Welcome to LearnLawBetter.
Have you been wondering how to prepare for class in law school?
Today I provide you with a plan that will help you learn the law better and faster.
Hi, this is Beau Baez, and today I want to give you some advice on preparing for class.
But first, let me share with you a little bit of brain science.
Anytime we learn new information, our brains begin to create a place for it, which are
called schema.
This happens because we naturally try to create order out of disorder.
As your schema becomes more organized, you retain new information faster, and more complex
information comes to you more quickly.
This is why a course, like Torts, starts with the easier to understand causes of action
like Battery, and only later in the course deals with things like proximate cause, which is intellectually
more challenging.
This allows your brain to better categorize the various topics in your tort’s schema.
So now that you understand a bit of how the brain works, let’s see how you can leverage
that knowledge for more efficient studying.
In a traditional classroom, you read cases.
The cases are organized by topic, which is good, but when you first read the case you
don’t have a context for what you are reading.
This means that your brain is working very hard to create a schema, for it.
But if you don’t learn the material correctly, your brain has to first figure out that it has gotten
it wrong, and then reshape the schema for the correct information.
So step one, create an outline for each course so that you have a skeletal grid in which
to place your new found knowledge.
A great place to get an outline is from your casebook’s table of contents.
Roman numeral “I” will likely be the Intentional Torts, Roman Numeral “II” Negligence, and
so on.
So now that you have this skeletal outline, let’s talk about how to use that outline in preparing
for class.
Step two, use a concise hornbook.
Because I understand that cases are difficult for novices, I always assign a concise hornbook for
my Torts class.
A concise hornbook provides you with the law, organized by topic.
So on the first day of class, my students are required to first read the battery topic in
the hornbook, and then the assigned cases.
That way, students have the context that they need to understand the cases better.
Now, is it possible to learn the law using cases only?
Sure, but that is a very inefficient method because you are constantly trying to figure
everything out.
So before each class make sure that you read the black letter law found in the concise
hornbook.
For more information on when and how to use study aids, listen to my episode called “When
to Use Study Aids.”
Some of you are wondering: my professor would have told me about this approach if it works.
Most professors teach, using methods that worked for them.
The question your professor should be asking, is what method works best for you, the student.
A bit of history: the case method was developed in the late 19th century at Harvard Law School, during
a time when most of the law was found in cases, not hornbooks.
So it was a very practical method back then to get students immersed in the cases.
But a lot has changed since the 1880’s, including how lawyers conduct legal research.
Alright, let’s talk about the cases you need to read.
Each case will provide you with a rule.
A case though, might not provide you with the rule you need for exam purposes.
Thankfully, you will know the rule you need because you read the concise hornbook first.
Case books often provide old and new cases, so that the professor can show you how the
law developed over time.
If you see this scenario, don’t forget that the only material you need is the modern rule for
exam purposes, unless your professor says otherwise.
Also, you may find some cases that provide rules only followed in a few States, again
placed in your case book so that your professor can compare and contrast approaches used in
different states.
Usually, you don’t need the minority rule cases.But again, it depends on what your professor tells you you need for the exam.
After you read a case, make sure to brief it using the approach I recommend in the episode
called “How to Brief a Case.”
I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s episode.
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Thanks for watching.