4 Weeks of Law School...
Wow, the workload is really increasing here. I'm getting roughly 14-18 pages per night per class. That roughly equates to about 40 pages of reading per night. For those of you who aren't familiar with reading in law school, that's roughly 4 hours of work in reading alone. That doesn't include the time spent briefing and answering questions at the end of each case.
For the benefit of those of you here who have not yet attended law school. There seems to be this common misconception that you only read and brief cases every day, and that's all you do. I wish it were that simple. All of these casebooks contain notes and questions at the end of every case. You aren't required to answer them, but they make you think like a lawyer and if you don't answer them, you're denying yourself the chance to learn something more valuable than a legal rule, that is the chance to practice legal reasoning.
Another common misconception that people seem to have coming in here is that they should read the cases to get the legal rule and then memorize the rule. While it's true that the legal rule is important and you need to know it, what's more important is the reasoning behind the legal rule and the application of that rule to particular cases. You need to be able to analyze a situation and actually apply a rule and explain why you're applying it the way you are, and what support you have for doing so. Simply knowing the rule will net you a 'C' grade in every class, or so the professors tell me. It's the analysis you apply that bumps your grade from a 'C' to a 'B' or 'A'.
Finally, don't forget not to neglect what's important to you during law school. I started a relationship going into law school and I thank God every day for my wonderful new girlfriend Amanda, who puts up with only seeing me once a week. Not only that, but she puts up with my prattling on about legal opinions and application of the law. She is truly finer than the most valuable gem in the entire world. Her kindness, patience, and understanding go beyond all reason and expectations, and I am very thankful to be with her. When you eat, drink, breathe, and sleep the law, that's all you can really think about and that's all you tend to talk about. Needless to say, this will annoy and drive crazy every person around you who is not in law school. Take time out of your schedule to forget about law for a few hours, or maybe even a whole day from time to time. It's not worth it to do well in law school if you end up killing yourself by heart attack or ending up in a mental hospital because you don't take time out to relax and keep yourself mentally and physically healthy.
For the benefit of those of you here who have not yet attended law school. There seems to be this common misconception that you only read and brief cases every day, and that's all you do. I wish it were that simple. All of these casebooks contain notes and questions at the end of every case. You aren't required to answer them, but they make you think like a lawyer and if you don't answer them, you're denying yourself the chance to learn something more valuable than a legal rule, that is the chance to practice legal reasoning.
Another common misconception that people seem to have coming in here is that they should read the cases to get the legal rule and then memorize the rule. While it's true that the legal rule is important and you need to know it, what's more important is the reasoning behind the legal rule and the application of that rule to particular cases. You need to be able to analyze a situation and actually apply a rule and explain why you're applying it the way you are, and what support you have for doing so. Simply knowing the rule will net you a 'C' grade in every class, or so the professors tell me. It's the analysis you apply that bumps your grade from a 'C' to a 'B' or 'A'.
Finally, don't forget not to neglect what's important to you during law school. I started a relationship going into law school and I thank God every day for my wonderful new girlfriend Amanda, who puts up with only seeing me once a week. Not only that, but she puts up with my prattling on about legal opinions and application of the law. She is truly finer than the most valuable gem in the entire world. Her kindness, patience, and understanding go beyond all reason and expectations, and I am very thankful to be with her. When you eat, drink, breathe, and sleep the law, that's all you can really think about and that's all you tend to talk about. Needless to say, this will annoy and drive crazy every person around you who is not in law school. Take time out of your schedule to forget about law for a few hours, or maybe even a whole day from time to time. It's not worth it to do well in law school if you end up killing yourself by heart attack or ending up in a mental hospital because you don't take time out to relax and keep yourself mentally and physically healthy.
posted by VSAvatar at 9:28 AM
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