Customer Reviews

The Law School Breakthrough: Graduate in the Top 10% of Your Class, Even If You're Not a First-Rate Student

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1 star:		(4)

 

 

"The Law School Breakthrough" is a must have for anyone getting ready for law school. Using an easy to understand, straightforward style Chris Yianilos shares his invaluable lessons and tips for performing well during the dreaded "1L" first year and beyond. From helping you to overcome the anxieties of law school, to teaching you to craft the perfect case brief and exam outline, this book will get you ready for law school and get you through to the top of your class.

The approach to success in law school outlined in the book is a simple formula that everyone can and should emulate, with emphasis placed on hard work and discipline. Yianilos doesn't sugarcoat the facts: law school is hard and the only way to excel is through focused, rigorous study. Based upon that premise, he offers successfully proven tips and advice on how to customize a program of study for your own law school experience, keeping in mind that there is more to life than just studying. Yianilos' balanced approach is one that if followed is sure to produce great results with a minimal amount of worry (if you work hard and know the material there's no need to stress about exams and grades - pretty simple!).

Yianilos also makes an important point throughout the course of the book: it's not enough anymore to simply graduate from law school...you have to do well. This book is for those people who aren't satisfied with simply showing up. It is for individuals who want to be the best. Law school is competitive and "The Law School Breakthrough" will ensure that you are ready to compete at your best.

This book will get you in the right frame of mind, and keep you there, as you work your way towards the ultimate goal: getting your JD and graduating at the top of your class. It is the best investment for success that I've come across and I highly recommend it.

I read this book the summer before I started law school and found it pretty helpful, especially for someone coming into law school pretty blindly. It was full of helpful ideas and insights into law school life. It was also a pretty quick read, and I was able to read through it in a weekend on the beach.

This book is a waste of time and money, especially if you have already started law school. I have already read about 120 pages, and the only advice I have gleaned from it is stuff your mother could tell you (even if she never went to law school): get enough sleep, exercise regularly, take time out to do something other than study, and--try not to crap your pants, cause this is the hum-dinger--believe in yourself and do your best. If you need to read a book to tell you these things, consider a career as coffee shop barista instead of spending $100,000 to go to law school. In light of that amount of debt, don't waste ten bucks on this book. Take your money, go down to the local Good Will and look for either an inspirational poster with a kitten cowering on a tree branch that says, "Hang In There!", or a coffee mug enscribed with the declaration, "World's Greatest Dad" and purchase them instead for a quarter. Either would be equally as invaluable as this book and will likely add even more to your law school survival skills. Plus, kittens are really cute, and you will surely need a mug.

I did pretty terrible my 1st year of law school, I am about to start my 2nd year. I think this book has some good points and offered some good advice. I found that the majority of pointers were pretty obvious stuff that I was already doing, but that may not be the case with others. The only thing I did not like is that the author tries to convince the reader that his or her grades will haunt them for life (if they are not good). Every attorney I have spoken to has disagreed with this opinion. Overall, worth reading..it was a quick read, I did it in one day with the exception of the cases he included.

As someone who has already graduated from law school, I read this book on the suggestion of a friend of mine in law school who wanted to know my thoughts on it. I really enjoyed the book's conversational style. I also thought the author was right on the mark in accurately describing the law school experience. He paints a really good picture of what law school is exactly like. His specific how-to advice is also right on target - I used many of these same techniques successfully in school myself.

The book is an easy read and includes some interesting and unique quotes from well-known politicians and lawyers on their own law school experience.

I recommend this book to any law student, aspiring law student, or anyone who might just want to get a sense of what the law school experience is all about.

Not sure why this book is getting such great reviews. I bought a ton of books before I entered law school and this was definitely one of the least helful. I'm perplexed by the ratings?!?@?

Like most incoming law students, I browsed the countless books on Amazon that claim to "show the way" in law school. I ended up buying and reading this book and Getting to Maybe. Both are quite helpful, but for different reasons. (Getting to Maybe is more exam focused; great book too, just a much more narrow focus).

I found this book quite helpful to read prior to staring class, as I was a student who really had no clue about how a class actually worked in law school, how to brief a case, how to outline etc. The author provided straightforward advice about how to do these things, and more importantly, why they are worth doing.

The author covers most of the basics needed to succeed in the first semester (and following semesters). Examples and stories abound from the author's own experience in law school, and give you an accurate preview of what you'll probably experience too (I know my experiences have been quite similar).

What I probably liked best is that the book is honest and realistic, yet also optimistic and looks beyond the law school universe. The author is honest that good grades are important and realistic that it will take hard work to get there. With that said, the author repeatably emphasizes that hard work, good grades and law school is not all there is to life. Life will go on if you get a bad grade, and 99% of the world (including most people you know) could care less about what goes on in law school. Its certainly easy to get caught up in the law school universe (and many do), but I think the author is on point in that it is easier to both succeed and enjoy life if you do not let it consume you.

I'd recommend this book to any incoming 1L - read it the summer before your first semester, and it will set you up well for success in and outside the classroom.

As second year law student, I highly recommend this book to all entering first year students. You will be leaps and bounds beyond by reading this book and have the potential to be at the top of your class if you implement the book's recommendations. Unlike other law school guides, this book is not full of hype, rather this book provides an excellent framework to how approach law school and succeed. Do not waste your money and time on other books. This book is the one book that will put you on the road to be at the top of your first year class. As any law student will tell you, your first year success is critical, and this book provides wonderful and practical ways to make the year a great one!

This book is a must have for anyone attending law school. I read the book before law school and still find myself referring back to it. The author provides a realistic look into the daily life of a law student. Moreover, the conversational style makes it an easy and enjoyable read.

The author also provides excellent tips for succeeding in the classroom. From briefing cases to taking exams, there are numerous practice problems so that the reader can experience applying the principles of the book outside the pressure of the classroom.

Again, I highly recommend this book to anyone in law school.

If you want to save time and money, BUY THIS BOOK. I say this for two reasons. First, if you do find yourself excited and motivated at the prospect of law school after the read, then you are armed with the basic building blocks to set yourself apart from your future or current law school classmates. You have the tools to better utilize your time and money during your law school experience.

Secondly, if you are unsure about future law school aspirations, this book will help you make the decision. It gives you an insider's view into what you will face and the time and resources that you will need to dedicate to your schooling in order to be successful. If you are not ready to dedicate yourself, then you will come to understand through your read that maybe law school is not for you, thus saving time and money.