Assigned Cases (relatively useless) Forum

[uvabro]

Last week it would take me 2 hours to read through a 5 page case, and break everything down and come out with the right resigning and rule.

This week I just got online briefs for facts, discounted the online analysis, because i didn't trust that jumped right into the issue and extracted the rule.

I got the same understanding of the principle in half the time.

Is skipping a lot of the assigned readings, and instead just focusing more on learning the BLL from the E & E's a better approach? I understand you're responsible for anything resulting from your unlawful touch, and didn't have to spend a week going over a case presenting that. Is all we're being tested on the rules, and applying them - maybe quoting a case here and there?

[NotMyRealName09]

Without reading fact patterns you'll never understand how the fact patterns beg a rule. On a typical exam, you have a fact pattern and need to recognize the issue and know the rule. You WILL NOT see the issue, and thus not know what rule to apply, if you do not recognize the fact pattern that triggers the rule. And you only get exposure to fact patterns in cases.

Your approach sounds lazy to me. Read the cases - your efficiency will improve greatly. It won't take you 2 hours next time. And believe it or not, you'll see fact patterns on exams that will make you say, "oh, I remember that case, and I know how it turned out." Study only BLL, you'll miss that completely.

My 2 cents. Good luck.

[istara]

I agree.

FWIW, 2 hours for 5 pages is very slow. It is probably typical for just getting started (I don't remember how slow I was) but you will get faster. You can probably survive without reading the cases, but I certainly wouldn't bet on being anywhere near the top of your class with that strategy. (Possible? Yes. Likely?)

[AVBucks4239]

What in fucking fuck were you doing that it took you two hours to read five pages? Betty White could read it out loud in half the time for Christ's sake.

[LOLyer]

The methodology of law school is enormously inefficient for purposes of simply teaching black letter law. You're basically reading 20 page cases to extract a rule than is, at most, 2 sentences long. The point of reading case after case is to get you in tune with the reasoning.

Many 1L's don't recognize the skill aspect of law school.

You need two things to do well on a law school exam: Knowledge and skill. Reading the briefs is just fine for knowledge. Legal reasoning, however, is more art than science. Reading case after case of judges applying law to facts is really the best way to get good at this.

A law school exam is full of convoluted fact patterns. If you want a good grade, you've got to recognize the issues and apply the law to them--the more creative, the better.

What most exams really boil down to is who can say the most intelligent things. That's really all you're trying to do. Regurgitating black letter law is only good for a B, at best. In this economy, B's don't cut it. Everyone in your class will have outlines and will know the black letter law.

Also, if it makes you feel any better, you will get MUCH better at reading cases as time goes on. Much of it is just a matter of understanding the jargon. The rest of it is recognizing which parts of the case are important. Like anything else, it gets easier with practice. After about a year you will be blowing through cases faster than you ever though possible.

Hope that helps. Good luck.

[uvabro]

The methodology of law school is enormously inefficient for purposes of simply teaching black letter law. You're basically reading 20 page cases to extract a rule than is, at most, 2 sentences long. The point of reading case after case is to get you in tune with the reasoning.

Many 1L's don't recognize the skill aspect of law school.

You need two things to do well on a law school exam: Knowledge and skill. Reading the briefs is just fine for knowledge. Legal reasoning, however, is more art than science. Reading case after case of judges applying law to facts is really the best way to get good at this.

A law school exam is full of convoluted fact patterns. If you want a good grade, you've got to recognize the issues and apply the law to them--the more creative, the better.

What most exams really boil down to is who can say the most intelligent things. That's really all you're trying to do. Regurgitating black letter law is only good for a B, at best. In this economy, B's don't cut it. Everyone in your class will have outlines and will know the black letter law.

Also, if it makes you feel any better, you will get MUCH better at reading cases as time goes on. Much of it is just a matter of understanding the jargon. The rest of it is recognizing which parts of the case are important. Like anything else, it gets easier with practice. After about a year you will be blowing through cases faster than you ever though possible.

Hope that helps. Good luck.

thanks for the feedback. i've gotten much better at reading the cases in a time fashion. i really started looking at briefs for facts, and only reading the analysis. i've been able to extract general rules where none were stated verbatim just based off of what worked in some cases vs. others for particular judges. the main concern now is just the sheer amount, and learning the art of compression. picking up on little details, and milking them is probably my one unique skill!