Starting Off Right in Law School

Description

The result of eight years of working with first-semester students at five different law schools, this book melds the information about the legal system usually found in legal methods books, and the information about study skills usually found in books with a Òhow to succeed in law schoolÓ focus. The book uses one area of law — the implied warranty of merchantability as it applies to food — to illustrate various legal issues and the skills needed to master them. The first two chapters introduce basic legal concepts and vocabulary in the context of one hypothetical case, that of a woman injured by a fish bone while dining in a restaurant. Chapters three and four, on cases and casebooks, focus on the structure of cases and the types of reasoning courts use. When readers reach the final chapters, which concentrate on outlining and preparation for exams, they know the necessary background to concentrate on learning the skills they will need to be able to demonstrate a thorough knowledge of legal materials. The author has conducted orientation programs, taught study skills, and worked with individual students at Franklin Pierce Law Center, Harvard University Law School, New York University School of Law, Southern New England School of Law and Suffolk University School of Law. Before attending law school, she was a member of the faculty in the Graduate School of Education at Fordham University. She has a Ph.D. in linguistics from University of Chicago and a J.D. from Harvard University Law School.