STUDY AIDS

(what's the deal with commercial outlines?)

To understand why commercial outlines are a solid investment for many people, it's important to know the purpose of casebooks:

The casebook is not meant to be a text which sets forth the law of a particular subject matter in a clear and organized fashion. Rather, the point of the casebook is to force you to pull out these terms and figure out how the analyses are organized on your own based on the different cases that you read.

The problem with this is two-fold:
1) this assumes at least one of the following: (a) everyone learns in the same way, (b) there is only one way to learn the law or (c) casebooks are the best way to learn the law. Given that everyone learns differently, it can hardly be expected that gleaning legal concepts from a casebook is ideal for every law student.

2) most first-year courses cover subject matter that is dictated by state law, which means that the law is not uniform across the fifty states. Casebooks are filled with opinions from various state courts. The finals for these classes cover the black-letter law -- the law that, for the most part, is common to all states. Law professors cannot assume that all their students will practice in a particular jurisdiction and usually make an effort to teach the general concepts of the field rather than the laws of a particular jurisdiciton (though some may emphasize California law). For example, in Torts and Contracts, you won't be citing to cases -- in those classes, cases are a good way to illustrate the legal concept as applied to a particular set of facts, not a definitive statement of the law.

But... Reading casebooks is great way to learn how to read cases, an essential skill if you're planning on going into litigation. I think that it's important to read casebooks intensely until you feel that you've reached a point where you're comfortable with reading cases (being able to pull out holdings, policy arguments, etc.) -- which can take awhile. However, at least for me, there are better ways to learn the material for an exam than through a casebook -- particularly, study aids.

How To Pick Study Aids: The best way to decide whether or not to get a study aid is to do the following: pick a concept that was somewhat confusing to you but that you managed to figure out eventually. Grab a study aid and read about the concept. If you find that it explains it well then, most likely, it would do so for other topics.

Also, consider the following:
1. each type of study aid is a completely different resource -- some offer outlines of the law, some strictly offer practice problems. Make sure you're getting the type of resource you're looking for.
2. study aids can get pretty expensive -- make sure you're spending money on the ones that'll help you the most.
3. going through study aids can be time-consuming -- certain study aids are more time-consuming than others.

The RECOMMENDATION I give for each study aid is based on what generally has worked for me. Again, the best way to pick study aids is to actually read through them. I think generally for every subject you should have some sort of black-letter law outline (e.g., Emanuel's) and another study aid which has practice problems (e.g., Examples & Explanations). The latter can actually be accomplished by practice exams provided by the professor, assuming you can get enough of them.

1. Emanuel and Gilbert

Emanuel: After each chapter, there is an Exam Tips section which offers advice about dealing with the chapter topic if it comes up on an exam. Also, there is a Quiz Yourself section with some sample questions about the chapter topic. There are sample practice exams and multiple choice questions at the back of the book.

Gilbert: Usually easier to read than Emanuel -- also, they have more tables and flowcharts (Emanuel has almost none). However, it does not have the Exam Tips or Quiz Yourself sections. There is a signifcant section of review questions in the back as well as some sample exam questions.

Choosing Between The Two: Choosing between the two usually comes down to personal taste. If you haven't decided, pick a concept and compare the explanations in one versus the other. Sometimes, one of the two may be more up to date -- so make sure to check that you pick up the most recent of the two. Also, keep an eye out for Gilbert's written by either your professor or by the author of your casebook.

RECOMMENDATION: Have one of these for every one of your black-letter law classes (i.e., Torts, Civ Pro and Contracts).

Special Study Aid: Crunch Time

CrunchTime is basically a shortened version of Emanuel's. It features the Capsule Summaries (short versions of the outline for each chapter) and the Exam Tips. On top of this, the CrunchTime also has a section with a bunch of flowcharts. Pace McCaskill is a big fan.

RECOMMENDATION: Crunch time is solid for last-minute study sessions and for people who learn visually. Usually, unnecessary if you have Emanuel's or Gilbert's, but may be worth looking into for some.


2. LexisNexis Understanding Series

This is one of the best study aids out there and one that is not very well known. It's written as a text, not as an outline and it explains everything very clearly. The Understanding books are very thorough and they refer to many cases, most of which are probably assigned reading in the casebook. They're available for all the first-year, black-letter courses and for many upper-division courses as well.

RECOMMENDATION: If available, I'd choose this over a casebook or at least as a supplement to one. If you're going to buy an Understanding book, buy it early so you have enough time to get through it.

3. Examples & Explanations

The Examples & Explanations series is a very popular study aid. Each chapter is arranged in the same way: (1) brief intro into the topic, (2) questions/hypos about the topic and (3) answers/explanations of the questions. This does not cover as many topics as Emanuel's or Gilbert's, but it definitely does a good job explaining the topics that it does cover.

RECOMMENDATION: The Glannon E&E is essential for Civ Pro. The Torts and Contracts E&E aren't as good, but may match your learning style.

4. Law-in-a-Flash:Flashcards

Each set has anywhere from 350 to 650 flashcards which cover both black letter law principles followed by cards with hypotheticals about the principle. Like E&E, this is great for what it does cover and offers solid practice problems; however, it is not as complete as Emanuel's, Gilbert's or the Understanding series.

RECOMMENDATION: Great option for people who learn best through flashcards. Also, a good source of practice problems with its hypotheticals.

5. Legalines & Briefs

These stuy aids are basically summaries of your casebooks and they're good way to reduce class preparation time. Casebriefs summarize each of the cases in a casebook and Legalines summarizes the rest of the text in the casebook in addition to the cases. It's best to find the briefs or Legalines that are keyed to your particular casebook.

RECOMMENDATION: Legallines is always better than briefs, but usually harder to find one keyed to your book.

6. Nutshells
These are available for pretty much all subjects -- chances are that for any class you take you will be able to find a Nutshell. However, they tend to only provide a very broad picture of the issues. It's not a bad idea to read through a Nutshell to get an overview of the course.

RECOMMENDATION: Nutshells may help in the outlining and studying process (i.e., in creating connections between issues), but, generally, I would only get a Nutshell for a class that does not have an Emanuel or Gilbert.

7. Multiple Choice Questions & Practice Exams

For exams that have multiple choice sections, you have to turn elsewhere for practice problems because professors generally do not release sample MC questions. The Q&A is all multiple choice -- it has questions on specific topics and then a final exam which covers all topics. Siegel's has both multiple choice questions and essay questions.

RECOMMENDATION: Definitely worthwhile if you have a multiple choice section for an exam, but not necessarily a top priority.

Note: You may also want to look for sample MC questions online.

8. Introduction to Law Treatise

The Introduction to Law treatises are alot more dense than the Understanding series. They're much more helpful for classes where depth of discussion and policy are emphasized over issue-spotting. These should be purchased early in the semester.

RECOMMENDATION: not essential for first semester courses -- a must for Constitutional Law next semester.

Where to Get Study Aids:
The USC bookstore is very limited in its study aid selection. If you can't find it there, try the UCLA law bookstore which has pretty much all the legal study aids out there. It's located next to the UCLA Law School at the Lu Valle Commons. You can holla at them at (310) 825-7238, though I'm not really sure why you would.