(Part 3) Best products from r/LawSchool

Hi! Just took the CA Bar and am about to start packing out of my on campus apartment, so I'm feeling a bit whimsical and some of this may be more directed at her.

Writing, Notetaking, and Organization

If you're particular about writing instruments, which some people are, it will take trial and error to find your right fit. This was my go-to, and it got me through three years of time, four years of credits, and three different employers.

Sharpie Liquid Highlighters, Chisel Tip, 5 Colors


Pros

• Great color, easy grip, chisel tip allows full line highlighting and underlining.
  
• Pen format works well in almost every bag or organizer.
  
• Five colors allows you to book brief (she will know what that means, and probably shouldn't do it until she knows how to craft a good one page case brief) in FIRAC format.
  
  Cons
  
  
• Getting harder and more expensive to find.
  
• Go through ink fairly quickly.
  
  
  uni-ball Jetstream RT Ballpoint Pens, Bold Point (1.0mm)
  
  Pros
  
  
• I mainly used the capped .07mm, but the retractable .07mm work well too.
  
  Cons
  
  
• This is less of a Con and more of a comment. Things like line width, pressure, and paper type make a solid rec hard to make here. There's so much personal preference. My general rule of thumb is it should cost enough that you can rely on it without being expensive enough to make you think too hard about losing one occasionally.
  
  Freeleaf® Yellow Annotation Ruled Pads Letter
  
  Pros
  
  
• Excellent weight, color, and ink retention.
  
• Pre-formatted organization structure, so you know what everything is if it gets mixed up before you file it.
  
  Cons
  
  
• It's $7 a pad. You're not going to find good quality pads for that much cheaper, but you fill find stuff that will get the job done cheaper. I maybe spent $200 during law school on pads, because I hand wrote notes. There's empirical studies that show it helps to write notes, but it was dying out at my school and I'd be surprised if my class would show any correlation between rank and note taking style.
  
  Ticonderoga Pencils, Wood-Cased, Graphite #2 HB Soft, Black
  
  Pros
  
  
• Best quality pencil for the price, hands down.
  
  Cons
  
  
• You could spend more on Blackwing, but the marginal utility is nil outside an artistry context, if then. Save the money for other things.
  
  BIC 4-Color Ballpoint Pen, Medium Point (1.0mm)
  
  Pros
  
  
• Great quality, incredibly durable, great form factor.
  
• Makes grading papers (self grading, or if she becomes a TA) turned in via hard copy a bit simpler. I had my own system that I maintained so that students could understand (Green - Good, Red - Rework, Blue - Style, Black - Final Comments)
  
  
  
  
  Since I am pickiest about those things, I will give more general comments about the rest.
  
  
• Battery phone case, back up laptop charger, extra phone cables all work wonders. Having an extra on hand lets you not stress about the tools you need to succeed.
  
  
• A good padfolio is both useful and a nod to the history of our profession in some circles. I went with Levenger, but everyone has their preferences.
  
  
• The best bookstand on the market, in my humble opinion.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  This is more general, and beyond the scope of what you asked, but I felt like giving unasked for advice so you can take it or leave it.
  Sleeping & Home Life
  
  
• The surliest 2L will casually throw around comments about sleep being for the weak, but there is literally no other way to get the kind of rest your mind and body needs. Invest in the things and habits that make great sleep possible, whatever that may be for her. And do the best you can to never be a barrier to it.
  
• Sundays should be for rest and keeping everying not-school related on track. Need to visit friends or family? A few hours on Sunday is a great time to do that. Pre-plan meals and do bulk cooking to keep work down during the week. Get all the laundry done, get the kitchen clean, make sure you don't run out of toothpaste on Wednesday morning. Sunday evening you can get your reading done for Monday, but finish the night doing something restful so you don't go into Monday feeling you're jumping off a cliff.
  
