The 5 Biggest Mistakes 1L's Make

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As a 1L experiencing law school for the first time, it’s hard to know what you are doing right. While there is no one-size-fits-all approach to law school and everyone chooses what works for them, there are a few common mistakes that you can avoid.

  1. Skipping Readings

In law school, there are a ton of readings and most times, the readings build on each other. While you may run into a bind where you simply can’t finish a reading in time, it’s a good habit to always finish your readings and if you miss one, get it done right after class. If you skip out on a few readings, it will become incredibly difficult to get back on track and to catch up later on in the semester. Also, if you just “quimbee” the cases, you won’t get the full understanding of the material and you may miss key concepts that will be tested later on. When the end of the semester comes, you want to be reviewing and studying, not learning concepts for the first time.

2. Relying solely on past students or commercial outlines

Once you meet 2L’s and 3L’s or join a few clubs, you will likely gain access to outline banks which are where upperclassmen upload their past outlines for specific classes so that other students can use them. Additionally, there are sites like Quimbee and Barbri which have commercial outlines that cover the main law school classes. Beware of using these outlines! While they can provide supplemental studying material or can help you build your own outline, there are a few issues with using these materials.

For starters, using a past student’s outline is always a risk because typically you don’t find out what grade that student received in the class. Let’s say you open an outline, think that it looks good, decide to study it as your way to review for your final, but you don’t realize that the student got a C in that class. Unfortunately, studying a C outline isn’t going to result in A grades. And, using commercial outlines doesn’t help you study for a particular professor’s exams which could be completely different.

Really, the best way to study for an exam is to create your own outline which will force you to learn the material as you are making it. Then, once you finish, you have a document to review in the days right before the exam that should have all the important information you need to know.

3. Not taking days off from studying

Everyone needs a break. By not taking days off, you are going to overload your brain with information without giving it the time to recharge. Try to take a day off on each weekend in order to reset. This will help you avoid burnout.

4. Comparing yourself to classmates

The worst thing you can do in law school is pay attention to what other people are doing. This sparks imposter syndrome and lower levels of confidence in yourself. Everyone is going to have a different method of studying, a different time commitment to studying, different job paths, different school involvements, etc. By paying too close of attention to those around you, it can have the potential to increase your stress. Find what methods work for you and stick to those. Just because the person who sits next to you stays in the library till it closes at night, does not mean you need to do that in order to do well.

5. Neglecting mental & physical health.

One of the worst mistakes you can make as a 1L is believing that your school performance is more important than your mental and physical health. It really is the opposite because if you are feeling your best, you are going to naturally perform better in your classes. Skipping studying to getting that extra hour of sleep will give your clarity of mind and will help you be more productive the following day. Going for a walk or getting to the gym will help you feel better. And taking care of your mental health is going to help you avoid getting burnt out.