With the aim of decreasing students' anxiety and increasing their chances of achieving academic success, What Every Law Student Really Needs to Know: An Introduction to the Study of Law, Third Edition prepares students to get through their first year of law school. It also serves as a valuable reference over an entire law school career, contributing to students' continuing academic success. With a friendly and informal writing style, this guide to law school features insights into how and why law school classes work the way they do, and the tools and techniques to better understand the substance of the first-year courses. It helps students enter law school with an understanding of legal concepts, the American legal system, and court structures, allowing the students not only to succeed, but to thrive in the classroom. New to the Third Edition: Improved graphics Up-to-date information Expanded explanations of difficult concepts Professors and students will benefit from: An introduction to analytic tools and methods of reasoning. Exercises that allow students to independently test their understanding of the material in each section. Visual aids that help students grasp and remember the material. A self-study resource that students may use as they need throughout their entire law school career. Grounding in discrete non-legal topics that are important to the contemporary study of law. A look ahead at the goals of a legal education and the life, duties, and responsibilities of being a lawyer.