Academic Success Resources for Students: First-Year Overview Guides

Resources that cover many skills and strategies for your first year of law school.

Online Guides for First Year

Cracking the Case Method, Legal analysis for Law School Success by Paul B. Bergman, et al.

This book is a primer on law school and a nuts-and-bolts approach to learning legal analysis. De-mystify legal education and build foundational skills that will serve you throughout law school and the practice of law.

Law School Materials for Success by Barbara Glesner Fines

This e-book covers the skills and systems you will need for your first year and beyond, with chapters on preparnig for class, participating in class, outlining and preparing for exams, and taking exams.

Get a Running Start: Your Comprehensive Guide to the First Year Curriculum by David C. Gray, et al.

Get an overview of the subject matter covered in the first year of law school with this clear, concise introduction to criminal law, torts, civil procedure, constitutional law, property, and contracts.

A Weekly Guide to Being a Model Law Student by Alex Ruskell

This is a concrete plan for each week of your first year. Use weekly checklists to make sure you're on top of your work. Descriptions of new concepts and techniques accompany each week's checklist.

Law School Success in a Nutshell by Ann Burkhart and Robert Stein

If there are questions you are afraid to ask, this is a good book to pick up. It explains some of the strange terms you'll hear in your first year, advises students about how to prepare for exams, and discusses opportunities like law journals, law clinics, and internships.

Law School Without Fear: Strategies for Success by Helene S. Shapo and Marshall S. Shapo

Many first-year law students experience fear and anxiety. This guide leads you through case analysis, the Socratic method, studying and preparing for exams, and managing your time in light of the significant emotional stress of law school.

1L of a Ride: A Well-Traveled Law Professor's Roadmap to Success in the First Year of Law School by Andrew J. McClurg

This book with accompanying video course will introduce you to everything you are likely to encounter in your first year of law school: the Socratic method, case briefing, course outlines, exam questions, emotional stress, and legal research and writing.

Print Guides for First Year

Strategies & Tactics for the First Year Law Student: Maximize Your Grades by Kimm Alayne Walton, et al.

A primer on all areas of the first year experience, this book discusses how to: understand your professors; study and prepare for class; take notes and participate in class; outline; prepare for exams; and take exams. Available in print only.

Foundations of Legal Research and Writing by Carol M. Bast and Margie Hawkins

Go from being a good writer to being a great legal researcher and writer. Chapters give thorough treatment to digital and traditional research techniques in primary and secondary sources, citation, and writing opinioin letters, pleadings, contracts, memoranda, and briefs.