1L in Review: Part One

I've decided to recap my 1L year.  I'll review each of the course I took along with the professors.  And I'll give insight to each one.

First, though, I'll discuss the lessons learned from the entire year.

One, do your own briefs.  The law is taught via cases.  A law school student's job is to read the cases, condense them to the important lessons, and prepare to discuss those lessons in class.  Skimming over the cases, book briefing, or using some of the casebrief websites do not accomplish the task of preparing you for class or the exam.

I will admit the last three weeks of this past semester, I book briefed and I used the casebrief websites.  I do not feel I had a great grasp of the material towards the end as I did at the beginning of the semester.  Now, the last three weeks I spent every free moment studying so the less time I spent briefing for class, the more time I had for studying, or sleeping.  So trade-offs do exist.

But, the key here is to brief each case.  Understand the case and the lessons within those cases.  Briefing the cases help you to accomplish those tasks.  And accomplishing those tasks makes the classes and studying and the final exam that much easier.  Law school is about understanding how to apply the law to a fact pattern.  Law school is not about black and white law.  Mining the cases for the nuggets of knowledge and understanding prepare you for the final exam.  That is what each semester is about.

Two, be in a study group.  I conduct campus tours for incoming and potential students.  During these tours I tell them study groups are an individual decision.  If they don't work for you, don't do them.  But, I have since decided that position might not be quite right.  A study group helps you immensely.

Your study group members provide other perspectives which can help you see the issues and solutions.  They can also be the sounding board for your ideas.  And together, you can hone your arguments which can then be replicated in your writings and on your exams.  A study group is very beneficial in this arena.

Another benefit of the study group is you become a team.  And as a team, your goal is to make it through the first year and survive the exams.  Your "team" becomes a support group for each other - a support wall for the emotional and psychological roller-coaster which is law school.  The support, at least for me, helped in keeping the stress levels down.

For those reasons, I recommend a study group.  And because of the closeness of the group and the possible results for you from the group, I must quote a line from a 90s era movie.  "Choose wisely."

Third, treat law school like a job.  Get up at the same time every morning.  Get to school at the same time every morning.  Go home at the same time every evening.  Set a schedule and stick to it.

Your body will get into a groove so you won't feel tired during class.  You'll tend to do more school at school vice at home.  At school, the distractions are less.  Minimizing the distractions is a key to preparing for law school.  When you go home in the evening, try to relax.  Watch some television, then go to bed at a decent hour for some good rest.  Then, in the morning start all over.  Your mind and your body will thank you.  And your grades should reflect the same.

Four, outline early and often.  Outlining is not a product.  While most people will think an outline is a condensed bullet-style format for your notes, your outline is more much than that.  Outlining is a process - a very important process.  Outlining is you taking your notes and the briefs and your thoughts and putting them into a coherent form for you to study.  Think about your notes while you do this.  What was the professor attempting to get you to see?  Put that in your outline.  What was the purpose of the cases?  Put that in your outline.  Outlining is the process for you to grasp the material, understand the material, and then remember the material for the exam.  Outline early and often.

Lastly, be involved.  Join clubs.  Be on the SBA (student bar association).  Compete in the competitions your second semester.  Law school is more than just studying and taking exams.  Get to know your classmates and other students.  These relationships will help you and will aid in reducing stress. 

The first year of law school is filled with unknowns.  But, those unknowns are experienced by all 1L students.  A 1L student is learning how to study, how to brief, how to outline, and, in the process, how to think like a lawyer.  The road is arduous, but not impassable.  A little hard work and a little from your friends will help you survive.  Your first year of law school instills lessons and habits for the next 2 years.  I look forward to my next two years. 

First Year Done

I know I haven't written in over a month.  But, I have a good reason.  The last month and a half were very stressful and pressure packed.

First, the Legal Skills project this semester was harder than last semester.  Last semester we wrote a memo.  The memo was written to a lawyer.  This semester we wrote an appellate brief.  And, the brief was on a difficult subject: free speech in public schools.

Second, last semester Torts was not a course taken.  Of course, we had Criminal Law but, at least with Crim Law, we could take one sheet of notes in with us to that exam.  The Torts professors do not allow any notes to be brought into the exam.  Those who know the nuances of negligence should understand the angst associated with this notion.  Negligence concepts can be tough.

And for those who are outraged about the ability to bring notes into an exam, would you rather a lawyer who realizes totally on memory or one who consults the books?  For those who answered memory, good luck to you.

But, now the semester is over.  The stress ended this past Saturday.  And now it is time to prepare for the summer internship. 

After the exam on Saturday, many students met at a local bar and blew off steam.  The relief of finishing the school year was something else.  Felt like riding a bike down the hill with the air blowing your hair back and trying to fill your cheeks because your smile is so wide from joy.  What a joyous feeling to be done with the first year of law school!  Now we wait for grades.