Last Updated on December 28, 2022
Law School Guide – Everything You Need to Know
The internet sometimes produces certain information that are not necessarily proven. So, if you have been searching online for the latest information on from learning what law school is all about, tips to gaining law school admission, to surviving your first year, law school requirements, how to get into law school, law school curriculum, is law school worth it, to acing law school exams and more, the article below brings you all you need to know.
All you have to do is read on. Contemplating law school? If so, you likely have many questions. How do I get into law school? What is the curriculum? What law school is best for me? How do I prepare for law school?
Learning About Law School
Lawyer Education Overview
Lawyers undergo extensive educational training to become licensed to practice law. This article details all of the educational and testing requirements necessary to become a lawyer.
So, You Want to Become a Lawyer?
There are many myths surrounding what lawyers do and the skills required to run a successful law practice. Here are ten factors that every prospective law student should consider before choosing to become a lawyer.
Part-Time Law School Programs
If work and family obligations are preventing you from pursuing your dream of becoming a lawyer, you might look into part-time law school programs. Part-time programs allow you to work or take care of family during the day and attend school in the evening. This article outlines the advantages and disadvantages of part-time law study.
Getting Into Law School
Law School Admission Test (LSAT)
The LSAT is one of the most important tools that admissions committees use to weed out applicants. Learn all about this all-important test including an explanation of skills tested, the multiple choice and essay sections, LSAT scoring and LSAT prep classes.
Law School Admissions Factors
Admission to law school is a highly competitive process; a record number of students are competing for a limited number of spots in the nation’s law schools. Here is a list of factors that admissions committees consider when determining what applicants will be admitted to law school.
Law School Admission Tips
Getting into law school is not easy. Your GPA and LSAT score are the two most important factors in the law school admissions decision. However, learn what other factors can help sway the admissions decision in your favor.
What Is Law School Like
Selecting a Law School
Selecting a law school is an important decision that should be made with care and research. But, with nearly 200 ABA-approved law schools in the nation, how do you choose the right school for you?
Preparing for Law School
Preparing for Your First Year of Law School
Planning and preparation are essential to success in law school and law practice. These strategies can help you prepare for and survive your first year of law school.
Pre-Law Reading List
If you will be starting law school in the near future, review this list of law school resources recommended by law students, professors and attorneys. From taking the LSAT, securing financial aid and navigating your first semester to the basics of the legal system, learning to think like a lawyer, taking exams, securing a summer internship, making law review, tackling the bar and beyond…these resources explain it all.
Guide to Law School Financial Aid
Law school is an expensive endeavor. In fact, depending on your school, the costs of tuition, books, study materials, and living expenses can drive the price tag for law school into six figures. With these costs, it’s not surprising that most students need financial aid for law school, which usually comes in three forms: loans, scholarships/grants, and federal college work study.
Surviving Law School
Law School Exam Tips
Performing well on law school exams is essential to success in law school. Law school exam writing is a specialized art that takes skill and practice. You will need to demonstrate both a substantive knowledge of the subject matter and superior writing skills. Here are several strategies for acing your law school exams.
Learning to “Think Like a Lawyer”
Part the law school experience is learning to “think like a lawyer,” i.e., using inductive and deductive reasoning to analyze case law and extrapolate a general principle or rule of law. Learn about one student’s law school experience and how law school gave him a new perspective on the world.
Surviving Your First Year of Law School
The first year of law school, particularly the first semester of 1L, can be one of the most challenging, frustrating and rewarding times in your life. Performing well in your first year is particularly important for students trying to make law review and aiming for a job with a large, national law firm. These tips from Michelle Fabio can help you survive and excel in your first year of law school.
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT LAW SCHOOL – LAW SCHOOL TERMINOLOGY
Applying and enrolling in law school can be an exciting and confusing time in your life. There is an ample amount of information thrown at you while you are attempting to begin a challenging but rewarding journey. You first have to maneuver through a difficult application process while trying to figure out what certain acronyms and words actually mean. It also does not help that you are thrown into a list of new terms during your first week of law school. While the beginning of your law school career can be confusing, your transition can be made easier by becoming comfortable with legal terminology. Below are terms and explanations that should assist you throughout your application process and the start of law school:
0L, 1L, 2L, 3L
These are the levels of being a law student. 0L is the status of students who either have been granted admission to law school or are currently applying. This changes to the 1L level on their first day, since this represents first-year students. 2L signifies the ‘upper division’ or anyone above their first year but not yet graduating. 3L represents the graduating class.
