About Justin Kade Hinderliter

Author Archive | Justin Kade Hinderliter

From Law School to the Courtroom: Etiquette Matters.

By on July 31, 2012 in Law School & Legal Life

Hey future 1Ls, manners do matter…

During the summer of 2012, I was fortunate enough to extern for the Honorable Judge Gregory Alarcon.  Judge Alarcon LSAT Blogwas a litigator the first 20 years of his career and has since been on the bench for 18 years.  Moreover, Judge Alarcon comes from a lineage of highly respected legal minds, his father being a 9th Circuit Court of Appeals serving the bench for over four decades.

Over the course of the externship, the law school externs did many legal research and legal writing assignments, however we also did a handful of non-legal related assignments.  One of these assignments was the production of materials for a lecture from Judge Alarcon on  the subject of etiquette in the Court.… Read full post

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The Form of Logic

By on March 21, 2012 in Logic Games, Logic Reasoning Section, LSAT Test Prep

Formal logic is a skill that is very important, and highly tested, on the LSAT.  Formal logic will appear in three of the four scored sections of the exam.  First, formal logic appears in almost every analytical reasoning, which is known as logic games, question.  Second, formal logic appears in a variety of question types within the logical reasoning section of the exam as well.

Furthermore, formal logic is a skill that a student can use one time, and then simply discard after taking the LSAT.  In order to “think like a lawyer,” a term you are likely to hear too often during you 1L year, you must be able to effectively apply formal logic to various laws and facts.  So, this learning this skill for the LSAT is just the beginning of your formal logic training and education.  This is likely why this skill is so critical for LSAT success, because after all, the LSAT is advertised as testing the skills necessary to succeed in law school!… Read full post

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Life as a 1L: Supplements…Worth It or Not?

By on March 16, 2012 in Law School & Legal Life, Law School Admissions

This is what awaits you as a 1L…

Its mid to late September, you have heard other people mention terms like Hornbook or Treatise.  However, the people you likely hear talking about them are other 1L’s that have a brother, or cousin that has gone to law school and finished in the top 5% of their class.

So you start to wonder is there any validity to this.

You see, you are a in your first year of law school, glad you got in, but somewhat confused as to what it means to “Think Like a Lawyer”, and are starting to hear horror stories about how “different” law school exams are compared to other test in different professional schools, or undergraduate programs.… Read full post

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Accepted! Now What?

By on March 2, 2012 in Law School & Legal Life, Law School Admissions

So the acceptance letter has come and gone, and the buzz and excitement is now turning to a bit of apprehension and anxiety.  Majority of 1L’s feel this way around the August and September months of their 1L year.

Here are a few tips that I can endorse, by trial and error.  The specifics to how you get through your 1L year, and the remainder of law school, change for each person, but the general destination is the same for all persons.

These are numbered based on what I would have liked to known, and what I feel would be most important to me now looking at it retrospectively.… Read full post

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Assumptions: Bridging & the Art of Negation

By on February 29, 2012 in LSAT Test Prep

Assumption questions are a huge part of the Logical Reasoning portion of the LSAT, which makes up two, out of the four, graded sections.  So (keyword, indicating conclusion), it is something every LSAT taker must master.  The good news, or bad news depending on how you look at it, is that the same skill used in assumption questions is also used in both strengthening and weakening questions.

Now that we know they are important, lets define what an assumption question is and a couple of ways to approach them.

Assumption questions ask us to identify the assumption that the author (or in the case of the LSAT, the test writer(s)) is relying on in order for the conclusion to logically follow.  For example:

What is the assumption the author is relying on?  (what am I taking for granted)

Doughnuts are fattening.… Read full post

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Logic Games, Law School, Puzzles & Mysteries

By on November 15, 2011 in Logic Games, LSAT, LSAT Test Prep

Initially, test takers consider logic games often the most intimidating section of the LSAT, primarily because of their unfamiliarity. For the majority of students, the time element of 4 games in 35 minutes is the biggest problem. That is why it is important to become very skilled and confident in diagramming (sketching) the games. Once a test taker has learned a systematic approach to setting up logic games, LG’s can be a great opportunity to pick up points on the LSAT and to raise your score.

In order to understand how to set up a logic game, first we need to understand exactly what LG’s are and what they are not.… Read full post

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2 Months to Test Day: Reducing Stress on the LSAT

By on October 11, 2011 in Logic Games, Logic Reasoning Section, LSAT, LSAT Test Prep, Reading Comprehension Section

As an initial disclaimer, it should be stated that everyone handles stress and reduces stress in different ways.So this writing will be somewhat subjective based on my take on stress.However, this blog will also be partially objective based on the nature of the LSAT itself and understanding what the LSAT actually tests.

Let’s go deeper into the objective, and then come back to how to deal with the stress of the test.So what does the LSAT actually test?Is it a knowledge based test or is it a skill based test?

To answer the first question, using a macro-based approach, the LSAT tests a person’s ability to think logically, make deductions, and bridge gaps in arguments.These skills are tested in the different sections:Logical Reasoning; Logic Games (Analytical Reasoning); Reading Comprehension.So, are these elements of the LSAT knowledge or skill-based?This is the important question when considering how to reduce the stress of test day.… Read full post

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A Logical Approach to Logical Reasoning on the LSAT

By on September 6, 2011 in Logic Reasoning Section, LSAT, LSAT Test Prep, Reading Comprehension Section

From the beginning, students often see the logical reasoning section as the most intuitive section of the exam.If this is how you feel, or felt, when you first begin studying for the LSAT then good for you.

The logical reasoning (LR) section of the LSAT comprises approximately half of the available points on the exam.Therefore, it is also the most important aspect of the exam from a numerical standpoint.In case you haven’t seen the LSAT yet, it comprises of 5 separate 35 minute sections and a 35 minute writing sample.The test is divided into two with a break coming after the 3rd 35 minute session.Of the 5 sections, four of them are graded and that raw point total is used to comprise the 120-180 LSAT score.… Read full post

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LSAT Logical Reasoning In-Depth: Method of Argument

By on May 24, 2011 in LSAT Test Prep

This May, we continue to explore the section of the LSAT that counts most on test day: Logical Reasoning. Continuing our series from March – we’ll cover some of the section’s toughest content throughout the weeks ahead. Check out more information on the Logical Reasoning make-up, here. And, check out information on our brand new Logical Reasoning On Demand course.

Method of argument questions are important to understand, for a couple of different reasons.

First, there will certainly be a couple of them within the twice-tested logical reasoning sections. Second, and more importantly, they have a strong correlation to the reading comprehension section.… Read full post

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LSAT Beat the Clock: Reading Comprehension

By on April 19, 2011 in LSAT Test Prep

For the reading comprehension section of the LSAT, students often feel the most time pressure. I was once in this very position. I eagerly enjoyed the logic games, as they resembled sodoku puzzles. I also enjoyed the logic reasoning questions because they were small arguments I believed were open to being broken down and analyzed quickly and efficiently.

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