Now that I've finished my three years of law school (which feels a bit odd to think about), I thought I'd share a few thoughts. This post is the first in the series—I hope to do one a day until I run out of tips. I'll dispense with all the talk about figuring out if law school is right for you. If you're interested in what I have to say here, you've already made that choice (but it's worth checking to make sure it's the right one).
First, it is probably useful to mention a few things about me and my goals in law school. Any advice I give should be read with that in mind. For one thing, the culture at my school was very different than a lot of other schools—it was more laid back. That said, I was successful in achieving my goals: I wanted to do well academically, but I also wanted to participate in as many things at the law school as I possibly could and—most important of all—enjoy my three years.
So, on to my first tip: Change your standards.
Most people who go to law school are used to being the best at what they do. Often, we've managed to succeed with little or no effort. I graduated college with a firm 'B' average, but I rarely did anything for classes other than the absolute bare minimum. Most of the time, I just read the book, went to class, and took the test. That was enough to get reasonably good grades, even though I could have done much better if I actually put in some real work.
Don't expect this to be the case in law school. There's far less grade inflation (I'd be plainly lying if I said there were no grade inflation at all). This means that for a lot of professors, a 'C' means a lot more than we've been led to expect throughout undergrad: average and acceptable. A 'B' is awarded for good work, and an 'A' is reserved for exceptional, nearly-perfect work. And "nearly perfect" is an extremely difficult standard to meet, so don't expect to meet it often—few people do.
On top of that, many professors still curve their grades. I had a professor who would give perhaps one or two 'A' grades (perhaps none, if the work wasn't up to par), a few 'A-' grades, etc. I actually think it lowers incentives for students to work hard when the chances of getting that 'A' grade are that slim. It's more rational for a student to study less and get a lower grade while using that time for other work. But regardless of the merits of the system, a lot of professors still use it. You can't expect to be getting the same grades as before, particularly from the minimal work many law students are used to.
This goes double for writing. Legal writing is hard, and very few people write as well as they believe they do. Often, too, a person may be a very good writer in a different context, but struggles to adapt that skill to the legal writing context. This new type of writing has special demands, so don't expect to simply be able to do it successfully out of the gate—it takes practice and work.
So, how did this translate for me, and how does someone use this information? In my case I had read a lot of books about what law school was like (something else I highly recommend) before starting. I also had read law student blogs and various other sources. So I had an idea of what I've just described' and as a result, I got rid of grade expectations. I decided to pretty much expect to be in the middle of the class.
To be clear, this doesn't mean I worked any less hard. I worked harder than I ever have in my life. But my expectations about what would come out of it were different. It effectively shifted my focus from the grades (the end result) to the work I had to put in (lots of studying). This focus shift really helped reduce stress and anxiety about grades and helped me focus on the process rather than the (rather arbitrary) result.
The benefits are especially apparent when I think about my second semester. In that semester, I was burned out (I didn't pace myself properly) and just didn't work as hard. Coincidentally, it was my lowest semester, grade-wise. But when I look back on it, I regret primarily that I didn't get as much out of it as the rest of law school. My change in standards allowed me to look back on it and identify my own shortcomings so I could correct them in the future. Taking an objective look at myself would have been harder if I had been too tied up in my grades.
It can be difficult. As often as we hear the phrase, "90% of law students are not in the top 10%" and give it lip service, most of us harbour a secret belief that it doesn't apply to us. The biggest benefit of successfully changing your standards, then, is avoiding being shattered if grades are lower than before—which will be the case for the overwhelming majority of law students. If you expect to do average and you do average, that's fine. If you do better than that, perhaps earning a bunch of 'A' grades, then you can be pleasantly surprised.
Just remember to put in the work and do as well as you possibly can.
