Success in law school isn’t all about going to class and reading case after case. The first year is often the most intense and formative period of law school, filled with challenges and opportunities that will shape your entire legal career. It’s a lot to process, and the study methods that worked in undergrad may prove to not be enough anymore. Luckily, we’ve got your back. From strategic study aids to wellness tips, these tools can help you organize and strategize so you can tackle your coursework with confidence and set a strong foundation for the years ahead.
Below is a short list of 1L survival guides and their author-written summaries.
- Short and Happy Guide to Being a Law Student: A Daily Companion for Law School, Practice, and Life, Paula A. Franzese (2014). Learn how to be your best in and out of class, how to prepare for and succeed on exams, how to put your best foot forward in a job interview, how to find teachers to inspire you, what to do in classes that leave you uninspired, how to cope with stress and how to create value in everything you do in law school.
Available behind the Circulation Desk, or access the online version here: https://ttu-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/18fdj21/01TTU_ALMA21372559410002611
- Happiness and Peak Performance in Law School: Cutting Edge Science to Promote Emotional Thriving and Cognitive Greatness in Law School and Beyond, Jarrett Green and Rebecca Simon Green (2023). In this book, law students will learn a wide collection of easy-to-apply, science-based tools for drastically improving their emotional well-being, mental strength, and academic success. This book provides a roadmap for thriving mentally, emotionally, and cognitively in law school, in the practice of law, and in life.
Available through West Academic Study Aids*
- 1L of a Ride: A Well-Traveled Professor’s Roadmap to Success in the First Year of Law School, Andrew J. McClurg (4th Ed., 2021). 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.
Available behind the Circulation Desk, or access the online version here: https://ttu-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/i7meaf/01TTU_ALMA51257832000002611
- Weekly Guide to Being a Model Law Student, Alex Ruskell (2015). This book gives law students weekly checklists explaining the skills necessary to successfully navigate their first year of law school. Each chapter provides a checklist of things to do that week, such as briefing cases, going over notes, outlining classes, or doing practice questions. When a new concept is introduced, this book clearly explains the concept and its purpose and provides examples. Instead of merely providing advice, this book lays out a detailed plan for students to follow. It also includes a bank of over 100 short, medium, and long practice questions in six first year subjects.
Available through West Academic Study Aids*
- Introduction to the Study and Practice of Law in A Nutshell, Kenney F. Hegland (8th Ed. 2020). You’ll have to know how the common law system works, how to read and brief cases, how to study and take exams, how to write and argue law and how lawsuits are tried. We can do something about style. There’s advice and illustrations. You’ll throw pots, working your first case, making your first argument, briefing cases, taking exams, and writing memos. This is not for the faint-hearted, nor is law school. Think like a lawyer. I won’t be a bore. I’ll tell jokes, some of which are actually funny. I’ll challenge you intellectually. Where does law come from? Should judges follow precedent? What if your client wants to pave Paradise and put in a parking lot? If you love ideas you’ll love this book and you’ll love law school.
Available behind the Circulation Desk, or access the online version here: https://ttu-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/i7meaf/01TTU_ALMA51247089000002611
- Office Hours on Academic Success, Sara J. Berman (2022). Gain the advantages of office hours with professors on your own schedule! The West Academic Office Hours series is a collection of short audio and video tracks that tackle some of the thorniest questions plaguing law students. The professors answer students’ most frequently asked office hour questions. With clear and easy-to-understand explanations, these professors will help you reach that “lightbulb” moment of comprehension, just as they have with their own students in their own offices.
Available through West Academic Study Aids*; two-part audio book only.
- Get A Running Start: Your Comprehensive Guide to The First Year Curriculum, David C. Gray (2016). In short, accessible lessons, Get a Running Start covers all the major concepts taught in each of the courses most commonly offered in the first year of law school: criminal law, torts, civil procedure, constitutional law, property, and contracts. Each of the courses comprising this book is written by a specialist in the field who is a decorated teacher with years of experience in the classroom. In this volume, they have distilled that experience and expertise to produce the tool they wish they had when they first were thinking about and then actually began law school: a clear, concise introduction to the entire first-year curriculum.
Access the online version here: https://ttu-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/18fdj21/01TTU_ALMA51247090050002611
- For even more resources, check out the 1L Resource Center on Lexis+, (Lexis homepage > Law School Resources > 1L Resource Center), or check out the 1L Resource Center Toolkit on Westlaw (Westlaw homepage > Practical Law > 1L Resources)!
*To access West Academic materials, start on the law library’s homepage, click on the “Resources” tab, and follow the link titled “West Academic Study Aids”. Once redirected, search for the title in the search box and follow instructions to access materials.