Recommended E&Es?

[FalconJimmy]

Okay, if I attend in the Fall, it looks like my schedule will be

Civ Pro
Torts
Property
Contracts
Legal Writing and Research

I am wondering if people here have recommendations for E & Es for the first 4 classes.

Any feedback you could provide would be greatly appreciated.  If I am going to do this, I want to get started on the E&Es right now.

I'm getting ready to order this one:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0735588740/

Any strong feelings for or against?

[lawschoolFyeah]

Personally, I found E&E's pretty helpful, but they shouldn't be your only source of review or completely replace the textbook.

The usefulness of an E&E heavily depends on how your professor teaches the class.  For example, my Civ Pro teacher actually recommended the E&E and it exactly reflected what he taught.  Whereas in Contracts, my professor heavily favored the Restatement over any other authority, and the Contracts E&E would discuss the UCC at great lengths (you'll learn this nonsense when you're in school, don't sweat it now).  The Torts one was decent, and I personally found Sprankling on Property more helpful than the E&E.  But the main point is that 1) it depends on how the professor teaches the class, and 2) it is a supplemental, it doesn't completely replace a textbook / hornbook.

[FalconJimmy]

Personally, I found E&E's pretty helpful, but they shouldn't be your only source of review or completely replace the textbook.

The usefulness of an E&E heavily depends on how your professor teaches the class.  For example, my Civ Pro teacher actually recommended the E&E and it exactly reflected what he taught.  Whereas in Contracts, my professor heavily favored the Restatement over any other authority, and the Contracts E&E would discuss the UCC at great lengths (you'll learn this nonsense when you're in school, don't sweat it now).  The Torts one was decent, and I personally found Sprankling on Property more helpful than the E&E.  But the main point is that 1) it depends on how the professor teaches the class, and 2) it is a supplemental, it doesn't completely replace a textbook / hornbook.

Thanks for the response.  I just finished the Torts E&E and I'm glad I did.  I'm not looking to use this as my primary text.  I'm just trying to start the semester with an idea of the major concepts that will be covered.  I'll be doing all four, prior to the start of 1L, I think.  (I have 4 classes, and a research and writing class.)  If they help, they help.  I don't see how they could hurt.  Obviously, I'll be focusing on what the prof emphasizes once the semester starts.

Personally, I found it useful in illustrating a few concepts (maybe fewer than half a dozen) where what the law says, literally (from a layman's perspective) is totally different than what the law means in practice (or what the law means in a law school class, anyway.)

I also really, really liked the sample exam questions and the fact that several chapters were dedicated to exam taking.  I can see that I'm going to focus on that to a high degree next year.

Okay, dumb 0L question, but what are the hornbooks?  I saw those, but they seem to be pricey relative to the E&Es.  Maybe twice as much?  But I realized that it appears they're not the same thing.  I hear references to "hornbook law", etc. 

At this point, I just ordered the Civ Pro one.  After I finish all four, I'm going to buy the LEEWS method and "getting to maybe".  Are there any other books you'd recommend?

[cal.aaronson]

After I finish all four, I'm going to buy the LEEWS method and "getting to maybe".  Are there any other books you'd recommend?

I just read "Law School Fast Track"  and it is really good--definitely recommend.  "Getting to maybe" is good, as are others.  "Planet law school" is a little long, but it has some great lists of supplemental materials. 

That said, be careful with reading supplemental materials--especially as a 0L or 1L--they will word things in the supplemental materials that will make sense after you've been studying the topics for awhile, but the way some things are worded or explained can be VERY misleading--only because you have no frame of reference.  The book I mention above (Law school fast track) is good because it helps you get the most out of your reading assignments, so you really don't need supplements.  The other problem with supplements is that they kind of waste your time--you should really only be learning and studying what your professor wants you to learn.  (which is usually only a fraction of the entire subject covered by supplemental materials)--remember, you professor writes the exam--learn what he or she wants you to know really well, and then if you specialize in a certain area of the law, then you can focus on the entire picture.  Time is a valuable commodity in law school and you need to fill it with the best possible resources in order to pass your exams (usually that is exactly what your professor assigns.)

