To get the most out of law school, you need to focus on two key things: academics and getting a job. Below you’ll find lots of practical tips for new law students, including key academic “must-knows,” along with advice on behaving professionally in law school and on job hunting as a 1L, and some do’s and don’ts we all learned the hard way! You’ll also find a few useful apps for managing your life as a 1L, because who doesn’t love a good life hack?!?
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Academic Basics for New Law Students
- Making a Study Schedule for 1Ls Most first year law students are stressed, over-worked, and a bit frustrated. 1Ls have to juggle classes, figuring out what the heck law is, and all their other engagements as well. One way to tackle the great debate on when to study is to create a study schedule.
- How to be a Top Law Student Every law student wants to be at the top of the class. Good grades and high class rank can yield significant rewards, like law review membership, better odds of passing the bar exam, and more desirable employment options. How do some students get to this enviable position? What can you do to be one of them?
- The Art of Note-Taking One of the most important components of law school studying is how effectively you take class notes. Professors will often take what they discuss in class and use it on the final since not everyone takes effective notes and it will create a curve. So even if you’re keeping up on your readings and understanding the material- without great class notes it could all be inane. When considering what is best when writing or typing your class notes the best method…depends.
- 4 Steps to Managing Your Time Effectively For many of us, the busy nature of our daily lives requires close and careful budgeting of our time if we want to get tasks done, meet deadlines, and still have any time for ourselves. Many of us struggle to manage our time efficiently and get everything done. Here are my 4 steps to effective time management.
- Struggling with Procrastination? Try this 10 Minute Technique Despite the stereotype of the type-A, high strung law student, many law students struggle with time management and procrastination. You may find yourself procrastinating for a variety of reasons: boredom or disinterest in the subject matter, an aversion to the type of work, a fear of failure, a sense of being overwhelmed by the difficulty of the task, or simply an unrealistic understanding of your own skill level and the amount of time an assignment requires. But regardless of your reasons for procrastinating, you have to find a way to overcome it.
- Stuff Law Students Say and Why It's Wrong In the spirit of knocking out the excuses once and for all and getting a harsh reality check, here are some of the most common things I’ve heard and why they’re nonsense.
- Hey, Do You Know How to Memorize Stuff? Law school can be a shock to the system because it requires us to learn, write, and take exams in different ways than many of us have ever done before. How can you help set yourself up for success in law school? In this post we talk about memorization.
- 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!
- How to Practice for Exams in Law School Are you starting to think about your exam preparation? Use our tips to practice and find exam success.
- What Exactly is a Law School Exam? Law School exams are an important part of law school. Here is everything you need to know about them.
- How to Navigate Law School as an ESL Student Law school in and of itself is challenging, but can you imagine having the added pressure of a language barrier? It happens frequently enough that professors sound like they’re speaking a foreign language, but what about when they actually are?
- Video Quick Tip: Different Way to Think About Law School In this Video Quick Tip, Alison shares how to build the best foundation for your learning using cases, outlines and hornbooks, along with a different way to think about law school.
- 5 Simple and Effective Memorization Techniques for Law Students In order to apply and connect information like a lawyer, you first have to know something about the topic at hand. Here are my top five tips for memorizing the information you need.
- 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.
- 7 Tips to Improve Your Legal Writing Let's face it. Legal writing is as hard as it is important. Here are some simple tips that will help you strengthen your written work product and impress your professors.
- 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.
- How to Polish Your Legal Writing Legal writing demands careful editing. Here are some basics that will start you on the path getting it right.
- Top Free Resources for Law Students Do you know how to find credible information about law school and the legal world? Here are some great free resources for law students!
- 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!
- 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.
- First-Hand Guide to 1L Courses -- Civil Procedure Even though you may not realize it, Civil Procedure impacts your favorite legal dramas. It's also a core class for most 1L students, so we want to help you out with a general overview!
- 1L Tip Sheets -- Civil Procedure Terms Jumping into your 1L courses can be difficult when you are not completely familiar with the terminology of the course. This quick Civil Procedure "tip sheet" will help you keep up!
- Ahead of the Curve: Reading Cases: From Syllabus to Exam -- Prepare the Case for the Exam On top of reading and briefing cases, after class discussion, you will have notes capturing your professor’s take on a case. As you work on drafting your outline and thinking about how cases could factor into your exam, keep the following advice in mind.
- Ahead of the Curve: Top Supplements for Every 1L Course There are a LOT of options out there when it comes to law school supplements. If you're wondering how to choose, this is the post for you!
- First-Hand Guide to 1L Courses -- Legal Research & Writing It's a good idea to go into your first year courses with a general understanding of what you should expect from them. Click here to learn a bit about Legal Research and Writing!
