Never miss class. Borrowing your roommate’s notes won’t suffice. Listening to a tape recording of the class does not even approach live attendance and engagement. A near flawless attendance record is essential Here’s why. Actively attending every class leads to actively learning the law. “Learn” is an active verb. You can’t learn at the level you need in law school without activity. In law school, that activity is dialectic. 

The teaching methods used in most first year law school classes are based upon what law professors refer to as the “Socratic method.” Perhaps you read some Socratic dialogues when you studied philosophy in college. In these Socratic dialogues, Plato, himself a great teacher, wrote instructive texts about philosophical concepts by presenting a series of conversations in which his teacher, Socrates, engaged the minds of some of the other citizens of Athens in pursuit of general philosophical fundamental truths. Socrates used a cross-examination process, in which he would pose a series of questions to his conversation partners; the inquiries resulted in a chain of questions and answers that usually led the other person to a contradiction of his original idea.

As frustrating as this was to Socrates’ friends, it seemed to be an extraordinarily effective tool for the great philosopher to lead his associates to higher levels of understanding. His objective was not confusion. His objective was to engage these conversants in active learning sessions—and thereby to actually teach them without writing the answers on the blackboard (or the stone tablet) in front of them.

Likewise, the objectives of law professors who employ this vexing but fruitful method of engagement are not frustration and confusion.  Why does it seem like those are their objectives from time to time?  Simply because those are often the intellectual plateaus which most students (like Socrates’ interlocutors) encounter on the path to comprehension. Through an active classroom dialectic process, law students are able to form universal definitions and arrive at general principles of law by accepting the lead of experts (law professors) along a path of propositions derived through discussion of individual cases. That path leads the discerning student to generalizations and clarity. That same path leads the passive student to confusion.

Students who are underprepared or who fail to actively engage in the dialectic process walk out of class asking, “What was she talking about?” and “Why doesn’t she ever answer any of our questions?” “How are we supposed to learn anything,” they inquire, “if all she does is ask questions?” Other students will gather in the common area and complain to each other, “Professor O'Donnell just doesn’t know how to teach. Now, I had a professor at BA's R Us College who knew how to teach—after we read a chapter, she’d come into class and outline the whole chapter on the board, then go over it with us, then ask us, ‘Do you have any questions.’ We always did, and she’d always answer them. Professor O'Donnell could take a lesson from her.”

Simply put, when you miss a class (or show up unprepared) you miss what you're paying tuition for.  You're missing the active part of law school and settling for the passive part. Practice now for the professional practice.  Practice always showing up.  From the first day of law school you don't have long to develop this habit.

Balance in the professional practice of law is the subject of Steven Keeva’s excellent book, Transforming Practices: Finding Joy and Satisfaction in the Legal Life. Keeva, senior editor for the ABA Journal (the most widely read legal publication in the world) speaks to groups of lawyers and law students around the country about finding harmony and balance in their lives. I have suggested to my students that they begin to practice some of the concepts in Keeva’s book during law school as they approach the professional practice of law. The balance law students should strive for starts with a recognition that you don’t give up your life when you enter law school – rather, you begin your life – as a lawyer. Students need to recognize that a 14-credit law class load can be easily balanced, using a one-third, one-third, one-third formula: the 168 hours of the week can be divided rather neatly into sleep, law, and the rest of life. How does that work? Do the math:

    * 56 hours of sleep (8 hours each night for 7 nights).
    * 56 hours of law (14 in class, 3 times that [42 hours] outside of class).
    * 56 hours of the rest of life (eating, socializing, exercising, shopping, and attending to the score of weekly chores we all have to take care of).

If you need more than 42 hours outside of class, borrow a few of the “rest of life” hours. The real question then becomes one of scheduling, and of efficient use of each of the 56 hours of law. Lawyers work on rigid schedules, imposed by client appointments, court hearings, trials, tax deadlines, and other necessities over which they seldom have control.  In law school, except for about 15 hours of your 168 hours per week, you have nearly total control over your time.  Take control of your time and your life.

If you need assistance with how to go about this, you'll find step-by-step suggestions, including construction of a personal Flexible Time Resource Allocation Chart (“Flex-TRAC”™), in 1000 Days to the Bar – But the Practice of Law Begins Now.

If you approach each of your 1000 days of law study as if it is part of your "practice" for the bar examination and your entry into the profession, you'll glide through that rigorous test and never look back. 

