Most law students know they can use the library to ask research questions, reserve study rooms, or check out study aids; but that is just the tip of the iceberg of services that the law library provides. Read on as GSU law library’s wonderful circulation supervisor, Tim Zdencanovic, walks you through some functions of the law library that might be unfamiliar to you.
On any normal day after class, you and a friend can come get a study room and go over your readings and assignments. Oh, hey, while you’re here, don’t forget to pick up your Kenny G album, your Sarah Maas book, and your Mystery science theater box set. To make a long story short, the law library has a lot to offer.
You can check out puzzles, book stands, monitors, flashcards, calculators, chargers and lap desks. You have full access to every GSU library in-person or through online requests. This means you can check out vinyl records from the main university library or request a movie from the Clarkston campus. You can check out a book from GSU’s Dunwoody branch and return it here at the Law Library. Pushing past Georgia State, you can request a book from ANY University System of Georgia library. Simply by searching the USG system, the libraries of every public university in Georgia—from Savannah to Dahlonega—are yours to browse and check out material. And you’re not just limited to Georgia; You can request an interlibrary loan (our library getting a book for you from another library) from anywhere in the world! We send books to Thailand and get books from Germany. The world is your library.
Your GSU student ID allows you access to Kanopy, a free video streaming service that has movies like Everything, Everywhere All at Once and Past Lives, as well as K-Dramas, BBC series, and documentaries. Your student ID will also allow you to get a library card from the Fulton County Library System, which has a convenient location directly across the street from the College of Law: the historic Atlanta Central Library. Being a student at GSU opens you up to the whole world of the public library system; Fulton County can probably get you House of the Dragon faster than we can.
The library is a lot of things: a collection of books; study rooms; and a place to meet people. But more than that, the College of Law Library is one thread in a web of information and resources that stretch from here around the world. Please make use of it!
The beginning of the fall semester always creates a tangible buzz around the College of Law as we welcome back our returning students and welcome in our brand new students. As the hub of the law school, the library in particular is buzzing this week and ready for students to return.
During orientation, new students will meet their Personal Librarian and learn about all that the law library has to offer. Check out the First Year Guide (even if you are a returning student) to familiarize yourself with the resources within the library.
One of the most important roles that the library will play in your law school career is as a means of support for you. That means support in your research, your classes, internships, jobs, and, really, in any way that we can. Because of that, I sincerely encourage all students to get to know the library as a space as well as meeting the people who work within the library.
Feel free to reach out with any and all questions as you traverse through law school. Here’s to a wonderful and exciting semester!
Happy National Book Lovers Day! To celebrate, here is a list of some recent reads, as well as all-time faves, of the GSU law librarians. Click on the title to read through the Goodreads synopsis of each book. Happy reading!
Librarian and Professor Pam Brannon recommendsElla Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn.
Librarian and Professor Patrick Parsons recommends Piranesi by Susanna Clarke.
Librarian and Professor Gerard Fowke recommendsParable of the Sower by Octavia Butler.
Dean Niedringhaus recommends The Book of Joy by the Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, and Douglas Carlton Abrams. She specifically recommends the audiobook version.
Librarian and Professor Alison Guffey recommends Good Material by Dolly Alderton.
For Black History Month, the Law Library will spotlight Black law figures throughout history and their contributions to the legal field. Each week, a different figure will be featured.
by Sydney Hamilton, 1L
This month, we’ve looked back at a few figures who made the legal field more inclusive and changed the course of history. Their contributions paved the way for countless Black attorneys and legal scholars working today. So, to close out this Black History Month, let’s recognize the Black legal leaders of today who are continuing the legacy of their predecessors. Read more about each leader by selecting the triangle to the left of their name.
