Speaker 1 (00:00): When you hit law school, there are so many
learning curves in differences, in the structure of classes and finals and grading that what
you did in undergrad is not going to work for you in law school.
Hey guys, and welcome back to my channel.
This is the place where I teach new and aspiring law students, the strategies to get the grades
and get hired so that you can start your lawyering life on your own terms in case you're new
here, I'm Angela Vorpahl of angelavorpahl.com and the law school network Facebook group.
And I'm super excited to dive into today's video because we will be talking about the
top five biggest mistakes that law students make in my work as a law school strategy coach,
I work with law students of all levels from zero ELLs to three L's and four E's.
And so I'm able to see not only what strategies work and need to be implemented from the very
beginning in your first year of law school, but also how to fix what's broken.
Speaker 1 (00:52): If you're a [inaudible] and not seeing the
results in grades that you know, that you're capable of.
And the good news is that the mistakes that we'll cover in today's video are very common
and therefore very fixable because when, you know, not only what not to do, but also what
to do, that's when you start really taking control of your grades and of your law school
strategy.
So if you guys are curious about how to craft a kick law school strategy, be sure to hit
subscribe and tap that notification bell.
So you never miss another video coming out.
And if you guys are excited to dive into this one, hit that like button, and let's go the
first big mistake over focusing on the reading and over-preparing for class.
And I know this sounds incredibly counterintuitive.
And the reason is because the reading and preparing for class is the number one thing
your professor is going to emphasize.
Speaker 1 (01:43): And so you're getting these conflicting messages
of your professor either explicitly or implicitly emphasizing how important the reading is either
by telling you that it is the end all be all, or by asking incredibly detailed questions
in cold calls, which leads you to believe that you must need to know all of this information.
And so what law students tend to do is that they pour hours and hours and hours into reading
and rereading and taking very detailed case briefs and preparing for class and reading
over those case briefs so that they can show up with a mastery of the material.
And the reality is that you do not need a mastery of the material when you walk into
class.
Instead, all you need is a baseline understanding a C plus understanding because this is the
first time you will have read this case.
This is the first time you will have been introduced to this legal concept.
Speaker 1 (02:35): And so you trying to figure it out on your
own is not the most efficient use of your time.
That's why your professor is there.
That's why you have lectures.
That's why there are other study steps.
And so rather than pouring and investing hours and hours into the reading and preparing for
class, make sure that you are compartmentalizing that time so that it is a very basic in and
out process.
And that will then open you up to spend time and energy on the more substantive study steps
that come later.
The next big mistake, I see law students making over and over is not taking thorough class
notes.
And so for a lot of law students, they sort of approach class as a passive activity.
So they go, they listen, they write some things down, other things, not as much, some of the
things they understand, some of the things not.
Speaker 1 (03:21): And then move on when the reality is that
class lectures and what is coming out of your professor's mouth is absolute gold.
This is the human who is going to be writing your exam at the end of the semester.
And so everything coming out of their mouth is important.
And it's important not only to understand the material itself, but to understand what
the professor thinks is important and how they organize the concepts and the way that
they articulate the rules.
And so making sure that you are getting incredibly, incredibly detailed information in that class
lecture is a game changer, because that means that not only will you be able to apply the
material on the final exam, you'll be able to really work in those nuances that your
professor has emphasized throughout the semester.
And that your professor has really indicated are important to him or her.
Speaker 1 (04:11): The third big mistake that I see law students
make is working too late to start their outlines.
And this one's really tough because I know there's a lot of conflicting advice out there
about when to start outlining and how to start outlining, but consistently the most common
thing I hear students say who come to me after a semester of disappointing grades is I wish
I would have started sooner.
And the reality is that in law school, because that final exam is a hundred percent of your
grade, the entirety of the semester is actually studying for that final exam.
And so if you think about it holistically like that, we want to start studying from
week one, as early as possible.
We don't have the luxury of waiting until halfway through the semester or two thirds
through the semester to start creating that outline document.
