CU Law Profiles
Featured Questions & Answers

Take time to get away from your studies regularly. Even if you only take a short walk around campus a couple of times a week, you?ll find yourself better able to cope with the workload. And join a study group. Be careful and don?t let law school become a solitary experience; you can too easily isolate yourself. Ask questions of your classmates, and join together when you can to outline and study together. Law classes can be complex and there?s a lot of information to assimilate. Talking out loud, explaining your thinking to others, questioning, forming opinions and reaching conclusions are all an important part of the experience.

Keep up!

Keep it all in perspective. After being in the top 10% of the class for most of their scholastic careers, many 1Ls are stunned to find themselves in the bottom half of their law school class. Obviously, being in the bottom half is not a good thing, but it is not the end of the world, either.

Work as hard as you can, but treat it like a marathon and pace yourself. Find something outside of school that helps you maintain your perspective. But after getting that perspective, head back to the library! Law is hierarchical and good grades matter a lot. You owe it to yourself to try as hard as you can.

Don?t pay any attention to the talk about lawschool being a dog-eat-dog place. The world can also be described in those terms (although I wouldn?t describe it that way). Work hard, compete as best you can, be satisfied with nothing short of being prepared and doing your best, and don?t feel sorry for yourself because it?s a hard road. Life is a hard road, and if you don?t want to work hard, choose another career. Keep your perspective ? lawschool, for the moment, is the most important thing, but family and friends and having a little fun are important too. Be ready to make some sacrifices (and to ask others in your life to understand), but don?t give up completely on the rest of your life. If your idea is that you should ski every weekend, don?t come to lawschool. On the other hand, if your idea is that you?ll never have time to go to a movie, or have dinner out with your spouse or significant other, or have a date or spend time with friends, that?s overkill too ? there won?t be lots of time for that, but there will be a little.

Everyone answering this will say keep some perspective, and they're right. How to do that? I would write yourself a letter during the week before you arrive at law school. Write down your dreams, your hopes, your aspirations, your fears, your anxieties. Write about what you did that day, and what you like to do. Write about the things you love, and the reasons that you are going to law school. And then seal the letter and give it to a family member or friend. Tell them to mail it to you on January 15th of your first year. When you get it, really read it. It'll help.

Study hard and use your professors as a resource. Try to avoid getting caught up in 1L hysteria by checking with 2Ls and 3LS, rather than believing 1L rumors. Don?t make the mistake of thinking that your first-year grades define you. You can improve your GPA, and employers will appreciate an upward trajectory.

It's all about two things. 1) yes, it's really about "thinking like a lawyer" (I won't go into that.) 2) it's also about information management. First year, at every law school, gives you way too much in the way of information. The question is: how will you organize all this information?

Maintain balance and perspective ? do not neglect friends, family and fun.

Get enough sleep and exercise, and get into a study group to help you make sense of what you?re reading

Don't believe the hype. Get life in perspective and keep your mind focused on being intellectually curious and engaged--as opposed to worrying whether you are keeping up with others.

Be open to personal and academic growth and most importantly, have fun.

Perspective. Remind yourself that it's an accomplishment to be here. There's life outside of law school.

Study hard right out of the gates.

Don?t fall into the trap of comparing what you are doing to what others are doing.

The most important thing I learned after my first year is that law school is doable. I was intimidated when I started -- the "aura" of law school is hard to get past sometimes. But it really is doable. You have to work hard. Very hard. But with a strong work ethic (and the right study group!) it's absolutely manageable, and even rewarding.

If you do your reading and go to class, you?ll be fine.

Study aids are great, especially High Court summaries and Examples and Explanations. Be a part of a study group, if anything it helps to talk about the new concepts being introduced to you. Try to get outlines from upperclassmen; not to use as your own, but to get an example of what an outline looks like, what information is important, and how to organize the information.

Work hard, be organized, and try and see the practical side of what you are learning and you will be fine.

Take at least 30 minutes every day doing something to unwind after class. Once that?s done, start reading again. It?s very important to not get behind, keep up with the reading, and don?t skip class. Professors test on things that you can only know if you went to class.

Remember your passions. If biking, skiing, or hiking make you happy -- continue these activities. Balance is the most important tool for survival.

2Ls are a great resource. During my first year, second year students gave me outlines, study guides, and tips for each class. It was really helpful to have so many willing mentors guide me through my first year.

Be regular in your studies, get to know other students in your class, talk to your professors often, and always try to keep the big picture in mind.

Develop a vice or nurture one you already have.

Try to relax and keep it all in perspective. Try not to let the grade pressure get to you; you will have a law degree in the end. Make friends and spend time with them that doesn't involve law school. Find an activity outside of school that you are committed to and spend time doing it each week. Your time is tight, but you can do it. I volunteered two hours a week at my son's preschool. It helped to keep things in perspective.