AALS
This stands for the American Association of Law Schools. This organization consists of 179 member schools. They produce publications and journals, address current issues and uphold excellence in legal education.
ABA
This stands for the American Bar Association. This organization is one of the largest voluntary professional groups. The ABA is a collection of over 400,000 attorneys, law students, and legal professionals. This organization sets standards for law schools and works to continually improve the legal profession.
ADMINISTRATIVE RULES
This is a collection of rules that are created by a state agency. There are three different types: register, code, or manual. These vary between states and territories. Registers are publications like the Federal Register that contain adopted rules or notices. Codes are publications like the Code of Federal Regulations which focuses on administrative rules. Manuals are created to assist the rule-making agencies.
ADR
This is Alternative Dispute Resolution. This refers to disagreements that are settled outside of court or not through litigation. There are two main types: arbitration and mediation. Typically, parties agree in advance to settle outside of court through ADR.
ADVANCE SHEETS
These are documents that contain the recently decided cases in a particular area or region.
ARBITRATION
This is a form of ADR. Parties agree to use a qualified arbitrator to settle the dispute outside of court. Arbitration follows a specific timeline of negotiation and the decision is binding.
ARGUMENTS
This is a section of the Law School Admissions Test. Arguments are also known as Logical Reasoning Questions. These test your ability to analyze and synthesize information to come to some sort of conclusion.
BAR
The bar is the collective of all attorneys and the practice of law. It is derived from the physical swinging bar that separates the public in the courtroom.
BAR EXAM
This is a test to see if a person has the capabilities and qualifications to practice law. It is broken into three parts. The first and second parts are the MBE (Multistate Bar Exam) and the State Specific Exam which tests specific state laws/statutes. The second part is the MPT (Multistate Performance Test) which measures one’s ability to complete lawyer-specific tasks.
BLUEBOOK
The Bluebook: A Uniform Guide to Citation is a book focused solely on proper legal citation. It covers all legal documents and how to create a citation for them.
CAS
This stands for Credential Assembly Service. In order to apply to law school, students must purchase this cloud service to upload their application materials to the LSAC.
CASE BRIEF
This is a summary of a case. They articulate the facts, issues, and decisions made on a particular issue. Law students and lawyers frequently write these.
CASEBOOK
A casebook is a type of textbook for law students. They are supplements to conceptual textbooks in the fact that they contain excerpts from cases and legal memoranda.
CLERKSHIP
Students have the opportunity to obtain a clerkship and work as a law clerk for a judge during law school. These people are responsible for researching cases, assisting judges, and helping write opinions.
CLINICS
This is an opportunity for 2L and 3L students. These clinics allow members of society to receive free legal aid and advice from current law students. There are specialized clinics that focus on a certain field of law.
CRS
This stands for Candidate Referral Service. If you enroll in this program, the LSAC sends your LSAT score, GPA, and other personal details to member law schools. This is a free service and a great way to get more information about law schools that interest you.
THE CURVE
Most law schools have their 1L grades based on a curve. Since the exam is typically the only grade in the course, professors compare all the exams against each other to match the specific curve the institution sets forth.
DUE PROCESS
This is the clause in the Constitution that ensures that all citizens are treated fairly and equally under the law and legal systems.
EXTERNSHIP
This is a hands-on opportunity for law students. An externship is a form of short-term job training/shadowing program in a certain field. They differ from internships in their duration is much shorter.
F. SUPP
This is a legal citation. It means that the material is from the Federal Supplement.
HORNBOOK
These are book supplements that are on subjects covered in law schools. They provide a summary and explain certain areas of the law.
HYPO
This stands for Hypothetical Question. These are posed by professors utilizing the Socratic method in order to allow students to gain more information about a case.
ID
Latin for ‘the same.’ This is a legal citation to indicate a citation that is used in a row.
INTERNSHIP
This is a hands-on opportunity for law students. An externship is a form of short-term job training/shadowing program in a certain field. They differ from internship in their duration is longer.
JD
This stands for Juris Doctor. It is a first degree of law and is required to practice law. In order to obtain this degree, a student must take the LSAT and pass a three-year long program at a law school after obtaining a bachelor’s degree.
