The Law Student's Handbook offers a practical guide to studying law, covering in detail the practical study and academic skills required to study law. Key point and hint boxes, as well as checklists encourage active learning and understanding, while the Online Resource Centre provides additional information including student testimonials.

They say that there are more students in law school than there are practicing lawyers. If they’re right, then you need every possible advantage. In this insider’s guide, Georgia State University School of Law student Justin Spizman helps you get the head start you need. Whether you are considering law school or are already ensconced in the curriculum, Spizman tells you what you need to know to survive—and thrive! With firsthand experience and interviews with both professors and practicing attorneys, Spizman gives you the edge you need to manage your workload, figure out what your professors really want, get an edge on your future in the legal field, determine the right type of law to pursue, reduce stress, and more. In addition, this guide addresses current issues that law students like you face every day, including computers in the classroom, electronic databases, the Socratic method, outlining and study tips, balancing a heavy workload with everyday life, and making time for friends and family. The Insider’s Guide to Your First Year of Law School promises to show you not only how to get through your first year—but how to get ahead!

This Handbook provides a comprehensive guide for college students and high school seniors considering law school. It teaches how to build an undergraduate resume, how to gather information about law school and legal careers, how to prepare for the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) and how to navigate the pitfalls of the law school application process. It also leads students through the law school curriculum, the central importance of the first year (1L), the roles played by Law Review, clinical programs, Moot Court, Mock Trial, interviewing, networking, summer associate positions and clerkships. Finally, it concludes with seven lessons to carry from law school into legal practice. This Handbook arises from the author’s two careers---one as a university professor and pre-law advisor, the other as a magna cum laude law school graduate and a successful practicing attorney. Along the way it conveys the author’s love of the law and admiration for the role of law in the United States. -Adopts a broader and longer perspective than any of its competitors, beginning with freshman year, and covering each year as an undergraduate, through law school admissions, the three years of law school, and into the beginnings of legal practice. -Provides useful, concrete and practical information including, lists of Dos and Don’ts, a Four Year Checklist, information about key resources, a step-by-step explanation of the law school application process, as well as a formula for selecting “competitive”, “safe” and “reach” law schools. -Presents detailed information about the law school curriculum each year, the importance of Law Review, clinical programs, Moot Court, interviewing skills, and summer associate positions. -Addresses current downsides to the practice of law in a more open way than any of its competitors, including the exhorbitant cost of law school, the difficulty repaying law school debt, the lack of opening legal positions in the wake of 2008, the high levels of job dissatisfaction in the profession, the stresses practice places upon a personal live. -Concludes with seven lessons to carry from law school into the practice of law.