We certainly do not expect you to read all of the books noted below. Some of them probably won’t make much sense until you start classes. However, you can still flip through them this summer to get a feel of what law school is about. All of these books can be found in and borrowed from the law library.
1L of a Ride : A Well-Traveled Professor’s Roadmap to Success in the First Year of Law School by Cecil C. Humphreys.
This book provides practical advice on how to succeed in law school both academically and emotionally from perspectives of an experienced law professor and anecdotes from former students. The author claims
“. . . to provide new students with a candid, beginning-to-end roadmap to the first year of law school, along with the navigational and other tools to complete the sojourn scholastically accomplished and emotionally intact.”
Getting to Maybe: How to Excel on Law School Exams by Richard Michael Fischl and Jeremy Paul.
Law school test questions are different from most all other examinations. As such, there may be more than one correct answer, hence the title of the book, Getting to Maybe. Mostly it’s the analysis that matters on law school essay examinations. The authors do an excellent job in explaining the importance of legal analysis over the mere “correct answer.” They focus on making sure the reader understands legal analysis when taking law school tests.
Reading Like a Lawyer: Time-Saving Strategies for Reading Law Like an Expert by Ruth Ann McKinney.
As law students, you will be reading more than ever. Good reading is not innate, but a skill that can be learned. The author’s purpose for the book is
“. . . to teach you . . . how to read law-related material as efficiently, effectively, and powerfully as possible.”
Legal Writing in Plain English: A Text with Exercises by Bryan A. Garner.
The author has taught an accelerated course at Texas Tech School of Law during the past few summers. Like taking law school tests, legal writing often requires an altogether different style of writing than you have done in the past. We encourage you to browse the book that way you will know what to expect and can get in the right frame of mind before beginning classes in the fall.
Law School Confidential: A Complete Guide to the Law School Experience: by Students, for Students by Robert H. Miller.
The author presents a guide for law students, and discusses the application process, financing, preparation for classes, curriculum, honor codes, competition, recruiting, and other related topics.
The Reporter 