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A. Find Out What Works Best for You
B. Your Approach Depends on the Professor
1. Interrogation-Style
2. Explanation-Style
3. Exploration-StyleC. Immerse Yourself
1. The Law Is Fluid, Not Fixed
2. Thorough Study Enables Creative ThoughtD. Many Ways to Participate
1. Pay Attention
2. Talk About the Topic Outside of Class
3. Read Supplemental MaterialE. Various Class Formats
1. Everyone Must Speak
2. Straight Lecture
3. Voluntary Student InputF. Taking Notes
1. Outlining - A Brief Description
2. After Class, Review Your Class Notes
3. Why Preparing a Class Outline Is HelpfulG. Create Your Course Outline
1. See the Material as a Forest to Be Mapped
2. Map the Trees
3. Fill In the Branches
4. Why an Outline is ImportantPREPARING FOR AND PARTICIPATION IN LAW SCHOOL CLASSES The single most important task you can undertake to prepare for class is to read the cases and material that the professor has indicated will be discussed during the class. This may sound like a bit of a no-brainer, but you’ll quickly find it’s harder than it sounds. For the first few weeks, it will take a great deal of mental energy just to keep up with the reading. During that time, you will encounter people taking a number of approaches to class preparation.
A. Find Out What Works Best for You
Some people never read anything before class (or claim they don’t); some spend 8 hours a day reading. Some take notes in the margins; some formally “brief” every case (briefing is described below). Some people read every case and also look up additional cases for background. Some people use commercial outlines. Every possible variation in the studying spectrum is represented. The important skill you must develop is finding a preparation pattern that works best for you.
B. Your Approach Depends on the Professor
Different professors demand different types of class participation, which necessarily requires different methods of class preparation. Professors may use the three common teaching styles of “Interrogation,” “Explanation,” and “Exploration” methods. Sometimes the styles are combined. You should tailor your class preparation accordingly.1. Interrogation-Style: Most professors will expect you to know a case in all of its particulars and answer Socratic-style questions. Questions focus on factual clarity and a narrowing of the issues. This style of cross-examination is intended to force development and articulation of your legal analysis as you examine and justify your opinions. Preparation is necessary. There is no better way to master detailed knowledge of the particulars of a case than the technique of “case briefing.”
a. What Case Briefing Is: You prepare, on a separate page, a simple 6-element chart that lets you map out all the case information so you can refer to it at a glance. If you choose to brief, you can design your chart in a way that makes sense to you. Here is a sample sequence to give you some ideas. If some of the terminology is unfamiliar, don’t worry, you’ll learn it in class soon enough.
(1) Case Title and Year Decided: The FULL name of the case and the year the opinion was issued.
(2) Deciding Court and Procedural History: What court wrote this opinion, and what did the courts below decide up to this point in the case? For example, “US Supreme Court, trial in Western District of Washington in favor of plaintiff, 9th Circuit reversed.”
(3) Facts: What are the most pertinent facts that contributed to the court’s decision?
(4) Holding(s) and Reasoning: What was the court’s actual ruling on the law of the case? (It will take some time to learn how to distinguish holdings from dicta, so be careful at first.)
(5) Cases Followed: Which cases does the court rely upon in making its decision? As you probably know, our system generally works on a principle of stare decisis, which means courts will abide by the precedent of prior case rulings. However, courts sometimes distinguish seemingly similar cases.
(6) Cases Distinguished and Why: This is a key aspect of good legal analysis. What cases did the court acknowledge as similar to, but distinguishable from, prior cases? Why did the court feel it was important to make a distinction and not follow those similar rulings?
b. Why Case Briefing Helps: This kind of 6-item chart will give you at-a-glance answers to even the most demanding professors. It can also help you to understand how to find the essential information in a case and discard the fluff. Much of the bulk of an opinion can be “dicta” - the court’s musings on the complexities of a case and tangential issues that have little or no bearing on the actual decision being rendered. Briefing helps you get to the heart of a case and increases your memory retention as well.
