101 Things I Learned in Law School

8/17/2019 101 Things I Learned in Law School

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101 Things I Learned in Law School, Vibeke Norgaard Martin with MatthewFrederick, 2013 Grand entral !"blishing

#3 Lawyers are contextualists. scan

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ist $ k%hn&T'(S&choo&%&list $ n) *+l) ists- a +erson who belie.esthat the /"ll eaning o/ a thing is not inherent in that thing, b"t de+ends onits relationshi+ to other things)

#9 A legal ruling is the beginning, not the end, of the life of the law.

co"rt decision a concl"de a gi.en case, b"t the +recedent sste onwhich )S) co"rts are based eans a co"rt decision is itsel/ considered law,and it is likel to a4ect a line o/ cases /ar into the /"t"re) Stare decisis there5"ireent that each co"rt stand b +re.io"s decisions ade b it and bhigher co"rts in its 6"risdiction ens"res that the law is +redictable, that

siilar acts are ad6"dicated siilarl, and that the conse5"ences o/ a gi.enaction are known)

#10 Find one good case.

Legal arg"ent "st be s"++orted b +riar so"rces o/ law) I/ "ns"rewhere to begin research, start with secondar so"rces legal dictionariesand encclo+edias, hornbooks *treatises on an area o/ the law-, +racticeg"ides, and law re.iew articles) These will +ro.ide an o.er.iew o/ o"rresearch to+ic and "s"all re/erence +riar so"rces, incl"ding legal+recedents) 7nce a "se/"l +recedent has been identi8ed, alost e.er case

that s"bse5"entl cited it can be identi8ed b entering the case into anonline citator ser.ice s"ch as 9estlaw:s (ecite or Le#is:s She+herds)

#17 o!eti!es the ".. ure!e $ourt o%errules the ".. ure!e$ourt.

s societ ad.ances, discre+ancies can becoe a++arent between the lawestablished b co"rt +recedents and ore "ni.ersal notions o/ 6"stice) Thiscan lead to a co"rt re.ersing its +re.io"s decisions) ;owe.er, when a co"rt<re.erses itsel/,= it doesn:t rewrite its earlier decision) >ather, it akes adecision in a new case that contradicts its earlier decision, thereb o.err"ling

the +recedent and establishing a new +recedent)

#&' (xlain it to an eight)year)old.

The <bones= o/ a case its essential /acts and str"ct"re, and the arg"ento" are aking in s"++ort o/ o"r +osition sho"ld be "nderstandable insi+le ters) I/ o" can e#+lain it to a child, o" can e#+lain it to a 6"r)

#&9 *he theory of a case

The theor o/ a case is the single ost +la"sible storline o/ a litigating

+osition) It is the core aro"nd which all +oints o/ a case are organi?ed@ theidea that reains standing sho"ld all else be taken awa) It is at once alogical and eotional centerA it is consistent with e.er +iece o/ e.idence the 6"dge or 6"r will acce+t, and it considers the s"b6ecti.e +ositions taken bthe litigants and the +ers+ecti.es likel to be taken b the 6"dge and 6"r)Ideall, a theor is so clearl the core o/ one:s case that it is i+licitla++ended to e.er +oint one akesA <Band that is wh clientB=





#' 5aster the transitions.

dditionA nd, lso, nother reason, Desides, '5"all i+ortant, Finall,F"rtherore, In addition, In other words, Moreo.er, Ne#t, Siilarl

lternati.eA lternati.el, ltho"gh, D"t, ontrar to, on.ersel, '.entho"gh, ;owe.er, In contrast, Ne.ertheless, 7n the other hand, >egardless,Still, Tho"gh, Eet

nalogA gain, lso, nalogo"sl, Likewise, Siilarl

Introd"cing an e#a+leA For e#a+le, For instance, In +artic"lar, Nael,S+eci8call, That is

'stablishing a ca"sal conse5"enceA s a res"lt, Deca"se, onse5"entl, It

/ollows, Since, Then, There/ore, Th"s

Signaling a concessionA ltho"gh, Granted, It is tr"e, No do"bt, To be s"re

To signal one is abo"t to s+eak abo"t a client:s ca"seA ;ere, In the case athand, In the +resent atter

oncl"dingA ccordingl, ll in all, s a res"lt, onse5"entl, Finall, ;ence,In short, In s"ar, Lastl, There/ore, Th"s, To s"ari?e

#41 to taling when you%e !ade your oint. scan

Degin and end e.er arg"ent or talking +oint with the thing o" ot wantthe listener to note or reeber) 'arl +oints tend to be reeberedbeca"se the aren:t et co+eting with all others to coe) s one contin"esto s+eak, each new word or idea +resented to the listener co+etes /oreor s+ace with all the +re.io"s words and ideas)Ites at the end o/ a talk tend to be better reebered beca"se the arerecent in eor, and are +erha+s still in the <working= +ortion o/ one:seor) dditionall, listener interest is ele.ated at the concl"sion beca"seit is "nderstood as the critical s"ing "+ o/ +re.io"s +oints ade and+erha+s not listened to)

#63 ee it slightly abo%e roo! te!erature. can

>ationalit is cool@ +assion is war) >ationalit +ro.ides logical 6"sti8cation/or a +osition, while +assion +ro.ides a h"an connection to it) Doth areneeded to ad.ance an arg"ent@ an ab"ndance o/ one will not co+ensate/or a dearth o/ the other) n arg"ent a be e#traordinaril rational, b"t itscorrectness alone is "nlikel to co+el others to care eno"gh to right thewrongs behind it) n e#treel +assionate arg"ent a initiall attracts+ath, b"t "nitigated dis+las o/ eotion at the e#+ense o/ rationalitwill wear thin and e.ent"all +ro+t others to t"ne o"t o"r essage)

>ationalit akes an arg"ent worth) !assion akes it worthwhile)

#6 hats in disute 8 facts or law

LawA stat"te re5"ires a +aroled se# o4ender to li.e at least 2,000 /eet /roa school)

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FactsA The +arolee alread owns a hoe less than 2,000 /eet /ro a school,and nearl all other residences in the co"nit are siilarl sited)"estion /or the co"rtA Is a law constit"tional i/ it +rootes a +arolee:shoelessness

LawA The .ehicle code re5"ires otorists to sto+ at red lights)FactsA +olice oHcer cited the de/endant /or r"nning a red light) Thede/endant sas the light was red, b"t that he went thro"gh it to ake wa/or a 8re tr"ck)"estion /or the co"rtA 9as the de/endant aking wa /or an eergenc.ehicle, and does this ean he sho"ld be e#c"sed /or r"nning the red light

LawA contract re5"ires both +arties to ha.e the sae "nderstanding o/ itscritical ters)FactsA !art agreed to +"rchase all o/ !art D:s bats) !art D deli.ered acage o/ li.e bats to the b"er, who was e#+ecting s+orts e5"i+ent)

"estion /or the co"rtA Cid one +art or the other conceal its awareness o/ the other:s is"nderstanding at the tie o/ the contract

#'0 :ou dont now the rule until you now the excetions.

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101 Things I Learned in Law School