Law School?

Question

I start law school next semester and wanted to know what I should do do in the mean time to get ahead and to prepare myself. Any suggestions are appreciated!

Answer 1

What not to do:
1) Buy your textbooks ahead of time and study--How do you know what will be covered if you don't have the syllabus? So don't waste your time.

2) Don't study at all. Law school is a unique place. You will have to re-learn how to read, write and study and the school will take you through that process in the first few weeks. trying to do it on your own might screw you up.

What to Do:

1) Relax and have fun--You will be studying or being in class 10-12 hours a day your first year. You need to be mentally prepared for this grind and to do that you need to recharge your batteries so to speak.


When you start school I suggest you treat it like a job. Go in at 8am study when you are not in class, take an hour lunch, and continue to do this until 6pm on days that are not busy and later if you need to.

Try to give yourself at least one full day off a week from law school (except during midterms or finals (only one or two test in law school per term). You need to keep a balance or you will burn out.

Do not work at all during your first year, concentrate on the first year academics. The first year is the most important year of law school. It leads to the best internships and sets the course for the future. The classes get easier as you move along in school and the first year classes are the same at all ABA accredited law schools.

During the summers get internships at the types of places you think you want to work. DO NOT TAKE SUMMER CLASSES. This is not only a waste of time, employers want to see that you have some sort of experience. The internship between 2nd and 3rd years is crucial. This internship usually leads to a job offer, or at the very least leads to foot in the door in that field of law.

And if you can, after you 1st year become a BarBri rep and you will get the very pricey bar review course for free.

That is my advice. Keep yourself sane by being on a schedule when you are in school and taking time for yourself and remember it is all a means to an end.

Congratulations on going to law school. And good luck.

Oh and one last thing, although the commerical outlines that you can buy are helpful...sometimes they can be very bad for you in terms of tests. I have had professors that hated the outlines so much the actually would grade you down if they saw something in your answer that they did not cover in their text book or in class that those outlines did. And in some cases there is a difference in theory of law from what you Prof. might teach and what an outline teaches you..(i.e. Torts has two schools of thought but the outlines cover only the most common one.) My suggestion is if you think they will help they are fine but bottom line is do what you prof. instructs you to and how they tell you to do it.

Answer 2

I would advise you to enjoy yourself. Also, prepare yourself for a scary first year. Get in shape. Have fun this summer. Enjoy your friends. Save money so that when you need a break from studying you can actually afford to do something fun. The main thing is that you are going to have a monkey on your back for the next three years. Enjoy the next two months, go into school refreshed and ready to study.
Don't start reading your texts, there will be plenty of time for that as soon as the semester starts. Start outlining as soon as classes start, outline each assignment (when possible, don't sweat it if you don't keep up with everything. Anyone who says that they keep up with every class and every assignment, everyday is lying. Just make sure to go back and catch up when you have the time.). Outline throughout the semester, rather than at the end of the semester. Keep a notebook throughout your time in law school with all the words and terms that are new to you.

Answer 3

Relax. Don't read Paper Chase or 1L. Don't listen to the nonsense about non-stop studying and cut-throat competition. Law school is rigorous, but you'll make friends and there's plenty of time for diversions.

Law school is just more college with some slight tweaks. It's not really about learning the law; it's about learning to work and think like a lawyer. Any time you think you can't do it, just remember the stupidest lawyer you've ever met. He or she made it and so will you.

If you know any lawyers or law school students, talk with them about getting organized and doing outlines for your classes. You don't need to get ahead, but you'll suffer if you fall behind. And you WILL fall behind if you don't do your reading timely and organize the material so you have an efficient way to review for finals.

Most, if not all, law schools now have an orientation session prior to the first day of classes. Make sure you show up for that and pay attention.

You're probably still eager to get started, so get a style book on legal writing. Go to Borders or check Amazon.com, you'll find something. Many 1L's are traumatized by the criticism they get in the first year writing classes. If you get a grasp of some basic techniques for effective legal writing, you may score some early points.

Answer 4

I agree not to do anything academic for law school this summer. (Do check the school's website for any readings for the first day of class--it ain't kindergarden and some profs actually expect you to be prepared for the first day.) Otherwise, have fun this summer. You won't next year, at least during the first semester. When you get to law school, don't be impressed or intimated by the smart-sounding students who seem so thoroughly well-versed. They more often than not aren't heard from again after the first semester's grades come out. Study in whatever way works for you. Your study habits from college probably don't have to change unless they included partying, skipping class, not keeping up with work, and trying to cram for finals; those approaches may have worked for some undergraduate courses, they will result in failure in law school.

Answer 5

Familiarize yourself with the process of briefing cases by reading some cases and try to break the case down by writing down the short facts, the issue in the case, the rule of law, the rational of the court, and the conclusion.

Once you start law school in addition to your casebooks, do yourself a favor and buy Gilbert law summaries and/or Emanual law summaries for all the courses tested on the bar. Your casebooks will be important to brief all of the cases your professor will call on people to brief in class, but the law summaries books outline the law you need to know with examples as long as sample test questions. These really help you for your finals.

Answer 6

Familiarize yourself with common legal terms. Spend as much time reading case law as you can to see how lawyers think and speak. Work for a lawyer if you have time... the best way to learn is to do it. Remember, law school does not teach you how to be a lawyer, just how to think like one. The real teaching comes after law school.

If it's not too late, go to medical school instead!

Answer 7

Actress Jill Henessy portrayed the character "Claire Kincaid" for three years on the TV show "Law & Order." In her final episode, "Claire" returned to her alma mater and talked to one of her law school instructors, telling him that she felt that going to law school didn't really prepare her for becoming a lawyer. She said that law schools "teach you ABOUT contracts without ever showing you an ACTUAL contract." Her instructor replied, "That's because it's a law school, not a lawyer school."

Sherri's answer right above reminds me of that.

Answer 8

WHAT? JENN MARIES going to LAW School?? WOO HOOOO - Congratulations! Holy Crap, you're such a bright chic!!

Answer 9

Find out what textbboks they are using, buy them now, and start reading.