The most annoying thing about going to law school is that everyone wants to give you advice. At first, it’s helpful but then it becomes overwhelming. Everyone has something to say about how to be successful, but not everyone will give you good advice.
So, here’s more advice about what advice you should not follow. Ironic know. Hope it helps though.
MAKE SURE YOU READ EVERY WORD OF EVERY ASSIGNED LAW SCHOOL CASE. Please do not be that person obsessed with making sure you do all your reading. Realistically, you are not going to be able to read everything most days. Learn to parse out what info is important and what’s not. So, stop the all-nighters alright? They help no one.
MAJOR ONLY IN PRE-LAW, ENGLISH, OR POLITICAL SCIENCE. Although these are some pretty good majors, those are not the only majors that will get you into law school. Law School Recruiters actually favor diverse candidates that don’t pick the typical option. So, pick a major you genuinely have an interest in. You’ll enjoy your college experience way more!
MAKE SURE YOU GO INTO BIG LAW EVEN IF IT’S FOR A FEW YEARS. This one really irks me because big law is not for everyone. If big law is not for you, don’t try to go into that world just because “everyone else is doing it.” Genuinely choose a career path that you like. You know what makes you happy, not anyone else.
Related Post- 6 Reasons Why You Should Seriously Not Go To LAW SCHOOL!
STUDY! STUDY! STUDY! YOU NO LONGER HAVE TIME FOR ANYTHING EXCEPT LAW SCHOOL! Um….this is far from true. Yes, law school takes up a lot of your time but, it can’t be the only thing you dedicate your time to. You still need to make time for yourself or you will burn out easily. So, yes..it’s okay to attend some events, hang out with friends, and other things you may love from time to time.
START STUDYING THE SUMMER BEFORE 1L. How about no? There is absolutely no need to do that. I hate to be the one to say it, but nothing can really prepare you for law school but law school. So enjoy your time. Spend it having fun, relaxing, traveling, etc. Cause when law school starts, your time definitely becomes limited and you are going to wish you spent it doing what you enjoyed.
BRIEF EVERY CASE YOU READ. Honestly, this by far is probably the worst advice ever. IT IS A HUGE WASTE OF TIME and time is very limited in law school. You need to focus on the facts of the case and the black letter law. Briefing just helps you to be able to dissect the information better. But you don’t need to do it all the time.
BUY YOUR TEXTBOOKS NEW BECAUSE YOU’LL NEED THEM WHEN YOU PRACTICE LAW. Um what? Let me be the first to tell you that I probably have one or two textbooks that I saved and I haven’t cracked them open since I started practicing law. Please save your coins and get a used textbook. Not all students mark up their textbooks to the point where it’s unusable. Check out the used books before you purchase and see if you can work with it. And sell your books when you graduate. If you need a book when you practice law, just buy a new one. It’s not that deep. There is no need to keep an archive of books you probably won’t need.
JOIN A BUTT-LOAD OF ORGANIZATIONS OR RECRUITERS WON’T HIRE YOU! It is totally fine to join organizations. Nothing wrong with that. The mistake that law students often make is over-joining organizations trying to impress recruiters. Listen, recruiters are fine with you being in only 1-3 organizations. Your chances of landing a job do not increase because you are part of 25 orgs. So, save yourself some time and use that extra time to focus on making grades and/or even making time for self-care.