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Tables of Contents for Law School Confidential
Chapter/Section Title
Page #
Page Count
Author's Note
xvii
Foreword
xix
Part 1: So You Wanna Be a Lawyer...
1
76
How to Use This Book
3
2
I am a college student thinking about applying to law school, or I'm thinking about changing careers and applying to law school
5
1
I've already been admitted to law school, and I'm nervous...
5
1
But I'm already in law school... I wish I found this sooner
6
1
I'm the parent, friend, sibling, or significant other of someone going to law school
6
11
The Law School Confidential Mentors
8
9
Thinking About Law School? Think Again...
17
18
My relative the lawyer made me do it
19
1
I can't ignore this amazing LSAT score, can I?
19
1
I don't have a mind for science, so...
20
1
It's the economy, stupid
20
1
This ain't Hollywood, son
21
4
A Realistic Evaluation of Your Fitness for Law School
23
2
The reading load
25
1
The discipline
25
3
The atmosphere
28
1
The writing
29
1
The commitment
30
1
Plan Your Application Process in Advance
31
1
Recommendations
31
1
Essays
32
1
Your criminal history
32
1
The LSAT
33
1
The big picture
33
2
Your Five Most Critical Hours: How to Beat the LSAT
35
7
So what is this ``LSAT'' anyway?
36
1
The reading comprehension section
37
1
Logical reasoning
38
1
Logic games
38
1
The minutiae and related suggestions
38
2
So what about the test prep courses?
40
1
I bombed it---I know it---Should I cancel my score?
41
1
Applying to Law School: Bait the Hooks Carefully and Cast the Nets Wide
42
19
Interview with Janice Austin, Dean of Admissions, University of Pennsylvania Law School
42
16
Additional strategies
Try to decide where you want to practice before you apply
58
1
File your application as early as possible
59
1
Proofread everything
59
1
Visit your top schools and then reference your visit
59
1
Attend any informational sessions given by the admissions office in your area
60
1
Choose Your School Wisely
61
8
The school's regional and national reputation
61
2
Pay the greatest attention to a school's placement record
63
1
The harsh reality
64
1
Philosophy
65
2
But what about...
67
2
An Investment in Your Future: Funding Your Legal Education
69
8
Sources of funding
70
1
General suggestions
71
1
Some terms they'll throw around in your aid package
72
1
Federal loan programs
72
2
The Subsidized Federal Stafford Student Loan (SSL)
73
1
The Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Student Loan
73
1
Federal Perkins Loan
74
1
The Federal Supplemental Loan for Students (SLS)
74
1
Private institutional loans
74
1
Federal work-study
74
1
Your day of reckoning
75
2
Part 2: The First Year, They Scare You To Death
77
138
The Ten Things You Must Do Before Classes Begin
79
20
Before You Arrive on Campus
80
1
Read this book from cover to cover
80
1
Arrange for housing
81
4
Use the summer to get in shape
85
1
Read now, sign up later
85
1
Buy a computer and become computer-literate
86
2
Check in with the registrar
88
1
After You Arrive on Campus
89
1
Set up ``headquarters''
89
3
Learn the ``lay of the land''
92
1
Update your resume
93
2
Get your books, study aids, and other supplies
95
4
Recommended commercial outlines
97
1
Bonus: Go to orientation!
98
1
Contacts for commercial outlines
98
1
So What Is a Tort Anyway? A Brief Overview of the First-Year Curriculum
99
12
The Subjects
100
11
Civil procedure
100
2
Contracts
102
2
Torts
104
1
Property
105
2
Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure
107
1
Constitutional Law
108
1
Administrative Law
109
2
Getting Out of the Gate---Applying the Lessons of Futures Past
111
16
Case briefing---their way
112
2
Case briefing---my way
114
10
Start each night with a lesson from your commercial outline
114
2
Brief in Technicolor
116
4
Supplement your notes and tab your statutes in class
120
2
Write your own outlines
122
2
Determining your work schedule
124
1
A word about study groups
125
2
The Unspoken Code of Law School Etiquette
127
15
Things You Should Do
128
1
It's your duty to follow the honor code
128
2
Share your class notes, hornbooks, and outlines with anyone who needs them
130
1
Phrase in-class comments as questions---not statements
131
1
The wrong way to make a point
132
1
A better way to make the same point
132
1
When you're speaking, speak up, and when you're not, shut up!
133
1
When referring to cases or statutes, provide page or section numbers
134
1
Reign in your electronics
134
1
Maintain a sense of humor
135
1
Things You Shouldn't Do
Resist the urge to make unsolicted, tangential, or politically charged comments during lectures
135
2
Don't boast about your study habits
137
1
Safeguard your reputation
137
1
Adhere to your school's recruiting guidelines
138
1
Avoid all post-mortem discussions about exams
139
2
Never discuss grades
141
1
The T-Minus One Month Checkpoint: How to Arrive Ahead of the Competition
142
9
I've missed a couple of classes, a couple of reading assignments, and I'm two weeks or less behind in outlining for each class
143
1
I've fallen way behind in my outling---what do I do?
144
2
Panic button
146
2
Read Legalines to catch up, and find four good student outlines for your courses
147
1
What else do I have to do between now and exams?
