Summer Before 1L

[summerisnear]

and lots of denser reading (mostly not law related)

Some Dostoevsky? 

I'll be working about 60 hours a week, going to concerts, and I'll try to read a few books.  Maybe one last vacation if I can cram it into my budget and schedule.

[nikegrrlvj]

Travel, lots of reading, lazy summer stuff... I'm not sure if I'll work or not, but if I do, it won't be much.

[Cabra]

and lots of denser reading (mostly not law related)

Some Dostoevsky? 

He's on my list.
I need to read more Virginia Woolf and Carson McCullers too.

vjm--I sat in on classes while visiting schools and I got so psyched about this law school thing! I think "overeager" is the right word to describe my current state. And I haven't bought any prep books because I know they'll become my lone hobby the second they enter my apartment. But then my grandpa, who is nearly as excited about law school as I am, confessed that he's sending me a zillion law related books. They've just started arriving (Black's Law Dictionary first), and I have a strong feeling that I'm going to be drowning in books about Roman and feudal law any day now, and then any hope of remaining a well-rounded person will go flying out the window. 

[Penn263]

I think Cabra and I should form the "Geekier Than Most Law School Geeks Club". I can't wait to be done with this weekend, because all my major work will be done and I can start prepping.

I actually have to leave the books out of sight or I get too engrossed and neglect my schoolwork.

Prep Geeks Unite!

I already started my Torts and Contracts E&Es... suckers 

Haha, no way. So have I. People say don't fry your brain over the summer, but I honestly think the fine details of Torts are pretty interesting.

[skeeball]

You don't need to prep. You're already good at dense reading, that's why they let you into law school.

The best thing you can do to prepare for law school is try to start networking and making connections with potential employers in case your 1st semester grades disappoint. Maybe do some volunteer work. Anything that makes you less dependent on winter OCI for 1L summer jobs.

Reading all the E&Es will. not. help. Your profs might not cover 1/2 the stuff in them, or some of the rules they teach you might be different, and you're going to have to go back & re-read the stuff they did cover anyway.

[Jets]

You don't need to prep.

Yes, we don't. But we will anyway  .

You're already good at dense reading, that's why they let you into law school.

I am actually a very slow reader. Furthermore, I wouldn't consider the E&Es dense. They are pretty straightforward. Sure the casebooks are a bit dense, but casebooks aren't as helpful as they once were in this era of study aids/Lexis-Nexus/internet, etc.

The best thing you can do to prepare for law school is try to start networking and making connections with potential employers in case your 1st semester grades disappoint... Anything that makes you less dependent on winter OCI for 1L summer jobs.

Great advice, but we can do that AND prep.

Reading all the E&Es will. not. help.

Did you do it? Did it help (obviously the answer is no if you did)? Regardless, a lot of people on this board and elsewhere have said they did and consider it one of the top factors in their making law review/etc. Sure, it doesn't replace hard work when you are IN law school, but I never said it would.

Your profs might not cover 1/2 the stuff in them,

True, but it will be on the Bar Exam regardless.

or some of the rules they teach you might be different, and you're going to have to go back & re-read the stuff they did cover anyway.

The prof might have different TERMINOLOGY that he prefers when explaining rules, but BLL is the essentially same from Harvard to Cooley. Battery is always battery, assault is always assault, etc. And yes we will have to re-read it. But obviously it will be much easier the second time around when we have already read it once (and under no time pressure, no less). That's the main point of prepping IMO. Not so much to memorize the rules of a given course, but rather to familiarize yourself with BLL course content (which is the same at every school). That way when other people get to law school, start a topic and say 'oh *&^%, what the hell is this? I don't get it,' we will say 'oh yea, intentional torts, I remember those, what were the specific types again? Oh yeah, assault and battery. Now I remember.'

I really, really recommend that you do not do what you are planning to do. It's completely useless, and will not yield any material benefit. Everyone I know who did this is at the bottom of the curve.

[MahlerGrooves]

Well, for me the summer will be quite busy!  I am going to have to work somewhat in order to make some cash to carry me through the year.  But that's nothing compared to...

I'm getting married in late June.  Planning the wedding, then the wedding itself, all the post-wedding crap, and the awesome honeymoon we have planned will eat up a good portion of my mental, physical, and emotional energy this summer.  I told my girl that I would be full on about the wedding to compensate for the fact that, come September, she probably won't see me much other than eating, sleeping, and if she visits me in our little office room that we have (I already built my study station for next year).

[Godson]

Can someone fill me in on what is and E&E? Sorry, i'm lost.

[MahlerGrooves]

Well, for me the summer will be quite busy!  I am going to have to work somewhat in order to make some cash to carry me through the year.  But that's nothing compared to...

I'm getting married in late June.  Planning the wedding, then the wedding itself, all the post-wedding crap, and the awesome honeymoon we have planned will eat up a good portion of my mental, physical, and emotional energy this summer.  I told my girl that I would be full on about the wedding to compensate for the fact that, come September, she probably won't see me much other than eating, sleeping, and if she visits me in our little office room that we have (I already built my study station for next year).

First off, Congrats!

In a case like this I don't think it makes to prep. You have more important priorities. I, on the other hand, have no job, nothing planned, and I am bored as hell. None of my friends will be in the area until mid summer. Hence why I don't think prepping would be bad.

Thanks!  I'm excited about being married - she is awesome!  The wedding is an entirely different story...

Prepping for you might also be a good way to keep you from going insane with boredom...

[cantwaitforuva]

Can someone fill me in on what is and E&E? Sorry, i'm lost.

E&E, or Examples and Explanations, is a series of study aids. They cover all of your major classes (ie Crim, Contracts, Civ Pro, etc). They explain legal concepts  - for example in the Criminal Law book there are sections on Mens rea, strict liability, causation, etc. At the end of each section they have "examples and explanations" hence the name. They give a situation and ask what applies and what does not, and then they explain the correct answer.

I think they are a very easy read and they give you a good idea of what sorts of concepts you will need to know. Depending on your prof, it might not all be relevant, but it gives you a nice background.

Make sure to get the most current editions (they only update every few years, so you can still buy used and get a current edition for most). New they're only $40-ish.