The final for Legal Research and Writing is quickly approaching. If you need a concise refresher on the basic principles of legal research we highly recommend "Locating the Law". It is written by the law librarian in Southern California and is freely available on their website. We particularly recommend chapters 5 and 7 which deal with California and Federal law, respectively. Read More ...

The issue itself may not be altogether interesting, but the order written by the judge is a nice introduction to topics taught in the first semester of Civil Procedure and Con Law I. Read More ...

Are you counting down the days until the Fall semester begins? Can't wait to start law school? In the few weeks of summer you have left, it might be a good idea to read these selected articles, written by law faculty, on how to prepare yourself for law school. They offer invaluable suggestions and strategies on how to make best use of your time and study effectively. Read More ...

Orin Kerr, professor and blogger on the popular blog, The Volokh Conspiracy, has written an article with advice to 1Ls on how to handle being called on by law professors. Entitled, "What to do if you don't know the answer", Kerr offers some valuable advice for the nascent law student. Read More ...

Welcome to all incoming 1Ls!! Congratulations!! The librarians at the Heafey Law Library are eager to meet each of you and assist you in any way we can with your legal education. To start off your first semester, we recommend reading the article, "How to read a legal opinion: a guide for new law students", written by Orin Kerr. It provides some good recommendations on your first year. Read More ...

A summary of library services Read More ...

If you are looking for materials to read over the summer in preparation for your first year of law school, this list may be a good place to start. Compiled by the sales data from Amazon.com, it lists a number of popular items designed to assist incoming first-year law students. Read More ...

Links to an article by Leah M. Christensen entitled Legal Reading and Success in Law School: An Empirical Study Read More ...

CALI’s Pre-Law Blog has been getting lots of mentions from other law school bloggers lately, so I wanted to put in my own plug for it.  Don’t be fooled by the blog’s name!  The name "Pre-Law Blog" might make you think that the blog only has information for those who are contemplating law school.  But there’s a lot of good material here for current law students as well (particularly first-years).  I particularly like the regular features on the latest podcasts from law school professors.

Professor Vikram Amar has some interesting tips for first-years in his FindLaw column this week.  He makes his most insightful point here:

After law school, almost every lawyer serves clients and customers. A lawyer’s clients or customers may include individuals, businesses, government agencies and judges, in-house counsel, or (quite often) other lawyers, such as partners, within a practice group. Successful attorneys develop an effective customer-service mindset; the best lawyers are the ones whose clients or customers walk away the most satisfied.

Although perhaps it is not apparent, law students have clients and customers too - most particularly, we law professors, who are offered the students’ work products in the form of exams, papers and so on. Just as each customer or client in the real world may be looking for slightly different things, so too we law professors might not all react to or consume the same work product in the same way. Being able to quickly figure out what your client or customer is looking for, and to vary your style and approach accordingly, is the kind of skill the real world values, and the kind that should be developed from the beginning of law school.

As a former practicing attorney, I think it’s never too early for students to start thinking about practice management issues like customer service and marketing.  And Professor Amar makes a great point when he notes that, in a way, law professors are like the clients and partners that you will have to learn to please later on when you’re practicing law.  Like clients and partners, law professors all have distinctive pet peeves and preferences (I remember one supervising partner who freaked out each time an associate used "i.e." when he or she really should have used "e.g.").  It’s a good idea to find out about these predilections before you take the exam or turn in your final paper.  I know a lot of law students find it a bit maddening that law professors can take such different approaches to evaluating student work.  But a good portion of your professional life will be spent trying to tailor your work product to your clients, so it’s best to develop a strategy for coping with these idiosyncrasies now.

Boy, it really is the time of year when advice for newly-minted lawyers and incoming first-years proliferates in the legal literature and the blogosphere!  I recommend these posts from law student and law faculty bloggers for incoming first-years:

• Orin Kerr advises students to not worry excessively about feeling lost and to take advantage of professors’ office hours -- they really do want you to come and ask questions!
  
• Brandon Denning tells first-years to "treat law school like a job" and get enough exercise, but even more importantly, he warns them not to forsake outside interests.  I would add that it’s equally as important to maintain your relationships with folks who aren’t involved in the life of the law school.  Trust me, if you have a meltdown about your Civ Pro exam the night before the exam, it will be your spouse, partner, family member, friend, or neighbor who isn’t in law school who will usually see you through your moment of temporary insanity.  Your law school friends will probably be too busy reviewing their own outlines and scribbling out a last-minute practice exam to help you cope with your stress. 
  
• Belle Lettre of Law and Letters has a very thoughtful post about the law school classroom experience, which is a must-read for all law students.  She has some great points about the laptops in the classroom debate, but she also talks about her learning style and what worked for her in the classroom.  Read her post and start thinking about your learning style and the best way to process the information that you pick up in the classroom.