LawTutors is offering a brand new program called “What Not to Do in Law School” to help new first years navigate how to most effectively study, use class time and prepare for exams.
The program will teach first year law students how to best spend their study time, how to outline, the pros and cons of study groups and commercial outlines, and how to prepare for and ace an exam!
The seminar will be taught by LawTutor’s President and Vice President, Tania Shah and Melissa Gill, and, like all LawTutor’s, seminars it will be interactive. The seminar will not be a full day of lecture, but rather Melissa and Tania offering advice and then giving you, the incoming law student, an opportunity to put that advice to use and practice and discuss what you just learned.
In addition, Tania and Melissa will be joined by other Attorney Instructors who will be offering advice and sharing stories. LawTutors will also have many of their current third year students and recent graduates on hand, so that incoming law students may ask questions and get to know law school from a student perspective, to help you along, and to network.
The program will take place on September 26th, from 10am to 5:15pm. Lunch and materials will be provided. Materials include “Strategies and Tactics for the First year,” “Law School In a Box,” “LawTutors’ Big Pictures, Little Essays,” “LawTutor’s Big Picture CDs,” as well as practice exams, outlines and charts that you will go over during the seminar.
The fee is $295, which includes the seminar, lunch and all materials.
Please contact the office at 617-738-4800 or email us at info@lawtutors.net to sign up or for more information.
See LawTutor's website for a detailed schedule and more information
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Monday, August 10, 2009
Words you should know…BEFORE law school
Once you begin law school, people will start throwing around all kinds of terms that you may or may not know. You may also be embarrassed to ask, so this is where I can help!
Case Book: Essentially, your text books. They will not read like a typical text book you had in undergrad or high school, but instead, a case book is a collection of cases, with very little in between.
Case Brief: Your first year of law school you will be reading a ton of cases, and a brief is something you use to summarize those cases. It contains important information about the facts of the case, the holding, and the reasoning behind the holding. Essentially everything you need from the case, so you don’t have to re-read it before finals. Also, it is important to note that there is no ONE “right” way to brief a case, it depends on you, how you learn, and what your professor wants you to get from a case. A bit more in depth on case briefing.
Black Letter Law: These are, in short, the rules you are going to be using. Law school is all about teaching you how to read and interpret cases, and what they mean. The black letter law is what you want to start with. For example, what IS a contract. Or, how does one define battery?
Outlines: This is what you use to condense everything you learned in the past semester. Just like with a case brief, there is no ONE right way to outline, it depends on your learning style, and sometimes the structure of the class. At the end of the semester, your outline is what you want to use to study for your finals. An article on outlining.
Supplements: You will probably hear a lot of classmates talk about supplements. Or upperclassman. They are study aids that help you navigate your casebooks, and often define the black letter law when your casebook fails to do so. Examples and Explanations, published by Aspen, is one such supplement.
IRAC: You will be hearing a lot of about this, and no, it’s not the country. Sometimes it will be referred to as CREAC as well. Simply put, this is how most law professors want you to write your exams, and it stands for “Issue, Rule, Analysis, and Conclusion”. More in depth on IRAC.
Tort: A tort is a civil wrong. It is also one of the first classes you will take in law school, except very few people will tell you what a tort is. They sort of just expect you to know it’s not a sweet pastry! You may also be asking, “well, what is a civil wrong”, and the answer to that, in short, is those things that personal injury attorneys sue people over. You have all seen the commercials about slip and fall accidents, well, THAT, my friend, is a tort.
If you keep hearing a word in law school that is not on this list, do not be afraid to either look it up (Black’s Law Dictionary is great!), ask a professor, or ask me! There is no such thing as a stupid question, and do not assume that everyone around you knows what everything means. They are probably just as lost as you are!
Case Book: Essentially, your text books. They will not read like a typical text book you had in undergrad or high school, but instead, a case book is a collection of cases, with very little in between.
Case Brief: Your first year of law school you will be reading a ton of cases, and a brief is something you use to summarize those cases. It contains important information about the facts of the case, the holding, and the reasoning behind the holding. Essentially everything you need from the case, so you don’t have to re-read it before finals. Also, it is important to note that there is no ONE “right” way to brief a case, it depends on you, how you learn, and what your professor wants you to get from a case. A bit more in depth on case briefing.
Black Letter Law: These are, in short, the rules you are going to be using. Law school is all about teaching you how to read and interpret cases, and what they mean. The black letter law is what you want to start with. For example, what IS a contract. Or, how does one define battery?
Outlines: This is what you use to condense everything you learned in the past semester. Just like with a case brief, there is no ONE right way to outline, it depends on your learning style, and sometimes the structure of the class. At the end of the semester, your outline is what you want to use to study for your finals. An article on outlining.
Supplements: You will probably hear a lot of classmates talk about supplements. Or upperclassman. They are study aids that help you navigate your casebooks, and often define the black letter law when your casebook fails to do so. Examples and Explanations, published by Aspen, is one such supplement.
IRAC: You will be hearing a lot of about this, and no, it’s not the country. Sometimes it will be referred to as CREAC as well. Simply put, this is how most law professors want you to write your exams, and it stands for “Issue, Rule, Analysis, and Conclusion”. More in depth on IRAC.
