Surviving Law School: Tips for 1Ls
Aug 29, 2010
4 Comments
Law School is a challenging experience, and miles away from your college years. For many, the adjustment can be a bit bumpy. Here are some tips to help keep you sane:
First off, Law School is not like undergrad. The reading is intense and copious, and you need to do it. There is nothing worse than being randomly called upon in class (i.e. the Socratic method) and not having done the reading. It is really hard to B.S. your way through Civ Pro. If you do fall behind, don’t freak out. Remember that most of your colleagues are in the same boat. Stick with the current reading and do the assignment(s) you missed when the most recent reading is complete.
Start outlining early. You don’t want to be stuck cobbling together an outline right before finals. Start in October, and add to it as the class progresses. It you find it helpful, get a small group together and divide portions of the outline to work on. Knowing that you have a solid outline as finals approach will reduce your anxiety immensely.
Be social and make friends at school. It is important to have a support network. A good way to meet people (other than in class) is to join a student organization or attend social events such as those sponsored by the Law Student Association.
That being said, also keep in touch with friends outside of law school. Stress begets stress, and if you only spend time with the law school crowd, your life will inevitably devolve into a nausea-inducing stressfest.
Finally, be sure to take some time off for yourself. Go for a run. Spend an hour reading a good book. Watch your favorite television show. If you don’t take a break every now and again you might lose it. You were smart enough to be accepted by BC, and you are smart enough to succeed here. Good luck, and in the words of the great Bobby McFerrin, “Don’t worry, be happy.”
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I would say to relax, keep your nose to the grindstone and don’t listen to or worry about what other people say they read or already pretend they know. Slow and steady gets the best results. Make sure to keep doing the things you love to do (e.g., jogging, a sport, music) but also recognize that you are gonna have to burn some serious midnight oil.
Also (and some might disagree) but don’t get lazy and cut corners. I briefed my cases all 3 years and while it took time I did very well academically and I have to say my grades were more the result of stubborn persistence then any gift of intellect. So worker hard and don’t be afraid to ask for advice or help from other BC students as well as alums. I think no matter how successful I get in my career I will always make time to help a fellow BC law student.
I agree wholeheartedly with “Recent Alum,” especially the part about the importance of “stubborn persistence.” While some may have an advantage during the first semester or the first year by virtue of their backgrounds and other experiences, these advantages tend to even out over two and three years. There is just no substitute to dedication and perseverance.
Go to and pay attention in class. Briefing cases never worked for me, but I’m sure it works for others. But undoubtedly the best thing you can do is to GO TO CLASS and PAY ATTENTION. Yes, you can use hornbooks to teach you subjects, but often I think the students who get good grades are the ones who are able to regurgitate the information in a way that sounds familiar to the professor.
And as much as possible, DO THE READING. It just makes life easier at the end of the semester. Can you skip it and probably do well, yes, but it might require more work on your part during the already stressful end of semester.
Also, I almost never burned midnight oil in law school and I have perfectly good grades. There is never so much reading that anyone should be up late doing it. I had a lot of time to relax and have fun 1L year. The only time I stayed up late was writing my memos and that is only because I’m lazy and waited until the last possible moment to write them.
Instead of dividing up a course into sections and assigning different people to outline different sections, try studying with lots of different people until you find a group that meshes well. Then you will be able to boil the issues down to what’s relevant, and come up with a short outline on your own. Using someone else’s outline feels just like reading a hornbook to me–not very helpful.