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How to Get Into Law School Susan Estrich 320

Immediately after finishing How to Get into Law School, we came to the conclusion that it is impossible to author a book that adequately covers the law school application process. Admittedly, as admissions consultants this conclusion is quite self-serving, but applying to law school is simply too individualized to release a comprehensive book on the subject. Still, the book does an acceptable job of laying out the application steps and it even presents some rather novel personal statement ideas.

The book, though, is sure to irritate any reader with its repetitive name dropping of people entirely irrelevant to your law school application success. Further, the book is completely misguided with its insensible notion that you should pester the admissions office with constant personal reminders while you await your decision. As we have previously said, showing interest in a school is a great way to increase your chances of admission, but harassing the Dean of Admissions is not.

Bottom line: Don’t bother. While the book goes over the application process, free resources such as those available at LSAC are just as good without assaulting the reader with poor application techniques.

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Planet Law School II Atticus Falcon 858

Atticus Falcon hates the structure of the American legal education and Planet Law School II is his 858 page (!!!) guide to fixing our apparently flawed system. To be fair, Falcon occasionally finds time to impart useful advice for prospective law students. Unfortunately for the reader, the useful advice is scattered and splintered across the entire book. It’s as though Falcon knew that no one would read an 850 page law school rant and threw in 8 pages of advice at the last second in order to market the book to prelaw students…

Bottom line: Read Law School Confidential instead.

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The King of Torts John Grisham 400

The King of Torts is ridiculous. There is not a hint of realism in this book… and that’s the point. When you grow tired of the other books we have reviewed, mix in the King of Torts. The wild story of a recent law grad making over $100 million as a mass-tort attorney is the perfect cure for a prelaw prep coma.

Bottom line: Mindless fun.

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55 Successful Harvard Law School Application Essays The Harvard Crimson 192

As you may have guessed, 55 Successful Harvard Law School Application Essays is a book full of admissions essays. The essays are diverse and wonderful; every applicant would benefit from reading the collection before drafting their own. Each essay is followed by analysis by members of the Harvard’s daily newspaper, the Harvard Crimson. The writing tips presented in this analysis are generally useful – but lack depth. The book would have greatly benefited from participation of the Harvard Law admissions department.

Bottom line: The analysis leaves much to be desired, but the book is a must purchase for law school applicants.

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The Complete Law School Companion Jeff Deaver 240

The Complete Law School Companion: How to Excel at America’s Most Demanding Post-Graduate Curriculum is useful for a singular purpose – helping new law students discover their most productive study mindset. Other than that, the study advice within the “Complete Law School Companion” is useless. The book prescribes an outdated and incomplete study system – dedicating too much time to early, wasteful case briefs and not enough time to actual exam prep.

Bottom line: If you are looking for study motivation, the book may be helpful. Stick with Getting to Maybe otherwise.

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Brush With the Law Robert Byrnes & Jaime Marquart 336

Brush With the Law is the least accurate, yet most entertaining book about life in law school. Often criticized as a fabricated account of life at Stanford and Harvard Law, the book has been the doom of more than a few law students. This is not a law school study guide – in fact, the study “techniques” used by the authors are possibly the worst you could employ. That said, I do not think this story is entirely fabricated – rather, I’m relatively certain that the authors employed a selective memory in regards to their study habits.

Bottom line: Read the book, be entertained, forget the protagonists’ study habits. The book is out-of-print, but you can purchase a used copy for a few dollars.

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One L Scott Turow 337

One L allows its reader to jump into law school and experience the difficult life of a first year law student. The novel captures first few months of law school perfectly, when all is lost and life is miserable. Unfortunately, the hero seems incapable of growing up and, as the novel progresses, the book strays more and more from an actual portrayal of law school to an over-sensationalized drama.

Bottom line: While far from an accurate depiction of life during the first year of law school, One L will entertain any future law student.

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Getting to Maybe Richard Michael Fischl & Jeremy Paul 348

In last week’s review, we wrote that, despite being worth a read, Law School Confidential is not the “law school guide” it claims to be. This week, we review a book that comes much closer to being the mythical law school guide, Getting to Maybe. The genius behind Getting to Maybe is that it does not attempt to be a guide at all, rather it explains how to “think like a law student”. This book will give you an advantage over every other law student in your class (except, of course, those who also read Getting to Maybe). That’s really all there is to say, if you are going to law school – read Getting to Maybe.

Bottom line: Buy it.

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Law School Confidential Robert H. Miller 352

Purportedly a “complete guide to the law school experience”, Law School Confidential (LSC) does an satisfactory job getting a prospective law student ready to enter the strange new world that is law school. LSC familiarizes the reader with law school items such as: briefs, outlines, journals, moot court, casebooks, statute books, etc. Everything you should know on day one (which isn’t much) can be found in the book.

As you should with any similar book, take LSC’s study advice with a grain of salt. There is no “right way” to study in law school and the same things that worked for the author might not work for you. Don’t buy out your local highlighter supplier simply because LSC tells you to. Also, don’t let the aggressive, fear-inducing tone of the book rattle your already fragile nerves. Constantly remind yourself that, despite LSC is saying the opposite, you are not going to war, you are going to law school.

Bottom line: Law School Confidential is not a guide to law school (such a thing, sadly, does not exist), but it contains plenty of useful information about law school and is worth the quick read.