Tort: A tort is a civil wrong. It is also one of the first classes you will take in law school, except very few people will tell you what a tort is. They sort of just expect you to know it’s not a sweet pastry! You may also be asking, “well, what is a civil wrong”, and the answer to that, in short, is those things that personal injury attorneys sue people over. You have all seen the commercials about slip and fall accidents, well, THAT, my friend, is a tort.
If you keep hearing a word in law school that is not on this list, do not be afraid to either look it up (Black’s Law Dictionary is great!), ask a professor, or ask me! There is no such thing as a stupid question, and do not assume that everyone around you knows what everything means. They are probably just as lost as you are!
Thursday, August 6, 2009
What Should I Do Before Law School
It’s August, and that means for some of you, law school is just around the corner. Yes, that means stress, so what can you do BEFORE you start classes, that will help you avoid stress?
First and foremost, enjoy your remaining down time. Take the next few weeks to spend time with family and friends, and just generally get your life in order. You don’t want outside stress to come in, as much as you can help it, since law school itself is stressful enough.
Second, try to familiarize yourself with how to read and brief a case before the stress of class sets in. Many of your law schools might have an orientation program that focuses on this, and LawTutors, LLC has a “pre law program” that teaches you what to expect with your classes, as well as how to brief and read cases. I've also written a previous article on how to prepare for classes.
Becoming familiar with the layout of cases makes the reading less daunting when classes finally arrive. You may be thinking that you’ve made it into law school, so obviously you know how to read. This is true, but keep in mind that a case book looks nothing like a text book. And, in most law schools, no one tells you what you should be taking away from reading a case. The more practice you have, the easier it becomes, so take any free time in August to try your hand at a few. That way, they won't seem so strange when classes begin.
Before I started law school, I also glanced through a few Examples and Explanations, which is now my favorite supplement; I recommend them to all of my students. They allowed me to learn some very basic black letter law so that reading cases was not as daunting or confusing. It is important to note that your case books will not teach you black letter law, which is why books like E&E are very helpful.
Also, don’t be afraid to ask questions, you don’t want to go your entire semester without knowing what an outline is, or what it means to “brief”. Don’t be afraid to go to upper classman, professors or advisors. Also, a great book to read in August is Law School Confidential. It was a favorite of mine, and helped clear up a lot of confusion.
I also recommend Guerrila Tactics for Getting The Legal Job Of Your Dreams. Yes, it focuses on careers, but also imparts a lot of helpful hints on things you can do during your first year to help yo land that ideal firs job!
Also, don’t be afraid to go to professors with questions! As a professor myself, I consider part of my job to be answering student’s questions, and get very bored during my office hours if no one comes to visit. We don’t want our students getting confused or falling behind, so don’t be afraid to visit us! Many first years are terrified to visit during office hours, and I assure you, we don't bite!
Lastly, get to know the city you are in, find a good place to study, know your route to and from law school, find good places to eat, find a good gym, all that stuff that will make life so much easier when law school starts.
First and foremost, enjoy your remaining down time. Take the next few weeks to spend time with family and friends, and just generally get your life in order. You don’t want outside stress to come in, as much as you can help it, since law school itself is stressful enough.
Second, try to familiarize yourself with how to read and brief a case before the stress of class sets in. Many of your law schools might have an orientation program that focuses on this, and LawTutors, LLC has a “pre law program” that teaches you what to expect with your classes, as well as how to brief and read cases. I've also written a previous article on how to prepare for classes.
Becoming familiar with the layout of cases makes the reading less daunting when classes finally arrive. You may be thinking that you’ve made it into law school, so obviously you know how to read. This is true, but keep in mind that a case book looks nothing like a text book. And, in most law schools, no one tells you what you should be taking away from reading a case. The more practice you have, the easier it becomes, so take any free time in August to try your hand at a few. That way, they won't seem so strange when classes begin.
Before I started law school, I also glanced through a few Examples and Explanations, which is now my favorite supplement; I recommend them to all of my students. They allowed me to learn some very basic black letter law so that reading cases was not as daunting or confusing. It is important to note that your case books will not teach you black letter law, which is why books like E&E are very helpful.
Also, don’t be afraid to ask questions, you don’t want to go your entire semester without knowing what an outline is, or what it means to “brief”. Don’t be afraid to go to upper classman, professors or advisors. Also, a great book to read in August is Law School Confidential. It was a favorite of mine, and helped clear up a lot of confusion.
I also recommend Guerrila Tactics for Getting The Legal Job Of Your Dreams. Yes, it focuses on careers, but also imparts a lot of helpful hints on things you can do during your first year to help yo land that ideal firs job!
Also, don’t be afraid to go to professors with questions! As a professor myself, I consider part of my job to be answering student’s questions, and get very bored during my office hours if no one comes to visit. We don’t want our students getting confused or falling behind, so don’t be afraid to visit us! Many first years are terrified to visit during office hours, and I assure you, we don't bite!
Lastly, get to know the city you are in, find a good place to study, know your route to and from law school, find good places to eat, find a good gym, all that stuff that will make life so much easier when law school starts.
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