Snow Days

When Snow Days happen in law school it is a time of joy and dread.
Joy because you know you will have extra time to study, read, outline, and not be in class and dread for almost the same reasons.  Plus, you may also have to make up the class time.  If you are nice your professors can be good sports and use something like a CALI exercise.

I often found Snow Days great to catch up and try and get ahead in readings and outlining.  For those who are facing the same possibility of snow days the next few days may a I make a few suggestions.

1. doing some reading - you will thank yourself if you get even one or two cases ahead
2. doing some outlining - you will thank yourself if you start now even if it is only the second or third week in the semester
3. maybe make some flashcards - yes even if it is only the second or third week in the semester a few cards here and a few cards there mean more review and less time making them at the end of the semester
4. take a break and watch a movie - I loved being a student and getting Amazon Prime at the student rate, with a free trial (great to watch movies while studying or taking a break).

5. Spend a few minutes outside enjoying the snow fall and living in the moment.

Spring Semesters

As classmates return to class I want to point out that law school spring semester has a few differences than the fall semester (this is especially important for 1Ls)

1. You may be in a second part of a class (Torts, Civ Pro, Property, Contracts, Constitutional Law, etc.).  This means that you will continue to learn about the same topic, BUT will not review all that was learned in the fall semester..
     -DO NOT waste time on exams reciting details form concepts you learned and covered in the fall.     -DO mention concepts on the exam, but don't go into details
     -DO remember concepts, just because Torts 1 is don't forget it
    -DO keep those notes handy, but you don't need to review them for exams.
2. I suggest that you get two binders (about 1 1/2" wide) one for each semester
     -Put material from Property 1 in the first binder and then keep it out on a bookshelf in the Spring
     -Put material from Property 2 in second binder and keep that with you for studying
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3. Flashcards from Civ. Pro. 1 can be stored, but keep them handy in case you need to review a concept.
    -Flashcards should also be stored and saved so that you can use them for review at Bar time
     -Consider premade flashcards that you can add notes to (great to add state specific items

***Something link Critical Pass Flahscards can help with both classes and MBE bar prep***
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4. At some point during the semester, you will realize the weather is nice and you want to study outside or read outside.  DO IT!  Don't confine yourself to only studying inside, unless you are allergic to the outdoors, being outside is important.  You get Vitamin D from the sun, and more importantly it helps you relax and destress.  Research has show that blood pressure can drop just from being outside and looking at nature.
5. If it is your first semester, have an idea of what your GPA is and then figure out what the absolute worst you can do on all your exams is without dropping to a 2.0 or lower.  It sounds counter-intuitive, but knowing how bad you can perform and stay in law school actually helps.  I realized that I could get an F on one exam, and other than the headache of trying to retake the class I would still be able to stay in law school, and more realistically that I could get a D in Torts (my hardest class) and still be fine if I got a B in Legal Writing and Research (which was my strongest).
6. If it is your last semester, realize that you can't fail a class that is required to graduate or that you need the credits to reach your minimum required credits to graduate.  HOWEVER, you don't need to knock it out of the park either.  You need to pass your classes to graduate, but they will not drop you out of law school if you somehow end up getting a D in every single one of your classes your last semester.  Please try and pass, but realize it doesn't have to be a wow knock it out of the park grade.

Consider getting Amazing Prime for Students, because you can get supplies (like index cards or flashcards above) and prep material with free 2 day shopping.  Also, you will benefit from the video and music access during bar prep time.

Passing the Bar Exam

I have just gotten the letter that confirms that I have passed the bar exam.  I was asked by a friend who has yet to take it for some advice.
Here is what I immediately thought of:
1. Do at least 1 essay a day AND at least 10-20 multiple practice questions a day.
2. Read the answers to the multiples, both the right answer and why other choices were wrong.
3. Use a review program, and pay attention to their tips/tricks to memorize information and state specific rules.
4. As you get closer (like 3 weeks) do at least 2 essays a day AND 40 multiple choice questions a day. You are building stamina.
5. If you have the chance to do mock exams - do them and follow the time constraints your state will use.
6. It is true that you should do every essay and multiple you can get your hands on, it is practice and reading the answers will help you.
7. Pace yourself, it is a marathon not a sprint.  Figure out what you need to do and how much time you need to do it.  Then spread it out so you get everything in a week to two weeks before the exam and spend that extra time on what you feel weakest in.
8. The day before the exam only do multiple choice and no more than 50 practice questions.
9. DO your best on the exam, you learned it in law school or during the review, you just need to remember it.

