Career Toolkit: Law Students
| Type of Resource | Resource | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Podcasts | Five Podcasts for Incoming Law Students | Listening to podcasts is a great way to leisurely learn new information. You might be a podcast regular when it comes to true crime, politics or entertainment, but did you know that you can also use podcasts to prepare for law school? Whether you’re commuting, at the gym, or doing anything at all, tuning into a podcast gives you the flexibility of learning about the law school experience from experts without getting overwhelmed. If you’re starting law school and looking for a podcast you can tune into to help get you ahead, check out this list of podcasts for incoming law students. |
| Website | American Bar Association Law Student Division | The ABA for Law Students website gives you law school advice, career guidance, perks and discounts, networking, and more. You will find a diversity of opinions, experiences, and voices that connect you to internships, fellowships, contests, and study abroad opportunities. |
| Video | 1L of a Ride – The Top Five Habits of Successful Law Students | In this American Bar Association webinar, Professor Andrew McClurg, author of the popular law school prep book, 1L of a Ride: A Well-Traveled Professor’s Roadmap to Success in the First Year of Law School, seeks to inspire new students to “Be Excited!” about their new adventure and get them on the right track from day one by explaining his C.R.E.D.O. for law school success: the top five habits of successful law students (Consistent, Rigorous, Efficient, Diligent, and Organized). Following the C.R.E.D.O. will boost any student’s ability to maximize their potential. |
| Book | 1L of a Ride: A Well-Traveled Professor’s Roadmap to Success in the First Year of Law School | 1L of a Ride provides a candid, comprehensive roadmap to both academic and emotional success in law school’s crucial first year. Legal education continues to evolve and so does this classic work. Told in an accessible first-person voice, covered topics in this updated and expanded fourth edition include pre-planning, top student fears, the first-year curriculum, the Socratic and case methods of teaching, effective class participation, the top habits of successful students, essential study techniques, legal research and writing, exam strategies, maintaining well-being, online learning, career planning, and much more. |
| Book | Getting to Maybe: How to Excel on Law School Exams | Professors Fischl and Paul explain law school exams in ways no one has before, all with an eye toward improving the reader’s performance. The book begins by describing the difference between educational cultures that praise students for ‘right answers,’ and the law school culture that rewards nuanced analysis of ambiguous situations in which more than one approach may be correct. Enormous care is devoted to explaining precisely how and why legal analysis frequently produces such perplexing situations. But the authors don’t stop with mere description. Instead, Getting to Maybe teaches how to excel on law school exams by showing the reader how legal analysis can be brought to bear on examination problems. The book contains hints on studying and preparation that go well beyond conventional advice. The authors also illustrate how to argue both sides of a legal issue without appearing wishy-washy or indecisive. Above all, the book explains why exam questions may generate feelings of uncertainty or doubt about correct legal outcomes and how the student can turn these feelings to his or her advantage. |
| Book | The Legal Analyst: A Toolkit for Thinking About the Law | There are two kinds of knowledge law school teaches: legal rules on the one hand, and tools for thinking about legal problems on the other. Although the tools are far more interesting and useful than the rules, they tend to be neglected in favor of other aspects of the curriculum. In The Legal Analyst, Ward Farnsworth brings together in one place all of the most powerful of those tools for thinking about law. From classic ideas in game theory such as the “Prisoner’s Dilemma” and the “Stag Hunt” to psychological principles such as hindsight bias and framing effects, from ideas in jurisprudence such as the slippery slope to more than two dozen other such principles, Farnsworth’s guide leads readers through the fascinating world of legal thought. Each chapter introduces a single tool and shows how it can be used to solve different types of problems. The explanations are written in clear, lively language and illustrated with a wide range of examples. The Legal Analyst is an indispensable user’s manual for law students, experienced practitioners seeking a one-stop guide to legal principles, or anyone else with an interest in the law. |
| Book | Law School Confidential: A Guide to the Law School Experience | Written by students, for students, Law School Confidential has been the “must-have” guide for anyone thinking about, applying to, or attending law school for more than a decade. And now, in this newly revised third edition, it’s more valuable than ever. This isn’t the advice of graying professors or battle-scarred practitioners long removed from law school. Robert H. Miller has assembled a blue-ribbon panel of recent graduates from across the country to offer realistic and informative firsthand advice about what law school is really like. This updated edition contains the very latest information and strategies for thriving and surviving in law school―from navigating the admissions process and securing financial aid, choosing classes, studying and exam strategies, and securing a seat on the law review to getting a judicial clerkship and a job, passing the bar exam, and much, much more. Newly added material also reveals a sea change that is just starting to occur in legal education, turning it away from the theory-based platform of the previous several decades to a pragmatic platform being demanded by the rigors of today’s practices. |
| Books | 9 Books That New Law Students Should Read | A law professor provides 9 books that new law students should read. |
| Podcast | The Path to Law Student Well-Being Podcast Series | “The Path to Law Student Well-Being” is a podcast series sponsored by the ABA Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs, Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar and Law Student Division. The series is a response to the call for action in the 2017 Report, The Path to Lawyer Well-Being: Practical Recommendations for Positive Change, from the National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being, which sets out action items for the legal community, including specific steps law schools can take, to shift the culture of the legal profession towards one that is focused on well-being. |
| Website | Law School Toolbox | The Law School Toolbox was created in 2012 by Alison Monahan and Lee Burgess to help demystify the law school and early legal career experience, so you’ll be the best law student and lawyer you can be. This site includes podcasts, articles, free guides, a blog, and tutoring resources. |
| Podcast | Law School Toolbox Podcast | The Law School Toolbox podcast is an engaging show for law students about law school, the bar exam, legal careers, and life. Each week, it offers practical tips and advice on academic matters, careers, and more. The Law School Toolbox podcast is hosted by opinionated law school and bar exam experts Alison Monahan and Lee Burgess. |
| Podcast | The Insider’s Guide to Succeeding in Law School | Andrew Guthrie Ferguson and Jonathan Yusef Newton share their thoughts on how distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic will impact the experience of law school. |
| Guide | Writing Law Examinations | An exam guide written by a Yale Law School professor. |
The Committee welcomes feedback from the WBA membership about the Toolkit at careertoolkit@wbadc.org. If you have suggestions for resources to include, please use “TOOLKIT RESOURCES” in your email subject line.