10/20/2018 (3) What is the best way to study in law school?

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14 Answers What is it like to study at Harvard Law School?

Nan Waldman, UC Hastings UC Berkeley (B.A. Journalism, minor in How do top students study?
Anthropology) Public school attendee. Private school pla...
Is law study easy?
Updated Sep 9, 2016 · Upvoted by Carol Moulton, J.D. Law, The Catholic University of
America (1987) and Marie Stein, JD, Boston University; mediator
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Originally Answered: What are some tips for studying in law school?

Here are 11 tips for studying in law school:

1. Attend every class. You need to learn how to think like a lawyer. Watch
professors demonstrate this feat. Watch fellow students attempt this.
Practice your own skills by fully participating in class.

2. How to read text. When reading case law, pay attention to subject, verb
and object in each sentence. Lawyers who write textbooks and judges
who write opinions are long-winded. Keep the meaning of long
sentences organized using punctuation as your guide. For me, this
enhances comprehension. I would in my first few law classes as a 1L More Related Questions
circle the subject, and underline the verb as I read. This kept my fingers
busy and it kept me more engaged. In other languages

3. Love your materials and write rather than type if at all possible. I Dalam bahasa Indonesia: Bagaimana cara saya bisa
had a collection of Rapidograph pens and highlighters which I used to memulai mempelajari ilmu hukum?
Em português: Qual é a melhor maneira de estudar
write tiny notes in the margins of my books. I also wrote notes during na faculdade de Direito?
lectures in longhand in a notebook. I loved writing in ink, and used
various colors as signifiers. Studies show you retain information better Question Stats
when you write information using your own handwriting (rather than
38 Public Followers
keyboarding).
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4. Get with a group of study buddies. Having a group of smart people as Last Asked Aug 11

study buddies kept me alert. I didn't want to let anyone down, so my 10 Merged Questions
Edits
part of the outline was always as clear, succinct, and as excellent as I
could make it. I was rewarded by receiving similarly awesome outlines
of other chapters. This helps a lot when cramming for exams.

5. Avoid the egos of your fellow law students. There are many unpleasant
people who are drawn to the practice of law. You will know who these
are by the way you feel around them. Avoid them. Don't speak to them.
Don't listen to what they say. Find your own tribe.

6. Exercise intensely. Spend at least two hours daily without fail building
up endurance so you can be doing intense exercise. I roller skated.

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Every single day. This helps with your stamina during finals and for the
Bar Exam. Start now.

7. Be in a happy place. Make your study place an environment that

pleases you.

8. Make it matter to you. Read case law as if you are reading a story about
real people and their real lives -- because you are! Make yourself care
what happens to the people involved by fleshing out their human
qualities.

9. As you move about the city where you live and study, see how the law
you are studying affects people with whom you come into contact --
contract, tort, criminal law, etc. I was driving around SF and saw a hit
and run driver. I chased him in my car but he got away. Something
lawyerlike within me clicked: I imagined him coming to trial. I
imagined the woman he hit suing him for battery and negligence.

10. Chunk time. I chunked time and devoted myself to reading and
studying with no interruption for as long as I could maintain focus. For
me this began (as a 1L) as one hour of focus. I chunked three hours in
the mornings before class. No interruptions are allowed during chunk
time. All screens off. Can you focus with music in the background? It
can help guide your focus away from distracting sounds. You can listen
to long symphonies or jams that propel you forward in time. Beethoven.
Brahms. Grateful Dead Dark Star jams. You pick your favorites.

11. Take timed study breaks. Get up and exercise vigorously for five to ten
minutes every study break. Jump rope, walk quickly around the block,
swim -- but time your breaks so break time doesn't interfere with study
time.

If you faithfully follow these ten steps you will increase your ability to focus.
Additionally,

Go to sleep at the same time every night to regulate your circadian

rhythm.

Eat nutritious foods at the same intervals every day, to regulate your
diet.

Avoid emotional eating. Many law students are too sedentary and gain
weight during law school. I had a pot of green tea hot in the winter and
cool in the summer — and fruit.
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Tracey Bryan
I love all of it. The two hours daily of "intense exercise"... hmmm, that'd be a real chall…

Tiffany Sanders, Non-practicing attorney, legal writer, and law school

admissions consultant

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10/20/2018 (3) What is the best way to study in law school? - Quora
Answered Jul 25, 2015
Originally Answered: How do I study in law school?

Law school studying is quite a bit different from studying in high school and
college--at least, for most majors. Your reading will consist almost entirely of
case law but (at least, at many schools), no one will teach you how to break down
a case before you get started. Most law students spend the first semester
learning to read case law.

The thing that makes this type of studying difficult for many people who were
excellent students in college is that most of the cases you're asked to read will
contain a lot of text that doesn't really matter. Sometimes, a case will be twenty
pages long, but the pieces that matter add up to a page and a half.

