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New Student Orientation

Suggested Readings

Other Materials

  • Advice You Must Read in the Summer Before Law School by LawProfBlog
    • Key Take Away:  Law School is much harder than undergrad, and should be treated like a full-time job. Most of this post deals with work-life balance.
  • How to Read a Legal Opinion by Orin S. Kerr
    • Key Take Away: This article goes over the basic terminology for discussing case law and what you should be looking for as you read, which will be the majority of your homework and class preparation.
  • De Minimis Curat Lex: Secrets to Success for 1st Year Law Students by John H. Scheid
    • Key Take Away: This article explains the overall process of studying for law school, including how to brief cases and review your notes efficiently. This process is why your professors will tell you to spend 3-5 hours on work for each class meeting. The appendices also show sample ways to brief cases and take class notes.
  • …And finally, The Ten Minute Rule
    • If it ever takes you more than ten minutes to find a source, please ask us, your law librarians. 

Legal Dictionaries

There are a number of Black's Law Dictionaries available in the Law Library Lounge.  It is also available through Westlaw.

Blog on Cite Checking

How to use HeinOnline for Cite-Checking