Law School Confidential: A Complete Guide to the Law School Experience [Paperback]

Robert H. Miller (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 14, 2000

I wish I knew then what I know now!

Don't get to the end of your law school career muttering these words to yourself! Take the first step toward building a productive, successful, and perhaps even pleasant law school experience...read this book!

Written for students about to embark on this three year odyssey, by students who have successfully survived law school. Law School Confidential demystifies the life-altering thrill ride that defines an American legal education by providing a comprehensive, blow-by-blow, chronological account of what to expect. Law School Confidential arms students with a thorough overview of the contemporary law school experience. This isn't the advice of graying professors or battle-scarred practitioners decades removed from the law school. Fresh out of University of Pennsylvania Law School, Robert Miller has assembled a panel of recent law school graduates all of whom are perfectly positioned to shed light on what law school is like today. Law School Confidential invites you to walk in their steps to success and to learn from their mistakes. From taking the LSAT, to securing financial aid, to navigating the notorious first semester, to exam-taking strategies, to applying for summer internships, to getting on the law review, to tackling the bar and beyond...Law School Confidential explains it all.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Anyone thinking about attending law school faces three years of discipline and hard work. Miller, an attorney and 1998 University of Pennsylvania law school graduate, shares his knowledge about getting through. Miller covers every aspect of the law school experience-from surviving the first semester to seeking summer internships-which makes this book unique. He presents experiences of other law students to help readers understand what is expected of them and how these expectations will affect heir social and personal lives. The author emphasizes that discipline and conviction are the keys to successfully completing law school. Chapters are of course included on how to study for entrance tests and select an appropriate school. Recommended for all college and larger public libraries.
Patrick Mahoney, Central Michigan Univ., Mount Pleasant
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

". . . pulls no punches in providing revealing and honest advice for all three years of the law school experience. . ." -- Law Preview

". . . walks the reader from the decision to go to law school through the bar exam. . . a useful, worthwhile book." -- New York Law Journal

"Miller has decorously armed his readers. . . excellent advice." -- The Docket

"This abundance of information is just the remedy for the nerves of a student anxious to enter law school. . ." -- Journal of the Denver Bar Association

"This book is a must for anyone attending or thinking about law school." -- The Houston Lawyer

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; 1st edition (July 14, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031224309X
• ISBN-13: 978-0312243098
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (195 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #333,364 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Robert H. Miller graduated from Yale University in 1993 and from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where he was senior editor of the Law Review, in 1998. He is presently a trial lawyer at Sheehan, Phinney, Bass & Green in Manchester, New Hampshire, where he specializes in intellectual-property and commercial litigation. He is the author of the critically acclaimed grad school preparatory books Law School Confidential, Business School Confidential, and the hot new college preparatory book Campus Confidential. Dan Bissell, M.D., graduated cum laude from Middlebury College in 1993 and from the University of Colorado School of Medicine as an Adler Scholar in 2002. He recently completed his residency in emergency medicine at the Maine Medical Center. During residency, he received the Gold Foundation Award as Resident Teacher of the Year and was appointed chief resident of the emergency medicine program. He is now in practice in Portland, Oregon.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

147 of 153 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Overrated but still better than most. March 6, 2006

By Watch This

Format:Paperback

I'm a 2L who read this book before going to law school. It's worthwhile as far as intro guides go, but could easily be better.

Everybody knows the highlighter tricks and other techniques; there is no magic bullet in that respect. Not all the study tips will work for everyone (I don't know anyone who draws a little picture at the top of their case note), and don't count on being able to get outlines as easily as the book makes it sound. Even at a friendly school, people are still stingy about them.

The author does a lot to orient the reader to the basics of getting off to a running start in law school, but more information about choosing a school would have been helpful, as would more of how to diagnose the forensics behind a potential school.

Some of the most useful info will never come from the faculty unless you know what to ask. From students it usually only comes from 2Ls & 3Ls (1Ls don't know anything other than how to panic).

Useful things to know such as which law schools have pass fail grading available as an option; which legal writing departments are pass fail for the whole 1L class, what the grading curve is at each school, how bad grade inflation is, etc.

Other info like the fact that all law schools use the same text books from only two major publishers would be helpful in forming an overall picture of how law schools do (or don't) vary much from one to the next. Even the highly regarded US News ratings don't tell the whole story, as a big part of what makes many of the higher ranked schools Tier 1 and 2 is a direct result of expenditures per student. Something else that could have been explored in this "confidential" book.

