7 Essential Skills Every 1L Must Develop ASAP - Above the Law

"The first year of law school is notoriously difficult. There are so many differences between college and law school, which makes for a pretty steep learning curve. Trying to figure out exactly what you should be focusing on at any given time can be confusing. Here is a list of 7 essential skills that all first year law students must develop and master in order to be successful, not only in their first year of law school, but throughout their entire law school career."

"No shock here, but you spend a lot of time reading cases in law school. And, it isn't just about getting through it all, you actually have to be able to critically read, break down, and understand the information in the cases. In undergrad, you may have been able to get away with skimming the readings in homework assignments, but that isn't going to cut in law school."

"One way to to ensure that you're extracting all of the necessary information from the cases that you're reading is to create a case brief. Simply put, a case brief is a template that you use to organize your notes on the case. While every student may format a brief differently, you must include the following information: a summary of the relevant facts, the procedural history of the case, a statement of the legal issue, the holding, the judgement, and the court's reasoning."

The first year of law school is notoriously difficult and different from college, producing a steep learning curve and confusion about priorities. Seven essential skills must be developed and mastered to achieve success throughout law school. Critical reading requires spending substantial time on cases and learning a reading system to extract important information efficiently. Case briefing provides a template to organize notes and must include facts, procedural history, legal issue, holding, judgment, and the court's reasoning. Preparing case briefs benefits class participation, strengthens note-taking, and eases the process of creating course outlines. The average 1L spends about 15 hours a week in class.

Read at Above the Law