Learning the Law is unique among law books. It does not say what the laws is; rather, it aims to be a Guide, Philosopher and Friend to the reader at every stage of his legal studies.

"This Understanding treatise is the perfect complement to first-year tort courses and is suitable for use with any tort casebook. Concise and authoritative, Understanding Torts features comprehensive and up-to-date coverage of intentional torts, privileges, negligence, cause-in-fact, proximate cause, defenses, joint and several liability, damages, strict liability, products liability, economic torts, malicious prosecution, abuse of process, defamation, and invasion of privacy; judicious use of footnotes to provide full, but not overwhelming, primary and secondary support for textual propositions; clear organization and writing to enhance understanding of basic concepts and major cases covered in a torts course; and in-depth analysis of topics that generate the greatest confusion and controversy. This edition includes explanation and analysis of new Restatement (Third) Intentional Tort provisions including battery, assault, false imprisonment, and transferred intent as well as proposed new Intentional Economic Tort provisions. The text also includes United States Supreme Court developments limiting punitive damages and other new case law"--

Preparing to Enter Law School; The American Legal System; What Do Lawyers Do?; Thinking Like a Lawyer; First-Year Curriculum; Legal Research and Writing; First-Year Sections; Grading; Finding Your Way Around the Law, Library; Preparing for Class; Socratic Method; Case Method; Briefing Cases; Sample Case Brief; Class Attendance and Participation; Class Notes; Daily Review; Outlining; Sample Outline; Study Groups; Study Aids; Preparing for an Exam; Taking the Exam; After the Exam; Law Student Organizations; Law, School Employment; Pro Bono Activities; Values; Law Journals; Clinical Education; Moot Court; Course Selection; International Programs; Joint Degree Programs; Summer Clerkships; Actual Exam Questions and Model Answers for Civil Procedure, Constitutional Lass', Contracts, Criminal Law, Property Law and Torts.

In an ideal world, the laws of Congress--known as federal statutes--would always be clearly worded and easily understood by the judges tasked with interpreting them. But many laws feature ambiguous or even contradictory wording. How, then, should judges divine their meaning? Should they stick only to the text? To what degree, if any, should they consult aids beyond the statutes themselves? Are the purposes of lawmakers in writing law relevant? Some judges, such as Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, believe courts should look to the language of the statute and virtually nothing else. Chief Judge Robert A. Katzmann of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit respectfully disagrees. In Judging Statutes, Katzmann, who is a trained political scientist as well as a judge, argues that our constitutional system charges Congress with enacting laws; therefore, how Congress makes its purposes known through both the laws themselves and reliable accompanying materials should be respected. He looks at how the American government works, including how laws come to be and how various agencies construe legislation. He then explains the judicial process of interpreting and applying these laws through the demonstration of two interpretative approaches, purposivism (focusing on the purpose of a law) and textualism (focusing solely on the text of the written law). Katzmann draws from his experience to show how this process plays out in the real world, and concludes with some suggestions to promote understanding between the courts and Congress. When courts interpret the laws of Congress, they should be mindful of how Congress actually functions, how lawmakers signal the meaning of statutes, and what those legislators expect of courts construing their laws. The legislative record behind a law is in truth part of its foundation, and therefore merits consideration.

This brief book is designed to prepare students for their first year of law school, thereby decreasing their anxiety and increasing their chances of achieving academic success. Also appropriate for non-J.D. students, including LLM students from foreign countries and graduate students outside law school. Features: Gives student basic grounding in discrete non-legal topics that are important to the contemporary study of law Includes and“Test Your Understandingand” boxes to allow students to use what they are learning Friendly writing style Images and graphics help students remember material

Studying Law introduces students to the fundamental legal skills that they will need to successfully study the subject, such as case analysis, legislative interpretation, problem solving and essay writing, and to the core Law subjects themselves and the distinctions between them.