First Week of Law School Forum

[mpj_3050]

I'm enjoying listening to people at my TTT talk about how rich they are going to be soon.

[agathos]

I read nearly 8 hours per day.. I think I am going to be crazy..

[TheFactor]

I'm enjoying listening to people at my TTT talk about how rich they are going to be soon.

i lol'd

[TheFactor]

I read nearly 8 hours per day.. I think I am going to be crazy..

you're doing it wrong

[FeelTheHeat]

I read nearly 8 hours per day.. I think I am going to be crazy..

you're doing it wrong

[jarofsoup]

I read nearly 8 hours per day.. I think I am going to be crazy..

you're doing it wrong

I read/brief sometimes at 8 hours a day, but a lot of the times I am reading ahead because I do not want to do this crap the night before. Like right now I am working on reading for next week. But that is just my style.

[AVBucks4239]

I'm curious as to what people think is the best way to utilize the E&E supplements. I purchased them for every class and have only consulted them a few times because we are starting with fairly simple concepts (diversity jurisdiction, intentional torts, etc.).

Should you read them as you go through the semester? For example, after finishing offer and acceptance in contracts, should you read the offer and acceptance chapter of the E&E and work through the hypo's then?

Or, should you read the offer and acceptance chapter before your class begins to discuss that section, which would give you a good background knowledge of the subject instead of being lost in lecture.

Or, should you wait until Thanksgiving break and use them as a review tool for studying for finals?

I'm sure the answer is "whatever works for you," but I'd like to know how people got the most out of them before.

Thanks.

[I.P. Daly]

I'm curious as to what people think is the best way to utilize the E&E supplements. I purchased them for every class and have only consulted them a few times because we are starting with fairly simple concepts (diversity jurisdiction, intentional torts, etc.).

Should you read them as you go through the semester? For example, after finishing offer and acceptance in contracts, should you read the offer and acceptance chapter of the E&E and work through the hypo's then?

Or, should you read the offer and acceptance chapter before your class begins to discuss that section, which would give you a good background knowledge of the subject instead of being lost in lecture.

Or, should you wait until Thanksgiving break and use them as a review tool for studying for finals?

I'm sure the answer is "whatever works for you," but I'd like to know how people got the most out of them before.

Thanks.

I try to review the E&E problems before class, but after I've done the assigned reading for the upcoming class. By doing the hypos before class, I have an idea as to what concepts I understand, and what concepts I need to focus on during class. That being said, some of the E&E's are significantly better than others.

For me, Thanksgiving break is a time to focus on past exams.

[Redzo]

I've been using the E&E's as I go along, reading the relevant sections on the concepts we are covering in class. Also, I have been reading the examples and writing short answers to practice spotting issues and applying the concepts that we have learned.

I really like the E&E's for this because it is way too early to use actual practice exams, since they will contain many legal issues that we haven't learned yet. By using the hypos in the E&E's, you can be sure that you're dealing with concepts that you know.

I sat down yesterday and answered all the E&E example questions on personal jurisdiction in Civ Pro and the ones on consideration in Contracts, and then read the answers and took notes on how I did. I felt that I learned quite a bit from this.

[shock259]

I am also doing the E&E's after I do the assigned reading, but before the class. I think it really helps solidify the information and fill in any holes. Also, like someone said before, it is exam-type experience before you can really do exams. The explanations are fantastic.

[071816]

I've been using the E&E's as I go along, reading the relevant sections on the concepts we are covering in class. Also, I have been reading the examples and writing short answers to practice spotting issues and applying the concepts that we have learned.

I really like the E&E's for this because it is way too early to use actual practice exams, since they will contain many legal issues that we haven't learned yet. By using the hypos in the E&E's, you can be sure that you're dealing with concepts that you know.

I sat down yesterday and answered all the E&E example questions on personal jurisdiction in Civ Pro and the ones on consideration in Contracts, and then read the answers and took notes on how I did. I felt that I learned quite a bit from this.

This seems like a good approach (and is pretty similar to what I'm doing). I haven't been writing down answers to the hypos, but I will most likely start doing that soon.

[Redzo]

Yeah, at first I was just reading and wasn't writing actual answers either, but I decided to try it and I think it was helpful. For me at least, there is something about the act of actually writing out an explanation that fires some different neurons.

I didn't spend a lot of time on the answers or go to excruciating lengths. I just wanted to make sure that I could correctly identify and explain the major issues in each example.

[Naked Dude]

I've been using the E&E's as I go along, reading the relevant sections on the concepts we are covering in class. Also, I have been reading the examples and writing short answers to practice spotting issues and applying the concepts that we have learned.

I really like the E&E's for this because it is way too early to use actual practice exams, since they will contain many legal issues that we haven't learned yet. By using the hypos in the E&E's, you can be sure that you're dealing with concepts that you know.

I sat down yesterday and answered all the E&E example questions on personal jurisdiction in Civ Pro and the ones on consideration in Contracts, and then read the answers and took notes on how I did. I felt that I learned quite a bit from this.

This seems like a good approach (and is pretty similar to what I'm doing). I haven't been writing down answers to the hypos, but I will most likely start doing that soon.

Yeah I've just been doing the E&E hypos mentally, but I might start making notes

[queenlizzie13]

I've been using the E&E's as I go along, reading the relevant sections on the concepts we are covering in class. Also, I have been reading the examples and writing short answers to practice spotting issues and applying the concepts that we have learned.

I really like the E&E's for this because it is way too early to use actual practice exams, since they will contain many legal issues that we haven't learned yet. By using the hypos in the E&E's, you can be sure that you're dealing with concepts that you know.

I sat down yesterday and answered all the E&E example questions on personal jurisdiction in Civ Pro and the ones on consideration in Contracts, and then read the answers and took notes on how I did. I felt that I learned quite a bit from this.

