Law School

Five Backpack Carrying Tips for Law Students

Picture by the sacred bridge in Nikko, Japan.

I used to carry a huge backpack in law school. I carried all of my books, a bulky laptop computer, as well as snacks and supplies − all on my back − all day, every day. I did it in college too. And I still do it. Every time I travel, I carry a heavy backpack with me. In fact, even for the last week, I have been wandering around Italy (and now Santorini), carrying a lot of my clothes and books on my back. This inspired me to find some backpack carrying tips for law students and others like me, who carry everything on their back. Read more

Alright, my law student friends, time to stop briefing cases! (And start outlining…)

in Law School

Alright, my law student friends, time to stop briefing cases! (And start outlining…)

Fact: I forgot how to brief cases. I have to re-learn how to brief cases every time I teach law students or prelaw students how to brief cases. Why did I forget? Because I hardly ever briefed cases in law school!

However, briefing cases is not a bad skill to have . . .

Briefing cases can be helpful, especially in the beginning of the semester. Briefing cases helps you become detail-oriented and it is helpful for dissecting somewhat complicated fact patterns. It helps you to remain focused when you read. Perhaps it makes you less nervous if you’re called on. Briefing cases also helps you get comfortable with legal language if you regularly put the facts and law into your own words when writing your case briefs.

But there are two major downsides of briefing cases:

Topic 8: Become Familiar with the Key Words and Phrases on the MPRE

5 Comments/in Law School, MPRE

Topic 8: Become Familiar with the Key Words and Phrases on the MPRE

Some students answer several MPRE questions incorrectly simply because they are not familiar with how the question is asked. Learning exactly what a question is asking is a critical first step if you want to maximize your MPRE score. Here, we tell you the key words and phrases you should be familiar with on the MPRE. We also tell you how to become familiar with them.

National Suicide Prevention Week – for Law Students and Lawyers

in Law School, Lawyering

September 7-13, 2015 is National Suicide Prevention Week. Given the high rate of depression among law students and lawyers, we felt compelled to write a post increasing awareness about suicide and depression.

Suicide is the tenth leading cause of death in the United States and the second leading cause of death among individuals between the ages of 15 and 34. Last year, CNN reported that the proportion of lawyers that were committing suicide was much higher than in the past. In fact, lawyers rank fourth (behind dentists, pharmacists, and physicians – in that order) in the highest per capita suicide rate. CNN also reports that lawyers are 3.6 times more likely to suffer from depression than non-lawyers. Read more

How do I create a law school outline? (an in-depth guide)

13 Comments/in Law School

How do I create a law school outline? (an in-depth guide)

Writing your law school outlines (and starting early in the semester!) is one of the most important things you can do to maximize your chances of graduating at the top of your class. Many students struggle with outlining because they do not know where to begin.

Below is a step-by-step process on how to write a law school outline. To do so, you will need to gather your materials together. We recommend you have the following on hand:

Syllabus
Class notes
Casebook
Any supplements you use
Laptop

We also recommend you have a cup of coffee in hand since outlining can be grueling! (But it can also be fun!)

Note: if you haven’t yet downloaded our free guide on how to succeed in law school, do so here!

Even better, join our FREE law school prep course here! Read more

Socratic Method Tips – Tips for Answering Questions when You’re “On Call” in Law School

1 Comment/in Law School

Without even engaging in the debate about whether the Socratic Method is a good method of teaching or not (that is a different blog for a different day), the fact is that it does cause a lot of anxiety in law students. This has both a negative effect on students who are actually called on by the professor and those who are nervous about being called on (but ultimately not called on).

As a student in the class, this anxiety inhibits your ability to understand and learn new information. Thus, having Socratic Method tips for being on call will help you not only answer questions better but also help to lessen your anxiety in class and therefore help you learn new information. Read more

How to Build Good Study Habits

in Law School

This post is helpful for all students – law students, medical school students, college students, high school students, etc. . . We are posting it now because law school orientation starts this week at many law schools. We have plenty of helpful law school orientation tips here, but this blog post focuses exclusively on building good study habits. It is especially helpful for law students who took a break between undergrad and law school or law students who never really developed good study habits in undergrad.

In this post, we will tell you a few basics about how to build good study habits.Before we do so, it is important to note that you will not build good study habits in a day. You will not even build them in a week. . . Read more

Five Legal Writing Tips for Students Starting Law School

in Law School, Prelaw

Many students have trouble tackling their first legal writing assignments. Your legal writing class will require you to think, write, and structure your assignments in a different way than you are used to. Many students have difficulty grasping this new way of writing. We recommend that you do your best to improve your legal writing right from the beginning of law school. Your efforts will shine through not only in your legal writing class but also in your other substantive law classes. Thus, below are five legal writing tips for students starting law school. Read more

Law School Tip: Make an Appointment with your Law School Career Counselor ASAP!

in Law School, Prelaw

Law school is competitive and the legal job market is even more competitive. This doesn’t mean you can’t carve out your own path in life and get a fulfilling job after law school. But it does mean that in order to do so you have to have a game plan from the beginning.

