Touro Law Center Academic Development Program Blog

Last Minute Outlining

2011-11-16T11:20:00.005-05:00

As the semester comes to an end, students scramble to complete their course outlines. If students fail to understand the purpose of outlining, however, these efforts can be a waste of time. First and foremost, outlining is part of the review process and should be done on a weekly basis throughout the semester. But, if you haven’t been outlining diligently throughout the semester (which can be quite common), don’t despair! Here are few tips that can help you get back on track.

Focus on Rules, not on Cases – The most common mistake I see when reviewing course outlines is documents that are full of facts about the cases. If you don’t know already, most professors do not require you to reference the facts from individual cases on your exams. There are, of course exceptions, so ask your professors for more detail on this point.

Assuming for a moment that your professors follow the majority approach, they will want to see correctly defined legal principles on your bluebook exams. If that’s true, then having lots of details from the cases in your outline is not very helpful. This is particularly true if your outline looks like a series of case briefs where the cases dominate and the holding is buried somewhere in the middle of the brief.

Instead, flip this orientation on its head. Reduce the case down to a single sentence that represents your takeaway message. This takeaway message will be some variation of the rule announced by the case. Do not simply delete the facts (or reasoning) from the cases, however, because they still have a role. Once you have extracted the rule, the material facts from the case act as an illustration of when that rule will apply. The facts, in a sense, define the rule, but do not include every fact from the case in your illustration. Before including additional material from the cases, ask yourself a simple question. Was this information relevant to the court’s resolution of the case? In most instances, all you need is 2-3 sentences from a case to help illustrate the rule. Don’t be afraid to cut out unnecessary material. Because making these sorts of judgments is an important step in developing your analytical skills.

Create an Outline that is Relational, Not Chronological – Particularly when they are pressed for time, students tend to create an outline that chronologically lists cases in the order they were discussed in class. This may be appropriate in some instances, but keep in mind that professors often have pedagogical reasons for teaching material in a certain order. For example, my contracts professor – a long, long time ago - started the course with the concept of damages. This made sense because it was a relatively straightforward concept that we, as new 1Ls, could handle early in the semester. It made no sense, however, to begin my outline with this topic because damages are the end of the contracts story.

The processor of organizing an outline chronologically and logically is much easier if you follow my first step of focusing on rules, not cases. With the rules at the top of each case discussion, it is much easier to see which rules are related to each other. In some instances, the relationship will take this form - a rule, exceptions to that rule, and jurisdictionally different approaches to the rule. This is the simplest level of organization.

Another level of organization might, for example, illustrate the order in which you should address concepts. Using civil procedure as an example, the general idea of subject matter jurisdiction would come before the individual concepts of arising under jurisdiction and diversity jurisdiction. Then, I would address diversity jurisdiction and its attendance principles – domicile and its definition, complete diversity, corporate diversity (dual domicile), amount in controversy, etc. Once I have completed this section, I am ready to work on arising under jurisdiction as a separate, but related, concept.

This approach of categorizing and organizing will help your exam performance in two important ways. First, it will be much easier to remember the concepts if they are organized in a logical way as opposed to a long list of several dozen ideas. Second, exam answers will follow, at least partially, the organization in your outline. The organized principles will act like a path or trail in the woods, which will keep you (and the professor reading your bluebook exam) from getting lost.

Include the Hypos – Be sure that your outline includes every hypo used in class. Organizationally, the hypos act like the cases – they are just another illustration of the application of a rule to a set of factual circumstances. The hypos may be even more valuable than the cases, however, because they are strong indicators that your professor thinks a rule needs further explanation. If a rule is worthy of further explanation, a fact pattern addressing the issue is worthy of inclusion on an exam.

Shorten the Outline as Exams Approach – A long outline is not a problem as long as you have been diligent about removing irrelevant material. Initially, a longer outline will help you reconnect with principles that were covered weeks, or even months, earlier in the year. As exams approach, shorten the outline. You can save the larger version as a reference tool in a separate file. Eventually, a 40+ page outline can be reduced down to a couple of pages in the days immediately before an exam. These few remaining pages represent the course’s key ideas and organizational concepts. Finally, memorize this “skeletal” outline and use it to organize your examination answers.

Professor Herbert N. Ramy

ASP Director

Suffolk University Law School

Prof. McKinney’s “TOP 10 Things That Get In Your Way When Reading in Law School”

2011-09-27T10:18:00.000-04:00

1. Reading with a closed mind.

2. Panicking over confusion.

3. Reading for too long in one sitting without a break or consciously (or unconsciously) rewarding yourself for studying for long hours rather than rewarding yourself for studying efficiently and effectively.

4. Not scheduling enough reading time to understand the material, or failing to skim less important information and slow down when hitting key language.

5. Not scheduling at all – “reading until I get it.” Students who adopt a “reading until I get it” mantra sometimes also reward themselves (consciously or unconsciously) for working long hours rather than for working efficiently and effectively (a better goal).

6. Reading cases in isolation from one another and from surrounding material in the casebook (most especially, from Notes and Problems).

7. Reading as if you are still in your prior discipline. Different disciplines benefit from different reading strategies and have different purposes. Look, for example, how lawyers use policy v. how political scientists might view policy.

8. Looking for the rules in exact words – often rules have to be inferred from the action the court took.

9. Perfectionism: (a) Writing perfect briefs. (b) Striving to have the perfect answer in class. (c) Writing down everything during class (d) Reading sequentially without being willing to take some guesses as to meaning and test them as you read on later.

10. Lack of attention to either (a) detail (what’s the “exact” legal question in front of the court – what did the court expect the parties to show to establish a claim or defense in this court?); or (b) the big picture (how does this case help me better understand this area of law? What are the broad-sweeping issues that courts are influenced by in this area of law?)

This posting was submitted by Ruth Ann McKinney, Clinical Professor of Law at the University of North Carolina School of Law. Professor McKinney has served as Director of UNC Law's first-year legal writing program and its academic success program for over twenty years, including three as Assistant Dean for Legal Writing & Academic Success. She is the author of Reading Like a Lawyer (Carolina Academic Press 2004), Core Grammar for Lawyers (an online, self-instructional tool available at www.coregrammarforlawyers.com), and Legal Research: A Practical Guide and Self-Instructional Workbook (5th ed. with Scott Childs 2009).

Copyright 2011 by Professor Ruth Ann McKinney, the UNC School of Law. Reprinted with the permission of the author.

Prof. McKinney’s “TOP 10 Ways to Save Time and Net Better Results when Reading in Law School”

2011-09-23T09:15:00.001-04:00

1.Never, ever read when you’re too tired to get it. Take a break.

2. Read in an enjoyable spot that is conducive to efficient work and a sense of serenity and security. Don’t read where you’re likely to fall asleep.

3. When reading a case, find the exact legal question in front of the court, how the court answered that question, and what other legal options the court rejected. Take good, efficient notes that succinctly summarize the important take-away points. If you’re confused, hang on and read surrounding cases and supporting material included in that section of the casebook before giving up.

4. Read the notes and problems before class so you can clarify confusion AND discover areas that are beyond your present ability to comprehend.

5. Don’t park your common sense at the door. Bring your prior knowledge and common sense into what you’re reading. Embrace your thoughts and reactions (“hear” what you’re thinking about as you read – lots of valid ideas lurk in the questions you’re asking yourself or the associations you’re making).

6. Separate confusion over language and writing style from confusion over content/subject matter. If it’s the language that’s a problem, try rewriting the material, using a dictionary, drawing inferences from context, reading more slowly, or talking it through out loud. Once you’re past any language barriers, try making lists or charts, or restate the rules to solidify your conceptual understanding and identify questions blocking your progress.

7. Make it real. Don’t let the study of law become an esoteric mental game. It is about real people who had a real conflict. A judge (or several judges) eventually resolved that conflict. See the conflict in your head. Relate the rules applied by the court to situations you’ve experienced, have heard about, or can imagine.

8. Know when the material is over your head. Write down the questions that are blocking your understanding and move on as best you can, or turn to a treatise, your professor, or a friend. Get the answer eventually – don’t just drop it – if common sense tells you it’s important.

9. Before class, you only need to build a “working hypothesis” to polish in class about the cases and about the area of law being examined. Don’t expect to know all the answers before you get there. Understand what happened in each case AND know the core concepts in the area being explored before you go to class and then work on (a) correcting misconceptions, and (b) exploring the outer limits of the relevant concepts in class.

10. Embrace confusion. Confusion is a great tool and a great sign that you’re thinking hard about complex issues. Use a treatise when an area of law feels like it’s over your head or beyond your present ability to understand fully. Talk to your professor and ask your friends about the questions you have. If you can’t “see” a rule well enough to apply new situations to it consistently after class, you need to explore it further.

And #11— What We’re Tempted to Forget: Limit your study time, no matter what. No one can study (read, think, be engaged in class, meet with teachers, work in study groups) effectively more than 55 hours a week, on average, for an entire semester. There are some weeks you won’t have to study that hard; other weeks you may study a tiny bit more. Write a schedule and stick to it. Take advantage of 20 minutes here, 20 minutes there to knock out a case. Spend your non-study time in activities that replenish you and bring joy to your life. If you’re working significantly less than 45 hours a week, consider if that’s enough.

This posting was submitted by Ruth Ann McKinney, Clinical Professor of Law at the University of North Carolina School of Law. Professor McKinney has served as Director of UNC Law's first-year legal writing program and its academic success program for over twenty years, including three as Assistant Dean for Legal Writing & Academic Success. She is the author of Reading Like a Lawyer (Carolina Academic Press 2004), Core Grammar for Lawyers (an online, self-instructional tool available at www.coregrammarforlawyers.com), and Legal Research: A Practical Guide and Self-Instructional Workbook (5th ed. with Scott Childs 2009).

Copyright 2011 by Professor Ruth Ann McKinney, the UNC School of Law. Reprinted with the permission of the author.

Case Synthesis

2011-09-06T12:49:00.001-04:00

Beginning in your first few weeks of law school, you will probably hear discussions about case synthesis, and you might wonder what it means to synthesize the cases you have read for class. Reading cases is one important way that you will learn the law, and case synthesis is the act of connecting the elements in the cases you have read to create an understanding of the law as a whole -- you should work to identify the relevant pieces of authority for a legal issue and put the corresponding pieces together to determine a framework that reasonably supports the legal issue in question. The process of putting these elements of the rule together will create a complete body of law -- this is the principle of synthesis.

So, you might ask, how do you go about doing this task: you will want to start with the cases you read on a particular subject (i.e. battery in torts or offer in contracts). You should keep a focus on the rule, and look at each individual case to see what each case stands for in context (i.e. is the case illustrating an element of rule, a distinction, an exception to the rule, etc.). When synthesizing cases for your classes, you should look for patterns and similarities. These patterns will help you build a rule -- thus, in making sense of the cases you have read in class, and with a little practice, you will be able to formulate a picture of the law, a skill that will be invaluable throughout law school and into your legal career.

Case Briefing

2011-08-31T15:25:00.006-04:00

Several students have stopped by our offices or asked their TAs to go over how to brief cases for class. Students have asked what the purpose of briefing is, as well as why briefing is an important skill in the beginning of law school.

Your case briefs are summaries of the cases you have read for class, and will help you prepare for class. Briefing will help you develop the skill of extracting the law or rule from the cases you read, and will help you in developing the ability to be able to apply the rule of law to a different factual situation. You must engage in problem solving from the first weeks of school -- including determining what is important about each case.

Much like everything else in law school, there is not a one size fits all approach to briefing cases for your classes. The information below is just an overview or guide, and as you get acclimated with law school, you will be able to determine exactly what you need to include in your briefs.

Before you actually start your brief, you should determine the context of the case you are about to read (i.e. a torts case about assault), and determine whether the case is from a federal or state court. Having knowledge about the case you are reading will help you understand the context of material you are going to cover. Likewise, knowing which court (trial court, appellate court, etc.) decided the matter can give you information about what you are about to read -- for example, an appellate court might have to determine whether there was a legal mistake made by the lower court.

With this background, it is time to start your brief. One approach might be:

1. Write down the name of the case - you will want to be able to follow along in class, and identify the correct brief if you are called on in class.

2. Summarize the relevant facts of the case - focus on the substantively relevant facts, meaning focus on how you would explain the important facts (who, what, when, where, how) to your professor or to a jury, and include these facts here. Also, some of your professors might ask about a procedural history, and this should be included here, too.

3. Isolate the issue - in other words, what is the problem the court was asked to solve?

4. Articulate the rule(s) of the case - remember, rules of law can come from both statutes and other cases cited within the opinion. The court might even discuss rules in the decision that are not completely on point; focus on the rules that relate specifically to the issue(s) at hand.

5. Begin the application - this means you should know the reasoning, rationale, or the court's analysis of the case. In other words, why did the court decide the way it did? This section may even include multiple parts, including opinions from several judges.

6. State the holding - this is where you state the answer to your issue.

Finally, there is no such thing as perfection when writing your briefs - you should not be so concerned with the actual look of the brief - your classmates' briefs might look different than yours. You should only be concerned with the function with which your brief serves - the substance is more important than the form.

For more tips on briefing, you should see Dean Charlotte D. Taylor's book, Bridging the Gap Between College and Law School: Strategies for Success (Carolina Academic Press 2001, 2009)

Top Three Do's and Don'ts for Taking Notes

2011-08-22T10:52:00.000-04:00

Top Three Do's and Don'ts for Taking Notes

Don’ts
1. Don't write down everything the Professor and students have to say. Remember this is NOT college. We do not require you to regurgitate, word for word, the professor’s brilliant speeches - we want you to solve problems.

2. Don't, on the other hand, space out and not take a single note. Last year, we had a student who did not do very well his first semester. We had occasion to observe him in class where he spent most of his time, reading his cases. He didn't take a single note during the entire 50 minutes!

3. Do try to separate out the relevant information from the irrelevant. What is relevant? Think back to IRAC (Issue Rule Application Conclusion) - we want to continually focus on IRAC as our problem solving technique - therefore you should take notes in three general categories:

Dos
Case Brief - During class most professors will take you through each case and in that process they are taking you through the legal problem solving method - FIRAC (Facts, Issue Rule Application) or IRAC (Issue Rule Application Conclusion). At this time you want to correct your case brief - your brief is your attempt to understand how the court solved the problem in that case - your first order of business should be to check your brief for mistakes. Make sure you identified the relevant facts. Did you include too many facts? Too little? Did you get the correct issue? Rule? Listen for statements made in class that explain or define the rules in your brief. The note might be a better statement of the rule, or a new rule that has developed since your case. Were you able to identify the court's rationale (and understand the application)? Be harsh on yourself. Do not say, well, that's not quite it, but I was close. Precision matters in law school. Listen closely and edit your brief extensively.

Hypotheticals and examples - After discussing a case, your professor may change the facts or present a hypothetical situation - if so you want to write this information down. Hypos are additional examples of how to solve problems using IRAC - when the facts change or when you are given a new set of facts; you need to go through IRAC to solve the problem. Here the issue and the rule may be the same (as the one discussed in the case at hand) but the application or reasons why the outcome is the way it is will be different (because of the difference in the facts). Hypos and the reasoning or rationale are examples of the application part of IRAC and you should write these down to study later for the exam. Again, the law school exam does not test you on whether you really remember a case inside and out. Instead, it will test your ability to take a rule you've learned and apply it to different facts. So, when your Professor poses hypotheticals, she's doing just that - she's taking the rule you learned in a case and is asking you to apply it to a different set of facts. You should treat hypotheticals like mini-exam-like questions posed by your professor. All hypos should be written down.