- 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!
- First-Hand Guide to 1L Courses -- Constitutional Law Getting ready to start your 1L Constitutional Law class but not sure what to expect? Here's a brief overview to help you go in with a little extra confidence.
- First-Hand Guide to 1L Courses -- Torts The beginning of the school year means that there's a flood of 1Ls entering their first law school classes wondering "what is a 'tort' anyway?" We're here to help with some basic background information on what to expect in your Torts class.
- Ahead of the Curve: From Undergrad to Law School -- Making the Transition, Part Two One of the most challenging parts of moving from an "undergrad" to a "law school" mindset is adapting your writing style. Here are some things to consider as you start your 1L year.
- Surviving Your First Oral Argument If you're getting ready for that first oral argument at the end of 1L year, this post will help you get through the process!
- First-Hand Guide to 1L Courses -- Property First year law school courses often come without a lot of context. If you're getting ready for your first Property class, read this for a little bit of background on what you should expect.
- First-Hand Guide to 1L Courses -- Contracts Having an overview of your courses before you walk into that first class can only help you. Read this post as you prepare for your first 1L Contracts class - a little context can go a long way!
- 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.
- The Waiting Game: A 1L Perspective on Waiting for Grades Law school sometimes feels like one big waiting game. You spend the whole semester working up to one big exam, and then what? You have to wait for your grade. Here are some tips for dealing with the wait.
- First Hand Guide to 1L Courses - Criminal Law Having basic background information can be important for promoting your general understanding of any course. Here's some information that might help you with Criminal Law.
- How to "Drop the Mic" on Your First Moot Court Argument Fear of public speaking is widespread, and it doesn't go away as easily as most of us would like. If this is something that you struggle with, read here for some tips on making it through your first Moot Court argument successfully.
- The 3 Stages of a 1L Midterm Not all 1Ls have midterms. If you do, here is some information to help guide you through the process -- and maybe make you feel better about your upcoming exams!
- What Signals are Your Signals Sending? If you're struggling with your legal writing, or even if you just want to make some improvements, you should work on your signals. The Bluebook gives you detailed information, but here are some basics that should give you a head start.
- Tips & Resources for Visual Learners Although law school generally caters to auditory learners, most students are actually visual learners. If you tend to think in images, or need to see information in order to process it, this post might help you find some more effective ways to study!
- Keys to Outlining in Law School Outlining. It's a process that's almost unique to law school, and many law students don't know what it is or how to do it. If you want the rundown on the best approach to this process, this is the post for you!
- Going to Law School When English is Your Second Language If English is your second language, the process of learning "legalese" becomes that much more complicated. In this post, we talk about why you should go into law school with confidence...and when to seek help if you need it.
- Fun With Black's Law: 10 Unexpected Legal Terms Black's Law Dictionary. It shows up as an impressive presence on law office bookshelves throughout the country. Did you know that it can be funny too? Here are just a few examples of the more...unexpected legal terms you can find there.
- 5 Tips for Citing Web-Based Sources in Legal Writing Did you know that the Bluebook has a way to cite social media? With web-based resources growing in popularity and respectability, it's important to know how (and when!) to cite to these sources.
- Handling First Semester 1L Grades If you are currently awaiting your Fall semester grades, you may be feeling anxiety, and the waiting and relative suffering involved in that can be extremely difficult. Some schools will release grades as they come in from the professors and some will release them all at once on a particular date. I’m not sure which is worse but both leave for an anxiety-soaked winter break. But we can offer some tips about how to handle this time.
- Podcast Episode 93: Top 1L Questions: Academic Concerns There are many things about law school that inherently make law school intimidating, unfamiliar territory. Tune in for some tips on preparing yourself mentally for what to expect so you go into your 1L year with a strategy for success.
- 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.
- Podcast Episode 117: Surviving Law School Midterms Law school midterms are becoming more and more common, especially for 1Ls. Tune in to listen to a discussion of what you need to know about law school midterms.
- Podcast Episode 156: Our Top 10 Academic Podcast Episodes Today, we’re doing a recap of our top 10 academic episodes, plus a few bonus ones. These aren’t necessarily the most popular episodes, but the ones we think are the most useful!
Professionalism in Law School
- How to Act Like a Professional in Law School At any given point in law school, you have probably heard someone tell you this or have read it somewhere already. But what does it mean? Why do you need to “act professional” if you are not working in a law firm yet? Well, professionalism is about much more than job interviews and office etiquette- it is a philosophy that applies to you at every stage of your legal career. If approached from this angle, between interacting with your peers and faculty, you will be well trained in how to be professional as an attorney.
