Supplemental Material

A lot of people recommend supplemental material. These range from canned briefs of cases to class summaries such as Glannon’s, Gilbert’s and Examples and Explanations. This past semester is the first semester that I did not buy a a supplement. I can’t say that I missed them that much.

I find that my professor’s organize and teach the material so differently that I have spent more time trying to filter out material from the supplement. Hopefully this isn’t a sign that I’m getting a bad education . . . .

That being said, you might as well drop the money on them. If you are hopelessly confused, they can help point the way. Glannon’s and Gilbert’s offer what are essentially outlines of the material. E&E is exactly that: examples and explanations of the rules. Just remember that the law that will be on your exam is the law that your professor taught in class.

In regards to which ones to buy, first try to find one written by the author of your casebook. If there are none of those, then you have to figure out which is the best supplement. Each supplement company has its own strengths so don’t get brand-loyal. Read reviews (Amazon has quite a few) and ask around at your law school for recommendations (or even used ones that 2Ls will sell you). Glannon’s might be better for one course but E&E for another.

As for canned briefs, I’ve never used them but only because I did not know they were available. I assume that they are useful but do not skip doing your own briefing. That is like having someone practice the piano for you. Sure, it is good to hear someone play the music correctly, but at the end of the day you still don’t know how to do it on your own.