Here's some of what you'll find in The Commons:

Student Materials

We asked some students who did particularly well in the 1L year to share some of their prep materials and techniques with you. For each of the main 1L subjects you'll find all or part of an outline, as well as primers on how to move from class notes to outlines, and a variety of exam-prep materials like "short sheets," "attack outlines" and "key concepts."

Hear from Us

Would you like to hear from us occasionally, with nudges when it is time to be doing something important, or if we have critical tips? You'll find in The Commons a way to sign up to get periodic emails or tweets from us. We won't write you too often – we too find it a challenge managing electronic communication – but we promise to be in touch when something needs attention or is worth sharing.

Hyperlinks

You'll notice that Open Book, the book, has some hyperlinks. If you are reading on an e-reader you need only click. But for the many of you that we anticipate purchasing hard copy, in The Commons you'll find the hyperlinked materials.

Study Break

Law school should not be all work and no play. See the Afterword: The Zen of Law School. We've found you some apps so you can play pinball yourself, and we're collecting stuff on the lighter side of law school and exam-taking. (Yes, there is a lighter side.)

The Open Book Blog

There's a blog that we hope will collect tips, answers to tricky exam-prep questions, ideas, and humor. We don't promise to be doing this every day – we're busy with teaching and scholarship! – but we'll post material as we have it. Some of this will come from you. On our Contact page we'll explain how to submit questions or ideas you want to share with others, and we'll post the most provocative of the lot.

Webcasts When You Need Them

We hate the word "webinar." Still, the web does offer an amazing opportunity to run live seminars and to store them so if you prefer you can watch at your leisure. We are planning, every now and again, to appear live in The Commons so you can write or call in with questions.