Law Students

Today things took a turn for better.  I am still tired, mentally and physically, but at least I am starting to see how the study load will be manageable.  The purpose of the bar prep seem to be  combination of memorizing the most frequently tested substantive law, and applying test strategies for formats such as multiple choice questions and essay questions.  It also teaches me how to “sound like a lawyer” even if I have no clue what is the legal issue.

We are not expected to memorize the old fashioned way.  Instead, our goal is to review notes and engage in active learning by condensing pages and pages of in-class notes into more concise notes.  My version of “condensed” notes, however, is merely 4-5 pages shorter than the 14 page notes I have written in-class.  I am not sure if the end product is helpful in terms of creating a good outline, though I am getting a review of the main topics, and I suppose that is the main purpose of the exercise.

Today we finished a somewhat painfully insightful lecture on state jurisdiction.  There are a lot of rules cited and even more dates thrown around.  Over the course of a few days, we covered the initiatory papers to interlocutory papers, then moved onto motions and proceedings.  Lastly, we learned about topics not covered in law school course such as effects of arbitration clause and special proceedings.  I cannot really remember all the details save for numbers 5/8/20/30 and 1.5/2.5/3/6/10.

An outrageous idea occurred to me last night during the study frenzy.  Laminated cards of important black letter law and sticking it to the shower so I will not waste any single minute of my time.  Crazy?  Yes.  Will I do it?  Probably not.  But hey, some creative person might capitalize on this idea someday and make a huge profit out of this.   Just remember this though — you saw this first at Shelley’s Case.