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It’s back to school this week — law school style. As new law students everywhere are filling the halls and making frequent (and expensive) stops at the 
bookstore, one question keeps coming up: What supplements should you invest in and should you buy them now?
Put away the credit card. You can buy supplements throughout the semester, as you need them.
We love supplements as much as the next person. However, supplements are just that — supplemental. They are not necessary to do your reading for class or even to attend class. Supplements are useful because they can help fill in the gaps when you are uncertain about particular legal topics. They can also provide you with hypos or examples so you can apply the law and test your understanding. They are great! But you are just starting out. You don’t know enough about your classes to determine whether supplements would be helpful. I actually had a few professors in law school who taught in a very specific way, so supplements for those classes wouldn’t have been helpful. Glad I didn’t spend money on them before I discovered that!
Before you buy, talk to upperclassmen, and see what supplements align with the professor whose class you are taking.
Upperclassmen or academic support can be really helpful in deciding what supplements are useful for a given class. Although first-year topics are generally consistent, professors have different styles and approaches to the law. Who better to help you figure out which supplement to buy than folks who have been through the class before! Or staff in your school‘s academic support program, if there is one, might be willing to chat with you about what supplements students have found helpful in the past.
Don’t waste time and money buying too many supplements.
Supplements can help you fill in any gaps of understanding. But often law students think more is better and it isn’t! You can waste tons of time reading supplements hour after hour, almost confusing yourself. You know those classes I took where I didn’t have a supplement, because the professor taught it in a very specific way? I did just fine in those classes. When I got confused, I went to the professor and he/she talked to me about the topic/issue causing the confusion.
What? The library has supplements for FREE?
And don’t forget that there is such a thing as a library — where books are available for free. Your library may have a bunch of supplements on reserve. Though you can’t check them out, you can use them in the library. This is a great option if you are trying to save money and don’t want to purchase supplements or if you want to “shop around” and find the best supplements for you. If you find one you love so much that you want to read it every day, then you can go ahead and invest in it.
Could you share with a friend?
Sometimes a couple of students get together to purchase supplements in an effort to save money. This is something you may want to consider early in the semester as you start making friends or studying with friends. It is unlikely you will need your supplement every day, so sharing can be a way to save money, as well as space on your bookcase!
What are some of our favorites?
Students often ask us what our favorite supplements are — and we do have a few. However, the effectiveness of a supplement really depends on personal preference, learning style, and your individual classes. That being said, we are big fans of the Examples and Explanations series on most subjects, especially for civil procedure. For contracts, we also like Marvin Chirelstein’s Concepts and Case Analysis in the Law of Contracts. If you are taking Constitutional law, this Chemerinsky supplement is a must. All of these supplements, though, are more narrative than, say, a commercial outline. If you prefer a commercial outline for the basic rules of law, there are plenty of those out there as well.
Anyone have other favorite supplements? Please share in the comments.
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Here are some other helpful posts:
- 1L Question of the Day: Do I Really Have to Read the Cases?
- What Most Law Students Forget to Do: Think About the Material
- Are You a 2L and Wondering How You Can Get Better Grades This Year?
- What’s the Right Mindset for Studying?
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Great advice! I cannot tell you how many law school supplements I have purchased and never opened them. I always thought I would be missing something if I did not buy everything but most of the time they just collected dust. One exception…Constitutional Law Chemerinsky (I am sure I did not spell this correctly).
Yes, Yes! Chemerinsky is the best for Constitutional law. I didn’t list it initially because most 1Ls don’t take that class — but I am updating the post now.
I am loving The Short and Happy Guide to Contracts by Epstein, Markell and Ponoroff. It is short, clear, funny, and cheap ($14). My love for this book, however, might have something to do with the fact that my case book is by the same authors and Ponoroff is my Contracts professor 🙂
Nice recommendation Cathleen — thanks for sharing. It is definitely helpful when the supplement is written by the authors of your case book (or even better, your professor!).
You can find a list of the up to date editions of all the major supplements here- http://lawbooklist.com