Stay Ahead of the Pack: Your Comprehensive Guide to the Upper Level Curriculum (Academic and Career Success Series)

Built on the very successful model of Get a Running Start: Your Comprehensive Guide to the First Year Curriculum, this book offers a global overview of the core upper-level bar courses in a single volume. In accessible, short lessons, Stay Ahead of the Pack covers all the major concepts taught in each of the courses most commonly taken by second- and third-year law students: administrative law, business associations, criminal procedure, evidence, personal income tax, and professional responsibility.

Each of the chapters is written by a specialist in the field who is a decorated teacher with years of experience in the classroom. In this volume, they have distilled that experience and expertise to produce the tool they wish they had when they were in law school: a clear, concise introduction to all the upper-level bar courses that form the core of the second- and third-year curriculum.

Get a Running Start has proved to be a valuable tool for first-year law students, heralded as a “must read” that “covers everything,” “should be required reading for every incoming law student,” and is “of great help when reviewing and studying for exams.” Stay Ahead of the Pack provides the same competitive advantage for second- and third-year law students. By reading through the chapter for a course, students will get a complete overview early in the semester. As the semester goes forward, students can accelerate their learning and comprehension by reviewing individual lessons when preparing for class. As the semester comes to a close, the lessons in this book provide a framework for outlining and exam preparation. And after graduation, the materials in this book will be valuable for aspiring new lawyers as they study for the bar exam.

Outside the classroom, Stay Ahead of the Pack offers a stimulating introduction to fundamental legal concepts that will engage citizens who want to know more about the law as a central feature of public life and legal issues commonly featured in the news and policy debates.

Among the many features readers will find useful are:

• Up-to-date content that includes the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 and major Supreme Court cases from the 2017-2018 term including Carpenter v. United States.
• An introductory chapter offering advice on how to structure a successful class preparation and study process.
• Short lessons that provide readers with an introduction to the major concepts for a day or week of law school classes in 10-15 minutes.
• Complete course coverage that will allow readers to get a global overview of a core curriculum bar course in the span of an afternoon.
• Frequent use of examples and hypotheticals to illustrate major points in an accessible way.
• Short “Takeaway” summaries at the end of each lesson that highlight the main points and provide a quick reference or refresher.