Ketanji Brown Jackson
While she spent most of her adolescence in Miami, Ketanji Brown Jackson was born in Washington, D.C., where she now spends her days as a Supreme Court Justice.[1] After President Biden appointed her in 2022, Jackson became the first Black woman to serve on the United States Supreme Court. Before this significant accomplishment, Jackson held several other positions, including a clerkship for Associate Justice Stephen G. Breyer and serving as Vice Chair and Commissioner on the U.S. Sentencing Commission.[2] Despite being a new Justice, Jackson has already established her voice in the court, having already written a few solo dissents in her first term alone.[3]
Though she grew up in Mississippi, Stacey Abrams literally and figuratively became a representative of Georgia. A Spelman College and Yale Law School graduate, Abrams served in the Georgia House of Representatives for eleven years and became minority leader in 2010.[1] In 2018, Abrams founded Fair Fight, an initiative that addresses voter suppression.[2] Abrams rose to prominence that same year when she announced her Georgia governor campaign. Despite losing, she was cemented as the first Black woman in a gubernatorial race to win a major party’s primary. During the 2020 Presidential and Senate elections, the media credited Abrams as the leading reason behind the Democratic win in Georgia.[3] Abrams is also a prolific novelist in addition to her political accomplishments.[4]
While finishing his degree at Harvard Law School, Bryan Stevenson began his exemplary career by working at the Southern Center for Human Rights to represent death row inmates.[1] The experience motivated Stevenson to leave his full-time position with SCHR in Atlanta and move to Alabama, where he founded the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), a non-profit human rights organization.[2] Stevenson and EJI have argued and won numerous cases concerning prisoner rights and death sentences of innocent inmates.[3] In 1990, Stevenson took on the case of Walter McMillian, a black man who, in 1988, had been falsely accused of the murder of a white woman.[4] Stevenson’s efforts resulted in McMillian’s release from prison in 1993. In 2014, Stevenson published a best-selling novel about the case, Just Mercy, which has since been adapted into a film starring Michael B. Jordan (as Stevenson) and Jamie Foxx (as MacMillian).[5]
Kamala Harris has steadily climbed up the legal and political ladders for most of her life. After working as an assistant district attorney for the prosecutor’s office in Oakland, California, Harris eventually ran for District Attorney of San Francisco in 2003 against her former boss.[1] Despite the close race, Harris won and became the first Black woman in California’s history to be elected to the position.[2] Harris nabbed an even tighter victory in 2010 when she narrowly won the race for Attorney General for California; Harris beat her opponent, Steve Cooley, by only 0.8 percentage points.[3] As Attorney General, she won a $20 billion mortgage settlement for California homeowners.[4] In 2017, Harris was sworn into the Senate, and by 2019, she announced her campaign for President of the United States.[5] Though Harris eventually dropped out of the race, she joined Joe Biden as his running mate. Upon the two winning the 2020 Presidential Election, Harris became the first female, first Black, and first Asian Vice President of the United States.
An avid activist since his days at Florida State University, Ben Crump has made it his business to defend the Black community.[1] In the wake of numerous reports of police brutality against Black Americans and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, Crump became known widely when he represented the family of Trayvon Martin.[2] Although the court acquitted George Zimmerman—the man who shot and ultimately killed Martin—of murder, Crump acquired a million-dollar settlement with Zimmerman’s homeowner’s association on behalf of the Martin family.[3] Crump went on to represent the families of Michael Brown, George Floyd, and Breonna Taylor, winning large settlements for them, too.[4] In addition to these cases, Crump also defended the citizens of Flint, Michigan, during the ongoing Flint Water Crisis and spurred a suit against Johnson & Johnson after reports that its powder had led to several cases of ovarian cancer in Black and Hispanic women. [5][6]
As one of the most recognized and admired female figures in history, Michelle Obama is a woman who requires no introduction. A Chicago native and a Harvard Law graduate, Obama got her start in corporate law, where she specialized in intellectual property.[1] Eventually, Obama sought a new path and dedicated herself to public service. This included serving as an assistant commissioner of planning and development at the Chicago City Hall and developing the University of Chicago’s first community service program while working as the Associate Dean of Student Services.[2] When her husband, Barack, was elected President of the United States, Obama became the first Black First Lady of the United States. In her role, Obama launched several successful programs, such as Let’s Move!, which addressed childhood obesity by encouraging children to be physically active and pushing for healthy lunches in US schools.[3] Obama also spearheaded Let Girls Learn, which, with the assistance of the Peace Corps, the US Department of State, and other federal agencies, promoted quality education for girls and young women across the globe.[4] In 2018, Obama published her best-selling memoir Becoming, which charted her journey of growth and the lessons she has learned throughout her extraordinary life.
