lawyers/law students

[d-boy]

what's the most you've ever slacked for a final exam?

is going over a commercial outline for three days sufficient in most classes to pass?

please provide amusing/sympathetic stories for me to feel better about my chances.....

[Emperor_Mike]

I'm sorry. Speaking for myself, I've never actually slacked off before. In fact, I have a 62 hour work schedule each week including weekends, which means I get about half a day on average of free time a week, a figure that works out to about two days a month to spend on goofing off. I'm also in constant revision for exams, doing exams from previous years when I'm finished my work just to see how much I know and what areas I need to improve on.

But that's why I'm such a workaholic.

[sandra]

i always outlined at least a month - usually one month & 2 weeks - in advance. but sure, you can pass with reading over an outline 3 days in advance.

[yoMAMA]

I would suggest hiring legally blonde as a consultant.

Afterall, she aced harvard law.

;)

[sandra]

Originally Posted by yoMAMA

I would suggest hiring legally blonde as a consultant.

Afterall, she aced harvard law.

;)

she sat in on my property class to see what law school is like before filming the movie :) we were all like, "there's a new girl sitting in the back and she's kinda cute."

[d-boy]

Originally Posted by Emperor_Mike

I'm sorry. Speaking for myself, I've never actually slacked off before. In fact, I have a 62 hour work schedule each week including weekends, which means I get about half a day on average of free time a week, a figure that works out to about two days a month to spend on goofing off. I'm also in constant revision for exams, doing exams from previous years when I'm finished my work just to see how much I know and what areas I need to improve on.

But that's why I'm such a workaholic.

dude, i feel for you. the study of law must be really hardcore in England, (you're in England, right?)

my study habits, which i'm secretly proud of in a perverse way, have been:

1) taken NO notes in class, 2) done about 50% of the assigned reading, 3) made NO student outlines, 4) skipped quite a few classes.

to prepare for exams i'm pretty much just going over commercial outlines 3-4 days before each exam.....

taken one of four exams so far. it hasn't been too bad so far.....

[sandra]

Originally Posted by d-boy

dude, i feel for you. the study of law must be really hardcore in England, (you're in England, right?)

my study habits, which i'm secretly proud of in a perverse way, have been:

1) taken NO notes in class, 2) done about 50% of the assigned reading, 3) made NO student outlines, 4) skipped quite a few classes.

to prepare for exams i'm pretty much just going over commercial outlines 3-4 days before each exam.....

taken one of four exams so far. it hasn't been too bad so far.....

is this your first set of exams? i really wouldn't recommend that style of studying for law school...but if it has worked for you in the past, they more power to you.

[d-boy]

Originally Posted by kasia

is this your first set of exams? i really wouldn't recommend that style of studying for law school...but if it has worked for you in the past, they more power to you.

first set of exams. your right, the technique could backfire, but dont really care that much..... i'm mainly worried about civ pro, the other 3 classes (property/torts/contracts) appear fairly straightforward....

[sandra]

Originally Posted by d-boy

first set of exams. your right, the technique could backfire, but dont really care that much..... i'm mainly worried about civ pro, the other 3 classes (property/torts/contracts) appear fairly straightforward....

don't forget to IRAC.

IRAC each issue and you should be fine.

issue, rule, apply, conclude.

go through each step - you can't go wrong doing that.

[Emperor_Mike]

Originally Posted by d-boy

dude, i feel for you. the study of law must be really hardcore in England, (you're in England, right?)

my study habits, which i'm secretly proud of in a perverse way, have been:

1) taken NO notes in class, 2) done about 50% of the assigned reading, 3) made NO student outlines, 4) skipped quite a few classes.

to prepare for exams i'm pretty much just going over commercial outlines 3-4 days before each exam.....

taken one of four exams so far. it hasn't been too bad so far.....