2. Explanation-Style: Other professors will be more concerned with explaining general legal principles. How well do you grasp the rules and structure of a particular area of the law?
a. This Can Be Frustrating: Although most 1L classes focus on reading casebooks, it’s often hard to comprehend a legal principle within the confines of one particular case. The judge who wrote the opinion wrote it at a particular time in history, under particular facts and circumstances, and for an audience of attorneys and other judges, not students. The judge was likely developing some area of the law (otherwise you probably wouldn’t be reading the case). Since that time, case law has probably evolved to better articulate the principle in question, and many similar cases have been studied and dissected.
b. How to Prepare: For explanation-style classes, you may want to refer to outside sources. Many publications translate opaque legal jargon into digestible outline language for law students. Primer Series, Hornbooks, Nutshells, and other overview “outline” materials are available in your law library and bookstore. While there is no replacement for reading an assigned case, these books can really help you get a handle on the applicable legal principles and put the issues in context. Consulting a good commercial law outline will help you to avoid losing sight of the forest.
c. Find the Commercial Outline That Meets Your Needs: For every 1L class topic there are at least 20 different study guides, maybe even more. They are all different. Don’t just go running to a particular publication because it’s the only one you’ve heard people mention. Look through the law aids section of your bookstore. Flip through the different publications for a course. You’ll notice some distinct differences.
(1) Informal “Plain English”: Some publications are informal (Nutshell, Casenotes, E-Z Rules, Legalines) and put topics in “plain English” and giving a broader overview. Informal study guides are helpful in getting the basic gist of a subject if it seems particularly opaque to you.
(2) Formal and Textlike: Other publications (Lexis-Nexis’ Understanding Series, Hornbooks, Foundation Series, Gilbert Law Summaries) are written a lot like texts. They are more formal and contain a great deal of detailed analysis. These are helpful to students who are seeking in-depth analysis of legal topics.
(3) Exam Preparation Guides: Still others (Primer Series, Crunch Time, Emanuel Law Outlines, Aspen Road Map) are focused specifically on assisting students in preparing outlines to pass 1L exams. They often contain outlines, flow charts, memory aids (such as acronyms) and practice exam questions. If it’s getting close to exam time and you aren’t sure how to approach a study strategy, these can really help.
3. Exploration-Style: Occasionally you will have a class that is more like what you remember from your undergraduate days - an exploration of legal topics on a broader scale. You will discuss the moral implications of a legal principle, its ramifications for society, political motivating factors, historical context, or whether or not a ruling was a “just” outcome.
a. Why They Are Tricky: These classes are both harder and easier to prepare for than the other ones. Easier, because they require more interior exploration than exterior research. Harder, because you must actually engage in some creative and in-depth analysis rather than simple digestion and regurgitation of black letter law. You must bring your experience and unique perspective to the material and find your own answers.
b. Get Those Creative Juices Going: Put yourself in the shoes of the parties in the lawsuit. Forget about the rules of law for a moment and go with your instincts. If you were the judge, how would you have decided this case and why? If you were the legislator introducing the bill, how would you have drafted this statute for a court to interpret? The law does not exist in a vacuum. How will this ruling or statute affect other spheres? Whose interests does it serve? Asking yourself these questions provides food for discussion in your exploration classes.
C. Immerse Yourself
The most important thing to remember is to avail yourself of the opportunities available to study the law in-depth. Even if you can “get by” without prior class reading, don’t. Intellectual involvement adds a lot.
1. The Law Is Fluid, Not Fixed: Many first year law students don’t understand why so much time is spent studying the history and interpretive development of legal rules. “Just tell me what the rule is today.” These students are missing the point: legal rules are not mechanical or fixed, they are organic. What is the genesis of this rule? What were the arguments for and against its inception? If you understand the nuances of a legal rule, you will be more prepared to argue about it with a colleague or withstand a grilling by a panel of judges.