• Low-effort acts of kindness do a lot of work. Writing a note, leaving a message, suprising her with a small and thoughtful gift are all great ways to show you care without imposing too much on her time and autonomy. Date night is important, and keeping a running list of things you can do at a drop of a hat for different amounts of time and money is helpful, but keeping your relationship strong through what in all likelihood will be a time of incredible change and transformation is about putting in the effort without demanding an equal or greater act of reciprocation. Even when the thank you text gets delayed more than it should, or she snaps at you unfairly, the body of love you show will find its way through to the end. The best way to show you love her is to enable her success and let her respond in ways that make sense while she figures this whole thing out.
  
• This is a very personal area that I will not spend too much time on, but here it goes. You may think you are a good lover now, and I hope you are. Try to be the best version of that for her now, in whatever form that takes. It helps a lot, proportionately to how much it's important to your relationship.
  
  Health & Wellness
  
  
• This is not a gendered comment, even and especially coming from the perspective of a guy who had some bad habits he broke before and took into law school. Any habits you thought were hard to break before law school are going to be multiples harder in law school. Dealing with this may be damage control, or require more work, depending on what it is. A caffiene fiend is going to reach unparalled heights. None of my friends who smoked going into law school found a way to quit. The moderate drinkers became heavy drinkers. Some people took up the gym as a new religion, but most stayed true to form. The only real way to know how to handle this is to either stop it quick or find an adult and productive way to keeps things reasonable.
  
  
• For the love of all that is holy, exercise. It is proven to help brain function whether in cognitive skills or emotional health or stress reduction. If it's nonexistent now, start small and try to build up to some routine of significance while it can become a habit and before the midsemester crunch hits.

I tried out lots of supplements my 1L year and by far the best contract book, for me at least, was Farnworth's student-version treatise:

http://www.amazon.com/Contracts-Edition-Textbook-Treatise-Paperback/dp/0735545405/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top/191-9403539-3481154

It's $45 but I think it's worth it. As with all hornbooks its a bit dense but it's very readable and it is very helpful with pretty much everything you'll do for the common law of contracts. It's detailed enough, even as a condensed version of his 3-volume-treatise, that you'll be able to use it for many years.

As for the UCC, if you get into it, the Sales and Leases E&E was very good. Some E&Es are good, some aren't so good, but I liked that one a lot. The other good E&E was the Civ Pro one by Glannon.

By the way you probably don't need supplements at the beginning of your 1L year; they'll come in handy once youre a month or two in and beginning to get the hang of things. I would advise you take the time at the start of the semester to check them out in your law school's library and see if they actually help you before buying any.

I totally concur with OP, supplements are supplements, not replacements. Read the case book, then read the relevant chapter from the supplement to ensure you got everything you were supposed to get out of it. Once you are getting everything out of the casebook in the first pass, you can discard supplements entirely if you like.

Best supplements, in my opinion:

• Introduction to Civil Procedure by Richard Freer
  
  
• Understanding Contracts by Richard Ferriell
  
  
• Understanding Property by John Sprankling
  
  
• Constitutional Law by Erwin Chemerinsky
  
  
• Understanding Criminal Law by Joshua Dressler
  
  
• E&E for Torts
  
  You can quibble on some, but any law student worth his salt will recognize Dressler on crim and Chemerinsky on con law as the best. Freer on Civ Pro is very well recognized as well. I like the Understanding series for contracts and property because they are still succinct yet more in-depth than the E&E's. I like the E&E for torts because the Understanding book for that class isn't especially good.
  
  If you don't like any of the above, the respective E&E would be my second choice.

Barbri here. It's hard to really know because stress level in the actual exam was so much higher, but I felt like they were easier.

I got a book called The Multistate Goat which has several hundred actual licensed MBE questions from NCBE. I did these as a supplement to Barbri and it was big confidence booster because they felt easier than a lot of Barbri questions.

Great answer. Read some Hemingway. Short direct sentences.
"For sale, baby shoes, never worn."

