If I could do my first semester over again... Forum

[camelcrema]

Tag!

[risktaker]

tag fo sho

[Knock]

Thanks for sharing everyone.

[Kilpatrick]

Useful stuff...anyone want to comment on how to balance the workload required to stay on top of graded courses vs. still getting as much as possible out of LRW? Vague question, but trying to avoid getting bogged down with a P/F course but at the same time still learn something, since legal research and writing are two skills that do sound fairly important for future attorneys.

Also, I'm in the market for a copy of 'Getting to Maybe'...if anyone wants to sell, PM me.

If I could do my first semester over again I would figure out the absolute bare minimum I could put in to legal writing without failing and not do anything more. Legal writing is a waste of time, focus on your real grades.

[beachbum]

Thanks for sharing everyone.

[sneijder]

Thanks for sharing everyone.

+1 wish I would have seen this before making mine thanks guys and gals

[roxydoxy]

good info here

[loblaw]

taggity tag

[jwargoru]

Awesome thread. tagged.

[BlueDiamond]

id like to thank the people suggesting the high court summaries in this thread.. just bought one of them through the e-content thing and within an hour they helped me put my first two weeks of confusion into a broader picture where I can actually see what I am supposed to be looking at

[waltw1414]

id like to thank the people suggesting the high court summaries in this thread.. just bought one of them through the e-content thing and within an hour they helped me put my first two weeks of confusion into a broader picture where I can actually see what I am supposed to be looking at

I keep on hearing about these. what exactly are they?

[4910]

awesome threads, thanks for the advice guys

[BlueDiamond]

id like to thank the people suggesting the high court summaries in this thread.. just bought one of them through the e-content thing and within an hour they helped me put my first two weeks of confusion into a broader picture where I can actually see what I am supposed to be looking at

I keep on hearing about these. what exactly are they?

well from what ive seen of them so far its basically "canned briefs", but they are keyed to the casebooks. So like if you have Singer's property book you can get the briefs and probably more importantly the BLL case by case right out of the summaries. im just going to change wording based on what my profs say in class then use it.. but they also give analysis.. define new words so you dont have to sift through a massive blacks law dictionary. its basically just a time saver imo, but also helped me to clarify what originally seemed like a bunch of random, unrelated cases

[waltw1414]

id like to thank the people suggesting the high court summaries in this thread.. just bought one of them through the e-content thing and within an hour they helped me put my first two weeks of confusion into a broader picture where I can actually see what I am supposed to be looking at

I keep on hearing about these. what exactly are they?

well from what ive seen of them so far its basically "canned briefs", but they are keyed to the casebooks. So like if you have Singer's property book you can get the briefs and probably more importantly the BLL case by case right out of the summaries. im just going to change wording based on what my profs say in class then use it.. but they also give analysis.. define new words so you dont have to sift through a massive blacks law dictionary. its basically just a time saver imo, but also helped me to clarify what originally seemed like a bunch of random, unrelated cases

Gotcha. So are you saying you just read these briefs instead of the casebook?

Something I might want to look into. I wonder how accurate these briefs truly are, though. Where do you get them from?

[BlueDiamond]

id like to thank the people suggesting the high court summaries in this thread.. just bought one of them through the e-content thing and within an hour they helped me put my first two weeks of confusion into a broader picture where I can actually see what I am supposed to be looking at

I keep on hearing about these. what exactly are they?

well from what ive seen of them so far its basically "canned briefs", but they are keyed to the casebooks. So like if you have Singer's property book you can get the briefs and probably more importantly the BLL case by case right out of the summaries. im just going to change wording based on what my profs say in class then use it.. but they also give analysis.. define new words so you dont have to sift through a massive blacks law dictionary. its basically just a time saver imo, but also helped me to clarify what originally seemed like a bunch of random, unrelated cases

Gotcha. So are you saying you just read these briefs instead of the casebook?

