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Reading Like A Lawyer: Time-Saving Strategies For Reading Law Like An Expert

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When I was asked to teach the "critical reading curriculum" at The University of Iowa's Phillip G. Hubbard Law School Preparation Program, I researched methodically to find a text that would be "on point" as they say in the legal world. Ruth Ann McKinney's Reading Like A Lawyer is just that. Written in an engaging and easy to read style, McKinney teaches prospective and current law students all the skills necessary to successfully understand a variety of legal documents. These skills include learning to brief a law case and analyze casebook law, learning how to decipher the complexities of analyzing statutes, and discovering how to read legal cases outside a law classroom's casebook. The strength of McKinney's text is that she provides you with real edited casebook cases, real-world statutes, and real non-casebook (i.e. unedited) cases, ready for the reader to read first-hand. McKinney then supplies the student with a list of questions to help them hone valuable legal reading skills. After a student finishes learning how to read a case, and then reads it, a highlighted and annotated version of the same legal case appears, wherein McKinney demonstrates the areas in the case that are important and should have been identified as important by the reader. Reading these annotated cases is akin to entering the mind of an experienced high level attorney as s/he reads and analyzes a case. When I brought McKinney's Reading Like A Lawyer to the attention of the Dean of Students at The University of Iowa's School of Law, Dean R. Chayce Ramey, I was delighted to learn that he often recommends McKinney's text to law students, and that he himself refers to it when teaching legal skills. I was surprised to see so few reviews of McKinney's text, and I suspect part of the reason is that this is one book many competitive law students would like to keep a secret. Well, the secret's out of the bag -- McKinney's book is an outstanding must read for all prospective and current law students!

Dr. Ervin Nieves
Critical Reading Instructor,
Phillip G. Hubbard Law School Preparation Program
The University of Iowa

If you are already a good reader, then this book probably won't help you much. There are some basic tips which help to orient beginners to some of the lingo, style, and format of (particularly) legal opinions...which are OK but something which isn't surprising/new/presented in an amazing fashion.

The heart of the book appears to be getting people who are poor or so-so readers to realize that reading is *the* primary tool used by law school students and good lawyers, and gives prescriptions for trying to make you a more engaged readers. McKinney teaches at a law school, and so can be said to "have done well for herself," so her ideas may be helpful...but if you're already a good reader, you already are engaged, etc. Her emphasis on being an active reader may be just what you are already doing; it seems to be (again!) directed towards readers who are not careful to actually understand what they read, who gloss over words/phrases they don't know, who don't "get" the importance of transitional phrases which clue the reader in to important clarifications, qualifications, etc.

She has some exercises which may or may not be helpful, too, to try to stimulate you to use her system of reading.

Besides pushing a more active reading, McKinney has an emphasis on being generally involved in one's law school education; part of what is said is to go ahead and make provisional assumptions/hypotheses/guesses about what is going on, being willing to update them in the light of new information, etc. Though she is supposedly helping you to use your time better, some of it is a bit overboard and certainly extra work for very little bang: for example, she wants you to guess and write down what some brief will be about, rather than just reading it and finding out...

Also, she seems to think that she has discovered something amazing when she asks readers to visualize, e.g., the facts of the case; she puts a huge emphasis on bringing one's own experiences to the task of reading, apparently in an attempt to get people more motivated/invested in what they are doing. If McKinney had taken the time to understand the current theory of ways that we learn--visual, aural, tactile--then she would have presented this better and also with a little more humility. She is a visual learner, apparently, so this method worked for her; you should use what works for you.

Her "method" uses an acronym which has to work too hard. Several letters stand for more than one word/idea, and "E.M.P.O.W.E.R." is just too much like people writing down "knowledge is power" without actually working to have the knowledge.

As you might have gleaned from the above, one of her unspoken goals appears to be just encouraging law school students to "hang in there," that they *will* "get it" if they apply themselves, and not to be afraid of having an opinion which might not conform to what others think, etc. In short, ask lots of questions, read actively, participate a lot, and you'll get more out of being a student.

If you've already finished your first year of law school (and performed well) this book is unnecessary to read. If you are an incoming 1L and are looking for a book to get you acquainted with what to expect in law school this book will help you. It is a good read for anybody coming into law school. It will help you succeed in your first year and your entire law education.

I bought this book for my wife as she was getting ready to start law school in the fall of 2007. Prior to buying this book, she had taken a summer enrichment class aimed at developing the skills necessary to succeed in her first year in law school. My wife read this book after finishing her summer class and before the actual start of her real classes; she did this following one of her professor's advice. Well, she is glad she did! Everything she had done in class was referred to in the book, plus further tips on how to be on top on her law school assignments. So, if you have decided to go to law school, this is the book you need to ace your first year!!
I, myself, am a lawyer too, and I know what a head start she has accomplished.

I know it sounds harsh, but this book is seriously a waste of time and money. Here's an example of some of the helpful advice I found in this book: "Eat well. Get regular exercise. Make sure you get the optimum amount of sleep." Thanks for the insight, book, but there's two problems you overlooked. A.) Everyone already knows this, and 2.) If you're in law school, you won't have time to do any of those things. The rest of the book is mostly made up of scientific studies that prove the author's opinion that eating well and getting plenty of sleep are essential to good study habits, as if that was necessary. Trust me, if you're in law school, you're going to have far more important things to be reading than this. If you can at all avoid it, don't bother with this book. Save your time for subjects you'll actually be tested on, and save your money for food.

I just bought this book about 3 weeks ago, and from the time that I opened the book, I could not stop reading it. The format in which the book is laid out makes it very easy for a person to learn the tips to increase their understanding of the cases they read, but also increase the speed in which they are able to read.

I am a legal studies major, preparing for law school, and this book is one that I will definitely reference to if I find myselfing needing to be refreshed.

I may not be the most unbiased reviewer (I want to UNC Law and know Ruth well) but this is one of the best, if not THE best, book to help law students get through their first days of law school. I use the book myself (I also teach law) and it has the best skill-building exercises I have used. As a legal writing collegue of mine said, "Ruth should walk around with a tiara all day--she really is the queen of legal writing!"

Incredible book. If you buy one book before starting law school to help you prepare for your first semester, this should be it.

I didn't know how to read before I read this book. It is so frustrating that you can go through so much school and never have anyone sit down and discuss the proper techniques of reading with you. The ideas in this book should be taught to American students every three years or so. I understand anything I read 1000% better after having read this book. Thanks be to the author for this sorely needed information!!!

I think the book worth the price...Reading Like A Lawyer: Time-Saving Strategies For Reading Law Like An Expert

Everything was perfect, it got to me on time, it was exactly what I purchased, and in great condition.

Thank you