Reading cases and preparing for your law school classes is a critical component of law school success. Sure, some people claim to skip all the case reading and still get As, but that’s pretty unlikely. (Those people may be secret gunners, hiding out undetected in the back recesses of the library as they slog through the reading.)
Generally speaking, you need to read (and arguably brief) the cases, and to be able to use what you read to do legal analysis. Not sure what to expect in a law school class? Read on. We’ve also got some tips for staying organized and focused, so you can get your work done, and still have time for a little R&R.
What to Expect in a Law School Class
- A Student's Perspective: The First Week of Law School Classes Orientation week came and went in a flash which only means that classes are just about to begin. My schedule seems pretty typical for most 1Ls: Legal Research and Writing, Civil Procedure, Contracts, Torts, and Constitutional Law. There are some classes I am looking forward to and others that I am going to have to work hard to fully comprehend. The best I can do is prepare for class and study hard.
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- Corporations 101 - A Quick Look at Upperclassmen Courses Here is a quick overview of Corporations, a law school class you may be interested in taking during your upperclassmen years.
- Ahead of the Curve: From Undergrad to Law School -- Making the Transition, Part One The learning environment in law school is very different from what you probably encountered in undergrad. Here are some things you should think about as you make this transition!
- Ahead of the Curve: What is the Socratic Method? Are you nervous about the dreaded Socratic Method? Here, we'll demystify this law school rite of passage and help you face it with confidence.
- What Does a Law School Class Sound Like? Are you starting law school this fall? Have you ever wondered what a law school class discussion sounds like? If so, check out this video of Alison and Lee doing a mock class discussion on Howard v. Kunto (a case you will likely read in your first year Property class).
- Strategies for Surviving Cold Calls Are you, like many of your classmates, living in fear of the dreaded cold call? We have you covered with helpful tips and strategies to minimize your anxiety.
- Podcast Episode 13: What Do Lawyers Argue About? In this podcast we are talking about one important facet of the law school experience -- learning to argue like a lawyer. From class to court, it's all basically the same.
- Podcast Episode 189: Making Class Time Productive in Law School We’re talking about what to focus on in class so that you can get the most out of the experience.
Reading and Briefing Cases
- Should You Keep Briefing Cases? Ask Yourself these 4 Questions As you proceed through law school, you may start evaluating whether the study habits and techniques you’ve been using are really worthwhile. Case briefing, where you break down each case into categories like procedural history, facts, holding, and analysis, is usually one of the study tasks that students are quick to abandon. Case briefing can be tedious, time-consuming, and the payoff isn’t always obvious or immediate. But case briefing does serve a purpose and for some students the process of summarizing a case and writing out each component of a brief is essential to learning and remembering the information. So before you decide to throw in the towel on case briefing, ask yourself the following questions.
- How Many Times Should You Read a Case in Law School? To put it bluntly, routinely rereading cases is a total waste of time, and time is something you don’t have to waste as a 1L. Find out why here.
- A Brief on Case Briefing We're going over what a case brief is and how to best do it.
- Ahead of the Curve: Reading Cases: From Syllabus to Exam -- Read the Case Cases make up the bulk of your assigned law school reading, and it takes some effort to master the skill of reading and interpreting court opinions. Here is one approach you can take to attack your next assigned case.
- The Anatomy of a Case Citation Case citations can be befuddling. Where does all of that case citation information actually come from? Hopefully this post can explain the basics of a case citation. For an example, we will dissect the following case citation – Gupta v. Thai Airways Int’l, Ltd., 487 F.3d 759, 763 (9th Cir. 2007).
- Ahead of the Curve: Reading Cases: From Syllabus to Exam -- Brief the Case After you read a case, you should consider briefing it. This post will help you develop a briefing strategy that will help you master your assigned cases!
- What Parts of a Case Brief Really Matter We're talking about the best approaches to a reading through a case brief.
- Ahead of the Curve: Time Management -- The Value of Valuable Work Throughout the Semester Preparing for class alone is not enough. You need to incorporate key tasks after each lesson, chapter, and (ultimately) semester in order to survive and ultimately thrive in law school! Here are some ways to improve your performance throughout your entire law school career.
- How to Brief a Case in Law School If you are starting law school in the next few weeks, you will soon notice that everyone is talking about briefing cases. But many people don’t understand what effective “briefing” is. Well, the Law School Toolbox team is here to help!
