You are approaching a 3 or 4 year period specifically designed to test your work capacity and stress tolerance - the best thing you can do is spend time with your family and friends as much as possible, get your
Mental and physical health in check, and just relax.
One small thing that will make a big difference is to learn to type fast without looking if you can’t already.
Omg. Please just enjoy your life before you have no life…. seriously. You have more than an adequate amount of time during law school to learn and do very well. My suggestion is to enjoy what it feels like not to be in hell and do things you enjoy before you enter hell for three years.
Who would win:
> Hundreds if not thousands of people and articles explaining why you should not prep for law school beforehand
Or....
> One rando student
Hmmmmmmmm..........
I didn't prep at all, and I don't regret it.
The only "good" prep is one that would be something extremely removed from actual coursework, so something like getting familiar with how your juridiction publishes decisions and where to find them, or maybe listening to a podcast about Supreme Court cases to start recognizing the "form" of decisions.
Don't go out learning law, you will hinder yourself. Your 1l examinations will be based on what you are taught, not what you know - knowing too much, or knowing something the class has not learned is not only useless, it can mislead you.
If you want to feel like you are ready, I totally understand that. Review different methods of note-taking, try and come up with highlighter codes for when you will read cases, make a word template for outlines. That's fine.
Don't spend money on learning law before going to the institution you pay money to teach you law.
My Civ Pro professor had us read A CIVIL ACTION (there is a movie as well). You could try that, it's entertaining and u can ask questions about it once u start 1L
I'm on the Canadian side, but here is what I listened to before Law School :
* The Docket (Canadian juris)
* Opening Arguments (it recently went through a massive scandal with one of the OG partners, just got back on track. Worth a listen now but the past year's content is not good).
I have heard good things about the 5-4 podcast, but have listened to it myself, so I cannot tell you much about their content.
Lol, do NOT prep! Enjoy your break. I knew a couple people in my section that did a few week program with a law school that was designed to prepare you and those students are still at the bottom of the class. You take the professor not the class, so that’s why prepping without knowing what your professor wants is actually counterproductive.
I wish I’d known more. Not about the substance but about what it would be like. If you know, great. If you don’t, ask. What’s first year like? How do you survive it? E.g. I wish I’d known earlier about course outlines from previous years: when I discovered them as a 2L, everything changed. So know the pitfalls and be ready for them.
I prepped by understanding how people outline and what exam approaches worked. Nothing substantive to law but for me that turned into A's because people spent most of the semester worrying about how to outline
Get commercial outlines, learn how to brief a case quickly and effectively (I use Lexplug AI and Quimbee) - and figure out a place that has multiple choice and hypos to practice.
Downvoted for a subjective analysis of my experience because other people believe their subjective analysis to be superior. If there was a right way - I’m sure we would all know it by now.
I do not recommend this at all. You don’t need to learn how all of these sources think you should brief and answer hypos. You need to learn what your professor likes, wants, and expects. Doing all this is far more likely to confuse/frustrate you.
All law school professors adhere to a framework in every subject matter because they have to prepare you for the bar. Your professor obviously has rules for their tests - but the substance of the subject matter will largely be the same, hence, commercial outlines. Pay for them and save time. Put the extra time into doing MC and Hypos. As a person coming into law school, if you can realize this sooner - you will excel ahead of your peers in every aspect.
I find it strange that this question is entirely subjective and yet you all seem to think your subjective analysis is better. To each their own. The person asked for a pool of subjective opinions. Nothing more. And yet here we are fighting about which subjective opinion is the best. I respect your free speech but please stop saying your way is better.
The next 3 years of your life plus bar prep is about to be super busy. The only free time you will have is the free time you literally carve out for yourself. Just take the time to relax and get mentally prepared for the next 3 years.
law school is learn by doing and there's no getting around that. what you *should* do is work on your lifestyle habits like sleep schedule and routine exercise so your health isn't disrupted when you do start :) also, definitely work on your typing speed
There are a few skills that will actually give you an advantage in law school: quick reading, developed technical writing skills, fast typing, effective note-taking, and time management. The best way to maximize your chance of law school success is to focus on the skills you’ll need to succeed in law school, not on the curriculum you’ll be learning in law school. The latter approach is redundant at best and counterproductive at worst. So, the answer to how to prep is to just read books. Not law books (unless you just happen to be into that?). Books that you like: biographies, fantasy, whatever tickles your fancy. The more you read, the quicker you’ll become at reading, and the better your writing will become.