2. Thorough Study Enables Creative Thought: The better you understand how a legal rule of law has developed over time, the more creative you will become about how it can evolve in the future. This is a one-time advantage of law school that will never come again. When you get out and start to practice, you may long for the days when you could take the amount of time available to you in law school to really explore an area of the law.
.D. Many Ways to Participate
Most new 1Ls consider “class participation” as raising a hand and voluntarily speaking. However, law school is different from undergraduate classes. Also, the 1L classes are typically quite large - 80 to 120 students or more - which makes the effort seem somewhat impersonal. The danger for 1Ls is getting lost in the details of the class and losing sight of the whole. Also, the professor isn’t always focused, so class time can degenerate into a tough exercise called “hide the ball.”
1. Pay Attention in Class: Turn off your cell phone during class. Really listening, absorbing, taking notes, and using your brain are an important part of participation. Don’t just “zone out” in these large classes. You’re paying good money for law school tuition. Why? The price of the texts is not included, so you must be paying thousands of dollars for something else in law school. More than any other single aspect, you are buying the benefit of the classroom experience. Don’t underestimate it.
2. Talk About the Topic Outside of Class: Discussing class material with professors and peers can be a great way to reflect outside of the often high-pressure classroom environment.
3. Read Supplemental Material: Often, your professor may mention supplemental optional readings you may consult for edification. While few students have time to pursue all of these outside materials, choosing to read some of them (if the topic is interesting or particularly confusing to you) is a great method of keeping yourself engaged and current in the learning process.
E. Various Class Formats
1. Everyone Must Speak: Many professors, especially in first year classes, require all students to speak in class.
a. Procedure: The professor will go through the class roster and seating chart and call on students one at a time. Some people find this a terrifying prospect. Remember, your best weapon for such classes is good preparation. Student participation is the objective. One comforting thing to remember is that: no matter how unpleasant the class interrogation, your performance has little, if any, bearing on your final course grade.
b. Socratic Method: The “Socratic Method” is simply a method of questioning and challenging students in class, rather than straight lecturing. The Socratic method is the most popular tool of law school professors.
c. Intellectual Challenge: This method involves repeated questions and your answer merely is the bridge to the next question. Factual and legal argument is developed beyond the student’s initial thoughts and understanding. At its best (some 1Ls say worst), the professor turns a routine case into a maze of detours and uncertainties that can depress a lost 1L seeking clarity and certainty. “Hide the ball” is an expected component of the Socratic dialogue method of teaching - instead of giving students the answer, the professor will try to draw the answer out of the students.
2. Straight Lecture: Other professors simply lecture on and on and expect you to take copious notes with few or no questions to “interrupt” the process. Your best defense is to highlight, circle, or underline anything you don’t understand. Approach the professor after class or during office hours with questions. If the professor seems particularly intimidating or unapproachable, try asking a fellow student you respect, another professor in the same department, or consult an outside source such as the Primer Series.
3. Voluntary Student Input: In some classes, the professor seeks student responses, but only on a voluntary basis. What ends up happening? A few students speak constantly and no one else ever raises a hand. Students who speak voluntarily often (not always) have something cogent to say. This can have the effect of making your think you are behind the curve. You may glance around class and see face after face looking confident. Don’t be fooled by these poker faces. Many of them are just as confused as you are.
F. Notes in Class: Not Just for Memory - It’s Your Outline!
Taking notes is an art. The techniques are as varied as the students. You have taken notes before, so you know how. Stick with what worked for you in similar undergraduate classes. However, there is one important thing to keep in mind while taking class notes: how will they fit into your final course outline?
1. After Class, Review Your Class Notes: Okay, this may sound incredibly geeky and neurotic. But studies have shown that reviewing newly-learned material within 6 hours of initial presentation can increase memory retention by up to 50%. Simply rereading or even skimming your class notes will help. Fight for understanding and knowledge. It will keep you from getting lost and falling behind, and will give you a great jump on the process of preparing your full course outline for exams.
