Starting Off Right in Law School

by Carolyn J. Nygren

Book Overview

The result of eight years of Nygren's work with first-semester students in five different law schools, this book melds information about the legal system usually found in legal methods books with information about study skills usually found in books with a "how to succeed in law school" 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...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0890898774
• ISBN13: 9780890898772
• Release Date: January 1997
• Publisher: Carolina Academic Press
• Length: 116 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.6" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Very informative

This is an easy, informative read. Whether it will help me in law school remains to be seen as I have not started yet. I would recommend this book to anyone wanting better knowledge of legal terms whether they are a student or not. Also, the cases in the book were fun to read and consider. All in all, it is a great book.

Best starter

This is the best little book I have found for those wanting just a basic starter in the law. It is concise and clear, a good overview for the summer before law school or those considering applying.

Excellent primer on the study of law

This is a book, along with _Bramble Bush_, by Karl Llewellyn, and _Introduction to Legal Reasoning_, by Edward Levi, that all prospective law students ought to read. Ms Nygren's method is to introduce the prospective law student to the concept and strategy of legal thinking and legal study.In her introduction, she cites two reasons for having written the book: (1) to provide information about the legal system, and (2) to provide information about the study skills necessary for success.These two themes are repeatedly addressed in this book. It is very tightly focused and dry, but if you push yourself through the book you will learn a lot. Ms Nygren starts the book with a hypothetical situation--in which you, the reader, are a lawyer, and a client comes in with a complaint about a restaurant's food--and then she takes you through the process of identifying the legal issues in the case, how to advocate for your client, et cetera. Though she addresses only very small portion of "the law"--the liability faced by a restaurant--the detailed and close manner in which she takes the reader through this portion of the law is of obvious relevance to the rest of the law.Ms Nygren provides a very comprehensive introduction to the structure of legal reasoning, and the kind of thinking needed by law students who wish to excel in their studies.

Necessary and sufficient

This short book is clear, helpful and on target. I read it most of it before starting law school last year. The book accurately describes the legal learning process, the process of the law, and the experience of law school. This book is a must read for anyone heading to law school.

A great place to start when considering law school!

This book offers a wonderful base of knowledge for someone who is considering lawschool who has little to no pre-law experience (e.g. someone with an English or History degree). It gives the reader a good sense of understanding of the legal system with easy to understand definitions and examples. Through the use of one particular legal issue, and the help of several different case examples, the author enables the reader to see the legal process as it goes forward and backwards through the court system.You finish this book with a much clearer understanding of what to expect from law school, from casebooks to exams, and what you may be able to expect in professional lawyer/client setting. It even recommends and illustrates helpful ways to study and make it through that difficult first year. For such a tiny book it covers and enormous distance from start to finish. I highly recommend it.