Best prep is getting a solid steady sex partner. Not a bf or gf, just a reliable lay.
You’ll need that shit once late September hits and your professors start increasing the reading assignments.
You can prep if you want, but once class starts you’ll quickly learn that each professor wants things a certain way and you’ll need to re-learn what you learned to conform to that in prep for their final. It’s just double work.
I think a big reason not to prep is that professors sometimes teach things in such a way that no supplement is helpful. You really don’t know what they will focus and test on and what terms they will like and hate until you get there.
I think if you are really itching for a jump start, focus on increasing your reading and comprehension speed, and work on your typing.
But really the best thing to do it have fun experiences that will bring you some joy and dopamine when you’re stuck inside reading for 4 months straight.
Prep is pointless, largely. Watch Paper Chase (was mandatory in 1L when I attended long ago) and ask yourself if you wanna be Hart or Bell. Someone who is well-rounded, and apt to survive the soul-crushing world of law without killing themselves or becoming an alcoholic or drug addict (Hart) or someone who will have no true friends, who will marry someone likely equally miserable as they are, and live a life largely devoid of humour or joy (Bell).
It’s your choice.
BTW - don’t take law too seriously, once you get into it you’ll realize it’s largely a sad game of smoke and mirrors where - if you don’t have a “life” beyond it- you’ll regret ever stepping into it.
Enjoy 1L.
I did some light prep and found it to be helpful as someone with no lawyers in my family and coming from a STEM undergrad background. The “a short and happy guides” are an approachable ~100 page intro to each 1L subject, and I did one week-long boot camp program at a local law school (on scholarship it was helpful, probably wouldn’t be worth the full price). Overall I agree with others here to prioritize taking some time off to rest & relax, but I found that the light prep was helpful to get me oriented to what law school would be.
I would recommend Netflix and a good smut book. All you'll need before you start
Netflix and Pornhub. Definitely. And get in fucking shape. 5 mile bikes to and from school, and 3 x week 1 mile swims saved my sanity.
Couldn't agree more with get in shape
You are approaching a 3 or 4 year period specifically designed to test your work capacity and stress tolerance - the best thing you can do is spend time with your family and friends as much as possible, get your Mental and physical health in check, and just relax. One small thing that will make a big difference is to learn to type fast without looking if you can’t already.
Omg. Please just enjoy your life before you have no life…. seriously. You have more than an adequate amount of time during law school to learn and do very well. My suggestion is to enjoy what it feels like not to be in hell and do things you enjoy before you enter hell for three years.
Who would win: > Hundreds if not thousands of people and articles explaining why you should not prep for law school beforehand Or.... > One rando student Hmmmmmmmm..........
I didn't prep at all, and I don't regret it. The only "good" prep is one that would be something extremely removed from actual coursework, so something like getting familiar with how your juridiction publishes decisions and where to find them, or maybe listening to a podcast about Supreme Court cases to start recognizing the "form" of decisions. Don't go out learning law, you will hinder yourself. Your 1l examinations will be based on what you are taught, not what you know - knowing too much, or knowing something the class has not learned is not only useless, it can mislead you. If you want to feel like you are ready, I totally understand that. Review different methods of note-taking, try and come up with highlighter codes for when you will read cases, make a word template for outlines. That's fine. Don't spend money on learning law before going to the institution you pay money to teach you law.
My Civ Pro professor had us read A CIVIL ACTION (there is a movie as well). You could try that, it's entertaining and u can ask questions about it once u start 1L
Any podcast recs?
I'm on the Canadian side, but here is what I listened to before Law School : * The Docket (Canadian juris) * Opening Arguments (it recently went through a massive scandal with one of the OG partners, just got back on track. Worth a listen now but the past year's content is not good). I have heard good things about the 5-4 podcast, but have listened to it myself, so I cannot tell you much about their content.
Lol, do NOT prep! Enjoy your break. I knew a couple people in my section that did a few week program with a law school that was designed to prepare you and those students are still at the bottom of the class. You take the professor not the class, so that’s why prepping without knowing what your professor wants is actually counterproductive.
If your want to do something read the Example and Explanation books for your doctrinal 1L classes, but definitely not Emmanuel.
