Books Learning Legal Reasoning: Briefing, Analysis and Theory (Delaney Series)
Books and Publications Average Rating:

Rating: - Connectivity: What is missing between reading and understanding
I actually enjoyed reading Learning Legal Reasoning (LLR). I am preparing for law school matriculation in fall 2010, and I have already achieved a 168 LSAT. I used this book to provide a framework for additional coursework study. Law school is a serious investment for me, and I have begun to read, practice, and understand black letter law. Next, I will practice hypotheticals to gain an understanding of spotting issues and, later, I will practice writing exam answers. LLR helps one to better prepare for law school study because it gives one "inside" knowledge of how to understand a string of cases and extrapolate and analyze what is law and what is mere dicta. I now have a better command of what I should learn from each case.

Thank you, Mr. Delaney, for writing this book.

---

Rating: - Wish I Had Read This Before My First Year
I'm going into my 2nd year and bought this book because I didn't get the grades I wanted as a 1L. I was a straight-A undergrad (English major) and scored 96th percentile on the LSAT, so I had high expectations of myself. The problem was, I didn't really "get" what my professors expected of me. This book nails it. I learned of it last week by desperately reading through law student Listmanias on Amazon when the last of my grades came through and I knew I needed some help if I wanted to do better next year. I had never heard of the book and don't know anyone who has read it-- it seems to be self-published, and I ordered it directly from his company; I don't think you'll see it in your school bookstore (I didn't).

I actually don't even know if his advice would resonate as well with me as a 1L as it does now, so I'd encourage other current law students looking to improve their grades to read it, especially if you're like me and struggling to understand why you didn't do better than you expected. But I definitely wish I'd read it last year-- my classes would have made a lot more sense. On the first page of Chapter 1, Delaney proposes a definition of "what law is" to explain what the first year of law school is about: "Law is a process of legal reasoning for decision-making about particular controversies." Believe it or not, I truly didn't get that my first year; I thought I just needed to "spot the issues." But there's a lot more to it than that, and I'm glad I found something that spells it all out in a way that none of my professors did. I've only just started reading so I can't report on all the content, but I wanted to encourage anyone just starting or looking to improve their grades to pick this one up before school starts. Good luck in school!

---

Rating: - Buy this book, forget the technicolor briefs
Fantastic book on the introduction to law. Buy it and read it rather than waste your time with books like Law School Confidential and its technicolor briefs. Also check out Delaney's other books (How to Do Well on Law School Exams and Learning Criminal law), which are written in the same easy to follow and enjoyable style. Two thumbs up.

---

Rating: - Read this the summer before
Read this book the summer before law school. You'll understand more and more of it as you go through your first year, and it will help you tie the first year courses together.