The ability to read law well is a critical, indispensable skill that can make or break the academic career of any aspiring lawyer. In the first semester of law school alone, for example, it is not unusual for law students to read well over 2,500 pages in their assigned casebooks. This reading is challenging not only because of its sheer volume, but also because it is comprised largely of material that is unfamiliar to even the best-educated pre-law students. The reading is critical because it forms the foundation upon which all classroom discussion is built'and upon which exam content ultimately rests.Fortunately, the ability to read law well (quickly and accurately) is not a gift that you're either born with or are not born with. Rather, reading law well is a skill that can be acquired through knowledge and practice'an ability that can be masted, improved, and perfected by any motivated student. The sooner the student masters these skills, the greater the rewards.Using seven specific reading strategies, reinforced with hands-on exercises at the end of each chapter, this book shows you how you can read law like expert law students and expert lawyers do'efficiently, effectively, powerfully, and confidently. Part I introduces the reader to the fundamentals of legal reasoning upon which law-based reading builds; Part II introduces the reader to concrete strategies for reading effectively in law school; and Part III teaches strategies for reading law outside of the law school context.Law students, pre-law students, and any professional whose work touches on law will all find Reading Like a Lawyer to be an engaging, easy-to-read guide to the complex and powerful world of law-based reading.
