Home Any 1L''s out there?

[Person24]

Hi everyone,

I was just posting to see if there are any other first year law student''s out there?! How are you holding up? I started last week and I am already VERY overwhelmed. It would be great to hear from others in my situation or others who have been in my situation. I would love some advice on how to get through the piles of reading in a reasonable amount of time. I have been doing work ALL day and I am not even almost done with tomorrow’s assignments. I thought I was a fast reader but I guess I was wrong!



Thanks!!!

Ps-I know I shouldn''t even be wasting 10 minutes on PS but I couldn''t help it! Plus, I’m waiting on my frozen pizza to heat up!

 

[Person24]

Oops. I guess this should be in the "Hangout"!

 

[neatfreak]

Not a law student, but a Ph.D. student and one that has to read a lot of case law. My best suggestion is learn how to skim cases , often law schools will have some kind of class/lecture on it. It really is a very very valuable skill that will save you hours in reading time. Decisions and cases most of the time follow the same pattern, so you can get the basic facts relatively quickly once you learn how to skim them properly.

 

[moremoremore]

All I can say is good luck. It really sucks. There is just so much reading .... you just will have to learn to be efficient...but then again it's hard bc when you get unlucky and get called on you not only have to know the littlest details and the facts, but the reasoning..it's just hard...If you're doing civil procedure or whatever that class is called as the first class where they teach you the socratic method, it's a freak show...every case is different and every rationale is different...The wait to get called on is the worst...and do youself a favor and sit next to someone smart...it was a running joke how the guy in front of me sucked so that I always got called on to finish by default...I was his co-counsel LOL...and make friends with smart, nice people...not the #1 or #2 top of the class smarties who will slit your throat, but someone who will definitely be in the top 10%....LOL....I don't know if you can plan that but my friends happened to be really smart and I swear they probably carried by ass...

I don't envy you...I don't envy me either LOL but I just quit practicing....is Subway hiring? It will get easier....first year is the worst...it's a huge adjustment...I needed glasses for the first time after my first year!

 

[littlelysser]

Hey there Person!

I graduated from law school in 2001.

It will get MUCH easier. I remember my first couple of weeks of law school - I felt like I was reading a foreign language. I remember reading the hairy hand case and wondering what the heck I had done to myself!!! The language, the amount of work...it was gawd awful. So I guess my only advice is to keep on keeping on. It will get easier. I promise.

Initially, I''d write out an actual case brief...facts, issue, analysis, conclusion. As I became more familiar with what I was doing, I started book briefing and found that saved time.

Depending on the manner in which your profs call on students, if you KNOW you won''t be called on, then *maybe* think about skipping the reading. Or do a quick read...knowing that you are missing some stuff...but at least it''ll allow you to understand what is going on.

In the end, I absolutely loved law school. LOVED it.

FWIW, the most important thing you can do is attend every.single.class. And take copious notes. And don''t freak out when people start talking about their outlines. And how much work they''ve done on them. I didn''t make a single outline my first semester...and I was perfectly fine.

One more word of advice...take a break! Every now and again you''ve got to get away from the books! Go out, get a drink...

 

[Haven]

I''m not a 1L, but I was at one time in my life.

I just wanted to drop in and say Good luck! If this is what you want to do, you''ll get through it!

I remember everyone used to pack enormous coolers of food every day, it was as if we thought the bigger the better. We were in that library for HOURS each night, so we needed a lot of fuel, I suppose. It was always nice to have a sweet treat after a lot of studying.

 

[SarahLovesJS]

I just wanted to send some love out your way! I''m not a 1L..yet..but I''m applying to go to law school next year so let''s hope I''m there eventually. I''ve heard all about the horrors of 1L year..but I know you can make it!

Best of luck and tons of good grade PS dust!

 

[fleur-de-lis]

Part of the process of law school and the socratic method in general is to overwhelm you, deconstruct you into a slobbering, shivering, steaming pile of doubt, then reassemble the shards into a bona fide lawyer.

One-L stinks if you''re doing it right. You can''t skim in law school. Just do your earnest best, expect to be thoroughly humiliated in the most pure sense of the word by some professor at some time, and take copious notes every single day!

f-d-l

 

[Octavia]

2L here, so I have (fairly) fresh recollections of all that. Not to mention, I was helping out with our 1L orientation sessions this week, so it all came rushing back.

The reading will get easier. Not less time-consuming, but you'll learn to spot the facts and issues and reasoning that are really important, so you can stop concentrating so much on the other parts. If you're lucky, it will happen for you relatively early on, or it might not "click" until second semester. It's different for everyone.

