Rating: 
Summary: A companion for law school
Review: Most law school preparatory books help you decide if law school is for you and how to go about preparing for it. This book, which is more of a true companion, takes you from the beginning decision stage to the ending employment. This book should not be out of reach of you are deciding or going to law school.The book was put together by a team of recent law school graduates who have compiled success, and horror, stories, which are used to help the prospective law school student understand what is needed and why. In regards to admission to law school, they also got some insight from faculty and admission staff. The writing itself reflects this sense of someone on the inside telling us the scoop. Without getting too bogged down in details, the writers bring tips for staying ahead of the game as well as tips for cutting losses. They even give dates for when students should start preparing your resume and when they should send cover letters looking for summer employment. Although working on the law review is discussed, I found that little information, comparatively, was given for moot court. This is a part of all law schools, so it seems odd that it is left out here. I would recommend any one applying or attending law school to take a look at this. This may be one of the most valuable resources outside of the Black's Law Dictionary.
Rating: 
Summary: An Enjoyable Primer for Navigating Law School
Review: Robert Miller's "Law School Confidential" is an excellent resource for the potential (or current) law student. It covers the entire spectrum of the law school experience, from making an honest assessment of whether or not to go (something far too many potential law students neglect to do) to landing that posh job at a top firm. Along the way, Miller discusses taming the LSAT, coming through the brutal first year intact, Law Review, summer internships, interviewing, clerkships and lifestyle. Perhaps the best feature of this book is Miller's light-hearted, breezy writing style. The tone is that of a friend who has scaled the mountain and is now telling you about it over a pitcher of beer, rather than that of a pompous square lecturing you about law school's do's and don't's. The frequent quotes from the book's "mentors" (former law students) add to the sense of credibility one gets from this book. I have a small beef with this book which prevented it from achieving the rarified air of five stars. Since the book discusses a broad range of subjects pertaining to law school, it gives a fairly superficial treatment of each. This is of course out of necessity; the book would be 2,000 pages long if Miller went into detail about every last topic. But he makes very few recommendations for further reading. A perfect example is the chapter entitled "Your Five Most Critical Hours: How to Beat the LSAT." Judging by the title, you'd think this was a veritable cornucopia of information on cracking the LSAT, right? Guess what--the chapter is seven pages long. The only resources Miller mentions are the Princeton Review (he didn't take it), a Princeton Review book and an ARCO book. These are mentioned in passing; they are not recommendations. My point is, this book would have benefited greatly from a "Further Reading" section at the end of each chapter for those who want to get more detailed information about a topic and are confused by the ocean of law school books that are out there. But this is just a small chink in the armor of what I consider to be a very helpful, informative and enjoyable book. Kudos to Mr. Miller--a generation of law students will be better off for having read his book.
Rating: 
Summary: useful, yet flawed
Review: LSC does a good job of hammering home the seriousness of law school, however much of the information is neither insightful nor refreshing. First, the places the book is off the mark. Miller would make it appear that if you do not get into a top five law school, you are unemployable. This is false. There are many attorneys and not all went to a top five school [scroll through a law firm's roster online if you think I am lying].
Second, Miller's briefing method may be as harmful as it is helpful. Briefing is a very personal process. While Miller's method may spare you some embarrassment, but I do not think it will help you learn the material. Moreover, excessive highlighter bleeds through the pages. A better method is to highlight sparingly [maybe just the courts rule] and jot in the margins ["f" for facts, "h" for holding, etc.] Reciting facts will not help you on a law school exam, you have to know the material [specifically the rules of law]. During the Socratic method, most law professors appreciate a simple "I do not know" rather than wasted class time as a student searches for a highlighted section. Spend your time learning the law and spend your money on a hornbook or a treatise.
Of course not all aspects of the book are fruitless. If you could not follow some of the terms in my second paragraph, such as "hornbook" or "treatise," then LSC may help you out. However, the information is just as readily available from a 2L or 3L for free during your first weeks of law school. If you are determined to buy a book, buy a Civil Action [it is great preparation for Civil Procedure] or Law 101 [which gives an overview of all courses]. When you arrive at school, learn from the class ahead of you. It is the cheapest most effective way to learn how to succeed at your school.
Rating:
Summary: Skip it
Review: I am a student at a top 5 law school. I will be commenting on the law school portion of the book (not the "get into law school" portion). I was not very impressed with this book. The author does not suggest anything new or helpful. "Make flow charts, make outlines (the shorter the better)." This stuff is nothing new. You will learn this within one week at law school. The author's big technique, "book briefing," is a tool to avoid being embarrassed when called on in class. This is a waste of time. Class performance has nothing to do with your grade. Thus, worrying about class performance is a waste of time. The sooner you accept this fact and become willing to say "I don't know" in class in return for having more time to study what might be tested, the better you will do. The best pre-1L book is Planet Law School (which itself is far from perfect). Skip this one. Your money will be better spent on a commercial outline.
