The Best Law School Guide That I've Read

[cal.aaronson]

Law School Fast Track by Derrick Hibbard

So I picked up a copy of this book at the end of last semester (my first semester of my first year in law school). I read through the parts on taking exams and I found the information extremely useful--but the rest of the advice is really about changing your habits to be a better student, so I wanted to wait until I had a chance to really implement the habits before I wrote a review about my opinion of this book.

All through this last semester, I've done my best to do what the author suggests are the essential habits to succeed. I can honestly tell you that this book saved my life as a law student. The habits are not hard, and if you follow the advice in this book, you are actually saving time in your studies and your studying is more effective. I can't even begin to imagine what my life would have become if I hadn't started doing the things in this book. (I've heard horror stories about the time vacuum that is the second year of law school--but I'm okay with it now. I think I can manage). All of my friends are pulling out their hair because they "say" that they don't have time. I feel confident in my understanding--I feel like, that because I've been studying better, I'm actually picking this stuff up more easily. No joke!

The best thing about this book, I think, besides the great advice *that really is essential* is the fact that the book does not waste your time. It is short, to the point, and really highlights what you need to know to succeed.  It is seriously the best book I've read on how to do well in law school.

[Hamilton]

OK... we can all see what's going on here...

[Thane Messinger]

OK... we can all see what's going on here...

Actually, I would tend to agree with cal.aaronson.  Not sure who he (she) is, but as someone who's also read Hibbard's book, I agree with the points.  Just because a viewpoint is commercial does not mean it is not valid.  Subject to critique, sure, but then again, much political speech we hear should be subject to vastly more critique.  At least commercial speech is honest.  (And it's not clear that this is commercial speech.  Ah, the joys of anonymity.)   

Thane.

PS:  To take issue with the subject heading, I know of one book that is the best.  = :  )

[Hamilton]

Cal IS Hibbard.  The 2nd post in the thread has been deleted, it was Hibbard commenting to "Cal" that he is the author, etc., etc.  Some blatant intertube marketing with 2 people conversing.  It was very obvious until the 2nd post was deleted, that was all I was commenting on.

Actually, I would tend to agree with cal.aaronson.  Not sure who he (she) is, but as someone who's also read Hibbard's book, I...

PS:  To take issue with the subject heading, I know of one book that is the best.  = :  )

[derrick.hibbard]

Cal IS Hibbard.  The 2nd post in the thread has been deleted, it was Hibbard commenting to "Cal" that he is the author, etc., etc.  Some blatant intertube marketing with 2 people conversing.  It was very obvious until the 2nd post was deleted, that was all I was commenting on.

Cal.Aaronson is actually a fellow law student who read my book and liked it.  His thoughts were his own, and I asked him to post his thougts in various forums and discussion boards.  I deleted my post so as to avoid this very thing.  That said, I do appreciate what Cal wrote about "Law School Fast Track."

As to Thane's remark:

PS:  To take issue with the subject heading, I know of one book that is the best.  = :  )

I'd have to agree--there are lots of good law school guides out there.

[Hamilton]

In any event, it's an orchestrated marketing ploy.

[Thane Messinger]

In any event, it's an orchestrated marketing ploy.

Aloha, Hamilton -

At the risk of jumping into something, well, risky, a comment from a colleague struck me some years ago.  He was commenting on the shock of a junior associate at the realization that what was done in a firm was commercial.  Just about anyone in a firm would have commented along the lines of "Well, duh."   Yet it seems the antipathy towards commercialism results in the worst of both worlds.  I am both self-interested in this (of course) and also fascinated as this is one of the subjects I occasionally teach (Foundations of Free-Market Economics). 

We are inundated by commercial messages, and for some this is deeply troubling.  Fair enough.  Yet what is unseen is that most of our choices are made for us, commercial and otherwise, long before we ever get to make those decisions.  Often, the pre-decision is not one to our benefit, and paradoxically, raw commercialism is about the only force for self-selection there is.  In traditional publishing, for example, a buyer (usually, a single person) decides which books will be on the shelves, period, often after a ten-second review.  This is not necessarily wrong, as most buyers were and are fairly adept at determining quality.  Yet as brands built, the cozy relationships meant that whatever the organization produced . . . would receive shelf space.  Something similar is operating on grocery shelves, which is one of the impetuses for oligopolies.  The advent of desktop publishing and Amazon has widely opened the field, to mixed but generally better results.

It seems to me that what is objectionable is not what a free-spirit anti-commercial internet soul would think, but rather an attempt to manipulate subversively.  With the advent of anonymous postings, this of course lends a new dimension to the potential for mischief.  But we shouldn't be deluded about how the world works.  In any event, I would suggest only that those who are going to the active practice of law prepare themselves for a barrage of commercial messages.  Orchestrated or not, it's the interpretation, not the existence, that's problematic.

Yours commercially,

Thane.

[Morten Lund]

I also object to the characterization of Derrick's efforts as a "ploy," as if there were something untoward going on.  I know that in my case, it is a struggle to get anyone to submit reviews on Amazon, for instance - a task that take but a few minutes.  So for someone to join an internet forum and voluntarily post positive comments is high and honest praise, even if Derrick egged him on the whole.

And, similarly, it is incorrect to view marketing efforts as inherently dishonest or less valuable than behaviors stirred by other motives.  Again using myself as an example, I joined this board specifically because my publisher (Thane) asked me to do so, in order to raise awareness of my books - and perhaps even sell a books.

Nevertheless, I would like to believe that I have contributed in some small but honest way to the community - even though my entire presence here is basically one long commercial.  Rest assured that I do not normally post on internet boards using my real name.

(And, for the record, Derrick's book is also one of the best law school guides I have read.)

[Hamilton]

Morton - thanks, and yes, you are right: I did not need to comment.