Don't get me wrong ... the studying you do in law school does not directly prepare you for the bar examination.  Rather, it prepares you for the professional practice of law.  But the same principles, rigor, and content you learn and practice throughout law school are certainly help you in your bar exam preparation.

Professor Jon Strauss, a nationally recognized bar exam expert, wrote an interesting article several years ago that still rings true. Pointing out the differences between bar examinations and the exams you take in law school, he suggests that in addition to the time you spend studying during the third year of school, you spend up to eight hours every week strictly devoted to bar exam study.

For a complete description of the toughest exam you'll ever have to take, click on this link: BAR EXAM.

Many students find the differences between law school classrooms and university classrooms refreshing. Generally speaking, you're attending law school with the "cream of the crop." Students are in the classroom because they want to become lawyers. Watch the entries for tips and comments about such classroom topics as . . .

• Where to sit and why.
• Making eye contact with your professor
• Internet use during class.
• Speaking up in class.
• Speech anxiety.
• Unpreparedness.

One question new law students often ask is, "Does classroom participation affect my grade?" Here's the answer: check the syllabus for each course. The practice of professors across the country is too varied to make a useful generalized statement. However, regardless of each professor's scoring rubrics, keep this in mind: avid, valuable class participation affects your grade in that it leads to fluency in the language of the law and provides you with more of the practice you need to excel in law school. This will be reflected in your grade, even if your professor doesn’t actually add points to your exam score. Further, creating a good impression in class may lead to a better letter of recommendation in months or years to come—plan ahead.

How does participation in student organizations relate to your law school objectives? Legal fraternities, student bar organizations, clubs based on interests and backgrounds, the school newspaper, public interest law student groups—you will be solicited by many of these to join as early as orientation week. Socializing and working for social concerns while in law school may be very appealing and important—however, prioritizing is essential.

Thoughtfully consider the time impact and be prepared to postpone active participation until after the first semester or first year.

You will find that many of the groups that ask for your participation are able to provide a rich legal and/or social supplement to your law study. It's all about mindfulness and perspective. Be mindful; keep your perspective.

Watch the blog for more thoughts and comments about the role of student organizations and outside law-related activities as they affect your preparation for the professional practice.

Most entering law students seem to believe that one of the toughest chores awaiting them in law school is the production of "outlines." Not very many of these students know what "outlines" are, or what their purposes are. They soon learn that their self-produced course summaries (a much more descriptive and accurate name than "outlines") provide the backbone of their study efforts.

Herb Ramy, a colleague at Suffolk University Law School, has suggested that creating your course summary "...is a journey, not a destination. Outlining is a process that should begin fairly early in the semester and one that should continue until the end of the year." He's absolutely right.

The time to begin summarizing each course is the day you finish covering your first substantive chunk of material. Usually that's more than a few days into the semester for 1Ls. But waiting until Thanksgiving break is a serious mistake. That's because preparation of a course summary in each course is so important for your continuing progress in that course. Do not make the mistake of putting off this Component of Assessment Targeted Study. Check this site's blog and the links we've provided for you for more on this essential aspect of learning law.

Do you have a disability?  How will that affect you in law school?  You need to know about your rights under the law, what types of “accommodations” are available, and how students go about disclosing disabilities.  Most law students with disabilities recognized under the Americans with Disabilities Act are at least generally familiar with their rights vis-à-vis their academic pursuits.  For a brief introduction into the general principles of the Americans with Disabilities Act, consider reading the introductory pages of attorney Nathaniel Wolf’s excellent article in the Michigan State University Law Review. (2000 L. Rev. M.S.U.-D.C.L. 543) 

For a basic discussion of the lay of the land for students with learning disabilities, you may want to read an overview written by Patricia H. Latham, JD, in conjunction with the LDA School-Age and Postsecondary Advocacy Committees.

The American Bar Association offers information and assistance to lawyers and law students with all types of disabilities. The ABA’s Commission on Mental & Physical Disability Law has a Mentor Program for law students with disabilities. The program is open to law students with all types of disabilities, including learning disabilities. The program matches law students with practicing attorneys, taking into account the students’ interest in being matched with lawyers who have disabilities, the types of disabilities, geographical location and practice areas of interest.

The study of law is a rigorous undertaking which demands a student's full attention. Therefore, the ABA Regulations (ABA Standard 304(f)) prohibit remunerative employment by full-time students in excess of 20 hours per week.

