There are two words you will hear over and over again when you begin law school: “outlines,” and “finals.” These words strike fear into every first semester 1Ls’ hearts. At least, they did for my class. From the moment school started, I felt like I was behind on outlining. It took me until my second time taking the bar to truly understand what outlining is, and why it is so helpful.
Before I get into why it’s important to prepare for finals early, let me give a brief overview of outlining.
In school, you are given a lot of cases to read. You’ll find that it’s easiest to remember them if you break them up into case files. Outlining is the art of organizing all that law and facts into smaller nuggets that are easy to remember and regurgitate on the exam if they relate to a particular issue. Everyone will find a different way to outline that works for them. Some of my classmates could only outline with notecards, others had to type them out. My style depended on the class, the final, and the professor, and usually changed multiple times per class before I figured out what worked best for me in that moment.
So, now that you know what outlining is, let’s jump into the two biggest reasons why you should prepare for finals early.
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I think it’s safe to say that during law school, nothing tops the pinnacle of complexity like finals season. Yes, it’s generally difficult to make the transition into this new world of stress-filled days complete with legal jargon and a side of anxiety, but finals season no doubt ups the ante on this experience. Now the good news is that by the time you make it to your 2L year, you’ll likely begin to hit your stride as you may be equipped with the resilience and armor needed to fight your way through finals. However, by the time you get to your 3L year, finals season may become the most daunting uphill battle because, despite surviving four semesters of this fight, you may find yourself in a position where you just don’t care. When you just don’t care, it’s hard to maintain focus and find the resilience you need to complete extensive hours of outlining and studying. When you just don’t care, it’s hard to remember that you 
It doesn’t take long for even the greenest law student to discover that 
One of the tricky things about law school is that the final exams don’t just require you to memorize the material. Unlike undergrad, where exams and papers generally tested your ability to memorize and explain the concepts, 
Now that you’ve gotten some tips on how to sustain your motivation throughout finals weeks and maintain a pace that will help you perform your best, let’s get to part two of our series: managing your time during an actual exam. Law school professors (and bar examiners for that matter) tend to set for tight time limits on exams because writing under pressures requires you to know the law very well and forces you to think quickly. So, while it may initially seem like you have a long time to complete that four-hour exam, the minutes will fly by when you’re struggling with a complicated fact pattern or laboring over a difficult multiple choice question. Points-wise, it’s vital to spend a meaningful amount of time on each question posed, so good time management is an important test-taking skill. Use the strategies below to help you manage your time and maintain a steady pace throughout the exam: 
Law school final exams pose many challenges, one of which is maintaining an appropriate pace, both during the actual exam and throughout finals week. Part 1 of this series will give you suggestions on how to manage your studying during the weeks leading up to and during finals and Part 2 will provide you advice on how to manage your time during the actual exam.