The real text book

A big part of the law school game is figuring out which book the professor is actually teaching out of.

Sounds crazy, I know. All through undergrad, you enroll in a class, buy the book and there you go. In law school, it’s not always that easy.

In fact, it is never that easy.

In many of my classes, the professors utilized two different books. It is really not much better than any shady businessman who keeps two ledgers, the first with the reported income and second with the actual ill-gotten gains recorded. There is the one book the professor tells you to buy. This is the casebook you will be assigned to read throughout the semester. But, it is not necessarily the book you will be covering in lecture. Nor, will it necessarily be the book that contains the material you will be expected to demonstrate competency in on your examinations.

I couldn’t believe it when I first heard of this. I thought, what? C’mon! They don’t hide the ball like that. You can't be tested on things you haven't read.

But, you know what, the same thing happened to my wife back about ten years ago. There was a class where none of her friends in her study group could figure out what the professor was talking about during his lectures. These girls are smart, capable people. They had all done the reading. They discussed the readings prior to class. They could not follow the lecture.

It turned out the guy was lecturing right out of some random hornbook. Once they discovered this real textbook, after a search where they all started reading every book they could get their hands on until they found the right one, they stopped reading their fake casebook altogether and focused instead on the hornbook. The test was on the contents of the second, secret book. Really. This actually happens in law school.

The first time I figured it out myself, it was in the second semester of my first year. I knew after the first semester exams that I had been lied to. A professor once told me, during a one-on-one visit in his office, that “everything you need to know is in here” as he waved about the assigned casebook in his hand.

That was utter bullshit, and I'm pissed at myself for falling for it. My whole life, I've been told to believe my teachers. That what they tell you is the truth. His exam was not on the contents of that book he waved around. And he fucking knew it, too. He lied right to my face.

The first time I figured out what the real text book was, well, that was the first time I got an A in law school. I studied the shit out of that second book, the real textbook for the course. I kicked ass on the exam. It angered me more after the semester ended, when I had some time off to reflect. The more I thought about it, the worst it became.

Why was I being asked to purchase and read a textbook that had nothing to do with the class lecture or the exam? The books are expensive, and the reading is time consuming. I’ve only so many matches to burn. Just tell me what I need to learn. Don’t hide the ball from me.

You know, I hate to say it now, but I did not share my find with my classmates. One thing about law school, you soon learn to keep such cards close to your chest. It’s a brutal game. There are winners and there are losers. I wanted a win.

I’m not proud of myself for it. But, others did the same to me. That, and worse, every chance they got.