Many law schools have tighter restrictions than the ABA, prohibiting full-time first-year students from engaging in any paid employment. The faculty at many schools take this so seriously that intentional violations can be the basis for disciplinary action under the their law school Code of Student Conduct.

"But," you may say, "complying with that rule will cause a severe financial hardship." 

The answer to that is that not complying with that rule will likely cause a severe academic hardship. Can one possibly juggle work and law school during that critical first year?

Probably.

Can a student do his or her "personal best" under those circumstances?

Probably not.

If it's important to you to achieve your personal best in law school, working during your first year is inadvisable. And, as pointed out above, it is violative of the ABA regulations (which apply to those law schools approved by the American Bar Association)If you have not yet begun law school and plan to work during your first year while attending full-time, you ought to reconsider. 

Think it over carefully and consult with the school's Associate Dean for Student Affairs.

"If you want to learn to play the flute, you've got to play the flute." (Aristotle)

"It's about "hours in the saddle." (Kristy Tonsing)

Aristotle and Kristy are both right.

Whether you want to master playing the flute, riding a horse, or answering law exams, the winning formula is the same: practice, practice, practice.

The links on this page will lead you to explanations and discussions of why and how to engage in practicing how to answer law school exams to achieve mastery of each subject, and mastery of the overall capability of thinking, analyzing, and writing like a lawyer. This is the key to achieving fluency in the language of the law.

(Check back for links and tips about the importance of practice.)

Kinesthetic learners learn better by writing information, by becoming physically involved in problem resolving. Tactile learners learn better by manipulating information. Visual learners need to “see” the schematic relationships between blocks of information. You'll find helpful information about flow charts in future entries on this site's blog.

Although many students enter law school with only vague ideas of what they want to do when they graduate, some begin with very specific goals. If you are in the former group, don’t worry – you will develop goals as you take interesting classes; meet professors, lawyers, and judges throughout law school who make an impression on you; and as you work in clinics, internships, externships and part-time jobs. If you are in the latter group (with a specific goal in mind), be ready for a shift. That’s not uncommon at all in law school. However, most law students share these common goals:

• Deep, rich, comprehensive understanding of the law.
• Grades representative of your high capabilities and commitment.
• First-time bar passage.

Keeping these goals (as well as your longer-term, more socially directed goals) in mind each day provides the incentive to keep the fire burning. A few summers ago at a CLEO gathering where I was teaching in Los Angeles, a keynote speaker asked a room filled with beginning law students to write down:

• Why they decided to enter into the practice of law.
• What they had given up in order to pursue the study of law.
• What they would never give up, no matter how difficult law study or practice became.

She then said, “Now fold that piece of paper, and put it in your wallet or purse. Take it out and read it whenever you feel like giving up.” That’s the spirit. You need goals and principles.[Links to be added soon.]

For most law students, their law school grades will be quite different than their university  grades.  Why?  Think about it.  Most law students were accepted into law school based in large measure on their successful achievements during their undergraduate experience.  That means, most of your student colleagues will have been in the upper quartile, more or less, of their college classes.  Not everyone will be in the upper quartile of the law school class – actually, of course, only one-fourth of the students will comprise the upper quartile of the law school class.  That means that three-fourths of the students will be achieving grades lower than they received throughout their undergraduate careers (unless they attend one of the few schools with a very liberal grading school, without a curve or a mandatory grade distribution policy).

For example, for an entering class of students who have seldom seen “B-” grades – if they are in a law school with a grading policy requiring professors to distribute the grades over a pre-determined scale, many will find themselves with not only “B-“ grades, but also with “C’s” and “D’s.” For a few samples of how grades are calculated and distributed, visit these web links:

• Washington University in St. Louis School of Law displays a detailed explanation of how numerical grades correspond to number grades, and how grades are distributed across the curriculum.
• The grading guidelines for average grades and grade distribution at Washburn University School of Law are displayed in an easy-to-comprehend table.
• The University of Georgia School of Law’s grading guidelines and distribution are set forth in the student handbook (near the bottom of the web page).
• Seton Hall University School of Law employs a “grading curve” which they display on their website.