For the rest of history, the name Barack Obama will always be synonymous with “the first Black President of the United States.” It was considered a historic moment when Chief Justice Roberts swore Obama into office on January 20, 2009. However, technically, this wasn’t the first time that Obama had accomplished such a feat. Funny enough, while attending Harvard Law School, Obama became the first Black president of the Harvard Law Review, attracting media attention even back then.[1] After graduating from college, Obama focused his efforts on rebuilding communities in the US. For example, when he first moved to Chicago, Obama collaborated with local churches to reestablish communities badly affected by the mass closure of steel plants.[2] His penchant for civil rights influenced his work as a lawyer and eventually as a US Senator.[3] In 2007, he began his presidential campaign, a challenging yet ultimately rewarding journey, which resulted in his win over Senator John McCain in 2008. During his presidency, Obama achieved many triumphs, such as appointing several female justices to the Supreme Court, striking down “don’t ask, don’t tell” policies and thus paving the way for same-sex marriage, and adopting the Paris Climate Agreement, which helped decrease greenhouse emissions.[4]
For Black History Month, the Law Library will spotlight Black law figures throughout history and their contributions to the legal field. Each week, a different figure will be featured.
by Sydney Hamilton, 1L
Charles Hamilton Houston in undated photo taken sometime between 1940-50. Photographer unknown. From the Library of Congress NAACP collection of portraits of founders, board members, staff, branch officers and other prominent cultural, social and political figures. LOT 13074, no 249 [P&P].
Charles Hamilton Houston (September 3, 1895 – April 22, 1950)
Born in Washington, D.C., Charles Hamilton Houston first encountered the legal field through his father, a hard-working attorney in the nation’s capital. However, his father’s exemplary career did not solely inspire Houston to go down a similar path. After graduating from Amherst College and teaching at Howard University, Houston enlisted in the military when the First World War began. During this time, Houston experienced tremendous racial discrimination. He came to a bewildering epiphany: he served a country that did not even value his life and scorned his existence. “I made up my mind,” Houston once said, “that if I got through this war, I would study law and use my time fighting back for men who could not strike back.”[1]
Houston returned to the U.S. in April 1919, the beginning of a period now called the “Red Summer.” This period of violence resulted from several events. For one, the war had further encouraged the Great Migration, a mass emigration of Blacks to the North and the Midwest from the South, seeking to escape increasing racial violence and find better job opportunities. At the same time, the veterans were returning home from the war. This led to a flurry of emotions and opposing attitudes. Many White veterans and civilians were upset about Blacks “taking” jobs that Whites felt rightly belonged to them. Additionally, Whites feared that many of the Black veterans, now equipped with more experience and military training, would no longer allow themselves to be subjected to the racial status quo established in the U.S. On the other hand, many Black veterans were returning from foreign countries where they had been treated better and resented coming home to a country that did not appreciate their service. These rising tensions culminated in some of the bloodiest riots in American history, the worst occurring in Elaine, Arkansas, where at least 100 Black Americans were killed. However, this was notably one of the first times in U.S. history that the Black community had collectively fought back against racial violence.
These events colored Houston’s law school education when he entered Harvard Law School. While there, Houston became the first Black student elected to Harvard Law Review’s editorial board. He later obtained a Sheldon Traveling Fellowship, which allowed him to study at the University of Madrid and earn a Civil Law degree. After graduating, Houston returned to Washington and joined his father’s law practice, one of the first Black law firms established in D.C.
A foundational tenant of Houston’s approach to the law was the importance of defending and protecting the Black community. He felt that Black lawyers had an obligation to argue on behalf of their community because White lawyers could not be depended on to fight against racial injustice. Eventually, Houston began teaching part-time at Howard Law School and was appointed vice-dean in 1929. In his new role, Houston made it his mission to turn Howard Law School into a “training ground” for future civil rights lawyers, such as Thurgood Marshall. Before long, Houston turned the law school into a formidable institution, helping them to attain accreditation from the American Bar Association.
In 1935, Houston left Howard to work as the first special counsel for the NAACP. Houston’s main objective was to diminish and eventually abolish Jim Crow laws, which he did through his arguments in several civil rights cases. However, Houston’s most impactful contribution was his strategy to debunk the “separate but equal” myth from Plessy v Ferguson (1897). He first used this tactic in Missouri ex rel. Gaines v. Canada (1939), arguing that it was unconstitutional to prevent a Black applicant from attending a law school “when no comparable facility for Blacks existed in the State.” Winning that case proved the effectiveness of Houston’s ingenious approach.