The key to getting through those hundreds of pages of reading each week
without losing your mind (and wasting a lot of time) is to learn early to focus in
on what counts.

You may have heard of "IRAC".

IRAC stands for Issue, Rule, Analysis, Conclusion

In each case, you'll need to:

1) Identify the question before the court

2) Identify the governing law (statute, case precedent, etc.)
3) Understand the court's analysis as to how the governing law applies to the
present facts to answer the question before the court
4) Identify the conclusion the court reached

Read every case to explicitly answer those questions. Whether you mark up your
book or create case briefs or use some other format that makes sense to you,
explicitly answer each of those questions every time you read a case. When you
come to those meanderings from the justices about how if this case had been
different in this respect or that, the outcome would have varied because...do not
be distracted. That's not law. Skim through it quickly and stay focused on what
matters.

Training yourself to read this way will not only give you an edge during the early
days of law school, when everyone is slowly getting a handle on this process, but
will also help you to pass the bar and in the practice of law.
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Charles Slade, Former mathematician, current patent lawyer

Answered Aug 19, 2015
Originally Answered: What are some tips for studying in law school?

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Here are some thoughts, in no particular order of importance.  But first a

disclaimer:  Not all of these thoughts will be useful for everyone.  Moreover, I
definitely had a different approach to law school (and studying, in particular)
than many, if not all, of my classmates.  But at the same time, I did very well in
law school and didn't ever feel crushed by the workload, and managed to keep a
more-or-less sunny disposition throughout law school.  Here's how, at least in
part:

1.  I rarely, if ever, did the reading before class.  In fact, after my first semester I
didn't even buy textbooks.  This will, perhaps, result in occasional
embarrassment when you're called on and you have nothing to work with from
the existing discussion.  On the other hand, it will keep you focused in class on
learning the material.  After the facts of a case are discussed, you can usually
think on your feet to answer any questions that are asked of you.

One way to mitigate being put on the spot is to ask questions yourself.  Don't
force it, but certainly you'll have some questions from time to time.  Ask them.

2.  Kind of consistent with the first point, I was (almost) always very engaged in
lecture.  I didn't bring a computer to class, and I didn't take notes.  I just actively
listened.  (Of course, I'm human... those 8:00 am classes were challenging.  I
didn't always succeed in paying perfect attention.)  But the point is, lecture was
the first and primary time I was exposed to material.

3.  From time to time, I would go back and read the cases.  When you already
know what the case is about (at least vaguely), there are two advantages:  (a) you
have a great sense of what is central and what is a digression; and (perhaps
relatedly) (b) you can go through the case very quick.  I don't mean that you sit
down and feel hurried... I mean that at your natural, leisurely pace, you go
through quickly.

4.  When reading a case -- and especially, when reading several related cases --
the key skill is throwing away information.  For example, in reading a Supreme
Court case, you usually don't need to know how the district court ruled and what
the appeals court did with that.  Sometimes (for example, in many civil
procedure cases) you don't even need to know the underlying dispute.  You
should develop a sense of when you're getting to the important part of the case --
the one or two propositions that the case stands for.  When you're good at it, you
can skip (or at most, skim) entire paragraphs based only on the first couple
words of the first sentence.

5.  Towards the end of the semester, in preparation for exams, I would start to get
a broad, "global" organization of the material.  I guess this is similar to making
an outline, but I didn't always write it down.  Instead, I'd get the course syllabus
(or table of contents of the textbook), and just make sure I knew the significance
of each case we discussed. 

I especially paid attention to the level a case fell in a hierarchy.  In other words,
the "top level" cases were the ones that we used to stand for very broad,
fundamental principles.  The next level down, cases would elaborate a little bit

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on some aspect of the top level principle.  Then one level even further down,
you'd get a bit of an elaboration on the elaboration, etc.  Knowing where cases fit
on the hierarchy is not always easy, but it's a great skill to develop.  The point is
that at some point, you can start ignoring cases deep in the hierarchy.
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Lars Frostholm, works at Aarhus University

Answered Aug 26, 2015

Disciplined..
It sounds boring, but it is truly the easy and more fun way to study.
I have studied law for two years now this way, and it has worked pretty well.
 
I start at 8am each morning whether I have class or not. When I study, I study.
No distractions! I continue till 3pm, and then I'm off. When I'm off, I'm off. I put
the books away, close all documents and browsers related to law. From 3pm and
till I go to bed I have plenty of time for sports and social life (that's the fun part).
 
From 8am to 3pm doesn't sound like a lot (and it isn't - the easy part). It is,
however, more than enough to read and make the necessary papers, when you
are focused.
 
Further I would say, that a lot of people, focus too much on the studying part in
exam periods. When an exam is coming up, start by categorising what you have
learned. Then train for the exam. If it is an oral exam, talk. If it is a written exam,
write. And write the way you would do at the exam - no bullets or shortcuts.
Regarding oral exams, the way we do it, is a study group of three people. We take
turns, so one is examinated and the other two take the role of teacher and
censor. That works pretty well for the big day.
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Sonia Chauhan, Qualified Lawyer.

