- Every law student is terrified
of being cold called by the professor in class
and as a result they spend so much time
reading their cases over and over again
and studying on the off-chance
that they might get called on.
But there is a better way.
So use this trick to supercharge your studying,
to make sure that you are more prepared for the final
and are prepared for any cold call question
your professor may give you.
(twinkly music)
Every law student is afraid of being called on in class.
Being on the hotseat and being cold called by the professor
can be a terrifying experience
and as a result we tend to spend so much time
preparing for class and reading
and re-reading our cases.
But you know what?
There's a better way.
So use this trick to supercharge your studying
in a way that will actually help you on the final exam
but will also prepare you for class
so that you can answer any question
your professor throws at you.
Okay, so here at Legal Eagle we call this
the flipped case method and here's why.
The normal way of studying is this.
You struggle through reading a case.
The average reading speed is about 10 pages per hour.
You try to figure out the point of a case.
Then when you think you have it you re-read the case.
Then you write a long brief including the parties,
the procedural posture, the trial accord decision,
the facts, disposition, et cetera, et cetera.
You write all of this crap down
just on the off-chance that your professor
happens to ask you about some random detail
about the particular case.
Then maybe you go read a commercial outline
or a supplement, if you're lucky
and then you just go to class and hope for the best.
That is a bad way to study for class.
Number one, it's totally inefficient.
You're starting with the really hard stuff first
and then reading the summaries later.
On top of that, you're focusing on all of the material
that is not going to help you on the final exam.
In our other videos on case briefing, links down below
we talk about how so much time is wasted
on a standard case brief
because almost none of that information
is going to be tested on the final exam.
Final exam is about applying the facts to the law,
not about the rationale or the procedural posture
of some random case from New Hampshire.
What we recommend instead is this.
It's the flipped case method.
The idea is, start with the supplement first.
That's right, you read your supplements
and your summaries before you read the case.
Read the summary first, several of them if you can
and only then, once you have a general
or sometimes even a very specific idea
of what the case is about.
Only then, you go into the case itself.
So, for example if you happen to have an outline for course
and it happens to be keyed to your particular casebook
go directly to the summary of the case you're about to read
and read the summary first.
Or you can use Westlaw.
Westlaw is an entirely underrated resource in law school.
They have a whole army of attorneys
who are summarizing the most important facts
and black letter law of a particular case.
Or you can go to an old upper classman's outline.
Or you can go to Quimby.
The trick is to get an idea of the point of the case
before you start delving into it.
One person said that reading a case
is like stirring cement with your eyelashes.
It just goes so slowly.
But if you know what you're looking for ahead of time,
then once you start reading the case,
you can go through it more quickly.
Now, I wouldn't skim through the case
but I would certainly go faster than you normally read
because you know exactly what you're looking for.
Pay special attention to the particular facts,
the narrative of the story
but most importantly pay attention to the black letter law
which you probably already have in the form of the summaries
in the outlines and the commercial supplements
that you've already read.
Of course not all cases are created equal.
Some are important only for a particular statement
of black letter law and you might not never even learn
the facts themselves.
Some are important only for the outcome based on the facts.
Some cases are only important for the historical value
and you're never going to actually use
the facts or the black letter law in that case.
But the point is in any of those particular scenarios
it's better to have an idea of what you are looking for
before you delve into the case.
You'll retain more and you'll struggle less
and on top of that you can skip the long,
meandering rainbow case brief too.
You can click the link below to download our guide
on using a three point case brief method
that will have you writing case briefs
in a just a sentence or two
and when you pair the three point brief
with our flipped case brief method,
you will just breeze through your homework assignments
and cold calls, well believe it or not
even though you're working less,
you'll be far more prepared than using the standard method.
You'll already have a good idea of
what the professor wants you to take away from the case.
And you'll remember the facts of the case
and between the two that's 90% of what the professor
is looking for anyway.
So use the flipped case method.
You'll be able to breeze through your homework.
You'll be able to write case briefs
that will go directly into your outline
and will better prepare you for class.
If you want more tips on how to crush law school,
you can click the link below to our free guide.
You can also check out our masterclass
where we lay out step by step,
how to crush every single law school exam
and how to think like a lawyer.
And please subscribe to our channel.
We come out with new tips on how to crush law school
all the time.
So I'll see you next time, here at Legal Eagle.
Every law student spends, no.
Never look dumb in class again.
Make being afraid of.
And as a result, they study, they (coughs).
And will make cold calling.
On the final, it will also prepare you for class.