By Jamie Bence

I think the thing I remember most about the summer before law school is the anticipation- waiting to find out who my professors would be, what my schedule would look like, whether I’d like my classmates. I’m not a fan of the unknown, so it was a weirdly stressful time for me. Looking back, I wish I’d worried less and listened more. Here are 5 things I wish I’d known about law school before I walked through the doors on my first day.

1. The work is never “finished,” per se. In theory, law school could literally take up all of your time. With an endless array of study aids, practice exams and then of course your actual assignments, it can seem like you should be working 24/7. However, letting law school take over isn’t exactly healthy, or even helpful, so it’s important to find balance. For me, this meant treating school like a job. I got there early, worked between classes, and left around the time most of my friends were commuting home from their office jobs. This way, I could still enjoy my evenings, even if I occasionally had assignments to finish up. On weekends, I got up early and worked while most of my friends slept in. It wasn’t exactly what you would call fun, but being able to have time with important people in my life was important enough to me that I stuck to it.

2.  Not everyone is as excited about this as you are. If you have a supportive group of family and friends, they will probably want to know about your experiences in law school, and what your day-to-day life is like, and what classes you’re taking. However, around week 3, you will be into material very few people outside of the legal industry really know (or want to know) anything about. Thus, while it’s fun to share anecdotes and keep your friends and family in the proverbial loop, it’s also important to keep perspective especially if you are living with a partner or parent, for there will only be so much they want to hear about your new adventure. Which brings me to my next point.

3. Find Hermione and Ron. Law school can be incredibly competitive, and sometimes it might seem counter-intuitive to talk to your classmates about what you’re going through. For the first month, I heard all sorts of crazy stories, and thought maybe I was better off just sticking with the friends I had before this whole thing started. However, I soon realized I wasn’t going to get too far without a group of people I could trust and talk to, and that having a 3L mentor was incredibly helpful. There will be times when you feel overwhelmed and lost, and you will need to commiserate. There will also be the occasional flat tire, the job interview during class, and you will need people who will give you accurate and complete notes. It’s never a bad idea to lean more toward Hermione than Ron under such circumstances.

4.   Study guides are your friends, if you choose wisely.  When I was first told that almost everyone uses study aids in law school, I thought, “Are you kidding me? I’ve never touched CliffNotes in my life!” However, in law school, rather than serving as a way around the hard work, study aids make the hard work doable. When selecting study guides, think about how you learn best. For example, I really like audio lectures a lot, even though they are not widely popular (I run and I take the train, so I have a lot of time to listen to them).  There’s no shame in that- just because something doesn’t work for everyone (or because it does) doesn’t mean you will have the same result. So think about how you learn (and consider the materials carefully) before you buy.

5.  Study smart not (necessarily) hard. There is a lot of “conventional” advice on how to approach 1L year. Everyone told me that I would be lost in class if I didn’t brief cases. I did this for exactly one week before I realized how it didn’t really help me understand the cases or rules. I also realized there were people on law review who never made an outline, who never wrote briefs. They learn differently and they have succeeded because they have unlocked what has worked for them, probably through trial and error. So I stopped briefing, because it was boring and I wasn’t paying attention when I was doing it anyway. It’s all a matter of figuring out what works for you. My advice would be to consider all the advice you’re given (maybe even this post…) then let it all go, and just be you.

If you will be starting your 1L year in August, good luck, and until then, have a relaxing summer!