2. Why Preparing a Class Outline Is Helpful: Outlining and organizing the material throughout the course on a class-by-class basis is far better than going back at the end of the course and creating an outline from scratch. That involves sitting down with the text, any supplemental readings recommended by the professor, your class notes, and then trying to discern structure from jumbled chaos.
3. Software Templates: Outline templates such as the Primer Series “Magic Memory Outlines® are useful in that they provide an overall “forest” structure to help you get started. And if you get them in a software format, you can rearrange them in any organizational structure to fit your notes, your textbook, or your professor’s style. Look for these at www.rigos.net or give us a call at the number below.
G. Create Your Course Outline
An outline is nothing more than an organized, condensed summarization of the materials you have learned throughout the course. It should be written in your own words and presented in a format and sequence you can easily follow. Whether the test is closed book or open book, you need to create an outline. There is no better way to get a firm grasp of the materials and burn them into your brain than forcing yourself to structure to the legal rules and condense them into your own words. Hopefully you will establish a rough outline structure as you review your class notes from day to day.
1. See the Material as a Forest to Be Mapped: One good way to think about the outlining process is to think of mapping a forest. The “forest” is the topic area.
a. Example: For example, on a Contracts exam, you are in the “forest” of Contracts. One “tree” in that forest would be Formation (was this contract properly created and is it enforceable?). “Branches” on that tree would be the legal issues, like offer, acceptance and consideration.
b. Structure Necessary: You need to have a thorough understanding of the layout of that forest and each tree in it. How do you study to achieve this level of understanding? Staring at your notes will not be enough. You need to first create a final course outline - a map of the forest with all the trees described in detail.
2. Map the Trees: Your professor will have identified the trees (major topics) for you, both in the course syllabus and in the day-to-day division of the class lecture. Hopefully, this structure made its way into your class notes. The text will also help. Look at the way your text is structured - it’s not random.
a. What Are the Trees?: Again, in Contracts one tree would be Formation, another would be Performance, and a third is Remedies. Map out the trees only (ignore the branches for now) in a way that makes sense to you.
b. How Do I “Map” Them?: You can list each individual main topic, make a flow chart, or draw an actual map. Once you have done this, you can see how all the topics relate to one another. Are there certain areas that are cross-related? If a question is asked about one issue, are there related issues that will likely arise? If so, put those trees close together in your course outline.
3. Fill In the Branches: Now, go back and fill in the branches. Beneath each subject tree, state the common law rules, cases, statutes, and other pertinent information. Define terms, explain concepts, and extrapolate from your notes the essential information on this issue by asking yourself questions. When this issue is raised on the exam, how do I address it? What facts will affect my legal analysis? What cases of law support this decision? How did we cover this in class? This is very important. You don’t want to be asking yourself these questions for the first time when the issues are raised on the exam - you won’t have time.
4. Why Outlining is Helpful: The purpose of creating an outline is fourfold:
a. Memory Enhancement: Outlining is an excellent memory tool. Forcing yourself to review the material and organize the whole subject will increase the amount of information you have at your fingertips.
b. Rewrite Concepts in Your Own Words: Outlining allows you to really think through the issues and put the material into your own words. You are far more likely to understand and retain information if you have summarized it through your personal “translator.” Capture the essence of the concepts in your own concise expression. Avoid lengthy wording; less is more in most student outlines. The Primer Series Magic Memory Outlines® apply this concept.
c. Study Guide: Your outline is a terrific study tool. Once you are done with it, you can drop the gargantuan casebook you’ve been lugging around and carry your outline. Read your own outline frequently.
d. Use During Open-Book Exams: If your exam is open-book, your outline will help. Create a quick-reference index to your outline using tabs. Given the time constraints this will likely be your only source in the exam, and you will have just a few minutes in which to consult it.
