4 Tips to Help You Succeed in Your First Year of Law School
After countless hours spent studying, multiple late nights, and many cups of coffee, I am happy to have finished my first year of law school! This year has been one of the most challenging years of my life, but I am grateful for all the lessons I have learned along the way through the ups and downs. Navigating your first year is a learning curve, but I hope that these four tips will ease your transition into law school and help you succeed.
Adjust Your Studying Strategy For Open Book Exams
In law school, the majority (if not all) of your exams will be open-book. A common misconception with open book exams is that the exam will be a lot easier because you have access to all of your course material. The truth is that open-book exams, just like closed-book exams, require a lot of preparation. It’s not enough to memorize the concepts, but you have to be able to apply them on an exam to any fact scenario given to you.
The key to succeeding on an open book exam is being organized and knowing the information in your outline. You don’t want to be in a position where you’re attempting to understand a concept in your notes for the first time ever during an exam. Take the time to organize your notes and condense them into an outline in a way that makes the most sense to you.
Start your outlines early and synthesize the notes that you take each week into a condensed document so that you have time to review and practice the concepts by the time exams roll around. Create a table of contents that will guide you to the right concept that you’re searching for to save you from going through countless pages to find it. Law school exams are a time crunch, but staying organized and making your notes user-friendly will help you save time on the exam.
Take Advantage of Office Hours
Attending office hours as a 1L student at the beginning of the year was intimidating, and I struggled to approach my professors. However, attending office hours is a great way to connect with your professors, get feedback, and review concepts you’re struggling with.
Before attending my professor’s office hours, I prepared a list of straightforward questions that narrow down what I wanted to go over with my professor. Some professors are willing to go over a hypothetical question with you during office hours that you have attempted and talk through the application with you.
Attending office hours is also essential for getting feedback on your exam or assignments to identify the areas you need to focus on and get insights from your professors on strategies you can implement to improve. Taking advantage of office hours can help you better understand your professor’s expectations and the structure they are looking for when marking your assignments.
Find a Productive Study Group
If you’re like me, you would rather study individually than study in a group. But I’ve found that forming a good study group in law school has been highly beneficial when reviewing for the exam.
Study groups are the most effective when they are composed of 3–5 members who come prepared. Preparing before a group study session is crucial as it can help you identify what areas you are struggling with and focus on those areas.
Have a focused study plan in advance so that your group uses the time effectively and prioritizes the material that needs to be covered. My study group and I would identify areas we were struggling with and then choose a hypothetical exam question to go over that would help us better understand how to apply class concepts. Your peers are an excellent resource to talk over class concepts with and help you think of the material from a different perspective.
Practice, Practice, Practice
Practice exams are an excellent way to identify what you’re struggling with and will help you learn from your mistakes so that you’re prepared when the exam comes around. Many professors will provide you with practice questions or hypothetical fact patterns before the exam. Alternatively, some schools have a practice exam bank that you can use to practice applying concepts with.
Take the time to complete any practice exams that your professor provides you with, and then compare your answer to their approach in the answer key or go over the answer with them during office hours. Doing this will help you deconstruct what your professors are looking for and what they expect to see in your answer. The more practice you do, the more prepared you will be when the exam comes around when you come across similar concepts that you have already spent time tackling.
