The Good Law Student

Glenn Reynolds pointed out to a web roundup about people entering law school this year. Then I suddenly remembered that I use to be a law student, which I believe occurred at some point in time before I became a lawyer. So I decided to take some time off my beautiful Saturday summer afternoon--in the office--and chime in. So I wrote up a few words of advice

(1) Sturgeon's Law Applies: A sci-fi writer named Theodore Spurgeon once had a conversation with an English professor. The professor told him "Ninety percent of science fiction is crap." To which Sturgeon, after a short pause, he responded "Ninety percent of everything is crap!"

Let me assure you that in law school, 90% of the information you're given to consume in law school is crap, your 2000 page casebook, your lecture by a goofy, hyper-cerebral professor who hates you, or rumors and misinformation spread by know-it-all classmates. Your goal is to find the 10% of the 200 pages a night you're given to read, or to jot down just the right rule you're given by the professor after 1 1/2 hours of anecdote, dumb questions by students, or berating of those same students.

That 10% consists of laws. Rules. Precepts. In the cases you're asked, they will usually be sandwiched in between the statement of the fact, and an analysis of how the law fits those facts. If you're in a hurry (and you better be!), you'll want to hone in on the rules given in the case, rather than waste you time reading stories about people's personal misfortune.

Better yet, there also found in commercial outlines. Don't believe anyone you tells you that outlines are bad, or that you must prepare your own outline. They're either ignorant or malicious, or both. Find out what those rules are, and memorize them cold, in the way that works the best for you.

(2) Study the test, not the books: But all the cases, lectures, outlines, CDs, bar reviews, or any other materials that you cram into your head, designed by West Publishing to part you with your money, will not help you . . . unless you prepare for the exam. Early on, get a hold of as many practice tests as you can, and go over them with the law you slowly learn. Practice IRAC (Issue, Rule, Analysis, Conclusion). Practice writing down what the law is and how it applies to hypothetical situations. Believe me, it's harder than it sounds.

There are tons of exams available online, even from top law schools and famous professors. And some probably available at your law library--even old ones for the same class, by the same professors that you'll have this year. Attempt to write answers to them. Get in the groove of applying laws to facts early on. This skill will also extremely important for the bar exam.

(3) Get a Good Life, Not a Good Grade: Some of you will be extremely bad students who will flunk out, because you can't read fast and think methodically enough to get good grades, pass the bar, and be a functioning lawyer. Others of you read extremely fast and think extremely methodically, will get great grades, and work yourselves to death at bar review, summer clerkships, and your 80 hour law career. Most of you will be in the middle somewhere. Yet you can be just as successful a lawyer--however you define it--even if you're a mediocre student. You can also be a failure, personally and professionally, even if you're the super student described above. To succeed, you need to focus on your goals early on, and not necessarily focus on getting the best grades, making law review, or getting into the top firms.

Did you go to law school to make money? Then focus on finding the most profitable practices. A mediocre real estate lawyer is going to make much more money than a good criminal defense attorney. Nor are the big firm jobs, that the good law students get, all they are cracked up to be. Eventually the associates in these stress mills hit a ceiling, in firms designed as pyramid schemes where the partners get rich off those associates. Meanwhile, a mediocre student could eventually become extremely wealthy and successful by building a small practice, by gradually accumulating business connections and esoteric knowledge in underserviced fields. One was a good student and good lawyer, the other was a mediocre student/lawyer, but a good businessman and salesman. Make sure to given some thought about the law as a business or entrepreneurial venture. Whoever is in charge of the firm you're working for does all the time, and he'll be thankful for someone who thinks the same way about how to drum up business, control costs and find profitable clients.

Or do you want change public policy or help the poor? Regardless of grades, you'll find plenty of opportunity to do that. You don't have to make law review to work with legal aid, or lobby for a cause or join a political campaign, or just go down to the jailhouse and see who needs a lawyer. In fact, your law school may have law clinics which allow you to do these things even before passing the bar. Many students choose to focus on these, or other activist causes, even at the expense of studying all the time to get the A grade.

The point is you all need to find a niche where you are productive, adept, successful and happy. Good grades will open up more doors, but won't tell you which one to enter. Likewise, even if you're a B student, there are still people out there who need your legal services. Eventually, everyone needs a lawyer.

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Good luck to everyone this year. And remember, your life is your own to live. Whatever your class rank at the end of the year, use the knowledge you accumulate to make yourself as happy as possible.