How are these grades determined?  Although many law schools are encouraging professors to use mid-term examinations in first-year classes, many (perhaps most) schools follow the traditional approach of having the grade for “doctrinal” courses (examples: Torts, Contracts, Civil Procedure, Property, Criminal Law) depend entirely on one two or three-hour examination at the end of the semester.

In other words, students need to have mastered the skill of resolving complicated legal problems, in writing, under strict time constraints, within the first 90 days of law school (roughly September 1 to December 1, your fall semester).  Unless you attend a school with a very liberal grading policy, keep in mind that most of your class will react to the first semester’s grades with something between mild disappointment to utter shock.  This information should lead you to two states of mind:

During the first 90 days of law school, work at your highest levels.  Don’t worry about grades – they are merely a by-product of your diligence, a quick snapshot of your mastery of the subject matter and your skill level.  Focus on applying yourself diligently to the Components of Assessment-Targeted Study throughout each of those first 90 days.  Work in a balanced and efficient manner, for no less than 45 hours outside of class (if you are taking about 15 credits), as detailed in 1000 Days to the Bar – But the Practice of Law Begins Now and elsewhere.

After you receive your first-semester grades, allow yourself to be satisfied.  If you truly have given it your best shot for 90 days, then the grades you receive may well be reflective of your capabilities in law school in relation to your classmates.  I don’t suggest that you be satisfied with mediocrity – the work you produce at your highest levels is not mediocre work.  Rather, strive to do better each semester, but do not be disappointed to learn that there are others around you who are able to write better exam answers under time pressure better than you.

The law library used to be the intellectual soul of every law school.  At many, it still is.  The entire character of libraries in general has been changing for the last decade or more, and that includes law libraries.  

In "the good old days" (when were those, exactly?) lawyers and law students performed legal research using books.  Now, most use the internet.  As a law student, you will become familiar with the thousands of law books on the shelves of your school's library, but most of your research will be done

No longer are libraries mere repositories of books. Now we find better places to study, some private and group study areas, computer terminals, and often computer centers, with printers, copiers, scanners and everything we need (to avoid the books!).  Maybe the law library remains the soul ... but its character has definitely changed.

Take advantage of what your library has to offer. 

From time-to-time we'd like to add some links to this page where you will be able to find online "library" resources.  You'll see a couple already here ... use the "contact" link at the bottom of the page to suggest others.

Well, it is and it isn't. 

Maybe you've had a summer job.  It's not like that.

Maybe you've had a routine or boring job.  It's not like that.

Maybe you've been a resident physician in a busy hospital.  It's not like that, either.

The summer job ends in 10 weeks.  Usually, it doesn't require much deep thinking, or more than 40 hours per week.  Often, the college kid who is law school bound is the smartest one in the crew.  (Well, at least "book-learnin'" smart.) 

If you had routine or boring jobs, that's probably one of the reasons you chose to go to law school.  If you're bored or into a routine at law school, you are not working at anywhere near your highest level.

But the resident?  She's a graduate of medical school, an extraordinarily tough curriculum.  And now she works something like 80 hours a week under the supervision of (thank goodness) unforgiving supervising experienced physicians.  If you feel like your law school experience is in that ball park, you're doing something wrong.  You ought to be spending no more than (roughly) 65 hours per week exclusively devoted to law school during your all-important first year.  And as for supervision?  You are on your own.

The "job" law school is like is ... the profession of practicing law.  You'll find lots of information about that concept on these web pages.  That's the whole foundation of the material in 1000 Days to the Bar - But the Practice of Law Begins Now.  In that sense, and in only that sense, yes ... law school is like a job.

What are learning styles, how do they affect your law school success?  What are your predominant learning styles? 

Solomon and Felder's Index of Learning Styles is a 44-item questionnaire which can be completed online in less than five minutes. Learning style results are returned immediately in four categories:

• active/reflective
• sensing/intuitive
• visual/verbal, and
• >sequential/global.

After completing the test, read the very brief 2009 article,"Learning Styles and Strategies" to learn about your style and how you can make the most of it.  Learn to adapt the recommended study methods to the study of law – if you have difficulty doing so, bring your questionnaire results to your Academic Support Professional at your law school and ask for assistance.  If you like, you may also contact me.

If you want to “get a second opinion,” visit Catherine Jester’s site.  Dr. Jester, a Learning Disability Specialist at Diablo Valley College (California), explains what learning styles are, and offers a quick self-test to give you an idea of you learn best.