Get Volokh's book on legal writing. It won't make you quicker, but might increase your confidence.

https://www.amazon.com/Academic-Legal-Writing-andGetting-University/dp/1599417502

Short answer: Freer

Long answer: Listen to the Richard Freer tapes before the relevant class and then again after and actually outline/take notes on the tapes. You likely have free access to the law school legends one through your school; the barbri 1L package also has videos of him which are what I used and my understanding is it's pretty much the same as the tapes. https://www.amazon.com/Civil-Procedure-School-Legends-Audio/dp/0314199780

This was a godsend for me. A little pricey but super worth it.

I like this book: http://www.amazon.com/Little-Book-Legal-Writing/dp/0837705606

It is super short too.

(PS I'm complimented on my writing a lot.)

In addition, it could be a good idea to pick up some sort of book of logic games. When you get closer to the LSAT, you'll want to study specifically for the test, but even before that, you might want to pick up something more casual like this just to get used to that sort of puzzle (although after the LSAT, you'll never need to do another logic game again).

He might be referring to https://www.amazon.com/Concepts-Analysis-Contracts-University-Textbook/dp/1587781972

I found it to be pretty helpful in explaining general concepts. Also, he discusses some cases in there that will probably appear in your casebook. In those instances, I found it extraordinarily helpful.

In my school, as a 2L staffer, you are required to do lots of bluebooking, source verification and production related tasks + write a note or memo. It is 2-3 units. You need to put in some efforts, but no more than other 2-unit classes. You will learn how to pay attention to details, how to write academically (unfortunately, very different from professional legal writing) and become friends with lots of smart kids. There is a book that tells you more about law review experiences and academic legal writing: https://www.amazon.com/Making-Law-Review-Write-Competition/dp/1594605203

Yeah, this dumb thing:

https://www.amazon.com/Bluebook-Uniform-System-Citation/dp/0692400192/ref=asc_df_0692400192/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312142542416&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=7517880010963350880&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9052538&hvtargid=pla-316724181971&psc=1

This has pretty much everything citation-wise and you'll use it a lot during your 1L legal writing classes.

Study for the October LSAT. Kill it. Apply as soon as your score comes out (if not before).

Make sure your recommendations are great. These matter more than people think. Make sure your personal statement is great. This matters more than people think.

As far as studying the LSAT, probably get the Powerscore Logical Reasoning Bible and the Powerscore Logical Games Bible to study from. Also get a bunch of preptests. If your score plateaus for a while and you can't seem to get past it, hire a tutor. Starting at a 167 means its unlikely you will need to take a course.

From my experience (Giles Rich IP) most moot courts and oral arguments follow a specific structure that you should base your argument on.

Introduction
Roadmap
Argument 1
Argument 2
etc.
Conclusion

Typically you want to prepare for questions from the bench. Practice being deferential to the bench. You get asked a question, the first words should be: "No/Yes, Your Honor . . . " or "I don't know your honor, may I submit a supplemental brief." The introduction and conclusion should be memorized. A strong trial notebook will help, but something simple like a manila folder and note cards taped on the covers for cases, references to the record, etc.

I cannot emphasize how structure based it is. You need to do it the way they want to for the points.
This book will get you far. A lot of people get DQ'd or lose points on poor briefs. Look at your local rules and follow them precisely. There are a lot of nuances a coach could help with.

Lastly, ask your professors or look for local coaches. A lot of people might offer to coach a team since it looks good for them too.

A nice messenger bag looks a whole lot less douchy and 1975-esque.

Edit: Something like this Brown Leather Messenger bag.

I'm in a similar position (0L) so I can't speak on how much it compares to the law school class but I've just started doing a chapter of this each week and it seems to be really helpful.

The thing that made estates and future interests click for me was just doing A LOT of practice questions. I also liked our workbook, Amazon Link

The Bluebook is basically the U.S. legal citation bible. You won't find a U.S.-trained lawyer who isn't familiar with it, though proficiency will vary substantially. Fair warning, it's not really user friendly if you don't have some legal training or a general understanding of citation structure, but you can pick that up.

