Well, after a busy summer and a few technical difficulties with this blog, I am back. And just in time for the beginning of the school year.Today thousands of law students had their first classes today, including at my school. For the 1Ls, it is the start of a strange, three-year odyssey. With that in mind, I have decided to point students, and especially new 1Ls, to some of my previous advice about law school. The following are of course not all of my posts about law school--nowhere close--but they are some of the most directly relevant to new 1Ls.
POSTS WITH GENERAL ADVICE FOR 1Ls
Some Advice for Incoming Law Students. This post includes my favorite piece of my own advice--don't read Scott Turow's novel One L until after you have finished your first year of law school. Even though law schools today are kindler and gentler than the law schools of the 1970s about which Turow wrote, there's enough commonality to scare you. So don't read it as a 1L.
PS: I'd give a link to a website about the book, but the best links are to booksellers' sites--and I of course don't want to help 1Ls buy the book. So no link.
More (and Still More) Advice for New Law Students. Pretty self-explanatory.
Law School Orientation Advice. My biggest piece of advice? Don't spill food on your law school's dean at orientation (which I actually did). My law school has already had its 1L orientation this year, so I am a bit late re-posting this advice. But I am happy to report that to my knowledge, no students spilled food on any dean or faculty member.
POSTS REGARDING CLASS PREPARATION AND PARTICIPATION
Getting Called on in Class. This is pretty much every new student's nightmare--so it makes a great blogging topic.
Figuring Out Your Law Professor. It's important to never forget that you are not just taking a particular subject. You are taking a particular professor--and you should adjust your approach to a course accordingly.
How to Brief a Case. The title says it all.
More Thoughts on How to Brief a Case. Ditto.
OTHER ADVICE
What's to Like About Law School? This post actually provides not advice, but rather perspective about the law school experience. The point of the post is that a lot of us (me included) spend a good deal of time hashing over what law schools get wrong. But law schools also get many things right, as the reader comments to this post illustrate.
Reflections on Law School Exams. Final exams aren't until December, but since that's everyone's ultimate goal, it's worth reading this now--and then re-reading it later in November, when exams are upon us.
So enjoy these posts, thanks for reading, and good luck with the start of the academic year!
2 comments:
My advice if you have Prof. Bowman. Read his blog, he tells you what he wants. Spend the time reading his posts on how to take an exam. It is amazing how if you do what he says he wants on his exam, you get an A. Absolutely do not, do not, go into his class unprepared without giving him notice. He has a fair policy, don't take advantage of it. You will hate your life, he will walk out, and your classmates will hate you. He's a great prof. Be a great student in return.
WOW GOLD, nice blog. its worth reading. I liked it very much
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