JOURNALS
This is an opportunity for law students. Each university has several legal journals that allow students to submit scholarly publications.
JURISDICTION
The ability for a specific court to hear a particular case. There are several types of jurisdiction such as original, general, or appellate.
JURISPRUDENCE
The study of the science of law.
JURIST
A scholar that is well versed in the field of law.
KEY NUMBER SYSTEM
This is WestLaw’s indexing system to organize cases that includes a small summary of points specific to the particular case.
LAW SCHOOL REPORT
This is a portion of the law school application. It is a completed version of your application that is sent to each school you wish to apply.
LEXISNEXIS
This is a company that facilitates one of the main legal research databases. LexisNexis Advance is the main database used to find cases and other legal documents.
LITIGATION
This is the process of going to court to solve a case. This includes filing complaints, motions, negotiations, trials, and appeals.
LLM
This stands for Master of Laws. This is an advanced law degree that is globally accepted. This program is typically one year and can be completed after obtaining a first-level law degree.
LOGIC GAMES
This is a section of the LSAT. It is also known as analytical reasoning. This section feature several logic puzzles that you must figure out and answer questions about. The purpose of it is to test an individual’s analytical skills and their ability to draw conclusions.
LSAC
This stands for the Law School Admission Council. This organization is responsible for facilitating the Law School Admission Test and all other law school admissions purposes. They host services for prospective and current law students.
LSAT
This stands for Law School Admission Test. This is a half-day examination that is broken into five sections and a writing sample. The sections are of three categories: Reading Comprehension, Logic Games, and Arguments. This test aims to measure a student’s ability to be successful in law school.
MBE
MBE stands for the Multistate Bar Exam. This is a subsection of the bar exam. Most states include this portion on the bar exam, and it is consistent throughout all jurisdictions. It is composed by the National Conference of Bar Examiners.
MEDIATION
This is a form of ADR. This is when two parties decide to settle their dispute outside of court through a neutral third-party.
MOCK TRIAL
This is an opportunity for 2L and 3L students. Students take on a hypothetical case in the lower, trial courts and attempt to argue a certain side of the case. This is normally taught with Trial Advocacy because students must represent a side in a fictitious court. There are competitions throughout the school year.
MOOT COURT
This is an opportunity for 2L and 3L students. Students take on a hypothetical case in the appellate court to argue an appeal. Instead of a trial, they formulate an oral argument to present why the lower courts erred. There are competitions throughout the school year.
MPT
This stands for the Multistate Performance Test. The MPT is a portion of the bar exam that tests one’s lawyering abilities. Essentially, it examines if you are able to perform a task that a lawyer would be able to do. Not all states require this portion.
NALP
This stands for the National Association for Law Placement. They are a collection of legal professionals that aim to help ensure law students and other professionals receive excellent education and fair hiring processes.
NCBE
This stands for the National Conference of Bar Examiners. They are responsible for facilitating the MPRE, UBE, MBE, MEE, and MPT.
OCI
This stand for On Campus Interview. These are events hosted by law schools that allow legal employers to come and interview 2L and 3L students for summer associate and entry-level positions. These usually occur during the first few months of the fall semester or end of the summer.
OPINION
This is the reasons and justification for the decision on a case.
OUTLINES
These are breakdowns of a specific class. Typically, professors or upper-level classmates have outlines that they are willing to share with others. They are useful in getting a general knowledge on the certain course.
PERSONAL STATEMENT
This is a portion of the law school application. It is a relatively brief essay about yourself in which you can address anything you wish in regards to gaining admission to law school.
PRECEDENT
This is a legal case that was decided through the courts that establishes a rule or doctrine. Other courts utilize this case to make decisions on similar situations.
READING COMPREHENSION
This is a section of the LSAT. This part focuses on large reading prompts that ask conceptual and inference questions. This is to test a student’s ability to synthesize a large amount of information and still understand the key points.
REPORTERS
This is a collection of judicial opinions that are combined in book form. They contain a certain amount of opinions and decisions from case law.
SEAT DEPOSIT
This is a fee that a law school requests after you get admitted into a university and decide to officially enroll. It serves as your ‘seat holder’ to confirm you are going to be in that graduating class. It typically is applied towards your tuition.
SJD
This stands for Doctor of Juridical Science. This is a research doctorate of law with the equivalent of a PhD.