Other stuff
Magic words. Some legal concepts, which take many words to explain, can be summed up in one word or phrase, for example, proximate cause or constructive eviction. When you hear one of these words or phrases used in class, write it down. These are magic words. They can be legal terms of art (res ipsa loquitor) or terms a professor uses to refer to a concept (victimless crimes). You will get points on the exam if you know what these terms mean and can use them correctly. So write them down and look them up later if you need to.

Review. Some professors begin or end the class with a summary of what happened last time. WRITE THIS DOWN. This review will be an invaluable guide to how the Prof. wants a problem to be analyzed. ORDER MATTERS. Legal analysis is very orderly. Elements must not only be analyzed separately, but in a certain order. Make sure you know both the elements, and the order of analysis.

Other Stuff (there is always more). Finally, the professor may also discuss different topics that seem unrelated to the case. These include things like social policy, insurance concerns (who pays for what) or whether this issue should be decided by the courts or the legislature. In these instances you need to stay focused and try to think - how does this relate to IRAC - how can this information help me solve another legal problem in the future (i.e. on the exam)? Does this information concern the rule? Will social policy change the rule? Does it concern the application of the rule? Are there other reasons, besides the facts, that should make the court find differently? You should think about this information, jot it down and try to make some connection to IRAC and the problem solving method.

By Charlotte D. Taylor, Assistant Dean for Student Services at Touro Law and co-author of Bridging the Gap Between College and Law School: Strategies for Success (Carolina Academic Press 2001, 2009)

First Year Teaching Assistant Program

2011-08-11T16:30:00.001-04:00

Welcome to Touro (and welcome back to the TAs). We plan to have the Teaching Assistant program fully in place, and with sessions to begin the first week of classes. Below are dates and administrative matters that will help the Teaching Assistant program run smoothly during orientation and the first weeks of school:

We will have a table set up during Orientation for First Years to sign up for TA sections - please look for us and make sure to stop by on Sunday, August 14th or Monday, August 15th to sign up. Also, make sure to purchase Suzanne Darrow-Kleinhaus' book, Mastering the Law School Exam (Thomson West 2006), when you purchase your books - Mastering the Law School Exam will be used during the TA sessions.

An email will be sent to all First Year students on Sunday, August 21st confirming your TA session - the email will include your TA's name and email, the time you will meet, and the respective room number. Please make sure to check your Touro email account for this information; TA sessions will begin on Monday, August 22nd.

Enjoy the last days of summer, and we look forward to working with you this semester!

Time Management for 1Ls - 2011 Law School Planner

2011-08-09T16:18:00.002-04:00

It is important to develop good time management skills early in your law school career --- and there is no better time to do so than at the very beginning. The first few weeks of law school can seem overwhelming as you learn to balance all the competing demands on your time. A calendar can help you manage these demands by letting you schedule day-to-day tasks and plan for long-term assignments and exams.

You can use Touro’s Law School Planner from your orientation materials to help you navigate these first few weeks of law school. The Planner is meant to be a guide --- one which you can and should adapt to your own study needs. Since you are new to law school, we have made some suggestions and identified some specific tasks and suggested time allocations. The time frames are meant to be general guidelines only and it is very likely that your individual needs will vary. However, by keeping track of how long it takes you to complete an assignment, you will gain a better understanding of how much time to allocate to different study activities.

The Law School Planner covers several weeks: the week before Orientation, the week of Orientation, and the first full week of class. Please pay attention to the page headings, especially with respect to the first week of class and select the calendar for your particular class section. There are three day sections and one evening section. There is also a blank planner for you to make your own schedule.

We believe the Planner will be helpful as you begin your law school career. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to stop by and see us in Room 314. We are here to assist you.

What should I expect in law school?

2011-07-26T12:48:00.000-04:00

Bridging the Gap Between College and Law School: What should I expect in law school?

First, it is impossible for me to tell you everything that you can expect in law school, so I will tell you what to expect during your first semester of law school. I will let you know how law school is taught and why. Second, I will recommend what you can do to prepare, or if you are already in law school, who to see out for assistance. Almost any lawyer will tell you there is no one thing you can do, no one book to read or college class to take to FULLY prepare you for law school, but I believe that even if you KNOW what is coming and what to expect, you can do a little bit to prepare and that will make a difference.

Unless you worked for a lawyer, have lawyers or judges in your family or took pre-law classes from practicing lawyers, you probably think that law school will be similar to college. Perhaps an extension of the work you did in undergraduate school or even in a master’s program. WRONG! Law school is a very different learning process. Yes, it is composed of reading and writing, but we are asking you think and process information in a way that is much different than you did in high school or college or any master program. We want to you solve problems in a very specific way.

The professor does not start class by saying, let’s look at a legal problem and solve it. Instead the professor simply begins by asking you about a case. A case is a legal problem that has been already solved by the court. The professor will ask you about the facts, what happened? What is the law in the case? What was the decision (who won)? Why? You may go into great detail about all of these parts of the case and then begin to talk about another case, perhaps a hypothetical that is not resolved. The facts will be different, but is the outcome different or the same? Why or why not? The professor will never tell you if you are giving the right answer or not, but simply continue to ask you or other students more questions. The professor will never say the answer is X or Y, but you will continue to be asked questions. This method of learning is called the Socratic Method, or more correctly, the Langdellian Method of teaching (named after Christopher Columbus Langdell, a past dean of Harvard Law). It is a method where you “dissect” a case, similar to “dissecting” a body in medical school, to learn about the parts of the case and how the court decided on the resolution. You are asked to dissect cases to discover the law and how it is applied. Again, you will not really know if you are right or wrong and this can be frustrating and confusing.

Also, you will not be tested until the end of the term. That means you will only have one exam at the end of three months. So there are limited opportunities for feedback. The reason for this is you need to know all of the aspects of contracts and all of the rules (not just a few) because a lawyer never knows what the client’s problem is. Using another medical analogy, similar to diagnosing an illness that doctors do, lawyers must be able to get the facts from their clients and “diagnose” the problem so that they know how to solve it.

Finally, since there are a lot of new legal terms that you might not be familiar with (such as proximate cause, constructive eviction, or Latin terms like res ipsa loquitor) you will spend quite a bit of time looking up new language in a legal dictionary and understanding the case. Simply reading a three page case may take over three hours.

So, the first semester of law school is usually frustrating, confusing and daunting. However, you should know that all of your colleagues are in the same situation as you. They are confused as well. You are not the only one. If you can read something recommended by your school before you start law school, do so. If you have already started law school, then seek out help. Participate in your school’s Academic Development or Academic Success or Academic Support Program. Reach out to upper-level students to get advice on reading for class, taking notes, and preparing for finals. Make an appointment with the Dean of Students or your faculty advisor to get advice on how to approach studying for classes. Certainly reading this information and seeking tips online will help you too, but don’t stop there.

Most importantly, keep up with your readings, seek out help when you need it and ask the professor questions after class or during office hours. You need to make certain you understand as much as possible so that you can prepare for that first set of law school exams. Now that you know some of what to expect in the first semester of law school and what to expect in class, I hope that you are excited to study law.

By Charlotte D. Taylor, Assistant Dean for Student Services, Touro Law Center and co-author of Bridging the Gap Between College and Law School: Strategies for Success (Carolina Academic Press 2001, 2009)

Preparing for the Bar Exam - Post-Bar Review Study Schedule

2011-07-14T10:56:00.001-04:00

Many students studying for the New York Bar Exam have asked what to do now that their respective bar review classes are over. Generally, when your bar review course ends, there is about seven to twelve days when you will be on your own, and now you have entire days and nights just to study. The question becomes what, when, and how do you study during these critical remaining days.

Your goal during these final days is to review all of the tested topics by using only your notes, outlines, and rule paragraphs you have generated while studying over the past weeks. This requires a strategy so that you maximize what you need based on your individual strengths and weaknesses.

Continue working by subject, and begin with a review of your weaker subjects since these will be the ones you will review again at the end of the study period. This will give you time for two rounds with these topics with the final review closest to the exam itself.

The Schedule:

1. Do 30 – 33 multiple choice questions and review the answers in the morning. If you need additional multiple choice questions, the National Conference of Bar Examiners releases online practice exams. Supplement your outlines with law, if necessary.

2. Go through released bar exam essays, identifying the issues for each. The New York State Board of Law Examiners releases past exams.

3. After working through the released exams, look at your notes, outlines, and rule paragraphs and write out rules for any issues listed that are not covered in your notes.

4. Select two or three essays and write them out completely (this should take approximately two hours).

5. Study essay sample answers for all essays, including those you did not write out. Where appropriate, annotate or supplement your notes, outlines, and rule paragraphs with new, more concise and appropriate legal language.

6. Read through outlines to continue to review the law.

If time remains after going through all of the essays by subject (and it should), then go back to the subject or two that you felt was your weakest, and review the respective subject(s) again.

Good Luck on Bar Exam!

Note: the following are suggestions are from the forthcoming book, The New York Bar Exam by the Issue (Thomson West).

Guest Bloggers

2011-06-26T13:11:00.000-04:00

You may notice that we have started featuring “guest bloggers” alongside our blog post — these bloggers are experts in their respective teaching areas, and we are thrilled that they have agreed to contribute to the Touro Law Center Academic Development Blog.

Our first guest, Professor Herb Ramy, the Director of ASP at Suffolk University Law School and author of Succeeding in Law School, shared tips about law school exams. His tips are just the beginning of exciting things to come . . .

In the coming weeks and months, makes sure to look for other guest bloggers, and you can always check out older post from these experts under the "guest blogger" label.

Preparing for the Bar Exam - Burn Out and Boredom

2011-06-21T13:05:00.005-04:00

Several students have complained recently about either beginning to feel burned out or being bored by the whole bar exam process. While the two complaints are not the same, my advice is similar in both cases -- it is important to strike a balance between the overly aggressive approach of doing too much and the overly complacent approach. Regardless of whether you are burned out or bored, you should take a step back, look at your schedule and set realistic goals for yourself. For example, if you know that there’s no way you’re going to get through 50 multiple choice questions a day, don’t set such an unreasonable goal. You must be able to sustain the effort over the entire review period, up to and including the bar exam itself. It’s not good if you burn out or are completely bored by the process. Remember, the objective in practicing questions is not the “doing” of numbers but the learning of law and the process of analysis.

It is important to maintain a realistic work schedule, one that allows for lecture
time, review time, practice time, and time that you are not studying. Reexamine your schedule to make sure you have set a realistic work schedule that allows for:

Lecture time

Review time

Practice time

Relaxation time

In considering this, look at whether you have defined realistic study goals based on your strengths and weaknesses:

Are you varying your study activities sufficiently throughout the day to maintain your concentration level?

Have you set up a daily work schedule to include time for: attending your bar review class; reviewing the material covered in each class; consolidating your notes; working through practice questions; learning black letter law; and taking study breaks and exercising?

Have you set up a weekly schedule that includes a little time away from your studies?

Also, you might want to consider revising your schedule to:

Vary the sequence of your study activities, and maybe change your study location;

Or consider revising your approach to: alternate your review materials to take up the topic in another form -- anything that keeps you interested and adds to your understanding of the subject (i.e. read a different outline from your bar review materials; go back to your law school outline; or consult a hornbook).

Finally, you may want to consider the balance of study time vs. practice time to allow more time for practicing questions.

It might be worthwile to reconsider and revise how you are scheduling your time. You can refer to our blog post on time management for more tips.

The need to practice MBE questions begins immediately

2011-06-13T13:33:00.001-04:00

One of my bar exam students expressed a very common concern during a study session. She said she was afraid that she didn't know the law well enough to start answering questions. She said, "I need more time with my notes." I told her that she would never feel as if she knew the law "well enough" — and even if she could remember all the law, the rule alone would not help her answer an MBE question if she had not practiced answering MBE questions.

The process of answering an MBE question is analytical. It requires you to use the rule you have learned to answer the question. You need to practice the process of reasoning with the law which is not the same thing as reciting it. Memorizing your notes does not develop this critical skill.

Do not wait to answer questions. As soon as you have reviewed your bar review notes in a subject, it is time to get to work answering questions in that subject area. Answer one question at a time and work your way through the question carefully and thoughtfully. Look up the rule if you cannot recite it completely and correctly --- now is the time to do so because you are working through the question. This will help you remember the rule in a way that simply reading your notes does not allow because you will have a factual setting for the rule's application. This is the key to memorization.

Be sure to articulate your reasoning for your answer choice. Now check your answer. If it is correct, read the explanation. Make sure you got it right for the right reason. If you answered incorrectly, make sure you know where your reasoning was incorrect. This is key to getting the right answer the next time you have a similar question. Also, take notes on the law if you need to do so. This will supplement your notes in a meaningful way because it is connected to the reasoning process involved in answering the question.

It should take you about 2 hours to answer 10 to 15 questions if you follow this approach. This is "studying" and not simply "doing" questions. You are using the questions to learn the law. This is very different from when you will be taking the exam. Right now, you are not concerned with timing, but with learning. When you have sufficiently covered an area, then you can take timed practice sessions. But not now. Now you are focusing on learning the law and the way it is tested. The more you practice and the comfortable you become with the process and the rules, your speed will naturally increase.

Professor Suzanne Darrow-Kleinhaus
Director of Academic Development
Touro Law Center

Preparing for the Bar Exam - Managing Stress and Anxiety

2011-06-07T12:07:00.003-04:00

While working with students preparing for the bar exam over the past few weeks, many of them are talking about the pressure they feel to pass the bar exam; some have even said this pressure is overwhelming. They are overwhelmed by the number of subjects and the amount of material they are responsble for -- admittedly, there is a lot of material to be responsible for at one time.

The difference between the bar exam and law school is that in law school exams were spread out over a longer period of time, and the number of areas of law covered in exams were fewer. Often, you were tested on one subject at a time, which you knew beforehand, and then you had at least one day before being tested on another subject.

In contrast, when you walk into the bar exam, you’re facing a lot more material. You are responsible for all the subjects tested in your jurisdiction; and the subjects are tested in a random manner so that both the subject matter and the level of difficulty may from question to question -- plus, you’re tested on everything in a two or three day period.

It is understandable that you are overwhelmed by the volume of the material and the pace by which you are moving. When combined with the time pressures of the exam itself, it’s not unusual to feel more than just a little bit anxious. There is a real basis to the anxiety -- which leads to the next concern: stress.

When you study for the bar exam, you are facing one of the most stressful periods of your life. You may be consumed with thoughts of “what if ” -- what if I fail; what if I have to do this again . . . These are very normal fears. In fact, a certain level of anxiety and stress is good, but too much prevents you from doing your job of studying the law. You can’t afford to lose control because of the pressure.

Try looking at the exam from an entirely different perspective:

1. The bar exam has definite boundaries even though it tests multiple topics.
2. There is enough time to prepare for the bar exam if you plan for it.
3. A certain level of stress can be productive.

1. The bar exam has “boundaries”:

The national and state bar examiners define the universe of what is tested on your jurisdiction’s bar exam. The number of subjects tested on the bar exam is finite. For the Multistate Bar Examination (the MBE), the National Bar Examiners provide a subject matter outline that indicates the scope of coverage for each subject with a breakdown by percentage of questions from each category. Similarly, most jurisdictions provide candidates with a list of the topics covered on their bar exam. This allows you to define the scope of the exam. Also, you can (and should) study from released bar exam questions just as you worked with your professors’ old exams in preparing for finals to give you an idea of what the questions will look like on the actual exam day.

2. There’s enough time if you plan properly:

The bar exam requires a major commitment of time and effort to succeed. Bar review courses are structured to lead you through the material, but you must make the effort to learn it. It takes time to memorize black letter law and to practice problems. You can do this if you plan ahead and manage your time wisely.

