Introductory note to first-year law students (2 & 3L's can skip to the second paragraph):  First, let me welcome you to the next three years of your life.  Second, let me remind you that it gets easier after the first year.  Third, and most important, remember that your first year will be over in 9 short months - you can survive, the key is to manage your time!  This applies whether you are a slack or a top notch student.   As you will learn, time is a precious thing in law school.  With an average of 15 hours of classes a week, and the recommended 3 hours of outside work for each class hour, you are looking at a 60 hour week.  Now for the beef of the question, "How will outlines help?"

    First, for those that are unfamiliar with the concept of a law outline, I will give you a brief review of what an outline is.  As you will learn in Civ Pro I, the enormous volume of text that you will be reading this year is divided into two types of law – caselaw and black letter law.  Black letter law is law that is spelled out for you by statutes, codes or regulations, like criminal law or torts.  Caselaw is law that has been developed over time through court cases and judicial opinions.  Your books are filled with the statutes and cases that have created the law that we are governed by today.  An outline is a condensed version of a subject, like contracts, with all the important black letter and caselaw highlighted and explained for you and all of the filler material left out.  Here are the advantages and tips to remember when choosing pre-typed outlines:

1. With pre-typed outlines, you will save time and are able to focus on the details.  What this means is that during your reading assignment or during class, a pre-typed outline allows you to spend less time typing and more time actually digesting the important aspects of the material.  Also, since most outlines are provided in word processor format, you can information to particular areas of the law that your professor highlights or that help you understand a concept better.
2. Pre-typed outlines provide you with a different point of view.  Many times different teachers, just like different judges, have varying opinions on the merits of a particular case.  A good outline discusses these different points of view and the importance of each.  These are the things that are difficult to pull out of a textbook by simply reading the decision in a case.
3. Many outlines provide helpful hints concerning testing areas.  I am not sure if all outlines are this way, but when writing my outlines, I include test tips that are mentioned by the professor, or students that have already had the class.  Also, if I can remember after an exam, I go back and note particular testing areas in my outline.
4. By adapting pre-typed outlines to your liking during a semester, you are creating a valuable resource for when the time comes to take the bar exam.  As you know, the bar exam is a huge amount of information.  By honing your outlines during law school, you are creating a custom study guide that can be used again to study for the bar.
5. Ohh, my aching head!  Heaven forbid, but what if instead of spending all night at the library, a fellow colleague (of the opposite sex, and super hot) convinces you to go out for a drink – just one drink mind you.  Despite your best intentions of waking up early and reading the assignment before your 8 a.m. torts class, you ended up staying up all night “blowing off the stress of law school.”  Hey – it’s nights like these that make the hardships of law school a memorable experience, but I digress.  Pre-typed outlines are a great crutch to use in an emergency!  If you get called on by your professor, an outline that highlights the main points of interest in a case with discussion points will allow you to at least save some face in front of the class – never mind the aroma of vodka coming from your pores and breath!  One caveat here - Don’t, and this bears repeating, DON’T use this crutch the entire semester.  Outlines are not an excuse to not do any reading or class preparation.  If you just rely on the outlines, you WILL FAIL!

    Ok, now that we have discussed the merits of law outlines – let’s take a look at what to consider when choosing which outlines to buy on Ebay.  First of all, despite the fact that I want to sell everyone reading this a copy of my cd, the best outlines will come from upper classmen at your school.  Outlines written by previous students contain specific nuances of professors and usually follow the text or class agenda closely.  That being said, there are still many reasons to buy outlines in addition to the ones that you obtain from prior students.  You never know when you will be unable to find an outline from a particular subject, or if the one you have is incomplete, or you determine that the person that wrote it must have been in the dregs of their class ranks.  Be a Boy Scout – Be Prepared.  It is good to have alternates from a reliable source at your ready, which brings me to my first tip:

1. Buy outlines from a reliable source!  Check the seller’s feedback.  Look at samples.  See how many they have sold.
2. Buy from a source that has multiple outlines per subject.  More than likely, you are not going to find outlines that directly follow the text you have for a class, but most first year texts contain the same cases in them and cover similar formats.  With multiple outlines, you can search each document for a case name and then cut and paste the case into the outline that you have chosen to make your own.  Also, some outlines are written in a different format that others, and having multiple outlines to choose from allows you to select the ones that are styled to your liking.
3. Buy outlines with extras.  I don’t know about other sellers, but I include things on my outline cd that I have amassed over the course of law school.  An example would be my list of helpful internet links, or collection of job interview articles.  These are things that you don’t think about but are a valuable resource, that once again saves you the time of Googling “cheap law textbooks” only to spend an hour sorting through your results.  Also, many sellers offer sample exams and answers, or tips and tricks to help you with your first year.
4. Last tip:  Why not?  At $15-$20 (mine are $15) what do you have to lose?  I mean, really – you (or your parents) are about to drop upwards of $15K a year – why not spend .001% of that on a resource that can help you with almost every subject and class you are going to take during the next three years, not to mention the bar exam.

    Well, I know you are tired of reading and I have said enough, so if you have any questions, just click on my user name (Stevojr) above and use the “Contact Seller” link.  I will be happy to answer any questions you may have about law school, or life in general for that matter – well almost anything – let’s leave the hot, opposite-sex, vodka drinking classmate out of this.  You can also find a listing of my outlines at my Ebay Store, Student-Outlaw if you are interested.  Also, please rate this guide if you found it helpful!