Cause you're just not going to be left with enough time at the end of the semester.
Speaker 1 (05:02): And you're going to find yourself cramming
and desperately trying to finish that outlining document the day before a final.
And that's just not going to be conducive to internalizing the material and then being
able to turn around and apply it in an effective way on final exams.
So the earlier the better, and if you can starting that very first week of class, the
next big mistake that I see law students making is not having a time management strategy in
place in law school by far, the most precious resource that you have at your disposal is
time.
And so how you use that time is incredibly, incredibly important and incredibly incredibly
powerful.
And so what I tend to see, especially new law students doing, but also tools and thrills
who aren't seeing the results in the grades that they want is being leaky with their time.
Speaker 1 (05:51): So not knowing exactly what time is being
spent on what activity or what study strategy and not being incredibly intentional about
how they're spending their time.
And so the flip side of that is that an effective study strategy is aggressively protective
of your time, meaning that, you know, when you're studying certain things, you know what
you're studying and when you are taking breaks or having resting or relaxing time that you're
doing that in a really intentional way so that you can really protect all of those different
pieces of your schedule.
And the reason that this is such a tough learning curve to adopt is because most of us in undergrad
or in grad school, didn't have to be that aggressively protective of our time.
There was enough time to go to class and study and cram for finals and also have extracurriculars
and go out with friends and have an internship.
Speaker 1 (06:44): There were all these other moving pieces that
we could also involve in our schedule and still have plenty of time left over.
But in law school, especially that very first year, there are so many demands on your time
that you not only need to start early, but you also need to be really clear about what
you're doing.
And when, and so when I work with law students who are not seeing the results that they want
in grades or in job offers, the very first thing we always do is look at their time management
strategy so that we can see where the holes are and where the leaks are and make sure
it's a very efficient and rock, solid time management strategy so that they know exactly
what they're supposed to be doing.
And when, and the final big mistake that I see law students making consistently is not
having a clear law school study strategy.
Speaker 1 (07:30): And so many students come into law school,
myself included straight from undergrad, and they have always done well in school.
They've always done well in academics.
They've always been at the top of their class.
They've always gotten straight A's.
And so when they're heading into law school for the very first time, that's the expectation.
That is the assumption that if I study the same way I did an undergrad or grad school,
I can expect the same results.
Why wouldn't we assume that because it's always worked for us.
And what tends to happen is when you hit law school, there are so many learning curves
and differences in the structure of classes and finals and grading that what you did in
undergrad is not going to work for you in law school.
And so what I consistently see with students who are high-performers hard workers, overachievers,
they wind up getting disappointing grades their first semester or their first year,
because they just assume they could do the same thing.
Speaker 1 (08:24): They did an undergrad rinse and repeat it
and get the same results.
And so if you guys are interested in learning more about how to craft a kick law school
study strategy, then be sure to download the free beat the curve Quickstart guy.
It walks you through my signature five step study plan, which is what I teach to my students
to really make sure that they are building out a pipeline study strategy from day one
all the way until final exams.
And so that way you're making consistent progress throughout the semester so that you can end
exactly
Speaker 2 (08:55): Where you want to be by final exam time.
And you don't have to fall into the trap of believing that you can do the same thing.
You did an undergrad and expect the same results.
So I hope that was incredibly helpful for you guys.
If you have any questions at all, feel free to drop them in the comment section below.
And if you haven't joined the law school network, Facebook group, feel free to jump over there
and grab your free spot.
It is filled with a thousand plus law students and free law students all going along the
same journey you are, and supporting each other, encouraging each other and sharing
experiences and strategies.
And I'm just so, so proud of the community we've built over there.
So I hope to see you inside very soon.
And of course, if you are interested in learning more about how to build a study strategy and
build a career strategy that can really take you where you want to go, make sure you hit
subscribe over here and check out these two amazing videos over here.
I have no doubt they are filled with all kinds of value for you.
So I hope this was helpful guys.
And I'll see you in the next one.
Bye.