Well, by most accounts I'm insane for doing so much. But literally cannot help it. Students are only supposed to do about thirty hours a week on average. It's my mind that's causing this peculiar difficulty. My mind won't stay idle and I'm literally thinking about law every minute of the day. Whether it's criminal, land, trusts and equity, or constitutional, I can't get it out of my head. I'm a quick learner so I basically burned through two terms worth of material in one term with little to no information loss and when I have nothing to do I feel like I'm going to go crazy from inactivity. Sure, some might say I'm lucky, but in all honesty it's a curse. It's like being obsessive compulsive over studying.

YW and the Internet seems more and more like a blessing rather than a negative addiction.

[lethal]

Good luck. Hope it works for you. Its not what I'd recommend for first semester 1L, but whatever works for you.

[TyroneK(prettypretty)]

You know, you should do what works for you. Most people have to spend their time outlining in order to get a handle on all the information that their classes cover, but I know many people who don't do their own outlines and do much, much better than other students. If you can dissect the issues to a teacher's satisfaction, it doesn't matter which way you get there. In fact, for me, I've found outlining to waste time. It's just the way my brain works. I need to absorb information and not spend so much time culling it.

This is of course dependent on the class itself. I don't suggest studying Con Law without knowing the cases. But really, you should emphasize your notes and take into account what your professor seems to care about in class. If you can do that efficiently (which is highly unlikely since you're a first semester 1L) then go ahead. I wouldn't expect a great grade though.

And no offense, if using IRAC and a commercial outline is enough for you, you either have a really lazy professor who doesn't put any kind of economic or substantive extra academic spin on their class or you go to a rather easy law school. Almost any law student will tell you that gommercial outlines are good for black letter law, but you're going to have to bring more to the table than what you gleaned from Gilbert's or Emmanuel's. Let's just hope you've trained your mind to really explore the issues.

Oh. Agree with everything the professor says. They might not say it, but their appraisal of the worth of your argument is greatly affected by their own personal beliefs. Trust lawyers to deny the obvious and trick you into risking some bad marks.

[d-boy]

Originally Posted by VBKao

You know, you should do what works for you. Most people have to spend their time outlining in order to get a handle on all the information that their classes cover, but I know many people who don't do their own outlines and do much, much better than other students. If you can dissect the issues to a teacher's satisfaction, it doesn't matter which way you get there. In fact, for me, I've found outlining to waste time. It's just the way my brain works. I need to absorb information and not spend so much time culling it.

This is of course dependent on the class itself. I don't suggest studying Con Law without knowing the cases. But really, you should emphasize your notes and take into account what your professor seems to care about in class. If you can do that efficiently (which is highly unlikely since you're a first semester 1L) then go ahead. I wouldn't expect a great grade though.

And no offense, if using IRAC and a commercial outline is enough for you, you either have a really lazy professor who doesn't put any kind of economic or substantive extra academic spin on their class or you go to a rather easy law school. Almost any law student will tell you that gommercial outlines are good for black letter law, but you're going to have to bring more to the table than what you gleaned from Gilbert's or Emmanuel's. Let's just hope you've trained your mind to really explore the issues.

Oh. Agree with everything the professor says. They might not say it, but their appraisal of the worth of your argument is greatly affected by their own personal beliefs. Trust lawyers to deny the obvious and trick you into risking some bad marks.

i agree with most of what you said. i AM a little worried about my study habits, but don't care about my grades at all, as long as i pass.

the funny thing is.... i go to upenn law which is considered a "good" law school, but the grading curve is ridiculously generous to students. in most classes, there might be a handful of c's at worst. you're pretty much guaranteed a b minus as long as you do the minimum.

and b minuses are fine with me...

[TyroneK(prettypretty)]

What are you in law school for? What are the curves in your classes like? Is it a B curve? B+?

If you're trying to get a firm job, you better make curve overall. It's a hard road up to a non-public service job if you're bottom dwelling on the grade spectrum.

[d-boy]

Originally Posted by VBKao

What are you in law school for? What are the curves in your classes like? Is it a B curve? B+?

If you're trying to get a firm job, you better make curve overall. It's a hard road up to a non-public service job if you're bottom dwelling on the grade spectrum.

i dunno why i'm in law; nothing better to do i guess....
the majority of students here usually get a B i think.
i'd like to work for the government after graduation, not at all interested in the private sector.