A Recipe for Law School Success

Know why you're here and "keep your eyes on the prize." When the going gets tough, you'll need something to keep you going.  What is your ultimate goal? Helping people unjustly convicted? Sheer intellectual curiosity? A burning interest in bankruptcy? Whatever it is, remind yourself of that goal every day.

Treat law school as an important full-time job. Give law school your best effort. Quantity and quality are both important. Give at least as much time and effort to your studies as you would to a vitally important full-time job.

Don't neglect the basics. Read all the cases. Always attend class.

Write your own case briefs. By writing case briefs, you show how a court analyzed given facts in light of the appropriate rule. Consistently writing case briefs in your own words helps you analyze new facts in light of the law -- and thus write effective exam answers.

Preview, do, and review. The three-part sequence of previewing, doing, and reviewing yields amazing dividends because it actively involves you in your own learning process. Your studying will be more efficient. Most students actually save time compared with their old way of studying. You can apply "preview, do, and review" to almost any part of your learning process:

When you read: Survey the reading first, read for meaning, then summarize what you read in a case brief. After reading all the cases, ask yourself how they fit together and how they relate to what you've already learned.

When you go to class: After briefing the cases, try to predict the main points of class discussion. Participate actively in class.  Afterwards (on the same day), review and correct your notes, then write a quick summary of the most important points.

When you summarize or outline the course: What questions do you have about the material? Jot them down before outlining. Before you stop for the day, try to answer your initial questions.

Learn by doing. Every week, write out the answer to at least one practice problem for each course. When you put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard, you'll find that the skill of legally analyzing a fact pattern takes lots of practice. As you progress through the semester, tackle more challenging problems until you are writing answers to actual exam problems.

Do practice problems and course summaries concurrently. Doing practice problems helps you find out what you don't understand. Explain the law to yourself by creating course summaries or outlines, then test your understanding by trying another problem. Don't make the mistake of thinking you must know the law perfectly before you attempt practice problems.

Create your own course summaries or outlines. Outlining and flowcharting are active processes that help you digest and understand the law. Passively reading or memorizing a commercial outline, or another student's outline, won't help you achieve excellence.

Start early. Whether it's outlining or writing a paper, give yourself enough time to do a good job.

Get help from others. Join a study group to get the benefit of your peers' perspectives. Take advantage of the Academic Support office and the Peer Advisors. Ask the professor after you've wrestled with a problem.

Take care of yourself. You need a full night's sleep to put what you've learned into long-term memory. Take at least a day off every week to recharge your batteries. Eat right and keep physically active.

Have a life. Law school isn't everything. Take time for the people, activities, and causes that give your life purpose.

Believe in yourself. You can do it!

Last updated 2007-07-10