Customer Reviews

Civil Procedure: Examples and Explanations (The Examples & Explanations Series)

5 star:		(64)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book is a necessity for anyone hoping to succeed in their civil procedure class. Before I read this book I couldn't tell an interpleader from and impleader, this book will even unravel the quagmire of the dreaded Erie doctrine. I could not recommend a book more strongly than I would recommend this one.

This book and several others are the gold standard for supplements in law school. And don't listen to what anyone says, reading these books is not somehow cheating yourself out learning information from the cases. Case-analysis is a vital skill but it's not what law school exams test you on. They test primarially how well you can synthesize information over the course of a semester and then apply that synthesized information to the analysis of a fact pattern in a four hour exam. The E&E series generally mimics this process very well, but the Glannon Civil Procedure book is heads above the rest.

It's such a talisman for first year law students that anyone who advises against it should be regarded with grave suspicion.

In deciding which Civil Procedure study-guide to purchase, I considered at least 5 other options, none of which are even in the same league as Glannon's "Examples and Explanations." Glannon's writing style is thorough, yet concise. He manages to convey an excellent understanding of the basic concepts and theoretical underpinnings of the rules and doctrines relevant to an introductory Civil Procedure course, without getting bogged down in the more trivial details of the Federal Rules of Civil procedure themselves. One word of caution: This book will be most helpful to students whose Civil Procedure professor is predominantly interested in theory and conceptual understanding as opposed to the minute details of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. For the latter type of class, Arthur Miller's study guide may be more appropriate.

While it may seem heretical in light of only glowing reviews to give Mr. Glannon anything shy of five stars, I must say that while this book is quite helpful for most law students, some may find it just a bit wanting in certain areas. Don't get me wrong: Glannon will help "explain" the basics as well as some of the more nuanced areas of civ pro; use of this book in conjunction with your casebook and class notes will definately provide you with a sound understanding of this sometimes bafflingly obtuse subject.

However, for one whose goal is to excel well beyond the pack, Glannon alone will not propel a student to get the coveted law-school "A+." The law of numbers alone dictates this result: Glannon is the most widely read civ pro supplements available - you will be getting nothing more than what pretty much all your classmates get. Your solution? An additional supplement. For me, it was Gene Shreve's fantastic "Understanding Civil Procedure" - a more dense, but extremely tightly packed supplement. Everything you should know for civ pro, + a little more is in Shreve.

To summarize, get Glannon for the basic explanation; get Shreve for the edge. Glannon is great if you've got some time on your hands to digest the examples; Shreve is great if you've got the basics down and want to attain insight beyond most of the competition.

Having just finished my civ pro course and final exam (though no grade yet as I write this), I can say I found Glannon's supplement helpful -- especially for the most complicated questions like joinder, jurisdiction, and the intersections of the two. As another reviewer has noted, this isn't a secret weapon, since chances are almost everyone else in your class will have it. (Our prof even made it recommended supplemental reading.) Like all authors, Glannon has his own quirks, and some points he chooses to dwell on may or may not align with what your professor thinks is important. Glannon's somewhat cutesy writing style may get on your nerves after a while, but this book is still almost surely better written than your textbook. You can usually knock off each chapter in an hour or less.

Listen up ALL 1L's: All the hype is ABSOLUTELY true about this book-- it was invaluable as a supplement to my Civ Pro course which I ACED! Thank you, Mr. Glannon, for writing such clear and concise explanations of some of the most complex issues I have ever dealt with. The chapter called "Hard Erie" is worth the price of the text alone. Do yourself a favor and if you buy no other study guides buy THIS one!

As someone who bought and used a great many hornbooks and commercial outlines (some good and some just awful) during my law school career, I can say, without reservation, that Professor Glannon's Civil Procedure: Examples and Explanations is one of the two best study aides I used in ANY subject (the other being Emmanuels for Constitutional Law). Professor Glannon has written a profoundly clear, easy to understand, and at times, even humorous book that takes most of the mystery out of this difficult subject. The only thing I would say to people who have bought this book or are thinking about buying it is this - buy it - and use it right away. Don't wait until the end of the semester to cram it all in. Read the chapters in this book as you cover the subjects in class - and be sure to do all of the examples and read all of the explanations. This is one of the true gems available to help law students - and if you read it in conjunction with your coursework in this subject, you will be amazed at how much of your confusion it resolves for you. Don't miss this one folks!

Robert H. Miller Author of "Law School Confidential: the Complete Guide to the Law School Experience By Students for Students"

I am not sure what my final grade will be in civ pro at this time, but I guarantee you I would not understand complicated issues such as the Erie doctrine and preclusion if it weren't for Glannon. Those who say that Glannon is not comprehensive must have had a teacher who made sense and were able to take more away from their civ pro class than I did. My teacher was incredibly dry and threw so much black letter law at us that I didn't know which way was up or down. When I began studying for the final, despite doing (most of) my reading, I still felt like I was starting from scratch. And Glannon helped me build my menial civ pro knowledge into a competent database on which I could take from and contribute intelligently on an exam. Of course, I do understand where some are coming from when they say that Glannon won't help you get the coveted law school A+. And so he goes into a lot of detail about the discovery process. But Glannon will help you get an edge on tests, because he provides a clear understanding of what civ pro is all about...which is what a lot of teachers lack the skills to do. Use it throughout the course, and you will find that reviewing for the final is a walk in the park. If you feel you need more, download the free outlines on Lexis Nexis, but don't waste too much time with anything else...Glannon is, more or less, a savior.

This is a great book for 1Ls suffering through civ pro or any law student or lawyer who needs a refresher course in litigation. Glannon refers to cases used in Yeazell and explains their significance in case law. It is easy to ready and my prof used questions modeled after his samples in our exam.

Glannon's book on civ pro is truly amazing. He gives examples for virtually every scenario imaginable on every subject. Every time I was confused on a particular subject, all I had to do was go to the corresponding chapter and look at the summary and examples. He make everything so easy, clear, and concise. By the time I took my Civ Pro exam I was able to answer every Glannon question in the book, and I was able to get an A on the test. Much of my sucess in the class I owe to Glannon. GET THIS BOOK!...