Customer Reviews

Acing Civil Procedure

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book was a lifesaver during my Civ Pro exam, which took place yesterday. I have all the other supplements--Glannon Guide (good too), E&E, Emanuel's, Gilbert's...the works. During the open book/note/everything exam I only really used this book. The checklists at the end of each section make it so easy to make sure you haven't missed an issue or just forgotten something. It is also an EASY READ...I can barely make it through 1/2 an E&E before finals. I have never reviewed a book before EVER, but if I had not had this supplement yesterday, I would have cried on the last question regarding the ERIE doctrine. It is worth it just for the checklists and sample (short) answers alone. Hope this helps!

Unlike any study-aid I have come across. Prof. Spencer's reviews of the topics are clear and concise. The checklists both organize the many seemingly disparate pieces of Civil Proceedure into a logical whole and give students a practical and effective approach to exam questions. Furthermore, at 250 pages, that feel more like 100, this small book is comprehensive without being overbearing.

Professor Spencer has simplified civil procedure analysis by making checklists to help analyze all the major topics that you are likely to be tested on. The most helpful feature of this study aid for me though were the problems at the end of each chapter followed by his own analysis. It is helpful for studying to see exactly how your civil procedure professor expects you to analyze certain fact situations and apply the law, and that's what this study aid gives you.

This book, along with two others, saved my first semester. It is concise and the chapters give a brief overview of all the main cases and how the laws interact together. Conceptually there is no better supplement, I used all of the main ones and they are more explanatory but only Emanuel gives any sort of flow chart or check list. This book changed the entire way I approach studying, especially Torts and Crim law (however the other books in the series are not as conceptual and flowchart driven).

I used various supplements for this class. Before buying all of them (like I did) I would go to your law library and look them over, use them for your class and see if they are presented in a way that works for you. If not, then buy whatever you can that is most useful and use the library's books as needed. My biggest mistake was thinking by using supplements to supplement my casebook I would learn less or get screwed up. Professors tell you whether they like supplements or not, but if you use them to prepare for class, still at least go through the cases and take NOTES from what they say, you will do far better.

I will explain the books I used second semester, which is less theory and rules based. Before each class topic I read Acing Civil Procedure (Acing Law School) and then outlined the rule in my own words using the Commentary sections in A Student's Guide to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (Student Guides) to fill in and flesh out the rules. I then read through Emanuel Law Outline: Civil Procedure Yeazell (Emanual Law Outlines) skimming and highlighting the key points in my casebook Civil Procedure and adding the extra info to my rule outlines. This made class easy because I simply noted the key comments and wording my Prof used and modified my outline accordingly. After class I quickly organized the rule outline and moved on. This may seem like a lot of time, but it was about 3 hours a week. Beware of spending too much time on the supplements and rule outline BEFORE class. Much of the material in the supplements and casebook is not covered in class and therefore a waste of time.

When many spent extra time making their outlines, mine was complete and I spent an hour or two each week working through hypos and questions from Civil Procedure: Examples & Explanations 5th edition and Glannon Guide to Civil Procedure: Student Manual. I added any issues and fact patterns I came across, to my rules outline. Before the exam I condensed my outlined rules, worked on hypos, and used the hypos we went over in class to see how Prof would work them into the exam. Overall I did not spend much time understanding the cases in their entirety . After the first week of class you should have typed down every question asked in class, because this is what the prof will ask the rest of the year. This makes it easier to skim cases and determine what is necessary and what is a complete waste of memory and time.

For first semester, this was my worst class. My 1st semester Prof was not very good and I did not practice hypos and writing out answers as in 2nd semester. What I learned was to USE SUPPLEMENTS. I used them in half my classes (best grades) and not in the other half (good but worse). I managed to use Emanuel to catch up and made a great outline, but I spent far too much time with my wording in the essays. This is where Understanding Civil Procedure, Acing Civ Pro and Glannon Guide (multiple choice) came in. Even without multiple choice exams, these short practice questions really help hammer out the trickier parts. The hypos help you learn to quickly write out your answer. The Understanding series is GREAT for your first semester, because it more in depth and helps you understand the overall concepts better. Also, many prefer E&E to other books for explanation, but I found it better suited for hypos.

These books collectively were not necessary , but they sure helped. If you are short on cash, the best books from most helpful to least are your required casebook, FRCP Student's guide, Emanuel (if not using Yeazall, the keyed edition to your casebook if possible, if not then case briefs should work), Acing Civ Pro (AMAZING short book with great checklists to work through the rules), Glannon Guide, and then E&E (if used for hypos, although there is a newer ed). For first semester, the Understanding book was excellent to read before anything else (do not read too heavy), because it is highly explanatory. I have found canned briefs useful from online and the various case brief books keyed to your casebook. Acing Civ Pro was the best book, but not the most needed if short on cash. See my other reviews regarding the above books mentioned. However only the first couple paragraphs will be different.

Good Luck, I will try and answer any comments!

The detailed checklists are very helpful additions to any 1L's study guides. They help to organize the case law and black letter law into easy to follow flow charts, which show how each builds on the next. My only criticism is that, since the law constantly updates, the guide should be updated. There were some more recent cases that were not included in the guide.

Each chapter has a useful short review and checklist. The book was a great help near the end of term, when broad checklists became more important than minutiae. I'd recommend getting this along with a more classic commercial outline, like Clermont Black Letter.

The Glannon books (especially the Glannon Guide q&a book) are more comprehensive, but when it comes down to the last week or two and you want to be sure you haven't missed the fine points hiding in the FRCP (and there are a lot of those) - this book is great.

Great study aid, very clear and concise. We all know law school is time consuming so it's great to have a smaller aid like this, one you can actually read before each class in addition to your normal work.

It is good for the purpose of learning Civ Pro as a 1L. Some hypos are good and others are questionable. But overall, it is good. Serves its purpose. I like Glannon's E&E and MCQ better.

I have an upcoming exam and this book is going to save me. Hands down THE BEST Civil Procedure guide to have during an open book Civ Pro exam. It goes over each topic in a checklist format, including the small details that most books tend to leave out. It is clear, concise, and extremely well organized.

Buy this, you will not regret it.