We get it. If you’re taking Corporations, you may be thinking “I’ve made it this far in law school, why do I need additional assistance?”
Even if you don’t need it, per se, the Law Library wants to emphasize that these resources are still there for your enjoyment and intellectual enrichment. These resources are still invaluable for those in particular that have “too much on their plate” and need a little help.
The Study Aid Finder has a “Recommended Electives” tab for upper-level students. These courses are courses with subject matter often tested on the bar. You may not even be taking any of these courses, and may not have a course exam to prepare for, but for those 3L’s and 4LP’s, the July bar exam is right around the corner. These resources could be useful for bar prep even if you don’t have a final in these courses.
As with the other posts highlighting the Study Aid Finder, going to the menu on the left of the screen and clicking “Recommended Electives” gives a drop-down menu of various courses that are not required for graduation but often tested on the bar exam:
Clicking on “Corporations,” as with the other courses, brings you to a box with “Digital,” “Physical,” and “Audio and Video” tabs. A portion of the “Digital” tab is displayed above. We’ve previously taken a look at the Glannon guide[s] and Examples and Explanations series, so let’s look at something different this time: the Emanuel CrunchTime series.
Clicking the link brings us [again] to the Aspen Learning Library:
Unlike the other resources we’ve investigated in this blog series, there is no “read online/read offline” option – only a “View Inside” option.
Clicking “View Inside” brings us to essentially an e-book within the browser:
Unlike the other resources we’ve evaluated in this series, the e-book options aren’t as comprehensive. There’s not a search menu button, a table of contents menu button, etc. That does not mean this resource is not valuable though.
With this resource, we are more or less limited to digitally turning the page. That’s not a bad thing though! Looking at the table of contents, this resource has a lot to offer:
As can be seen, there’s around at least 140 pages of exam questions in various formats (with explanation). This is a great way to test your application of the material, or, alternatively, a great way to learn through experience.
Clicking on the “Physical” tab brings a list of resources that are similar (some are identical) to those in the “digital” tab. These can be accessed physically in the Law Library, or the ISBN is provided and one can Google it and find a vendor-of-choice to obtain the book.
The “Audio and Video” tab has a list of resources that are, well, audio and video! These resources are not as comprehensive oand don’t provide quite the depth that other resources have, but, for those on the go, these resources provide a great opportunity for learning in traffic, in the gym, nursing a child, etc.
The amount of resources available can be overwhelming, but I’d recommend skimming a few, see which resource resonates with you, and going from there. You can’t go wrong. Happy hunting and best of luck on your upcoming exam!
In a previous post we focused on Property Law for the 1Ls, but they are not the only ones who need help!
All of you 2Ls out there likely have your Professional Responsibility final to get past before the summer. The rules of Professional Responsibility are there for a good reason. Unfortunately for us law students though, there’s a little more to them than “don’t touch your client’s money” and “communicate with your client[s].” Thankfully we have the awesome professors at GSU to help us out with these – and the amazing Law Library (and librarians and other staff and students assisting the library) to help us learn them.
Back to the study guide – to get to Professional Responsibility, we click on the “2L Courses” tab in the left menu. This brings down a drop-down menu of selected 2L courses:
Clicking on “Professional Responsibility” will bring you to a box with digital, physical, and audio/visual resources to aid your study, just like the other courses we’ve reviewed in this blog series:
We previously took a peek at a Glannon guide, so let’s take a look at a different guide this time around.
Clicking on the Examples and Explanations for Professional Responsibility (a.k.a., the “E&E” guide) again brings us to the publishers website and the Aspen Learning Library:
As you can see, it’s compatible with a variety of electronic devices (computer, tablet, phone) and can be accessed online or offline (note: offline reading must be done through the Aspen Learning Library App, available for PC/Mac/Android/iOS).
Utilizing the “Read Online” tab, you are brought to the table of contents, and from there, you can search the ToC, scroll through the ToC, etc. Chapters are broken out into the major topics (possession, gifts, title, etc.). The chapters discuss the topics generally, and provide some examples with explanations (hence “E&E”).
As this is another Aspen Learning Library resource, the interface is similar (if not identical) to that of the Glannon guide discussed previously:
Going to the “Duty of Competence” section, for example, is something that none of GSU students should have to worry about, but, you’re going to get tested on it on the final, the MPRE, and the bar. The top left icons bring one to the Aspen Learning Library and Table of Contents, respectively. The five menu buttons on the top right provide a “text to speech” function, a button for supplemental material, a full screen viewer option, a settings option (allows one to change the font size and font), and a search option. The chapter then ends with some examples. Other resources in the “digital” tab include the Glannon series, the Emmanuel crunchtime series, and others.
Clicking on the “Physical” tab brings a list of resources that are similar (some are identical) to those in the “digital” tab. These can be accessed physically in the Law Library, or the ISBN is provided and one can Google it and find a vendor-of-choice to obtain the book.
The “Audio and Video” tab has a list of resources that are, well, audio and video! These resources are not as comprehensive or have the depth of examples (a.k.a. “Hypos”) that other resources have, but, for those on the go, these resources provide a great opportunity for learning in traffic, in the gym, nursing a child, etc.
