How many hours/week do you spend on law school? Forum

[GermX]

Ah alright. I guess I'll only know once I'm there. But 2 hours per class sounds really good. I guess I would do 2 hours for the class on that day, and 1 hour for each class not on that day. IMO 8 hours of study per day sounds good to me. Would leave time for volunteer work etc...

[thorntll]

Jesus... I'm bookmarking this thread just so I can periodically return and remind myself of how much fun I need to have this summer. I know I'm going to be one of those people who just can't stop working until it's all done. I was a hermit for the LSAT - stopped playing sports, stopped going out. Good thing Chicago is cold and miserable.

[GermX]

See with me, regardless of how fucking tired I am from a lon gday of work and study, I will pick my ass up and get wasted tonight if it sounds like fun. Or at least go see a movie or have dinner.

[bconly]

I def didn't expect to see this many votes in the 86+ category... but oh well, what do I know.

Anyways, from the results so far, it seems like most of the ppl on TLS are split into two general categories. Those who spend 86+ hours every week and end up in the top 5%, and those who spend 35-65 hours and end up in the top 25%. To be sure, this is overly general and completely unscientific, but who cares, I like to analyze

[Son of Cicero]

I try to treat homework like a job, so that's at least 40 hours a week. Then there's 13-14 hours spent in class. I top that off with an hour or two each day outlining for finals. You do the math...then multiply the sum by two. I'm considered the slacker in my group of "friends."

[Miniver]

...

[bconly]

I try to treat homework like a job, so that's at least 40 hours a week. Then there's 13-14 hours spent in class. I top that off with an hour or two each day outlining for finals. You do the math...then multiply the sum by two. I'm considered the slacker in my group of "friends."

Maybe I missed something, but why am I multiplying that sum by 2? That'd be 110-112 hrs/week... 16 hour days every single day.

[mallard]

I spent maybe 86 hours over the course of last semester. Law students do so much unnecessary work.

[Mr. Matlock]

Is there value to actually being in the library as opposed to your office at home??

[bconly]

I spent maybe 86 hours over the course of last semester. Law students do so much unnecessary work.

If you don't mind, could you give us a quick list of the most useless time-eaters? From what I've read, I assume the casebook ranks up near the top.

[J-tow10]

Maybe this is a noob 0L question, but what do people mean when they say they treat law school like a job?

[Mr. Matlock]

Maybe this is a noob 0L question, but what do people mean when they say they treat law school like a job?

Make sure you kiss the ass of every professor you meet and stab the backs of your work-mates. It's really the only way to get ahead in these places

[icydash]

I think a lot of people write their own outlines too. This is a horrible waste of time. Download/use someone elses, and just supplement.

[mallard]

I spent maybe 86 hours over the course of last semester. Law students do so much unnecessary work.

If you don't mind, could you give us a quick list of the most useless time-eaters? From what I've read, I assume the casebook ranks up near the top.

It depends how you want to do. I kind of agree with xeoh that if you want to be first in your class, your best bet is to do everything. Exams will often include fact patterns analogous to cases you've read, so you can't underestimate the casebook. In fact, I think the casebook is more useful than the hornbook in most cases (because really, most legal rules are simple and intuitive enough that you don't need any background or explanation).

[sundevil77]

Although as a 0L I have no idea what the realities of law schools actually are, it seems that many 1Ls aren't very efficient with their studying. They seem to think that more hours spent studying equates to better grades. At first glance this doesn't make much sense.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems that many 1Ls spend their time studying inefficiently because they don't actually know what to study. They wouldn't have to waste so much time studying if they knew what their professors wanted. Is that accurate?

[98234872348]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems that many 1Ls spend their time studying inefficiently because they don't actually know what to study. They wouldn't have to waste so much time studying if they knew what their professors wanted. Is that accurate?

The hard part is you really have no idea what to expect until you take your first real exam... It's just part of the experience.

[Azmatt]

Took a break, but I can't imagine law school being much worse than what I have now. At least Law school would be much more focused.

Right now I'm working 60 hours a week. Taking 5 UG classes over summer to graduate in winter. Studying 10+ hours a week on LSAT crap (a little here or there at work). Then I try and find some time in there to actually workout.

I really can't wait to get back into fulltime school where that is what's taking up all my energy. I'd be nice to emmerse fully into one thing then just workout to release any stress.

I'm in the same boat. I plan on looking at LS the same way. 7am-6/7pm. Work out 4 times a week on campus and then just split my time between the law library & class. Saturday spend time outlining/catchup/etcetc. Try and take a Sunday off if I can.

[mallard]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems that many 1Ls spend their time studying inefficiently because they don't actually know what to study. They wouldn't have to waste so much time studying if they knew what their professors wanted. Is that accurate?

The hard part is you really have no idea what to expect until you take your first real exam... It's just part of the experience.

This is why I think you should begin every semester, and especially your first semester, by looking over your professors' old exams..

[Kiersten1985]

I placed in the top 3% this year.

I got to school everyday at 8:00am, and I went to classes and studied and studied until 5:15pm. I made sure that my time at school was efficient. I only socialized while sitting down waiting for classes to start, and I ate my sack lunch in the library while reading my cases for the next class.

At 5:15 my wife picked me up and I ate dinner with her and maybe watched a TV show until 7:00 - 7:30. Then I went down to my office, or drove back to the library, and I studied until 12:00 - 1:00am. I usually took a 15 minute snack break around 10:00pm every evening.

