Acknowledgments

Getting Ready

Thinking Like a Lawyer
How to Read This Book
A Disclaimer
Disclaimer, Part II
Introduction (Finally!)
Why This Book?
Law Trek: The Next Generation
Says Who?

Getting In

Summary
About Law School
Why Law School
So What, Then?
Is There Anything Good To Say About Law School and Actually Being A Lawyer?
Again, Why Law School?
No, Really. Why Law School?
The Most Important Pre-LSAT Test You’ll Ever Take
Now Back to our Regularly Scheduled Programming: Why Law School?
Doubts
A Few Numbers
One More Number
Soup or Stew?
The Application Process: An Overview
The LSAT: The Right Mindset
Not Convinced?
More From a Contrarian: LSAT & The Curve
Weapon or Wound?
Which LSAT?
LSAT Prep Courses
Cancelling
GPA
Everything Else
The Three Stacks
Law School Rankings
But Don’t Top Law Schools Teach Law Better?
So Law Schools Really Are the Same?
Law School Rankings: Attitude and Altitude
Which Schools, and How Many?
The World From Law Schools’ Eyes
Reputation
Part-Time Law
Public v. Private
The Admissions Dance
Getting Started: Managing Law School Options
Top-Shelf Law
Ho-Hum Law
But Why Four?
Other Considerations
Top 50 or Bust
How Does All This Stuff About Top Schools Help Me?
If You’re Still In College
To Prep or Not To Prep
A One-Minute Test

Getting Good

Summary
Law School Prelude
Setting the Stage: Or, How to Do Law School Wrong
First Year: Emotions
The Most Dangerous Emotion of All
A Chasm
How to Read The Law
Efficiency Versus Laziness
Setting the Stage: The Right Attitude
A View From The Front
Being Committed
The Business of Studying Law
To Prepare or Not to Prepare, Part II
To Heller With Law School
The Cynic Says
A Chip on the Other Shoulder
Law School and Law Practice: Two Worlds
Your Job
Harvard: Or, is that an Elephant in the Classroom?
First Year: The Biggies
Property and Contracts
Torts
Criminal Law and Procedure
Constitutional Law
Civil Procedure
Legal Research and Writing
But What if I Don’t Want To?
What You’ll Need
Not Good Enough. I Want Specifics!
Operating Assumptions
Your “Secret” Weapons
Outlines
No More Notes
Back to the Future: Outlines
One More Thing
You Can’t Be Serious. Notes Are, Like, Required. Right?
No, Really…No More Notes?
A Second Opinion
Case Briefing
Secret No. 142: Hypotheticals as the Key to Thinking Like a Lawyer
Learning as a Team Sport
[Whining] But I Don’t Want a Team!
How To Build A Strong Team
Exams: A Secret
Okay, Then. How to Get the A.
Well, I’m Not Convinced. What Else You Got?
Second Year and Beyond
Socialism

Getting the Gold

Summary
About Success
Gold?
What Are Firms Looking For?
Where Everyone is a Little Above Average
A Different Reality
A Gold Rush
A Peek Into The World of White Shoe Law
Aren’t We Ever Going to Stop with the Top-Top-Top?
Gold Before Law School
Gold During Law School
More on Employment
Law Review
Summers
After Law School
Hidden in Plain Site
All That You Can Be
Good Enough for Government Work
Grants and Scholarships
Public Interest?
What If It’s Not For You?
And for Everyone Else…

Obiter Dicta

Law Schools: The Faculty
Perfect Before Practice

About the Author
Index