How to Crush Law School: Graduate at the Top of Your Class and Land the Job of Your Dreams

by Charles Buist

How to Crush Law School© is the book I wish I could have read the summer before my 1L year.

Great law students do not necessarily work harder than their colleagues. Instead, they typically have an informational advantage to combine with their excellent work ethic. In other words, they are privy to useful bits of wisdom that give them a slight edge over their competition. Unfortunately, only a fraction of law students learn the secrets to success in law school, and thus most law students are at a tremendous disadvantage.

How to does one obtain information other law students don’t have? How does one gain an edge? 

How to Crush Law School solves the enigma; it clears up the ambiguities. In this concise book, the author explicitly reveals the secrets to success in law school and shares his most valuable bits of law school wisdom. This step-by-step guide to crushing law school reveals the

How to prioritize law school tasks and manage time to achieve optimal efficiency; How to manage your mind and utilize neuroscience to perform at your best; How to leverage focus, willpower, habit, motivation, momentum, and positivity to gain an edge;How to approach the various types of law school exam questions, including issue-spotters, traditional essays, and multiple-choice questions; andHow to write a perfect answer on a law school exam.ABOUT THE AUTHOR

I don’t like to brag about myself in the third person, so my “about the author” may be a bit unusual. Here goes. I graduated from the University of South Carolina, School of Law in 2016, where I served as research editor for the South Carolina Law Review. While in school, I had the honor of working as a tutor of legal research and writing. I accumulated multiple law school accolades, including CALI awards in legal writing, advanced legal writing, income tax, and criminal procedure. During law school, I received a joint master’s degree from the Vermont Law School in environmental law and policy (MELP). After graduating law school, I clerked for Judge Joseph F. Anderson, Jr. in the United States District Court, and then I clerked for Judge David R. Duncan at the United States Bankruptcy Court. After law school, I went back to business school and received an MBA from the University of South Carolina, where I focused on marketing, new venture analysis, and intellectual property strategy. Finally, while completing my MBA, I worked as a research editor for one of my favorite professors in law school.

If you read all of that, thank you for your interest. I’m flattered, and I hope you enjoy the book and crush law school.  

242 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 11, 2020

Reviews

[Ben · Rating 1 out of 5]

"...Your brain can adjust to incredibly strenuous workloads, just like your body. I saw a sticker on a lady's jeep the other day that said "45," and I asked my wife what that means. She said, "That lady ran at least one 45-mile race - that's what that sticker means." Unbelievable!"

That was not, in fact, what that sticker meant.

[Pengyu Jiang · Rating 3 out of 5]

80% of this book is about how to apply self help tips to law school. It covers how to prepare for law school classes and how to do law school exams very briefly, and I think some suggestions he offers are just wrong (such as making your outline only by typing class notes into other people’s outline), and it doesn’t mention some tips several other law school high scorers deem very important such as doing lots of practice exam essays. It does, however, gives you some things useful that I didn’t find in other books, such as doing a meditation before the exam. Overall, I don’t recommend reading this book. For the self help part, if you have enough time to read those self help cognitive psychology bestsellers, read them, they explain better, and for the law school part, read other law school advice books. His law school advice are so out of context, that if this is the only law school advice book you read, you’d even not get what he’s talking about. I also don’t like it that the author’s tone feels like he’s commanding you, and that he includes no reference when he mentions those psychological studies.

[Unica Godina Le · Rating 2 out of 5]

I DNF this book, but maybe I'll come back to finish it later. I bought this book because I thought I would be reading a few tips and tricks or strategies on how to really crush law school, but really, this is more of a mindset (i.e. time management, organizational skills, staying focused, planning ahead, and managing yourself) type of book for me. The book covers some context that I would already be doing before and during school.

I consider myself an overachiever and an organizational guru, so I feel like I'm just reading stuff that I have already been doing and would be implementing as a student.

I'd only recommend this to folks who are struggling to manage and organize their time on a daily basis.

[Rae · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Read Before Law School

I’m heading into law school soon and I was looking for prep/ guidance books and this book was on Kindle Unlimited. I am so glad I picked up this book not only have I gained guidance for when I start law school; I also was able to start conversations with current law students and attorneys to see what they thought about what this book said. It has helped me greatly with my networking!

Highly recommend this book for anyone starting law school!