Professor Emeritus Leora Harpaz
Western New England University School of Law
May 2021 (last updated)

Sample of Web Resources for Law Students

This listing of web resources is designed to introduce you to some of the free resources available on the web that are aimed at law students. Many of them are geared toward beginning law students. It is not intended as a complete list, but just to get you started. The items are divided by topic, but are not listed in any particular order.

The Incoming One-L FAQ by Charles Glasser - http://www.lectlaw.com/files/lws15.htm and can be also found at http://www.ilrg.com/glasser.html

What Makes Law School so Different for Many New Law Students by Amy Jarmon - http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/academic_support/2011/06/what-makes-law-school-so-very-different.html

The Five-Minute Law School: Everything You Learn in Your First Year, More or Less by Professor Michael Dorf (FindLaw) - https://supreme.findlaw.com/legal-commentary/the-five-minute-law-school-everything-you-learn-in-your-first-year-more-or-less.html

A Beginner's Guide to Legal Education by Professor James Elkins (archived by Wayback Machine) - https://web.archive.org/web/20120928000029/http://myweb.wvnet.edu/~jelkins/orientation/webguide.html

Transformation of Self by Professor James Elkins - http://www.lharpaz.com/americanlegalsystem/Elkinstransformation.html

Preparing For Your First Semester Of Law School  by Professors Brown and Grohman - CALI (The Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction) - Podcast - http://www.cali.org/lesson/1109

Law School Academic Success Project (originally funded by LSAC and updated by Academic Success Project of the American Association of Law Schools) - links to a series of eLearning modules - http://lawschoolasp.org/students/learning_opps.php

7 Tips for Surviving the First Week of Law School by Shawn P. O'Connor - U.S. News & World Report - https://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/law-admissions-lowdown/2014/08/18/7-tips-for-surviving-the-first-week-of-law-school

Advice on How to Succeed in Law School

Law School Materials for Success by Barbara Glesner Fines - free download available from CALI (Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction) - https://www.cali.org/books/law-school-materials-success

How to be a Successful Law Student (Chicago Kent) - https://www.kentlaw.iit.edu/current-students/student-services/law-school-survival-guide/how-to-be-a-successful-law-student

20 Tips for Success in Law School (Chapman University Fowler School of Law) - https://www.chapman.edu/law/student-resources/achievement-program/20-tips-success.aspx

Advice For the Law School Class of '09: Ten Key Principles That Will Help You Succeed by Professor Vikram David Amar - https://supreme.findlaw.com/legal-commentary/advice-for-the-law-school-class-of-09-ten-key-principles-that-will-help-you-succeed.html

How to Succeed in Law School: An Introduction by Victoria Coyle (first in a series) - https://blacklinesandbillables.com/associate-success-and-development/tips-for-law-students/how-to-succeed-in-law-school/introduction/

How to Succeed in Law School (Part Two): Starting Out the Semester by Victoria Coyle - https://blacklinesandbillables.com/associate-success-and-development/tips-for-law-students/how-to-succeed-in-law-school/part-2-starting-out-the-semester/

Strategies for New Law Students (Law School Toolbox) - https://lawschooltoolbox.com/strategies-new-law-students/

Reading Cases, Briefing Cases, and Class Preparation

How to Write a Case Brief for Law School (excerpt from Introduction to the Study of Law: Cases and Materials, Third Edition (LexisNexis 2009) by Michael Makdisi & John Makdisi) - http://www.lexisnexis.com/en-us/lawschool/pre-law/how-to-brief-a-case.page

How to Read a Case in Law School - Provost and Professor of Law JoAnne Epps, Temple University - YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQj60weeTTw

Preparing for Class (CALI, Law School Materials for Success) - http://fineslawschoolmaterials.lawbooks.cali.org/chapter/preparing-for-class/

How to Brief a Case (University of Houston Law Center) - http://www.law.uh.edu/lss/casebrief.pdf

How to Brief a Case (John Jay College of Criminal Justice) - http://www.lib.jjay.cuny.edu/research/brief.html

How to Brief a Case (LawNerds) - http://www.lawnerds.com/guide/briefing.html

Classroom Preparation by Professors Alan Chen and Celia Taylor (Denver) -  https://www.law.du.edu/index.php/law-school-learning-aids/preparing-for-class

Reading and Briefing Cases in Law School: Guidelines and Helpful Tips by Professor Nicole Raymond Chong - https://pennstatelaw.psu.edu/sites/default/files/Case%20Briefing%20Article.pdf

Time Management

Time Management: Creating and Using a Schedule (prepared for undergraduates at Marquette University, but also useful for law students) - https://www.marquette.edu/counseling/documents/TimeManagementandProcrastinationHandout.pdf