3. Some stress is unavoidable:

A little anxiety can be a good thing before an exam. Anxiety is absolutely normal and very necessary because the adrenaline ensures that you’ll operate at peak performance. It helps to keep you focused. The problem occurs when it interferes with your performance, and preparation is the recommended antidote to test anxiety. You must go into the bar exam knowing that you’ve done everything possible to prepare.

While you continue to prepare for the bar exam, Professor Darrow-Kleinhaus' books, Acing the Bar Exam (Thomson West 2008) and The Bar Exam in a Nutshell (2d ed. 2009), are great resources, and give great tips on managing stress and anxiety while studying for the bar exam.

Preparing for the Bar Exam - Outlining the Rule

2011-05-31T13:57:00.002-04:00

One question we are often asked by students studying for the Bar Exam is how much rule is needed to be sufficient in each essay. While, there is not one correct answer, here are some things to consider:

What is the specific rule brought into controversy by the facts?

Are there legal terms of art to define?

What is the general rule?

Then, build the general rule: Are there legal terms to define? Are there exceptions to the general rule? Are there elements/factors to be identified?

Is there a procedural element to consider? A motion? What is the standard? (i.e. summary judgment)

Is there a relevant distinction? (i.e. state vs. federal law)

Does the party have a relevant defense? Or is there a limit to the reach of the rule?

What are the consequences of applying this rule to the facts? (i.e. should evidence be excluded under an exclusionary rule)

Is the party entitled to damages, and if so, what kind?

Is there a procedural element to be considered? A motion? What is the standard?

Remember, this are just guidelines - every rule might not include everything, but it provides a sequence of questions to guide your thinking so you can write a complete rule statement.

Preparing for the Bar Exam - The Multistate Performance Test ("MPT")

2011-05-26T09:42:00.002-04:00

The Multistate Performance Test ("MPT") has been adopted in most jurisdictions as part of their bar exam. The participating jurisdictions select from the two 90-minute problems provided by the NCBE for each exam administration. Much like the MBE, each jurisdiction determines its own policy regarding the relative weight given to the MPT; and just like the NCBE publishes MBE questions, they also make previously released MPTs available on its website. You should practice as many MPT problems as possible to sample the various tasks you might encounter on the exam.

The MPT is designed like a closed-universe assignment, consisting of a "file" and a "library" - you are asked to complete a task that is designed to test your fundamental lawyering skills: the ability to read and follow directions, synthesize and apply law from cases, separate relevant from irrelevant facts, and complete an assigned task in the allotted time. Here, you are given the legal issue and the law - the goal is to test your proficiency in the basic skills you developed in the course of your legal education.

The MPT tests the following:

1. Reading comprehension: There is a difference between the type of reading you’ve engaged in for law school and what you’ll do for the MPT. For the MPT, you must read pro-actively, with a critical eye toward solving a specific problem rather than answering a professor’s questions in class. You must read carefully and quickly, all the while searching for useful information and answers to the particular issue you’ve been asked to resolve.

2. Organizational skills: You must organize your time and the materials effectively to complete the required task in the time allowed. The MPT is extremely time-sensitive, you’ll have about 90 minutes in which to read and analyze an assortment of unfamiliar materials and compose a written assignments.

3. Communication skills: You must write concisely, coherently, and in a tone and manner consistent with the nature of the assignment. You must demonstrate your mastery of the language of the law and convince the bar examiners that you “sound” like an attorney ready to begin the practice of law.

4. Ability to follow directions: The MPT is task-specific: you must perform the task identified to receive credit. If you’re instructed to write a letter to a client and instead write a persuasive brief, you’ll have done nothing but demonstrate to the bar examiners your inability to read and follow directions. The directions are important for another reason: they may ask you to identify additional facts that would strengthen or, alternatively, weaken a party’s position.

Outlining the Approach:

1. Have a plan: Following a plan saves time and prevents panic: if you know what you are going to do, and practice the routine sufficiently, it becomes second nature to you by test day.

2. Practice from actual MPTs: Since the MPT tests your ability to extract legal principles from cases and statutes and apply these principles to solve a specific client problem, you will need to practice this skill. Work only from past MPT questions and use the grading guidelines to evaluate your answers. If your jurisdiction releases sample MPT answers, review them and compare them to your answers.

3. Allocate your time: You must complete the assignment to maximize your points. The bar examiners suggest that you allot 45 minutes to reading the materials and 45 minutes to organizing and writing your response.

4. Find your baseline: You have no idea how long it will take you to answer an MPT until you’ve actually done one. After you’ve read one or two of MPTs to see what they’re like, answer a sample MPT. Note how long it takes to read and outline the answer. This is your baseline reading time. Nest, proceed to write the response. Once again, time yourself. This is your baseline writing time. Don’t be surprised if it takes longer than the suggested time to get through the materials. This is to be expected the first time you approach new material. Keep practicing, especially if you have trouble with the timing. Once you’ve established your reading and writing baselines, you can concentrate on improving your time. You must practice the strategy until it becomes automatic and your approach is consistent.

5. Follow the blueprint: Practice until it becomes automatic.

For more tips on the MPT, including how tips on how to find your baseline, and developing a blueprint, you should reference Chapter 10 of Professor Darrow-Kleinhaus' book, Acing the Bar Exam (Thomson West 2008)

Preparing for the Bar Exam - The Multistate Bar Exam ("MBE")

2011-05-21T08:48:00.003-04:00

The Multistate Bar Exam ("MBE") is part of almost every jurisdiction's bar exam. The MBE is a six-hour exam, consisting of 200 multiple choice questions, and is divided into two periods of three hours each. Applicants are instructed to choose the best answer to each question, and your score is based on the number of correctly answered questions, so you are best advised to answer every question.

Each jurisdiction has its own policy for the relative weight given to the MBE score, but what is consistent regardless of the jurisdiction where you are taking the exam is that in addition to memorizing and understanding elements and rules of law, you have to have some idea of how the issues will be presented and how they will be tested on the MBE. It is important to know what to expect and to practice applying what you have learned to the format that will be presented.

Preparing for the MBE requires that you combine your knowledge of the theoretical with the practical - you should (a) acquire a detailed understanding of the substantive law, and (b) master the specific manner in which it is tested. The best way to find out what is tested and how the material is tested is by practicing questions.

The MBE presents a challenge for some students because it tests your knowledge of substantive law, reading comprehension, reasoning skills, the ability to work quickly and efficiently, and the capacity to remain focused as you move from one question to the next. Because of it is important for you to answer as many practice problems as possible during your preparation time for the bar exam. The more you practice, the more prepared you will be on the actual bar day. But "doing questions" isn't enough - you should not just "answer" questions, but instead you should learn to "analyze" the questions - that is, you should know how to reason through a question to arrive at the correct answer choice. You must be able to follow a process in answering questions which enables you to remain focused, in control, and conscious of your thought process.

The process of analyzing questions is just as important for when you get a questions wrong as when you get it correct - if you answer a question incorrectly, you should go back and reread the question, recreate your thought process, and compare your reasoning to find the flaw in your analysis.

Remember, there is a right way to attack a multiple choice question. For more tips on the MBE, you should reference Chapter 9 of Professor Darrow-Kleinhaus' book, Acing the Bar Exam (Thomson West 2008).

See also, Preparing for the Bar Exam - Multiple Choice Questions.

Preparing for the Bar Exam - Black Letter Law

2011-05-19T11:26:00.004-04:00

Many of you will start your bar review course in a few days - you might be lead to believe that you must read everything, learn everything, and do everything the review instructors tell you to do or you will fail the bar exam. Realistically, this will probably result in you feeling overwhelmed and anxious. Make no mistake - you need to master the law, but the way you go about it is up to you. Bar review courses are designed for the "average student" and not everyone learns the same way or at the same rate. You should build an effective study schedule based on your individual strengths and weaknesses.

First, a solid knowledge of the law is required to answer bar exam essays and multiple choice questions. Simply attending lectures and reading through your bar review outlines does not allow for you to internalize the material in a way necessary to respond to these types of question. The bar exam requires you know the rules with precision, and you have to have a solid understanding of these rules. Consequently, your study plan should include time to memorize black letter law and time to practice making use of the law.

It is important to keep in mind that studying the material is one thing, practicing with it is another. We have already discussed the importance of doing practice problems; and it is important to remember that there is a method to learning from practice exams. It is essential to become familiar with the structure, style, and content of the exam questions you will see on the actual exam, thus the bar examiners' questions can be a primary source of study material. Most jurisdictions make past questions available on their websites. Likewise, the NCBE offers the opportunity to purchase released MBE questions on its website, and these questions are a great way to prepare for the bar exam. Remember when using practice problems to study for the bar exam, there is a difference between "answering" questions, and "analyzing" questions. You must know the reason you answered the question the way you did - it is not enough to get the question right, you must know how you've reasoned through the question to arrive at the right answer.

For more tips on learning the black letter law, you should reference Chapter 7 of Professor Darrow-Kleinhaus' book, Acing the Bar Exam (Thomson West 2008).

Doing your best has to be good enough

2011-05-18T12:05:00.006-04:00

Not surprisingly, studying and taking law school exams produces a great deal of stress. For many, this stress is rooted in the fact that students tend to emphasize external measures of success when appraising their academic performance. When we measure ourselves based on factors over which we have little if any control, stress and even depression can result. As I note in my book, Succeeding in Law School, there is another way.

Students can deal with stress rooted in grades by channeling it into a more effective form of competition. For example, many students want to be in the top 10% of their class. The need to achieve this goal is often perpetuated, both explicitly and implicitly, by faculty, administrators, and placement offices. If every law student “needs” to be in the top 10% of the class, then 90% of them are doomed to failure by their own standards. Instead of striving for a particular spot in the academic pecking order, students should attempt to achieve their personal best.

Asking the best from oneself is no small task. It requires that you do everything within your power to succeed. Consider this for a moment. How often in your life have you done everything possible to succeed? Keep in mind that your personal best may not translate into “A’s” or even “B’s” on your examinations. However, by definition your personal best means that you had nothing left to give. Anyone whose grades represent their best work [should] be satisfied.

Organizing Your Answer on a Law School Exam

2011-05-10T10:41:00.004-04:00

When it comes to law school examinations, all students struggle to organize their writing. Even students who are quite proficient at responding to the hypotheticals posed in their classes can struggle and even freeze when confronted with a multi-issue, multi-party question on an examination. Experienced lawyers rarely encounter this problem because organizing their answers has become second nature. So, how do you accelerate your time table and handle the organization of legal issues like a seasoned pro? The answer is easier than you may realize because, in the end, there are only a few things to keep in mind.

• Point #1 – Finish reading the problem before you start writing. You cannot organize your answer to a lengthy problem after reading only a small fraction of the facts, but this is a common mistake made by first-year students. There may be an issue contained within that first sentence, but the resolution of that issue may be impacted by material contained further into the problem. Look at it this way. If a client came into your office, sat down across from you, and said “My neighbor saw me raking in my yard the other day and walked up to me . . .” would you shout out “Trespass to land!” or would you wait to hear the rest of the story. You cannot begin organizing until you hear the entire story. Once you do, you can begin organizing by creating a list of all the different issues suggested by the facts.

• Point #2 – You should walk into the examination with one level of organization already in your mind. I encourage students to review and outline throughout the year. First, it is the best way to ensure that you understand each of the concepts covered in class. Second, and more relevant to this conversation, outlining helps you see overarching organizational structures within each area of the law. For example, as you outline materials from your contracts class, a pattern should start appearing. The pattern is based on the reality that much of contract law is about whether there was an agreement between the parties. To assess whether there was an agreement, a good starting point is whether there was an offer, which requires an understanding of how one establishes the existence of an offer. Next, was there acceptance of that offer, a rejection of that offer, or counteroffer? There are, of course, additional steps in determining whether there is an agreement between the parties, but you should get the picture. You then memorize this overarching structure and apply it to each potential agreement between parties that appears on your contracts exam.

o Creating these organizational patterns will be more obvious in some course than in others. While large scale organizational patterns do appear in contracts and civil procedure, similar patterns are not as obvious in torts and criminal law. That’s OK because you can create smaller scale patterns with the material in these courses that will still help you organize your exam writing. For example, 1st degree murder, 2nd degree murder, voluntary manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter, and any other crime where someone dies can all be placed together under the heading “Homicide.” This will help you see what truly differentiates the various homicide crimes from each other and will create a structure that you will apply whenever someone dies on a criminal law exam. So, when someone dies in your criminal law final – and someone will – you would address each homicide crime independently, though not necessarily equally.

• Point #3 – The examination fact pattern will suggest an organizational structure. Broadly, there are two major organizational patterns that are suggested by the facts on any law school examination – organization by party or organization by event.

o Organization by party requires you to address the actions of each person, one person at a time, and discuss the meaning of those actions. This type of organization seems to work well in criminal law and torts where each person may have created a number of crimes or is potentially liable for multiple torts.

o Organization by event, which typically works well in contracts and civil procedure, means organizing around some event. In this context, I am using the term “event” quite broadly to include things like negotiating an agreement, filing a lawsuit, or parking my automobile overnight in a garage. Under these examples, the event becomes the starting point for discussing the various legal issues that have been generated.

o Whether you proceed by party or by event, you will still be using the organizational patterns discussed in Point #2 to move the discussion along. For example, a plaintiff’s lawsuit might be the starting point for my discussion of subject matter jurisdiction (SMJ), but I walked into the examination knowing that whenever I talk about SMJ I must address the subsidiary points of arising under jurisdiction, diversity jurisdiction, corporate diversity, domicile, etc.

• Point #4 – When dealing with small scale organization, let the law by your guide. Once you have moved beyond large scale organizational concerns, you still have to organize your analysis of each independent issue. When analyzing an issue – such as whether an individual is liable for an assault – let the law provide you with your small scale organization. For example, the typical definition of an assault looks something like this – did the defendant intentionally place another in apprehension of an imminent battery. This rule is actually comprised of multiple elements, and each element is a separate mini-issue that requires its own analysis. The analysis of one element may be significantly longer than your analysis of another, but all elements must be addressed.

Succeeding on Law School Exams

2011-05-05T13:34:00.003-04:00

Hello all!

I am Professor Ramy and I direct the Academic Support Program (“ASP”) at Suffolk University Law School. I’ve worked as an ASP professor for over a decade, and I have learned that my students have many of the same questions/concerns year after year. With that in mind, here are a few words of wisdom to help get you through your upcoming final exams.

First, keep in mind that this is not your first experience with law school exams. You have been through this process before, so now you know what to expect. The unknown may cause us stress and fear, but known quantities can be planned for and dealt with in an effective manner.

Do not rehash your exams with your classmates because it can only lead to more stress. Your classmates are not grading you, so who cares how they answered the first question! In addition, no one sees every issue on a law school exam. So, it is quite possible, even likely, that your classmates saw things that you did not see and vice versa.

Students are notoriously poor judges of how well they did on law school exams. In fact, most students believe they performed more poorly than they actually did. So, you probably did fine even if you believe you bombed an exam.

When you walk into your exams, know that you did everything possible to succeed. By the same token, do not let your experience with any one examination rob you of the confidence you spent a whole year developing. Your hard work has earned you the right to be confident, so do not give it up so easily.

No one gets 100% on a law school exam, so do not beat yourself up over a question you’re sure you got wrong. Remember, most essay exams contain issues that are very difficult to resolve. At times, it does not even matter whether you believe that the plaintiff should prevail or the defendant. In fact, the final answer is often much less important than your discussion of why the issue is difficult to resolve.

If you struggle to complete the exam in the allotted time, that’s a good thing! Exams are supposed to be hard and often take every minute of the exam period to complete. If you are running out of time and still have a few issues to analyze, consider listing the problems you did not have time to get to. I can’t guarantee that you will receive any credit for this list of issues, but you may, particularly if you did a good job with the other parts of the exam.

