Description
This article is from the King Hall Law
School FAQ, by David F. Prenatt, Jr. NetEsq@dcn.davis.ca.us
with numerous contributions by others.
4.1.2.4) Should I use commercial outlines and canned briefs? (King Hall Law School)
As a rule, yes. Since most law school courses are standardized, this
will save you quite a bit of time and trouble. However, it is best to
use an outline prepared by a student who has taken the same course
from the same instructor you are taking since each instructor
emphasizes different things. If you do use a commercial outline or
canned brief to prepare for class, review it beforehand to make sure
that it's not wrong in some critical point. This happens all of the
time to students who rely upon commercial outlines and canned briefs,
and it is very embarrassing for everyone.
A number of commercial outlines are prepared by the authors of
your textbooks (which are not-so coincidentally your instructors at
King Hall in some cases). In contrast, canned briefs are usually
prepared by some unknown third party (to quote one e-mail commentator,
"CANNED BRIEFS SUCK!"). A third option for reducing your reading is
the "Headnotes" system that West Publishing provides. Headnotes are a
comprehensive cross-reference system of the law that digests and
organizes by topic the case law found in West's Reporters. I used
Headnotes whenever I had trouble understanding the relevant holding in
a case. As I found out during Legal Writing and later in Moot Court,
Headnotes will usually direct you to the most important and
controlling language in a published court decision.
I cannot overemphasize how important it is to develop your own
personal course outlines. While it may or may not actually have an
impact upon your grades (depending upon the instructor), it will help
you learn the law, which is presumably the reason that you came to law
school in the first place. If you form a study group, exchanging and
editing the work of others will also help you pinpoint your own
mistaken perceptions about the law.
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