The
first
year
of
law
school
is
notoriously
difficult.
There
are
so
many
differences
between
college
and
law
school,
which
makes
for
a
pretty
steep
learning
curve.
Trying
to
figure
out
exactly
what
you
should
be
focusing
on
at
any
given
time
can
be
confusing.
Here
is
a
list
of
7
essential
skills
that
all
first
year
law
students
must
develop
and
master
in
order
to
be
successful,
not
only
in
their
first
year
of
law
school,
but
throughout
their
entire
law
school
career.
1-
Critical
Reading
No
shock
here,
but
you
spend
a
lot
of
time
reading
cases
in
law
school.
And,
it
isn’t
just
about
getting
through
it
all,
you
actually
have
to
be
able
to
critically
read,
break
down,
and
understand
the
information
in
the
cases.
In
undergrad,
you
may
have
been
able
to
get
away
with
skimming
the
readings
in
homework
assignments,
but
that
isn’t
going
to
cut
in
law
school.
One
of
the
first
things
you
need
to
do
to
be
successful
in
law
school
is
figure
out
a
reading
system
that
allows
you
to
gather
all
of
the
important
information
without
taking
an
unduly
long
time
to
execute.
2-
Case
Briefing
One
way
to
to
ensure
that
you’re
extracting
all
of
the
necessary
information
from
the
cases
that
you’re
reading
is
to
create
a
case
brief.
Simply
put,
a
case
brief
is
a
template
that
you
use
to
organize
your
notes
on
the
case.
While
every
student
may
format
a
brief
differently,
you
must
include
the
following
information:
a
summary
of
the
relevant
facts,
the
procedural
history
of
the
case,
a
statement
of
the
legal
issue,
the
holding,
the
judgement,
and
the
court’s
reasoning.
Having
this
document
prepared
for
class
is
beneficial
because
your
professor
will
likely
ask
you
questions
directly
relating
to
these
topics.
Furthermore,
having
strong
case
briefs
will
help
you
take
better
notes
and
ease
the
outline
creation
process
(both
discussed
below
in
more
detail).
3-
Notetaking
The
average
1L
spends
about
15
hours
a
week
in
class,
and
hopefully,
they
are
taking
notes
at
least
some
of
that
time.
While
there
are
many
different
ways
to
take
notes,
it
is
important
to
develop
a
system
that
allows
you
to
discern
what
information
is
important.
Be
sure
to
pay
careful
attention
when
your
professor
is
reviewing
the
black
letter
law,
going
over
hypothetical
questions,
or
giving
the
details
of
the
final
exam.
Also,
don’t
forget
to
take
note
of
any
concepts
that
seem
confusing
to
you
so
that
you
remember
to
go
back
through
them
later.
Finally,
don’t
write
everything
down.
Not
everything
that
is
said
in
class
is
important,
and
if
you
try
to
write
down
every
single
thing,
you’re
going
to
have
a
lot
of
notes
that
will
be
hard
to
sort
through
and
use
later
on.
4-
Outlining
Outlining
is
a
new
and
mythical
creature
for
many
law
students.
It
was
for
me
during
my
1L
year!
If
you
are
unfamiliar,
a
law
school
outline
is
a
way
of
organizing
all
of
the
information
you
have
learned
over
the
course
of
the
semester
into
a
format
that
allows
you
to
make
connections,
memorize
laws,
and
apply
the
laws
to
a
new
set
of
facts
(on
the
final
exam).
Outlines
can
be
traditional
roman
numeral
style
outlines,
but
they
can
also
take
the
form
of
charts,
graphs,
or
audio
recordings.
Make
sure
that
your
outline
fits
with
your
learning
style.
A
good
way
to
test
if
your
outline
is
working
for
you
is
to
do
practice
questions
throughout
the
semester.
If
your
outline
does
not
help
you
accurately
answer
the
questions,
you
probably
need
to
change
it.
5-
Exam
Writing
Many
final
exams
in
undergrad
required
you
to
memorize
and
regurgitate
information.
However,
in
law
school,
there
is
a
much
higher
premium
on
analyzing
information.
How
you
analyze
a
given
set
of
facts
in
the
context
of
the
law
that
you
have
learned
throughout
the
semester
will
determine
your
grade
on
most
essay
exams.
Many
law
professors
prefer
that
students
use
a
writing
system
known
as
“IRAC”
to
organize
their
exam
answers.
Find
out
early
in
the
semester
how
your
professor
wants
you
to
write
for
their
final
exam
and
get
busy
practicing
for
it.
6-
Time
Management
I
had
always
considered
myself
to
be
a
relatively
organized
and
efficient
person.
That
is,
until
I
got
to
law
school.
I
didn’t
realize
just
how
much
procrastination
I
got
away
with
in
undergrad
until
my
first
2
weeks
of
law
school
when
I
spent
allllllll
my
time
studying
but
was
somehow
already
behind.
There
is
no
denying
that
there
is
a
lot
going
on
in
law
school.
You
are
trying
to
learn
and
master
all
these
new
skills,
make
friends,
learn
about
internships,
join
student
organizations,
and
a
million
other
things.
You
have
to
have
some
kind
of
time
management
system
in
place
to
make
sure
that
nothing
important
falls
through
the
cracks.
So,
even
if
you
were
never
a
“planner
person”
before
–
it
might
be
time
to
start.
7-
Stress
Management
Now
that
I’ve
dumped
a
bunch
of
stressful
things
on
you,
let
me
tell
you
how
important
it
is
for
you
to
manage
your
stress.
But
seriously,
stress
management
is
crucial
in
order
to
make
it
through
law
school
in
one
piece.
Yes,
you’re
juggling
a
lot
of
things
and
are
under
a
ton
of
pressure.
But,
none
of
it
will
matter
if
you’re
not
well.
It
is
extremely
important
that
you
find
a
way
to
mitigate
some
of
the
stress
that
law
school
brings,
carve
out
time
to
implement
it,
and
diligently
protect
that
time
in
your
schedule.
Take
a
few
minutes
today
to
do
a
quick
inventory
of
each
of
these
skills.
If
you’re
feeling
behind
on
any
of
them,
or
struggling
in
any
of
these
areas,
don’t
ignore
it.
Reach
out
for
help
today.
The
academic
support
department
at
your
law
school
is
a
great
place
to
start.
In
addition
there
are
several
excellent
books
that
cover
these
topics.
Whatever
route
you
take,
make
sure
that
you
keep
an
eye
on
each
of
these
things
throughout
your
year.
Kerriann
Stout
is
a
millennial
law
school
professor
and
founder
of
Vinco
(a
bar
exam
coaching
company)
who
is
generationally
trapped
between
her
students
and
colleagues.
Kerriann
has
helped
hundreds
of
students
survive
law
school
and
the
bar
exam
with
less
stress
and
more
confidence.
She
lives,
works,
and
writes
in
the
northeast.
You
can
reach
her
by
email
at
[email protected].