Emkay625's Guide to 1L Success

[HelloYesThisIsDog]

Emkay/all how necessary are the newest editions of the E&E's / other supplements?

Supplements as a general need: I rarely tapped into mine unless my notes/outline had gaps or I just didn't understand something.

Editions: depends on how dramatically the law has changed in recent years. There was a recent revision of the federal rules of civil procedure, so you probably want to get the newest edition for that. I think for most things you could probably get away with being a year or two behind, but I wouldn't go much farther than that. If you're ever unsure, shepardize the case in question with your school Lexis/westlaw account.

Your professor will likely tell you the law changed recently, so your cue will be what's in your casebook and anything that the professor points out. Just be mindful of that.

[ymmv]

Yup. Contracts/Torts/Crim/Property = totally unnecessary to have a recent edition. Civ Pro/Crim Pro/Con Law/Admin you probably want the newest one possible.

[ymmv]

Also Chemerinsky’s Con Law (which Emkay recommended in OP) is the single best hornbook I’ve ever used and if you’re in lit there’s a good chance you’ll continue using it throughout your career. A must-have.

[HelloYesThisIsDog]

Also Chemerinsky’s Con Law (which Emkay recommended in OP) is the single best hornbook I’ve ever used and if you’re in lit there’s a good chance you’ll continue using it throughout your career. A must-have.

Someone told me that in law school and I still haven't had a need for it but I think it's very excellent and I have no intention of throwing it out

[Atticus23]

The best advice I heard that was also true for me was this: There is studying for the daily class, versus studying for the semester grade. To study for the daily class, you really read the case, analyze it, brief it, and do a deep drive. You are fully prepared for the next class and to contribute to any discussion. Then, there is studying for the semester grade, which is almost like using a different muscle of the brain. You AVOID the deep dive, focus on big picture, and do not waste your time reading any cases. Instead, focus on black letter law, general principles, how everything fits together. You do practice exams. Going to the class itself, if not mandatory, is almost a waste of time -- except for when the proff tells you what to focus on.
If you want to do well, you study for the grade, not the class.

[Amjur7]

A very well thought out post most of which is in line with my own experience. I never did a conventional outline and graduated first in my class. For some
Courses I made an outline on flash cards. For others I used class notes plus several different commercial outlines, for some I made an outline of the entire course from memory during the end of term study period and then filled it in as to what I had forgotten or wasn’t sure about.
Amjur7

[bwinning]

thank you for this! if I PM you my email can you send me the documents you were talking about too?