Law School Without Fear

by Shapo, Helene S.; Shapo, Marshall

• ISBN13: 9781587781872
• ISBN10: 1587781875
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-04-01
• Publisher: Foundation Pr

Summary

With a total of 50 years of experience teaching law school between them, the authors of Law School Without Fear offer law students strategies for coping with law school successfully and advice on how to get the most out the law school experience. The book discusses in simple terms what students need to know about law school, covering common problems that law students encounter and solutions to those problems. Topics covered include briefing a case, precedent and how to use it, balancing competing interests and factors, legal writing, and psychological tips for the study of law. Special features include a comprehensive approach to the first year, from the bewildering first day of class through examinations; advice on how to study, how to deal with the classroom experience, and how to take exams; wonderfully brief summaries of fundamental ideas of policy common to almost all law classes; and glossary of frequently used words and phrases.

Table of Contents

Preface	v
Acknowledgments	vi
Introduction: How to Approach Law Study	xiii
Law: Constitutions, Legislation, and Courts	1	(16)
Overview	1	(1)
Sources of Law	1	(4)
Constitutions	1	(1)
Legislatures	2	(1)
Administrative Agencies	3	(1)
Judicial Decisions and the Common Law	4	(1)
The Court System	5	(3)
Trial and Appellate Courts	5	(1)
State and Federal Courts	6	(2)
Jurisdiction	8	(2)
Generally	8	(2)
Federal Diversity Jurisdiction	10	(1)
Different Kinds of Law	10	(3)
Civil and Criminal Law	10	(2)
Private Law and Public Law	12	(1)
Private Institutions as Lawmakers; Uniform Laws	13	(4)
Generally	13	(1)
The Restatements	14	(1)
Uniform Laws, Including the Uniform Commercial Code	15	(2)
Briefing a Case	17	(12)
The Facts	18	(2)
The Procedural Context	20	(1)
The Issue	21	(2)
The Holding and the Rule	23	(2)
Applying the Rule	25	(1)
The Reasoning for the Decision	26	(2)
The Procedural Result	28	(1)
Postscript	28	(1)
Classes	29	(8)
The Class Itself	29	(1)
It's the Question	30	(3)
Preparing for Class	33	(1)
Taking Notes	34	(1)
Commercial Outlines	35	(2)
Precedent and How to Use It: Holding, Dicta, and Rules	37	(8)
The Concept of Precedent	37	(1)
Holding and Dicta	38	(4)
Holding: Broad and Narrow Interpretations	39	(1)
Dicta	40	(2)
The Tension Between Broad and Narrow Rules	42	(1)
Rules and Standards	43	(1)
Stability, Room for Argument, and the Psychology of Law Study	43	(2)
Expanding On Procedure	45	(10)
The Complaint	46	(1)
The Motion to Dismiss	47	(1)
The Answer	48	(1)
Motion for Summary Judgment	48	(2)
The Motion For Judgment as a Matter of Law (Motion for Directed Verdict)	50	(1)
Renewed Motion for Judgment as a Matter of Law (Motion for Judgment Notwithstanding the Verdict) (Judgment n.o.v) (j.n.o.v)	51	(1)
Motion for New Trial	52	(1)
The Distinction Between ``Substance'' and Procedure	53	(2)
Roles of Judge and Jury; Facts and Law	55	(4)
Judges Rule on the Law	55	(1)
Juries Decide Facts	56	(1)
Distinguishing Issues of Law and Fact	56	(1)
Questions About Who Decides	57	(2)
Legal Reasoning	59	(14)
Inductive Reasoning	59	(2)
Synthesizing Cases	61	(2)
Exceptions to Rules (or New Rules)	63	(1)
Applying General Rules: Deduction	64	(2)
Reasoning By Analogy	66	(1)
Distinguishing Cases	67	(1)
Alternative Arguments	68	(1)
Being Relevant	69	(1)
The Use of Hypotheticals	70	(3)
Interpreting Language	73	(14)
The Same Word May Mean Different Things	73	(2)
Pouring Meaning into Phrases	75	(1)
Stretching Words	76	(1)
Using Policies to Define Words and Phrases	77	(1)
Interpreting Statutes	78	(9)
Read the Statute	79	(1)
