And what will you need to do as a result?
The fact that law school will be different from your undergraduate studies won’t surprise you. However, you may still want to know more about how law school is different and the full scope of the differences.
Most importantly, you should be prepared for the impact that the differences will have on you, and what you will have to do to as a result.This will include what changes you may need to consider in your study habits, exam preparation and overall approach to learning. However, by identifying and understanding the differences early, you can start to determine how you will respond and what changes you will have to make.
By understanding & adapting to the differences between undergrad & law studies, the other difference which you will realize is the difference between you as an undergrad and you as a successful law student.
The differences that law school will present are set out under six general headings:
1. Teaching Method
2. Workload
3. Exams
4. Your Fellow Law Students
5. Social and Extra-Curricular Activities
6. Being a Law Student
The reason for all of these differences is to achieve the one overall purpose, and seen in that context, you can approach the changes as helpful, rather than only challenging.
You will be learning to think like a lawyer and also learning the skills needed for your career as a lawyer. The differences will prepare you to help your clients, to understand the issues, principles, and policies you will be faced with, or trying to change, and to succeed in the position you are asked to or decide to take as a lawyer.
The reason for the differences is to make you the best lawyer you can be, which is also the goal you will have as you begin the study of law.
TEACHING METHOD
Law school classes are taught differently than undergrad classes. Recognising this from the start can help you avoid the difficulties which other students may have in finding the courses and material more difficult to understand.
A general description of the undergraduate teaching method would be a lecture hall forum in which a professor goes over material essentially as it is set out in the text or course materials. The teaching methods of lecture-based or instructional presentation, means that the learning that is required often focuses on memorising with the use of short-term memory skills and the development of critical thinking skills necessary to write a successful exam, or however else the course grade will be determined. There is not necessarily a “building block” process of learning, as the course material may, or may not, necessarily relate to your undergraduate major area of study.
Law school classes are rarely lectures. Law professors will not tell you what you need for the final exam, as those exams will require you to apply the skills you have learned and the material you have covered, rather than simply feed back a summary of what the professor has told you.
The law school teaching method is interactive, with the goal that you will learn through the discussion that occurs and the questions and answers that are exchanged during the class. The process is not passive as it often is in undergrad.
Overall, this is the Socratic method of teaching. In its original (and much feared) form, professors randomly call on students to answer questions about the law and the cases assigned. Many of the questions will not obviously be found in the case that was read and can be difficult, as they may not necessarily have a right answer. As it is now often used, rather than using the Socratic method to terrorise students, professors will ask for volunteers to discuss or present assigned cases and will only starting randomly calling on students if no one volunteers. Others may pre-assign cases to be presented, and then “cold call” on other students to answer questions about the case.
The law school teaching method has two results.
First, you can’t hide or fly under the radar. You have to be ready at each class, and you have to be ready to participate. The preparation that this requires is addressed under the heading Workload.
Second, your style of taking notes in law school may need to change. In undergrad, taking notes of everything the professor said may have worked, but in law school, you will need to pay attention to the discussion as it develops, only taking notes on the key points raised during the class that may not have been obvious from the cases you reviewed in preparation for that class. The key points might be those which are identified to take away to be applied later, or they may be the particular points of view which the professor highlights in relation to a case or issue.
WORKLOAD
Law school is often described as a full-time, 40 hour a week job, which often requires overtime. You will face a much heavier and more demanding workload than you had in undergrad. That workload will include a lot reading and lot of writing, which, in the first few weeks and months can seem overwhelming. During those early days you will also be learning a new way of legal writing and how to understand, analyse and apply what you are reading.
In law school, most of the reading you will be doing will be from casebooks rather than textbooks, and you will be expected to read several cases each night. In the first weeks, case reading can be slow going, with many cases that establish the early principles of a specific area of law being full of unfamiliar language and legal jargon and terms. It does get easier over time. Each case will have been included in the case book for a specific reason, but the overall goal of reading cases is to get used to legal vocabulary, see how parties argue, and how judges determine cases.
In undergrad, the writing most often required is essays. In law school it will be case summaries or briefs in which you break down and analyse each case. You will be learning how to identify legal issues, conduct legal research, apply the law, and make a legal argument. Unlike in undergrad, you can’t just memorise notes. You have to understand the material and apply the principles that you have understood. For many, the principles and issues will be new, as you may not have faced the concepts and ideas before. They may take time to understand and apply.
While you can’t just memorise notes as you may have in undergrad, there will be legal terms that you will be introduced to, which you must learn and remember.
Because law school exams are different, (as set out under the heading Exams), you can’t study for them at them at the last minute, or cram by pulling an “all-nighter”. The exams require you to use the analytical skills you have been learning, along with your cumulative knowledge of the law and the principles and issues of the specific area of law. There are different ways to create outlines and summaries of the material covered and organise them to allow you to study effectively for law school exams, but none of them can be done last minute or the night before. Or at least none of them can be done successfully.
In addition to the reading, the writing of case summaries, the ongoing preparation of course outlines or summaries in ongoing exam preparation, your workload will also include going to class.
And you will go to class!
Hopefully, you will go to your law classes because you will want to – as that’s why you’re there. But unlike undergrad (or at least the approach to undergrad which some take) law students don’t miss classes. It is difficult to make up for what you miss as so much of the learning happens through the discussion during that class. Someone else’s notes won’t fill in the blanks for you.
So, if you go to class, you have to be prepared. To be prepared, you have to have read the cases.
