1 Wow, I didn't even crack a Black's until I was a second year. It appears you are ahead of the curve.

2 GOUGE OUT MY EYES PLEASE! About an hour ago I was walking up Fifth Ave in Midtown Manhattan. I noticed this strange looking creature looking into one of the store windows. As I got closer I saw he had on a huge "Fuck Bush" shirt. As I got even closer I noticed he was staring in at the mannequins, and beating off! Yes, the left brought in only the finest quality individuals to protest! Now I'm off to scrub my eyes with steel wool! (Annie, did you send him my way to get back for the Ted Rall mails?)

3 Annika: So now you begin to see what it is like having to learn to think in a new language. Don't worry, after a while, it'll seem like you've known it all your life. But don't ever fall into the trap of talking like a lawyer,like John Kerry, who gives lawyers a bad name. And, stay away from lawyers at parties; they don't want to discuss law school cases, most of which they have forgotten, as will you. By the way, about your friends; stay close to them, and in about three years, they'll introduce you to their good friend, Mr. Green. You are liable to really fall in love with him.

4 Some people will tell you that study aids are a bad idea. I disagree. That said, I never used them regularly during the semester -- mostly around exam time, and to fill in blanks and help me with organizing my outlines. My personal advice: Begin outlining early, and do it consistently. (This is much harder than it sounds, in my experience.) I never used study groups because it was a practical impossibility for me. But if you can commit the time, a lot of people strongly recommend it.

5 I'm with Matt on this: study aids can become a crutch and a hindrance during the semester, but more useful during exams. That said, if you really don't know the meaning of a term, trying to glean it all from the cases rather than quickly looking it up in Black's is probably unnecessary masochism even for a law student. ;-) But, of course, while it sounds a bit like touchy-feely PC bullshit, different people really do learn in different ways, so I'm sure you'll take all of our advice with a justified grain of salt.

6 Study guides are great. I found the best to be the Examples and Explanations series...it's not just outlines -- it's summaries of the topics, and then questions. When I first started law school, I was given the advice to work through the entire E&E (written by Joseph Glannon) for Civ Pro, and I will get an A in that class. I did, and I did. Every law student loves Glannon!

7 I'm not sure if anyone has told her this yet, but I know a good lawyer nickname that should intimidate her opponents, "The Annikonda." She will put the squeeze on her opposition.

8 It doesn't surprise me that, since your commentors have been mainly lawyers, this has been over looked. Perhaps it's seen as morally acceptable in the profession (which would explain a lot)... But your first week of law school has you going out to get (ahem) jacked up on (double ahem) coke???? I can only assume this is a result of the kinds of people your assoiating with now & possibly a side effect of your pro-reptillian stance. I miss the sweet, innocent miss Annika. Hopefully she's not gone forever.

9 I agree with Ginger - get all the Examples & Explanations books - they do a great job of getting you set with the concepts. The Civ. Pro. by Glannon is great (although weak on discovery). The Blum on Contracts is good. If you are using Dukemenier and Krier as the casbook on property, then Gilbert is the best, since it is written by Dukemenier.