jorge

I'm 2L. Anybody have suggestions on what commercial outlines I should use for law school? Thanks. It doesn't have to be Ohio only.

david

Found this from an online user James W.

I'd say there are three categories of the supplement books.

1. Gilberts/Emanuels are outlines, set up like an outline that you'd prepare, except that it has a bunch of irrelevant information that's not covered in class.

2. The nutshell guides are actually abridged versions of treatises and written by a legal scholar. Some lawyers actually use them to get acclimated with a new area. I actually prefer using a full treatise if I'm really doing in depth studying to understand a concept better. I wouldn't ever really buy one for a class.

3. Case summaries. These are usually keyed to a particular textbook, and include summaries of all the main cases in the book. They don't include note cases, which can be very important.

Wait and see what your classes are like before you buy your supplements. Also, try to buy supplements keyed to your textbook, especially ones keyed just for your book and not others. That will save you time having to sort out what is and isn't covered.

"Acing Civil Procedure" by Thompson/West (possibly available on Westlaw) is incredible for Civil Procedure. It provides a checklist in each area that's very easy to follow. I even pre-wrote the setup of my answers for the exam.

I liked Emanuel for Property and Gilberts for Torts.

For Contracts, I just used the UCC practice problems in the advisory notes online because our test was multiple choice and based on the UCC.

Good luck. You'll feel things out pretty quickly and get the hang of everything. If you can stay focused and work pretty hard, I'm sure you'll do well.

NazakNik

Use Gilberts/Emanuels (and other similar outlines) to understand the holding of each case you're studying in class.
Use the Nutshell series to put everything in context and give you an understanding of the objectives of the law.
This is the most efficient way to give you a very good understanding of the cases you're reading. And, it's not overwhelming.

mgill

I normally don't reccomend commercial outlines to my students, since every professor is looking for something a bit different.

However, if you absolutely MUST use a commercial outline or supplement, I truly believe that the Examples and Explanations series is the best way to go, seconded only by Glannon Guides.

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Tutor, Emanuel Bar Review
Adjunct Professor, Southern New England School of Law