Introduction
    Since the advent of the World Wide Web, there exists an enormous amount of information about law school.  But most of that information either talks about the day to day existence of a law student or was written by law professors.  That type of information won't help you for reasons I'll cover.
    Law school is an industry, and as you will quickly find out, you are the commodity.  There are dozens of companies fashioned around providing law books, study materials, Bar Exam prep courses, LSAT prep courses, study aids and strategies, flow charts, flashcards, and the list goes on and on.  Law students who arrive at law school not knowing what's coming are sent into immediate panic mode.  The overwhelming question of the unprepared is: "How do I do this?”  At the same time, the incoming law student is deluged by commercial products offering direction.  It is an overwhelming task to find out the truth when everyone has a motive because they're selling something. 
    Even your fellow students and law professors may not be straight with you.  For example, the professors won't recommend a commercial outline because commercial outlines tend to undermine the professors livelihood by spelling out the law.  If your fellow students happen upon a particularly effective outline, treatise or law review article, they are not likely to share it since all law students are ranked and competing with one another.  So helping you might be viewed as hurting them. 
    This book provides you with the UNBIASED truth about law school.  I'm not trying to sell you anything aside from this book!
    For those without direction, the first semester of law school, and at least the first year, will be spent trying to figure out how to do this thing called law.  It’s scary and ominous.  Exam preparation in law school, day to day class work, as well as the exams themselves are unlike anything you've experienced before -- this is true even if you've done graduate work, majored in something you think is pre-law (like Political Science), or have tons of life experience.
    First year law students (1L's) spend valuable time the first year flopping around like fish out of water because no one told them what to expect and how to prepare for exams.  The faculty cannot be relied upon to tell you.  Law school is a time honored tradition.  The faculty takes the position that they had to wiggle around in pain and figure it out, so you should have to do the same. 
    The questions abound.  There are a myriad of possibilities: Which is the best way to prepare for exams?  What support materials are needed and from which publisher?  Should valuable time be spent with an upper-class tutor?  Do I need a laptop?  What about gouges?
    What this book doesn't propose to do is give you the "secret" to law school success.  Nor does this book promise that you'll make law review or graduate in the top 10% of your class.  This book is designed to inform you.  The rest is up to you.
    Just as in the rest of life, beware of products making exaggerated claims as to how they can assist your law school performance.  The products mentioned in this book are the staples of law school study.  They represent the tried and true assistance devices.  They are legal resources that have been regularly used by law students for decades.  They make no exaggerated claims.  They only deliver the law.
    If you haven’t decided whether you’ll attend law school or not, this book will provide you with tips, quizzes, information and insights, all invaluable, that will help you make the right decision.
    If you’re committed to attending, but have not yet matriculated, this book will provide you with the knowledge of how the system works and where your attention should be focused. 
    If you're already in law school, this book will give you the much needed direction you're looking for.
    I am not affiliated with any law school, LSAT preparation organization, LSDAS, commercial outline publishers, pre-law preparation course companies, legal publishers, research database corporations, or essay writing workshop producers.  I am but a person who decided to attend law school, took the LSAT, was admitted, attended for three years, graduated, and now would like to pass on my knowledge to you.  The information within these pages can clear away much of the fog about law school.