T14, top 5 percent, answering questions Forum

[sundance95]

Even though I don't plan on being this intense my 1L, I very much appreciate the thread and believe this thread deserves a 'haters gonna hate' gif. OP is presenting ONE method of success in law school, his own, and loads of people want to say he's claiming that his level of work is necessary for that success. Chill out, y'all.

[vanwinkle]

and loads of people want to say he's claiming that his level of work is necessary for that success

I think people were more just pointing out that his level of work is not necessary.

[romothesavior]

Obviously few people are going to replicate OP's efforts but obviously it worked. Why hate?

Wow lot of haters in this thread.

I don't think people are really "hating." What I see are 2Ls and 3Ls (and graduates) saying that while OP's strategy may have worked for them, it isn't necessary. I am glad we have people like VW here to balance out this viewpoint, because quite frankly, I think OP is doing 1Ls a disservice by freaking them out and implying that 5 hours of studying in September is nowhere near enough. And chastising those of us who choose to have a social life (or "balance" as OP calls it) is also kinda B.S.

I appreciate OP offering his/her thoughts on the matter, but I am gonna go with what people like VW and the many other accomplished and trusted sources on TLS say. I spent my entire day studying and reading today (and TLSing, of course). But I plan on going to my UG homecoming and drinking like a fiend this weekend. I don't think that makes me a bad law student. It is freaking September for Christ's sake.

[inchoate_con]

You:

you sound like a total dick.

i'd rather be unemployed.

edit: that's probably unfair. you're probably not a dick. but. meh.

and you:

I'm guessing this guy doesn't get laid very often.

Knock it off.

Wow... missed a few.

[kswiss]

People are being harsh!

I don't think OP is pushing his strategy; it's more of a "no regrets" attitude that I'm getting from him/her.

Like the OP, I don't want to go through 2L watching my classmates land better jobs and regret that I didn't work harder.

I sure as hell haven't spent as much time in the library as OP so far this year, and I doubt I will. But my goals are the same, so my plan is to do what it takes to not have regrets. So far I haven't missed a reading, I'm plugged into class, and I take a lot of time to grapple with the subject matter. I still have a social life, but I'm married so I don't really have as much social pressure either. I'm more concerned with making friends with classmates to make school more enjoyable, rather than to somehow measure myself against a "norm."

And again, if there is one year in your entire life to put it on the line, 1L is it. At least the measurable metrics (salary) of the next big chunk of my life are significantly dependent on my performance this year.

[emorystud2010]

.

[Columbia Law]

I'm calling flame.

[DiscoveryDeadline]

I'm calling flame.

I don't know what in any way would make me a flame suspect.

Whoever said you have to have a "no regrets" approach put their finger on what I'm trying to get at.

Something you 1Ls haven't dealt with yet is the curve. A curve on which 100 other people who have the same relative admission stats, i.e. theoretic intellectual capacity, will be competing against you.

Forget the time thing. Most importantly, you have to engage with the material to a degree that a lot of people probably don't realize. At least in my first year, a lot of people seemed to think that law school was about making a good outline and memorizing rules. That is half the battle, particularly when you get to really complex separation of powers material or the RAP, to cite two examples. Go home and try to explain to a non-law person what you learned today. You can find out really, really quick how much you actually don't have the grasp on the material that you thought you did. The first time you take a practice test, you are going to be absolutely floored by what you don't spot.

Time management is a huge part of 1L. For every minute you spend, there is an opportunity cost. For example, this year, I am not buying any supplements. I just don't think that time spent with them is as valuable as reading the cases through a second or third time to really think through what is going on in the reasoning.

Interruptions for things like Facebook, email, and so forth and so on can be devastating over the course of a semester. It may feel like a second or so, but that kind of interruption can really kill your engagement with the reading. It's one thing to say you need to socialize. It's another thing to feel like you need to socialize 24 hours a day, including G-chatting in class. You don't. I say this as a compulsive checker. I've had to train myself not to do that, and it hasn't always been easy.

[Amy wineBerry]

I don't know what in any way would make me a flame suspect.

Whoever said you have to have a "no regrets" approach put their finger on what I'm trying to get at.

Something you 1Ls haven't dealt with yet is the curve. A curve on which 100 other people who have the same relative admission stats, i.e. theoretic intellectual capacity, will be competing against you.

Forget the time thing. Most importantly, you have to engage with the material to a degree that a lot of people probably don't realize. At least in my first year, a lot of people seemed to think that law school was about making a good outline and memorizing rules. That is half the battle, particularly when you get to really complex separation of powers material or the RAP, to cite two examples. Go home and try to explain to a non-law person what you learned today. You can find out really, really quick how much you actually don't have the grasp on the material that you thought you did. The first time you take a practice test, you are going to be absolutely floored by what you don't spot.

Time management is a huge part of 1L. For every minute you spend, there is an opportunity cost. For example, this year, I am not buying any supplements. I just don't think that time spent with them is as valuable as reading the cases through a second or third time to really think through what is going on in the reasoning.

Interruptions for things like Facebook, email, and so forth and so on can be devastating over the course of a semester. It may feel like a second or so, but that kind of interruption can really kill your engagement with the reading. It's one thing to say you need to socialize. It's another thing to feel like you need to socialize 24 hours a day, including G-chatting in class. You don't. I say this as a compulsive checker. I've had to train myself not to do that, and it hasn't always been easy.

That is the part that has me worried. Of my group of "friends," I feel as if almost everyone is under the impression the semester has the potential to end on an extremely high note for them. I understand the numbers, and unfortunately, with this B-curve, although a B is "good," I foresee many perturbed individuals next semester. I spent the last 6 weeks just going with the flow of law school. I'm in class with brilliant individuals, people I'm positive I can't possibly compare with, so it's like, I'm realizing now that I have to work three times as hard as they do. This realization has left me pretty depressed the last few days. I'm sure I can work diligently and have a social life, but the thing is, I'll probably be too discouraged or tired to even bother. (No, I'm not at one of the top schools; it is a tier 1 though. It's more of a pride issue with me.)

I'm hoping to get a healthy balance started up this next week as I get more involved with my studying.