Law school can be an entirely different experience from undergraduate school: instead of striving towards general academic goals every day, you’ll work toward specific career goals every day.
Law school requires an incredible commitment from you, both personal and socially. Here are a few ways law school will change you: 1. You’ll learn how to study effectively
1. You’ll learn how to write.
Law school academic writing differs significantly from college writing in terms of form and style. While college writing allows for free expression of ideas without many rules to follow, law school writing typically relies upon IRAC/CRAC: issue rule analysis conclusion as its structure. You will likely encounter this structure throughout your legal career when writing memos briefs or exams.
Writing academic essays can be intimidating. Not only are you expected to write for class and other publications, but you may also need to submit notes for publication by law reviews or student journals. While this task might seem daunting at first, especially considering it will likely be your first experience writing publishable academic pieces, you’re also expected to juggle other seminar classes, clinics, and extra-curricular activities with writing your note!
Due to this process, it is crucial that you establish a support system. Joining a study group with other students from your classes can be especially useful, giving meaningful feedback and discussing difficult concepts with peers. Furthermore, make sure to maintain regular social activities – over-focusing on school can lead to burnout and depression.
Maintaining political involvement is not only good for your mental health but can also help you secure public interest jobs once you graduate. If you can connect the work you do as a lawyer to fighting social injustices, your decision to attend law school will become even more satisfying.
2. You’ll learn how to think.
Law school requires a unique type of thinking: you’ll be conducting legal research and analyzing cases to prepare for classes, writing briefs and summaries to better understand each case presented to you, using Socratic questions from professors as you try to draw a solid conclusion in arguments presented to them by rapid-fire questioning of an adversarial nature – this may initially seem frustrating but many students find that this method can be one of the most efficient ways to learn law!
Your training as a lawyer will give you the ability to think like one, which will come in handy during internships and your career. Being able to distinguish the legal issue from any life chaos present within client situations and extract relevant laws for use as solutions will become invaluable throughout your professional journey and ensure sound decisions in any setting.
Your reading material may include casebooks, which contain real-life legal scenarios and court decisions from real life cases, to teach how to analyze them and apply the law correctly to them. Furthermore, there will likely be numerous articles covering different subjects from contract law to criminal law and environmental policy that you will study as part of this course.
Many law students engage in extracurricular activities like student organizations and moot courts, editing legal journals or taking on part-time jobs or applying for summer internships – depending on your goals you may need to put forth extra effort to secure admission to their desired programs.
However, you should avoid overrelying on working to pay your bills; rather, try to devote more time and energy to studying instead. Overdoing it at work could compromise your academic performance as well as lead to additional stress levels.
3. You’ll learn how to study.
Law school can be like an intellectual boot camp: It stifles individuality, demands all your time and subliminally trains you into becoming part of an exclusive corps with its own traditions, values and illusions. But like any good boot camp experience, law school also equips its participants with tools necessary for survival in their world: legal knowledge.
One tool in your arsenal for effective studying is knowing how to study effectively. Your reading load could be extensive, and classes using the “case method” might ask you to analyze several related judicial opinions that detail an area of law before asking you questions designed to explore its facts presented, identify legal principles applied and understand reasoning methodologies employed.
Join or start a study group as another way of effectively studying. This can be particularly beneficial during your first year when adapting to law school life; with meaningful feedback on work done and support when things get tough. Furthermore, study groups provide the perfect platform for networking and finding job opportunities.
Make sure that you take good care of yourself as part of law school is challenging; that means getting enough sleep, eating nutritious food and exercising regularly – and don’t forget having some fun! Law school can be daunting; finding healthy ways to cope and having an understanding support network will help ease stress so you can focus on excelling academic coursework and planning your legal future career successfully. By being prepared and finding healthy ways to handle whatever comes your way.
4. You’ll learn how to manage your time.
Law school requires an unusual level of self-discipline and motivation in its students, sometimes far exceeding what was encountered previously. You will be responsible for reading a vast volume of material each day as well as completing assignments daily on top of other responsibilities (like work or caring for children or pets). Without learning how to effectively manage your time it will be challenging to remain on top of all your work and perform at your best during classes.
At first, studying might seem less important than other activities – like socializing or going to the gym – so it’s normal to delay starting it altogether. You need to learn to prioritize tasks so as to focus on those which matter first.
Establishing routines and schedules will also be essential. Establish a study routine each day of a specific amount of time so you can form healthy study habits, set aside time for other important activities like exercising or eating healthy food and join a study group where you can ask questions and get assistance for any challenging subjects.
Finally, you must learn to say no. While law school may present you with many opportunities for social events and engagements, you need to strike a balance between attending these and studying. While not turning down every invitation that comes your way is ideal; keep in mind that law school will only last three years before life goes back into normal and you must live beyond its confines!
5. You’ll learn how to deal with stress.
Law school offers an environment which challenges many of your preexisting coping mechanisms and forces you to develop new, healthy ways of handling stress that you can utilize throughout life.
Studies have revealed that making time for physical exercise and regular meal times helps them focus better during study sessions, while getting enough restful sleep is crucial to overall mental wellbeing. Finally, building a support network to help cope with law school can also be crucial; mentors, fellow students or attorneys could all be useful resources here. And of course when necessary taking breaks from studying is key – either socializing with friends or finding an outlet like social media as ways of relieving stressors!
Bleasdale stresses the importance of students maintaining a sense of identity that goes beyond academic success alone. “Letting law school become all-consuming is risking becoming your identity,” she notes, so it’s crucial for students to find sources of fulfillment outside of it such as hobbies, extracurricular activities or groups of friends to occupy them during this period of transition.
Students in law school can utilize various resources available for stress management, including peer mentoring programs and tutoring services. Students experiencing mental health difficulties should seek professional treatment such as student counseling offices at law schools as well as free mental health resources such as hotlines or support groups (like Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers of Massachusetts). While law school can be stressful, you will learn ways to cope with it that will improve both academic performance and long-term health.