You'll probably have to modify your expectations of what a "reasonable" amount of time is, though. At my school, they recommend 3-4 hours of prep for every hour of class time. To be honest, I didn't put quite that much time in, but between classes and reading, I usually spent around 50 hours/week on school. I had always been a fast reader, too, and it really shocked me that 10 pages of reading can take 2 hours -- but if you're doing it right, it probably will. Don't succumb to the temptation of using a commercial brief book or outline as your primary tool -- they can be fine as occasional supplements, and I really like both the E&E and Crunchtime books for their review questions, but they're just not going to teach you what you need to know. One of my classmates (who is a pretty smart kid otherwise) relied almost exclusively on these kind of books, rather than doing the reading himself, and I'm pretty sure he's in the bottom quarter of our class now.

I don't know how your school does grading, but it's blind at my school, which means that the professor has no idea whose exam they're grading. We don't get points off for mediocre-or-less classroom performance, but can get a notation on our transcript for distinguished participation. What this means, though, is that even if you sound like an idiot in class now and then, it's not going to hurt grade-wise. And there are very few people who can ever escape the whole semester without sounding (or thinking they sounded) like an idiot in class. In my experience, your classmates will either not notice or think your answer was fine, so it should really be the least of your worries.

I had a great first semester and looooved law school...and then second semester hit me like a Mack truck. Oh, I was miserable. I just thanked my lucky stars that I wasn't miserable all year long. 1L is a rite of passage, and you just need to suck it up and get through. But you will!!

 

[Anna0499]

Another 2L here!

First of all, Good Luck! 1L year is definitely your hardest & everyone lecturing you about how important your first year grades are in relation to you finding a decent job doesn''t help. I guess your approach to class will depend on the type of person you are. I have always been a bit obsessive with my studies & I brief every single case I am assigned. I also had friends who would just highlight & write in their casebooks, but I was not laidback enough to do that.

Label your briefs clearly in your notes so that you can add to them easily during class discussion. Regardless of what you took from the case, your professor will gladly let you know what he/she thought was important & give his/her own reasoning for the outcome. This might not make sense to you, but it is important to try to figure out how your professor for a particular class views issues presented in the cases because he/she will be the one ultimately reading & grading your final essays.

If you don''t understand the logic/laws in a case, be sure you know at least know the basic facts of each case, as that will most likely be the first question asked your 1L year & you can use them to show the professor you did try to understand the case.

I ditto making friends with smart classmates or at least those who put school as a priority - they will be easy to spot.

I bought the E&E & Crunchtime supplements for final review, but also used them throughout second semester for concepts I didn''t fully get from class or to go further than what was discussed in class.

Join some student organizations to get involved right off the bat. I know you''re probably nervous to do so because you don''t know many people, but joining is a great way to meet 2Ls & 3Ls, as well as some professors.

No skimming! You will be called on when you skim, guaranteed. Truly devotey out study time to your studies - no TV, food, etc. - & take breaks as needed. I found working on my own throughout the week & then review with classmates before class or once a week was the best strategy for me.

Okay, this is long enough! Have a great time your 1L year...I didn''t mind it that much, it''s a lot of work but you know what they say: If it was easy everyone would do it!

 

[moremoremore]

LMAO at "deconstruct you into a slobbering, shivering, steaming pile of doubt..."


Yeah, a lot of judges will do that too! LOL...you should start using the phrase "Thank you sir/madam....may I have another?" now!!!

 

[Anna0499]

^^^ LOL! I''ll always remember one of my favorite professors after a legal ethics discussion, "Demoralization, ladies & gentlemen, begins here."

 

[Person24]

Thanks for the advice everyone! Looks like there are quite a few lawyers/law students here. I really appreciate it. I have just been a little down because I don''t seem to be "getting" it. It’s only been two weeks but I am already terrified of failing out because everyone else around me seems to be so much further ahead of me already!

I am hoping it clicks soon! I am making friends with nice people and did form a study group today! So hopefully it works out.


wish me luck!

ps. sorry this post is a little wonky. I haven''t got much sleep lately!

 

[littlelysser]

Date: 8/21/2008 5:01:56 PM
Author: Person24

but I am already terrified of failing out because everyone else around me seems to be so much further ahead of me already!

I can PROMISE you that they aren't. The first year of law school is hard for just about everyone. FWIW, I will NEVER forget my first week of Contracts...Prof asked a classmate of mine a question about a case we'd read. A case that had completely flummoxed me. The student she called gave an AMAZING, perfect, spot on answer. I was convinced that I'd made a horrid mistake in ever thinking about, let alone deciding, to start law school. And I was pretty sure I was going to fail right out!

Long story short, I graded onto law review my first year and graduated magna cum laude. So really, these first couple weeks are NO indication of how you'll do in law school overall. Honestly. Just keep on keepin' on!

The people that say they are having an easy time of things or reading ahea... well, they are big old liars!!!! Either that or they are using nutshells or commercial outlines...

ETA - GOOD LUCK!!!!