Once an exam is over, let it go. Even if you could have performed better on an exam, it doesn’t make any difference once it is over. Remember, have the wisdom to know the difference between the things you can change and those that you cannot. Obsessing about an exam you just completed expends valuable energy that could be used in preparing for your next one.

Finally, it is perfectly reasonable to lean on others for a bit of support. The ASP folks at your school can give you valuable advice or just listen to your worries. It’s amazing how seemingly intractable problems are cut down to size when you share your concerns with another person.

Congratulations on completing your first year of law school and good luck on your final exams.

Prof. Ramy

Preparing for the Bar Exam - Practice Questions

2011-05-01T18:05:00.004-04:00

Doing practice questions when preparing for the bar exam is one of the most overlooked study methods. You should start doing questions right from the beginning. Often students say they are waiting until they think they know enough law, which they never think they do, so they never practice enough questions. Doing questions, and doing them correctly, should be the mantra for students during bar prep.

Below is advice from the forthcoming book, The New York Bar Exam by the Issue (Thomson West):

You should begin practicing questions as soon as you begin your bar review class. Don't make the mistake of waiting until you think you know enough law: first, you'll never think you know enough law; second, once you've attended a class and reviewed your notes on a topic, you're ready to go to work. Working with rules as you learn them by applying them in the context of new factual situations is the most effective way to learn whether you truly understand them. It also allows you to find answers to questions that naturally arise as you practice the material — while you still have time to do so.

Why to Practice Questions

The reason to practice questions is to learn from them. While you may find this difficult to believe, you've learned as much as you are going to learn from your notes after you've read them once or twice. You've got to put them aside and move on to the questions to apply what you've learned to actual problems. This is the only way to find out what you know and what you don't. When your studying is "question-driven," it will lead you back to any gaps in your knowledge of the rules.

Teaching Assistant Application Process - FAQ's

2011-03-23T11:05:00.004-04:00

Many of you stopped by our offices or have emailed to ask about the TA program for the Fall, including what is required to become a TA and how to apply. Below you will find the answer to many of the questions that have been asked, as well as how to apply.

What is required to be a TA?
A desire and ability to work well with others and a solid academic record.

What does a TA do?
A TA leads a small study group section in "learning how to learn the law" by showing how successful students go about the process of thinking about and integrating course material.

What is my time commitment?
You must be available to attend one of the required weekly training sessions; and you will need to be available for a TA session (100 minutes) one day a week.

How do I apply?
Please send an email to Nancy Chanin expressing why you are interested in becoming a TA. Attach your resume, and include a phone number and email where you can be reached over the summer. We accept applications now and through the summer.

What is the review process and when will I be contacted?
We review the applications following the release of spring semester grades. We contact all applicants and may ask to meet with you. While grades and class performance are very important, you must also be able to work well with others, show initiative, direct group discussions, and have a genuine interest and ability to help other students develop their analytical skills.

Hierarchy of Concepts in your Outline

2011-03-03T12:24:00.005-05:00

Several students have stopped by our offices this week to get advice about outlining. Sometimes, students include a wealth of information that is in paragraph form, and I suggest they use a traditional outline format instead of paragraphs because this format differentiates between levels. The structure of an outline forces you to rank concepts and identify main topics and sub-topics. Remember, the law is essentially a set of categories: each principle you learn belongs “somewhere” in the scheme which you need to create.

A failure to properly understand and define the hierarchy of concepts in your outline often manifests on the exam with difficulty in identifying and sequencing issues for discussion. There is a logical sequence to follow in analyzing a problem based on the construction of the rule and it’s essential that this hierarchy be worked through in the process of creating your outline. The ranking system inherent in an outline format forces you to arrange the material in a hierarchy.

One way to get started in creating your hierarchy is to look at The Table of Contents in your casebook. It’s written in outline form. Some casebooks include a Summary of the Table of Contents which is even better for your purposes since it contains only the main topics and sub-topics, eliminating the cases and notes. From here, you can really see the big picture.

It also might be useful to coordinate the Table of Contents with your syllabus to find your starting point and use it as a template to form your skeleton outline. Of course you’ll need to make adjustments based on how your professor presents the material, but the Table of Contents provides the overview you need to begin putting things together. This should give you the major headings.

You may also want to consider a hornbook to help you identify the sub-headings. This is the real work of outlining: synthesizing the material so that you can differentiate between main and sub-issues. Don’t be afraid to go outside your casebook and class notes for help in this regard. Most of us need the help to be found in hornbooks. A hornbook will explain the material in a way that is incredibly valuable in helping you understand it.

Once you have a sense of the main topics and sub-topics, you can begin to fill in the pieces to provide substance and meaning.

Studying with Hypotheticals

2011-03-01T16:38:00.000-05:00

Writing out hypotheticals is an important way to study during the course of the semester – not just during finals time. As you prepare for class by reading and briefing the assignment, you need to prepare for exams by writing out essays. Familiarity with the structure of essay questions and how to respond to them will go a long way in alleviating your anxiety on exam day. The key to success on exams is to engage in this practice on a regular basis and to begin well before the final examination.

By now, you should know that your law professors expect an exam answer that is a well-reasoned and well-organized, and should contain an articulate analysis of the relevant rules of law with respect to the facts. This demonstrates your mastery of the material covered during the course of the semester and your ability to write in the language of the law. The best way to do get adequate preparation is by writing out and practicing from prior exams – this is why many professors have copies of their old exams on file. You should begin writing sample answers as soon as you have covered enough “law” to analyze a factual situation. This practice should continue throughout your law school career; it is not simply for first year law students.

When asked if it is too soon to start working through hypothicals, remember:

1. Don’t delay. Begin working with practice questions as soon as you have covered a topic.

2. Start simple and build to the complex. Begin with single issue problems and work your way to increasingly more complex problems until you have covered every principle that has been studied in your course.

3. Vary the type of essay that you answer when practicing. Be sure to work with both short essays and long, complex fact patterns with multiple issues and parties. Each presents a different challenge in issue spotting and organization.

4. Use exam questions to let you see the relationships between concepts and how topics come together. As you proceed through each area of doctrinal law, you’ll often find it necessary to take a very narrow, focused approach because there is only so much information you can assimilate at a time. But the same tunnel-vision that lets you navigate enormous amounts of knowledge limits your consideration of other perspectives. Here’s where hypotheticals can help by showing you the connections where all you’ve been focused on are the distinctions.

5. Develop your reading skills as carefully as your writing skills. Pay attention to the directions that accompany exams – specifically with respect to what you are asked to do in the question. The only way to know exactly how your professor expects you to address a question comes from experience in reading your professor’s exams and in asking what she expects in an answer.

Research Study

2011-02-17T14:28:00.001-05:00

Professor Darrow-Kleinhaus is seeking participants for her research study. Below is the flyer containing all of the pertinent information.

Specificity of Language

2011-02-14T14:06:00.004-05:00

In reviewing your exams with your professors, you might have noticed that your exams lacked specificity or included vague and meaningless phrases. This is a relatively common error, and something that can easily be fixed. When working with hypotheticals, and when writing your exams, it is important to remember that the language of the law is precise, and your use of it must be equally precise. You must use the language of the court or the words of the statute. You should not substitute your own words.

Suppose your exam question requires that you evaluate a state’s basis for jurisdiction over a nonresident defendant and your discussion centers on an evaluation of the defendant’s “minimum contacts” with the forum state. In the course of your discussion, you’ll use such specific language as “continuous and systematic,” and “fair play and substantial justice.” This language comes from Supreme Court cases and it’s “the law.” You’re expected and required to use it – just as it is. Paraphrasing is not acceptable, so you just have to learn it.

You can avoid vague and meaningless phrases by learning legal vocabulary and using it correctly. If you do this, you won’t end up with an exam full of colorful, yet incorrect, language. But more essential to curing this problem is to truly understand the rules: if you know what the rule means, you won’t write legally meaningless sentences.

The Gap between Questions in your Classes and on Exams

2011-02-07T12:24:00.004-05:00

By now, you have probably discovered the difference between what is discussed in class, and what will appear on your final. It’s easy enough to get lost in the theoretical and philosophical aspects of class discussions and hard to know what to expect on the exam when you spend most of your class time being questioned on cases. As you have probably discovered, you’re asked to judge the cases that you read – sometimes in your very first law school class. You’re asked whether you think the court was correct in reaching its decision or whether you would have found differently. Then you get to the exam and there’s nothing about cases. Or at least nothing that’s obvious. Many of you have stopped by our offices this semester, and asked: why does the exam seem so different from what went on in class?

The gap, if indeed there is one, comes from the style of the process more than its substance. Most law professors don’t lecture and present the law in neat little packages for you to digest. Instead, they rely on the Socratic Method and ask questions. They ask lots of questions and only sometimes give answers. Supplying the answers is your job. Professors assume that you’ll do the reading, learn the material, and put it all together in a way that’s meaningful to you. They did it when they were in law school and they expect you to do the same. Some students make the mistake of waiting all semester for the professor to tie it together and this just doesn’t happen. At least not usually. It’s pretty much up to you to make the connections.

Making these connections is the first step in learning to think critically. Law school asks you to think about things you’ve never thought about before and in ways that are new to you. This is the stuff of a legal education. It’s about figuring out how the rules work, what they mean, why we have them, and questioning everything about them. So if you think about it - what goes on in class is related to what’s on the exam. In class, you talk about the cases. You dissect them. The professor hurls questions at you to test your understanding of what you’ve read and your ability to use what you’ve learned. Then she changes the facts and asks another question. And yet another. The professor’s goal is for you to learn to ask the same kinds of questions for yourself. On the exam, the hypos are longer and more complex but they’re pretty much like the ones you discussed in class. They’re just new problems for you to solve.

The Benefits of Testing and Practicing with Hypos

2011-01-24T16:14:00.003-05:00

Last semester, we discussed the importance of studying by writing out hypotheticals. That process of organizing and synthesizing material is what helps you remember the material, and is more beneficial than just reading over your notes and outlines.

This study approach was discussed in a recent New York Times article, and is worth reading and incorporating into your study habits. See Pam Belluck, To Really Learn, Quit Studying and Take a Test, N.Y. Times, January 21, 2011, at A 14 (available at http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/21/science/21memory.html?_r=1&src=me&ref=general).

Spring Teaching Assistant Program

2011-01-17T17:03:00.004-05:00

The First-Year TA program will continue this semester for day and evening students, beginning the week of January 31st. Much like last semester, the TA program will have a small group dynamic, and your TA group will focus on the first year doctrinal classes - specifically, contracts, torts, civil procedure, and property.

For the students wishing to continue, you can sign-up for your Spring TA group beginning Monday, January 24th at 9:00 a.m.; registration will remain open until Friday, January 28th at 3:00 p.m. on TWEN - register for "First Year TA Session Sign-Up - Spring 2011" and select your group. All registration will be handled first come, first served, and all information is confidential. We will send an email confirmation to your Touro email account with the room assignment for your group before the first day of TA sessions.

We look forward to working with you again this semester!

Preparing for the Bar Exam - Essay Questions

2011-01-12T11:04:00.005-05:00

The essay portion of the bar exam is another important aspect of the bar exam, and you are the one in control of the question when you write. Unlike a multiple choice question where you have to match up your analysis of the problem to fit one of the answer choices, here you have some flexibility. While there are limits determined by the issues set up in the facts, you can take a slightly different path and still accrue significant points.

Bar examiners have the same expectations when reading an essay as did your law professors: one that demonstrates your ability to engage in legal thought and analysis. This doesn't mean there is a right or wrong answer, just that you provide a well-reasoned argument based on the analysis of the relevant issues and application of the law to the facts, followed by a legal conclusion. In fact, as you review sample candidate answers, you will find examples of answers that reach opposite conclusions yet have been selected as above average answers. You should pay particular attention to such examples because it’s tangible proof of what we’ve been saying all along – that it’s the reasoning that counts and not the bottom line conclusion.

The following are the steps you’ll take for writing “bar-right” essays:

1. Know Your Audience

Bar exam graders read a large number of essays and evaluate them according to strict criteria. They know what they are looking for and the easier you make it for them to find it, the more points you will accrue. Generally, you can count on writing clear, concise, and focused exam answers which conform to the basic structure of legal analysis — in other words, IRAC. This may require you to make certain adjustments in your style and presentation if you are more accustomed to broad, generalized discussions.

It is important to review released essays from the state’s bar examiners. While your bar review course includes a good number of simulated practice tests and essay writing exercises, there is no substitute for the real thing.

2. Know Exactly What is Tested and How

Some questions will lead you to the issues to be discussed and others will leave it open and require you to “issue-spot.” Only thorough preparation will let you know what to expect.

3. De-construct Exam Questions and Sample Answers

You might be wondering how “de-constructing a question” differs from “reading a question.” Generally, your focus when reading a question is to determine what is required of you to answer it. You are concerned with the information relevant to your task — evaluating whether the defendant committed felony murder, whether the statement was admissible, whether a contract was formed, and so forth. But when you are studying and trying to learn from the questions, your purpose in de-constructing a question is to analyze its organization and content for patterns and consistencies. There is a natural connection between certain topics and with preparation, you will become familiar with the questions and able to recognize the issues. Bar examiners are adept at weaving procedural questions with substantive issues in ways you might hardly notice — that is, unless you were looking for them.

Remember, the bar examiners are incredibly efficient at using a single word or short phrase to convey enormous meaning. Only careful reading of essay questions will allow you to recognize key words and phrases. The bar examiners are similarly adept at using language to signal non-issues. Only the careful, observant reader will know not to discuss such matters, saving time and effort for the real issues.

Now that you have de-constructed exam questions, it’s time to de-construct exam answers — an equally important part of your preparation. Here, rather than studying past exams to see what you can expect from the bar examiners, your goal is to learn what they expect from you. As you review sample candidate answers, you may find examples of answers that reach opposite conclusions. This is proof that it’s the reasoning that counts and not necessarily the bottom line conclusion. Certainly, the correct answer gets the most points but it is possible to get points if your argument is based on law and grounded in the facts.

4. Follow a Formula: Write IRAC

It should be clear from the de-construction process that your answers will follow a basic IRAC structure and it’s okay to be obvious about it. IRAC allows you to organize your response and remain in control, whether addressing a narrow issue-driven essay or a general question. With slight variations to account for the type of questions in your jurisdiction, you can make IRAC your blueprint for answering any essay question.

Begin your sentence with “The issue is whether.” It’s okay to be obvious; use the “whether, when” construction to lead you to connect the legal question with the specific facts in controversy. When you use this approach to formulate an issue, you avoid overly general statements and provide a path to follow in your analysis. This leads to an essay that connects the rules with the questions presented rather than one that rambles.

After your identification of the issue, your statement of the rule of law is probably the single most important part of your exam essay. First, it lets the reader know that you have identified the legal problem and second, it shows that you know the relevant law. And in writing the relevant law, be sure to write the law of your jurisdiction. Even if you could answer the question using the common law, if there is a state rule on point, you want to be sure to apply that law. Never forget that you are seeking admission to practice in a particular jurisdiction: you want the bar examiners to know that you know the applicable state law. Writing the rule consists of two parts: first, writing enough of the rule, and second, writing the rule in a logical order.

The whole rule is enough rule to provide the context to analyze the facts. The rule and the facts are inextricably linked. Your analysis of the facts will not make sense unless you have first identified the rule which determines the relevance of those facts. You must use the facts of the problem to guide your discussion of the law, and you should strive to present your statement of the law in its logical order. Generally, there is a “natural” order to writing the rule which is based on a hierarchy of concepts. This means that when you write the rule, you work from the general to the specific. Your analysis should begin with a statement of the general rule and then move to the exception, not vice versa. The general rule provides a context for understanding and appreciating the role of the exception or distinction.

