issues in a fact set.  Is this really accurate, should I basically go in knowing not to sit there and memorize case briefs, and basically spend a lot of time teaching myself to spot issues in case sets? 

Also, is it nuts that I feel this might be fun for me? The book had a few examples of case sets you might see, and it was really enjoyable for me to go through each one and see how many endless possibilities there were with either the prescense or absence of one seemingly miniscule circumstance.  Doing active anaylsis like that is much more entertaining for me then sitting there and memorizing things like I needed to do in college.

I agree with Planet Law School on the "class-is-a-waste-of-time" thing.  I received the best grades in classes where I didn't pay attention.  Be prepared to teach yourself the BLL because the professors will not spoon-feed it to you:  they will "hide the ball."

Also, memorization is still involved in law school - you need to memorize the BLL in order to spot a potential issue in a issue-spotter in the first place.  However, unlike in undergrad, memorization is only half of the equation:  it's how you use the memorized information to solve problems that matters (the "analysis" portion of the IRAC format of exam-taking).

So would I be correct in saying that doing well on a 1L exam is based on how well you can pick out valid legal issues and claims from a fact set, but you will only know what qualifies as a legal claim by knowing the black letter law?

I think you nailed it on the head.  However, regarding the 8 weeks of prepping, I don't think this is necessary for success.  In fact, I discount that piece of advice completely.  I feel you'll do better if you just relax your last summer before heading into the fire, so to speak.  Not to scare you, but your 1L year is intense.  It's not intense because of the material per se; the intensity comes from not knowing what needs to be done to be successful in law school. 

A law-school education is completely unlike anything you've experienced, period.  But if you like figuring out the puzzle of who can sue for what and why, then I think your first year will be that much more enjoyable.

[MiamiLaw]

I honestly love and live for that stuff, I can have endless debates with my friends and family about thinkg like that.  For my "prep", all I am really doing is reading Planet Law School II, and I will start doing the LEEWS audio program as soon as it arrives (ordered it yesterday).

[unlvcrjchick]

I honestly love and live for that stuff, I can have endless debates with my friends and family about thinkg like that.  For my "prep", all I am really doing is reading Planet Law School II, and I will start doing the LEEWS audio program as soon as it arrives (ordered it yesterday).

Well, then that's great, congrats to you on finding what you like!  I, on the other hand, am still searching for what excites me - well, except my dream (read, unattainable) career of being a voice actor.

Anyway, yes, read Planet Law School II and do LEEWS.  I have LEEWS myself but have never used it, so I can't vouch for it's effectiveness.  Just don't let the tone of Planet Law School II get you down.  Even if you're gung ho on law school, reading that voluminous tome can be a tremendous downer.

[just wondering]

Where do you find a book containing BLL.  Instead of "hide the ball"  is there a great source for BLL?

[Strong]

I say don't read PLS II, just my .02.

[MiamiLaw]

I say don't read PLS II, just my .02.

What would be your reasons?