Law School For Dummies [Paperback]

Rebecca Fae Greene (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0764525484 | ISBN-13: 978-0764525483 | Publication Date: May 1, 2003 | Edition: 1

The straightforward guide to surviving and thriving in law school

Every year more than 40,000 students enter law school and at any given moment there are over 125,000 law school students in the United States. Law school’s highly pressurized, super-competitive atmosphere often leaves students stressed out and confused, especially in their first year. Balancing life and schoolwork, passing the bar, and landing a job are challenges that students often need help facing. In Law School For Dummies, former law school student Rebecca Fae Greene uses straight talk, sound advice, and gentle humor to help students sort through the swamp of coursework and focus on what’s important–all while maintaining a life. She also offers rare insight on the law school experience for women, minorities, non-traditional, and non-Ivy League students.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

"The advice in this book helps you make the most of your law school experience."
—Sarah C. Zearfoss, The University of Michigan Law School

Covers crucial study skills, test-taking, and job hunting

Choose your courses, stay sane, and survive your exams!

Looking to get into – and graduate from – law school? Written from the student’s point of view, this friendly guide gives you the inside track on everything from finding the right school and acing the LSAT to surviving the Socratic Method, choosing a practice area, preparing for the bar exam, and much more.

Praise for Law School For Dummies

"Anyone who enters law school without having first read this essential ‘instruction manual’ will be at a competitive disadvantage."
– Jef Richards, JD, PhD, Professor of Advertising, The University of Texas at Austin

"A comprehensive guide that explodes the myths surrounding law school and enables you to chart a successful career path."
– Donna Gerson, author of Choosing Small, Choosing Smart: Job Search Strategies for Lawyers in the Small Firm Market

About the Author

Rebecca Greene, JD, is a May 2003 graduate of Indiana University School of Law—Bloomington. A contributor to the American Bar Association’s Student Lawyer magazine, she also wrote for Peterson’s Law Schools.

Product Details

• Paperback: 355 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies; 1 edition (May 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764525484
• ISBN-13: 978-0764525483
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 0.9 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #71,214 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #63 in Books > Law > Legal Education

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read this book if you're discouraged about law school, December 22, 2004

By 

Allan H. 1L (Arcola, Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Law School For Dummies (Paperback)

I just finished my 1L semester, and my grades are starting to trickle in. So far, not so good. But I'm vowing to do better next semester, and I felt this book was very helpful in helping me see what exactly my mistakes were this semester. I bought this book a few days ago, on the recommendation of some 1Ls in my class, because unlike some of these other reviewers, my school's professors do not take the time to explain how to succeed in law school or how to study. Nor am I very friendly with any 2 or 3Ls who could provide me with this information. The reason I picked up this book is because I wanted a thorough and well-spelled out discussion of what exactly law school is all about, since I didn't do much reading on the topic before I started school in the fall. I've read other Dummies books, and felt this one was overall better organized and more thorough than those I've read in the past. I'm making up for lost time now on my winter break by learning more about how to be a better 1L, and I was very satisfied and pleased with this book. I strongly feel I'll be a better student because of it.

I recommend this book highly because I got a great overview of what I need to do better next semester in order to boost my law school GPA (which right now is hovering close to a 2.7). The chapter on "Making the Most of Your Study Time" helped me realize what really should go in an outline and what should not--after reading this chapter I realized I went about my outline all wrong--again, because no one really took the time to sit down with me and explain it all. And the chapter on "Thinking and Talking Like a Lawyer" summed up into words what I couldn't quite put my finger on about law school over the past three and a half months: what exactly the new method of thinking that you're supposed to learn in law school is all about. Up until this book helped elucidate this concept for me, I realized that I really wasn't "getting" what I was supposed to out of the Socratic Method. Now I feel a little more clued in.