Your time = your life. Managing time means taking control of your life. Ideally, in law school, you should strive for a balanced life.  That begins with a recognition that you don’t give up your life when you enter law school – rather, you begin your life – as a lawyer.  

Students need to realize that a 14-credit law class load can be easily balanced, using a one-third,  one-third, one-third formula: the 168 hours of each week can be divided rather neatly into sleep, law, and the rest of life. How does that work? Do the math:     

• 56 hours of sleep (8 hours each night for 7 nights).     
• 56 hours of law (14 in class, 3 times that [42 hours] outside of class).
  
• 56 hours of the rest of life (eating, socializing,  exercising, shopping, and attending to the score of weekly  chores we all have to take care of).
  

If you need more than 42 hours outside of class, borrow a few of the “rest of life” hours. The real question then becomes one of scheduling, and of efficient use of each of the 56 hours of law.  That means control.  Self-control.

Lawyers work on rigid schedules, imposed by client appointments, court hearings, trials,  tax deadlines, and other necessities over which they seldom have control.  In law school, except for about 15 hours of your 168 hours per week, you have nearly total control over your time.  Take control of your time and your life.

P.A.S.S. is a bar prep group in California.  As part of their many services, they produce "Study Guides" for Torts, Contracts, and Criminal Law.  One of the best aspects of these guides is that they are jam-packed with questions and answers ... just the thing you need for your weekly exam-practice sessions as you weave your way through year one of law school!

To order the study guides, order direct from the publisher: Legal Books Distributing.
 

Call it "internalization," "learning by heart," or simply "memorization," it's an important part of law school for those intending to work at their highest levels and earn grades that correspond to those efforts. Commitment of the rules, definitions, exceptions, and other essentials to memory, so that these words, phrases, maxims and even templates for persuasive arguments become an integral part of your legal vocabulary, is required to achieve the liberating degree of instant recall you will need during exams.

Need?

Yes, in order to spend your precious limited exam answering time on the point-scoring activities of analysis and cogent writing, you need to be in a position to spend no appreciable time groping for rules of law. These should flow from your fingertips like water from a spring.

Read more about using your memory to your great advantage by clicking on the links below.

At a recent law school “Career Day” panel discussion, a student asked the nine panelists, “How did law school help you prepare for what you actually do from day-to-day in your law offices?” The first lawyer answered, “I didn’t learn anything useful in law school.” After the other eight spoke, he asked to amend his statement – what he meant was that he had not learned any substance dealing with the problems he now deals with daily in his specialized practice. The reason he needed to amend his statement was this: the other eight panelists reminded him of all that he had learned in law school. And what was it that he and the others had learned, then mastered (for example): 

• Self-discipline
• Self-teaching
• Organization
• Time-management
• Thinking in an entirely new way (“thinking like a lawyer”)
• Writing in an entirely new way (“writing like a lawyer”)
• Respect for the importance of the rule of law

These “meta-lawyering” skills (and others) are what law students need to practice daily. Anyone can memorize a bunch of laws. That’s not what law school is about. Law school is about becoming a lawyer – and becoming a lawyer requires arduous, purposeful, goal-oriented hard work. Mental sweat. Attention to the Components of Assessment-Targeted Study qualifies on all counts.

These links ought to help you learn about reading and briefing - the two most fundamental activities related to class preparation ... and preparation for the professional practice as well.

(As with most pages on this site, we're constantly updating ... so send me a note if you find another great link to add, or if you discover a "dead" link here.  Click on the "contact" link below to send a note.)

Just as successful account executives create investment plans based on sound investment strategies, risk tolerance and financial objectives, law students need to create study plans based on their learning styles, levels of discipline and dedication, and academic/professional objectives.  

With a well thought out written plan – a roadmap to success – a student dramatically increases her likelihood at arriving at her destination. You'll find lots of information about how to set up an effective, efficient, exam-targeted, semester-long plan of action – aimed specifically at excelling in law school in the links and blog entries that will be appearing on this web site.

To get you started, we've provided a few links below.  Stay tuned!

True “attendance” in class means so much more than simple presence in the classroom. Active engagement is essential. Note-taking promotes that engagement. 

Exam-targeted note taking is an art. She who keeps a discerning eye on the target during each day’s class will take notes with purpose—notes that will substantially enhance her ability to demonstrate her legal skills, knowledge, and fluency on the final examination.