SOCRATIC METHOD
This is the typical way law classes are run. Essentially, instead of telling information or explaining facts, the professor poses hypothetical questions in order to get the group thinking critically.
STUDENT VOLUNTARY PRO BONO PROGRAM
An opportunity for students to provide legal aid without fee to individuals. In doing so, they are providing for the common good or public interest.
SUMMER ASSOCIATE
These are positions for law students that have completed their second year of law school. While they are not yet lawyers or graduates, they intern at a law firm as an associate.
T14
The highest tier of law schools. This represents the top 14 law schools in the nation.
TORT
This is a civil wrong or harm against another person.
WESTLAW
This is a company that facilitates one of the main legal research databases. WestLaw Next is the main database used to find cases and other legal documents.
Applying to law school can be much less frustrating if you know the different terms and acronyms associated with law students. There are many unfamiliar words to the prospective student, so it can be discouraging if you are bombarded with information that you have no knowledge about. Becoming aware of legal and law school diction will not only help you when applying but also ensure your success as you begin your law school journey.
5 Things You Should Know About Law School
Anita Western is a 3L at Michigan State University College of Law with a trustee scholarship and a passion toward the issues that arrive at the intersection of law and technology. Prior to law school, she earned three bachelor’s degrees in Criminal Justice, Spanish and Political Science.
Law school success doesn’t come easy. It takes a great deal of hard work and determination. But when you land your dream job, you’ll realize how rewarding the experience truly was!
Though I am a 3L, I still vividly remember my first year of law school. It was incredibly rigorous, but I made lifetime friends and professional relationships that I am forever thankful for. I also like to think that I gained a little bit of knowledge along the way as well, which is why I’m here writing for you.
Back then, I didn’t understand how important the following five things are. I wish I had learned them earlier in my law school career, and my hope is that they are beneficial to you today.
Your 1L Grades Are the Most Important
I know grades are never anyone’s topic of choice, but in law school, they’re incredibly important.
Unlike undergrad, law school has an independent “curve” for every class as well as a “class rank” where the students are ranked according to their GPAs each semester. The curve grading scale contributes to the infamously competitive atmosphere within law school. Professors will grade each exam and then rank the exams against one another, adding to and subtracting from the initial grades so that the overall grade distribution matches the school’s specified curve (usually a “bell curve” or “normal distribution”).
This means the exact number of As, Bs, Cs, etc. is predetermined and students’ grades must be made to fit into those allotments. Students tend to loathe this grading scale because they can be pushed down a letter grade. For example, if only 10 Bs were allotted and the professor graded 12 exams as Bs, the lowest 2 Bs will become C+s and so on.
This grading technique is tough, but most professors offer “participation points” that will be applied to your final grade, so participate early and often in class!
Develop Healthy Habits & Find Your Balance
This is law school. It is an experience unto itself. In undergrad, free time seemed to be in abundant supply. In law school, there never truly seems to be free time. There are always more assignments to read and work to be done, not to mention social activities in which to participate.
It’s easy to fall into the regimen of fueling yourself up with coffee and/or Red Bull to stay awake, ordering pizza because you don’t have time to cook and spending all-nighters because there aren’t 25 hours in a day (unfortunately). Of course, you will absolutely run into nights where all of the above are necessary, but you always have to think of how this will affect you.
Mental health is just as important as physical. It’s crucial to set boundaries for how you will let law school control your life. Keep the cheat meals to a minimum, set study goals so you aren’t pulling an excessive number of all-nighters and commit to time dedicated for relaxing. Whether it’s Netflix, working out or simply hanging out with friends, make sure that you devote time to clearing your head of all stress. I know this task may seem impossible at times, but it’s incredibly important. Even on the first day of class you will have readings, and professors will expect you to be prepared. Showing up to class and expecting to “wing-it,” or hoping to sneak by without being fully prepared would be a disservice to you, the professor and your classmates.
Your job, right now, is to be a student of law (unless you’re a part time student, in which case you would have two jobs). You are here to be “zealous advocates” for all those whom you will represent in the future. The only profession in which it’s acceptable to perform 30% of the time is baseball.