It's like a writing style manual, but exclusively for building legal citations. Blue pages are mostly for memoranda and briefs, white pages have more material you'll expect to use for professional articles / law review work.

This is all I read, easy read and gives you a good idea of the process.

Everyone else recommends Volkoh, but I barely cracked the cover though.

I cannot over-recommend Bryan Garner's Legal Writing in Plain English. He has been the editor of the Black's Law Dictionary for the past few editions, and his legal writing style is simple and effective.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1490943498/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_dp_RMRzzbA5C0GP7
Get this book. Its cheaper and has the opes that the NCBEX sells. You're saving yourself 100 dollars by doing this as well. The explanations are hit or miss sometimes, but they are good enough for you to get a general understanding. Also, these are the types of questions you will see on the exam. EDIT: The caveat is some of the questions will look familiar if you have done Emmanuel and bar prep questions.

LG Bible and the corresponding Workbook. Really focus on learning how to break them down, not on the time, because if you don't understand the problems there's no way you're going to finish them quickly.

Once you feel more confident about it, use the released exams as practice, especially the most recent ones. You can buy them in bundles on Amazon, or get them individually from LSAC. Don't just extrapolate your grade, actually try to figure it out.

https://www.amazon.com/Lawyer-Writes-Practical-Guide-Analysis/dp/1531008763/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=a+lawyer+writes&qid=1572288404&sr=8-3

good examples in this book.

This is the one I'll probably get, but it's gonna depend on your partner's preferences. I've seen lawyers carry something like this, especially younger ones.

Just skim some hornbooks. Here's a cheap Contracts one that you can read through in a couple sittings and will give you enough background to make sense of whatever outline you're winging it with -- it's what I used when I was in your position as a 1L with respect to contracts: https://www.amazon.com/Concepts-Analysis-Contracts-University-Textbook/dp/1587781972

Step 1: Get off reddit.

Step 2: Buy this with overnight shipping

Step 3: ???

Step 4: Do reasonably well on the exam

https://www.amazon.com/Practical-Guide-Appellate-Advocacy-Coursebook/dp/1454830964

I like this one. We used in in a practicum, and I use it for appellate style brief writing and moot prep.

This is my favorite pre-law school book. It doesn't try to teach you note or exam taking, but is a primer for the sort of reasoning you'll be doing in your classes.

Read all of Bryan Garner's books. They are worth it.

For starters, I would begin with Legal Writing in Plain English.

A Hornbook is a supplement that explains the legal concepts and black letter law in plain English. There is a Hornbook for every topic/course in law school. You'll want to keep these as a reference book post law school.

Example - (https://www.amazon.com/Contracts-Hornbooks-Joseph-Perillo/dp/0314287701)

Amazon Link

https://www.amazon.com/Contracts-Textbook-Treatise-Paperback-Student/dp/0735545405

http://www.amazon.com/Academic-Legal-Writing-andGetting-University/dp/1599417502

BOAT BOOK

https://www.amazon.com/Multistate-Goat-Essential-Practice-Questions/dp/1490943498
This one. Anybody have any info on this book???

Intro

Audiobook series on amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Making-Law-Review-Write--Competition/dp/1594605203/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1458158466&sr=8-1&keywords=writing+on+to+law+review

I found this book helpful. And not a long read, either.

The Examples and Explanations series. [Examples and Explanations] (https://www.amazon.com/Law-Torts-Examples-Explanations-4th/dp/0735588740/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1536629513&sr=1-2&keywords=examples+and+explanations+torts)

There's a book on almost every law school subject.

Check out Edwards' Estates in Land & Future Interests.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1454825103/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/Estates-Land-Future-Interests-Coursebook/dp/1454825103 this.

For most people, logic games. I didn't have trouble with them at all, probably because I worked through The Logic Games Bible like a maniac. Totally worth it. I only missed 1 question on the logic games section - the last one, because I ran short on time and guessed.