148
1
Acquire old exams
148
1
Clarify exam rules with each of your professors
149
1
Send query letters to potential employers
150
1
Making Your Summer Plans: How to Win the 1L Recruiting Lottery
151
15
The Firm
153
6
Interning for a judge
159
4
Working for a public service organization
163
1
Researching for a professor
164
1
Working it
165
1
Your First Semester Endgame
166
20
It's time to find an off-campus location to study
167
2
Mapping out the law
169
2
How to Create a ``Case Map''
170
1
Creating a bullet outline
171
1
Taking sample exams
172
1
Review sessions
173
2
The final hours
175
1
Exam day
176
1
The exam itself
176
3
But wait...my exam is closed-book!
179
1
The ``doomsday scenario''
179
7
The Performance Self-Examination (Part One)
181
5
Looking Behind and Looking Ahead: Assessing the Damage and Charting the Course for Your Second Semester
186
10
I got straight A's, mostly A's and B+'s, or I am ahead of the curve in most classes
187
1
I got a mix of grades, some ahead and some behind the curve
188
1
One grade is widely disparate from the others
189
1
All grades at or below the mean
190
6
The Performance Self-Examination (Part Two)
192
4
First Year Endgame: Succeeding in Exams and the Law Review Competition
196
9
So should you do it?
202
3
Working for Free or Working for Pay, Your First Summer Paves the Way
205
10
For those clerking for a judge
206
2
For those going to a firm
208
4
For those going into public service jobs
212
3
Part 3: The Second Year They Work You to Death
215
98
Charting a Course for Your Upper Years
217
11
The bar exam preparation approach
218
1
The survey approach
219
3
The major or career-focus approach
222
4
Majors
223
3
The clinical approach
226
1
Other considerations
227
1
Your Survival Guide to Recruiting Season
228
12
How to decide where to interview
229
1
How to prepare yourself for the screening interview
230
1
Know your audience
230
2
Be prompt and polite
232
1
Dress conservatively
232
1
So what are they going to ask me, anyway?
232
4
When a ``stunner'' goes over the line
236
1
What you should ask
237
1
The things you should avoid
238
1
A few horror stories to calm you down
238
2
Everything You Need to Know About Callback Interviews
240
9
So what the heck is a ``callback'' anyway?
240
2
Scheduling appointments
242
2
Tackling the callback interview
244
2
How to handle the recruiting meal
246
1
When the callback is over
247
1
Some horror stories to clam you down
248
1
The Future Is Now: Using the ``Relevance Calculus'' to Choose a Firm
249
15
How to compare starting salaries
249
4
The salary comparison chart
253
1
Choosing a firm using the ``relevance calculus''
254
1
Description of factors in the relevance calculus
255
9
Back on the Chain Gang: Advice About Journal Membership
264
9
Writing your note or comment
268
2
The case note
268
1
The comment
269
1
Choose a topic that fascinates you
270
1
Find a mentor on the faculty
271
1
Stay organized, and stay on deadline
271
2
Restoring Balance: Moot Court, Public Service, and How to Reclaim the Life You've Lost
273
7
Public service opportunities
275
1
Moot court
276
1
Inns of court
277
1
Law school committees
278
2
Demystifying Judicial Clerkships: Heigh Thee to the Chambers
280
19
State Court Clerkships
281
2
State trial and intermediate appellate courts
281
1
State supreme courts (highest court)
282
1
Federal Court Clerkships
283
3
Federal district courts
283
1
Specialty courts
284
1
Federal circuit courts of appeal
285
1
The United States Supreme Court
285
1
Why People Clerk
286
1
How to Apply for a Judicial Clerkship
287
12
Choosing your judges
287
2
What to send
289
1
The cover letter
289
1
Your resume
290
1
Your writing sample
290
1
How to choose your recommenders
291
2
Preparing your applications
293
1
Scheduling interviews
293
2
The interview itself
295
2
Accepting an offer
297
2
Keys to Ascension: Turning 2L Summer Employment into a Permanent Offer
299
14
When you arrive
300
1
Handling assignments
301
1
Managing your workload
302
2
Billing your time
304
1
Using Westlaw and LEXIS at the firm
305
1
Getting the work you want
306
1
Getting feedback on your work
306
1
Escaping the clutches of a possessive partner
307
1
Confront problems immediately
308
1
Getting along with the other summer associates
308
1
Proper etiquette at firm social events
309
2
Some closing thoughts
311
2
Part 4: ...and the Third Year, They Bore You To Death...
313
29
But It Doesn't Have to Be Boring... Designing a Plan to Avoid the Third-Year Doldrums
315
5
Opportunity Knocks Again... A Second Chance at Recruiting
320
6
How to handle phone calls from people at your old firm
322
1
If you didn't get an offer from your 2L firm
323
3
Last Semester Cross-Checks
326
9
Ensure that you have enough credits to graduate
326
1
Ensure that you've taken and passed all required courses
327
1
Co-curricular or extracurricular requirements
327
1
Verify that your tuition has been paid
328
1
Register for the bar exam and get your firm to pay for it
328
2
Register for and take the MPRE exam
330
2
Arrange a start date with your firm, judge, or placement
332
1
Make advance accommodation in your new place of employment
333
1
Make arrangements for your move well in advance
334
1
The Final Hurdle---Strategies for the Bar Examination
335
7
When exam day nears
340
1
Final thoughts
341
1
Parting Thoughts
342