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The secret to law school prep: Getting ahead may set new students back
With final-year exams around the corner and university choices due any day now, aspiring law students should avoid getting bogged down with Google searches and long periods of research and instead focus on the prep work that really matters.
Naomi Neilson
As tempting as it may be to research every little detail about the first year of law school, civil litigation and appeals lawyer Jennifer Fischell cautioned potential students from spending too much time analysing coursework and attempting to teach themselves. Doing so could mean spending more time “unlearning” in the first year.
Ms Fischell said this doesn’t necessarily mean swearing off learning about the legal profession altogether, especially for first-generation lawyers navigating the complex terms and experiences others may have grown up around. Here, she said books, podcasts and social media groups could step in – but avoid first-year subjects.
Outside of that, she recommended focusing energy and time on establishing the kinds of habits and skills that are vital for the legal profession, including staying healthy and keeping on top of habits: “If you start law school with healthy habits, you will be more likely to thrive in law school – and in life, for that matter.”
“Similarly, developing your computer skills can only help you. Most law school exams are typed, as is the bar exam. If you’ve never learnt to touch-type or become comfortable with the most recent Microsoft products, it isn’t too late,” she added. “You can just play around in relevant programs, learning through trial and error.”
Ms Fischell also turned to another major part of law school: reading. Most of it, she said, will be very dry so she recommended future law students use their time off to read non-fiction books – “your law textbooks won’t be a gripping mystery novel” – and research law-adjacent topics like the legal profession or criminal justice.
“Figure out what conditions, break intervals, tools and techniques work best for your reading process. Try setting a timer. Try putting away your phone or using ‘screen time’ limits on your social media apps. If you make sustained, focused reading a habit, your first 200-page week of reading in law school won’t be as big a shock,” she said.
At the same time, aspiring law students should keep their minds sharp. This, she said, means things like studying new languages through to doing daily crossword puzzles. Ms Fischell said that by the time that first week rolls around, learning what strategies and activities work the best could mean a smoother learning curve.
“Spend whatever free time you have before you start law school in the best way you think. Maybe that’s relaxing, exercising, enjoying your hobbies. Maybe it’s working full-time while taking care of your family. Maybe it’s something entirely different. But if you are looking for something – anything – to ease that anxious feeling about being ‘prepared’, there are things that you can do,” Ms Fischell said.
Naomi Neilson
Naomi Neilson is a senior journalist with a focus on court reporting for Lawyers Weekly.
You can email Naomi at:
