PREPPING FOR 1L -- HELP

[MD22]

I'm going to Russia.  Probably my last chance to go, so why not?

[Top Cat]

Lovebutton- thanks for all of the insight... your comments are some of the most helpful I've read on this site.

[Slumdog Lovebutton]

Lovebutton- thanks for all of the insight... your comments are some of the most helpful I've read on this site.

Aw, thank you.  That means a lot to me!

[OhioUTOD]

I made it about halfway through PLS II. Other people have said it and I agree--it's got about 50-100 useful pages. The rest feels unnecessary at best for 0Ls (at least, as a 0L myself, I find it highly unnecessary--i.e., I understand that some professors at some schools suck, and I'm sorry about that, but how does that help get me ready for law school?)

I think the week-by-week schedules set out in PLS II are a little intense. The idea of making your way through an entire ~700 page primer for every core course before classes even start seems like overkill. That being said, I find no harm in trying to teach myself at least the basics of BLL. I can't see how it will hurt to know the fundamentals of offer/acceptance, etc., going in.

I'm planning on buying E&Es for the core courses (hell, I'll end up buying study guides anyways, and I've heard good things about the E&Es) and going through at least the first couple hundred pages of each. Already have Blum on Contracts. Glannon on CivPro's coming next week.

Also, I'm still in UG, and I took a law & society course last quarter. It essentially functioned as an overview of the basics of the BLL in the core areas (although the prof skimmed over property pretty lightly). I kind of questioned the value of taking it at first, but I think it's going to turn out to be more helpful than I thought. For instance, I'm 150 pages through Blum, and it's all stuff that I had already learned in this class (mailbox rule, consideration for options, etc).

[,.,.,.;.,.,.]

lulz.

The mailbox rule is largely irrelevant to modern Ks doctrine and can be learned in ten minutes; acceptance is when the offer is posted.  The trick is to apply it, under extreme timed pressure, to the facts before you.

Do yourself a favor and stop learning things that can be mastered in ten minutes when you get to LS.

[OhioUTOD]

lulz.

The mailbox rule is largely irrelevant to modern Ks doctrine and can be learned in ten minutes; acceptance is when the offer is posted.  The trick is to apply it, under extreme timed pressure, to the facts before you.

Do yourself a favor and stop learning things that can be mastered in ten minutes when you get to LS.

I know the mailbox rule can be learned in 10 minutes. I didn't say anything about how long it took me to learn it. I also didn't comment on its relevance to modern K doctrine. Also, you'll note the "etc." I typed 'mailbox rule' because it was the first thing to come to my head.

I stated this in my previous post, but I'll make it a question now: how can it hurt to have a general understanding of the terms and some of the elements of BLL going into LS (regardless of how long it takes you to learn them)? At the very least, I will be saving myself some anxiety going into the first week of classes, and when, for example, my Ks prof starts talking about whether a court will hold an option irrevocable through PE, if nothing else, I'll be able to recognize the terms and their essential functions. Yes?

[UnbiasedObserver]

lulz.

The mailbox rule is largely irrelevant to modern Ks doctrine and can be learned in ten minutes; acceptance is when the offer is posted.  The trick is to apply it, under extreme timed pressure, to the facts before you.

Do yourself a favor and stop learning things that can be mastered in ten minutes when you get to LS.

Dude, why the "hate" lately?  I know it's exam-time and people are stressed out, but come on Wally! I hardly see how becoming familiar with the terminology and general concepts is a bad thing.

I spent a few weeks before law school reading the E&E's while lounging by the pool.  It's not a big deal nor a waste of the OP's time, and it can probably only help, not hurt him. 

[just dot]

Don't take advice from other 0L's about what to do to prepare for law school.  They very likely mean well, but they also very likely don't know what they are talking about.  I gave advice as an 0L and I didn't know what the heck I was talking about either.

[Moe Zhust]

Avoid Planet Law School.  Somewhere in that fat bad book is a thin good book trying to get out, but it's not worth the slog.

The problem with following its advice and reading all those primers during the summer is that what your actual prof will teach you will amount to only a small fraction of what's covered in the primers.  You will just be wasting your time.  And the most important skill you will be learning is how not to waste your time.

Read a very slim book called Acing Your First Year of Law School.

Read a great book that is too new to show up yet on recommended lists:  What Every Law Student Needs to Know. 

If you want to read more than that, I suggest reading books about the American legal system in general.  Popular books like Toobin's the Nine.  Just being familiar with state vs. federal courts, trial vs. appellate courts, etc. will give you a big head start.

[Kels]

Has anyone heard of these books?

http://www.amazon.com/How-Your-Best-School-Exams/dp/0960851453/ref=pd_sim_b_1

http://www.amazon.com/Learning-Legal-Reasoning-Briefing-Analysis/dp/0960851445/ref=pd_sim_b_1


They sure do have good ratings