Answered Dec 11, 2014
Originally Answered: How can I learn the practice of law in law school?

You can only learn doing something, but by doing it. Fortunately, law school is a
benevolent gardener that gives its saplings ample opportunity to bloom in
various other lawns.
 
As a law student, you can do the following things to learn the practice of law.
 
1. Choose a law college that has a lenient curriculum. Make sure they let you go
out at evenings, to pursue a half-day internship/trainee program or take an
extra-class in whatever you like. This will keep you happy.

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2. Do plenty of internships. In my time, I was pretty confused about whether to
join a firm / company / senior advocate. During my internships, I worked at all
the three set-ups. This helped me in my decisions later on.
 
3. Moots
Take part in Moot Courts. Start from an inter-college thing. If you are good, you
can participate in International Moot Courts. Arguing is a large part of law
practice. No matter where you work, your convincing powers will always come
in handy.
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Andrew Weill, Forty years practicing in complex tax, estate, and business
disputes
Answered Aug 21, 2015

Well, this is back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, but the way we did it:

We formed study groups.  We read all the required material.  Some of us

consulted hornbooks or outlines to assist our understanding.  We debated with
each other how to properly read the case; what the holding was, as opposed to
dicta; how the case we were studying related to other cases; tried to figure out
how the issues might be presented in a future final exam or bar question.  We
were collaborative and interactive -- skills that proved absolutely essential to
later success.

I always tried to talk about what we were studying with non-law school friends.  I
found that the more I could make the points understandable to them, the better
my own grasp of the issues.  Sometimes this was challenging (try explaining the
Erie doctrine to engineering students). 

And I insisted on one personal ritual.  Every weekday, at 4:00, I got a Coke from
the machine, went to the co-op television room, and watched that day's rerun of
Perry Mason. 

I don't guarantee that the above is the best way; you need to find that for
yourself.  But I have to believe that study groups continue to be the way to go.

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Greg Wyatt, PseudoGenius

Answered Jul 9, 2015
Originally Answered: How do I study in law school?

I bounced your question off of my wife, who is a lawyer, graduated near the top
in her class, and has taught law school classes.  She laughed.  She's worried

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about you, that you somehow got into law school but have no idea how to study
and you're in for a world of hurt.  Prepare for very long hours, more reading then
you thought was possible, loss of eyesight, and sleepless nights.  Oh, you think
that sounds like studying for your undergraduate degree?  You really are in
trouble. 

One piece of advice she did pass on was to not trust the crib notes on case law - I
forget what she called them, but they're like Cliff's Notes on legal decisions, and
they're worth about as much.  You need to do all your own reading and come up
with your own conclusions.  To do anything else is to set yourself up for failure,
or at least a career as a third-rate ambulance chaser.  If you want to be at the top
of your class and get the sweet offers at the top law firms you need to work like
you've never worked before.

Good luck.

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Warren Friesner, CEO at Language Hero, Inc. (2015-present)

Answered Aug 11
Originally Answered: What exactly do you study in law school?

These topics are generally mandatory (I went to law school quite a while ago, so
it’s possible this has changed slightly:

Contracts (tends to be general (common law) principles only, rather than state-
specific)

Torts (tends to be general principles only; state’s have widely different decisions)

Property (tends to be general principles only)

Business law (General principles; may also include laws of the state you study
in)

Constitutional Law (US Constitution only)

Civil Procedure (based generally on Federal Rules)

You will also most likely be required to participate in Moot Court, where you
prepare a brief and argue various issues, and you’ll probably be assigned legal
research and writing assignments to get you up to speed there. Some lawyers
spend their time on their feet in court—others sit at their laptops and find cases
that apply or need to be explained away. There may be other types of simulated
presentations required first yr as well.

Beyond that, in later years, you’ll have a choice of additional subject areas:

Arbitration/Mediation

Environmental Law

Immigration

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Labor Law

Negotiation

Maritime Law

International

Comparative Law

Criminal

Science & Tech

Etc.

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Jyoti Tiwarekar, Legal Counsel

Answered Jan 28, 2017
Originally Answered: What do we study in law?

In addition to different subjects which you will study during law; Indian Penal
Code, Criminal Procedure Code, Civil Procedure Code, Family Law, Property
Law, Company Law, Labour Laws, Contract Law are a few to mention. The
academic study of law will give you an insight in to the legal systems on which
much of our day-to-day life is based. You will gain a broad and thorough
understanding of the subject

Additionally, you will develop skills required to practice in law. You will learn
how to conduct research, interpretation and explanation of complex subjects,
analytical thinking, practical problem solving, good oral communication,
negotiation, teamwork, attention to detail, the ability to draft formal
documents, written and verbal presentation of ideas of argument etc.

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