Law midterm exam week is over! For us freshmen, this experience serves as the beginning of the end of our ordinary lives. In my case, I entered Law school having only a slight idea on what degree of studying I should do and on how to answer in exams. When I begun to dissect the innocently looking case and question printed on paper, I began to realize the immensity and gravity in the study of Law. For beginners, these are few points which might help.
Mere studying is not enough. You do just study hard, you have to study smart. You really have to also dissect the Law books and understand the strands, the wisdom, the exceptions, the requisites, generalities and all its intricate attributes. Every word, every punctuation, every clause in a provision has a legal implication and as law students, you are expected to understand every single bit of it. So this is why law books are freakishly thick. Mastery of the Law really depends so much on our particular study habits. So as early as freshmen year, it is always ideal to identify your study style and develop a study plan based on that. Needless to say, be committed to that study plan.
The mastery of the Law is just a component of the whole learning experience. The indispensable partner of this knowledge of the Law is the skill of legal analysis. Needless to say (and ideally speaking), the law should serve men and not the other way around. It is how you apply the law in human experience that gives the former its life and meets its purpose. In the exams, our score mainly depends on the quality of our legal reasoning. This skill as we were told can be developed by constantly reading the news. In almost all aspects of the news, laws can be applied. It is in this constant mental exercise of application where this skill can prosper.
One professor would always tell us that at the end of the day, the legal profession is all about communication. Language is the third component that every law student is expected to have at least a basic understanding of. Our legal writing professor would always tell us to practice writing – legally. This really means writing with the absence of flowery words and with the prime purpose of persuading the reader to your side.
More than just technical/academic skills, the most important trait to develop in Law school is resiliency. Law school, even how smart you are, is a frustrating experience. This needs no further articulation. What is important then is how grounded you are in your reason for taking up such “extraordinary” experience to say the least. When you are definitely convinced that this is the path you are meant to do, then perseverance and hard work will naturally radiate in all your actions in and out of Law school.
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