If you happen to be unprepared for a class, which happens to us all at some point, and get the double-whammy of being cold-called, then you should say, “I’m sorry Professor, but I’m unprepared today.” Professor Stromwell, who removed Elle Woods from her class for being unprepared in Legally Blonde is not someone you will come to face in law school. Your professor may berate you, but they’re human too. They will move on.
Fair warning though, you may be on call for the entirety of the next class — depending on the professor. Classmates and professors alike appreciate your honesty and respect you for not wasting their time trying to power through something you are not prepared for. Be present. Be prepared the minute you step foot into law school, you are building yourself as a future lawyer. Your words, actions and attire speak to your character, whether an accurate representation or not.
Also, don’t forget to take time to come out of your shell and introduce yourself to the people in your section (this will come in handy for final exam study groups) and attend law school-sponsored events to meet new people.
Get to Know Your Campus and School Before School Starts
Where is the law school located? Is there a bus that will take you to your building or do you need to drive or find alternative transportation? Do they have parking? Do you need to purchase a parking pass or pay by day?
Find your classrooms and research the organizations you’d like to get involved in. Doing these things before classes start will remove a great deal of stress, as everything happens so fast in law school. If you’re unsure of what organizations would be a good fit, attend luncheons and events that different organizations host during your first month of school.
There’s no shame in just testing the waters, and having a few free lunches while doing so. And, don’t hesitate to reach out to the e-board members of organizations that peak your interests. They’re there to help.
4 Things to Consider Before Going to Law School
The law has long been seen as a prestigious career path—and a great option for people with all kinds of skill sets.
But the conversation about law school is filled with a fair amount of doom and gloom these days. The legal industry has contracted seriously in the last few years, and there’s no doubt that JDs face a lot of competition coming out of law school.
Still, if you make the right decision for you as an individual, a law degree can open any number of career doors. Here’s what to consider when deciding whether to take the law school plunge—and how to find the right school for you.
1. The Job Market
It’s no secret that employment prospects for new law school grads have dimmed in the last few years (it’s become such a trope that one Chicago lawyer is even offering a $1,000 scholarship to students who decide not to study law).
That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go—it just means you should know what you want out of your legal career and be realistic about getting there. Start by looking at the employment trends—where new JDs are getting jobs, the salaries they’re making, and the un- and under-employment rates at top law schools. You should also look up schools you’re interested in in the American Bar Association’s employment summary reports, which break down bar passage rate, the types of jobs graduates are getting, and where they’re working.
Generally, you’ll want to look for schools where most graduates get full-time, long-term legal jobs within a few months of graduation. If you see that a lot of new JDs end up at part-time or short-term jobs, it’s probably an indication that they’re struggling in the job market. And the last thing you want is to graduate with $100,000 worth of debt and no job prospects.
2. Geography
Knowing where geographically you want to practice law can give you some much-needed direction—law schools often have strong alumni networks and recruiting relationships with firms in particular states and cities. Sometimes these networks are obvious, but often, they’re not (for example, Berkeley sends a lot of graduates to jobs in California, but also to big law firms in New York City). If you know you want to move back to the Bay Area or plan to join your fiancé in Chicago after graduation, look for schools that feed into those regions.
Similarly, a particular industry may have a major presence in a certain geographic area, and that should factor into your search, too. If you’re passionate about a social cause and interested in working for a national advocacy group, for example, you should be looking at law schools that send a lot of graduates to jobs in Washington, D.C. If you’re interested in, say, energy law, target schools in Texas and Louisiana. You can ask admissions officers where each school’s JDs are ending up, or use the law school search tool on Noodle to see which schools feed into the place you want to go.
3. Return on Investment
Higher education has never been more expensive, and law school is no exception. Advice on paying for law school deserves its own post, but before you get that far, do a little research to estimate your return on investment. Payscale offers data on salaries for graduates from law schools in a variety of jobs, so you can think objectively about how much you’re willing to pay and how much debt you’re willing to take on. Some career paths value a legal education even if they don’t require it (think government or policy jobs), so if you go to law school and don’t plan to practice law, take that into account when you look at how all the numbers break down.
And if you’re interested in a public service career, consider paths that offer loan forgiveness. The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program through the U.S. Department of Education forgives federal loans after 10 years of employment in jobs with government entities or nonprofit organizations.