Plain Meaning	79	(1)
Legislative History	80	(1)
Ambiguous or Vague Language	81	(1)
Canons of Statutory Construction	82	(1)
Expressio Unius	82	(1)
Ejusdem Generis	83	(1)
Narrow Construction of Statutes in Derogation of the Common Law	83	(1)
Broad Construction of Remedial Statutes	84	(3)
Balancing Competing Interests and Factors	87	(8)
Law as Influencing Behavior	87	(2)
Balancing of Interests	89	(2)
The Concept of Factor Analysis	91	(4)
Policy Foundations	95	(20)
Some Basic Jurisprudential Concepts	96	(7)
The Descriptive and the Normative	96	(1)
Is the Law Neutral?	97	(1)
Reason and Arbitrariness	98	(1)
Clarity and Notice	98	(1)
Predictability and Stability	99	(1)
Treating Like Cases Alike	99	(1)
Flexibility in the Law	100	(1)
Responsiveness to Social Change	100	(1)
The General vs. the Specific	101	(1)
Different Kinds of Rationality	102	(1)
Approaches to Justice: Different Lenses	103	(3)
Corrective Justice	104	(1)
Instrumentalism	104	(1)
Distributive Justice	105	(1)
Courts and Legislatures Compared	106	(1)
Concepts of Judicial Administration	107	(5)
Requirement That There be a Dispute	108	(1)
Discouraging Frivolous and Fraudulent Litigation	108	(1)
Administrative Efficiency	109	(1)
Promoting Settlement	110	(1)
Open Courts	111	(1)
Limiting the Judge's Role: Self Restraint and Activism	112	(3)
Choices Among Policies	115	(26)
The Struggle Over the Goals of the Law	115	(1)
Justice-Oriented Concepts	116	(3)
Some Basic Economic Ideas	119	(18)
Scarcity, Prices and Demand; The ``Free Lunch''	120	(1)
Free Markets	121	(1)
Efficiency	122	(1)
Property Rights	123	(2)
Incentives and Disincentives	125	(1)
Externalities	126	(1)
The Moral Hazard	127	(1)
The Coase Theorem	128	(1)
Transaction Costs	129	(2)
Fairness, Overreaching, and Coercion	131	(2)
Free Riders	133	(1)
The Tragedy of the Commons	133	(1)
The Prisoner's Dilemma	134	(2)
A Note on Selfishness	136	(1)
How Argument Sharpens the Mind: An Example	137	(4)
Remedies	141	(6)
Legal and Equitable Remedies	141	(1)
Damages	141	(1)
Equitable Remedies and Related Categories	142	(2)
Injunctions	142	(1)
Specific Performance	143	(1)
Constructive Trusts	144	(1)
Alternative Dispute Resolution	144	(3)
Legal Writing	147	(16)
Having a Purpose and Audience In Mind	148	(1)
Organize Your Thoughts	148	(2)
Logical Flow of Ideas; Transitions; The Problem of Jerky Sentences	150	(1)
Active Voice	151	(2)
Short Words, Short Sentences	153	(3)
Citation Form	156	(1)
Practice, Practice, Practice	157	(1)
Appendix: Common Problems in Writing That Can Be Fixed	158	(5)
Subject Verb Agreement	158	(1)
Referents	158	(1)
The Dangling Modifier	159	(1)
Apostrophes	160	(3)
Studying and Reviewing	163	(10)
How To Study, Generally	163	(1)
The Study Group Question	164	(1)
Reviewing	165	(8)
The Outline	166	(2)
Illustrations of Outlines	168	(1)
Battery	168	(2)
Wills	170	(1)
The Strategy of Reviewing	170	(3)
Exams	173	(18)
Two Introductory Tips and Some Preliminary Disclaimers	174	(1)
Key Word Outlines; Open Book Exams	175	(1)
Time Limits	176	(1)
Read the Question	176	(1)
Organize Your Answer	177	(1)
Answering Specific Questions Specifically and Providing Discussion	178	(1)
Do Not Invent Facts	179	(1)
Be Relevant	180	(4)
Get to the Point	184	(1)
Analyze and Establish Priorities	184	(3)
Some Pitfalls to Avoid	187	(1)
Summing Up	188	(3)
It's a Mind Game: Psychological Tips for the Study of Law	191	(12)
There Is Pressure in Law School	192	(2)
Preserving Your Humanity	194	(1)
Echoes of the Paper Chase: The Socratic Method and Feeling Put Down by the Professor	195	(1)
The Awesome Other Student	196	(1)
Resentment and Alienation	197	(1)
What Does the Professor Want?	198	(1)
The Professor Can Be Wrong	199	(1)
A Conclusion	200	(3)
Glossary	203