How you set up the rule now drives the structure of the analysis. Your statement of the rule provides a blueprint to follow for your discussion of the facts. Work from your articulation of the rule to guide your application of the facts. Match up each element/factor you’ve identified in the rule with a fact, using the word “because” to make the connection between rule and fact. This ensures that you write facts “plus” the significance of those facts.

And after you finish the analysis, you are on to the conclusion. If the call-of-the-question asks for a specific answer, then be definitive. State your conclusion as to that issue. If there are multiple issues, then once you’ve completed your analysis of one issue, move on to the next.

5. Gain Familiarity with the Questions

The key to success in any endeavor is preparation. Familiarity with the structure of the essay questions and how you respond to them will go a long way in alleviating your anxiety on test day. You job is to practice the approach we’ve just outlined so that it becomes so automatic by test day that you move from one step to the other without missing a beat.

6. Work with Sample Answers

Finally, whether you’ve written out entire essays or only outlined the issues and rules, be sure to read the sample answers. Read all of them, even when there are several candidate samples for each question. However, be careful to read with a discerning eye toward the rules of law expressed in student papers: the bar examiners are careful to point out that they are only “sample” answers, not “model” answers. Consequently, you may find what you consider errors in statements of the law. Use this to your advantage: if you’re reading the answers “actively” as indeed you should be, then you will identify these errors and be sure to articulate the correct rule of law. Further, you should compare each sample answer to the IRAC model and fully analyze the construction. Then you should compare the sample to your own answer, element by element, taking the time to evaluate what you’ve written.

If you need additional pointers or are looking for a more in depth discussion of the bar exam, Professor Darrow-Kleinhaus' books, Acing the Bar Exam (Thomson West 2008) and The Bar Exam in a Nutshell (2d ed. 2009), are great resources.

Preparing for the Bar Exam - Multiple Choice Questions

2011-01-10T22:12:00.006-05:00

Multiple choice questions can be tricky because your answer is either right or wrong, and the MBE poses a challenge for even the best students because there are so many questions and so little time -- the MBE tests your knowledge of the substantive law, your reading comprehension and reasoning skills, your ability to work quickly and efficiently, and your capacity to remain focused and functioning over a long period of time. But, don't worry, your bar review course should provide you with all the substantive law you need to know; and your law school education has taught you how “to think like a lawyer” -- the MBE questions require that you put the two together, and the best way to do this is to practice!

There are countless places to get practice questions - for example, your bar review courses include hundreds of practice questions, and the bar examiners also release old MBE questions for you to practice. Do not forget about the released questions because the experience in working with actual MBE questions is invaluable in helping you gain familiarity with the bar examiner’s specific use of language and framing of issues.

Practicing the questions is no substitute for knowing the black letter law. A superficial understanding of broad concepts won’t be enough to allow you to distinguish between the answer choices; instead, you will need a detailed understanding of the rules. Your analysis begins with articulation of the issue in the fact pattern, and from there you need to know the rule of law.

The more questions you answer, the more comfortable you will be with the process of answering multiple choice questions, and the more prepared you will be for them on bar day. Ideally, you should answer thousands of questions. But just “doing questions” is not enough. There is a right way and a wrong way to “do” questions and you need to know the difference.

What does it mean to “do” questions? When using the multiple choice as a practice tool, there “right way” to work with the questions. You must read carefully and actively to spot signal words and legally significant facts. Pay attention to the bar examiners’ particular use of language. The bar examiners carefully construct MBE questions to contain all the facts you need to answer the question. You must rely solely on these facts to answer the question. Of course you may draw reasonable inferences from the facts but you cannot fabricate your own or create “what if” scenarios.

In addition to keeping to the facts, don’t let yourself go off on tangents based on possible theories you see raised in the facts. This is one of the very reasons you’ll read the question stem before you read the fact pattern — to keep from going astray.

Next, just as you must remain focused on the facts as presented in the question, you must apply the rule of law to the facts without hesitation. You cannot substitute your instincts for what you know is legally correct. Your job is to follow the law and apply it to the facts mechanically.

Remember, there are four basic steps for answering a multiple choice question. You will follow this sequence for every question you practice. After a bit of practice, the process will become second nature to you to approach a question this way. You’ll soon see that it yields results.

For each question, you will:

1. Read the call-of-the-question or stem and then read the fact pattern
2. Find the issue in the facts
3. Identify the rule that addresses the issue
4. Reach a conclusion without looking at the answer choices

And don't forget, it is important to recognize that analysis of the answer choices deserves as much of your time and attention as the fact pattern. There is a lot of valuable information to be found within the answer choices.

Update: See also Preparing for the Bar Exam - The Multistate Bar Exam ("MBE").

Was your final exam disorganized?

2011-01-09T14:04:00.003-05:00

Lack of organization in your answers might be another issue that led to a less than stellar grade on an exam. There are many reasons why your exam could have been disorganized, but the bottom line is disorganization probably came from disorganized thinking.

The first question to ask is If the disorganization stemmed from an issue of not knowing the law or misstating the law. If you know that was not the issue, and you’ve done all the necessary prep work, and you’ve still come away with the dreaded “disorganized” comment on your test booklet, then it wasn’t so much a question of knowing the material, but rather how you handled the presentation. So let’s take a look at how we can impose some order.

First, you might want to ask yourself if taking a minute to outline your answer before you started writing would have helped you organize your answer. Even though it’s appropriate to jump right into the analysis once you start writing, it’s never a good idea to jump right into the writing without a plan. As Professor Darrow-Kleinhaus discussed in the chapter in Mastering the Law School Exam on exam writing, this means that you must spend some time outlining your answer beforewriting it. You need a few minutes after reading the problem to outline the issues and come up with an approach for handling them. In your exam, it might be obvious that the you had not spent the time necessary to construct a working outline, and it will be obvious from all that’s missing in the answer.

Next, it is important not to commingle parties or issues. Never, ever, commingle your parties or your issues. Each deserves and demands separate treatment. Also, it’s a sure bet your professor included multiple parties to test multiple areas of the law. You’re just missing the point (in more ways than one!) if you overlook this frequently used test strategy. Another reason you should avoid commingling is the possibility for error.

Another question you might want to ask is whether you used a "he said, she said" analysis that went horribly wrong. While this might be effective when used by an expert, the ping-pong patter of “he will argue, then she will argue” can be disastrous for inexperienced law students. The going back and forth between parties inevitably leads to problems since the writer has to
juggle as well as engage in legal analysis. These problems can be avoided by using subheadings, which would encourage separate discussions of each party with respect to the issues and the parties - in the beginning, it is important to focus on one point of view at a time and rely on the rule of law to organize your answer.

Remember, using the rules as an organizational tool leads to a more focused and complete analysis.

Avoiding Conclusory Statements

2011-01-06T17:25:00.005-05:00

In our last blog post, we gave the basic framework for what you should do if you got a disappointing grade last semester - in the post, we discussed that one of your professor's comments might be that your analysis was conclusory. What does this mean, and how can you fix it?

Typically, if your work suffers from a conclusory-style analysis, you’ll just see the comment “conclusory” on your paper. But there are really two types of “conclusory” statements. It’s important for us to distinguish between them because each presents a different problem for the student and requires a different response.

The first kind of conclusory statement is one that states a legal conclusion. This occurs when there’s an insufficient legal foundation to provide authority to support the statement.

The second kind states a factual conclusion. This appears as either a restatement of the facts in the hypothetical or a judgment about what the facts mean without explaining the basis for the judgment.

Typically, however, the lines between the two blur and the sentence is conclusory for one or both reasons. It doesn’t really matter whether it’s one or the other except to recognize why it’s conclusory and to fix it.

For example, does your analysis start with a "yes" or "no" answer? If you hadn’t already figured out, it’s not the conclusion you reach, but the way you get there that’s of interest to your professor. It’s a pretty safe bet your professor isn’t looking for a “yes” or “no” response unless you’re answering a short answer question. Even assuming this problem called for a direct answer, it would be unlikely you’d begin with one. Instead, you’d have to work your way through an analysis of the facts in light of the relevant rule before you could even suggest a possible outcome.

Remember, without the legal definition to provide a context, there’s no legal basis to form your analysis; and second, without applying the facts to show how the law applies, all you have is an assertion. Using facts instead of merely reciting them can be a remedy to this problem. Be aware not to simply make declaratory statements, and also beware - it’s rarely a good idea to begin a sentence with such words as word “clearly” or “obviously.” Typically, the facts in your exams are so purposely ambiguous that nothing is ever “clear.” Chances are if you’re finding clarity, you’re missing the real issue!

Like our last blog post pointed out, by following our suggestions, as well as making use of the suggestions in Mastering the Law School Exam, you’ll be able to make the changes necessary to achieve the success that your hardwork deserves.

What to do if you get a Disappointing Grade

2011-01-05T22:04:00.006-05:00

It’s hard to be on the receiving end of a poor grade, and there’s nothing more frustrating than trying to figure out what went wrong. It’s hard to understand and even harder to explain how hundreds of hours spent in attending classes, reading required materials, diligently writing case briefs, and preparing a course outline could possibly result in a low grade. But it can and it does, leaving you feeling bewildered, disheartened, and somewhat betrayed. So we're not about to minimize your disappointment if you received a low grade – it really hurts – but what matters now is what you learn from the experience. It’s okay to take a couple of days off to console yourself, but absolutely no more. We must get back to work. Only now, we work differently.

It’s not enough to go through the exercise of looking over the exam with your professor or comparing what you’ve written to a sample answer – you need to know why what you wrote on the exam that didn’t earn the grade you think it deserved. To do this, we need to get inside your head to see where what you were thinking departed from what you should have been thinking.

First, reviewing your exam with your professor is essential to developing your written communication skills. If you think about it, your primary interaction with your professor thus far has been primarily oral – either you were called upon in class or you met outside of class to talk about the material. What you’ll learn from your written exam will probably surprise you. For example, you might learn that you “knew the law" but failed to receive credit because your answer wasn’t responsive to the professor’s question. Or you might discover that your reading of the problem was so flawed that you added your own facts or misconstrued them, either of which could have led to disappointing results. Only by meeting with your professor to go over the exam will you get a sense of how your thinking and response to the questions differed from what your professor had in mind.

From there, it is absolutely essential to learn how to help yourself. Not only are you in the best position to assess your own learning issues, but you are the only one who knows what you know and what you don’t. While it’s helpful to listen to questions asked by other students both in and out of class, it’s not always the question you need answered. Sometimes, you may find difficulty in framing the very question you need to ask. This is a very common problem. After all, articulating a question presupposes that you have a solid enough understanding of the material to identify the part you don’t understand. In short, you need to understand what it is you don’t know before you can get the help you need.

It’s possible to get sufficient insight into what you don’t understand to allow you to articulate the questions you need to ask. This requires some work on your part, but work that is well worth the effort because it puts you in control. Here, we have something concrete to work with – you can use what you wrote on your exam and your professor’s responses to it. Things to pay attention to include whether you are missing a discussion of the law, missing issues, relying on conclusory statements, lack an IRAC form, lack organization, or straying from the relevant issue. Each of these issues (and many more) can be fixed, and are discussed in depth in Chapter Eight of Professor Darrow-Kleinhaus' book, Mastering the Law School Exam.

While we might have moved quickly through what to do to improve, it is important to remember that there’s still a great deal which you can do to affect the final outcome. We know it’s not easy to get your energy and enthusiasm back after a disappointing grade but you must. By following the suggestions and approaches we’ve touched on here, as well as following the suggestions that are discussed in depth in Mastering the Law School Exam, you’ll be able to make the changes necessary in your studying, your thinking, and your writing to achieve the success your hardwork deserves. The key is that you go forward doing things differently than you did before. That’s the real point of what we’ve been doing – learning how to do things differently so you’ll achieve a different result.

And, as always, we are here to help!

Time Management for the Bar Exam

2010-12-24T10:01:00.008-05:00

Congratulations - finals are over, and now you have some time to relax! However, for some of you, the bar exam is in the near future - the bar exam requires a huge commitment of time and effort. Your bar review course is structured to guide you through the material, but you must make the effort to learn it. It is completely possible to adequately prepare yourself during the bar review period if you devote your time exclusively to bar preparation.

It is important to realize that even if you had all the time in the world to study and prepare, there are still limitations on how much information you can retain and there is only so long that you can maintain the level of intensity required during the relatively short bar preparation period. For those of you that have started your bar review courses, it should be clear that studying for the bar exam is unlike any other experience - you must be prepared to put the time and energy into the process.

During the first weeks of your bar review, make sure to:

Set a realistic work schedule that allows for going to the lectures, time for reviewing material covered in class, time to practice problems, and relaxation time;
Refine realistic study goals based on your strengths and weaknesses; and
Vary your study activities throughout the day to maintain your concentration level.

The following schedule might be a template that works for you; and allows you enough time to attend your lectures, review material, and practice problems:

9:00-1:00: Bar review course
1:00-2:00: Lunch break
2:00-4:00: Review notes from morning session; make flashcards of black letter law; consolidate notes
4:00-:4:30: Take a break
4:30-6:30: Work through MBE questions in the subject you have just studied
6:30-7:00: Dinner break
7:00-9:00: Work through additional MBE questions; essays from a released bar exam (or maybe a MPT, depending on your needs)
9:00-11:00: Review materials for the next bar review session or review notes from one subject covered earlier in the bar review period

Remember, there is not a one size fits all schedule, and there are a number of reasons why you might need to adapt the schedule to fit within your needs, including the possibility of having an evening bar review course. The key thing to remember is that you must make time to study, and you must plan ahead to give yourself enough study time.

While you prepare for the bar exam, Professor Darrow-Kleinhaus' books, Acing the Bar Exam (Thomson West 2008) and The Bar Exam in a Nutshell (2d ed. 2009), are great resources.

(Updated) Law School Shorthand

2010-12-07T14:06:00.008-05:00

We have gotten a lot of feedback about how helpful the prior shorthand post has been when preparing for class and taking notes in class. Below, we have added additional abbreviations to the list. As mentioned in the prior post, there is not a right or wrong way to do things, but making use of these abbreviations can be a time saver.