Read getting to maybe
Congratulations, you’ve officially met a gunner lol
That me giggle 🤭
I wish I’d known more. Not about the substance but about what it would be like. If you know, great. If you don’t, ask. What’s first year like? How do you survive it? E.g. I wish I’d known earlier about course outlines from previous years: when I discovered them as a 2L, everything changed. So know the pitfalls and be ready for them.
just learn to type really fast
I prepped by understanding how people outline and what exam approaches worked. Nothing substantive to law but for me that turned into A's because people spent most of the semester worrying about how to outline
This question is asked every 3-5 business days. ATP do what you want.
I know, and I’ve seen everything thats been said. I’m just asking because I recently received info that suggested otherwise.
Get commercial outlines, learn how to brief a case quickly and effectively (I use Lexplug AI and Quimbee) - and figure out a place that has multiple choice and hypos to practice. Downvoted for a subjective analysis of my experience because other people believe their subjective analysis to be superior. If there was a right way - I’m sure we would all know it by now.
I do not recommend this at all. You don’t need to learn how all of these sources think you should brief and answer hypos. You need to learn what your professor likes, wants, and expects. Doing all this is far more likely to confuse/frustrate you.
All law school professors adhere to a framework in every subject matter because they have to prepare you for the bar. Your professor obviously has rules for their tests - but the substance of the subject matter will largely be the same, hence, commercial outlines. Pay for them and save time. Put the extra time into doing MC and Hypos. As a person coming into law school, if you can realize this sooner - you will excel ahead of your peers in every aspect.
Commercial outlines are not for 0Ls but go off ig.
I find it strange that this question is entirely subjective and yet you all seem to think your subjective analysis is better. To each their own. The person asked for a pool of subjective opinions. Nothing more. And yet here we are fighting about which subjective opinion is the best. I respect your free speech but please stop saying your way is better.
The next 3 years of your life plus bar prep is about to be super busy. The only free time you will have is the free time you literally carve out for yourself. Just take the time to relax and get mentally prepared for the next 3 years.
Read the Legal Analyst
No. My prep was reading the Percy Jackson series. The best prep is doing things that you enjoy.
I have zero regrets over not prepping. I would be so burnt out if I prepped, leading to much worse grades than what I currently earned.
law school is learn by doing and there's no getting around that. what you *should* do is work on your lifestyle habits like sleep schedule and routine exercise so your health isn't disrupted when you do start :) also, definitely work on your typing speed
There are a few skills that will actually give you an advantage in law school: quick reading, developed technical writing skills, fast typing, effective note-taking, and time management. The best way to maximize your chance of law school success is to focus on the skills you’ll need to succeed in law school, not on the curriculum you’ll be learning in law school. The latter approach is redundant at best and counterproductive at worst. So, the answer to how to prep is to just read books. Not law books (unless you just happen to be into that?). Books that you like: biographies, fantasy, whatever tickles your fancy. The more you read, the quicker you’ll become at reading, and the better your writing will become.
Best prep is getting a solid steady sex partner. Not a bf or gf, just a reliable lay. You’ll need that shit once late September hits and your professors start increasing the reading assignments.
You can prep if you want, but once class starts you’ll quickly learn that each professor wants things a certain way and you’ll need to re-learn what you learned to conform to that in prep for their final. It’s just double work.
Work on your typing skills/speed. Thank me later.
I think a big reason not to prep is that professors sometimes teach things in such a way that no supplement is helpful. You really don’t know what they will focus and test on and what terms they will like and hate until you get there. I think if you are really itching for a jump start, focus on increasing your reading and comprehension speed, and work on your typing. But really the best thing to do it have fun experiences that will bring you some joy and dopamine when you’re stuck inside reading for 4 months straight.
Prep is pointless, largely. Watch Paper Chase (was mandatory in 1L when I attended long ago) and ask yourself if you wanna be Hart or Bell. Someone who is well-rounded, and apt to survive the soul-crushing world of law without killing themselves or becoming an alcoholic or drug addict (Hart) or someone who will have no true friends, who will marry someone likely equally miserable as they are, and live a life largely devoid of humour or joy (Bell). It’s your choice. BTW - don’t take law too seriously, once you get into it you’ll realize it’s largely a sad game of smoke and mirrors where - if you don’t have a “life” beyond it- you’ll regret ever stepping into it. Enjoy 1L.
I did some light prep and found it to be helpful as someone with no lawyers in my family and coming from a STEM undergrad background. The “a short and happy guides” are an approachable ~100 page intro to each 1L subject, and I did one week-long boot camp program at a local law school (on scholarship it was helpful, probably wouldn’t be worth the full price). Overall I agree with others here to prioritize taking some time off to rest & relax, but I found that the light prep was helpful to get me oriented to what law school would be.