Questions

[Maggie White]

Erin,

Thank you for your comments about my Katko brief, I really appreciate
it. How does this case compare to others we will be working with in
the upcoming semester? Will the upcoming cases be significantly longer
and more difficult to read/understand? Also, how much attention should
we be paying to the "notes" section at the end of the cases (or does
it vary by class/professor)?

What is a typical class assignment (for the classes besides legal
research and writing) for one night? To be honest, I'm terrified that
I won't be able to keep up with the amount of reading required to do
well in law school so I think it might help calm my nerves a little if
I know more of what to expect.

How do you feel about making your own flash cards for cases/rules/
concepts, etc? Did you do this or did you know anyone who did? If so,
was it productive or a waste of time?

When it comes time to start outlining, are there people who can help
let us know if we're on the right track? This is definitely a skill I
need to learn and I don't want to put in tons of time making an
outline that isn't going to be helpful later.

Besides briefing cases and outlining, are there other skills that
we're expected to know how to do on our own? It sounds like the legal
research and writing professors/books will help teach us what we need
to know to be productive and successful (correct me if I'm wrong) in
that class, but it will be up to us to learn the techniques and
practices to do well in the other classes. Any advice for navigating
that besides briefing every case and making a fantastic outline for
the final?

Thanks,

Maggie White

[Erin Lain]

Hi Maggie and everyone,

1. The Katko case is a good example of the cases you will be reading
during the semester. Usually you will be assigned 2 or 3 cases per
class. So if you have 3 classes the next day at most you will need to
read 9-10 cases. The age of the case really determines if you are able
to understand it quickly. The older the case, the more archaic the
language, and more difficult it is to understand. There won't be too
many older cases, but the professors will throw in a few at the
beginning, mainly so you understand how the law became what it is
today.

2. It really depends on the professor when it comes to the notes at
the end of a case. Some profs will actually assign the notes, and will
go through them in class. Some profs will completely ignore them. I
think they are helpful to make sure you really understand the case,
but in a time crunch, the most important reading is the actual case
itself.

3. I LOVE MAKING FLASH CARDS. I did flashcards throughout law school
and in preparation for the bar exam. Of course flashcards really suit
the way I learn (I'm a big visual/kinesthetic learner), but they may
not suit everyone, so it depends. Keep in mind that there are
commercial flashcards out there so you don't necessarily have to make
them, although I found the process of making flashcards helped me to
learn the material.

4. See my post later today about outlines, for the rest of your
question.

Don’t be worried about keeping up. Trust me, if I can do it, you can
do it. Once you get through the first week or so, and get a system
down, you will see that it really isn’t too bad.

Erin