Best products from r/lawschooladmissions
We found 44 comments on r/lawschooladmissions discussing the most recommended products. We ran sentiment analysis on each of these comments to determine how redditors feel about different products. We found 63 products and ranked them based on the amount of positive reactions they received. Here are the top 20.
1. The Law School Admission Game: Play Like an Expert, Second Edition (Law School Expert)
2. Official Guide to Legal Specialties (Career Guides)
- Oxford University Press USA
Features:
3. A Student's Guide to Law School: What Counts, What Helps, and What Matters (Chicago Guides to Academic Life)
4. The LSAT Trainer: A Remarkable Self-Study Guide For The Self-Driven Student
- Does not include the CD with the simulated computer based practice tests
Features:
5. Don't Go To Law School (Unless): A Law Professor's Inside Guide to Maximizing Opportunity and Minimizing Risk
Used Book in Good Condition
6. The Art of Simple Food: Notes, Lessons, and Recipes from a Delicious Revolution: A Cookbook
Clarkson Potter Publishers
7. Law School Exams: secrets of straight A students: Legal Writing for Exams Edition (Straight A Law Student)
8. Straight A Student's Guide To Law School: 8 Unconventional secrets that professors will not tell you (Straight A Law Student)
9. Don’t Go To Law School (Unless): A Law Professor’s Inside Guide to Maximizing Opportunity and Minimizing Risk
11. Dressing the Man: Mastering the Art of Permanent Fashion
- Security Window Film
- Excellent UV rejection 90% VLT, virtually clear, blocks 99% of UV rays
- 2 Ply 8 Mil Window Film
- Width: 30 in and Length: 6.5 ft
- Orders placed for multiple quantities of the same film will ship as one continuous roll up to 50 ft
Features:
13. One L: The Turbulent True Story of a First Year at Harvard Law School
- For freshwater aquariums
- Lowers pH levels
- Safe for fish and plants
Features:
16. The Law School Decision Game: A Playbook for Prospective Lawyers (Law School Expert)
17. The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work
Great product!
19. GLOBALWIN Women's 17YY11 Fashion Boots (6 M US Women's, 11Grey)
- Size Run Large
Features:
20. 10 Actual, Official LSAT PrepTests Volume VI: (PrepTests 72–81)
- Keep the pages in your book or magazine held wide open for easier reading and viewing
- Great for reading with one hand, while standing, sitting or lying down
- Hold pages and illustrations open for all to see during read-aloud
- Thumb Thing comes in many different sizes - small, medium, large and xlarge - there is a size for everyone
- Perfect for the classrom
Features:
Alright some great brand recommendations on here, so I’ll jump in on the other questions (eg. color and style).
First of all check out Dressing the Man by Alan Flusser. It’s an absolute bible of men’s fashion, and it has fascinating and helpful advice for just about every aspect of style you’ve never thought of, with a focus on suits and formal/professional wear. Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Dressing-Man-Mastering-Permanent-Fashion/dp/0060191449
You mentioned 2-3 suits and that’s a perfect number to have for an all-purpose wardrobe. Navy, grey, black (edit: black is not as necessary as the others and could be swapped). Your choice whether “grey” means charcoal or light grey, they’re both great and versatile (if you feel like ever getting suit #4, get the one you didn’t get in this round). I personally recommend no pinstripes or other patterns until you’ve fully established your baseline wardrobe. If nothing else, patterns are more memorable so you can’t wear the same suit as frequently. Ditto with more interesting colors. Start with the core 3-4 colors above, then branch out.
Shirts can and should have more variety, and are obviously cheaper to buy in numerous options. While some brands have reliably higher quality shirts (ie. Brooks Bros), there’s nothing wrong with stocking up on cheap and interesting ones as well. Hell, half of my shirts were stumbled upon in thrift stores and sample sales for cheap and I get compliments all the time. Construction quality matters, but not nearly as much as for suits.
As for colors, get a set of standard single-colored shirts (white, black, blue, etc), because these will be easy to match with a wide variety of ties. Solid color shirt, solid color suit, flashy patterned tie is probably my go-to set up, and it’s very easy to rotate. As you get more comfortable with the basics, or find an item that strikes your fancy, you can play around with more complex combos. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with breaking the basic mold, and some of the best outfits happen that way, but it’s more difficult to know what works well at first, so that’s why I recommend starting with a more straightforward approach. Dressing the Man has multiple chapters on colors, patterns, and the mixing and matching thereof.
One fascinating point I remember from Dressing the Man is the idea of matching the clothes to your facial features. Not every color/pattern looks equally good/bad on different people. For example, notice the contrast of your features. If you have high contrast features (ex dark hair, light skin), you will probably look awesome with high contrast clothing (ex black suit, white shirt, striking pattern tie), and less so with low contrast clothing. However, the opposite holds true for low contrast faces (light hair, light skin, and/or light eyes). A low-contrast outfit (ex navy/grey/tan suit, blue shirt, yellow tie) will match your face well, but a high contrast outfit will make your face look washed out and bland in comparison. And in case anyone is wondering, people with dark skin fall under the “high contrast” category for these purposes, even if their skin and hair are similarly dark.
