I’m the first to admit I didn’t take enough advantage of professors’ office hours in law school. I didn’t like to study at the law school, instead preferring to commute back and forth (fortunately, an easy 10 minute bike ride) between home and school for class. Working in a visit to office hours felt like an insurmountable hurdle, but I was only hurting myself with this philosophy. Fortunately, I was able to build strong relationships with professors through other means: clinic, research assistantship, and directed readings, but I still regret not taking more advantage of office hours. [Read more…] about Six Ways to Use Office Hours
About Kathryn Blair
5 Ways Study Groups Can be Helpful
To join or not to join – that is the question. Study groups seem as ubiquitous for the law school experience as the Socratic method, outlining, and briefing. But are they helpful?
As with so many other hard questions in life, the answer is: it depends.
There are certainly dangers in study groups: it is important not to confuse what you have learned and can do as a group with what you have learned and can do individually. Study groups also don’t guarantee you a good grade, and can sometimes increase your stress or anxiety.
With all of those potential pitfalls, are study groups even worth it? How can they possibly be helpful? The answer comes in knowing yourself, knowing your group, and setting expectations. Here are five ways that study groups can be beneficial, if you form them with specific purposes in mind.
Practice Interleaving for More Efficient Studying
Law school presents a host of time management struggles. Between attending class, preparing for class, outlining for exams, reviewing supplements, practicing exam questions, writing papers, participating in pro bono and extracurriculars like mock trial, compiling applications for summer jobs, it’s a wonder anyone finds time to eat, sleep, exercise or socialize! In this environment it is especially important to study smart and efficiently. [Read more…] about Practice Interleaving for More Efficient Studying
How to Fight Exam-Freeze
Most of us know that terrible feeling of opening up an exam question, reading it, feeling our mind spinning out of control, and just… freezing. It’s what I like to call “exam-freeze.” Sometimes we recover quickly, only losing a few minutes, other times we are off to a rocky start and never feel like we hit our groove during the exam. Either way, it’s a terrible feeling, but also a terribly common one. Fortunately there are strategies you can try to help you fight exam-freeze. [Read more…] about How to Fight Exam-Freeze
Should I Enroll in a Clinic?
Many law schools offer legal clinics, where law students get course credit for engaging in substantive legal work under the direction of a licensed attorney. These usually offer free legal services to underserved populations and may be focused on local communities (such as local legal aid) or far-flung populations (such as international human rights clinics). Those law schools that offer clinics structure their programs differently, but clinics are usually only available to 2Ls and 3Ls. So if you are a 1L or 2L and contemplating your schedule for next year, and debating whether or a not a clinic is right for you, here are four things to keep in mind as you weigh this decision: [Read more…] about Should I Enroll in a Clinic?
5 International or International Law Careers for the Globally-Inclined
Maybe you’re taking an elective course in international law, are just interested in international relations, or are looking for a way to use your fluency in a foreign language, but whatever the reason, your curiosity is piqued and you’re not sure what a career in international law or abroad might look like.
First things first: it’s important to think about what we mean by international law. Generally, when we speak about “International Law,” we mean law that functions at an international level – laws that govern the interactions of different countries. But in addition to careers dealing strictly in international law, there are also legal careers that are simply international in nature. Whichever of these might interest you more, here are five potential career paths for the globally-inclined to think about:
[Read more…] about 5 International or International Law Careers for the Globally-Inclined