Π or P – plaintiff
∆ or D - defendant

Aff’d - affirmed
Rev’d - reversed

TC - Trial Court
AC - Appellate Court
Cir. - Circuit Court(s) of Appeals (i.e. 2d Cir.)
COA - Court of Appeals
DC - District Court
SC or SCt - Supreme Court

admin. - administrative (or administration)
alt. - alternative
Ame – Amendment
ans – answer
arb - arbitration (arbitrator)
arg. - argument
AE – assignee
AR – assignor
Ass'n - association
a/r - assumption of risk
atty - attorney
auth - authority

BR or bankr. - bankruptcy
bc or b/c – because
B – beneficiary
Bd. - board
BFP – bona fide purchaser
BoP or b/p – burden of proof (or bill of particulars)

CB - casebook
cent - central
CA - class action
CE - collateral estoppel
CL – common law
co. - company
CP – condition precedent
CS – condition subsequent
Cong. - Congress(ional)
cx - consideration
Con. – constitutional(ity)
K - contract(s)
CNeg - contributory negligence
© or (c) - copyright
Corp. – corporation
c-c - counterclaim
Ct. - court
cx-c - crossclaim

def. - defense
dem – demurrer
dept. or dep't - department
diff – different
disc or discrim - discrimination
dist. - district
div - division

EE – employee
ER – employer
Emp - employment
Ev – evidence

Fed – Federal
FRCP - Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
FRE - Federal Rules of Evidence

g/r or GRULE – general rule
gov or gov’t - government

HDC – holder in due course
H – husband

Inc. - incorporated
indem - indemnity (indemnify)
indep - independent
ins - insurance
Int'l - international

JMOL - judgment as a matter of law
JNOV - judgment notwithstanding the verdict
j/t – joint tenant
J - judgment
Jdx or jurisd - jurisdiction

L - landlord
l/c - letter of credit
liab - liability
ltd - limited
LLC - limited liability company
LLP - limited liability partnership
lit or litig - litigation

Maj. – majority
Min. - minority
MPC - Model Penal Code
MTD - motion to dismiss

Neg. – negligence
No. - number

OE – offeree
OR – offeror
op. - opinion
O - order
org. - organization

p’ship - partnership
PJ - personal jurisdiction
p/f – prima facie
PE – promisee
PR - promisor
Prop – property

Rxn – reaction
RE or R/E - real estate
® - registered trademark
reg(s) - regulation(s)
Req’d - required
R, R2 - Restatement of Law, Restatement Second
Rev - review
RAP – Rule Against Perpetuities

§ or s - section
SHolder or S'holder - shareholder
St – state
Std – standard
SoL – statute of limitations
SoF – statute of frauds
SL – strict liability
SMJ - subject matter jurisdiction
SJ - summary judgment

TRO - temporary restraining order
T - tenant
TP or 3rd P – third party
TPB or 3rd PB – third party beneficiary
™ or TM - trademark
Tr. - trustee

Unif. - uniform
UCC – Uniform Commercial Code
USC - United States Code

v - versus

W - wife
w/ - with
w/in - within
w/o - without

Exam Prep III

2010-12-02T14:03:00.002-05:00

Now that you are in the exam, what should you do?

1. Allocate your Time

Have a watch somewhere in plain view;
Set up a timetable on your scrap paper - use the point allocations provided by your professor to set the time; or if there are no allocations provided, use your best judgment based on the number of questions, length of the questions, and time given for the exam.

2. Read the Question

Begin by reading the interrogatory at the end of the question;
Identify what you are asked to do;
Read the facts "actively".

3. Outline the Answer

Identify the issues;
Identify the rule for each issue;
Compile the building blocks for the rule of law by considering elements, definitions, exceptions to the general rule, relevant distinctions, etc.;
Follow a hierarchy of concepts by moving from general to specific and defining each legal term of art.

4. Write the Essay

Begin your statement with, "The issue is whether . . ." and include "when" to ensure that you include the relevant facts;
Commence your statement of the with, "Under the [controlling law]";
Use "Here" or "In this case" to introduce your application;
Use "because" to make the connection between rule and fact;
Match up a "fact" with each "element" or "definition" in your rule and explain the significance;
Answer the question you were asked.

For Multiple Choice Questions, remember:

1. Read actively - start with the call of the question, and then move to the fact pattern;

2. Take a moment to "recap" the material facts;

3. Identify the issue;

4. Move from the issue to articulation of your own answer;

5. Translate your "answer" to fit an available and appropriate answer choice.

Exam Prep II

2010-11-30T16:05:00.003-05:00

Right Before the Exam: Sit calmly and do not think about anything else -- do not worry about other exams (you cannot do anything about them, but you can do something about the one you are taking now).

When Told to Begin: These minutes are critical for setting the pace of your exam experience. You want to start smoothly, work efficiently, and remain calm and focused. Here are some ways to do it:

Write down anything that you are afraid you will forget during the course of the exam on scrap paper.
Scan the exam: take a quick look through the entire exam to get an overview; note the number of questions and overall composition of the exam. A general sense of the exam is necessary to let you plan your time and will help you stay focused in knowing what you will be expected to do.
Read the instructions: your professor may give you important information in the instructions, and not following the instructions may cost you valuable points.

Allocate Your Time: Budget your time and work within that time -- divide your time in accordance with the way the professor has allocated the points. The most points deserve the largest allocation of minutes. (Be specific -- it might be helpful to make a timetable to ensure you have properly allocated your time and have enough time to finish your exam)

After the Exam: Go home -- do not stop to chat with friends and discuss the exam. Do not relive the exam thinking about what you did or did not do. Instead, move on to the next exam where there is something you can do to affect the outcome.

For Students that take the Exam on a Computer: Make sure that you have a backup plan in case your computer crashes or if there is another mishap. Make sure you know exactly what to do in such a situation, and do not waste time trying to self-correct the problem. Also, do not forget to bring pens and pencils with you into the exam in the event you have to write the exam.

A Final Word about Open-Book Exams: You must learn the material as if you were taking a closed book exam; do not expect to have have time to look everything up! Likewise, do not waste time looking up answers that you are fairly certain are correct. Also, make sure you know what is and what is not included in your professor's definition of "open book" because it could vary from one professor to another.

Exam Prep I

2010-11-24T11:09:00.007-05:00

Exams are just around the corner -- no matter how much you have studied, and how carefully you have outlined and done practice exams, once you get to the exam, you must be in the moment. What does this mean? You must respond to what your professor asks of you, and not what you want your professor to know (and by answering the professor's questions, you will be showing what you know). If you have prepared properly, you will be able to identifying the issue in the facts and connect the facts with the rule.

With just a few weeks to prepare, there are a few things you should remember:

Make sure to get enough sleep. Cramming and staying up all night doesn't work for law school exams. You have enough time to study and sleep if you plan accordingly, and plan in advance!
Make sure to eat -- don't forget to take study breaks to eat, and don't forget to eat before you walk into an exam. It is hard to concentrate when your stomach is growling.
If you are an evening student, it might be beneficial to take some time off during finals to study, especially the day of the exam. This time off will prove important and beneficial because you want to be as free from distractions as possible.
Make sure you have all of the necessary supplies - do you have pens that actually write; do you need pencils for a Scantron; do you have your exam number; are you going to use earplugs; etc. If your exam is open book, does the material you are planning to bring into the exam comply with the professor's guidelines and specifications?
Now is also the time to ask your professor any outstanding questions you have about the substantive law; you do not want to wait until the last minute to fill in any holes or gaps that you might have in your understanding.
And of course, make sure to allow yourself enough travel time to get to your exam!

The weeks leading up to exams can be very stressful -- make sure to stay away from those that add to your stress and anxiety. Your final exams are the culmination of all your hard work this semester, and you want to put yourself in the best possible situation to show your professor exactly how hard you have worked all semester.

Check back here in the coming weeks for more test taking tips and strategies, and, as always, stop by our offices (Suite 314) if you need additional help or have questions -- we are here to help.

2010-11-09T16:23:00.005-05:00

It is that time of year again when there is a temptation to not prepare for class, or skip one class to do work for another -- do not feed into the temptation! The last few weeks of school are way too important to start going to class unprepared or to start skipping classes.

Take some time to think about time management and how you can best spend your time -- schedule time for non-negotiables: i.e. the time you spend in class; the time you spend preparing for class, commuting to school, sleeping, etc. It might be helpful to even make a schedule from now until finals so you do not get distracted.

It is important not to let your school work pile up, but if you do find yourself in an "emergency situation", Dean Jarmon had a few tips that you might find useful:

Make every minute count. Do not waste time. Only undertake studying that gets results. Always consider what the payback will be for the exam (or paper or project) when starting a task.
Keep up with current class reading. Many students are tempted to stop reading for class to find more study time. This strategy is a bad idea because then they are then lost on the current material which will also be on the exam.

Continue going to all classes. Many students are also tempted to skip class to find more study time. This strategy does not work because the professor will now be pulling the course material together, will give out information about the exam, and will test on the new material.
Develop a structured time management schedule. Block out times for the week when reading for class, writing any papers, and reviewing for
exams will occur. Label each block with the course related to the task. Spread the time for exam review among all exam courses so that progress can be made on every one of them. Few people can work more than a few hours on a paper at one time. Use breaks from a paper for reading or reviewing for exams.
Prioritize your courses and topics within courses. Some of the things to consider are:
Determine the level of understanding in each course.
Determine the amount of material to learn for the first time in each course.
Determine the amount of material already reviewed for each course.
Evaluate which topics are most likely to be heavily tested, moderately tested, and slightly tested for each exam.
Determine whether course topics need to be studied chronologically as presented (because they build on one another) or can be isolated for study in
any order.
Check to see the order of your exams within the exam period.
Break course topics down into sub-topics. It is easier to stay motivated and to see progress if one can cross off sub-topics quickly. It is also easier to find a shorter block of time to complete review of a sub-topic than it is to find a block of time to review the entire long topic.
Condense material to the essentials for each course. These students no longer have the advantage of learning all of the nuances and gaining full understanding. They need to make sure they understand the basic concepts, the important rules, and the methodologies. Unfortunately, they will be depending on working memory and may well have to re-learn everything later during bar review.
Apply the law after learning each topic. Do a few practice questions to see if you can actually use what you learned about a topic. Once you know how to structure an answer for a particular topic, the structure can be used when you confront new facts for the same topic on an exam.
Get enough sleep. Staying up late and getting less than seven hours of sleep as a minimum will be counter-productive. Going into an exam in a sleep-deprived state will only mean being unable to focus and analyze clearly. Cramming more material during last-minute, late-night study will not make up for exhausted brain cells.

See Amy Jarmon, It's triage time again, Law School Academic Support Blog, April 22, 2010, available at http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/academic_support/2010/04/its-triage-time-again.html.

Continuing Orientation Workshop - Writing a Law School Final

2010-10-27T23:00:00.000-04:00

For students wishing to review Professor Darrow-Kleinhaus' lecture on Writing Law School Finals, the video is available on TLCWEB (password protected). Below is the handout from the lecture.

Study Tips to Reduce Anxiety

2010-10-21T17:20:00.008-04:00

The reality of being half way through the semester is beginning to set in; and for some, that comes with a great deal of anxiety - maybe the anxiety set in is because a midterm didn't go as well as anticipated, or maybe it is time to get serious with studies after weeks of coasting. Regardless of the reason, there are ways to reduce anxiety. Below is an excerpt from a blog post written by Dean Amy Jarmon with tips for minimizing stress and anxiety:

Plan your study schedule carefully. Decide what hours you can free to focus on review each week. Designate review time by course so that you can determine whether you have prioritized time properly for each course. Not all courses are equal - think about your level of preparedness and understanding for each separate course.
Study for understanding rather than mere memorization. If you truly understand a concept, you will retain the information better and recall the information more quickly. Also, understanding a concept will allow you to reason through a difficult question on an exam. Instead of guessing, you will be able to consider the question logically and thoroughly.
Go to your professor early and often to get questions answered. The sooner you "plug up" holes in your understanding, the more quickly you will lower your anxiety. The same is true if you are a first-year student who has access to help from upper-division tutors or teaching assistants.
Think about the information at all four levels of processing when you study: global, intuitive, sequential, and sensing. Two of these styles will be your preferences. The other two styles are your "shadows" - you can process at those levels, but it takes a bit more effort. You will understand the material with both breadth and depth if you consider all four levels.
Global: What is the big picture of the material? What are the essentials that you need to understand? How do the topics in the course fit together to make the whole?
Intuitive: What are the relationships among the topics, sub-topics, concepts, and cases? What policies or theories have been discussed in class? Do you know how to argue those policies or theories appropriately for the parties?
Sequential: What are the individual units that you need to understand in the course? What steps of analysis or methodologies do you need to use for each topic or sub-topic? How can you think through the information methodically when you answer a question?
Sensing: What facts, details, and practicalities do you need to know to flesh out the material? Are there nuances that you need to note in how the law is applied? Can you state the rules and definitions precisely? Do you need to know case names or code sections for your professor?
Apply the concepts and rules to as many practice questions as possible. Practice questions help you to understand the nuances in the law through different scenarios. The more variations you see on the facts ahead of time, the less likely that an exam question will seem "alien" to you. You will have thought about something similar previously during your practice sessions. By doing some practice questions "under test conditions" prior to the exam, you will be less anxious about formatting essay answers, choosing the "best" multiple-choice answer, or managing your time during the exam.

See Amy Jarmon, Study techniques that reduce anxiety, Law School Academic Support Blog, March 19, 2010, available at http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/academic_support/.

Building the Rule and Analysis Sections of an IRAC

2010-10-19T13:37:00.005-04:00

Professors have started to give midterms, and it is time to really focus on the details of what should be included when writing a law school exam -- by this point in your law school career, you have heard one way to approach writing an exam is by using the IRAC format, and you probably know what that means. But, within the IRAC format, being able to properly articulate the rule of law and sufficiently analyze the facts from the hypothetical takes a lot of work and practice. You have probably practiced a few hypotheticals and know exactly what what should go into your IRAC, or do you? Below are some tips for making sure that you are including the relevant law and properly analyzing the facts your answers.

Your rule paragraph should include enough of a statement of law to resolve the general issue. Start with a general rule, and make sure to include a sufficient discussion of the law to provide an adequate context for your analysis of the question or controversy (i.e. have you provided the relevant exception or exclusion, are there any legal terms that need to be defined, etc.). You must identify enough of the relevant rule to provide an adequate context for your analysis of the facts in controversy -- your analysis will not make sense unless you have identified the rule which determines the legal meaning of those facts.

Once you have identified and explained the applicable rule, then you must examine the inferences and implications of the relevant facts in relation to the rule. Your analysis is a vital part of the discussion -- as you write your analysis, let the articulation of the rule guide your application of the facts.

Within your analysis, the best approach is to match up each element (or sub-element) in the rule to the relevant fact; and use the word "because" to make the connection between the rule and fact. Make use of every fact of consequence and make sure that each conclusion you make is supported by an explanation (ask yourself "why").

Use this approach to demonstrate your ability to engage in a thoughtful analysis -- this does not mean simply repeat the relevant facts from the fact pattern, but instead, you should explain to the reader the legal significance and consequence of each fact.

As the semester continues, build on these skills by continuing to practice hypothetical questions, and continue to reference Mastering the Law School Exam for tips on improving your writing skills. This extra effort will help you build upon the requisite skills, so that when it is time for finals, you will know exactly what should be included in your final exam.

Intro to Multiple Choice Questions

2010-10-14T11:05:00.001-04:00

Multiple choice questions are great tools to study the law, and will inevitably show up on your final exams and on the Bar Exam - the difference between the "legal version" of a multiple choice question and what you have experienced in the past is that the multiple choice questions you face in law school will test your knowledge of the substantive law, your reading comprehension, and your legal reasoning skills.

So, starting with the basics: how should you attack a multiple choice question?

Start by reading the call of the question (what is the question asking); then read the fact pattern and find the issue;
once you identify the issue, articulate your own answer; and
find your "answer" in the available answer choices.

There are a few more things to remember when faced with a multiple choice question:

You must read the question and the fact pattern actively. Make sure to pay attention to the legal relations of the parties; pay attention to significant words [i.e. "reasonably", "intended", "mistakenly thought", "deliberately", etc.]; and identify amounts, dates, quantities, ages.
Never assume facts. You may need to draw a reasonable inference from the facts, but do not create your own facts and do not go off on a tangent based on what you think might be asked. Remember, your professor has crafted the question to contain all of the facts you need to answer the question.
You should frame the issue to answer the questions. If you fail to identify the issue, then it makes it difficult to identify the relevant facts, and accordingly, you have no means by which to identify the correct answer choice.

Remember, after you have articulated the issue, apply the rule of law to the facts and reach your conclusion. Generally, by determining the appropriate outcome, you remain in control of the question and are not as likely to be distracted by the distractors in the question designed to throw you off course.

Continuing Orientation Workshop - Outlining

2010-10-11T14:55:00.003-04:00

For students wishing to review Professor Darrow-Kleinhaus' lecture on Outlining for Law School Finals, the video is available on TLCWEB (password protected). Below is the handout from the lecture.