Shoes are another key element. Black pair, medium or dark brown pair, with a sleek, simple design (rather than lots of ornaments/flash) so that you can use them with all of your suits. From there feel free to experiment with some more awesome, flamboyant options that may or may not be as versatile (ex double monks or walnut Strands from Allen Edmonds). Dress boots are an interesting option too. I would much rather invest in high quality shoes and meh suit than the other way around. One, you’ll be walking on them all day so comfort matters. Two, they take a beating so durability equals money. Three, people are much more likely to notice how good/bad shoes you are than clothes in many cases, especially sartorially-minded folks. Four, the total cost of top quality shoes isn’t as high as it is for suits.
I’m sure there’s more and I may edit later, but that’s my brain dump off the top of my head! Cheers to you, snazzy future lawyer!
I used 7Sage and this book: http://www.amazon.com/LSAT-Trainer-remarkable-self-study-self-driven/dp/0989081508/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1426031750&sr=8-1&keywords=the+lsat+trainer
That book is amazing and really breaks down the deconstruction of arguments in a way that just clicked for me. Not particularly helpful in the LG department, but thats where 7Sage came in.
So I would say that book is great for boosting LR and 7Sage is great for boosting AR (LG). The book also had some decent methods of breaking down RC.
Good luck. Glad I'm done with all that.
Sure! I think I would like to practice in the Boston area, but I'm not positive. I don't really have any desire to go elsewhere right now, but I'm sure that may change. My understanding is that it's relatively easy to get into NY, as there are more firms there, and therefore more openings available. I know that DC is an extremely competitive market, even for students at GULC and GW, so I'm sure it is pretty difficult to break in there.
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Everyone says to relax before 1L and try not to prepare, and they're right.Though, I read this book: https://www.amazon.com/Students-Guide-Law-School-Academic/dp/022606705X
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I thought it was pretty helpful, as it told me what to expect on law school exams, which nobody in school has explicitly explained so far. So I'm kind of tailoring my learning to keeping the endgame in sight. Other than that, maybe familiarize yourself with the structure of the court systems, but you can do that in 10 minutes.
During law school-get a better idea of what type of law I want to practice, what types of law I would be good at, and what there is demand for in the areas that I am most interested in living. I've read the Abrams book of legal specialties a few times (link is to the book on Amazon). From that book, and other research, so far I am most interested in soft IP (trademarks, copyrights, branding, etc), estate planning, veterans advocacy (specifically with regards to disability claims and the VA-I've read around a dozen VA appeals cases pertaining to the issues that I have), and general contract law (ties in with my past where I performed in theatre pits and as a hired gun for pop acts). I'm also fascinated by 1st and 2nd Amendment law (check out the book Gun Fight). I took a class on 1st Amendment/Mass Media law during undergrad after getting my interest sparked at a law school experience day mini-class. I'm not sure how the last two would translate into careers. I know just enough about different types of law and what lawyers do to know that whatever I think I want to do at this point will probably change once I'm in school.
Graduate with minimal additional debt.
I don't have big law dreams. Financially, I'd like to get a job that pays at or above the 25th percentile for attorneys in the area that I'm most interested ($62k per Pay Scale.com). Between that salary and VA disability (I'm anticipating 30-80% service connected, so $750-$2k/month), I could pay off all of my undergrad debt in a timely manner while living comfortably (if I hit 50% disability, I get free medical for life). My dream/unicorn type of jobs would be working for a music equipment company as a lawyer in a soft IP capacity or working for a theatre company/union on contracts and/or labor negotiations. For those two, I feel like my experience with music gear and playing in theatre pits/freelance work could be beneficial. I'd rather be happy than rich, but I want to reach the level of financial stability where I'm not living paycheck to paycheck.
I'm open to government work, if it is a GS job. I'll have just under 8 years of active duty time on the books when I separate. Getting a GS job would allow me to be closer to getting a government pension.
Hi! Would you like to join the 0L book club? In December we are reading One L and Anonymous Lawyer and discussing them in January :) We have a lot of awesome books on the calendar. If you want to join, just let me know. You can always just lurk and read when you feel like you like book!
You've already accomplished some amazing things so it's not going to be hard for you to learn to live on your own. If you can give yourself some time on your own before law school that would be helpful. For my kids, I've found that a meal service such a Green Chef (organic) really helps in learning to cook because they send you all the ingredients and instructions. That way you don't have to grocery shop or figure out what to cook--it might be a good in-between. If you want to really learn to cook, consider reading Alice Waters: https://www.amazon.com/Art-Simple-Food-Delicious-Revolution/dp/0307336794/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=alice+waters&qid=1550337049&s=gateway&sr=8-1 It can be hard to find time to exercise while in law school; consider walking on a treadmill or biking while studying (some people hate this, but I like it). Good luck!
I used the LSAT Trainer my first go-round, and while I liked its style (and it gets great reviews here and at TLS), I felt like it was just a little too light in terms of instruction. Granted, I wasn't nearly rigorous enough with actually doing the (outside the book) drills prescribed, but I would have preferred to have more questions, exercises etc within the book, and have outside exercises supplement that. My second take I used the Manhattan series which I greatly preferred - a lot more material within the book, and I found its instruction style very helpful especially for LG. I also studied a lot harder for my second take so I'm sure that played into my opinions about the books, but even if my score hadn't increased I still think I'd prefer the Manhattan books.