On Saturdays and Sundays I slept in a little and got to the library at 9:00am. I stayed in the library by my self until 6-7pm, and then I usually spent the night with my wife.

My wife helped me out TREMENDOUSLY. She was a blessing during this year by preparing me meals and lunches, doing my laundry, and giving me the support that I needed. That's why I'm spending every moment with her that I can this summer.

So, most weeks I studied/went to class for about 80+ hours, and I sometimes got near 100 hours when LRW got sticky or during reading week before finals.

Anyways, I KNOW that I wouldn't have done as well had I not put in that many hours. Doing well in law school is a combination of intelligence and hard work. If you are only as smart as everyone else, then you need to spend more time studying to get ahead of them.

Yes, I really studied over 12 hours a day.

This is so baller.

And no, I'm not being sarcastic.

[Azmatt]

I placed in the top 3% this year.

I got to school everyday at 8:00am, and I went to classes and studied and studied until 5:15pm. I made sure that my time at school was efficient. I only socialized while sitting down waiting for classes to start, and I ate my sack lunch in the library while reading my cases for the next class.

At 5:15 my wife picked me up and I ate dinner with her and maybe watched a TV show until 7:00 - 7:30. Then I went down to my office, or drove back to the library, and I studied until 12:00 - 1:00am. I usually took a 15 minute snack break around 10:00pm every evening.

On Saturdays and Sundays I slept in a little and got to the library at 9:00am. I stayed in the library by my self until 6-7pm, and then I usually spent the night with my wife.

My wife helped me out TREMENDOUSLY. She was a blessing during this year by preparing me meals and lunches, doing my laundry, and giving me the support that I needed. That's why I'm spending every moment with her that I can this summer.

So, most weeks I studied/went to class for about 80+ hours, and I sometimes got near 100 hours when LRW got sticky or during reading week before finals.

Anyways, I KNOW that I wouldn't have done as well had I not put in that many hours. Doing well in law school is a combination of intelligence and hard work. If you are only as smart as everyone else, then you need to spend more time studying to get ahead of them.

Yes, I really studied over 12 hours a day.

This is so baller.

And no, I'm not being sarcastic.

Seriously. Remind me to find a beautiful awesome woman who is supportive and will do my laundry.

[yo!]

I placed in the top 3% this year.

I got to school everyday at 8:00am, and I went to classes and studied and studied until 5:15pm. I made sure that my time at school was efficient. I only socialized while sitting down waiting for classes to start, and I ate my sack lunch in the library while reading my cases for the next class.

At 5:15 my wife picked me up and I ate dinner with her and maybe watched a TV show until 7:00 - 7:30. Then I went down to my office, or drove back to the library, and I studied until 12:00 - 1:00am. I usually took a 15 minute snack break around 10:00pm every evening.

On Saturdays and Sundays I slept in a little and got to the library at 9:00am. I stayed in the library by my self until 6-7pm, and then I usually spent the night with my wife.

My wife helped me out TREMENDOUSLY. She was a blessing during this year by preparing me meals and lunches, doing my laundry, and giving me the support that I needed. That's why I'm spending every moment with her that I can this summer.

So, most weeks I studied/went to class for about 80+ hours, and I sometimes got near 100 hours when LRW got sticky or during reading week before finals.

Anyways, I KNOW that I wouldn't have done as well had I not put in that many hours. Doing well in law school is a combination of intelligence and hard work. If you are only as smart as everyone else, then you need to spend more time studying to get ahead of them.

Yes, I really studied over 12 hours a day.

This is so baller.

And no, I'm not being sarcastic.

Seriously. Remind me to find a beautiful awesome woman who is supportive and will do my laundry.

I don't know what the big deal about laundry is if you have a nice place to study at home. Just take breaks every hour or so to switch loads and make a day of studying/laundry. My biggest problem is never having anything to eat. My wife is a Paramedic, so her hours vary tremendously and she can't cook for me normally. I work like 55-60 hrs per week, so I'm too lazy too cook when I get home. I eat a lot of processed shitty food during the week. I will probably have the same issue while in law school.

[solidsnake]

I spent maybe 86 hours over the course of last semester. Law students do so much unnecessary work.

If you don't mind, could you give us a quick list of the most useless time-eaters? From what I've read, I assume the casebook ranks up near the top.

It depends how you want to do. I kind of agree with xeoh that if you want to be first in your class, your best bet is to do everything. Exams will often include fact patterns analogous to cases you've read, so you can't underestimate the casebook. In fact, I think the casebook is more useful than the hornbook in most cases (because really, most legal rules are simple and intuitive enough that you don't need any background or explanation).

This. I finished top 1% my 1L year, and I credit at least some of that success to xeoh. Second semester, after you get your first taste of professorial feedback, you can adjust (which will probably include taking your foot off the gas a little), but before you have insight -- you should do everything, as this is the best way to minimize risk.

Oh, and casebooks are more useful for learning legal argument (which is what exams test) than some over-generalized hornbook.

[iiifly]

This thread scares the hell out of me. OK, so I already work Full-Time. Add on top of that Law School (Part Time). Ah, I was planning 2-3 hours of studying a day? There aren't any more hours left in the day past that. I usually sleep 8 hours - by the looks of it I'll have to lop off ~2 hours of it.

And there are people who are in the library the entire time I'm at work and are still studying the time I get home to study?

Should I be freaking out right now?????????

[toolfan]

Hmm. Just hmm. Sounds like 1L will shorten my life by a few years.

[articulably suspect]

I spent 8-12 hours per week volunteering at the public defender's office.

In what capacity? Are you a 1L?