Active Reading

2010-10-07T13:17:00.006-04:00

When working thought hypothetical problems, multiple choice questions and during exams, you should read the questions "actively" -- but, what does it mean to read actively? “Active reading” means that you search for and identify the following:

The sub-area of law: when you study for a specific class or walk into your exam, you know the subject matter, but there are still wide open categories and you must narrow it down specific sub-topics. A critical component of reading actively is reading in context -- on exams, it’s your job to provide the context.
The legal relationship between the parties: it is important to pay attention to the legal significance of parties’ relationships. The nature of the relationship is often of major significance to a resolution of the problem. Often, professors will use such relationships to test your ability to note distinctions in how the law treats such relationships (you may be dealing with fiduciary duties, different standards of care, and additional obligations imposed by law).
Amounts of money, dates, locations, quantities, and ages: be sure to pay attention to dollar amounts, dates and times, quantities of items, jurisdictional information, and any ages if they appear in the fact pattern. These details can be important for so many reasons: imagine skipping over a time sequence of events in a contractual relationship, then your analysis of the offer, acceptance, and requirements for performance may be way off. Dates also signal statute of limitations problems. Ages are generally tied to a statutory issue (consider statutory rape) or a standard of care (fiduciary duty) while money and location information tend to indicate jurisdictional thresholds. Reading carefully assures that you won’t miss critical signals.
The words “oral” and “written”: these words figure prominently in contract, property, and evidence questions. They signal potential issues with the Statute of Frauds, enforceability of promises, transactions with respect to land, and even admissibility of certain kinds of evidence. Also, note language that signals a writing or oral conversation i.e, a letter, a fax, or a telephone call.

“Active reading” does not include:

Adding facts to the problem: unless you are told to do so specifically by the call of the question, you are never to add your own facts. In most cases, you are given all the facts you need and should use only those facts.
Making assumptions: never make assumptions -- this will lead you astray and into dangerous exam territory. Remember, an assumption is not the same as a logical inference, which often must be made from the facts you’re given. (When working with a set of facts, you may need to draw factual inferences and connect these inferences to the dictates of the rule.)
Never confuse your parties: as you read and before you write, make absolutely certain that you are clear about who is doing what to whom. You don’t want to confuse the actors.

As always, you can refer to Mastering the Law School Exam for further tips on practicing your active reading skills.

Studying with Hypotheticals and Multiple Choice Questions

2010-10-05T20:00:00.001-04:00

We have said that is it important to do practice problems -- regardless of whether you are doing hypothetical questions or multiple choice questions, do you know what it means to study from the questions? Are you actually learning from the process?

Merely going through the process isn't enough and "doing questions" may be a waste of your time. Instead, you need to learn how to analyze the question and be able to reason through the problem to arrive at the correct answer.

What does this mean? If you can only partially answer the question, or if you are only getting multiple choice questions incorrect, ask yourself:

What does it mean to only know a portion of the material?
Are the correct answers "right" for the right reason or did you answer for the wrong reason or just get lucky, and do you know why the incorrect answers are wrong?
Did you know the law; were you able to identify the controlling law?
Did you correctly read the facts; did you add facts that threw you off course; did you correctly read the question; and did you apply the correct rule to the facts?

Make sure that you are not just going through the motions, but instead really learning the law as you go along by actively learning from the question. It is not cheating to look up a rule, consult your outline, or read a sample answer to help you build an analysis -- you will learn through the repetition and reinforcement of actively doing the work.

Reading Cases

2010-09-29T13:33:00.012-04:00

Several students have stopped by our offices with questions about reading cases, and several have asked how all of these cases relate to their law school experience as a whole. These students have wanted to know how much they need to know about every case for their finals, and how much of each case they need to include in their outline. Below is an excerpt of a blog post written by Dean Amy Jarmon, which includes a summary of how you should attack your case reading and briefing for the semester:

All cases are not equal in importance. Some cases are read for historical background only - the law will change by the last case on a sub-topic. Some cases are packed full of important essentials such as rules, policies, jurisdictional differences, important points of reasoning. Some cases are included for just one smaller essential: a definition or an exception.
Cases need to be read at two levels. What are the important aspects to understand about the individual case itself? This level of reading focuses on the parts within a case and the specifics one needs to understand the case. How does the case fit into a series of cases, into the sub-topic, and into the topic? This level of reading focuses on the synthesis of the case into the larger body of law that one is learning.
Cases are a starting point in the study of law rather than an ending point. Cases show us how judges think about the law. Cases teach us how to extrapolate the most important aspects from the full opinion. Cases provide us with "tools" for our toolkit so we can solve new legal problems. Cases become illustrations in outlines rather than the basis of outlines. Professors will not ask one to "recite everything you know about Case X" on their exams.
Cases are essential to the practice of law. Lawyers read and analyze cases every day. They are constantly searching for precedents that relate to their clients' cases. Thus, the time spent in law school on reading and briefing is not merely an "ivory tower" exercise. Students who become skilled at these tasks are making an investment in their future expertise. Students who use canned briefs or headnotes as substitutes for these tasks ultimately shortchange their professional growth.
Case reading and case briefing are important legal skills that take time to learn. The process becomes faster as the law student becomes more expert at analysis. It also becomes faster once the law student understands why we read cases.

See Amy Jarmon, Reading cases for more oomph, Law School Academic Support Blog, September 20, 2010, available at http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/academic_support/.

Outlining - Organizing by Rule

2010-09-24T18:13:00.001-04:00

Now that we have discussed the big picture of what an outline is and how to go about starting your outline, let's talk about the details of organizing your outline by the rules and how much of the rule you need to know.

Your outline should be organized by rule of law, not by the case - yes, you learn the rules by reading cases, but when it comes to outlining, everything gets stripped away, and the remaining rules (that is: definitions, elements, factors, exceptions, and defenses) are left.

Things to think about when putting together the rule of law in your outline include:

How is the rule defined?

Are there any words within the rule that need to be defined?

Under what facts or circumstances would the rule likely apply?

Are there any tests or factors that must be met?

Are there limitations, exceptions or exemptions?

Are there any consequences for applying the rule?

What would be the result of applying the rule to the applicable parties?

These points are just to get you started; your outline has to have enough detail to allow you to learn the law with specificity, thus you should include enough detail so that you can use it as a study tool, but not so much detail that you get bogged down and lose sight of the big picture. So in determining whether you have enough detail; ask yourself:

Have you been able to define the rule fully and completely (including knowing how it might arise in context), and

Do you appreciate how the rule operates (including knowing what happens if the court finds the rule applicable; and what are the likely results, outcomes effects, etc.).

So what about all those cases you read in class? They have a place, but the weight depends on the class and your professor. Listen for clues in class, such as when you professor tells you that you the applicable case is a "seminal" case; when a rule of law or legal doctrine is derived from a specific case (i.e. the Erie Doctrine, a Brady violation, Miranda rights, etc.); or when a professor tells you that you need to know the specific case - these are pretty good signs that you should include the case name and holding in your outline, as well as understand the case as you would any other rule of law.

Further, your class notes are an important tool for compiling your outline as they should capture what you learned in class, as well as give insight into your professor's tone and points of law your professor highlighted in class.

Introduction to Outlining

2010-09-20T22:15:00.001-04:00

Your outlines are where you can adequately make sense of the concepts from your respective classes and figure out the relationships between these concepts. It is important to know how to outline, as well as understand what your outline should include because you will have to generate your own outlines - you are best suited to do so!

[A note about commercial outlines: while they may provide the rules of law, they provide the material in such a generic manner that it will not necessarily follow how your professor teaches the class, so you should not depend solely on these sources because they may fail to capture of the nuances and emphases that are pointed out in class.]

The purpose of your outline is two-fold:

1. Your outline is a vehicle for you to learn the law because it requires you to organize and record the information for your understanding and retrieval. In doing this, you must take apart the individual rules and connect them in a way that reflects how the rules interact as a whole - it is not enough to know the individual rule, but you must also know how the rules work together.

2. It helps you prepare for exams because while writing your outline you have worked through the analysis of issues you are likely to find on your exam. Your outline will contain all you need to know when studying for exams, and in the way you need to know it.

When should you begin outlining?

You should start early in the semester, but not so early that you do not have the full picture of one topic. We suggest beginning outlines when you have completed one topic, and gradually adding to your outline - topic by topic as you proceed throughout the semester.

Where do you start?

There are many places to begin - your syllabus will provide a sequence and structure for your outline; likewise, the table of contents in your casebook will help you by dividing topics. These can both be places to start in determining how to sequence your outlines, and what topics need to be covered.

How do you format an outline?

We suggest a regular outline format with a bullet or numerical scheme - it doesn't matter which format you decide; the point is that you will want to rank concepts, and identify main topics and subtopics. Usually, there is a logical sequence to follow in analysing a problem based on the construction of the rule, and this hierarchy should be worked out in your outline (again, your syllabus or the table of contents from your textbook are great places to see the hierarchy; hornbooks may help with subheadings, too).

The real work of outlining comes from synthesizing the material so that you can differentiate between the main topics and the subtopics; and do not be afraid to go outside your casebook and notes for help - hornbooks are a great resource for explaining material.

Once you have your main topics and subtopics, then you can begin to fill in the pieces to provide substance and meaning by filling in the outline with definitions, cases and examples.

Intro to IRAC

2010-09-09T16:07:00.007-04:00

The vast majority of your exams in law school test your ability to "think like a lawyer" - in achieving this goal, you should master the IRAC structure of legal analysis; that is a structure that lays out the "Issue, Rule, Application, Conclusion." IRAC can be an important guide for you because all professors want your exams to include well-reasoned arguments based on the analysis of the relevant issues and an application of the relevant facts. Generally, your answer will depend upon how you have articulated your understanding of the facts, recognized the issues, and explained the applicable rules - it is by this reasoning that you will reach the conclusion.

In essay exams, the fact pattern may be as short as one paragraph or as long as several pages; the question may include one, two, or multiple parties - at this point, these details don’t matter. Your job is always the same: address the question that is asked by giving an explanation of the law and the facts. Regardless of the form, each issue and sub-issue will be organized and analyzed individually; and you will be able to analyze each issue based on the relevant facts and law.

Below are a few points you should think about when writing an exam or practicing your exam writing skills with hypotheticals:

Begin by identifying your issue: a construction of whether [rule of law] when [relevant facts] is often useful (i.e. The issue is whether Steve committed the tort of trespass to land when he entered the neighboring plot of land to retrieve his hat.).
Introduce and articulate the rule: do not forget to identify the controlling body of law (i.e. Under the U.C.C. . . .), and follow a hierarchy of concepts (it is often effective to move from general to specific; make sure to include relevant legal definitions and any exceptions or exclusions, if applicable).
As for your application (or analysis): begin by a transitional word (here, in this case, etc.) and use the word because to link your rule to the relevant fact (i.e. liability for trespass to land occurred when Steve stepped onto his neighbor's land because he fully intended to do so.).
Offer a conclusion for each issue, and repeat your IRAC for each issue and sub-issue of the hypothetical or exam.

Professor Darrow-Kleinhaus fully walks you through a successful IRAC in her book, Mastering the Law School Exam (Thomson West 2006), which can be your guide to IRAC as it further expands on the points illustrated here.

Case Briefing

2010-09-02T16:56:00.007-04:00

Several first year students have stopped by for advice on case briefing. There are many ways to brief a case stylistically, but regardless of your style, your case brief is a summary of the case that you have read for class - your brief should break down the elements of the case and allow you to identify the facts, procedural history, legal issue, and law at hand.

A great resource to use as a guide for case briefing is Dean Charlotte Taylor's book, Bridging the Gap Between College and Law School: Strategies for Success (Carolina Academic Press 2001, 2009) (http://www.cap-press.com/authors/209/Charlotte+D.+Taylor).

Hypotheticals

2010-08-30T21:55:00.002-04:00

Making use of hypotheticals throughout the semester is one of the best ways to prepare for exams - this does not mean waiting until the last minute, but working hypos throughout the course of the semester and whenever you finish a topic in class. Working though problems along the way is an effective tool for mastering a subject and determining whether or not you really understand the subject - if you are working on hypos as the semester progresses, you will have time to find answers to the questions that inevitably will arise when you learn new material, instead of cramming at the last minute. Many subsequent posts will reiterate the importance of hypos, and ways to successfully work through hypos, but it is important to mention from the outset that there is a database of hypos available to you (see www.tourolaw.edu/adp [password required]).

Law School Shorthand

2010-08-25T12:00:00.006-04:00

When taking notes in class, do you use shorthand? Much like everything else, there is no one right or wrong way to do things, but making use of abbreviations can be a time saver.

Below are some helpful abbreviations:

∏ or P- plaintiff
∆ or D- defendant

Aff’d- affirmed
Rev’d- reversed

TC- Trial Court
AC- Appellate Court
DC - District Court
SC or SCt - Supreme Court

Ame – Amendment
ans – answer
arg. - argument
AE – assignee
AR – assignor
a/r - assumption of risk
atty - attorney

bc or b/c – because
B – beneficiary
BFP – bona fide purchaser
BoP or b/p – burden of proof

CL – common law
CP – condition precedent
CS – condition subsequent
cx - consideration
Con. – constitutional(ity)
K- contract(s)
Corp. – corporation
Ct. - court

dem – demurrer
diff – different
disc or discrim - discrimination

EE – employee
ER – employer
Emp - employment
Ev – evidence

Fed – Federal
FRCP - Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
FRE - Federal Rules of Evidence

g/r or GRULE – general rule
gov or gov’t - government

HDC – holder in due course
H – husband

JNOV - judgment notwithstanding the verdict
j/t – joint tenant
J - judgment
Jdx or jurisd - jurisdiction

L - landlord

Maj. – majority
Min. - minority
MTD - motion to dismiss

Neg. – negligence

OE – offeree
OR – offeror

p’ship - partnership
PJ - personal jurisdiction
p/f – prima facie
PE – promisee
PR promisor
Prop – property

Rxn – reaction
Req’d - required
R, R2 - Restatement of Law, Restatement Second
Rev - review
RAP – Rule Against Perpetuities

§- section
St – state
Std – standard
SoL – statute of limitations
SoF – statute of frauds
SL – strict liability
SMJ - subject matter jurisdiction
SJ - summary judgment

TRO - temporary restraining order
T - tenant
TP or 3rd P – third party
TPB or 3rd PB – third party beneficiary

UCC – Uniform Commercial Code

v - versus

W - wife
w/ - with
w/in - within
w/o - without

Update: additional abbreviations have been added here.

Class Notes

2010-08-22T13:28:00.003-04:00

Going to class and actually listening to your professor is one of the most important steps in the learning process. Make sure to listen to what is being said, and to how it is said. Also, pay attention to vocabulary and write down every legal term of art. Your goal in class is to learn to speak the language of the law.

While in class, your notes are to capture what occurred on a particular day, allowing you to relive what was covered (cases discussed, questions asked, comments made, etc.). Taking notes in law school will be different than notes you have previously taken; you’re not expected to make a transcript of each class, which begs the question, what should you write? Below are a few pointers of what should be in your notes:

• Points, questions, and observations your professor makes about the cases. Pay attention to how your professor “thinks” about a case, which is quite different from the basic information you already have in your case briefs.

• All the questions the professor asks in class. Remember, with some professors, all you get are questions and it is a huge mistake to overlook the questions while waiting for “answers” (because "answers" are not likely to come). The answers may even be the questions because the answers you’re looking for are in the questions that the professor asks of you and the material. In these cases, your job will be to learn to ask the same types of questions - soon you’ll be the one asking the questions, finding the problems in the case, and the inconsistencies in the court’s reasoning.

