What the Faculty Expects of You

When you are facing a daunting task, it can be less stressful and easier if you know what is expected of you. Ready for some help? Our faculty members have been kind enough to share some of their insights and hints for success in law school. 

Learn the Basics

The first year focuses on teaching you the process of legal analysis through the subject matter of each course. Read the cases and engage in legal analysis so you can tackle upper division courses in your second and third year. 

Get Serious

Expect to study and commit time to law school. Faculty members expect you to be serious about this commitment. From the faculty perspective, three years is not a long time to learn the law. Be serious about your study and keep it in perspective.

Forget Cramming

Simply stated, it doesn't work. Good, effective, conscientious lawyers don't save things for the last minute. Planning is essential, whether planning for a test or to represent a client. When you are studying for exams, you will be extremely stressed out if you wait until the last minute.

Enjoy the First Year

Enjoy the first-year experience because you are learning the foundation of law. Through this experience, you will be challenged intellectually by your peers and by your professors. It is quite possibly the most exciting period of your legal education.

Be Patient

For each student, the moment when the course material becomes clear happens at a different time. Many students grasp the core concepts of a course right before exams. For others, the material becomes clear after a few weeks. Each student learns at their own pace.

Communicate

There are more ways than ever to reach a faculty member, so stay in touch with your teachers either through designated office hours, e-mail, phone or faculty members' web sites. 

Practice Makes...well, you know.

The way to learn legal analysis is to read the cases and come to class prepared to discuss the material...every day. Sometimes you may have to read the cases a second, or even a third time. Do it. There really are no short cuts.