Law School Done Right


Book Description

Law school is a strange game, and when you're starting out it seems like no one knows the rules. It's crucial to hit the ground running, but how? Trust the folks who've been there to distill what matters and toss the rest. Michael Seringhaus and Brian Savage have been through law school - Savage at Michigan and Seringhaus at Yale - and after a couple years sharing advice with friends, created Law School Done Right, a trim and potent little guide to what matters and what works in law school. What do you wish you'd known when you started law school? That's the simple question the authors posed. Seringhaus and Savage compiled their own best tips, and then polled dozens of colleagues and former classmates. This group included recent grads of law schools both inside and outside the U.S. News Top 50-grads who scored jobs at top national law firms, who landed prestigious judicial clerkships (including U.S. Supreme, Federal Appellate, Federal District, and State Supreme Courts), and some who are now young law professors themselves. When it comes to law school, these folks killed it. And you can too. Law School Done Right distills this invaluable expertise into bite-sized advice. There's no filler, just proven tips covering all aspects of law school life. Read them, and do it right. This revised and updated print edition contains updated content including an all-new section on choosing a law school.




Starting Off Right in Law School


Book Description

The 2018 printing of Starting Off Right in Law School, Second Edition, contains a new chapter, "Organizing Your Reading." To access the bonus chapter online, click here. Law school is different. Incoming students, confronted with an entirely new vocabulary and unfamiliar with the discipline's unique and demanding educational methods, are often disoriented. This book is designed to give these students a head start, both by introducing them to the fundamentals of the legal process and by helping them acquire the study skills necessary for success. Starting Off Right in Law School introduces new law students to the practice and study of law by following a lawsuit from its inception through the appeals process, illustrating what lawyers actually do, how they prepare, how they interact with clients and in courtrooms, how a lawsuit proceeds, and how students can effectively read and analyze cases, outline, and apply what they have learned on the exams. Widely used in law schools, the first edition of Starting Off Right in Law School prepared new law students to excel in doctrinal courses. The second edition has been updated to prepare students both for the broader demands of doctrinal courses and for the more distinct reading and writing demands of legal writing courses. This book is the perfect tool for pre-law students to read on their own or for law school orientation required reading.




Failing Law Schools


Book Description

“An essential title for anyone thinking of law school or concerned with America's dysfunctional legal system.” —Library Journal On the surface, law schools today are thriving. Enrollments are on the rise and law professors are among the highest paid. Yet behind the flourishing facade, law schools are failing abjectly. Recent front-page stories have detailed widespread dubious practices, including false reporting of LSAT and GPA scores, misleading placement reports, and the fundamental failure to prepare graduates to enter the profession. Addressing all these problems and more is renowned legal scholar Brian Z. Tamanaha. Piece by piece, Tamanaha lays out the how and why of the crisis and the likely consequences if the current trend continues. The out-of-pocket cost of obtaining a law degree at many schools now approaches $200,000. The average law school graduate’s debt is around $100,000—the highest it has ever been—while the legal job market is the worst in decades. Growing concern with the crisis in legal education has led to high-profile coverage in the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, and many observers expect it soon will be the focus of congressional scrutiny. Bringing to the table his years of experience from within the legal academy, Tamanaha provides the perfect resource for assessing what’s wrong with law schools and figuring out how to fix them. “Failing Law Schools presents a comprehensive case for the negative side of the legal education debate and I am sure that many legal academics and every law school dean will be talking about it.” —Stanley Fish, Florida International University College of Law




Don't Go to Law School (unless)


Book Description

Going to law school has become a very expensive and increasingly risky gamble. When is it still worth it? Law professor Paul Campos answers that question in this book, which gives prospective law students, their families, and current law students the tools they need to make a smart decision about applying to, enrolling in, and remaining in law school. Campos explains how the law school game is won and lost, from the perspective of an insider who has become the most prominent and widely cited critic of the deceptive tactics law schools use to convince the large majority of law students to pay far more for their law degrees than those degrees are worth.DON'T GO TO LAW SCHOOL (UNLESS) reveals which law schools are still worth attending, at what price, and what sorts of legal careers it makes sense to pursue today. It outlines the various economic and psychological traps law students and new lawyers fall into, and how to avoid them. This book is a must-read if you or someone you care about is considering law school, or wondering whether to stay enrolled in one now.




Law School Lowdown


Book Description

If you’re a law school student, or if you’re planning to apply to law school, you’ll find the practical guidance you’ll need for success—plus tips on pitfalls to avoid—when you open this important new book. Written by a recent Harvard Law School graduate who is currently associated with major Wall Street law firm, this brand-new blueprint for legal accomplishment gets down to specifics with: The law school application process and tips on taking the important Law School Admission Test (LSAT) Selecting a law school, applying for scholarships, and deciding between top-ranked and lower-ranked schools Making the grade during that vital first year at law school The best courses to take in second and third years The advantages of publishing papers while in law school Seeking out summer positions at law firms Taking and passing state bar exams Finding employment at a law firm after graduation Other post-law school options, including judicial clerkships Valuable appendices give you still more advice, and include a completed model law school application form, effective résumés, a model brief of a case for class, and much more. Written by a successful attorney and based on his own law school experiences, Law School Lowdown zeroes-in on both the rigors and satisfactions that comprise the law school experience, offering the advice and counsel that will pave your way to a successful career in law.




