The previous 1L post was meant to scare you. And maybe even make you question law school.
But this post is meant to calm you down. And maybe realize after figuring out the many unknowns of law school, you know for sure that you are exactly in the right place.
My first semester of law school was pretty much like that last post–full of fear and pretty much a mess.
But it doesn’t have to be like that EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. So let’s just make it last for these two posts.
As long as you’re aware of what you’re getting yourself into, know people who have gone through the same thing, and are prepared to make changes to your life–YOU WILL BE FINE.
And if you’re like me and don’t necessarily care to be at the top of the class or aspire to make partner at a huge law firm–YOU WILL BE FINE EVEN MORE (although there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that and people are able to do them amazingly well–they’re just not for me!).
SO: read my tips about the main topics I mentioned last time, what I wish I had known and what made me change my perspective on absolutely hating law school!
Orientation
My Experience: Orientation was LONG. We ended most of our days pretty early, so I definitely think it could have been condensed into a shorter and better structured program to introduce us to what the legal field and education is really like and how to be prepared for it (rather than having us figure it all out as the year went on)
Tips: Take advantage of that free time! Most students used this time to grab food, go out for drinks or explore the city with their new classmates. I was dealing with a bad break up at the time, so instead, I stayed in my own little world. I do regret it, because there are some great law students, but I never got to know them outside of the orientation setting and before the crazy workload took over!
Extras
My Experience: Like most (or all) 1L students, I did not work my first year because it’s not technically allowed. I became Secretary for SALSA (South Asian Law Student Association) and just went to a few events by organizations without formally joining (usually through a small fee) them.
Tips: That’s not to say you don’t have time to do anything–because you can make time! But, it’s a new type of world that you have to get acclimated to before you can go on multi-tasking in life! I did try to become one of the 1L Reps for the Health Law Society, but since I didn’t get it, I didn’t try to stay super involved.
I do wish I formally joined the Health Law Society, Public Service Advisory Board, and the Intellectual Property organizations so I could have met more individuals who were interested in the same things as me. I have a tendency to be more comfortable with South Asians–but there’s like 10 South Asians total at my school. So taking the initiative to step out of my comfort zone, going beyond 1L interaction and meeting more 2 and 3Ls would have helped me feel more at home.
The 1L curriculum is set and the 1L competition does not seem to be evaporating anytime soon. So getting out of that bubble is something I highly recommend doing in order to figure out part of your place in the legal field!
Classes
My Experience: So I’m still figuring out what works out for me in law school (we’ll find out when I get my grades on June 14th at 10 am 😂). But what I did this semester was 100 times more effective than whatever I was doing first semester!
Book Tips: If you want to save money, buy your books off of people (1st semester I only spend $400ish on books, whereas people who bought new books spent close to $1000). Second semester I did buy new books because I wanted to try reading material without having other people’s notes/highlighting influence me. I found that interacting with the material with my own notes and highlighting helped me understand the material so much better.
Regardless, you can try to find used books with minimal highlighting so you can save half the money at the same time! And unless your professor says specifically not to–buy the older edition if it saves you hundreds of dollars! The only time it became a small issue was when there was a missing case or different, but I would usually be able to ask someone else or the professor would let us know of changes.
Reading Tips: Having 20-50ish pages of reading every night doesn’t seem too bad. But it can take more time than you think! Take advantage of those weekends of extra time and get ahead on readings if you can! It saves so much time during the week to relax and do other non-law school activities. It also gives you more time at the end of the semester to focus on studying for finals!
Briefing/Note Taking Tips–You will be encouraged to write out case briefs (which is a formatted way of taking notes by writing out the Facts, Issue, Holding, Rationale for the Holding, and any Concurring/Dissenting Opinions) for each of your readings. Some of your professors may require that you do a brief for each reading.
However, if it’s not required–I WOULD NOT DO THIS. It takes up a LOT of time and in most cases there are better ways of capturing the same information. I think having to write out briefs the beginning of my first semester for one of my classes helped me figure out what I need to be reading for and what’s important to understand. However, mid-semester, it just became very tedious.
I learned that taking book notes (in the margins), along with taking notes on any concepts or information that I had to look up/watch videos on for clarification worked best for me! Each professor tends to ask similar types of questions during lectures. So I would make sure if anything, I had notes about that information (such as basic questions like what the issue is or who’s suing whom).
Outlining Tips: Outlining is basically compiling everything you learn throughout the semester into one document. People have different ways of doing this, but what worked for me was typing up my class/book notes (we’re not allowed to have laptops in class, so all my original notes were hand-written). I would update the document either at the end of each day or latest at the end of each week. I organized the topics by the headings my professors used in the syllabus.
As finals came closer, I would begin rearranging topics and condensing my notes to make it all fit together. By the time it was the last day of class, my combined outline for a class would range from 60-150 pages. However, I would use the study period to read over the outlines, condense them, and look up concepts I was unsure about. I would be able to bring each outline down to 30-60 pages and would use that to study for the rest of the time. Some professors allowed us to bring in a 1 page (back and front) cheat sheet, so I would also make a mini outline during this time. Some people made charts, diagrams, flow charts, and other images–but I found that physically writing/drawing those out while studying helped me more!