4. Scores
On a more obvious note, your LSAT scores and college GPA will largely determine where you go to law school. So, as you’re thinking about the schools with great employment rates that place graduates in your field and industry of choice, look at their average and target numbers. If your scores aren’t close, it’s worth postponing the application process to focus on boosting your LSAT score or thinking seriously about going. It’s difficult to do, but it’s crucial to your future to look at the numbers and make an informed decision.
Finally, the most important thing is finding the school that’s right for you as an individual. During your research phase, remember to keep asking yourself a key question: Why do you want to go to law school? Yes, you want to apply to the highest quality law schools where you can gain admission, but it’s crucial to find a program that meets your needs and fits your situation. Be honest with yourself about your goals, and the other questions will be much easier to answer.
7 Things You Need to Know About Law School Before Committing
Law school is not for the faint of heart. Law school is a soul-sucking, but rewarding experience. It is not easy and it’s rarely fun, but if you’re determined enough to power through and earn a degree, you already know this and don’t scare easily. If you’re considering one of the most rigorous career paths in the country, you’re likely preparing to study a lot. Before submitting that application, take a deep breath and add a few things to your ever-growing pro/con list.
1. Law school is not undergrad round two
There are no party buses, easy breezy assignments or make-up exams. There’s no way to prepare for an Elle Woods-esque transformation. You just have to trust yourself and prepare as much as possible. Leave any notion of prancing down memory lane behind. The only thing you might have in common with your younger self is an abnormally large amount of caffeine pumping through your veins.
2. A J.D. isn’t a guarantee
Your fancy new law degree doesn’t change the job market. Job-hunting is hard in today’s climate, even for the bright young brains of the world. With plenty of planning, you’ll know where to go to get the job of your dreams. Your years of hair pulling will only prove your passion and dedication behind the degree. They have nothing to do with available positions.
Nancy,* a current law school student, says that research is the most important factor. She says, “Most importantly, think about what type of law you think you want to do, what type of firm or government position you want.” Then, research whether or not the law schools you’re applying to are a good fit for those types of jobs. As you navigate law school, keep networking and reaching out for job placements. Like any other industry, it’s all about who you know.
3. HTGAWM makes all-nighters look cute
Yes, coffee and co-working happen. A lot. But designer outfits, real-life murder and perfectly coiffed hair with sleep deprivation? Not so much. Nobody will be around to document your hard work and intense study sessions. Cutesy coffee dates are long gone. Studying in law school is more like voluntary solitary confinement. You’ll have a finite amount of hours until you need to fully comprehend decades worth of material. Time management will never be more vital.
4. Be wary when dishing free legal advice
When you do manage to get out of the library and into the real world with the other humans, everyone will want to pick your brain for free. Regardless of the niche you’re studying, people will expect you to know everything about the law and answer their desperate questions in return for a smile. Explaining various procedures is one thing. Sitting down for a one-on-one in-depth consultation is another. And doling out advice when you don’t know the answer is an entirely different issue. Be courteous, help your contacts where you can, and always include the fine print up front.
5. Self-care is more important than graduation
If you find yourself struggling with the immense stress of law school, how can you expect to practice law afterward? This intense time of growth and learning is also about creating a productive and balanced life. From here on out, you will face tough days, cases, and clients. As Nancy says, “It’s tougher than what you see. Maybe not the actual workload, but the emotional toll it takes on you.” It doesn’t get easier, but it does lend itself to a routine. Figuring out how your mental and physical health plays into your daily race is integral to you walking across that graduation stage.
6. Alcoholism is real
Need a drink? The answer, while you’re in law school, is almost always yes. The precarious combination of high-stakes work, crushing student debt, and social isolation can leave you drained. Nancy says, “Sometimes schools or groups organize ‘bar reviews’ which is a play on words for just meeting up at a bar, which is a great way to meet people. You don’t actually have to drink, though!”
The easy and readily available solution for many lawyers-in-training is alcohol. Though commiserating with your community is understandable, Nancy’s right. You don’t have to drink to fit in. Choosing a pricey depressant may not be the best answer to your woes. Instead, try the old standbys of sleep, hydration, meditation, and healthy eating. Taking care of your body first will help naturally fight the impending stress.
7. Being a know-it-all won’t help you
No matter how well you know the material (or think you know), save it for the exams. You’re smart. You got yourself here. Don’t blow it by letting your ego say stupid things. Speaking up simply to show off puts a target on your back for both professors and peers to give you a hard time.
