Learning Legal Reasoning: Briefing, Analysis and Theory [Paperback]

John Delaney (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0960851445 | ISBN-13: 978-0960851447 | Publication Date: September 1, 2006 | Edition: 3rd Rev

This widely used book in many printings begins with answers to forty commonly asked questions of first-year law students. It specifies a six-step approach to briefing a case with specific guidelines for accomplishing each step. The process of briefing cases is then demonstrated with excellent and poor briefs of increasing complexity. Emphasis is placed initially on the techniques of briefing as an introduction to the learning of legal reasoning, the first priority of the first year of law school. In addition, the book also demonstrates the relevance of more advanced modes of legal reasoning, including positivist, pragmatic, policy oriented, natural-law and other perspectives applied in decoding and understanding cases. In its introduction of jurisprudential perspectives, Learning Legal Reasoning transcends the typical technical/positivist orientation of most first-year materials.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Learning Legal Reasoning is a wonderful piece of work ... truly deep while presented in a way that seems accessible and even simple. The last chapter is great ... the book deserves to be adopted in Introduction to Law, Legal Method and other courses. -- Professor Howard Lesnick, University of Pennsylvania Law School

After reading this book, begnning law students will know what it means to read, think, talk and write like a lawyer. The examples of good and poor briefs demonstrate what to do and what to avoid. -- Professor Susan Tucker, Former Director, First Year Writing Program, New York University School of Law

From the Author

I recommend that you first read Learning Legal Reasoning and study it well, then go on to How To Do Your Best on Law School Exams book. Avoid the too-frequent first-year blunder of waiting to prepare for exams until the final week or two of the semester. That's for college, not for law school. Begin right away, from the beginning of law school, by adding an exam "lens" to everything you do. The Exam book shows you, step-by-step, how to do this. Always keep in mind that the skills that got you to law school are not the skills you need to excel on law school exams. My third book, Learning Criminal Law as Advocacy Argument, incorporates common themes embodied in Learning Legal Reasoning and How to Do Your Best on Law School Exams. In each criminal law topic, it presents in building-block form the limited repertoire of core issues and related arguments so that you can concentrate your study on learning and practicing those that your professor has stressed in class, in her materials, and on her old exams.In addition, the Inside the Book section of this page includes the Detailed Table of Contents and parts of Chapter One of Learning Legal Reasoning.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 132 pages
• Publisher: John Delaney Pubns; 3rd Rev edition (September 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0960851445
• ISBN-13: 978-0960851447
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #100,541 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

A law professor for thirty years, John Delaney taught Criminal Law, Advanced Criminal Law, Comparative Criminal Law, International Criminal Law and other subjects to law school students and students in masters and doctoral degree programs at the New York University School of Law. He then taught Criminal Law, Advanced Criminal Law, the First Amendment, the Fourteenth Amendment, Jurisprudence, a First-Year Seminar and other subjects at the City University of New York Law School. Learning Legal Reasoning emerged from these many years of teaching and reflecting.

Now retired, Professor Delaney is also the author of law review articles. His First Amendment article, "Police Power Absolutism and Nullifying the Free Exercise Clause: A Critique of Oregon v. Smith," 25 Ind. L. Rev. 71 (1991), has been cited in more than thirty law review articles and by many courts including the Supreme Court of California and the Supreme Court of Texas. His books additionally include How To Do Your Best on Law School Exams and Learning Criminal Law as Advocacy Argument: Complete with Exam Problems and Answers. He was also the General Editor of nine other books, mostly about comparative law, in the American Series of Foreign Penal Codes.

Prior to teaching, Professor Delaney conducted approximately one thousand trials and he prepared more than one hundred and fifty appeals. He lives with his wife Pat and daughter Clare in the beautiful Catskill region of New York and communicates with students by e-mail.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

95 of 103 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you're serious about doing well, you need this book, July 26, 2000

By 

atticus falcon - See all my reviews

This review is from: Learning Legal Reasoning: Briefing, Analysis and Theory (Paperback)

I am the author of Planet Law School: What You Need to Know Before You Go -- but Didn't Know to Ask. So, it might seem that John Delaney and I are competitors (and our books do have different publishers). But as I said in PLS, this book by Delaney is something every serious law student should get.

He presents beautiful examples of "case-parsing," which is what good legal analysis involves. In fact, he's brilliant, but without being flashy about it. To read his book is to rise above all the drudgery and the minutiae of the first-year of law school, and to see the beauty of what's involved in "Thinking Like a Lawyer." It is inspiring.

Yet, the book isn't some "ivory tower" fantasy on the Wonders of the Law. It's very down-to-earth, nitty-gritty, in the way you actually have to go about applying the law to the facts.

Too many prospective law school students are only interested in a "quickie" book that they kid themselves will help them adequately prepare for what lies ahead. They'll be sorry. Learning Legal Reasoning is NOT "Law School Lite." But it is a delight.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Indispensable for Beginning Law Students, June 7, 2006

By 

rongolioly (CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Learning Legal Reasoning: Briefing, Analysis and Theory (Paperback)

This is a must-read for anyone going to law school. It orients the beginning law student to the interweaving case law, statutory law, and policy that guide judicial opinions and teaches students how to extract the key elements from those opinions by way of the case briefing method.
At 130 pages, it is page for page, and pound for pound, one of the best law prep books you can find.
That said, don't think this book is a "quick read." Quite the contrary. To get the most out of this book, you must do some writing - "brief" all six cases presented and compare your work to the samples provided. Then highlight and note what you did right, and what you did wrong. Put the time and work in, and by your 6th brief, you will be amazed at how much progress you have made towards case briefing proficiency (one of the fundamental skills required of first year law students).

Whether or not you read anything else before starting law school, you will want to read this book. If you are really serious about preparing for law school (which you should be if you plan on getting good grades), you'll also need the other books in the Delaney series: "How to Do Your Best on Law School Exams," and "Learning Criminal Law as Advocacy Argument."

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect introduction, November 13, 2007

By 

Lance A. (Menlo Park, California) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Learning Legal Reasoning: Briefing, Analysis and Theory (Paperback)

I just finished reading (working through I should say) Learning Legal Reasoning, and I'm amazed at how much I got out of it. You actually get practice applying skills that are explained in a very thoughtful way. I certainly can't produce briefs as good as the examples in the book, but it seems like I am about 70% there, which gives me confidence since I have quite a while before starting school. It's a fantastic introduction.