Law School Confidential (Revised Edition): A Complete Guide to the Law School Experience: By Students, for Students

After reading Mr. Miller's book, I have come to the realization that law school is a total COMMITMENT; it's not a try; it's not a "taste"; and it will be very unforgiving to those who don't fully prepare themselves for its intellectual rigors. Sure, you can go to law school and not put any real effort or thought into what you are actually preparing yourself for. And if you're lucky, because that may be all that you have to count on, you will even graduate. However, what you will not have done is fully realize your intellectual potential. And when you hit the real world of stiff job competition, which is already overflowing with lawyers just like you, your opportunity to differentiate yourself from the masses will have slipped away.

Mr. Miller meticulously maps out a proven game plan for success. And if you follow his and the mentor's advice, which, by the way, often applies to any goal you set, your success in law school will eventually come to fruition. And you will have learned one of the most important lessons in life. That true success is not gained from a piece of parchment; rather, true success is only gained from within yourself.

My advice is to read this book and find a real reason to commit 3 years of your life to the law. And if you can, then show the world what it has been waiting for and set your course. Otherwise, to use the age-old cliche, "you'll be up a creek without a paddle"! Best wishes.


Law School Confidential: To be or not to be a lawyer   June 19, 2000
8 out of 8 found this review helpful

For those who are thinking of applying to law school or who are in the first (or perhaps second) year of law school, this book should be a must read. Too many people apply having a vague notion of what they would like to do with their degree and put off addressing important decisions until some of the choices that they would like to have have come and gone. As many who have fumbled through the application process and/or the first semester of law school in a haze have found out, it may now be too late to do what it is that they want to do. The process has made important decisions for them. This is a no nonsense book that includes useful comments from recent law school graduates. It addresses whether to apply, the application process, studying, exams and applying for jobs. It is the kind of book that those of us who graduated from law school years ago can read and say "yes, yes" I wish I had known that!


Very Useful For Applicants   February 10, 2001
17 out of 20 found this review helpful

I have recently completed the law school admissions process and have been accepted at an Ivy League institution that was one of my top choices. Because my application had some serious "issues" that the book specifically addressed, I sincerely recommend that all applicants take the time to read Robert Miller's work.

In my experience as a student, I have found that most of the school admissions preparation books that have been published are quite vague and are not written by people who have had firsthand experience with the process. To this effect, many law school admissions guidebooks are written by professional "experts" or "consultants", not people who have recently been through the actual application and educational experience.

This book clearly gets to the heart of the whole law school admissions process by interviewing actual law students and an actual law school admissions officer. It takes the questions and concerns that the students had when they were applying and has the admissions officer answer them in great detail. This discussion does a wonderful job at clarifying the issues confronting a person who actually makes the decision on a file. What do you look for when a person has a good GPA and other excellent credentials but an LSAT score that is not up to the school's par? Why is this school not a realistic shot for this person? Does it really benefit someone to apply earlier rather than later? Under what circumstances should an applicant send an addendum of some sort and how should he/she write it? These are the sorts of matters that Miller talks about with the admissions officer and to students who now know the answers but wish they had known them earlier.

I have yet to go through law school. But I can honestly say that I had never thought of some of the issues that the book discussed when I was filling out application forms. I credit the book's specific suggestions with my decision to say certain things on my admissions materials that I believe made a decisive impact in getting me accepted to one of my favorite schools early in the admissions cycle. And while I cannot say that everyone will have the exact same experience, I think that there is a great likelihood that the book will bring up issues and perspectives that many applicants never thought of.


Good advice   November 21, 2006
David M. Wagner (Virginia, USA)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful

This book came out after my own law-school years, and I read it in search of books to recommend to undergrad friends who were headed to law school.

I can say this: Everything Miller recommends, and that I DID, worked. everything he recommends, and that I DIDN'T do, I WISH I'd done!


Made Me Turn and Run   January 31, 2007
J. J. Fehn (Minneapolis)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful

Miller makes the "real" law school experience very clear and it was enough to send me on another career path. Attorneys are often revered in our culture (just as much as they are made the butt of jokes) and it is easy to think of the paycheck and prestige when considering the career. Miller makes it clear that there is suffering on the path to that perceived greatness and that the ends may not justify the means.