Advice To Future 1Ls From An Almost 2L

Starting 1Ls, welcome to law school! I join LawProfBlawg today to write about my experience in law school.  For that reason, I become just one of 1,000,000,000 articles and blog posts about what to do in law schools.  Take my advice as one of those grains of salt.

But I do have some experience here.  Reflecting on my own 1L year, there are a few things I wish I knew before starting. Law school, like life, is a highway (as the song goes).  And despite much advice, I didn’t fully understand the rules of the road.  So, I give you a few rules of the road to help you stay on track: stay in your lane; beware of tunnel vision; be courteous to other drivers; plan your trip early; take some rest stops; always remember why you’re on this highway; and enjoy the scenery along the way. 

“Staying in your lane” during law school means focusing on your own journey. Try not to begin the semester with the final grade in mind: only pain, anxiety, fear, and eventual burn-out exists there. Instead, focus on mastering the material, and accept that you will understand things in your own way and your own time. Keep that in mind when you and your section mates talk. Someone will be completely lost. Another will be annoyingly confident. Do not think because one person gets it that everyone else does, too. Mastery takes time and repetition. After adopting this mindset, I cared less about comparing my study hours with others. Don’t worry, you will still spend at least eight hours (probably more) just reading and reviewing every day. This does not include time for clubs, networking, and other required events. Prepare friends, family, and yourself now for the time commitment.  Law school is a good time to start learning time management skills.

However, beware of developing tunnel vision. Reading cases, writing memos, questioning life choices, and outlining are draining. 1L consumed every waking and sleeping moment — the finals nightmares are real. I began to feel like there was too much information, too little time, and an endless pit of communal anxiety. Consider this bar exam prep.  But one thought always pulled me back from focusing solely on the “grade”: I am training to be an advocate for someone. Stay in your lane, but keep your own “big picture” in mind to defend against tunnel vision. 

At the same time, be courteous to other law students: law school is new for everyone. You are part of a community. Your section mates become your friends, professional network, and the select group who will find your new sense of humor funny. Join the group messages; eat lunch with your section mates; and try to give everyone a chance at friendship (that said, someone will never read the syllabus — light-hearted shaming is encouraged). The community extends beyond the law school. Start building friendships with lawyers, clerks, and other legal professionals. But do it in a way that suits you. Do not limit yourself to crowded happy hours or alumni events. Think creatively about how to grow your network. I am a first-generation college student and an introvert; yet, I found an incredible community on #LawTwitter. Regardless of how you socialize, your new community cares more about who you are as a person than your grades. Be kind. 

Plan early for classes. Do some readings to get a feel for how long it will take, and then make a reading schedule. Stick to it. Also, think about how the material fits into the “big picture” of the class. Ask a 2L, 3L, or even your professor: they have the “forest view” while you are still figuring out the trees. On a closely-related note, I heard about, and panicked over, “outlining” on the first day. Relax: it only feels like a secret because students’ learning styles and professors’ focuses are different. It is just reviewing and synthesizing the material so that you can organize it in applicable steps later. That’s it. Don’t watch The Paper Chase (like I did) and seek the nonexistent magic formula that will get you the top grade. 

The best part of 1L is that eventually, like every trip, it ends. Strangely, time can feel frozen when you do the same things day in and out. Then, about three weeks before finals, time speeds up. This phenomenon will take some students by surprise, and that’s when people start to panic. Spend some time away from the law school to avoid the negativity. Go to a coffee shop. Aim to boldly go where no law student has gone before: I studied in the undergrad library. About this time, venting (the 1L’s preferred emotional outlet) becomes a multi-hour session that leaves you emotionally drained and behind schedule. This doesn’t mean stop complaining altogether. Complaining is the glue that binds a section: it is often where we come up with our best inside jokes. I adopted the 15-minute rule: “you get 15 minutes, and no more, of my week for complaining.” Doing this feels awkward, but people understand.  There is a difference between legitimately complaining about a professor or colleague and blaming your professor or colleague for all of your woes.  Be careful not to fall into that pit of toxicity.

Make time for rest away from the law school. The hardest day of 1L is when your body becomes immune to caffeine. Throughout the semester, law school has the ambience of a never-ending finals season, and somehow intensifies near the semester’s end. The trick is to recharge occasionally. Schedule fun and rest as a goal for the week’s end.  Your studying will be the better for it.

Even if you don’t know where you want your career to go, always remember that 1L is just part of a much longer journey. Law school will change what you care about — ask me about Iqbal, I dare you. Other students’ goals, professors’ advice, and a million other things will influence you. This can be beneficial: there are opportunities you never dreamed! But it can also pull you away from what brought you to law school: the push toward Biglaw is real. Don’t dismiss that advice, but figure out what motivates you first. There are no grades before finals, so external motivators will leave you feeling drained.

Take the time to appreciate being a 1L — it ends quickly. Enjoy it a little. Law school will be the last time you get to spend your days reading, thinking, and talking about ideas without billing someone. Laugh at yourself: you’re going to be a mess. Laugh at the law: it is old and full of hilarity. Laugh at your anxiety’s predictable ebb and flow (that said, do not be dismissive of your mental health). Finding humor in your 1L year will help you contextualize the experience. 

Like every road trip, 1L has both a starting point and an ending point. Put this year in context before you begin: grades are a goal, but grades should not be the goal. So, stay in your lane and focus on becoming an excellent advocate for when you cross the bar 36 months from now. Good luck. You can do this. 

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K.G. Molina (@CanPanicNow) is a law student, an Editorial Board member of the ABA Law Student Division, and talks about law school a lot. Please follow on Twitter (@CanPanicNow) for amusing and insightful commentary. Email questions or comments to [email protected].

LawProfBlawg is an anonymous professor at a top 100 lawschool. You can see more of his musings here.  He is way funnier on social media, he claims.  Please follow him on Twitter (@lawprofblawg) or Facebook. Email him at [email protected].  Anything you love about this blog post is K.G. Molina’s idea, which should spontaneously cause you to offer her gainful employment.  Anything you hate is my idea.  But I’m still right.