Your law school career counselor can be integral in assisting you to get a job after law school. The law school career counselor at the school I attended was one of the smartest and most caring people I have ever met. She helped current law students as well as already-graduated law students with their job search. She was full of invaluable insight that I never would have known had I not scheduled an appointment with her! Her insight and ideas led me directly to one of my first jobs after law school. Many of my colleagues said the same. Read more

Law School Classes that Will Prepare You For the Bar Exam: What to Take and What Not to Take!

2 Comments/in Bar Exam, Law School

Law School Classes that Will Prepare You For the Bar Exam: What to Take and What Not to Take!

If you are signing up for your 2L or 3L classes, you may be wondering what law school classes will prepare you for the bar exam. It is wise to take classes that will prepare you for the bar exam as it maximizes your chances of passing the bar exam the first time you take it.

Our advice is as follows: first, try to take any law school class that will prepare you for the MBE, that is, the Multistate Bar Exam, or multiple-choice portion of the bar exam. Many of these are related to your 1L classes. (Consequently, studying for the MBE will also likely help you on the essay portion of the bar exam, since many times the subjects are double-tested on the MBE and the essay portion.)

Why to Take the August MPRE (and take it seriously!)

in Law School, MPRE

The August MRPE will be here before we know it. The exam will take place on Saturday, August 15, 2015.

A lot of students sign up for the August MPRE and don’t take it seriously because they know they can take it again in November if they need to. However, we advise against that mentality.

The MPRE is something that should be given a fair amount of attention. Just like any other scholastic venture, the amount of time and attention it requires depends on the individual taking the exam. But, no matter how you tend to fair with standardized exams, the MPRE definitely requires some level of studying for everyone that takes it. Read more

Our New Legal Writing Tutoring Options – for Law Students and Pre-Law Students

in Law School, Prelaw

Should I go to law school if I do not want to practice law?

We are excited to introduce our new legal writing tutoring packages for both pre-law students and law students! We have been helping students learn how to write and research effectively for quite a while now. We have been asked if there are any legal writing packages for students who want to consistently meet with a tutor to improve their skills. Several students have also wanted to meet with a legal writing tutor prior to even starting law school to get a head start on legal writing skills. We highly recommend this as Legal writing is one of the most important classes you will take in law school.

Not only will your legal writing skills affect your grade in your legal writing class, it will also affect your scores on all of your law school exams and the bar exam. Further, it is worth it to invest in your legal writing abilities as they will help you tremendously when you begin to practice law. Many of our students say that they feel confident when they begin their jobs as lawyers because they know how to research, properly cite cases, and write quality legal memorandums and briefs. Read more

I Failed the MPRE. What Should I do?

1 Comment/in Law School, MPRE

Today is the results release date of the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE) given in March. Some students feel relieved to have the MPRE over with. Others, however, find that they failed the MPRE and are left wondering what went wrong. “I failed the MPRE. What should I do?” is a question we hear a lot more often than you may think!

First, relax. You can take the MPRE again. It is not a one-shot deal. If you still have additional semesters of law school left, you should feel even more relaxed as it will not delay your ability to take the bar exam (in fact, only a few states make it a prerequisite to taking the bar exam. Most states allow you to take the bar exam prior to passing the MPRE). Read more

Law School Exam Tip: Study for the Kind of Law School Exam You’ll Be Given

in Law School

The kind of law school exam you are given should determine how you study for it. In order to tailor your studying to the kind of law school exam you’ll be given, you have to first know what kind of law school exam you’ll be given. If you do not know what kind of law school exam you’ll be given, find out as soon as possible. If your professor makes past exams available for review, even better – look at those right away!

Some law school exams are essay exams; some are multiple-choice exams. Some are open-book exams; some are closed-book exams. Some are in-class exams; others are take-home exams. We will explain how the kind of law school exam you have should determine how you should study. Read more

Five Last Minute Tips to Pass the MPRE!

10 Comments/in Law School, MPRE

july 2018 michigan bar exam results, mee tips, multistate essay exam tips The MPRE is just a few days away for many students! Here are five last-minute tips and tricks to pass the MPRE!

In order to get the most out of these tips, lets first look at an MPRE sample question. This sample question comes from the MPRE sample questions released by the National Conference of Bar Examiners. Read more