This post is meant to be the first of a series discussing what books I
recommend reading prior to entering law school. I will recommend books that
either explicitly have to do with law or teach general non-law techniques that
can help you develop the skills necessary to thrive in law school.
This series will actually focus on the latter type but I am going to start with
a book that was written specifically for law students. That book is Getting to Maybe by Richard Michael Fischl and Jeremy Paul.
But first, I’ll start with an anecdotal story about my friend’s dad
who took pre-1L reading to the next level. My friend’s dad, an incredibly smart
individual who was a partner at one the very best litigation firms in LA for
many years, finished top of his class in large part because of rigorous
preparation prior to 1L. He did not read books on exam techniques, strategies,
or books on general law school well-being, but instead, read the actual
casebooks from all of his first year courses!
The
details as to how in depth he studied these materials are unclear, but suffice
it to say this gave him a substantial leg up on his competition. Note, to do
this, you must also have a job that allows such free-time—he worked as a valet
which explains his ability to read for extended periods of time. I am not
really recommending that you do this, and many of you won’t be able to if you
come straight from undergraduate to law school or work a full time job prior to
law school; so for you people, try to read a few tactic oriented books. I’ll
start with Getting to maybe which is one of the very best.
Understand this: This book pretty much saved me as a pre-1L. This was
not because it gave me the ability to answer law school questions, I didn’t
know the substance yet. But because I gained confidence, comfort and familiarity
with law school exams after reading this book. Prior to law school, I had no
idea what to expect, but this book concisely explains the different types of
exams and gives you a good idea of what an “Issue Spotter” exam is vis-à-vis a
policy question. Importantly, it also shows you how to analyze both.
The
book explains the inherent ambiguity you will encounter when answering a law
school exam and different tactics and techniques to look for, all while
providing a comprehensive methodology to be used as a tool to answer questions.
At the most basic level, it analogizes analyzing exam issues to taking forks in
the road. But instead of meeting the road, you encounter forks in the law and
forks in the facts. Depending on which road you take, you can end up with an
entirely different answer. So how does the book resolve this question? Take
them all. The more pathways you go down, the more points you will accrue
because you are considering different scenarios your class-mates are failing to
acknowledge. For instance, in a tort case, in deciding whether any defenses to
a negligence claim exist, far too many students will just discuss comparative
negligence and that defense alone. The student who has read Getting to Maybe,
on the other hand, will analyze this issue, but then consider the outcome if we
were in a different jurisdiction that applies contributory negligence. This
would likely lead to an entirely different result, but whichever you reach
won’t matter. As my Criminal Law professor used to proclaim: the answer is in
the analysis. Hopefully this example gives the interested reader a brief intro
into the types of concepts this book introduces.
The
book will also give you all the skills needed to answer policy questions. For
instance, analyzing the question from both sides. Although this seems simple,
it is amazing how many students only put forth arguments from a single vantage
point without addressing the other side’s concerns. Additionally, this section
will supply you with broad policy concerns to apply in any policy
question—i.e., the economic concerns in administering your proposed rule, the
inconsistencies that might result in other areas of the law by your proposed
rule, and the unfairness to the side who does not receive the benefit of your
proposed rule.
In
sum, reading this book will arm you with the weapons to do damage in your 1L
year. It will eliminate the possibility that you will be that student who can’t
fill up the pages during that issue spotter and leaves an hour earlier than the
rest of the class. Reading this book will guarantee that you have more than
enough to write about and show you how to do it in an organized, thorough, and
efficient manner. In fact, this book was so good I read it once during the
summer pre-1L and also once during my 1L semester!
Tip: I created
a brief outline highlighting the major topics and concepts; please email me if
you would like to receive it @ Mjgoodman90@gmail.com. If you would like to purchase this book, you can find it here:
Disclaimer: I am an affiliate for Amazon and will receive a commission if you decide to purchase this book.
