There are two kinds of knowledge law school teaches: legal rules on the one hand, and tools for thinking about legal problems on the other. Although the tools are far more interesting and useful than the rules, they tend to be neglected in favor of other aspects of the curriculum. In The Legal Analyst, Ward Farnsworth brings together in one place all of the most powerful of those tools for thinking about law.

From classic ideas in game theory such as the “Prisoner’s Dilemma” and the “Stag Hunt” to psychological principles such as hindsight bias and framing effects, from ideas in jurisprudence such as the slippery slope to more than two dozen other such principles, Farnsworth’s guide leads readers through the fascinating world of legal thought. Each chapter introduces a single tool and shows how it can be used to solve different types of problems. The explanations are written in clear, lively language and illustrated with a wide range of examples.

Now I'm starting to think my previous post seems too arrogant, though I do believe what I was saying. I wanted to add that I do totally appreciate Anna's point that anything that seems to present itslef as a "one-size-fits-all" sort of guide to doing well, is probably not going to actually work for everyone. I guess I just don't think it's because we're all different as much as it is because formulaic approaches can never anticipate every need or situation. Anyway, I didn't mean to come off quite so sourly as I probably did.

Thane,

You are one brave guy. I was reading the "conversation" you initiated over at TLS. It is fascinating to see the resistance to the standard advice of "be happy, don't worry, your professor will teach you everything"! I am not sure how much of what goes on over there is psychosis or some kind of mind game.

Regards,
Howard

Thane and others with experience,

Might you be so kind as to elaborate on what the "mind games" are which you refer to? Although it sounds like they are a big problem for students, I sense there may be some amusing stories and definitely useful advice out there to be had.

If we're talking about fellow students, I'm very lucky - people at my school don't play mind games, are very collegial, and share materials rather than alter/destroy. (In 1L Legal Research, when they made us do the obligatory "book" research of statutes - which I bombed, and I've had to teach myself how statutes work since then, but that's another issue - everyone converged in the copy room and made copies of the relevant material for each other.)

I think law school helps people play mind games with themselves - I'm currently applying for clerkships and one of my classmates (ranked #1 in the class, curse his eyes), who is also a summer associate at the same firm as I, has already had interviews with judges I applied to and have heard nothing from. So there is actual competition (especially since this is a relatively small legal market), and dealing with the competition can be kind of sucky - internally, in one's own psyche.

But I don't know a single person at my school who's tried to mislead, confuse, or browbeat anyone, or self-aggrandize, or sabotage anyone in any way. That's just not how it rolls in Boulder. (Whenever I read threads on places like TLS, Above the Law, or, god forbid, auto-admit, I think: who the hell are these people??)

(Though to be honest, I thought the TLS thread cited above was kind of funny. The democracy of the internet! But one of my favorite online spaces is the academics_anon community on live journal, which is a masterpiece of snark.)

...
Second, it explained that "studying" in law school is different than most other disciplines because it requires an aggressive, critical approach to learning. You'll begin to fully appreciate this around the first couple of weeks in October.

Finally, IMO, there is nothing that can "prepare" you for your first semester. IMO, in order to succeed at the highest academic level, it takes some inner-strength and motivation that can't be taught...
CF

Well this doesn't engage the issues at hand really but fwiw I abhore TLS. I migrated here because I found TLS so completely awful, and devoid of any mature perspective.

Thanks for the reference. I am working through the CD version of LEEWS and based on what Thane and others have said it gives a pretty good idea about what "thinking like a lawyer" means. Miller packs in so much information, I am going to have to go through the eight hours of lectures again!

. . . but wasted effort is absolutely the biggest killer of grades in law school. . . it's less tortoise-hare than it is simply knowing where and how not to waste energy.)

Thane.

I especially love the threads where the youngsters fret about not being seen with the dreaded "rolly bag" because they would rather break their backs than look dorky!

That's funny...but, my law school has great lockers available for students...some schools don't, so I imagine the rolly bags are a necessity.

Before I transferred, my first year was at a law school in D.C and most students had these rolly bags, including myself. Since an overwhelming majority of the students did not have a car and used the metro, the rolly bags were indispensable, especially for first year students (some of the few students who had cars used their cars as a locker of sorts)....we referred to the rolly bags as "pets."

That being said, my internships have always required me to be in court, and most lawyers involved in a trial have "rolly bags."

CF

Is it true that students who prepare carefully and do very well in class recitation sometimes do not do well on the exams? If so, what is the reason for this contradiction?

Yes and it happens more than occasionally. The chief reason, I believe, is that such students do not understand the differences between the case skills that you need to excel in class and the mostly different skills you need to excel on law school exams (see Exam, pp. 2, 4). To illustrate and as noted, the elaborated, even discursive, writing that is typical of many appellate opinions sharply contrasts with the direct and concise writing that you need for many or even most exam arguments. A second reason in my experience is the varying skill levels among students in tracking the dense fact pattern. Some students easily track the dense facts and identify and decode the various legal conflicts and resulting issues. Other students find it difficult to do so, often, I believe, because of failure to practice during the semester. But what is clear is that this tracking skill is hardly genetic. It can be learned, practiced and mastered by relentless practice during the semester.

Should I prepare for the first year before actually beginning?

Definitely. Do as much as you can, but do it smart. You'll be pleased later. As noted above, see Planet Law School II by Atticus Falcon for numerous specific recommendations as to how to do this most efficiently and effectively. Very impressively, he has ploughed through the great mass of materials for beginning students and evaluated their sharply varying levels of usefulness. Follow the detailed schedule that is appropriate for you.

Speaking of studying techniques for law school exams, I'm studying for one right now; my intellectual property final is on July 14th.

Which reminds me, that is another option 0Ls should consider, the opportunity to take a class or two during the summer after your 1L and 2L years.

CF

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For instance, my Contracts professor wanted to know finite details about facts of the case. He purposefully does that so people will not rely on the commercial outlines. 2-3 sentences in my notes about a case would not be sufficient for that class.

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