Law School Confidential (Revised Edition): A Complete Guide to the Law School Experience: By...

Law School Confidential (Revised Edition): A Complete Guide to the Law School Experience: By Students, for ... | Robert H. Miller | A must-read for those in, or interested in, law school

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Law School Confide...

	Law School Confidential (Revised Edition): A Complete Guide to the Law School Experience: By Students, for ... Robert H. Miller St. Martin's Griffin, 2004 - 352 pages average customer review:based on 168 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

This book has no equal for preparing for law school.

When I first read the reviews for this book about six months ago, before I entered law school or purchased the book, I noticed that there seemed to be countless reviews from pre-1Ls saying how prepared they "felt" about law school. This was obviously worthless support since they had not used any of the advice first-hand.

Although I have only completed one semester of law school so far, I believe that I can really testify that the book is a brilliant piece of writing for anybody preparing for law school. Its advice on book-briefing, using commercial outlines, and preparing for class are spot on and need to be followed by as many law students as are willing. Also, the advice it gives on securing a summer job, which I have used extensively so far during Christmas break for getting a 1L summer associateship, is terrifically helpful, especially since it provides an albeit somewhat outdated interview with hiring partners of both a small firm and a large firm.

Anyone preparing for law school needs to get this book; it spells out what you need to do not just for your first year but EACH YEAR OF LAW SCHOOL, including Law Review (and the process of getting on journals), moot court, and all things 2L- and 3L-related.

But if you are my classmate, don't buy the book... I want to stay on top of the curve as much as possible. :-)

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A must-read for those in, or interested in, law school

This book is a work of genius by the main author Robert Miller and his co-authors (all law school grads), who bring to bear a wealth of experience, knowledge, and savvy. For the small price of a paperback book, you get much more than $12.89 worth of information. The book starts from scratch, how to prepare for LSATs and apply to law school, then moves into how to succeed in school (including preparing for class and doing well on exams), and rounds it out by massive amounts of advice on the job search. Spectactular resource. As a law student, it helped me gain confidence before beginning my first year. Go out and read this book if you're in law school, applying to law school, or even vaguely interested in law school.

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Helpful.. but not perfect

I got this book the summer before I started law school. I really had no idea what to expect with regards to law school at the time, and this book really helped me feel prepared. However this book does go slightly overboard with it's recomendations at times. For instance, it says to retake the lsat and wait to go to school if you don't get accepted to one of the highest ranked schools. This seems a bit impractical. Also, once I started my first semester as a 1l, I realized that it was not always helpful to do everything the book recomends. I started out doing the daily outlining, but I soon realized it was not useful. I was outlining 15 pages a week for each of my classes even though I had no idea what I should actually be putting in an outline or how it should be structured. It also was not helping me understand how all the cases fit together, and by the end of the semester I didn't remember anything about the outlining I did in the beginning of the semester. After the first few weeks I gave up on the daily outlining, and ended up making my outlines later in the semester after I actually some understanding of the subject manner and I learned a lot better that way. I did however find many of the books recomendations very helpful, such as briefing cases with different colored highlighters. I also found getting commercial outlines to be very helpful, especially towards the end of the semester. This book didn't mention them, but I purchased books from Emanuel's Crunchtime series for my first semester contracts and torts classes and they were extremely helpful. Overall, I would recomend Law School Confidential, just don't feel like you absolutely have to do everything it tells you to.

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Pleasantly satisfied

I got this book following a 3L friend's suggestion, and feel like it's given me a good strategy for studying and approaching exams my first year, as well as an important "insider" information on how to approach future job possibilities. For those also in the thinking about law school or application phase, Miller incorporates real, beneficial advice from both students and Admissions deans. If you are looking for some perspective on what to expect (either before or after you start), pick up a copy.

Good General Information - But Lacks Depth

INTRO
I have read many and varied law school preparation books. To be forward, of all the books I have read, I found this one to be the most overrated. It is indeed useful, particularly if this is your first book on law school and you are interested in a very general overview.

PERSONAL SUGGESTION (*warining* personal opinion)
My strongest suggestion for those interested in law school is this: take one or two years off prior to entering law school to 1) adequately prepare and 2) make a determination whether or not you *really* want to do it. Whether you enroll into a graduate program, work, relax, explore, or engage in charitable activities - give yourself some time to pursue your varied interests. If you ever wanted to start a company, see a particular part of the world, or just take some time to think .. I highly suggest you do that prior to entering law school. If you just completed or are about to complete an undergraduate or graduate program, you might not have this opportunity again. Purge those urges and pursue those interests now while you have a chance.

HIGHLIGHTS
The book provides useful information regarding law school from financing your education to law school etiquette (share your class notes; do not boast about anything; avoid gossip; and never discuss grades). Furthermore, the author provides useful insights on applying for jobs to obtaining internships. Many topics are addressed in the book, and I appreciated the perspectives of former law students to hiring partners at variously sized firms. I do not necessarily agree with the author's suggestion on case briefing, however. I think it would be tedious and time-consuming to read cases using variously colored highlighters. It is better to use simply a pen and underline relevant material.

SUMMARY & CONCLUSION
The information in the book lacks depth but makes up for it for its vast breadth concerning prior to law school, while in law school (year 1, 2, and 3) and after law school. I am confident that most people who have an interest in possibly attending law school will find the book useful.

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