Rating:
Summary: Read it and then set it aside . . .
Review: I am a law student at a highly-ranked institution and read this book the summer before classes began. The advice is sound, but if you're planning to attend law school, do yourself a favor. Read this book, take with you what works, and leave the rest. Maybe use it as a doorstop. Or maybe keep it a bit closer at hand. But realize that no book can completely prepare you for law school or guide you through it. There are no secrets to success or magic bullets to slay the exam monsters. This book will give you some great ideas to build on (law school is an intensely personal experience - what works for one person doesn't work for another), and will ease the jitters of beginning what will be the most stressful, infuriating, exciting, and even ... dare I say it ... FUN three years of your life.
Rating:
Summary: a secret weapon
Review: I read this book (and many others) before starting my first semester at a top 10 law school. It is the best one out there. Don't beleive me? Fine, your loss will be someone else's gain on the curve. The "Highlighting in technicolor" strategy alone is worth the price of the book. While other 1L's toiled into the night on typed case briefs, I slept soundly with my rainbow colored case books. Thank you Mr. Miller.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent advice, and very well written
Review: I've read this book cover-to-cover twice as I prepare for law school. I've found the information practical and easy to follow. I wasn't sure how well the advice would transfer to actual use, but a couple of weeks ago I attended an open house at the local (NOT Top 20) law school, and was pleased to see one of the 2L's on the question-and-answer panel hold this book up and suggest that we all buy it. She said it was the most helpful thing she had read to prepare her for the law school experience.
Rating: 
Summary: Good, If you plan on going to Harvard
Review: Admittedly, I have not started law school yet, but I don't plan on going to Harvard or Yale or any big time school. This book only gives advice about those schools. Some of the stuff is very useful though, study tips and such. And a section in the choosing a law school chapeter called "The Harsh Reality" proves the private school bias that our country seems to have adopted. This section basically tells you that if you don't get into one of the top 20 schools you should take the LSAT again and reapply. And he also says that taking an acceptance from a "regional school" is a risky situation. All in all it's a pretty good book if you are going to Harvard, Yale, UPenn, or Georgetown.
Rating: 
Summary: No Real Secrets Here
Review: A little about me: I'm now in my second year of law school and purchased both Law School Insider and the older book Law School Confidential last year. Back then, I didn't know that Robert Miller, the author, has written Confidential books on different types of schools (Law School, Business School, maybe Medical School's next?), and uses the same format and advice in these books. I wound up keeping only my copy of Law School Insider, which turned out to be more relevant and useful for me. Law School Confidential is like the "for Dummies" books, down to simplistic tips that sound good but didn't really work when I tried them. Particularly unnecessary were the "etiquette" advice and handfuls of comments from yuppie "mentors" who didn't really add anything to the book. Because it has so much of this filler, Confidential also treads far too lightly on subjects that really concern me, like choosing courses to match my personal interests, possible areas of specialization, and picking the right place to take my bar exam. By comparison, Law School Insider treats these subjects with depth and serious consideration. It actually speaks to the lifestyles and choices of different readers, including people who are married and worried about starting a life after law school, and tells people from diverse backgrounds how to maximize their chances of success. I also really liked Insider's story portions, which Confidential lacks, but tries to make up for in attitude. On that subject, there is not a trace of Confidential's arrogance or artificial stress anywhere in Insider. Despite what Miller says, law school is not going to be like a war and it is still worthwhile even if you don't attend one of the top 10 schools in the country. Miller and I were both educated in Pennsylvania, but I know that what he says isn't even true at most of the schools in my state, let alone elsewhere in the country. If you want to really know what law school is like, my advice is to skip Law School Confidential, and you know the book I recommend.
Rating:
Summary: Just compare the titles.
Review: LS Confidential is a fun, easy-to-read, thorough guide. "Law School Insider: The comprehensive blah blah blah, " is way too long and the type is way too small and it just drones on and on and on. I didn't care for Horwitz's tone and arrogant lecture style. In LS Confidentail Miller is like a buddy giving me advice. 1-month into school already and his tips have already been tested and proven and I still refer back to LS Confidential. LS insider is taking up shelf space. As you read LS confidential tab the pages that give the case brief and study tips. Law School Confidential is well worth it and after reading Law School Confidential I was confident and excited to start law school. After reading Law School Insider I just felt sleepy.
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