Is law school really as extremely hard and time consuming as its made out to be?

Question

I'm going to be attending law school in the fall and am reading some books that make it out that you must study upwards of 9 hours a day in addition to attending classes. Is it really that time consuming and is there time to have a social life?

Answer 1

Hi!

In a word, "yes".

Law school is, above all else, an endurance test designed to see if you have the will to survive. This might sound a little funny... maybe even sacreligious. But it's the truth. If you can simply survive law school, you will have accomplished something quite special.

The reading is intense. You will have hours upon hours of reading - 9 hours a day might not even be enough. And there will be times when you don't finish it all, or stay up "forever" to read something over and over again until you understand what's being presented. And yes, this doesn't even cover the 4 hours or more you will spend each day in class.

As for a social life... well, sure, you can have one. It all depends upon what kind of job you want at the end of law school. You can sacrifice your social life now, for three, relatively short, years. Then get a great job, have a nice career doing whatever you want to do with a great law school ranking from a superior GPA, and THEN have whatever social life you want.

Or, you can party every weekend, just "get by" in law school... and then continue having that "ok" life for the remainder of your career. The choice is up to you. But it is a choice you will need to make and it's a choice that WILL really have an impact upon your life.

Put another way (and I'm not trying to be preachy here at all), but you need to decide what you want out of law school before you get there... because once you start, there's really not much time for reflection.

Go read 1L by Scott Turow... and watch The Paper Chase on DVD. The Paper Chase is a LITTLE over the top (but not by much) and 1L is spot on.

Good luck!

Answer 2

Law School, especially the first year, is challenging. There is a lot of reading and preparation. You need to be ready for class. I mean EVERY class. When the prof calls on you, you better be ready.

One of the responses from a former law student is accurate. You will need to pace yourself and take good notes. Perhaps you can get a study group together so you won't feel overwhelmed.

Good luck! Don't fall to far behind.

And, when you are done with the first year, maybe the next 2 years won't seem so overwhelming!

Answer 3

Yeah there's a ton of reading, but here's the difference: In college a GOOD student has heavy reading about once or twice a week. In law school however, there's heavy reading every night. But the good news is that the heavy reading (about 30-50 pages a night) comes in the refreshing form of separate cases. This means that law students are able to experience breaks between each reading. Each case is interesting in it's own peculiar way and each case is meant to deliver one particular rule of law. My personal recommendation: Develop place- oriented studying. For instance, each day study your Contracts at the library, Property at the coffee shop, Torts on the balcony, etc. Trust me, you'll be so busy that you won't even notice how much work you're actually doing each day. And after a very brief time, you won't even notice all the effort that you're having to put forth. Good luck.

By the way, I failed out.

Answer 4

My friend's daughter has just completed Law School. If you want to do well, figure the first two years, no social life; especially the first year.

Answer 5

That sounds right to me.

Answer 6

yeh its hella hard, prepare to go blind from all that reading.

Answer 7

it is only if you make it