Houston’s efforts officially paid off in Brown v. Board of Education (1954), when the courts declared segregation in public schools unconstitutional. Unfortunately, Houston passed away four years earlier, in 1950, before seeing the fruits of his labor. However, his pupil, Thurgood Marshall, made the winning argument in the case. So, perhaps Houston’s spirit was present that day.
[1] “Charles Hamilton Houston.” Harvard & the Legacy of Slavery, legacyofslavery.harvard.edu/alumni/charles-hamilton-houston. Accessed 18 Feb. 2024.
Other Sources:
“Charles Hamilton Houston.” Separate Is Not Equal: Brown V. Board of Education, americanhistory.si.edu/brown/history/3-organized/charles-houston.html. Accessed 18 Feb. 2024.
“Charles Hamilton Houston.” NAACP, naacp.org/find-resources/history-explained/civil-rights-leaders/charles-hamilton-houston. Accessed 18 Feb. 2024.
For Black History Month, the Law Library will spotlight Black law figures throughout history and their contributions to the legal field. Each week, a different figure will be featured.
by Sydney Hamilton, 1L
“Pauli Murray approx. 1955” by FDR Presidential Library & Museum is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
Pauli Murray (November 20, 1910 – July 1, 1985)
A frustrating truth about history is that for all the trailblazers and visionaries who fought for change, only a select few go down as household names. However, the present allows us to rediscover those figures that helped to ensure the very future we now sit in. One such figure is Pauli Murray.
As soon as they were born, Anne Pauline “Pauli” Murray could not ignore the subject of race. The violence of slavery impacted their family’s genetic makeup, as many of Murray’s ancestors were the children of white enslavers and enslaved Black women. However, this resulted in what Murray described as a “mini-United Nations”[1] and that simply by existing, they defied an era shaped by segregation.
At age three, Murray’s mother died, and their father arranged for Murray to leave Baltimore and live with their maternal aunt and grandparents in Durham, North Carolina. Murray thrived in Durham, teaching themselves to read by age five. In school, Murray excelled academically and had their hands in as many extracurriculars as possible, from president of the literary society to editor-in-chief of the school newspaper to forward on the basketball team. It’s no wonder that, throughout their life, Murray would be known for wearing many hats.
In 1926, Murray graduated high school at 15 with qualifications to attend any university. While they dreamed of attending Columbia, the university did not accept women then. This reality of segregation by gender also infuriated them. Instead, Murray enrolled at Hunter College- a racially integrated women’s college in New York City.
During and after college, Murray began to question their gender and their sexuality and officially changed their name from “Anne Pauline” to “Pauli.” Murray experimented with dressing more masculine and even asked doctors to examine them, seeking gender-affirming treatments that did not exist then. Questions about their gender identity often influenced Murray’s writings about gender equality.
In the late 1930s and early 1940s, Murray truly stepped into their role as a civil rights activist. When Murray applied to the University of North Carolina for graduate school, they were rejected because of their race. In response, Murray began a letter-writing campaign, writing to several officials, such as the university presidents, newspapers, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. The First Lady responded, and this correspondence led to a decades-long friendship between Pauli and Eleanor. Additionally, on a trip from New York to California in 1940, Murray and a friend were arrested when they refused to sit in the back of the bus. Later, while working for the Worker’s Defense League, Murray assisted in the case of a black sharecropper who had been sentenced to life for killing his white landlord during an argument. These events, among others, inspired Murray to pursue a legal education.
In 1941, Murray began attending Howard University Law School and was the only woman in their class. The experience led Murray to coin the term “Jane Crow,” similar to Jim Crow but focused on the inherent misogynoir of segregation. Murray continued to fight for equal rights, often leading protests and sit-ins on Howard University’s campus.
More than anything, it was Pauli Murray’s words which defined their life and, ultimately, the lives of so many others. In 1948, Murray published their first book, States’ Laws on Race and Color, a 700-hundred-page analysis and critique of segregation in the United States. The book greatly influenced Thurgood Marshall, who “referred to the work as ‘the bible’ of Brown v. Board of Education.”[2] A case argued by Murray and attorney Dorothy Kenyon for women to have the equal right to serve on juries inspired Ruth Bader Ginsburg to the point where, when Ginsburg wrote her brief for Reed v. Reed, a landmark decision that made differential treatment on the basis of sex unconstitutional, Ginsburg credited Murray as a co-author.[3]
Murray acquired many other accolades, like being the first Black person to receive a JSD from Yale Law School and the first Black woman to become an ordained priest in the Episcopal Church. Though Murray’s name and life may not be familiar to some, their contributions have made an invaluable mark on history and the future as we know it. In 2024, Murray is scheduled to have their face featured on the U.S. Quarter, a tribute that should encourage more people to recognize Pauli Murray’s name.