This book was full of good tips, such as making me realize that in order to be competitive for summer clerkships, you need to get your cover letters in to the largest and most competitive firms by Christmastime. If it weren't for this book, I wouldn't have known that, because my career services office really doesn't do a good job of letting students know important facts like this. I also appreciated the chapter on "landing your perfect summer job" because it explained what exactly the monetary and prestige differences, among others, are between the large firms and small firms. Perhaps most of all, this book made me feel appreciated. More specifically, I liked the way this book, unlike others I've read, didn't try to sell you on the large firm as the only option for your summer job (or career.) Similarly, this book also did a great job of not trying to sell you on the idea that the law review is a make-or-break-your-legal-career move. See the "Getting Involved in Law School" chapter for reassurance that it's perfectly okay not to end up making the law review, or even wanting to, because there are other valuable EC's out there. I also learned from this chapter that it can be more important to find EC's that are a good fit for your future career plans than to just blindly assume that the law review is the end-all-be-all. That's one aspect that really annoyed me about other law school guidebooks I read--the subtle or not-so-subtle theme that you must be in the top 10% of your class, on law review, and a summer associate at a big-name firm to "make it" as a lawyer. I appreciated the fact that Greene's book didn't make these assumptions, and liked the way non-traditional uses of the J.D. were thoroughly explored (see the Considering Alternative Legal Careers chapter) unlike other books, which just gives a nod to this equally valid way of using your J.D.

As per the Dummies tradition, this book spells things out for you, and many intelligent and hard-working students, like myself, need that. My recommendation for other law students is to read this book to get a good overview of law school and to help you better find your place when you're lost. I think other law school guidebooks can also valuable, but if you're looking for a more user-friendly guide, and one that has a more liberal tone than the other much more conservative law school books I've read, then look to this book to once and for all finally understand what law school is all about and your place in it.

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Law Prof gives this book two thumbs up, October 1, 2003

By 

Law Prof (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Law School For Dummies (Paperback)

You'd probably think that the last person you'd find reading a book called "Law School for Dummies" would be an actual law professor. I saw this book at the bookstore while looking for a law school guidebook for my pre-law niece and was immediately intrigued. I bought it, read the whole thing in a week, and have to say that it earns my seal of approval (then I passed it along to my niece). Everything Greene says in this book is 100% on target. I think the fact that this book is written by a recent law graduate makes it the most valuable. All the info is fresh and up-to-date, and it's written in a way that current law students will really identify with. I appreciated how Greene honestly and candidly discussed topics such as finding summer jobs and doing extracurriculars (like the law review), and went into detail about the pros and cons of each. I'd recommend this book to any law student who comes into my office--in fact, I already have several times this week.

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book for African-American law students, September 16, 2004

By 

Danielle (Gulfport, Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Law School For Dummies (Paperback)

I'm a 1L, and I read this book (I just finished it, in fact) to get a better perspective of what law school is all about. I was recommended this book through my pre-law club back in undergrad, specifically because it seems to be the only book out there that shares the minority perspective. I flipped through some other law school books, and even read a few others, but I found that this one was the only one (surprisingly so) that had advice for minority students. I was surprised that so many of the other books out there seem to overlook us--especially since most law school classes are around 20% minority.

Besides the fact that I felt "included" in this book, I also recommend it because it really helped explain the whole job search process in a very understandable way. How to find a law school summer job is a confusing topic, and I feel like I'm ahead of the game because I understand what's involved--even though my first semester has only just gotten underway.

Loved the Batman producer/ non-traditional way to use your J.D. interview! Very inspiring for me, as I have planned all along to use my J.D. in a non-practicing law way.

One recommendation for the next edition would be a bit more info on what goes into outlines, like another commenter said. Since law profs don't seem to talk about this at all (at least at my law school) I think it's important to have what goes into these things spelled out for you. But I thought the discussion about preparing for classes, what's in an exam, and taking an exam, was really helpful.

Overall, I'd give this book 4.5 stars, but rounded to 5. I recommend this book especially for my fellow under-represented minority classmates out there.