Law School Materials for Success

Reviewed by Amy Schmitz, Professor, University of Missouri - Columbia on 11/9/19

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This is comprehensive in that it covers a wide range of issues related to how law students should study, outline, and even take care of themselves.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

The book was fairly accurate in terms of parsing out ideas for functional analysis, and applying law. It gets into how students can learn to analyze cases and determine "rules" that will apply in later cases. The "Guided Reading of a Case" materials starting on page 25 were a bit unclear to me. I am not sure that I would recommend the same sort of "charting" provided in the book. However, this is a matter of preference and seems perfectly reasonable -- just a bit different from what I would recommend.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

This is clearly relevant and important, especially with so many students who are seeking direction for "how to study" and "how to succeed" in law school.

Clarity rating: 4

It is clear for the most part. Starting on p. 32, however, there are materials that reference "footnotes" but I think that the book really has end notes. That section was a bit unclear for me overall.

Consistency rating: 5

This is consistent.

Modularity rating: 5

This is a big benefit of the book. I am considering using only some portions and it seems very easy to do that. For example, the materials on p. 39 referencing means for distinguishing cases is very helpful. I do this sort of juxtaposition of cases in class with my Contracts students and it is very helpful for students seeking to learn. I feel I can use these analytical examples to help students learn, although I would not adopt the parts dealing with "Guided Reading" more generally (referenced above).

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

This is logically organized.

Interface rating: 4

The reference to footnotes needs to be clarified.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

This seemed fine for the most part.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

It did not seem offensive.

Reviewed by Rebekah Hanley, Senior Lecturer II, University of Oregon on 6/17/19

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

For some audiences or purposes, the book may be too inclusive, potentially overwhelming students instead of preparing or comforting them. Some additional information could be incorporated, but that would come at a cost. A book like this really ought to be short; otherwise, it is unlikely to be used and therefore cannot be useful to students.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

Substantively, the book is strong. Some of the information it includes may not apply to all schools or professors, but the author acknowledges that.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Legal education is slow to evolve, so I expect the material to remain relevant for some time.

Clarity rating: 4

Some portions could be more concise.

Consistency rating: 4

Substantively, I noted two points where I would expect students to experience confusion based on inconsistency: reference to an apparently absent article on page 7 and a discrepancy about the ratio of out-of-class to in-class time on page 8.

Modularity rating: 5

The chapters and sub-sections make the material easy to access.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The book follows a logical order. The reader is able to naturally progress through the material as a result of its organization.

Interface rating: 5

I noticed no interface issues while reading this text on Microsoft Word.

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

The text includes a handful of grammar and punctuation errors that require cleanup. In terms of attention to detail or polish (e.g., on matters of format, grammar, and consistency), the text would benefit from another round of edits.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

I noted no problems, though perhaps the text could affirmatively note some of the challenges (and strategies) commonly experienced by students whose backgrounds have not exposed them to lawyers and the expectations of the profession (e.g., students who have never met a lawyer; students who are first-generation college graduates; students who have not received extensive feedback on their writing; etc.).

Comments

This text is likely to be a useful tool for instructors and students involved in an orientation or academic success program. For orientation, a distilled version of the materials may be more appropriate than the full original text.