Help! URM new to this law school thing Forum

[lawyergirl1234567]

Background: URM at a t14 (bottom side of that list) and first-generation law student.

I am a 1L, and I did horrible (I think?) on my exams: I got straight B’s(3.0) and my school median is a 3.3. I won’t drop out but I just am confused because I’m undergrad B’s weren’t so bad, I thought. I really want to work at a firm this summer (it doesn’t have to be prestigious, I think I would thrive at a midsized firm) in a smaller market (ATL). My undergrad GPA is really high so I’m not sure if firms might still give me a chance. I’m super new to all of this.

[Also] What should I do to improve? I thought I understood the material but maybe I didn’t answer the questions adequately? I’m just really confused, and I really want to improve this next semester since I’m taking more classes. I’ve already emailed my professors to set appointments but do you have any other tips? Do supplements work?

[cavalier1138]

Have you read "Getting to Maybe"?

But no, your undergrad GPA isn't going to matter. If you're focusing on mid-size Atlanta firms, they're going to care about your law school, your law school grades, and your ties to the area (not necessarily in that order, depending on the firm).

Supplements may be helpful, but they don't "work" in the sense that using them doesn't guarantee higher grades. You need to figure out your weak points from last semester; then you can decide whether supplements would help.

[Libya]

Did you take practice exams? If not then you make sure to take several for each course next semester. Definitely the single most helpful thing you can do to position yourself as well as possible. Ultimately your grade in each law school course comes down to how well you can write an exam, which itself is a combination of general exam writing skills (being able to argue both sides, draw together seemingly disparate concepts, and write clear and concise arguments) along with being able to think about the material and write an answer the way your prof likes it; the latter can only be done by taking practice exams and reviewing model answers (or if none, then past book award answers).

Also, I am a big believer and taking and updating past outlines instead of making them from scratch; and use the extra time to focus on taking past exams or reviewing answers. This is just personal preference though. Apart from taking practice exams there is no universally helpful “tip” for law school exams.

[lawyergirl1234567]

I took practice exams but I didn’t take that many. As I reflect, I think I summarized more of the law than actually using the facts of the case. I plan to meet with my professors so see what I did wrong to help. How early in the semester should I start taking practice exams ?

[Libya]

I took practice exams but I didn’t take that many. As I reflect, I think I summarized more of the law than actually using the facts of the case. I plan to meet with my professors so see what I did wrong to help. How early in the semester should I start taking practice exams ?

I personally prefer to wait until reading period, but perhaps the last or second to last week of classes could work. You want to wait until you’ve covered almost all the material and also have an idea of the big picture of the course and major themes IMO. Also the key is reviewing past exam answers that were successful and then comparing those to your own; it’s not enough to just take the practice tests if you aren’t seeing what types of answers get book awards. When I’m in a time crunch sometimes I mainly just read questions and then model answers to study.

Also restating the law gets you basically no points, whereas applying the law to the facts is the pot of gold. And if you can’t identify the rule of decision as you read the fact pattern on exam day you don’t know the material well enough unfortunately.