Committing to the cost of law school, both mentally and financially, is a heavy decision. However, committing to shaping the world into a better, more just place is the easy motivator. If you’re up for a challenge that never ends, grab your pink scrunchies and open those textbooks. It’s study time.
Life as a Law Student: 7 Things You Really Have to Know
Whilst we have all heard a little about studying law at university, whether through family, friends or films, it is difficult to know what it really does involve – and there’s no shortage of stories out there, from the mostly accurate to the utterly fantastical. This article should debunk a few myths, confirm a few and make sure you know what you are signing up for when you fill in that application form! It also includes a little advice to help you settle into law student life that bit quicker. Law is a great subject to study at university but it does have its challenges: here’s what you can expect.
1. There is a lot of reading.
Just to get the scary one out of the way first, it is difficult to explain how much reading a law degree involves other than to say that there are a lot of law books! Law students get a reputation for clocking up the library hours because each week you need to learn what the law actually is and academics’ opinions of it from scratch, and neither of these will be particularly short. There is definitely an art to managing the reading lists and you will get all the advice you need from older students when you first arrive, but it does take a while to get used to the pace of learning.
That said, by the end of your first term you won’t believe how quickly you can pick up the key themes of an article or find the important passages from a case. Just be ready for the inevitable long nights when you need to stay up getting through an endless reading list. They do happen but they are (almost) only as common as you want them to be; you are never set more work than it is feasible to do if you manage your time well. Self-imposing a schedule for getting reading done, plus whatever other assignments you have been set, is a habit to get into very quickly.
2. There is no single ‘eureka!’ moment, but it does all come together eventually.
Certain areas of law, particularly contract and tort, deal with different types of human action but are so similar in places that they often ‘run out’ just as the other one starts. As you usually learn only a few topics at a time you may not understand one fully until you have covered the next one. It is absolutely normal to feel a little like you’re in the dark to begin with, although universities try to organise the courses so that the first year exams at least can stand on their own. Criminal law, for instance, makes a good first year subject because it is easy to get to grips with the ideas and it doesn’t overlap too much with any other area. It is just important to know that if you study Land law before Trusts/Equity, it is not a problem if you don’t fully understand what a trust is because that will come next.
3. There is a rat race, but you don’t need to join it (straight away).
The law students aren’t considered the quickest off the mark for getting involved in applications and internships early on in their degree, but it’s a close one! More and more law firms are offering placements and taster days during the first year of university so it is tempting to think that you need to get involved in deciding your career choice right from day one. If you are thinking about becoming a solicitor it is worth applying to these if you want to be ahead of the game, but the big one is the summer vacation schemes at the end of your penultimate year. If you are thinking about the Bar then the more mini-pupillages you have under your belt when you fill in your application form at the beginning of your final year the better, and some chambers will expect a certain number as a minimum. However, most of this kicks off at the beginning of second year so you do have time to settle into legal study before you need to think about applications.
Don’t forget that there are other options too — charity work, civil service, interning for a while until you decide on a career path (if you can afford it!) or further study are all worthwhile alternatives. It’s also worth thinking about going to a local or regional firm or chambers if that appeals to you, and for this you may have to send letters asking to go and shadow someone rather than applying to an organised scheme. All these alternatives are no less competitive but require you to look further afield than your Law Society e-mails, which may tend to focus on the big London (and increasingly international) opportunities. Your tutors, personal advisor, careers service or equivalent will give you plenty of advice about careers, and where to start looking for opportunities in a field you’re interested in. Make sure you think seriously about where you want to start off — it is easy to be swept along with the crowd!
It is also just a fact of life that the legal sector, like anywhere at the moment, is very competitive for finding a job. Keep on top of your work, get involved with extra-curriculars and apply to any placements or schemes which may interest you so that your CV looks as good as it possibly can when you get to more serious applications.
4. You need to sweat the small stuff.
The ‘sharp mind’ you need for university study comes in different varieties, and each degree demands a particular mix of certain skills. Law requires both absolute command of the details of legislation and cases, and a wider view of how different areas interlock and what they (aim to) achieve. This is shown most clearly in the two main types of examination question. Problem questions require you to apply the law to very specific (and sometimes outright preposterous) factual patterns and explain why in this specific set of circumstances a piece of legislation or principle of law would/could be applied in a certain way.