Cold Calls
My Experience: The number one reason why I hated going to class my first semester. I would be so nervous walking into class every single day, and dreaded the thought of being called on and making a fool of myself. There are some students who spoke so eloquently and gave arguments that sounded so profound.
Tips: But then I stopped and actually listened to them. There are several law students who speak just to speak. They’re not saying anything meaningful. More likely than not, rather than substantially contributing to the discussion, they just like hearing the sound of their own voice.
I started blocking people and voices out…a lot. And it helped me and my well-being so much. No one knows what they’re doing in law school. It’s a whole new world and we’re all embarking on this journey together.
So regardless of how worried you are about not understanding material—let it go (as easy as that is!). Everyone else is in the same boat. Professors forget about bad cold calls. Your classmates forget about bad cold calls. And if you let yourself, you’ll forget about those cold calls.
Passes
My Experience: I took full advantage of the passes professors allowed for absences/being unprepared for class. I tried to go home as often as possible since it’s only about a five hour drive–utilize a pass. During spring semester, you will be invited to interviews for the summer–utilize a pass. Sometimes, you mentally need a break–utilize those passes and take a mental health day! Whether it’s staying in your apartment and resting or going to class but asking to not be called on–use your passes to recharge.
Tips: Be prepared–you will definitely have at least that one professor who terrifies you from day one because of the way they intimidatingly ask you “WHY?!” to your every response or because you don’t want to be on the receiving end of a professor just staring into your soul when asked a question (yes, that was my biggest fear of a professor my first semester).
But then quickly get over it. It is not worth being stressed about something that does not matter as significantly as your mind may have you believe (my cold call with that professor was so quick and in no way terrifying–so clearly I worried myself for nothing). As soon as I stopped caring as much my first semester and realized that professors understand that passes WILL be used, I had smoother cold calls, was learning more, and was in such a relaxed space!
Just make sure you find out whether your professor frowns upon using passes the last few weeks of class (when everyone begins skipping out on readings to study for finals). I had a professor who did not accept passes then, so I used mine all before then:)
Grades & Miscellaneous Things
My Experience: Law students’, professors’, faculty’s and recruiters’ favorite topic! Honestly this is the reason I hate the law school system. There is a HUGE emphasis placed on 1L grades. Students are convinced that their grades will make or break their careers–hence the super competitive 1L environment. Even students who are genuinely super nice people have a tendency to always talk about school, their grades, exams, midterms, outlines, their summer job, your summer job, networking…the list goes on. Sometimes, at 7 am on the bus, I wish the first thing someone said to me was “Good Morning!” or “How are you?!” instead of “Where are you working this summer?!”
Tips: Law students (for the most part) are good people! They just get sucked into this environment that pushes them to revolve their lives around law school. Some people like me don’t like study groups or meeting with law students outside of class because we don’t like only talking about law school outside of law school. Some of us also learn in different ways, so hearing others boast about where they’re at is unnecessary stress that can easily be blocked out.
Like I mentioned above, 1L grades are important. Getting a summer job at a firm your first year is very difficult; and usually a requirement of firms is that a law student be in a top percentage of their class (usually 10-30% i think). And that’s just one of their factors to get their feet into the door.
That is why students care so much–they want those jobs, they want that money, they want those connections, and they want to take that next step on their ladder towards success.
Obviously I care about all of that. However, I did not let it consume me. Being in an environment like law school feels like everyone has everything so put together (which trust me, no one really does) because of their strong and outgoing personalities. I initially felt like I had to put up a front and join in on that because lawyers are supposed to hustle.
And that just hurt me even more. So I stopped trying to focus on being at the top of the class or being the “best” law student. I go to class, am friendly, study as much as I can, go to enough events without socially draining myself, and put in enough effort for professional success without letting myself burn out. But then I go home, sleep 8 hours a day and have time to myself. I no longer feel exhausted mentally or socially.
We each have our own visions and live our lives to fulfill those visions: I want to become the best version of myself–not the best, top-earning lawyer–so I’m altering my lifestyle in that way. Live a life in school that gives you the balance you need for your personal goals.
I still got interviews with firms. I still got an amazing summer job. My school has 100% job placement. I know what I want to gain out of my educational and career paths. So regardless of the unkowns, I know for a fact that EVERYTHING WILL WORK OUT FOR EVERYONE and WE WILL ALL BE FINE.
So enjoy your first year! No doubt it will be in your top worst years of your life. But it does surprisingly fly by (especially second semester). It’s hard and it’s different. But if you’re meant to be here for your current passions and your future goals–you will come out with an invaluable skill set and a whole new perspective on who you are and where you’re headed!!
Wake up. Meditate. Read. Eat Breakfast. Study. Work out. Study. Eat snacks. Go to Class. Eat Lunch. Do extra-curricular activities. Eat Dinner. Study. Relax. Study. Hang out. Study. Keep in Touch. Study. Watch Tv. Study. Sleep.
You’ll be reading a lot; but keep a balance, know your priorities, take care of yourself, and it will be just like anything else you take on!💪🤗💕