- Law School Style Report: The Best Carryalls for the Professional Law Student One question that many law students ask is what should they use to transport all their essentials to class. Is a briefcase appropriate? What about a backpack? Kathryn Conway from House of Marbury is here to to recommend a few carryalls for law students.
- How to Dress in Law School: A Cautionary Tale The manner in which you present yourself often sends a strong message about your attitude, your commitment, and your goals. It’s important to consider the message your demeanor and appearance are sending and make an effort to present yourself in the best possible way regardless of whether your attending a social event, going to work, or just attending class.
- A Law Student's Guide to Emails Law school demands that you “up your game” by learn new skills and adopting new habits. Some of these new skills take a lot of time, such as learning how to Bluebook or analyze cases, while others take money, such as getting an appropriate interview suit so you look the part. Today, however, I want to talk to you about a simple, quick, and inexpensive step that you can take to “up your game” by writing emails that look and sound professional.
- Protecting Your Law School Reputation Students choose to prepare for law school in different ways – whether it’s taking a course to familiarize oneself with the law school environment or going on that last vacation before school starts. However, one type of preparation people often miss out on is deciding how they are going to present themselves in their law school environment. This is an important factor to consider since your professional reputation starts the first day of orientation. Here a few things to think about before your first day:
- Ahead of the Curve: Setting Up Your Social Media - Getting a Fresh, Professional Start to Law School Did you know that your social media accounts can make a difference to you professionally? Here are some ways for you to get your social media into shape - and why you should do it!
- Ahead of the Curve: What to Wear to Law School and How to Dress to Impress Why should you worry about your appearance when going to law school? Professionalism! Read this post to learn more about navigating the dress code of this new (scary) legal world.
- Fashionably Lawyered: How to Dress as a Law Student While Not Breaking the Bank Once you become a law student, you should start to dress more professionally in your daily life. Here are some budget-friendly suggestions for giving your wardrobe a more professional look.
Dos and Don'ts for 1Ls
- The Olympic Lawyer: Preparation is Everything If you’re starting law school, or continuing law school, you might want to take some time to reflect on what it means to be a lawyer, and what it means to be excellent. If you have been following the Summer Olympics in Rio, you may have been dismayed to see that there is no “lawyering” event. But you might try to develop yourself into an Olympic-quality lawyer, by doing what the athletes do: learn the best ways to play your game, innovate to find even better ways, and practice. Preparation is everything.
- Misperceptions I Had About Law School Before I Got There What you heard about law school and what you actually experience can be two separate things. Our Law School Toolbox experts share their misconceptions about law school before they attended.
- Law School Toolbox Experts Share: Mistakes I Made When Starting Law School Congratulations, you did it! You are starting law school this fall. Starting something new can be overwhelming, stressful and sometimes scary. The Law School Toolbox tutors are sharing their mistakes so you can avoid making them.
- Law School Toolbox Experts Share: What I Did Right When Starting Law School We all make mistakes when starting law school, but there are many things you will do right. The Law School Toolbox team is sharing the things they did right when starting law school so you can learn from their experience.
- Non-Obvious Things That 1L's Should Bring With Them and Why Starting something new (especially law school) is stressful enough. You don’t need additional stress by forgetting essential items when you start classes. The Law School Toolbox experts are sharing some lesser known items to pack and bring with you in law school.
- Avoiding Office Hours? Go, and Get Something Out of It All student should go to law school office hours. But you shouldn’t just go to office hours — you should go with a plan to get the most out of it. Here's how to do just that.
- Five Myths About the Law School Study Group The study group is a staple of the law school experience. Have you found your study group yet? Is it the key to success? Does it really matter? Today, we debunk five myths about law school study groups.
- Should I Do a Law School Extracurricular? Skeptical about giving up so much valuable study (or sleep) time to participate in law school extracurricular activities? Here are some reasons to take part that may not have occurred to you before.
- Sucking Up to Your Law Professor Won't Help You Thanks to blind grading, sucking up to your law professor will not get you better grades. So, in a curved class, what do you need to do to get ahead?
- Law Librarians Explained: Everything a 1L Should Know Many 1Ls think of the law library as simply a place to study. If that's you, you're overlooking one of the most important resources in law school: the law librarian. Read on to learn more!
- Making the Jump From College to Law School: New Skills Law school is, ultimately, about preparing you to pass the bar and enter the legal profession. And, as you might expect when training for any new job, there are several new skills that you will need to master in order to be successful. This article concludes the series by describing some of the new skills you need to develop in order to successfully make the jump from college to law school!