- 6 Easy Tips for Reading Cases More Effectively in Law School It's important to be efficient in class preparation. Here are some ways to improve your case comprehension and make your reading more effective.
- Do I Really Have to Read the Cases? Now that you’re settled into law school, you’re probably wondering one thing — Do you really have to read the cases?
- Ahead of the Curve: Reading Cases: From Syllabus to Exam -- Prepare the Case for Class You've done your reading, you've briefed your cases, you're ready for class, right? Maybe not. Here is an approach for effectively following-up on all of your reading and briefing efforts that will have you as prepared as possible for class.
- Top 5 Mistakes Law Students Make Preparing for Class Preparing for class means something totally different in law school than it did in your previous academic life. It is a critical part of learning the law, so you want to make sure that you are preparing correctly. Here's what usually goes wrong and what you should be doing instead.
- Three Easy Strategies to Remember What You Read Do your reading! It’s a familiar refrain from law school professors and academic support professionals. But there’s more to law school homework than just making it to the last page of a reading assignment. You don’t just need to do your reading; you also need to be able to remember what you read.
- Podcast Episode 102: How to Read Cases and Prepare for Class in Law School Believe it or not, there actually is a "right" way to prepare for law school classes. This podcast will give you some valuable tips to make sure you're getting the most out of your study time.
Tips for Using What You've Read
- A Formula for Rule Analysis Success Law school gives you formulas like IRAC to help you through the process of learning legal analysis and writing. In a recent post, we shared with you a formula for the “R” section of IRAC that was developed by Professor Hollee S. Temple of the West Virginia College of Law. Now, let’s take a look at Professor Temple’s formula for the “A” section of IRAC.
- 3 Steps for Using Cases to Explain the Law Don’t you love foolproof formulas and step-by-step plans to success? The internet is full of all kinds of plans that promise to teach you how to do anything from losing weight, overcoming a fear of bicycle crashes, or making perfect pasta (that apparently takes only 5 steps). We like formulas, maps, and step-by-step directions because they help us to navigate unfamiliar territory.
- The Art of the Case Name (and 8 You Should Know) When you start law school, you may be surprised how often case names are used not only as shorthand for their holdings, but also as terms of art that represent fundamental legal concepts. Read this post if you want to get a jump start on learning some of the most important ones.
Staying Organized
- How to Stay Productive and Remember Everything in Law School Get our tips for staying on top of everything (even birthdays!).
- Ahead of the Curve: What Should You Be Doing to Prepare for Class as a 1L and How Long Should It Take? Are you concerned about being adequately prepared for your first year classes? Here are some tips for making the most of your prep time and being ready for that first class!
- Top Organizing Apps for Law Students In this post, we highlight several top applications for staying organized in law school. From note taking apps to calendar organizers, this list will get you moving in the right direction to becoming more organized.
- Bullet Journaling for Law Students I can remember how I discovered bullet journaling—I was looking for a calendar that was small, that had less hourly blocks of time and more of a to-do list, where I could track my fitness along with my freelance and work assignments, and where I could keep track of my reading progress in books. Does such a calendar exist? Sure it does. But I had to make it myself.
- 4 Steps to Managing Law School Material There is an abundance of law school materials out there. Here are some tips on how to manage this material effectively.
- Creative Ways to Organize Your Study Materials Try the suggestions below for some creative ways to organize your study material and simplify your study process.
Staying Focused
- Procrastination Rehab: Release the Responsible Law Student Inside of You We know it's in there, the responsible student inside of you. Stop being a procrastinator today and follow these tips.
- Digital Distraction: When Media is Helpful and Harmful While You Are Studying We all know how it goes: you sit down to finally get some serious work done on that term paper when *bling*, your phone screen lights up. You think, “I’ll just check it real quick, what if it’s something important?”, and before you know it, you’ve been scrolling Twitter for an hour and haven’t written a word of that essay.
- Five Techniques for Using Deep Work to Excel in Law School Deep Work is the ability to focus exclusively for a long period of time on one particular intellectual task without distractions. Here are five techniques that will help you implement deep work in your law school life.
- How To Stick To Your Goals in Law School Do you need help staying on track and sticking to your goals? Use these tips to stay on track.
Struggling to get it all done? Check out our law school tutoring options for help!