Starting Off Right in Law School [Paperback]

Carolyn J. Nygren (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0890898774 | ISBN-13: 978-0890898772 | Publication Date: July 1997

The result of eight years of Nygren's work with first-semester students in five different law schools, this book melds information about the legal system usually found in legal methods books with information about study skills usually found in books with a "how to succeed in law school" focus.

The book uses one area of law — the implied warranty of merchantability as it applies to food — to illustrate various legal issues and the skills needed to master them. It introduces basic legal concepts and vocabulary in the context of one hypothetical case, and then focuses on the structure of cases and types of reasoning courts use. When finished with the book, readers will have the background they need in order to demonstrate a thorough knowledge of legal materials.

A teacher's manual is also available.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Carolyn J. Nygren has been a legal education consultant for Franklin Pierce Law Center, Harvard University Law School, New York University School of Law, Southern New England School of Law, and Suffolk University School of Law.

Before attending law school, she was a member of the faculty in the Graduate School of Education at Fordham University. She is currently a visiting professor at Stetson University College of Law.

She has a Ph.D. in linguistics from the University of Chicago and a J.D. from Harvard University Law School.

Product Details

• Paperback: 116 pages
• Publisher: Carolina Academic Pr (July 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0890898774
• ISBN-13: 978-0890898772
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #417,622 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

56 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great place to start when considering law school!, April 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Starting Off Right in Law School (Paperback)

This book offers a wonderful base of knowledge for someone who is considering lawschool who has little to no pre-law experience (e.g. someone with an English or History degree). It gives the reader a good sense of understanding of the legal system with easy to understand definitions and examples. Through the use of one particular legal issue, and the help of several different case examples, the author enables the reader to see the legal process as it goes forward and backwards through the court system.You finish this book with a much clearer understanding of what to expect from law school, from casebooks to exams, and what you may be able to expect in professional lawyer/client setting. It even recommends and illustrates helpful ways to study and make it through that difficult first year. For such a tiny book it covers and enormous distance from start to finish. I highly recommend it.

38 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent primer on the study of law, July 15, 2002

By 

D. Friedman (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Starting Off Right in Law School (Paperback)

This is a book, along with _Bramble Bush_, by Karl Llewellyn, and _Introduction to Legal Reasoning_, by Edward Levi, that all prospective law students ought to read. Ms Nygren's method is to introduce the prospective law student to the concept and strategy of legal thinking and legal study.

In her introduction, she cites two reasons for having written the book: (1) to provide information about the legal system, and (2) to provide information about the study skills necessary for success.

These two themes are repeatedly addressed in this book. It is very tightly focused and dry, but if you push yourself through the book you will learn a lot. Ms Nygren starts the book with a hypothetical situation--in which you, the reader, are a lawyer, and a client comes in with a complaint about a restaurant's food--and then she takes you through the process of identifying the legal issues in the case, how to advocate for your client, et cetera. Though she addresses only very small portion of "the law"--the liability faced by a restaurant--the detailed and close manner in which she takes the reader through this portion of the law is of obvious relevance to the rest of the law.

Ms Nygren provides a very comprehensive introduction to the structure of legal reasoning, and the kind of thinking needed by law students who wish to excel in their studies.

29 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Necessary and sufficient, April 9, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Starting Off Right in Law School (Paperback)

This short book is clear, helpful and on target. I read it most of it before starting law school last year. The book accurately describes the legal learning process, the process of the law, and the experience of law school. This book is a must read for anyone heading to law school.