The amount of resources available can be overwhelming, but I’d recommend skimming a few, see which resource resonates with you, and go from there. You can’t go wrong. Happy hunting and best of luck on your upcoming exam!
In a previous blog post, we provided a 30,000 foot view of the Study Aid Finder that the GSU College of Law Library so kindly put together to aid your studies. The next series of blog posts will highlight certain aspects of the Study Aid Finder with the hope that it helps you take advantage of what it has to offer…and I hope you do, because who doesn’t love saving $$ by not buying resources on Amazon that the Law Library has freely available to you…AND who doesn’t like succeeding in your classes?
The 1L’s out there are only a few weeks away from completing a major milestone: the completion of the first year of law school! Definitely a cause for celebration. There are a few pesky speed bumps in the way of summer, however, one of which likely being the Property law final. Let’s take a look at the Study Aid Finder and see how it can help prepare you for the Property law final…
As noted in a previous blog post, when one goes to the Study Aid Finder, there is a menu bar on the left with 1L courses, 2L courses, and recommended electives. Clicking on the “1L Courses” bar gives a drop down menu, from which “Property” can be selected.
Clicking on the “Property” bar, you’re directed to a box with digital, physical, and audio and video resources that can help prepare you for the exam:
For a given tab, the resources are rank-ordered in an unscientific analysis of comprehensiveness, buts lets go through a few and go through the tabs of the box.
Let’s start with digital. Clicking on the “Digital” tab will display a list of resources. Let’s start with the “Glannon Guide to Property ” for no other reason than it is at the top of the list. Clicking the link may or may not bring you to a landing screen to enter your GSU network credentials (depending on whether or not you are accessing the resources from campus or off campus). After entering credentials (if needed), one is directed to the Aspen Learning Library site for the Glannon Guide:
As you can see, it’s compatible with a variety of electronic devices (computer, tablet, phone) and can be accessed online or offline (note: offline reading must be done through the Aspen Learning Library App, available for PC/Mac/Android/iOS).
Utilizing the “Read Online” tab, you are brought to the table of contents, and from there, you can search the ToC, scroll through the ToC, etc. Chapters are broken out into the major topics (possession, gifts, title, etc.). The chapters discuss the topics generally, and even provide some discussion of case law.
Looking at lost property and treasure trove (because who doesn’t like treasure??), the online viewer has a view like this:
The top left menu buttons bring you to the Aspen Learning Library (the publisher for this particular book) and a link to the table of contents, respectively. The five menu buttons on the top right provide a “text to speech” function, a button for supplemental material, a full screen viewer option, a settings option (allows one to change the font size and font), and a search option. The chapter then ends with some examples. Other resources in the “digital” tab include examples and explanation books, the Emmanuel crunchtime series, and others.
Clicking on the “Physical” tab brings a list of resources that are similar (some are identical) to those in the “digital” tab. These can be accessed physically in the Law Library, or the ISBN is provided and one can Google it and find a vendor-of-choice to obtain the book.
The “Audio and Video” tab has a list of resources that are, well, audio and video! These resources are not as comprehensive or have the depth of examples (a.k.a. “Hypos”) that other resources have, but, for those on the go, these resources provide a great opportunity for learning in traffic, in the gym, nursing a child, etc.
The amount of resources available can be overwhelming, but I’d recommend skimming a few, see which resource resonates with you, and go from there. You can’t go wrong. Happy hunting and best of luck on your upcoming exam!
The GSU Law Library is an absolutely fantastic resource for exam preparation. A former colleague of mine would tell the tale of when he was in school, after he got the syllabus for a given class, he’d hit the library and look for resources to supplement his in-class experience…and would end up CALI’ing the class. Anecdotal humble brags aside, we may not be in the beginning of the semester, but it is never too late to look around for resources that can help bolster your understanding of a given subject.
This is especially true with exam season coming up around the corner. Despite the high caliber of GSU’s professors, everyone has a different learning style, and the way material might be presented in class may not “fit” with one’s learning style. Others may just want more practice and to review a different presentation of their course material to help solidify the information in their brain (in neuroscience we call this “memory consolidation”).
Fortunately for you, GSU really goes the extra mile to ensure and promote the success of its students. The Law Library has put together a Study Aid Finder to help students get the most out of what the Library has to offer for us students to knock out those pesky exams with flying colors. This is the kind of resource I really wish someone could have handed me on day 1 of law school…let’s take a look, shall we?
The landing page has an introduction that one can read if one so pleases, but the interesting stuff can be found on the menu bar on the left-hand side of the page:
Clicking on one of the menu bars will expand the course selections:
Clicking on a given course will then lead you to a collection of study aids for that particular course. You’ll see digital formats that can be accessed with your GSU credentials and can be viewed on laptops, mobile devices, etc. If you’re a luddite like myself and prefer paper, there’s a link for information for the physical printed book. There’s also an audio and video tab with some resources for those of us on the go. It’s not like Atlanta has any traffic or anything, but, if it did, listening to audio while on your way to T-deck is a great use of time.
