GUEST BLOG by Dani Gies,
2L at UCLA School of Law
It may seem way too early to write a post about this, but actually, it may be late.
I planned the spring schedule I thought I wanted during the summer, when I was signing up for fall classes. Well, to be honest, I planned the rest of law school to make sure that I would be fulfilling all of the requirements for my program and specialization, as well as taking the electives I want to take. I will personally be taking Civil Rights, Constitutional Criminal Procedure, and an Immigrant Rights Policy Clinic. I was going to take Professional Responsibility, but I may decide to work or volunteer at a local nonprofit or immigration firm instead. As I’m trying to solidify my schedule, here’s what some of my classmates have said about some of the classes they’re taking:
Advanced Legal Research: You don’t get a lot of opportunities to do research outside of the first-year required course, so this is a great way to supplement your legal education with practical skills.
Business Associations: Take it, even if you’re not interested in corporate law. First of all, it’s a bar class, and second, it’s useful knowledge.
Constitutional Criminal Procedure: Bar class. Definitely take it if you’re interested in criminal law. Focuses primarily on the Fourth and Fifth Amendments.
Evidence: Another bar class. Take Evidence if you want to be certified as a law student to appear in court. (Sidenote: one of my friends is certified now, as a 2L in the fall! In California, must have completed the first year of law school and taken Civil Procedure, in addition to completing or being enrolled in Evidence.)
Professional Responsibility: This is required, so definitely take it. When you take it doesn’t really matter, but be sure you take the right amount of credits for the state you want to practice in, because different states have different requirements.
What classes would you recommend 2Ls and 3Ls take? Let me know on Twitter @The2Llife!
GUEST BLOG by Jackson Long,
1L at SMU Dedman School of Law
It’s that one thing that looms around every corner of law school.
Maybe you did it some during undergrad, but never quite like this before. It is the bane of your law school existence, yet at the same time, the most crucial piece of exam preparation.
Outlines.
The first month of school consists of scavenging the right 2L’s and 3L’s for the best outlines out there. Making sure to find those who did very well in your courses – and with your specific professors – is important.
But outlining is about more than just the end result. It’s about the process. Moving your class notes, supplements and handouts to a refined and organized study aid helps you put that critical information to memory. If you just grab from your peers or copy and paste from online sources, you won’t be putting that material in words familiar to you that truly help you understand the rules of law.
Another thing about the “process” . . . It’s a very long process. It’s time to start outlining right now. Many schools will have a writing assignment due just before Thanksgiving Break which will required nearly all of the outside time and effort. It’s crucial to be up to date with your outlining as soon as you are given the assignment. This allows you to push aside your other five classes, crush that writing memo, then get back to outlining in time to be finished before reading day.
Phew… that’s a lot of information. And potentially, a lot of additional stress. But that’s what it takes to get those 1L grades that matter so much.
For some more tips from successful 1L students, check out BARBRI’s free outlining webinar here: http://ow.ly/aaCt304TMDv . There are some great ideas and notes shared by these students, ones that will help you get ahead of the curve!
Enjoy!
GUEST BLOG by Jackson Long,
1L at SMU Dedman School of Law
The first day of October means crunch time.
As you flip the calendar, take note of the time between now and finals week. In only nine weeks you will need to have reached your highest level of learning, memorization, and organization. That’s not a simple task.
Enter BARBRI’s 1L Mastery Package.
Now that I am beginning to outline… wait, how do I outline? Here’s the first aspect where 1L Mastery helps tremendously. Starting to outline is like the writers block when you stare at your blank word document for twenty minutes. With 1L Mastery, you get examples that show you how to organize your own materials and maybe fill in a few blanks you missed in class.
My personal favorite part of 1L Mastery is the practice questions. For each subject, there are short multiple choice problems that allow you to gauge your understanding of a topic without needed to set aside hours to complete. It’s a perfect way to supplement the other types of learning and it can help identify areas where you may need to spend more time. Just finished “offer and acceptance” in contracts? Take a few practice hypotheticals to help identify when a contract has been formed!
Finally, the practice exam questions.
No, I’m not that far ahead by any means. But looking to the future, I know the more hypotheticals you practice, the better prepared you will be when the exam comes. Those first semester grades are so critical; you need all the material you can to succeed and stand out among your peers. Having access to the plethora of exam questions in the 1L Mastery Package is one its biggest advantages.
We have just completed a third of our first semester of law school. It seems like it’s zooming by so quickly. As things speed up, I feel comfortable knowing I have BARBRI’s 1L Mastery package to back up my learning.
How can you stand out in your law school class? Be a Master.