Getting into law school is an extremely exciting affair. The legal profession is one of the most coveted and respected vocations across the world, and crucial in the smooth running of our society. Beginning your academic journey in law can be challenging, particularly if you are new to the university setting. While certain skills are very specific to the legal profession, other general skills will help you in your pursuit of a law degree as well.
Independent Study
Going from small classes to lectures with hundreds of other students can be a bit of a shock at first, especially when you have questions to ask. Trying to stay attentive (and awake) for an hour or two in a lecture hall can also be tough if you are up late trying to catch up on homework. But, once you get a grasp of how lectures and tutorials work, you will be able to easily navigate the university learning process.
From reading recommended texts and journal articles to taking down notes and comments during lectures, being able to study independently and prepare for tutorials is an important skill for law students. Because lecturers and tutors have limited time and are generally only available during office hours, having your questions ready before classes can be much more efficient than participating in long, drawn-out email exchanges.
Effective note-taking is another essential skill. Whether you are listening to a lecture or reading your casebook, taking notes will help you to identify and refine the information required for your assessments. Typing notes instead of writing them by hand can be clearer and easier to edit, but you may find yourself distracted by social media—so turn off the wi-fi. Using different colors as code to indicate key information types is also helpful to make your notes more digestible.
Time Management
Part of independent study is time management. This can be difficult for many university students who are not yet used to the flexible structure of higher education. Tutorial preparations, assessment deadlines, library research, social life, family commitments, and various other demands will complete for your attention and demand a chunk of your limited 24-hour day.
Good time management does not mean that you spend all your waking hours studying. On the contrary, it is recommended that students maintain a balance between school work and life to stay mentally healthy and prevent burnout. One way to do this is to choose the most productive hours of the day for school work and establish regular study hours.
Creating a study timetable and a list of daily and weekly goals will help you to stay on track and have a better overall idea of your progress. While ambitious goals can be a motivating factor for some students, they can be intimidating for others. Choose bite-sized goals that you can check off one after another to build your confidence.
When you manage your time properly, you will be able to allocate downtime to hang out with friends, decompress, and refresh your mind and body. It also means that you can plan to complete assignments progressively and revise for assessments instead of procrastinating and producing something substandard at the last minute.
Legal Research
Legal research is very daunting aspect of legal study. Your success depends heavily on a thorough understanding of the law and all its secondary texts. Many students are overwhelmed by the immense range of materials in the legal library that encompasses encyclopedias, academic journals, independent reports, parliamentary papers, media articles, and much more. However, rest assured that the process gets easier as you master the basics of legal research.
Legal research is used to identify sources that apply to the facts of your case. These could be primary authorities of law like statutes and regulations, secondary authorities like law reviews or treatises, and non-legal sources like governmental statistics. Legal research can be used to determine how previous courts have judged cases with similar factors or if such a case lacks legal precedent.
Whether you choose to use your school library or do your research online, knowing how to do legal research will get you past the initial paralysis of “where do I start?” By asking the right questions and choosing the relevant jurisdictions, you can gather key facts that pertain to your project. You will save time by having a clear and focused research approach instead of casting a wide net and trying to seek out pertinent information later.
You have studied hard and made it into law school. Now, the success of the next few years will depend on your work ethic, time management skills, and grasp of legal research techniques. While the legal academic journey can be challenging, it is also incredibly interesting and rewarding. At the end of the day, you will become an expert in the law and its finer details, as well as how it applies in everyday life.