Today’s topic is about an important subject: stress and stress management. Stress is one of those things that doesn’t need a definition or a Wikipedia entry – everyone knows what it is and knows how they feel when they are stressed, especially law school students at the tail end of the semester before finals.
Hobbies can be a wonderful form of escapism if one puts in a little time. Not only that, but undertaking hobbies can activate areas of the brain that may not be stimulated by a casebook or hypos. My two main hobbies are guitar and photography. Some things I like about guitar is it pulls me into a mindset where the only things that matter are the melody, the sound, and the transition to the next note or song. Photography I enjoy as well because of my focus on landscape photography, which is also a great excuse to get outside away from the books and screens and get some sun. There’s always the old faithfuls like movies and video games too. If not into any of those, YouTube and the internet can teach you just about anything you want to know these days. Origami? Crochet? Cooking? The internet’s got you. Cooking is my own personal favorite “hobby du jour”…I’ve finally reached a place where I prefer my own cooking to eating out sometimes, and it’s cheaper! Below is a picture of the Atlanta skyline I took this week with some quick and dirty edits, didn’t have much time to shoot or edit but even 30 mins felt wonderful:
Iconic Jackson Street Bridge view, a panorama of two images taken with a black and white camera in the infrared spectrum. Copyright T.C. Deveau 2023, all rights reserved. Used with permission.
Exercise
Maybe not the most popular or most fun of the stress-managers, exercise definitely should have a place in everyone’s daily routine…or at least weekly routine. It can be physically exhausting but a little sweat and endorphins can be great for one’s mental state. My first “run” at grad school I took up running, which ended up being fantastic. Got me outside and thinking about things that weren’t school….plus it doesn’t cost any money to just go outside and run. Atlanta has lots to offer here if one is so inclined (please excuse the running pun, you’ll learn how “inclined” (or hilly) the city is if you ever start running).. Sure there are gyms and yoga studios all over the place, but there’s so much more around here as well. There’s the Beltline, where one can get out and walk or bike…same with the Silver Comet Trail. The Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area is another great place to get outside and walk, run, bike, kayak, float, etc (parking passes are also only $40/year, one of the best deals around). Cochran Shoals and the bamboo grove off the East Palisades trail are two of my favorite spots. Sope Creek is another great spot. There are plenty of sports leagues around too for adults (some more serious than others) if you’re feeling the itch for team sports. If one feels so inclined to get out of the city a little, there’s also the North Georgia Mountains (and the start of the Appalachian Trail) if one wants to get out and hike and camp.
Food and Drink
Everyone loves food and drink, right? Atlanta is a great food town with great restaurants across the metro area.
Can’t make up your mind? The food court is making a comeback and coming back fast. Krog Street Market, Ponce City Market, Sweet Auburn Market, Chattahoochee Food Works, Ph’East (at the Battery), Politan Row at Colony Square – all of these food courts (er, um, markets) provide a little something for everyone with tastier food and more variety than the mall food courts we all grew up with.
Atlanta is also having its “live-work-play” moment, and one can even combine food and drink with other activities like sports, retail, movie theaters (remember those?) and the like. The Battery, Avalon, Halcyon, Atlantic Station, Streets of Buckhead, Ponce City Market – all of these locations have a little something for everyone.
There’s also no shortage of watering holes around town either. From Decatur to Kirkwood, Dunwoody to Marietta, and southwest Atl as well, there are plenty of bars and breweries one can go to relax as well. Many of these spots offer things like trivia nights as well, which are a great excuse to go and socialize.
Friends and Family
Saving the best for last…last but not least, don’t forget to make time for your friends and family. Yes, making time for friends and family will leave less time to finish that brief that’s due in three days, but the gain in emotional capital often makes the sacrifice of time worth it. Please do lean on your friends and family to help support you when you feel stressed. At the very least, remember that when you apply to take the bar exam, you’ll have to add references to your Character and Fitness application. So if you need an excuse to hang out with your friends one night you think you should be doing work, keeping your friends in your life will make this portion or the bar exam application easy…and it’s good for your mental health.
So there it is. A little bit about stress in a nutshell. For context, we must also keep in mind that law school is certainly a marathon and not a sprint. Stress and stress management are behemoths of topics. Identifying when stress gets in the way of you being you and helping to manage it though will have a tremendous payout, and it’s never too early (or too late) to get working on this if you haven’t already developed your own stress management strategies.
Finally, to minimize stress, try to avoid major life changes during law school…if one can. I get it. We’re all here because we’re overachievers on some level, but a lot of life changes and decisions actually can wait until after school is done. No, no one is getting younger as time goes on and life never really ever gets “simpler” as time goes on, but waiting until school is done to undertake major life decisions is not a bad idea (if it can be managed).
Best of luck to all of you as you undertake your studies. Things will get stressful, but, as always…you got this.
Resources:
GSU Counseling Services – don’t be ashamed to reach out for help if dealing with stress gets too much, the school has a counseling center to help out.
If you’re experiencing an acute emergency resulting from stress, the suicide and crisis management hotline can also be found by dialing 988.
The Blackacre Times 
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