How to Manage Your Time Effectively in Law School (New England School of Law) - https://www.nesl.edu/news/detail/how-to-use-time-management-effectively-in-law-school

Making Time When There Seems to be None by Amy Jarmon - http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/academic_support/2011/04/making-time-when-there-seems-to-be-none.html

Time Savers for Home and School by Amy Jarmon - http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/academic_support/2009/11/time-savers-for-home-and-school.html

5 Time Management Tips for Law School Students by Eddy Bermudez (Practice Panther) - https://www.practicepanther.com/blog/time-management-law-school-students/

My Three Best Tips for Time Management Awesomeness (The Girls Guide to Law School) - http://thegirlsguidetolawschool.com/08/tips-three-awesome-techniques-for-time-management/

Socratic Method

The Socratic Method - http://www.princetonreview.com/law/socratic-method.aspx?uidbadge=%07

The Socratic Method: Why it's Important to the Study of Law (Wash U Law) - http://onlinelaw.wustl.edu/blog/the-socratic-method-why-its-important-to-the-study-of-law/

Note Taking

Everything You Need to Know About Taking Notes in Law School by Brandy Brown - https://lawpreview.barbri.com/taking-notes-in-law-school/

How to Succed in Law School (Part Three): Taking Good Law School Notes by Victoria Coyle - https://blacklinesandbillables.com/associate-success-and-development/tips-for-law-students/how-to-succeed-in-law-school/part-3-taking-good-law-school-notes/

10 Dos and Don'ts for Note Taking in Law School - http://lawschool.about.com/od/survivinglawschool/a/notetaking.htm

Making Your Notes Work for You by John Passmore (The Girls Guide to Law School) - https://thegirlsguidetolawschool.com/06/making-your-notes-work-for-you/

Time Management and Note Taking (University of Texas Law School) (the first half is devoted to time management and the second half to note taking) - https://law.utexas.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2015/04/Notes-and-Time-Mgmt-LS-101-2017.pdf

Taking Notes in Law School: The Process and Taking Notes in Law School: The Content by Beau Baez (Learn Law Better) - You Tube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQ6R2Jk8lrE&vl=en and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbNsrcQYRVs

Class Participation

Why Class Participation Matters And How To Do It Right by Doretta McGinnis (Law School Toolbox) - https://lawschooltoolbox.com/class-participation-matters-right/

Law School Experience: Class Attendance and Participation (Law Crossing) - https://www.lawcrossing.com/article/900017598/Law-School-Experience-Class-Attendance-and-Participation/

10 Tips for Law School Class Participation (The Legal Duchess Blog) - http://www.thelegalduchess.com/2017/03/class-participation-in-law-school.html

Dealing with Stress

How to Deal with Law School Stress in Healthy Ways (New England Law School) - https://www.nesl.edu/news/detail/how-to-deal-with-law-school-stress-in-healthy-ways

Tips for Managing Stress in Law School (The Legal Duchess) - http://www.thelegalduchess.com/2018/10/tips-for-managing-stress-in-law-school.html

Ways to Manage Stress in Law School (Law School Toolbox) - https://lawschooltoolbox.com/ways-to-manage-stress-in-law-school/

5 Tips to Manage Law School Stress (JD Advising) - https://www.jdadvising.com/tips-to-manage-law-school-stress/

Ten Stress Busters by Amy Jarmon - http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/academic_support/2010/11/25-stress-busters.html

Study Groups

How to Succeed in Law School (Part Four): To Study Group, or Not to Study Group by Victoria Coyle - https://blacklinesandbillables.com/associate-success-and-development/tips-for-law-students/how-to-succeed-in-law-school/part-4-study-groups/

Study Groups - http://libguides.law.villanova.edu/studygroups

Should Law Students Join Study Groups? - https://lawschoolacademicsuccess.com/2014/09/14/study-groups/

Outlining (Villanova Academic Success Program) (scroll down page and click on link for outlining) -  https://www1.villanova.edu/villanova/law/currentstudents/academicsuccess.html

Creating a Course Outline by Herbert N. Ramy, Director, Academic Support Program at Suffolk University Law School - https://www.kentlaw.iit.edu/sites/ck/files/public/departments/cso/aar/OutlineRamy.pdf

How to Succeed in Law School (Part Five): Thinking About Exam Preparation by Victoria Coyle - post on outlining - https://blacklinesandbillables.com/associate-success-and-development/tips-for-law-students/how-to-succeed-in-law-school/succeed-law-school-part-5-thinking-exam-preparation/