This seems like a good approach (and is pretty similar to what I'm doing). I haven't been writing down answers to the hypos, but I will most likely start doing that soon.

Yeah I've just been doing the E&E hypos mentally, but I might start making notes

I did some mentally and then tried writing some out. Writing them out helped more, I think, so I am going to do that from now on.

[rocon7383]

I feel like a slacker. I've been doing around 3 hours of reading a day...Everyone else seems to be doing 5-6.

Same here. Are people reading cases multiple times? Quadruple briefing a case? I just don't get how people are shutting down the law library at this point... it doesn't take 3-5 hours to read 30 pages and brief 3 cases (what seems to be the usual load for one class)....does it?

I'm not trying to be obnoxious, I just feel like I'm missing something.

this.

[BlueDiamond]

some previous posts have talked about the cases and supplements.. I've been staying on top of reading the cases over the weekend and then reading supplements during the week.. i am really failing to see the significance of the cases.. i feel as though all they show is the stuff from the supplements in practice.. but of course a directly analogous example as the cases wont show up on the exam.. are the cases useful for anything else? after reading the high court summary i feel as though i gain almost nothing from the case that i didnt already see in the summary

umm.. help i guess

[chenalex]

I feel like a slacker. I've been doing around 3 hours of reading a day...Everyone else seems to be doing 5-6.

Same here. Are people reading cases multiple times? Quadruple briefing a case? I just don't get how people are shutting down the law library at this point... it doesn't take 3-5 hours to read 30 pages and brief 3 cases (what seems to be the usual load for one class)....does it?

I'm not trying to be obnoxious, I just feel like I'm missing something.

this.

I get this feeling too.

[pbarber]

We have our first LRW assignment due tomorrow and it is by far the worst class. Not so much that it's hard but the shear amount of work that goes into it. Other than that the reading for the remainder of the classes seems easy enough.

[bostonlawchick]

I feel like a slacker. I've been doing around 3 hours of reading a day...Everyone else seems to be doing 5-6.

Same here. Are people reading cases multiple times? Quadruple briefing a case? I just don't get how people are shutting down the law library at this point... it doesn't take 3-5 hours to read 30 pages and brief 3 cases (what seems to be the usual load for one class)....does it?

I'm not trying to be obnoxious, I just feel like I'm missing something.

this.

I get this feeling too.

Glad I'm not the only one... I really still can't help feeling like I'm missing something. Everything feels deceptively straightforward at the moment.

[Knuckles]

I'm enjoying listening to people at my TTT talk about how rich they are going to be soon.

But I am going to be rich! I plan to double dip my resume in the cheesy fondue pot of nepotism.

You know people in this area by now; we have to coat ourselves in the local scent. Otherwise, our peers, blinded by gingham and seersucker patterns, will be unable to properly identify us.

[ahduth]

I get this feeling too.

Glad I'm not the only one... I really still can't help feeling like I'm missing something. Everything feels deceptively straightforward at the moment.

Hmm. I need to get paranoid. I think living off campus is inuring me to a rather lackadaisical approach to briefing.

[rawrab]

I feel like a slacker. I've been doing around 3 hours of reading a day...Everyone else seems to be doing 5-6.

Same here. Are people reading cases multiple times? Quadruple briefing a case? I just don't get how people are shutting down the law library at this point... it doesn't take 3-5 hours to read 30 pages and brief 3 cases (what seems to be the usual load for one class)....does it?

I'm not trying to be obnoxious, I just feel like I'm missing something.

Depends on the course and professor. It might not take 3 hours to read 30 pages when the textbook is "Torts for Dummies" and the professor lectures the whole class. I spent three hours tonight reading about the difference between adjudicative and legislative functions of administrative agencies, and I'm still deathly afraid that someone will answer something I didn't know. Or worse, I'll get called on for something and not know it.
I have the opposite problem from everyone else on the thread. I don't know how I am going to get close to finishing the reading when there isn't any Labor Day.

IMHO you're not being efficient. I read the cases, try to understand it the best I can but don't waste too much time and then in class take note of the definitions/concepts the prof specifically mentions as things to make sure I know for the exam. After the prof explains the definition/concept a bit more in class and hashes it out, I'll sit down with a supplement and make sure I understand every aspect of the concepts the prof is talking about and how the cases fit into that. Who cares if you don't know the answer to a question in class? You aren't being graded on participation. You don't need to look like a genius in class, and chances are if you talk too much you are the annoying person.

[Heartford]

I'm still deathly afraid that someone will answer something I didn't know. Or worse, I'll get called on for something and not know it.

Why? Seriously. Why would this make you "deathly" afraid? It wouldn't matter at all if either situation happened.

[MrPapagiorgio]

I'm still deathly afraid that someone will answer something I didn't know. Or worse, I'll get called on for something and not know it.

Why? Seriously. Why would this make you "deathly" afraid? It wouldn't matter at all if either situation happened.

Some of us need to know that we are smarter than everyone and are afraid that others will look down on us.

[delusional]

I'm still deathly afraid that someone will answer something I didn't know. Or worse, I'll get called on for something and not know it.

Why? Seriously. Why would this make you "deathly" afraid? It wouldn't matter at all if either situation happened.

The truth is I was being intentionally over the top. But I really do think that it's been pretty hard to start with - I read/briefed about six hours between yesterday and today and I am annoyed because I thought it would get me further than tomorrow's classes. And to make it worse, I don't think it's possible to have an idea what the professor wants us to know from the reading. Sometimes I read something super carefully and make copious notes, and he'll just skip right over it, other times I'll skim something and he'll care only about the tiniest details of that. So after all that work - and even after class, it's not like I even feel like I necessarily know what I'm supposed to.