What I've learned about Law School in a few weeks..

visualcreed

So I started August 24th, before that we had an orientation which for us was basically giving us assignments to get done before the first day of class..yes there's homework before you even begin class.

People hear about the socratic method and the case method and they are the predominate method of teaching. I can't say for all schools but from what I've read and what I've experienced, this is true. I'm almost sure you are all better readers than me and thats good because you just read and read some more, then when you're done you read some more.

So what happens, at least for me, is I get assigned cases or a set of pages to read in the casebook. Some are easy, some are ridiculous, a good rule is if its older it'll probably take longer since the language is confusing. If you want to look good in class then you should have a law dictionary (Black's or another) next to you, the law databases that your school gives you (WestLaw or LexisNexis or Bloomberg or whatever) and the most important..Google. If something doesn't make sense, Google the shit out of it. If you want to look really good, then Google about the time period, the judge who was giving the opinion etc.. Of course, looking good in class doesn't really matter if you bomb the exam so I think you should just find a good balance.

I have the attitude where I don't care about looking good in class but I do want to learn so I do some extra research but its for my own benefit.

A lot of people say learn the black letter law. This is true, if you can memorize rules and laws, great but especially when you start, the casebook kinds of builds upon itself. For example you figure out the law that the case is using or just made and then the next case they just totally change it. Law school is basically self taught, class seems like its just to make you cry but really it's helping you to see the bigger picture and see how a case can be applied in tons of ways, it's best to digest and see that instead of seeing your professor trying to make you look stupid.

I think the most important thing I learned so far is that if you want to do good, you have to learn your professors. Thats number one. Talking to students who have had the specific professor is crucial. They know how the professor grades and their style. If you take nothing else from this, take that.

Also, don't be scared, who care's if you look dumb for a bit, everyone does. Last thing, law school won't teach you every law that there is..we have a common law system which just makes everything crazy. Just learn how to be a problem solver, learn how to take a problem and be able to find that answer and by that answer, I mean the answer that you want it to be. No two cases are alike and a lot of cases you can attack it from all sorts of angles to make your argument semi-legit and for civil cases (where the money's at) that's all you need, preponderance..

Anyway, hope this helps someone who crushed the LSAT and is trying to figure out the next step.

c.janson35

This is great, thanks for sharing!

harrismegan

Thanks for sharing!!!

DumbHollywoodActor

This was a great read, @visualcreed. Thanks for the update.

Matt1234567

Wow awesome, thanks for all the tips. I'm hoping to be in your spot by next year!

Pacifico

The bit about learning the professors is almost as crucial as how you prep for your finals since success in the former can heavily influence success in the latter. This is actually one of the better assets that TLS provides (at least for T14 and some other schools). If your school has a dedicated thread with students and alumni taking questions and giving advice then it is worth poring over for details about professors so you know what you're in for and can plan accordingly.

Chelzie_B

Thank you for the advice. I didn't ever think about how your professor's preferences and style would possibly effect performance! I have always been a little intimidated by professor, which always made it difficult to get to know them. Any ways you think are great for introducing yourself to each professor?

NYC12345

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I read that 1L grades are based almost entirely on final exams and professors are not aware of who's exam they are grading (blind grading). @visualcreed, do you mind shedding some light on what your grade is going to be based on? Thanks!

Pacifico

It's not about getting to know your professors on a personal level, it's about getting to know how they grade, what they're looking for etc. Some teachers just want you to regurgitate their lectures as it relates to spotting the issues on the exams while others just want you to regurgitate the most common interpretation of the black letter law. Some teachers will penalize you for spotting incorrectly while others will just take all your correct points into account and so for the latter professors it is an effective strategy to just type the whole time to get as many possible points as you can versus censoring yourself in case something you write is off base. As I said, if you go find the threads for your target school(s) you will find people giving advice on how to approach the classes/exams based on who the professor is. You could have only Socratic method teachers your entire 1L year and look like a total jackass in class from not being prepared and yet still ace all the exams if you know exactly what they are looking for and prep accordingly. That's also why it would behoove you to ask upperclassmen or the professors themselves for copies of their old exams and similar materials.

nicole.hopkins

@Pacifico said:
You could have only Socratic method teachers your entire 1L year and look like a total jackass in class from not being prepared and yet still ace all the exams if you know exactly what they are looking for and prep accordingly.

Boom.