Does the 40 hour a week full-time job comparison make sense now?
EXAMS
Law school exams are different from undergrad exams in two ways; the process or method of the exams and the results of those exams.
Process
Your grade in a law school course will most likely depend on one final exam that tests your ability to locate and analyse legal issues in given fact patterns. Not only will your mark depend on that one final exam, but law school exams are also difficult. Usually, there are no (or minimal) short answer, fill in the blank, or multiple-choice questions.
Instead, you are required to be very analytical as you are presented with fact scenarios, in which you have to find the issues, know the rule of law applicable and reach a conclusion applying that rule appropriately. Most law school exams are three to four hours long, which rarely seems long enough for the long essays required.
You have to know the law and use critical thought and analysis to apply it correctly.
Results
For some law students, the marks they receive on their law school exams will be the first time they receive anything less than an “A”. There can be two reasons for this.
First, your classmates at law school are smart! You already know what it takes to get into law school and all of your classmates have done what it takes. For some first-year law students, they will no longer be the big fish they previously were and got used to. So, the competition for the very few “A” marks that are awarded is fierce.
Second, some first-year courses are marked on a curve and the 100% final process can mean that law schools are less forgiving if you get a bad grade because you weren’t prepared. The concept of a “make-up” exams is as rare as a unicorn sighting at most law schools.
The fact that it can seem harder to get good grade in law school, when good grades will matter to potential future employers can create an environment which can also be different from undergrad. This is discussed under the heading Being a Law Student.
YOUR FELLOW LAW STUDENTS
You will probably see differences in your fellow law students from those in your undergrad, in terms of demographics, ability and attitude.
Although there are always exceptions, many undergraduate students start those studies directly after finishing secondary or “high school”. Their choice of university may be closer to home, but whether they are in residence or commuting, for many undergrads, the experience is their first away from the structure and discipline which either their family and/or secondary school provided. The sum of these factors can result in an undergrad group which is younger, not geographically diverse and with a less than laser focus on their studies.
Your fellow law students are likely to be a different group.
Many will be starting law school after completing graduate work in another area of study, or after a period spent working. As there are 2-3 applicants for every first-year law place available, a first-year class may be more geographically diverse as people will go to whatever school they can get into and some law schools take steps to ensure more diversity in where their first-year students come from.
It is almost certain that each of your fellow law students is there by choice and after making great effort and in some cases, considerable sacrifice. Given the current cost of law school tuition, materials and living, almost all of your fellow law students (or their families) are making a considerable financial commitment in order to go to law school.
When these factors, along with the high admissions standards set by law schools are combined, your fellow law students are likely to be an older, highly intelligent, more culturally and geographically diverse, motivated, and hard-working group, all of whom are pursuing individual dreams or goals of success. That may not make them very different from you in those respects. But they are probably quite different from the students you met in undergrad.
You should treat and take them seriously. Just as you hope they will you.
SOCIAL AND EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
Just as the teaching at law school has a specific focus of developing the skills and ability required to be a lawyer, many of the other activities at law school will also be focused on your future profession and career.
Social Activities
You will find that there are fun events and activities at law school. They’re just more focused on the law and the lawyering experience. There are many opportunities for professional development, academic discussion, and networking, which will be a priority for many students, very soon after arriving for first year.
There will usually be a steady stream of interesting and topical guest speakers, for whom the opportunity to speak at your law school will be an honour, particularly if they are a graduate. Attendance will not be mandatory, but it can be helpful and often of great interest to you.
Law students do still like to have fun, (although there will be times you won’t be sure that’s still the case) so there will be plenty of cultural celebrations, sports teams and games, volunteer opportunities, holiday events, and more, although often law students are more likely to participate in law school organised opportunities rather than those that are university wide. Whether that is because law students like the company of their own, or because the rest of the university student population discourages law student participation is likely a chicken and egg or law school by law school question.
Student organizations and extracurriculars
All law schools will have a long list of student organizations and extracurriculars, most of which are also more law focused. Participation in these organisations is typically encouraged in order to build connections which may last beyond law school. Other activities such as law reviews and other publications can be great introductions to legal research and publishing and therefore study and career supporting.
Unlike undergrad (or at least less like undergrad) at law school you’re building your professional network. Your classmates will be your future colleagues and you will support each other, whether you’re looking for jobs or need some professional advice.
Your network will also include your professors who can also provide invaluable career support and resources providing references, possible job opportunities and advice about your career goals. This may be a level of interest and involvement that your undergrad professors would have been less likely to provide.
BEING A LAW STUDENT vs BEING AN UNDERGRAD
There is one factor that tends to be a greater factor in the life of a law student than that of an undergrad.
Pressure. The level of anxiety felt by law students can be high, which is understandable.
The amount of work assigned, the new method of teaching, the 100% final exams and the resulting uncertainty many feel about their grades, the competition for grades and ultimately for jobs, all result in pressure, anxiety, and stress.
It is unlikely that you can entirely avoid the pressure that most law students feel. But you can prepare yourself and have methods to manage the pressure when it is felt.
Which should involve more than just more coffee.
You may need to re-prioritize your life, at least while you’re in law school. If so, make sure your family, friends, partner, and (if you somehow are still able to have one), job are aware of your new schedule and needs.
Remember to give yourself the chance to get away and do some preventative and self-care maintenance. Basic things like eating well, exercising, sleeping, and taking breaks when you need them can make a big difference in your overall mental health—not to mention your ability to do well in your classes.
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