Planet Law School II: What You Need to Know (Before You Go), But Didn't Know to Ask... and No One Else Will Tell You, Second Edition [Paperback]

 

 

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I read Planet Law School in the summer of 1998 when the book was brand new, in the months before I began my legal studies. It was invaluable. I went to a "Top 10" law school (not literally, but rather as the term is defined in the book) and found the cynical advice to be on point. Law school is a business. Administrations are more interested in attracting and keeping top professors (and in soliciting donations from wealthy/influential alumni) than they are in ensuring their graduates will find fulfilling careers that also enable them to repay their crushing student loans. Planet Law School also accurately describes the socio-academic atmosphere at law schools - the contagious stress and anxiety, bordering on hysteria; the social stratification that occurs based upon class rank after first year grades are issued; the extreme difficulty those with mediocre or low grades have in obtaining respectable and well-paying employment through on-campus interviews. The book is less helpful (but still very enlightening) when it comes to its discussion on how to prepare for and do well in law school. I disagree with the author's theory that virtually any law student who follows his system and works hard will be able to excell in law school. I believe this is because, mistakenly, the author makes Black Letter Law and Thinking Like a Lawyer seem paramount. At least where I went to law school, these items were only half the battle. I had good friends who were in the top of my class and we often were enrolled in the same courses with the same professors. They consistently received top marks; mine were almost always mediocre. However, when comparing our final exam responses after the fact, it often turned out our responses were substantively identical (same points of law, same reasoning, same conclusions). The differences were our writing styles and the fact that my friends consistently delved into collateral issues that, while not responding to the "call of the question," were apparently topics of interest for the professor. Sometimes, my friends' responses virtually ignored the call of the question and they still Am-Jur'ed the course. (By the time I realized this, First Year was over; my grades rose dramatically by the end of Second Year, but in fall of Third Year most employers were not looking to hire 3L's.) While the author of Planet Law School does allude to the importance knowing each professor's "agenda," this crucial component of law school preparation should be more heavily emphasized in his book - even more so than "Black Letter Law" and "Thinking Like a Lawyer." After all, at any reputable law school virtually every student will walk into final exams knowing Black Letter Law backwards and forwards. To distinguish yourself (and earn top grades) you have to also appeal to and work in (no matter how tangentially) the professor's pet topics of interest or areas of research. As a post-script, the author and the law schools share a similar failing: They both fail to warn students about "insurance defense" law firms, which require billable hours comparable to the "Big Firms" but offer half the pay, a fraction of the chance to specialize in a practice area, and none of the respect. (The "clients" of such firms, insurance companies, also tend to treat their counsel as the enemy and will begrudge every tenth of an hour billed for.) To the uninitiated 2L or 3L, these firms often appear almost indistinguishable from the "Big Firms." Law students should be subtly warned to avoid insurance defense practice to the fullest extent they can, and instead seek government or boutique practice work in a speciality they enjoy so that they can eventually become well-respected practitioners in a field of specialty.

I have been a law professor for a long time. In addition to thinking about what makes students successful, I have read various studies on the subject. I have read both PLS and the new edition of PLS. Apart from inviting students to take a self defeating attitude towards law school (e.g., his open hostility and demeaning comments about law professors will surely discourage readers from using an invaluable resources), much of his advice will reduce a student's likelihood of success. I was initially amused and then distressed to think how a student following his advice would do on one of my exams: I certainly hope that my 1Ls are not reading this stuff.

I am a recent (successful) graduate from a top tier law school who had a choice of the best firms to work for.

I read Planet Law School (I) before I started Law School, thinking that it was my ticket.

That was not the case; for me at least, the advice was all wrong. I learned to succeed in law school by letting go of Planet Law School and by letting go of my obsession with learning all of the details of every principle I encountered.

Instead I made sure I had a thorough familiarity with all of the major principles. I stayed away from learning details because there is no time to discuss them in a law school essay or on the bar.

If you simply read the Examples and Explanations (by Aspen) book for each class, make an outline from the book along with your professor's comments, run through the problems in the book, and do alot of practice essays, you will do very well in law school.

Atticus Falcon, on the other hand tells you to focus on the details as much as possible; that, essentially, you should study for law school before going, study for the bar before graduating from law school, etc. Read the hornbooks? You have to be kidding me...

Atticus thinks he could have done better in law school if he had only studied harder. He's wrong. Dead wrong. It's the kind of advice that makes law school so miserable for so many students: they study till their eyes bleed and then find their brains can't function on exam day because they are too bogged down with details to see the forest for the trees. If you are familiar with the concept of bounded rationality, then you know what I mean.

Study smart -- learn only what you need -- only what you could possibly discuss in the course of an essay that demands you to briefly discuss 10-20 issues within the course of an hour or two -- and you will do very well. STAY AWAY FROM THE DETAILS, and whatever you do STAY AWAY FROM THIS BOOK.

TRUST ME :) (and good luck, it's not as bad as Atticus might have you think....)

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2.0 out of 5 stars Don't Waste Your Money
Do not waste your time or money buying and reading this book. Instead, purchase a copy of Law School Confidential and keep that close. Read more

Published on July 4 2004

1.0 out of 5 stars Dont Buy This Book
This is the worst book I have ever read. The book is not structured in any meaningful order and even though it is the second edition it has numerous editing mistakes. Read more

Published on Jun 24 2004

4.0 out of 5 stars THIS BOOK HELPED ME...I graduate this week!!!!!!
Well, I didn't make it to the top of my class and I am at a Fourth Tier school. But, I just wanted my law degree and am not all hung up on the 1st tier, 2nd tier crap. Read more

Published on May 4 2004 by tiny_avenger

1.0 out of 5 stars Correcting the Correction Below
Just a quick note to correct the person who misread my review below. I said the author suggests that students not BUY THE CASE BOOKS -- not sure how the person below got out of... Read more

Published on April 18 2004 by Sparrow

5.0 out of 5 stars The ABA sucks
Good book. I don't aree with the Leews thing. The program is harder to figure out than a casebook. The study aid rec's are right on, and the ABA analysis is all true. Read more

Published on April 4 2004 by Nemolaw

1.0 out of 5 stars Some Pretty Poor Advice Here on Major Points
I listened to, and followed, many suggestions made in this book and now, in my 3rd year of law school, I feel that the authored steered me BADLY wrong in a couple of important... Read more

Published on April 1 2004 by Sparrow

4.0 out of 5 stars Non-definitive review
As a correction to the reader whose review is below, I'd like to note that p. 468 of my copy has a warning for students who have not prepared: "Don't use your time to read... Read more

Published on Mar 24 2004 by Mary Griego

4.0 out of 5 stars many informative nuggets
I found a lot of useful info in this book. I also found what appeared to be a lot of overdramatization. Read more

Published on Mar 3 2004 by abe froman 1492

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Info, But Lots of Extraneous Sermonizing
It seems like the reviewers of this book fall into two categories--those who think this book is the greatest thing since sliced bread, and those who think it's worthless. Read more

Published on Jan 25 2004

1.0 out of 5 stars TERRIBLE ACCURACY AND WRITING
I have a unique perspective on this book because the author, Atticus sent me a copy. He sent me a copy because he wrote about my case. Read more

Published on Jan 8 2004

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