Something I might want to look into. I wonder how accurate these briefs truly are, though. Where do you get them from?

haha well i mean im only in my second week of law school so i have no idea if im "doing it right" but it seems to make sense.. and i do both but dont kill myself with the reading i just do one quick read. most people say they are pretty accurate

also.. my singer example was a bad one because i cant seem to find the high court summaries for that casebook :/ which sucks.. but my other three substantive classes have them

[JusticeHarlan]

define new words so you dont have to sift through a massive blacks law dictionary

Black's is also on Westlaw, if you want to use it without lugging the book around the library or something.

[AS33]

I wish this thread would come to life again. And I wish that more 2Ls would post..

[as stars burn]

I'd read the E&E's before the semester, just as an overview.

Absolutely, unequivocally TCR. I was told to do this before law school, I didn't do it, and that was stupid. 0Ls reading this: THIS IS NOT A JOKE. It is the best thing you can do for yourself, in my opinion.

I completely disagree. The chances that you'll understand the material as crystal clear as you need to is slim, and there's a very real chance you'll have to just re-read them again. I always keep supplements near by me when I'm reading for class in case I don't understand what I read in the casebook. It works perfect for that and when I'm outlining. Besides, you have no idea what material your professor is actually going to concentrate on. For example, my Property professor chose to spend minimal time on estates and trust and easements; they weren't on the exam either. Take the summer and Christmas break to unwind and relax. Jeez, you people are insane.

Also, I think everyone needs to understand that everyone studies and learns differently. The learning curve is all over the place in law school. Try out different styles to see what works for you. This year I have done way, way, way more practice exams than I ever have before instead of just re-reading my already done outline and looking up different concepts in supplements. I feel much better about the actual exams themselves. All of my exams were open book this semester so it was just a matter of LEARNING the material (and where to find it in my outline) versus MEMORIZING it.

P.S. AS - I'm a 2L :) Did I answer your prayers or what? haha

[ggibelli]

tagging this.

[introversional]

In hindsight, this thread was relevant to my interests.

Having said that, I would have taken cleaner, more focused notes which would have made outlining infinitely faster/easier. Also, I would have jotted down more of each professor's esoterica and plugged it all into the exams in some way. Prob worth a few extra points or the benefit of the doubt if I didn't apply the rule to fact as precisely as they had in mind.

[franklyscarlet]

tagged. This helps me with some of my crushing fear of failing at 1L/ distracts me from the application concerns of a lowly 0L.

[AS33]

tagged. This helps me with some of my crushing fear of failing at 1L/ distracts me from the application concerns of a lowly 0L.

Same, which is shameful. And so far what I've gotten from this thread is:

1. Work on your outline throughout the semester-don't wait until the last minute
2. E&E's are helpful (for most)
3. Know your professor's idiosyncrasies
4. Study old exams and do practice exams, a lot
5. Don't spend most of your time briefing cases, and don't get bogged down memorizing useless details about them

Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong/add things.

What I can't figure out is HOW important BLL is. Should 1Ls be devoting most of their time to understanding (not just memorizing) BLL? Or just incorporating it into their outline?

[Doritos]

I would have found time to drink substantially more alcohol and talk to pretty girls. Diminishing returns people.

[c3pO4]

i wouldn't read the E&E's until the end of the semester. The cool part about E&e's IMO is that they crystalize/summarize/put into easy terms the concepts of the class for you--- after the semester is over they are a great study tool or use a chapter to fill in something where you missed class, but reading them before seems gunnerish and a waste of time.

if i could do 1L first semester over again, i wouldn't. hahah

[Gettingstarted1928]

i wouldn't read the E&E's until the end of the semester. The cool part about E&e's IMO is that they crystalize/summarize/put into easy terms the concepts of the class for you--- after the semester is over they are a great study tool or use a chapter to fill in something where you missed class, but reading them before seems gunnerish and a waste of time.

if i could do 1L first semester over again, i wouldn't. hahah

I was thinking the exact same thing, but it has it's drawbacks too. I feel like EEs helped me better understand the material during the semester, which allowed me to absorb more from class and the casebook.