- Don't Be That Law Student Getting ready to start law school? We talk a lot about personas here, and the type of people that you’re likely to meet in your classes. What about who you’re going to be? Or, more precisely, who you’re not going to be?
- Avoid These 10 Common 1L Mistakes There can be a sharp learning curve in law school. To do your best right from the start and give yourself a shot at the top of the curve, you not only need to quickly develop effective law school study skills, but you also have to avoid the ineffective strategies. Read on to learn about 10 common study mistakes new law students make so that you can avoid them during your 1L year.
- It's Time To Have That Talk With Your Family To ensure success in the new endeavor of law school, there is one crucial step you must take now – you need to have a serious talk with your family.
- The Secrets More 1Ls Need to Know If you’re starting law school this fall, here’s a little secret that might make your life both easier and more difficult: no one in your class knows what they’re doing any more than you do!
- Podcast Episode 8: Law School 101 for 1Ls (What NOT to Do) If you’re a 1L, this is the episode for you. We’re going to talk about the top five things law students consistently screw up their first year, so you can avoid doing any of them.
- Podcast Episode 100: 100th Anniversary Countdown! Our Most Popular (And Underrated) Episode Want to listen to our podcast but wondering where to start? Or already a fan and want to know what our favorites are? Here is a discussion of our most popular episodes, plus Lee and Alison's favorite, but underappreciated episodes.
- Podcast Episode 106: How to Go to Office Hours and Make It Worth Your Time Developing good relationships with your professors will not only have a positive effect on your law school success, but may prove to be valuable for years to follow. So tune in, and learn to love office hours!
Apps for Law School Success
- Why You Should Use Evernote in Law School Every student swears by an idiosyncratic note-taking style, but when it comes to law school, any method that ensures organization scores brownie points. Unlike other academic or professional note-taking tasks that maintain a uniform stream and format of notes, law school class notes tend to have wide variations in note-taking needs.
- Best Apps to Stay Organized in Law School Today we have a post for you law students who need some help organizing yourselves. Staying organized is critical in law school, especially when the handouts, books, and pamphlets start to pile up around exam time. If you think you are organized with binders, dividers, and folders, we still encourage you to embrace that thing sitting next to you right now: your smartphone and/or tablet!
- How to Organize Your To Do List in Law School Being in law school can make otherwise well-intentioned checklists seem overwhelming and unmanageable. Oftentimes, your schedule will include various parts and sub-parts, and span weeks, or even months, with multiple long- and short-term projects, goals and deadlines throughout. So, how do you keep everything in order? In this post, you will see some of our favorite online tools and apps to help keep you organized this semester.
- Ahead of the Curve: Time Management in Law School As a 1L, not only do you need to go to class, and of course, prepare for class, but there are so many other items on your to-do list that it can be difficult to make time for everything and prioritize what matters most. In this post, Ariel Salzer talks about the kinds of activities that you should make time to do, and some tools for helping you keep track.
- 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.
- Everything You Need to Know About Law School -- Textbooks 101 Law school textbooks cost an arm and a leg, but they are also absolutely crucial to your law school survival. Here's a guide that will help you save some money and provide some useful pointers for purchasing your books.
Job Hunting as a 1L
- Video Quick Tip: 1L Job Hunt In this Video Quick Tip, Alison shares some helpful reminders about job searches for 1Ls. Yes, academic success is your main priority! However, there are steps you can take to prepare for the job hunt while still focusing on your studies. Don’t panic! Be prepared!
- Help! It's Already Summer and I Still Don't Have a Summer Job! Panicking about your nonexistent summer job? Take a deep breath, calm down, and read this to figure out some steps you can take!
- Ahead of the Curve: What Are Big Law Recruiters Really Looking For? Are you thinking ahead to getting that dream job in big law? Here are some tips from a former big law recruiter that might help set you apart from the pack.
- What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up? Even before you head off to law school, you should be thinking about what kind of job you want to have after you graduate. Here are some factors you should consider when trying to make that decision.
- Unconventional Networking Methods for Law Students Networking. It's scary and uncomfortable for many law students, but there are a lot of ways to network. Read here for strategies that you may not have considered before.
- Podcast Episode 24: Job Search Basics for 1Ls Although it's only December, today we're looking ahead to the summer. We know a lot of you may be stressing out about this so we've got some useful tips and information about the basics of a 1L job search.
- Podcast Episode 120: Preparing for the 1L Job Hunt (With Ex-BigLaw Recruiter Sadie Jones) If you're a 1L getting ready for your job hunt, this is the podcast for you! We talk about how to prepare and apply, and what types of jobs will be best for your future.