[1] “Life Story: Pauli Murray (1910-1985).” Women & the American Story by the New-York Historical Society, (last visited Feb. 13, 2024). wams.nyhistory.org/confidence-and-crises/world-war-ii/pauli-murray/.
“Pauli Murray.” Maryland Women’s Hall of Fame, (last visited Feb. 13, 2024). msa.maryland.gov/msa/educ/exhibits/womenshallfame/html/murray.html.
“Pauli Murray As a LGBTQ+ Historical Figure.” National Museum of African American History & Culture, (last visited Feb. 13, 2024). nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/pauli-murray-lgbtq-historical-figure.
“The Pioneering Pauli Murray: Lawyer, Activist, Scholar and Priest.” National Museum of African American History & Culture, (last visited Feb. 13, 2024). nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/pioneering-pauli-murray-lawyer-activist-scholar-and-priest.
For Black History Month, the Law Library will spotlight Black law figures throughout history and their contributions to the legal field. Each week, a different figure will be featured.
by Sydney Hamilton, 1L
Photo taken by Yoichi R. Okamoto on June 13, 1967.
Thurgood Marshall (June 2, 1908 – January 24, 1993)
History often remembers Thoroughgood “Thurgood” Marshall as a focused, articulate man who dedicated his life to the law and the people. However, as a kid growing up in Baltimore, Maryland, his high school teachers knew Marshall better for being a bit of a class clown with a rambunctious nature. Funny enough, his punishment for misbehaving turned out to be a glimpse into his future: sitting on a bench, reading the Constitution.
As a Black boy living in the inner city, Marshall recognized the effects of segregation. However, being uniquely familiar with the Constitution, he realized understanding and reshaping the law would be the key to eliminating this injustice. After high school, Marshall attended Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, where his classmates included the soon-to-be-renowned poet Langston Hughes. After a hazing incident with his fraternity earned him a two-week suspension, Marshall focused his attention and energy on his academics. His involvement in the debate club furthered his passion to become a lawyer. In 1930, Marshall graduated at the top of his class.
After marrying his wife, Viven, Marshall continued to work towards his goal. However, the ever-looming presence of racial discrimination nearly thwarted his plans. The University of Maryland School of Law rejected Marshall based on his race. Instead, he attended Howard University but still dealt with financial burdens. His mother pawned her wedding rings to pay for his tuition.
During law school, he began to formulate the perspectives and arguments that would later define his career. While there, he studied under Charles Hamilton Houston, the vice dean at the law school and later, the director of NAACP’s Legal Defense and Education Fund. Through Houston, Marshall better understood how the Constitution and the law could be used to extinguish racial discrimination. After graduating from Howard as valedictorian in 1933, Marshall moved back to Baltimore to take his first steps as a lawyer.
Back in Baltimore, Marshall opened his own practice, assisting clients even if they could not pay. Eventually, he dedicated more time to volunteering with the Baltimore chapter of the NAACP. One of Marshall’s first significant strides came in the case of Murray v. Pearson (1936). Just like Marshall, the University of Maryland Law School rejected Donald Murray because of the color of his skin. Marshall sued on Murray’s behalf and, assisting his mentor Houston, won the case.
Following this success, Marshall and Houston strategized how to chip away at the “separate but equal” doctrine from Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)that fueled segregation. In Missouri ex rel Gaines v. Canada (1938), the two men argued that the University of Missouri had violated Lloyd Gaines’s equal protection rights by rejecting him due to his race and thereby denying him legal education equivalent to what white students received. Winning this case set the stage for Marshall’s most memorable victory.
After Houston retired, Marshall took over Houston’s position at the NAACP. He continued to win several more cases before finally landing on the one that would forever impact history: Brown v. Board of Education (1954). In this case, which was five separate cases consolidated into one, Marshall argued that segregating the school system was unequal and unconstitutional. During the second hearing, Marshall stated that segregation evolved from a desire to keep “the people who were formerly in slavery as near to that stage as possible.” After much indecision and deliberation, the Supreme Court finally ruled that the “separate but equal” doctrine should not take precedence in the public education system.
