A law school necessity. August 15, 1999

I finished my second year of law school, I made law review, I read Planet Law School when it first came out, and I've recommended it to many friends. One friend mentioned that she wouldn't buy it because of a review on Amazon. I was curious, so I took a look. I can't believe we're talking about the same book.

Many of my friends from law school did not make law review. Some of them are smarter than me. This book isn't about professors or "making friends" or any of that. It's about taking responsibility for your legal education. It's about preparing yourself, and about your attitude.

I owe my success to Planet Law School, and to Wentworth Miller's program recommended in the book. In fact, I continue to read it again every month or so.

I absolutely recommend this book to anyone who is considering going to law school. I would give it six stars if I could.

This book is like the kind of advice parents should give their kids before they grow up and enter the real world. December 16, 2007

I am not going to try and summarize this book for you. Plenty of others have already done that for me, and you. But, I am going to say that the message in this book is the kind of message good parents ought to give a child before they grow up and go out into the world. Not only is this book that kind of good and thoughtful advice, it is complete and objective. I know the critics of PLSII might cringe at that last remark, but I stand by it. PLSII is objective because AF (the author) doesn't sugar coat the reality of life in law school. AF tells it like it is. If that seems uncritical to some people, so be it. I wish I had a book like this for everything I ever did before and I hope I can find one for everything I might do in the future.

Thank you Atticus!!!

buy, read, follow, come back to it. December 30, 2004

Atticus strikes me as an attorney who loves the law, loves practicing law, recognizes its value and import in our everyday lives (literally, in some cases), and has become disillusioned by the astounding lack of adequate preparation by law schools of law students for the practice of law.

At first, when I read PLS, I took a lot of his diatribe with a grain of salt. My first eye-opener was discussing my imminent experience with a friend's husband, who had not read PLS (hadn't even heard of it) - a practicing attorney for the past 12 years. Through the course of our conversation, he confirmed everything I brought up that I had been skeptical about in PLS, in terms of what you actually learn in law school, how well it prepares you to practice, and even to pass the bar.

Before I came to law school, I taught for five years at the collegiate level, and can attest to the fact that law school (likely, professional schools in general) is NOT similar in the "feel good" attitude toward education as at even the largest undergraduate institutions. HOWEVER, fortunately it has become more difficult for people to get away with "bad behavior" (e.g., racist or sexist attitudes publicly expressed), so it is likely your experience in your law school may APPEAR much more benign than described in PLS. Just BEWARE of what lies underneath that surface. Reading PLS will help to prepare you psychologically for what will amount to an assault on your personality and sensibility.

After my first semester of law school, I honestly wish I had thoroughly prepared last year according to one of the several syllabi provided in PLSII. Get this book, read it, follow the advice in it! Get the study aids, choose the longest prep syllabus you have time for, and follow it.

You DO need to prep for law school. And you need to read PLSII and put that weapon in your arsenal.


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