123 of 129 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Overrated but still better than most., March 6, 2006
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.
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51 of 56 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
No Real Secrets Here, September 22, 2003
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.
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