[MikePing]

You only need two books for 0L:

Getting to Maybe; and Law School Confidential. 

[FalconJimmy]

I'm a little unclear on the value of law school confidential.  What does it have in it?

[Morten Lund]

You only need two books for 0L:

Getting to Maybe; and Law School Confidential.

I agree that reading law school prep books can be very helpful.  I disagree that you only need those two.  I think different books are helpful for different people, so I would encourage you to read many, and then stick to the one that speaks to you.

I would place more importance on this than reading specific course-prep books and outlines.

Currently, my preferred law school prep books are Law School: Getting In, Getting Good, Getting the Gold, and Law School Fast Track.  Planet Law School is probably the best-selling guide around and also worth checking out.  But take a look at as many as you can, IMO.

[Cereal_Killer]

Commercial outlines, hornbooks, and the like are fine, but law school exams are about so much more than simply knowing the law. Law school exams test more than your ability to apply the law to particular fact patterns. On exams you'll often have to make hard choices between two or more competing legal rules. Your justification for why you chose one rule over the other(s) will form the heart of your argument.  We all know lawyers argue, right? Good. Because that's precisely the lawyerly skill you'll be asked to demonstrate on your law school exams. Those who do it best will receive the highest grades. It's just that simple.

Consequently, your time may be better spent understanding how to formulate forceful and persuasive arguments rather than worrying about the black letter law at this point. If you find once classes are well underway you're struggling with one particular legal concept or perhaps an entire area of law, you can purchase a study aid then.

I recommend the following books (for starters):

1. Getting to Maybe (a great guide to writing exam answers)
2. Logic for Lawyers (teaches the fundamentals of logic and sound argument formation)
3. The Legal Analyst (demonstrates how viewing arguments--legal or otherwise--from different angles allows an agile practitioner to reshape and reform the argument in his favor).

Law school exams require you to know the law. That's expected of every student. And quite frankly, it's the one area where every student is equal amongst his peers in every meaningful way. Everyone in law school is bright and ambitious. But what separates the "A" exam from the "B-" exam, more often than not, is the quality of the student's analysis. A superb exam answer will analyze the issues from every possible angle, throw in a sprinkling of policy considerations (for example, "administrability" or "fairness across groups"), and finally, after having deliberated extensively, offers the best legal solution to the question asked. 

Although not an exhaustive list by any means, the above books teach three crucial skills: (1) how to use syllogistic arguments to your advantage, (2) understanding and shaping policy arguments, and (3) how to write a phenomenal exam answer. The skills you'll learn from these three books alone will put you light years ahead of your classmates.

I hope this helps.

[EarlCat]

I will echo the praise of Getting to Maybe and highly recommend the Civ Pro E&E.  Pure gold.

I didn't use the E&E for the other subjects OP listed (I used a hornbook for Torts and the Gilbert's outline for Property and Contracts). 

I've also used the E&Es for other subjects (Evidence, Crim Pro) and really liked them.  They're written in plain English and you can read them in four or five sittings.  E&Es are especially if you don't quite understand the rationale behind a lot of the blackletter rules.  I found them much better than the Nutshell books.

Gilbert's books on the other hand are better for supplementing your own outline or making sure you've extracted the right rules from your cases.  They also have a chart at the front keyed to several casebooks that tells you what pages correspond to what sections of the outline.

[kmjdaniel]

I agree the Civ Pro E&E is AMAZING!...For other classes, the E&E's aren't always the best.  Also, Lexis and Westlaw have free full outlines for all 1L classes (Torts, Prop, Crim Law, Contracts, Civ Pro, etc.).  I actually preferred the Emanuel's Crunchtime Series, which have lots of flowcharts and practice questions.  Also, check out the "Acing ______" Series (with the _______ being whatever 1L course you are looking for).  I used the Crunchtime and Acing books for my exam prep, and my grades turned out very well - particularly, I recommend the Crunchtime for Contracts!!

As far as books to read before 1L...I read "Getting to Maybe" and "Law School Confidential"...and they were both good to read.  GOOD LUCK!