Edit: I went from 160 to 168 with a year between sittings, but only about two months of consistent studying before the second exam
If you want REAL law school advice, check out "Straight A student's guide to law school" on amazon.com. Link below:
https://www.amazon.com/Straight-Students-Guide-School-Unconventional/dp/1071083058/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=straight+a+student%27s+guide+to+law+school&qid=1570569963&sr=8-2
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When you're done, I used the second book entitled "Law school exams: secrets of straight A students" and got As. Best year of my life. Worth it.
Link here: https://www.amazon.com/Law-School-Exams-straight-students/dp/1087415713/ref=sr_1_1?crid=32KABFBP6CICL&keywords=law+school+exams+secrets+of+straight+a+students&qid=1570570039&sprefix=law+school+exams%2Caps%2C179&sr=8-1
You might want to consider reading Levine's The Law School Admission Game: Play Like an Expert and The Law School Decision Game: A Playbook for Prospective Lawyers first. I found them very helpful, and then I just reached out to friends who were lawyers and/or detail oriented/strong writers and had them proof things for me.
this book has been helpful for a lot of people. Also, corporate and sports law are pretty competitive areas of interest. I’m sure someone else on here could offer you more advice/info on that area of law.
- Amy Cuddy's book and TED Talk (tl;dr: your body language shapes how you feel; pose like Wonder Woman and fake it until you become it)
- Shawn Achor's book and TED Talk
- pretty much everything by Brené Brown, but The Gifts of Imperfection is a good place to start
- find a therapist trained in CBT who can help you identify and reframe negative thoughts. If working with a therapist IRL isn't possible right now, try an app like Joyable
- law school specific book recommendations: How to be Sort of Happy in Law School and The Anxious Lawyer. I've also heard good things about this podcast.
So in the winter, I'd recommend Timberlands, but for Spring, I'd just go with anything waterproof. I have these (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075QPC2R3/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_btrxCbARPHF5Q) and really like them if I don't have to wear a suit. Hope this helps!
The LSAT is carefully designed to determine which minds can succeed in law school. Start by taking a timed full exam on your own at home (it's called a "diagnostic") and seeing how well you do. Follow these two links...
https://www.amazon.com/10-Actual-Official-LSAT-PrepTests/dp/0998339784/
/r/LSAT
...And check the admitted applicant profiles for the universities you're interested in.
I would look at Law School Transparency. That website will allow you to get an in-depth look at the employment outcomes at each school, as well as the cost of attendance. Outside of the top 20-ish schools, every school is a regional school, and so location, employment outcomes and cost of attendance are more important than ranking.
In my opinion, you should totally ignore US News rankings outside of the top 20. Schools can do things that harm their students in order to boost their ranking. For example, a big part of the reason that Wake Forest is ranked above UNC is that Wake Forest charges higher tuition. This means that their expenditures-per-student are higher, which boosts their ranking.
I found this book to be really helpful. Just be aware that the job market situation is not nearly as dire today as it was when it was published, and so there are now more law schools that are worth attending.
Then go to neither. Read this book http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Law-School-Unless-Opportunity/dp/1480163686/ref=sr_1_1, retake the LSAT and get a 170, apply earlier in the cycle, then maybe MAYBE go to one of those schools, if they offer you money and you feel great about it.
Genius. Reminded me of the book "Letters From A Nut" (https://www.amazon.com/Letters-Nut-Ted-L-Nancy/dp/B000SR7RNS) -- absolutely hilarious!
This book will answer a lot of your questions. I found it helpful. https://www.amazon.com/Law-School-Admission-Game-Expert/dp/0983845387/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=ann+levine&qid=1558449200&s=gateway&sr=8-3
If you want to be more critical about $ and law school options, just read Don't Go to Law School (Unless). It's written by an actual law professor who shows you how to analyze the choice to go to law school and where best to go.
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https://www.amazon.com/Dont-Law-School-Unless-Opportunity-ebook/dp/B009D13IA6
On this point, I highly recommend Don't Go To Law School (Unless). It's not a fun read for those planning on law school, but I think reading it with an open mind is important.
> But I also don't want to be saddled with ton of debt with limited career progression opportunities. Was curious how people were factoring this into their calculations
That's the situation many people find themselves in. Worse, yet, is that a JD can hinder your career opportunities elsewhere, as people are wary of failed lawyers. Basically, a lot of people get completely shafted with $180,000 worth of student debt (that cannot be forgiven), and absolutely no career opportunities, because there just aren't enough jobs in law. I suggest reading this before applying to law school.
Personally, I decided that I wouldn't go to law school if I didn't get into a top school that had some guarantee of a good return of investment. That may or may not be what you want to do as well.
Read this book before starting
Don't Go to Law School Unless
I’m assuming it’s Don’t Go To Law School (Unless). https://www.amazon.com/dp/1480163686/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_RbzpDb9EJA3TQ