We’re just about at the half-way point for the Fall Semester, which for law students means it’s time to get serious about understanding and organizing class materials and notes. Remember – no matter how smart you are, you’re not going to be able to learn all of this stuff the night before your final exam.
Sorry, that’s just not how law school works.
And if you find you’ve either been slacking off a bit or just not quite understanding what is going on, remember – IT’S NOT TOO LATE. You still have a good six weeks to get yourself ready for finals. And CALI can help!
First things first – your briefed cases will be the back bone of your study outlines. Yes, there are commercial briefs available, but you’ll find that putting the holding and black letter law into your own words will help you understand and recall them. Happily, CALI has a lesson for that, coincidentally called, “How to Brief A Case“.
And of course, to assist you in learning the substantive law, we have over 900 lessons for you to take. You can find them by topic, by subject breakdown, and even by casebook.
Over in our eLangdell Press collection, we have a book by Dean Barbara Glesner Fines called Law School Materials for Success. This covers all aspects of doing well in law school, but of particular interest at this time of year are Chapter Three “Getting the Most out of Class”, Chapter Four “After Class Review”, and Chapter Five “Outlining and Exam Preparation.” There are also downloadable podcasts with this book if you like audible information.