Evolutions of a Law Practice


Book Description

Back in 1982 I opened my own law practice right out of school. This arose out of a combination of necessity and the thought that it could be done! This is the story of what I did, and the various business and personal evolutions that followed.In this book I discuss how I marketed and built a practice, what worked and what didn't, and how I kept moving forward despite facing some serious challenges. I wrote this book to help lawyers and law students who are on their own or are considering that path. I hope my story will encourage people to consider entrepreneurial possibilities, to evaluate their career plans, and to pursue viable career options. As you'll see, once you've started it's easy enough to bring in business and keep busy. But of course, there are many more business and life considerations. I hope my story encourages people to discuss such things.I hope my story helps some people make better decisions and take action if they should.Pro-actively or re-actively, everyone will have a career path. Sometimes it's hard to state specific goals, but I hope we can share this oneâ¦.WHEN YOU LOOK BACK â HAVE NO REGRETS!To anyone who is considering entrepreneurial options for their career, and to anyone who is considering their current circumstances and their future path, this book is for you.




What the L?


Book Description

Law school can be a terrifying experience if you don't know what you're getting yourself into. For students who don't have their career paths or pedagogic goals mapped out, law school is even more terrifying. There are so many questions that accompany the decision to apply to law school: Is it worth the money? Is it worth the time? Is this the right time to go? Will I do well? How can I do well? How do I find a job? What kind of job is right for me? Is law school like college? And if you decide to go to law school, there are even more questions: What is an outline? How is an exam structured? How do I get a job at a big firm? What is a legal fraternity? What is the bar exam and when do I take it? This book is a firsthand account of trudging through law school without the answers to any of these questions. Three students offer a completely candid student perspective on every aspect of law school, from classmates to bar review, and outlines to studying abroad. While other law school preparation books are helpful, this account is a true story of how things really work, from the ground up. We are not law school experts, we are law school students: just like you. If you've ever wanted to know the real story on law school, this is it. "What the L? is a fine gift to any aspiring lawyer." -- Midwest Book Review




Giving Done Right


Book Description

A practical guide to philanthropy at all levels of giving that seeks to educate and inspire A majority of American households give to charity in some form or another--from local donations to food banks, religious organizations, or schools, to contributions to prevent disease or protect basic freedoms. Whether you're in a position to give $1 or $1 million, every giver needs to answer the same question: How do I channel my giving effectively to make the greatest difference? In Giving Done Right, Phil Buchanan, the president of the Center for Effective Philanthropy, arms donors with what it takes to do more good more quickly and to avoid predictable errors that lead too many astray. This crucial book will reveal the secrets and lessons learned from some of the biggest givers, from the work of software entrepreneur Tim Gill and his foundation to expand rights for LGBTQ people to the efforts of a midwestern entrepreneur whose faith told him he must do something about childhood slavery in Ghana. It busts commonly held myths and challenging the idea that "business thinking" holds the answer to effective philanthropy. And it offers the intellectual frameworks, data-driven insights, tools, and practical examples to allow readers to understand exactly what it takes to make a difference.




Ethics Done Right


Book Description

Examines how practical reasoning can be put into the service of ethical and moral theory.




Dusty, Deek, and Mr. Do-Right


Book Description

From small towns like Metamora, Aledo, and Carthage to East St. Louis and Chicago's South Side, Illinois's high school football fields have been the proving ground for such future stars as Dick Butkus, Red Grange, and Otto Graham. In Dusty, Deek, and Mr. Do-Right, longtime fan and sportswriter Taylor Bell shares the stories of the greatest players, toughest coaches, most memorable games, and fiercest rivalries in Illinois history. Drawing on dozens of personal interviews, Bell profiles memorable figures such as Tuscola's record-setting quarterback Dusty Burk, Pittsfield's brutally demanding yet devoted Coach Donald "Deek" Pollard, and Evanston's Murney "Mr. Do-Right" Lazier, who coached sternly but without prejudice in the racially charged 1960s and '70s. The book also discusses winning programs at schools such as East St. Louis, Mount Carmel, and Joliet Catholic, as well as longstanding rivalries and memorable games in the state playoff and Prep Bowl. The ultimate book for high school football fans in Illinois, Dusty, Deek, and Mr. Do-Right is infused with Bell's own love for the game and illustrated with sixty photographs of the players and coaches who made lifetime memories under the Friday night lights.