This kind of information was unknown or insignificant to me until I met several students from other law schools recently at a convention. Some of the things I learned that could have been in the book:

Yale Law School is pass/fail for the whole first semester. (Imagine that load off your mind first semester)

NYU Law and Stanford both have pass/fail Legal Writing programs. (Once again, less to worry about in a critically important class that takes much of your 1L study time)

Stanford has a B+ curve; many lower tier schools use a B curve.
(The average guy at Stanford has a B+ for the same class you got a B in - maybe even with the same text book. His transcript looks even better than it already did).

Law school professorships are extremely competitive
(So, even at a "crappy" school like Cooley, the profs are probably still from outstanding law schools with impeccable records, just like the better rated schools).

US News rankings are based largely on opinions of judges and professors (comprising 45% of the total factors analyzed), so they are pretty subjective, but they are not meaningless. When enough of the best professors move to schools offering better salaries or other incentives, the rankings sometimes move with them. My school was highly rated in intellectual property ten years ago, now that everyone else has jumped on the band wagon and are buying up the top talent, we're barely clinging to the list. This isn't because we got worse, we just got comfortable. Finally, the school is doing something about it and things are improving.

Most schools don't require Administrative Process (I've no idea why mine does...)

Most schools require Criminal Law, while a few require Crim Pro instead.

Some schools, like mine, don't even publish the exam schedule until after you've already registered for the semester - only to find out about your four back to back exams when it's too late to rearrange things. Ugh.

**Request and read the student handbook from a school you are seriously considering attending; it's chock full of useful info.**

It's possible to study as much as one year of law school abroad, through an ABA approved program. Though some schools require that two such "visiting student" semesters cannot be done back-to-back, the ABA has no such requirement. Also, the ABA web site does not list every approved overseas program. Schools are reluctant to talk about this possibility unless it's their own program, since they don't get money from you if you "visit out" somewhere else.

Summer courses after 1L year can be a great way to boost your GPA (depending what you take) if you have a school which accepts grades from summer programs. Many schools only accept summer classes as pass-fail credit. Check the handbook.

You might think information like this has little bearing on whether or not you attend a certain school, but it'll still open your eyes. Law school is essensially a three year, 100K lesson in how to look up rules. For that price and time committment, do some thorough research beyond any book.

57 of 62 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars No Real Secrets Here September 22, 2003

By Mary Ellen Hatcher

Format:Paperback

A little about me: I'm now in my second year of law school and purchased both Law School Insider and the older book Law School Confidential last year. Back then, I didn't know that Robert Miller, the author, has written Confidential books on different types of schools (Law School, Business School, maybe Medical School's next?), and uses the same format and advice in these books. I wound up keeping only my copy of Law School Insider, which turned out to be more relevant and useful for me.

Law School Confidential is like the "for Dummies" books, down to simplistic tips that sound good but didn't really work when I tried them. Particularly unnecessary were the "etiquette" advice and handfuls of comments from yuppie "mentors" who didn't really add anything to the book. Because it has so much of this filler, Confidential also treads far too lightly on subjects that really concern me, like choosing courses to match my personal interests, possible areas of specialization, and picking the right place to take my bar exam.

By comparison, Law School Insider treats these subjects with depth and serious consideration. It actually speaks to the lifestyles and choices of different readers, including people who are married and worried about starting a life after law school, and tells people from diverse backgrounds how to maximize their chances of success. I also really liked Insider's story portions, which Confidential lacks, but tries to make up for in attitude.

On that subject, there is not a trace of Confidential's arrogance or artificial stress anywhere in Insider. Despite what Miller says, law school is not going to be like a war and it is still worthwhile even if you don't attend one of the top 10 schools in the country. Miller and I were both educated in Pennsylvania, but I know that what he says isn't even true at most of the schools in my state, let alone elsewhere in the country. If you want to really know what law school is like, my advice is to skip Law School Confidential, and you know the book I recommend.

44 of 47 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Honest if a little overstated September 28, 2000

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

I am a 1L that read this book over the summer (more than once!) At that time, I found its no-nonsense approach comforting and helpful, and much more directly useful than what I had seen in other similar books. BUT now that I am at law school I have a slightly altered view of the book. It is too stress inducing! I just do not feel like the tone of the book fits the experience I am having - I work a ton, but it is not nearly as horrible and stressful as the book conveyed. Perhaps it is my school and not this book - but I often have thought while looking at it: Thank goodness I didn't go to UPenn. That said, I think the book is really effective in its practical advice about jobs, the application process, journals, course selection and lots of other non-studying related aspects of school. And the absolute best thing about is is the practical finacial advice and the honesty about the difficulty of loan burdens - something I think aspiring law students too often try to ignore. Overall a very useful book!