What Every Law Student Really Needs to Know: An Introduction to the Study of Law

by George, Tracey E.; Sherry, Susanna

• ISBN13: 9780735582361
• ISBN10: 073558236X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-03-27
• Publisher: Wolters Kluwer Law and Business

Summary

With the aim of decreasing students' anxiety and increasing their chances of achieving academic success, What Every Law Student Really Needs to Know: An Introduction To The Study of Law prepares students to get through their first year of law school. As a valuable reference over an entire law school career, it will continue to contribute to students' academic success. With a friendly and informal writing style, this orientation to law school features: insight into how and why law school works the way it does tools, techniques, and information for understanding first-year substantive law as fully as possible an overview of the American legal system and court structure a concise review of basic civics, including the structure of American government and sources of law introductions to analytic tools and methods of reasoning clear descriptions of basic legal concepts, such as standards of review and burdens of proof a look ahead at the goals of a legal education And The life, duties, and responsibilities of being a lawyer exercises that allow students to independently test their understanding of the material in a particular section visual aids that help students grasp and remember the material a short primer on American history and legal philosophy as each is relevant To The study of law provides a self-study resource that students may use as they need What Every Law Student Really Needs to Know: An Introduction To The Study of Law offers a companion website that includes PowerPoint slides, problems, quizzes, and additional in-class exercisesas well as teaching notes that explain how to use this complete teaching package to greatest advantage.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 1
What to Expect in Law School	p. 5
The First Year of Law School	p. 6
Reading Assignments	p. 6
Teaching Methods	p. 9
Courses Taught in the First Year	p. 12
Becoming a Lawyer	p. 14
Preparing for Law School	p. 18
Government and Law	p. 23
The Structure of American Government	p. 23
The Law: Sources, Types, and Meanings	p. 26
Sources	p. 26
Types	p. 30
Meanings	p. 34
Choosing an Enforcement Regime	p. 40
The Structure of the American Legal System	p. 43
Legal Systems	p. 43
Adversarial and Inquisitorial Regimes	p. 43
Common Law and Civil Law	p. 44
Private Law and Public Law	p. 47
Courts	p. 48
The Dual Court Systems in the United States	p. 49
The United States Supreme Court	p. 53
Navigating the Courts	p. 54
Litigation: Myth and Reality	p. 55
The Vanishing Jury Trial and the Focus on the Pretrial Phase	p. 56
Remedies	p. 58
Financing Litigation	p. 59
The Legal Toolbox: Basic Techniques	p. 63
Introduction: The Function of Legal Techniques	p. 64
Reading Carefully	p. 65
Reading Legal Sources	p. 65
Reading Cases	p. 73
Reasoning Styles	p. 80
Analytical Reasoning	p. 80
Analogical Reasoning	p. 85
The Legal Toolbox: Concepts	p. 91
Dichotomies	p. 91
Rules versus Standards	p. 92
Categorization versus Balancing	p. 96
Objective versus Subjective	p. 97
Cross-Cutting Legal Doctrines	p. 98
Precedent and Stare Decisis	p. 98
States of Mind	p. 101
Burdens of Proof	p. 102
Standards of Review	p. 104
Other Common Concepts	p. 107
Law and Economics (or Economic Analysis of Law)	p. 108
Cognitive Psychology and the Law (or Behavioral Law and Economics)	p. 116
Other Useful Concepts	p. 118
What If a Tool Isn't Listed Here?	p. 121
The Legal Toolbox: Strategies	p. 123
Class Preparation	p. 123
In Class	p. 141
Outside of Class	p. 143
Exams	p. 145
Conclusion	p. 149
Resources	p. 151
Law School References: How to Look and Be Smarter in the Classroom and Beyond	p. 151
An American History Refresher	p. 151
Theoretical Frameworks of American Law	p. 166
Looking Ahead: After Law School	p. 174
What Lawyers Do	p. 174
Career Choices	p. 176
Acknowledgments	p. 181
Test Your Understanding: Answers and Analysis	p. 183
Table of Figures and Test Your Understanding Exercises	p. 201
Index	p. 203
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