Ray's J.D. (Juris Doctor)

So, you want to study law?:

Get a jump on your studies!:

This page is for those who want to take a shot at law study, but need a little time before they jump on it.

An Update on FREE Material!:

Introduction to Common Law:

What I like about the Wikipedia material is that it offers a concise resource for us to wrap our heads around the subject matter in an organized fashion. If you read the Gilbert's Law Summaries on the various subjects, you will have a lot of data in your head, reading the Wikipedia is a great primer and a great review of the subject matter.

If you go the the California Bar website for old essay exams, and the essay questions and answers make any sense to you - after reviewing this material - you are in the right frame of mind.

For the first year material, it would not take you much more than a week per subject to start getting the idea about what you need to know. I think about a month on those three subjects ought to get you in the right "zone" for further, more in depth study.

Here is the Wikipedia intro page to Common Law.

Introduction to Common Law

1L subjects at NWCULaw:

Torts
Contracts
Criminal Law

2L subjects at NWCULaw:

Agency, Partnership, and Limited Liability Companies

From the Companies Law page on Wikipedia, under United States in the blue and white box on the right side of the page, there are a series of links to more detail, here are some specific pages.

Partnership
You need to browse around through the various types of partnerships, General Partnership, Limited Partnership, and Limited Liability Partnership, which all have links under the United States section on the "Partnership" page above. LLC's, below, are different.

Limited Liability Companies

Criminal Procedure
Property Law
Remedies

3L and 4L pages are being worked on as I have time.

Looking at it cold, it can be intimidating, scary, or horribly boring, but on the back end of 1L, or during the study of law, you can see the beauty of these pages.

If you are THINKING about the study of law - and especially if you want to try the California Option of the Study of Law, like I am, then I would recommend reading all those pages and subjects one time through - not getting hung up on anything or what it might even mean...

Then, if you still have an interest, and really would like to grasp all that "stuff," then purchase the Gilbert's Law Summary's and see if they don't make a lot of sense to you!

If someone was to read through all of the Wikipedia pages on Torts, Contracts and Criminal Law, then read each of the Gilbert's Law Summary's on each subject, then start a distance learning program... well... they'd be a lot better off come exam time!

Here is the number two secret that I can give away...

Commercial Outlines!

Commercial Outlines have the most important information that you MUST know for each subject. If you want to be ahead of the curve in the battle against yourself, prior to starting your law study - do this!

Research Your School!

Your chosen school will have a list of the courses that you will take. Full time and part time are different, but find the program type and the courses that you will be taking. Count on Contracts, Criminal Law, Introduction to Law and Legal Writing and Torts. For full time folks, you will have (probably) two more subjects that might vary by school or program.

Buy Commercial Outlines!:

You know the courses, now go learn them before you start! Go to my page on Commercial Outlines. I have links to the various GIlbert's that I highly recommend

How to study the Gilbert's:

I have evolved the way I do things. The best way to study the Gilbert's is to also have the California Bar Essay Book.

1) Read the chapters on the subject in the California Bar Essay Book. They are very short, and it will not take you long to get this done - however, they are also short, and to the point, so you will also not likely understand everything you are reading - don't waste time looking things up, do the best you can - the really important stuff is repeated over and over again!

2) Read the Introduction to the Gilbert's Outline on the subject, and then read all the Chapter Introductions. This is very short as well, but longer than the California Bar Essay Book... the REASON to read this material, this way, is to get all of the material in your mind... remember, Finals are all in the same day, so - by the end of the year, you will have to know what you HAVE to know all for the same day!

3) Re-read the California Bar Essay Book sections again.

4) Read the CAPSULE SUMMARY (the short version of the book) in the front of the Gilbert's. Again, just read, don't look things up, just get your eyes on all of the words, terms and phrases. This is going to take longer to do, more pages to read and all that! Just do it and get through it... things start to make sense around this time.

5) Re read the California Bar Essay Book - things really start to click into place - not perfectly, but pretty well.

6) Now for the big reading... read the LARGE CENTER section of the Gilbert's - called "Outline." This will take a little while to get through, just keep on moving and read them all the way through.

7) Re read the California Bar Essay Book again.

You can now start working on your projects (Vocabulary, Case Briefs, Quizzes for 1L's), and start gearing up for your Mid Terms, then Final Exams... PARTICIPATE on the DISCUSSION BOARDS!!! You can earn up to one full letter grade for participation.

Feel free to ask me questions about the process... I am very good at answering questions!