Create an Outline for Each Class - http://www.lawnerds.com/guide/outlining.html

Law School Outlining 101 (Law School Toolbox) - https://lawschooltoolbox.com/law-school-outlining-101/ and 4 Steps to Creating a Useful Outline in Law School (Law School Toolbox) - https://lawschooltoolbox.com/4-steps-to-creating-a-useful-outline-in-law-school/

Preparing for and Taking Exams

Outlining and Exam Preparation by Professor Barbara Glesner Fines - can be found on the Internet Archive Wayback Machine - https://web.archive.org/web/20100622051831/http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/profiles/glesnerfines/Success5.html

Do's and Don'ts of Exam Preparation - https://www.kentlaw.iit.edu/sites/ck/files/public/departments/cso/aar/DosDontsExamPrep.pdf

Writing Law Examinations by Professor John H. Langbein - https://law.yale.edu/sites/default/files/documents/pdf/Faculty/Langbein-WritingLawExaminations.pdf

Patrick Wiseman, "When You Come to a Fork in the Road, Take It," and Other Sage Advice for First-Time Law School Exam Takers, 22 Ga. St. U. L. Rev. 653 (2006) - https://readingroom.law.gsu.edu/gsulr/vol22/iss3/4/

Kent Syverud's Taking Law School Exams Lecture (65 minute video and related material) - http://www.law.umich.edu/currentstudents/studentservices/Pages/exam-tips.aspx

Exam Tips for First-Year Law Students - University of Virginia School of Law - Professor Alex Johnson - YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idevhdOnWl8

Law School Exam Tips - University of Virginia School of Law - Professor Anne Coughlin - YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BXh7zv3EbE

The Forum: How to Take Law School Exams - NYU School of Law - YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sJDlqph5MY

How to Prepare for Your First Law School Exams - Nathan Salminen (HuffPost) - https://www.huffingtonpost.com/nathan-salminen/how-to-prepare-for-your-first-law-school-exams_b_8539924.html

Examination Tips - Herbert N. Ramy, Director, Suffolk University Law School Academic Support Program - https://www.suffolk.edu/-/media/suffolk/documents/law/academics/academic-support/acadsupport-law-school-exam-tips_pdftxt.pdf?la=en&hash=6421A8C41F5AEC090F0A87EFBA0B361C1D76FBEB

Open Book vs. Closed Book: Succeeding on Law School Exams - Vikas Bajaj (ABA for Law Students) - https://abaforlawstudents.com/2018/04/26/open-book-vs-closed-book-law-school-exams/

 
Law Dictionaries

Legal Dictionary - https://legaldictionary.net

The ‘Lectric Law Lexicon - http://www.lectlaw.com/def.htm

Legal Research and Writing

Ten Easy Steps to Legal Research - http://www.lectlaw.com/files/lwr18.htm

Research Guides, Treatise Finders and Tutorials (Georgetown) - http://guides.ll.georgetown.edu/home and direct link to tutorials - http://guides.ll.georgetown.edu/home/tutorials

Organizing a Legal Discussion (IRAC, CRAC, etc.) (Columbia Law School Writing Center) - https://web.law.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/microsites/writing-center/files/organizing_a_legal_discussion.pdf

Five Tips for a Great Legal Writing Assignment (Law School Toolbox) - https://lawschooltoolbox.com/five-tips-for-a-great-legal-writing-assignment/

Sample Outlines

Course Outlines (NYU) - http://www.law.nyu.edu/students/studentbarassociation/courseoutlines

University of Virginia School of Law Student Bar Association - https://www.virginiasba.com/outlines/

Internet Legal Resource Guide Law School Course Outlines Archive - https://www.ilrg.com/students/outlines

4lawschool Law School Outlines - https://www.4lawschool.com/outlines.htm

Santa Clara School of Law Outlines - https://law.scu.edu/vals/secure_outlines/

Willamette University College of Law Student Bar Association Outline Bank - http://www.willamette.edu/law/resources/student-orgs/sba/outline-bank/

Emory Law Exams - http://library.law.emory.edu/collections/study-aids-and-past-exams.html

University of Chicago Law Library - https://www.lib.uchicago.edu/law/course/past-exams/

Past Torts Exams and Sample Answers by Professor David DeWolf - http://guweb2.gonzaga.edu/~dewolf/torts/exams/exam_ind.htm

Law School Toolbox - http://lawschooltoolbox.com/law-school-101/

Jurist -source for legal news - http://www.jurist.org/

SCOTUSblog - the best U.S. Supreme Court unofficial website -  http://www.scotusblog.com/

The ‘Lectric Law Library’s Study of Law Study - http://www.lectlaw.com/study.html