A law student's primary goal in taking notes in class is precisely the same as the objective of the lawyer taking notes at a deposition or client interview: to create a personal record for later reference. In addition, law students and lawyers have other reasons for note-taking, including:

• Vigilance. Taking notes keeps you focused.
• Recall. During class you discover what you forgot to read, what you need to look up, and questions you need answered. Noting these items keeps them from evaporating into the atmosphere. Retention. Writing notes, then working with them soon thereafter, dramatically increases your retention of the material.
• Exam preparation. The richest source of fundamental information for course summary preparation (and thus, exam prep) will be your class notes.

Do these match your objectives? Learn how to take class notes ... it's a whole different process than it was when you were an undergrad. As soon as you exit from the classroom, you ought to move to the next level: breathe life into your notes by transforming your notes. You'll find more about that in the links and blog entries we'll be adding in the future. If you have questions now, send me a note (use the "contact" link at the bottom of the page).

Most first year classes are graded based upon an examination at the end of the semester (some professors give mid-terms as well). The examination is the professor’s only method of assessment – the only way the professor can determine the extent to which each student in the class has achieved the course objectives she has set.

The exam tests law students’ skills associated with resolving hypothetical legal problems faced by hypothetical clients. If a student scores high on an exam, she has demonstrated high-end proficiency at precisely what the professor intended for her to learn. She has, for example, actively resolved (in writing, under time pressure) a complicated contractual problem by recognizing the legal issues, applying the particular legal rules that relate to those issues, persuasively arguing for a position (by explaining how the preferred resolution is consistent with the reason the law exists – the policy behind the law – and comparing or contrasting the hypothetical situation with cases studied throughout the semester), recognizing and discussing the “other side’s” position, and stating a well-supported conclusion.

If a student studies (read: practices) law throughout the semester with this in mind – doing her “personal best” on the ultimate assessment (the final exam), then the student will be practicing each week precisely what she needs to practice to be assessed at the highest level. This is assessment-targeted study. Study for the examination from the first day of each class.

One does this by attending to what I refer to as the Components of Assessment-Targeted Study (the Law CATS) in each subject, each week. In other words, by practicing law each week, a student will become as proficient as her aptitude, her time commitment, her intelligence and her passion for the law allow. Just as in the professional practice, the practice of law in law school should be broken into its many components. Those components (the Law CATS) include:

• Reading and briefing every case
• Attending every class, actively participating and taking notes
• Transforming notes
• Creating course summaries
• Developing flow charts
• Internalizing
• Practicing answering hypothetical questions in writing.

You will find quite a bit about each of those components in the text and linked material you find on the pages on this web site; the step-by-step “how to” of the Law CATS – and how to fit them into your schedule – is detailed in 1000 Days to the Bar - But the Practice of Law Begins Now.

Plan on visiting the office of each of your professors during the semester. If you've already taken that professor's exam and received your grade, plan to go over the exam with the professor.  The key word here is "plan."  Know exactly what questions you need answered before you walk in the door.  Circle areas of your essay that you want to discuss.  Simply saying, "So why did I get a 'C+' instead of a higher grade" will get you no useful information.  Remember why you're there: you want some specifics that will help you score higher on the next exam.

So ask specific questions.  Here are examples of specific questions:

• "You wrote 'conclusory' in the margin here. What does that mean, and how could I have written that sentence better?"
• "Should I have discussed the inchoate crimes of solicitation and conspiracy after my analysis of the murder charge?"

This is a question that will elicit a variety of answers from different professors.  One professor may feel that providing supplemental material to a student during an office visit may amount to tilting the playing field in favor of students who visit the office; another professor may believe that those who seek additional assistance merit that assistance and will happily provide it.

Count on finding more information about why to visit your professors - and how to prepare for those visits - in future blog entries on this web site.

Law students who realize that the practice of law begins upon matriculation employ the executive-level managerial  characteristics of attorneys by segmenting their work. The most effective law students focus on their objectives,  fractionate them, and then intensely prepare to prevail as to each component. Your first-semester objectives should be consistent with your longer-range goals, and therefore include: 

• Developing a comprehensive understanding of each field of law you are studying (usually including Torts, Contracts, Property and Civil Procedure).
• Achieving fluency in the language of each distinct field of law you are studying, as well as attaining a wide-ranging facility in the general language of the law.
  
• Developing and mastering the skills of lawyering.
  
