Location:Home » » Nonfiction: Education: General » Law School Confidential (Revised Edition): A Complete Guide to the Law School Experience: By Students, for Students
Law School Confidential is written for students about to embark on this three-year odyssey by students who have successfully survived. It demystifies the life-altering thrill ride that defines an American legal education by providing a comprehensive, blow-by-blow, chronological account of what to expect. It arms students with a thorough overview of the contemporary law school experience. This isn't the advice of graying professors or battle-scarred practitioners decades removed from law school. Miller has assembled a panel of recent graduates to act as "mentors", all of whom are perfectly positioned to shed light on what law school is like today. From taking the LSAT, to securing financial aid, to navigating the notorious first semester, to taking exams, to applying for summer internships, to getting on the law review, to tackling the bar and beyond...this book explains it all.
A Successful Preview of The Law School Experience and Beyond June 24, 2008 Law School Confidential provides a complete and insightful analysis of the law school experience; Robert Miller covers everything from admission advice to making smart career choices. I picked up this book during my junior year of college, hoping it would help determine if law school was a smart move for me. The book, by combining the author's experiences with those of several other recent law school grads, gave me a comfortable understanding of what exactly to expect from law school.
By reading LSC I came to learn what a law school education would do for me, what it would require of me, and how to get the most out of the experience. Coming from a lawyer-free family, the knowledge and advice was priceless and significantly deeper than anything provided by my college's Pre-Law adviser.
Perhaps the most valuable aspect of Miller's book is its honesty. LSC paints a realistic and sometimes critical picture of the law school experience. This honest depiction of law school is an absolute necessity for those that want to make a well informed decision on what often amounts to a huge commitment of time and resources. Law School Confidential allowed me to make this decision with confidence, and I look forward to enrolling this fall as a result.
Great Overview for Prospective Students, but don't get too absorbed in his ideas and panic.. June 9, 2008 I just finished this book about a month ago and am a week away from taking my LSATs. So, I have no experience going to law school. My warning for readers is that this is a great book to get a good overview of what to expect and really ground yourself in what it takes to finish law school and do well. It reminds people that this is REAL money you are spending and real time you are studying, it isnt law and order. Law school =/= glamour! But.... I can tell you already that reading this entire book and trying to put all of it's processes to heart will fill you with anxiety and overpreparation! You will finish and already have your heart pumping about recruiting in the second year and how you're going to deal with law review and even what to wear on your first day of real work. Read the book and get the overview, but accept that real life comes a day at a time, and cross each bridge when you come to it. We don't NEED any more freakily obsessive and anxious attorneys!! Good luck. : )
5 stars for the study tips + 2 stars for career advice / 2 = 3.5 stars overall May 24, 2008 Overall experience: This book has a lot of good advice and reads quickly. The studying tips are great, but the career advice will scare you half to death. I skipped over the "getting into law school" portion because I'm already admitted; the LSAT and admissions process are a thing of the past for me.
DO NOT let the career advice section of this book scare you to death. This part of the book, particularly the interview with two hiring partners, might lead you to believe that you are completely SCREWED if you aren't in the top 10% of your class at a top-tier school. Furthermore, this section might even lead you to believe that being a top 10% student in a top-tier school might not even be enough - that you're going to have a hard time finding employment if you aren't a top 10% student in one of the TOP 15 law schools.
If you will go to a third or fourth tier school, there are still jobs available. You won't start off with a 6-figure salary in one of the most prestigious mega-firms, but you will find A JOB. Look to public interest - the $40,000/yr positions that top-tier students won't touch.
The school I will begin attending in 4 months - which according to US News is a "3rd tier" school - has students working in all areas of law: Judicial Clerkships, Public Defenders, Corporations, Firms (albeit smaller firms), and many more areas that I have yet to discover (I havn't begun yet, after all).
So overall, I do recommend this book. But take the career advice with a grain of salt and realize that you WILL BE OKAY if you don't end up being a top 10% student at a top-15 law school. You won't be driving a Ferrari to work, but personally, I'm quite happy with my Ford Taurus and will gladly drive it to work after graduation.
Completely Worthless May 7, 2008 4 out of 5 found this review helpful
I am a law school graduate. This book is completely worthless and a waste of time and money. Planet Law School tells you the few things you need to know and do--- some of which are: class is irrelevant, first year is everything, ethics is not only irrelevant but detrimental to optimal legal functioning and should be quickly drowned in a sea of relativism, black-letter law isn't typically taught but is everything and you must learn it on your on ( hence, why law school?) and learn the basics BEFORE law school by reading commercial outlines for a couple hundred bucks, etc. ( hence, why law school? ) Law School is a waste of time beyond the first year experience. Law should be taught like any other field of "knowledge"-- it isn't because law schools make a bundle with this three year swindle and law profs are lazy preening prima donnas typically. There is nothing mysterious about learning Law-- if you appoach it as if it were any other body of information to be learned.
This book is worthless-- so many pages which say absolutely nothing. Planet Law School is the one to go with. It tells you the handful of things you need to know. Try thinking about NOT going to law school-- we have enough people who just cut up the pie in a different way versus people who increase the size of the pie. JD, University of Texas School of Law, 86-89
good prep book for law school April 29, 2008 2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This book is good at letting you know what to expect. It may not calm the nerves, but it's realistic. It tells you what to look foward to and what not to look foward to. I recomend buying this if your looking into going to law school.
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