• Write down every hypothetical and example. These hypotheticals are often reincarnated on final exams -consider every hypo as a potential exam question and write it down, and don't forget to write down the variations, too - professors are known to present one problem and then change the facts.

• Comments relating to policy, legal theory, and doctrine. These are tips to how your professor thinks about the law, and how you should be learnig to think about it.

• Everything written on the blackboard, dry erase board, presented in a PowerPoint presentation, etc. Law professors are traditionally so “low-tech” that even writing on the board is a major event - when it happens, you can be sure it’s important.

• Legal terms: As discussed previously, since your job is to learn the language of the law, make sure you write down the words, phrases, and legal terms of art associated with the topics as they are discussed.

• Steps of analysis; tests; standards: This is not the same as the “black letter rule.” That’s in your casebook, the hornbook, and every commercial outline. What we are talking about is the way your professor presents the rule to you and the way she works through the sequence of analysis. Listen for such signal language as “there are two questions to be asked” or “the
patterns to look for are. . .” When you hear these clues, you’ll be able to detect that your professor is about to give you the guides for your analysis. Write it down.

Here is also a great time to mention Professor Darrow-Kleinhaus' book, Mastering the Law School Exam - these pointers are derived from there. Mastering the Law School Exam is going to be a great resource for you throughout your academic career, not just for exam prep, but all aspects of your legal education.

Seeking Research Study Participants

2010-08-20T11:22:00.001-04:00

Professor Darrow-Kleinhaus is seeking law students to participate in her legal reasoning and problem-solving study. All of the information about the study and how to participate is below in the embedded flyer. We encourage you to e-mail Professor Darrow-Kleinhaus (suzanned@tourolaw.edu) to participate.

The Socratic Method

2010-08-16T22:49:00.003-04:00

As we have mentioned, law school is a different experience than undergrad - differences come in the way material is presented and how you’re supposed to learn it; the nature of class interactions and the Socratic method; how long it takes to read court cases and how much work there is to do; and especially the difference between the skills emphasized in class and the ones tested on exams. This blog, as well as the Academic Development Program, are here to help demystify this for you - we are here to help!

As for the Socratic Method, there are a million horror stories out there, but it is nothing to worry about - here is what is important to know: it is true that most law professors don’t lecture; they rely on the Socratic Method and ask questions for you to answer - only sometimes do professors actually give answers. Supplying the answers is your job because professors assume that you have done the reading, will learn the material, and put it all together in a way that’s meaningful to you. One of the professor’s goal is for you to learn to ask the same kinds of questions for yourself, and showing up prepared is the first step in the process.

So how do you get used to the Socratic Method, if anyone ever does?

It helps to realize that your professors are not trying to make you appear foolish in public but are trying to get you used to thinking on your feet. Also, they are trying to make you think in ways you may not have not done before. The best way to deal with this type of anxiety is to be prepared: try to anticipate the types of questions your professor might ask. Pay close attention to the notes that follow the cases in your casebook – these are ripe for the asking!

The How of Reading Cases

2010-08-13T13:42:00.010-04:00

With school starting in less than a week, you should have started reading and briefing your first assignments. Below are some tips for how to actively read your assignments:

1. “Prep” the case: establish a framework for new material by identifying the topic before reading.
• Place in context from your syllabus, table of contents
• Know what you are going to read before you read by checking the topic in a hornbook

2. Pre-read the case
a. Look for organizational clues
• How long is it?
• How is the opinion organized?
• Are there headings to the opinion’s organization or main points?
• Is there a dissent?
b. Skim for textual clues
• Are there key phrases: “the rule is well-established,” “there is a two-part test”?

3. Read actively: place yourself in context - who, what, when, where
• Identify the parties by their legal relationship
• Procedural info: which court, what step in the proceedings.
• Identify issue: what is the controversy?
• What does resolution of the matter depend on?

Identify the court’s decision before you begin reading to provide focus and context –
Focus on the basics which are easily overlooked in the rush to find the rules
What was the disposition of the case? (What happened?)
What did the court decide?
Who “won”?
What relief did the court grant?
What did the parties seek from the court?

4. Ask questions of the material as you read.
Is something not clear? If the court’s reasoning seems off, question it. If you see a conflict or a result that doesn’t comport with the reasoning, note it. I bet it will show up in class discussion.

5. Identify what is important about each case.
• Learn to ask before your teacher does: "why is this case in the book?"
• "What does this case add to my understanding of this area of law?”

6. Write notes instead of highlighting.
If you take the time to write a note that states its meaning to you, then you’ve captured its significance in your head.

7. Keep moving
You won’t understand everything the first time around. But you can’t get stuck. Move on. Sometimes the concurring or dissenting opinion will shed more light on the issue than the majority opinion. Often the next opinion in the case book will be helpful.

8. Sum up the case
Force yourself to write a tag line identifier for each case at the top of your brief. This is useful for jogging your memory. For example: “kid kicks classmate” (Vosburg) or “kid pulls chair from under woman” (Daily) or “bull charges woman” (Bosley)

Course Supplements and Study Aids: What are They and What do you Need . . .

2010-08-09T21:51:00.002-04:00

For almost every class you take in law school, there will be countless supplemental guides including hornbooks, course outlines, case briefs, and law summaries. There are numerous study aids, including flashcards and audiotapes, and all of these options can be a drain on your finances and time. Further, your professors will have opinions about which study aids are useful, and their suggestions should be your primary guide.

Generally, study aids give you an overview of the law and can be very helpful during the course of the semester and while studying for finals because they help by simplifying or synthesizing the law in varying detail, but it is important to note that can be deceptive because memorizing the law isn't enough - you need to recognize that some books go further in depth than your professor, and others merely skim over a topic that your professor might have spent a great deal of time on; additionally, you will need to be able to analyze and articulate an argument in class and on your exam. Thus, the actual memorization of law from a commercial supplement or study aid might be a step in the right direction, and will help clarify things you do not necessarily understand in class, but merely memorizing the law from these supplements is not enough.

Many 1Ls think they must buy these supplements to be successful, but before running to the bookstore and purchasing every supplement and study aid, know what they are and what they do:

• Hornbooks are written by scholars in the respective area - these books articulate the law and make reference to how the respective cases helped shape the law. Hornbooks can be helpful because you get a clear statement of the law, but they can also be very dense and expensive. The best bet for a hornbook is to borrow it from the Library prior to purchasing to make sure it is right for you - most hornbooks for first year classes are often on reserve.

• Commercial Outlines give an overview of the law - admittedly, they can be useful in some instances, but should never be a substitute for your own work, and often do not go in depth enough for exam purposes. It is important to note that some commercial outlines don't articulate the law correctly or do not give as much detail as you might need on an exam. There are two general categories of commercial outlines: (1) outlines that give an overview of the law, and (2) outlines that give summaries of your cases for class. For both types of outline, it is important to remember that you must still do the work - for example, your professor might focus on a different holding or line of reasoning than the one in the commercial outline, and if you did not do the work yourself, you might have missed the key points of the class discussion.

• Between the Hornbook and Commercial Outline, there are many other supplements that give explanations of the law - these books provide concise explanations, and give more details than the commercial outlines. Most of these options are written by law professors and can be useful to the learning process. Much like hornbooks, many of these books are on reserve in the library and can be helpful in preparing for class and for exams.

• Also, do not forget about study aids with practice problems - practicing from practice problems, multiple choice questions, and hypothetical essays give valuable experience before an actual exam.

Regardless of which supplement(s) you determine are right for you, taking shortcuts is not the answer to a successful law school career - study aids and supplements should be just that, a supplement to the case reading, briefing, studying, etc. that you do on your own and with your study group - they cannot replace the hard work and time that you have to put into studying each semester. In fact, the most useful study aid might just be something you create yourself!

Preparing for Class - FAQ's

2010-08-06T10:29:00.006-04:00

With the beginning of the school year rapidly approaching, many of you have questions about what to expect and how to properly prepare for your first classes. Below are some questions that students frequently ask:

How should I prepare for classes?

Read the assigned materials and brief the assigned cases. After you’ve read and briefed the assigned cases, ask yourself the following questions:

• Why was this case in the casebook? (What was unique about the case?)
• What action did the court take with respect to the rule of law in this case – did it uphold the rule, modify it, expand it, narrow it to its facts, uphold the rule but find that it did not apply in this case?

Why should I brief cases when it takes so long?

Briefing a case has several purposes:
• To practice “dissecting” a case which is essential for law school exam taking; each time you practice articulating the issue, rule, and reasoning of a case, you are practicing essential skills
• To prepare for class
• To use when preparing an outline

Why does it take so long to read even one page of some cases?

In the beginning, reading a case will be like learning a foreign language. For one thing, you are new to the vocabulary of the law. Even if it appears to be “familiar” language, it very likely has a specific legal meaning which you must look up in a legal dictionary. And you must use your dictionary and not simply try to figure the word out from the “context” of the sentence. Remember, you are new to the study of law and have no “context.”

How can I gauge how I am doing during the semester?

To make sure that you are keeping up with the material and learning what you are supposed to be learning, do the following:

• Outline throughout the semester. Create an outline as you progress through the topics covered during the semester. This allows you to synthesize and understand the material as you go along rather than trying to learn it all at once at the end of the semester.
• Practice hypothetical questions throughout the semester – never wait until the final exam. As soon as you cover a new topic in class, look to practice application of the rule in the form of hypos and short answer questions.
• Take several practice exams from your professor’s exams on file during the last month of classes.

How much time should I be devoting to my studies?

It is generally true that you should allow for three hours of study time for every hour spent in class. While everyone works at a different pace and in a different manner, it is essential that you determine what works best for you – and that you do so early on. Set a realistic schedule and stick to it.

Do I need to form a study group?

Not everyone works effectively in a study group – nor does everyone have time for a group, especially evening students. Still, a study group can be an effective way to deal with many of the stresses and adjustments of law school learning. When forming a study group, consider including persons with whom you share similar study habits; and most important, make sure that you set guidelines for meetings and assignments. Each member of the group must be a contributing member in order for the study group to function effectively. And if you do form an outside study group, you can and should model its activities after the TA group that you participate in at Touro. This is an ideal way to follow up on hypotheticals and discussions.

I did well in college but I feel overwhelmed and confused in law school. Is this normal?

Perfectly so. Law school is very different from undergraduate school and other types of graduate education. You are required to learn a vast amount of material and use it in a way that is probably very new to you. Most of you have had little if any experience in analytical thinking where your task is to problem solve. It will take some time to adjust to this different type of learning.

Remember, as you begin your law school journey, do not be so hard on yourself and do not expect to understand everything right away. Touro offers various resources -- make sure to take advantage of all that is offered to you!

First Year Teaching Assistant Program

2010-07-26T10:53:00.009-04:00

Welcome to Touro (and welcome back to the TAs). We plan to have the Teaching Assistant program fully in place, and with sessions to begin the first full week of classes. Below are dates and administrative matters that will help the Teaching Assistant program run smoothly during orientation and the first weeks of school:

We will have a table set up during Orientation for First Years to sign up for TA sections - please look for us and make sure to stop by on Monday, August 16th or Wednesday, August 18th to sign up. Also, make sure to purchase Suzanne Darrow-Kleinhaus' book, Mastering the Law School Exam (Thomson West 2006), when you purchase your books - Mastering the Law School Exam will be used during the TA sessions.

An email will be sent to all First Year students on Sunday, August 22 confirming your TA session - the email will include your TA's name and email, the time you will meet, and the respective room number. Please make sure to check your Touro email account for this information; TA sessions will begin on Monday, August 23rd.

Save the Date: students that have applied for and are selected to be TAs this fall should plan to attend a mandatory orientation and training session on Sunday, August 22nd at 10:30 a.m. The session should last about two hours and details will follow in a subsequent email.

Enjoy the last few weeks of summer and we look forward to working with you this semester!

Importance of Building a Legal Vocabulary

2010-07-23T13:31:00.005-04:00

The first weeks of law school can be intimidating and overwhelming - law school is unlike any of your other academic endeavors and involves learning a whole new language. Part of the difficulty of law school is adapting to and making use of this new language. You should not gloss over the words you do not understand, nor should you simply try to figure out the meaning of the word in context - having a basic knowledge or guessing what a word means will only hinder your understanding of the law. Often, you will find that preconceived ideas about the meaning of a word will differ from the actual legal meaning.

Thus, part of preparing for class and studying should include looking up and working to develop an understanding of unfamiliar words - make this part of your regular study routine, and as you continue throughout the semester, your legal vocabulary will continue to grow, you will find fewer and fewer unfamiliar words, and you will be more comfortable in your ability to be conversational in the law.

There are many legal dictionaries and online resources to help you build your legal vocabulary - Black's Law Dictionary is the most well known (it is even available on Westlaw and as an iPhone app). Pick a legal dictionary that works for you, and make use of it during the school year - by the time the semester is over, and you are studying for finals, it will make your understanding of the law so much more manageable.

Time Management for 1Ls

2010-07-12T19:19:00.009-04:00

It is extremely important to develop good time management skills early in your law school career --- and there is no better time to do so than at the very beginning. The first few weeks of law school can seem overwhelming as you learn to balance all the competing demands on your time. A calendar can help you manage these demands by letting you schedule day-to-day tasks and plan for long-term assignments and exams.

You can use Touro’s Law School Planner from your orientation materials to help you navigate these first few weeks of law school. The Planner is meant to be a guide --- one which you can and should adapt to your own study needs. However, since you are new to law school, we have made some suggestions and identified some specific tasks and suggested time allocations. The time frames are meant to be general guidelines only and it is very likely that your individual needs will vary. However, by keeping track of how long it takes you to complete an assignment, you will gain a better understanding of how much time to allocate to different study activities.

The Law School Planner covers several weeks: the week before Orientation, the week of Orientation, and the first full week of class. Please pay close attention to the page headings, especially with respect to the first week of class and select the calendar for your particular class section. There are three day sections and one evening section. There is also a blank planner for you to make your own schedule.

We believe the Planner will be helpful as you begin your law school career. If you have any questions --- and we are sure that you will --- please do not hesitate to stop by and see us in Room 314. We are here to assist you.

* Please check with the Touro Bookstore [(631) 761-7170] for their hours before making the trip to purchase your books.

About Touro Law Center's Academic Development Program

2010-06-30T22:44:00.010-04:00

Touro Law Center's Academic Development Program is committed to seeing you succeed – we recognize that the law school experience is different from all other types of educational experiences and so its goal is to assist you in developing the specific skills required for mastery of legal analysis and writing.

Our Program begins during Orientation, and continues throughout your years at Touro. In addition to group workshops and study sessions, we offer one-on-one sessions for individualized assessment, plus help with your study approaches, essay writing, and training in legal reasoning and writing. We also offer supplemental bar preparation courses in your final semesters at the Law Center to jump start your bar studies.

This blog is yet another, new way in which we can provide tips for your academic success and quickly respond to your needs - we hope to give relevant advice based on where you are within your law school experience. It is important to remember that while the contents of each post are the opinions of the author(s), they do not always match those of other contributors - often, there are many approaches that successful law students undertake, and while one approach might work for one student, there is no one size which fits all approach.

We suggest taking our suggestions, and adapting them in a way that works best for you - we also encourage you to participate in all that Touro has to offer. We are available to meet with you to discuss your academic performance and to develop a study program that addresses your individualized needs.

We look forward to working with you.

Welcome!

2010-06-29T14:52:00.004-04:00

Welcome to the Academic Development blog! We are here for your academic support needs -- we hope you check this site frequently for tips to enhance your study skills, including tips for time management, case reading and briefing, studying for exams, and other skills essential for your law school success.

We hope that you are enjoying your summer and look forward to seeing you in the Fall!