1000 Days to the Bar: But the Practice of Law Begins Now

by Dennis J. Tonsing

1000 Days to the Bar explains the relationship between the professional practice of law and the practice you need to perform each week to achieve your objectives. This unique guide is designed to... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0837737265
• ISBN13: 9780837737263
• Release Date: August 2003
• Publisher: William S. Hein & Company
• Length: 186 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 8.4" x 10.9"

Customer Reviews

Should be required reading for all first-year law students

Dean Tonsing's book rings as true as anything I have seen concerning the pressures, challenges, and pitfalls of law school. His practical and insightful advice should be required reading for every law student -- first, in the summer before law school begins and, second, throughout the first year. My own experiences as a law student and my years as a law professor have convinced me that the first year of law school is one of the most difficult -- and sometimes most traumatic -- challenges students will ever face in their professional lives. The learning curve for new students is vertical; the competition is unlike anything most have encountered before; the learning and teaching styles are unfamiliar; the material is dense and its logic difficult to master; and the assessments require preparation techniques foreign to most students' experiences. To help students confront those difficulties, Dean Tonsing rightly begins by focusing the students on the goal: becoming competent, in three years, to be trusted with their clients' interests in their property, their liberty, and sometimes even their lives. The sooner a student grasps that the profession of the law begins on the first day of law school, the sooner that student will begin to develop into a competent lawyer. Dean Tonsing presents invaluable advice on managing that shift from undergraduate to professional and on mastering the nuts and bolts of learning the law. Law students who put his advice into practice will find this book to be one of the most valuable resources they will encounter in their three years of study.

An Excellent Book for 1Ls

While the market is flooded with books about how to do well in law school written by good law students who went on to practice law, Dennis Tonsing's book is of a different caliber. He draws upon his experience of teaching law students to implement these concepts and become an effective law student. Apart from describing ways to tackle the tasks of reading and briefing cases and taking exams, he also helps to explain how these skills relate the the practice of law. Well worth the money!

1000 Days to the Bar

Dennis Tonsing's book has the first truly clear-eyed tone in his approach to the difficulties of Law School study. Having practiced law for over 20 years before becoming an Academic Support Director, I often wondered why no one said it as plainly as Dennis does: Law School is not school--it is a job, and everything required of law students has its analog in the professional practice of law. It is making this connection that is the book's greatest strength. Rather than just telling students "how to" do something (which Dennis' book does very well), it explains to students why they are asked to read, study, and prepare the way we ask them to read, study, and prepare. We now require this book as part of Orientation, and we devote several Academic Support lectures in the first year to a more thorough discussion of specific areas covered by the book. Mario Mainero Director, Academic Success Program Whittier Law School Costa Mesa, California

Must have book for law students

Dennis Tonsing's book is a must have for law school students and for law school faculty and staff counseling students. I keep it on my desk and refer to it daily as it contains useful practical information to give to students. I also advise students to obtain a copy as many of the questions students have are answered in great detail in the book. Particularly useful were the sections on time management dynamics and the components of assessment targeted study. I could not recommend this book more highly. Dennis Tonsing's clear, excellent advice distinguishes this book from others in this genre.

academic support professional

I have been involved in academic support for legal education for 11 years. Dennis' book is perhaps the most original I have seen. How to go to law school books tend to be how to survive law school. This book explains how to thrive. It exemplifies the difference between a good law student and a mediocre one; and a good lawyer as opposed to an average one. I plan to recommend it to my summer prep classes in the future.