Brush with the Law: The True Life Story of Law School Today at Harvard and Stanford

I'm writing this having just finished my first semester at Harvard Law. This book is an all-too-accurate description of law school life. Contrary to other reviews here, I can vouch for the fact that class attendance isn't necessary and that you can learn a semester's worth of material from other people's notes in 5 days (and still pull A's). Also, nobody cheated on any exams in the book; law school exams are impossible to cheat on as they're open-book (this includes any printed material other than your classmates' exams).The people here aren't as bad as they'd have you believe; I have a lot of great friends that I've made this year, but you do have to seek them out from the dull masses.The book is fun, funny, well-written and should be required for anyone thinking about attending a prestigious law school.

As a classmate (and non-acquaintance) of Jaime Marquart at Harvard Law School, I found this book impossible to put down. It is essentially an unblinking confession of how Marquart at Harvard, and Robert Byrnes at Stanford, achieved slightly-above-average grades in law school while not attending class, not studying until a day or two before their exams, and spending most of their time (apparently) gambling, drinking, taking drugs, and/or bouncing from woman to woman. The disturbing but important lessons from this are (1) that it's not worth making an effort to pull ahead of the pack grade-wise at Harvard or Stanford law school; (2) that, if you go to Harvard or Stanford to learn law, rather than to prove something, you shouldn't be worried about being with the pack anyway; and (3) in all areas of life, you can't grind your way to stardom (assuming stardom is what you want). For law students who do *not* attend Harvard or Stanford (or, I guess, Yale), this book should be approached with extreme caution. Grades *are* important, and hard work *can* make a big difference, in your likelihood of success if you're getting a degree from any but the top handful of schools. For more on this, see *Letters from Law School,* by Lawrence Dieker. (One other point: the URL given in *Brush with the Law* for seeing copies of Byrnes's and Marquart's exams, outlines, etc., appears to be dead.)

Marquart (Harvard Law) and Byrnes (Stanford Law) confess to an astounding variety of crimes, blunders, and fears in this voyeur's delight. Brush with the Law, along with Scott Gaille's (Univ. of Chicago Law) "fictional" account of similar events in The Law Review, are both recent attempts at portraying the steamier (and often darker) side of life at the nation's top law schools. Though most law students will not have the opportunity to sample crack cocaine and orgies, Marquart's and Byrnes' tales of decadence show that the range of human experience exists as richly (or poorly) behind ivy-covered walls as it does elsewhere in society.

I must confess that I absolutely loathe Hunter Thompson. His association with this book (however, remote and probably purchased) and the analogies to Fear and Loathing almost kept me from picking up a copy. But, having graduated from Harvard Law in '97, I couldn't resist. And, while part of me feels like I should be ashamed to admit it, I really, really enjoyed reading it. While the dual narrative structure and the sheer number of characters creates a bit of confusion, the book is extremely well written and walks the appropriate line between informing and entertaining. While I really didn't know Jaime well (though I did meet him once or twice), I love him after reading his work. He has a rare ability to penetrate the human psyche and provide the reader with a clear understanding of the inner turmoil felt by first year law students everywhere. His humble, little boy from Texas outlook is endearing and his insights profound.I did know the Kankoos (honestly, does anyone who graduated in or near '98 not recognize who this is?) and I think I recognize Brian Green, though I can't be absolutely certain on him. The Kankoos dated an acquaintance/friend of mine during law school. He and I actually fooled around once after some Gropius party and I ended up working with him during a summer. He was (is?) immensely likeable and absolutely hilarious. But, while his character is portrayed brilliantly, I don't think the author gives enough glimpse into the Kankoos' personal struggles, which were real and many and very much serve to demystify him. Naturally I had no reason to know Robert Byrnes or Tim Apparel and, not having smoked crack in the Haight recently, found them a tad more difficult to connect with. Though I thought Robert was somewhat self-involved and thought his end-of-the-tale enlightening smacked of insincerity, I'll admit that his tales of orgies and hard drugs both engaged and entertained.Still, this is very much Jaime's tale - well conceived, well crafted, full of tremendous insight for aspiring law students and an awakening for ex law students who only thought they coasted through their law school experience.

Great read! Much more than just another book about law school. Brush With the Law is a true, honest look into the lives of two people on seperate ends of the country who stumble upon the same place: a battle ground to fight the demons inside of them and attempt to see beyond the shadows of their youth. I found it suspenseful, colorful, revealing and enlightening.I'd like to see this book adapted to the big screen.