Best $200 to spend in law school

Law School is expensive, there is no way around it.

However, I would like to give this piece of advice to all incoming law school students:
Spend the $100 to lock in the Barbri price and the other $100 to lock in or get the Kaplan 1st year lectures and questions.  And do this in your first semester of law school
You should do this for a few reasons
1. you lock in prices (they only go up, so locking in the price your sooner is better).
2. you get access to lectures and questions to help you study for your 1L classes
3. after you get access to both for the 1L classes you can better figure out which lectures are better suited to your learning style and which question bank helps you more.
****side note you can get the Kaplan question bank for the bar exam for several hundred dollars if you go with Barbi, and the more practice questions the better you will be for the bar****
4. the outlines each company has helps you figure out how to do outlines for your first year courses
5. They offer free MPRE courses so it gives you more notice on which one would be better to help you study
6. you need to hear the information repeatedly and these lectures are on-demand.

My advice, spend the $200, and get access to both to lock in prices and help you figure out how you want to spend your bar prep class money.

Why do they wait to tell you this?

Filling out the application to take the bar, usually you don't hear about it until your last year in law school.  However, being an evening student with a full-time job this advice would have been nice to know.  Thankfully, I had classmates that were a class ahead of me and gave me some of this advice.  I read this article in Student Lawyer, and thought it was funny that this advice is given so rarely.
http://www.americanbar.org/publications/student_lawyer/2014-15/december/ready_set_go.html
If you are in law school, or if you are considering going to law school save this article and look at it now, and again after you complete your first year of law school.

Key take aways:
-make a list of every place you have ever lived
-make a list of every job you have ever had
-look at the application often so you know what you will have to answer
-submit it sooner rather than later, once you are within the allowable window

Buy stock in index cards

Flash cards are key to law school success, even if you do an outline, make flashcards.  They will help with Bar Prep after you graduate, and they are easy to take with you as you.
White ones are the best
White Index Cards
Colored Index cards are good for things like the Model Penal Code, quoting the Constitution, or straight definitions
Glow Colored Index Cards
Rainbow Colored Index Cards

Index cards really are golden and very helpful.  If I knew how many I would go through I would have bought stock in an index card company before I started law school.

reading and briefing cases - tip I wish I knew my first year

When reading and briefing cases I wish someone had told me the benefits of color coding my notes and what I highlight.
I suggest using the green for the plaintiff/state/group that initiated the suit, orange for the defendant/accused/one being sued.  I also use pink to highlight the issue/question that the case decides and the rule or take away.  Blue can be used for noting the cases that are cited in the case you are reading or dissent if it is important.  I use yellow to highlight anything important that is not one of the above (such as another rule that I may want to remember or use the wording for it in an essay).  Purple is what I use to note what my professor feels is important in the case (either staring my previous notes or adding to them).

Notes for briefing the case can be color coded the same. My favorite pens to use for this are
Pentel Wow
Staedtler Maxum
PaperMate

Yes, there are extra colors in the above mentioned packs, but that is OK, you can use them to for other notes or if you want to note definitions or material from other sources.
A great free legal dictionary is Nolo's Free Dictionary of Law Terms and Legal Definitions

Don't forget highlighters if you are highlighting or book briefing (I am in my last year of law school and was one that never felt confident with book briefing, but I know people who can do it).
Ticonderoga
PaperMate
Sharpie

I wish I would have been given these hints earlier, I am hoping by sharing it may help others as they go through law school.

words are really what law school comes down to

"Words are the tools of our trade."

One of my professors repeated this so much that it became an automatic response back to her once she started it.

She is right, but not just about what lawyers write.  She is right in that words are how law school students learn and the difference in wording could mean the difference in understanding a concept or not.  I am starting to study for finals and I realize why over the last three years I consult multiple study aides when studying for exams.  The way different people present concepts may help me understand it better than the way I read it from the casebook or heard my professor explain it.  Words help students understand - this is not shocking, it is not a new discovery or profound new wisdom.

For any future law school student, don't just get one study aide, get multiple study aides.  The study aid that worked for you in one class may not be as helpful in another subject.  The library is a great place to borrow material to see what will work for you in each subject area.  If you can afford it (or if you have points that you can use on Lexis) buy the un-used (meaning new) study material.  You will need it when you review for the bar.