You need to know the legislation and the case law, because although you may be given a copy of the legislation it wastes time if you’re using it to do anything other than check minor points. Equally if you don’t know part of the case law in an area that can lose you marks or narrow down the number of questions you could potentially answer. Essay questions require you to make a broad point using specific examples, so you need to have a whole arsenal of examples to hand.
Basically, you need to remember a lot of things! And you need to be prepared to sit down and learn cases, and at the very least the structure and key clauses of the relevant legislation so that you can find it in the statute book during the exam. It is absolutely normal to have legislation and case summaries stuck up round your wall during exam season (rent agreements permitting!). But because all this knowledge also needs to be grounded in the wider picture for the purposes of essay questions this isn’t just an exercise in memorising names, which makes the process a lot easier.
An Oxford examiners’ report commented a few years ago (in light of students forgetting the names of key cases) that if you have done the work properly then remembering case names should be no more difficult than learning the names of breakfast cereals. I may not know hundreds of breakfast cereals, but it’s true that you learn a lot of small details without thinking about it.
5. Everyone is going to ask you for legal advice. And you won’t want to give it.
Somewhat ironically, the more law you know the less confident you become definitively stating what the legal position in a certain area is. You are, after all, focusing on the more controversial and uncertain areas of law so it is easy to forget that some are actually quite simple and clear-cut. There also comes a week where you learn about liability for giving advice and accepting responsibility for it being correct. It’s fairly well-accepted that casual remarks in social situations don’t come within this category but as soon as law students learn these cases they immediately stop wanting to give any form of legal advice!
All this of course assumes that you know the area of law your friends are asking about in practical detail in the first place, which usually isn’t the case because law degrees are more theoretical than practical. No matter how many times you try to explain this to your friends however, you will still be asked. It’s something you will find frustrating, but it won’t stop you from asking the medical students about your twinging knee so it’s just something to resign yourself to I’m afraid.
6. It can be absolutely fascinating — especially when you think it won’t be.
Perhaps the really big thing to know about an English law degree is that there are subjects which (i) you have to study (ii) you expect you won’t enjoy. This is an unfortunate side-effect of the fact that law degrees are at heart vocational and so you study certain areas which are crucial to the smooth functioning of society but aren’t considered too glamorous. It’s worth noting that some people do come to university with a professed love for commercial law and that’s great, but it does seem to be the norm to start university dead set on being a human rights barrister.
However, because you have to learn these topics in significant depth you do find yourself getting far more interested than you ever plan to. What can seem like a fairly technical subject such as land registration is actually vitally important to individual people when you think about it — many cases on the topic end up with someone being evicted from their family home, or allowed to stay despite the aspiring purchaser having no idea that they had a legal interest in the house as it was not entered in the register.
There is a frame of mind to adopt here, and it’s absolutely central to ensuring that you enjoy studying law. Find the interesting element of something which doesn’t originally appeal to you — there will always be one, often the ‘human interest’ or political angle. Make as much of it as is possible as interesting to you as is possible. And resign yourself to the fact that you’ll just have to learn the rest!
7. Being a law student is what you want it to be.
Perhaps I’m giving the impression that law students spend their whole lives in the library learning statutes back to front, and that when they do emerge it’s to go to networking events, apply to careers or to sit exams. This just isn’t true. As with any other subject, university is exactly what you make of it and that will invariably (and should!) involve meeting some of your best friends and many of your future colleagues, getting involved in as many societies as you can make time for and having the odd quiet night in. There is a core amount of work which has to be done, but as a humanities student you’re in the enviable position of being able to manage your own timetable to a certain extent.
Make the most of it! Specifically for law students, there are also plenty of extra-curricular activities which can be really rewarding for yourself and others. If you’d like to get involved in pro bono work then most law schools have a scheme running, really do make sure you try some mooting (mock appeal trial, where you pretend to be a barrister) because even though it’s quite scary it does wonders for your public speaking, and make the most of any opportunity to get the sort of legal experience you’re interested in during the holidays. There is no single ‘law degree experience’, much as there’s no single ‘university experience’; choose what you want to make your priorities over the three year period, as long as you always make time for your work.
Like any subject at university, studying law has its ups and downs. However, if you’re interested in the subject and able to motivate yourself to work sensible hours then there are definitely more positives and it is a fantastic subject to study for three (or four) years.