• Earning grades as high as your capability allows.

If your objectives approximate these, you will do superbly on law school examinations when you achieve your objectives—because not only will you have achieved the very goals your professors have in mind for you but you will be able to demonstrate your accomplishment on final examinations. As Professor Philip Kissam, from the University of Kansas School of Law explains, when professors read and grade law school examination answers to essay questions, they are assessing students’ understanding of the subject matter, “inferential abilities, analytical abilities, and judgment concerning particular legal problems.” They look for “sound ... interpretation of events and authorities; demonstration of practical reason, judgment and innovation in developing and reconciling competing arguments or making decisions; and the employment of rhetoric in forming well-constructed and persuasive arguments.” (Law School Examinations, 42 Vand. L. Rev. 433, 458).

Therefore, if you target personal-best performance on examinations as your goal and if you prepare for those examinations in a lawyerly manner, you will be heading directly toward accomplishing the particular objectives set forth above. Segmenting your work, to provide consistent practice of each element mentioned by Professor Kissam in each subject area, will lead directly to your ultimate objectives.

In other words, do in law school what many lawyers do each week. What do they do?  Well, look at it this way: which of these activities do you recognize as functions you envision yourself performing as you practice law professionally?

• Fluently speaking, reading, writing, and comprehending the language of the law.
• Persuading others through language use.
• Continually self-evaluating performance and making needed corrections.
• Recognizing legal issues where non-lawyers do not.
• Prioritizing objectives and the multiple tasks designed to achieve them.
• Strategically planning to accomplish well-defined objectives.
• Using time efficiently and effectively.
• Asking questions calculated to inform.
• Exercising as much control over the use of each day and week as events and circumstances allow.
• Organizing—and reorganizing—to achieve specific (sometimes shifting) goals.
• Managing time advantageously, expecting the unexpected.
• Operating within groups—as participants or leaders.
• Recognizing the need to work within a rigidly structured—sometimes antagonistic—organizational framework, to achieve self-defined objectives.
  
• Self-directing, self-motivating, self-propelling.
  
• Learning (and relearning) alone—without an instructor.
• Remembering vast quantities of material.
• Digesting and writing volumes—letters, pleadings, appeals, briefs, memo¬randa, contracts, leases, opinions, analyses.
• Engaging in dialectic (the exercise of arriving at the truth by the exchange of logical arguments).
• Exercising self-control.
• Briefing cases and statutes.
• Remaining calm while operating under stressful conditions.
• Maintaining composure while peers are exhibiting anxiety.
• Carefully balancing the practice of law with family, social, and physical needs and obligations.

Get the picture? If you begin practicing these traits now by the time you are sworn in as a member of the bar, you'll be ready to go. You will be the kind of lawyer that you would hire if you needed a lawyer!

Over the last few years, many law schools have made an invaluable staff addition: the Writing Specialist.  If your school has one – visit.  The role of the writing specialist is to assist students in the transition from the type of writing they have been producing in college, graduate school, or the work force to the types of writing they will need to master quickly in law school. 

"What is "legal writing" and how is it different?  Most legal writing – for memoranda required by Legal Writing or Legal Methods classes, and for examination answers –  follows a predictable format of: 

• identification of the ultimate problem the writer sets out to resolve, often including a brief summary of the situation presented in a real or hypothetical set of circumstances,
• specification of the sub-issues that need to be addressed in order to achieve that resolution,
• a precise statement and explication of the rules of law – cases, statutes, administrative regulations for example – which will be used in the analysis to follow,
• analysis of the situation presented – which consists of an 'interweaving' of the facts and the law, often with the 'policy' related to the law – including a presentation of the 'other side' of the argument and the reasons why that 'other side' does not qualify as the best resolution, followed by . . .
• a conclusion which logically flows from, and is well-supported by, the preceding cogent display of lawyerly persuasive writing.

Who is in the best position to assist the law student in learning, refining and mastering a method of writing so different from the creative writing or even expository writing so prevalent in undergraduate education?  If your school has hired a Writing Specialist, he or she is the “go to” professional. 

Those who think the Writing Specialist at a law school is restricted to remedial help for those who can’t figure out where to place the commas, how to construct a 'topic sentence,' or how to change wimpy passive sentences into potent active-voice sentences have been misled.  Writing Specialists can accelerate the process of becoming adept at legal writing.  Visit them often.