In the years following that decision, Marshall was appointed as a federal judge and then Solicitor General before eventually being appointed as the first Black justice on the U.S. Supreme Court in 1967. As a Justice, Marshall was known for his progressive views and strong moral compass, opposing the death penalty and ensuring the civil rights of all people. Marshall served 25 terms before retiring in 1991 as one of the greatest voices on the Supreme Court.
Maybe you are a law student looking for a morale-boosting movie set in the legal profession or perhaps you cannot seem to escape thoughts about law school even in your free time. Either way, this new series, Movies that Every Law Student Should Watch, can act as your guide in navigating the world of movies related to the legal field.
Note: All of the movies in this series can be borrowed from the Law Library (find them in person near the study aids or online here).
While it is likely that most of you have already watched this cult classic, I will not let that stop me from recommending it to you again. Elle Woods, played by Reese Witherspoon, breaks all of the stereotypes held against her when she makes it into Harvard Law School. Though it may look like your typical early-00s romantic comedy, the film intermixes humor with invaluable lessons on friendship, female empowerment, and conquering impostor syndrome.
For a light-hearted take on legal proceedings, this movie is a must-watch. It follows the misadventures of a novice lawyer, Vinny Gambini, as he tries to defend his cousin against murder charges. While the film humorously portrays courtroom antics, lawyers have commended My Cousin Vinny for its accurate depiction of trial strategy and criminal procedure.
The Paper Chase (1973)
Run-time: 111 min
Subjects: Contracts, General 1L Curriculum
Though the movie is now over fifty years old, The Paper Chase portrayal of law school life is ever relevant and painfully realistic. You cannot help but root for the main character, Hart, as he tries to find his way through his first year at Harvard Law.
12 Angry Men is a riveting courtroom drama that focuses on the dynamics of a jury room. The film follows twelve jurors as they deliberate the guilt or innocence of a young man accused of murder. It provides valuable insights into the art of persuasion, reasonable doubt, and the importance of careful deliberation—essential skills for any law student.
I hope this list provides you with a good head-start as you begin your legal movie journey. Keep an eye out for the next installment in this series (Movies that Every Law Student Should Watch).
We would to hear from you. What is your favorite legal movie?
Congratulations! You are nearing the finish line and starting your 3L year. Knowing what I know now, there are a few things I wish I could have told you back when you were a 1L.
First, just as choosing to start anything, making the choice to start law school is a big decision and can bring about numerous uncertainties and challenges. One thing you should know is that you were brave to start this journey. You are now a 3L, and can honestly say that the legal language and community are different from anything you have ever experienced. By now, you have talked with many attorneys and several have stated that if they were given the chance to go back and choose law school again, they are not sure they would do it. So, I want you to know that this was a courageous choice. You graduate in less than a year and can now see the light at the end of the tunnel!
Second, do not ever be afraid or hesitant to reach out to professors for guidance. They are all so willing to lend a hand and give you some encouraging words. Every single professor you have had has been a mentor in some sense and are so genuinely in your corner. As you venture into classes of your choice, you will meet one professor in particular: Anjali Deshmukh. She is wise, honest, supportive, and never too busy to listen. She is a mentor that you will admire and appreciate forever.
Professor Anjali Deshmukh
Third, try to remain positive. When it is time for your exams, approach them with a positive mindset and do not speak negative words to yourself. For example, do not tell yourself “I am not prepared,” or “I should have studied more.” This will only put you in a more anxious mindset for the exam and could set you up for failure. It is normal to be “stressed,” but do not let it overtake you. You are prepared…..and even if not….it is too late to worry about that once the exam starts.
Fourth, speaking of exams……your best preparation will be completing practice exams. This applies to all exams you will take during law school (including the MPRE). Practice exams will ease most anxiety you have around taking the exams. They will also help be able to have an idea of how many questions you are able to complete in the normal exam period (3-4 hours). This is the best way to get quicker at issue spotting and completing exams in the usual timeframe provided. I promise you will be happy that you did this – three/four hours go by quicker than you would think when you are taking an exam.
All in all, take this advice but also know that you did not do bad at all. You made it this far. You have a community behind you: your family, friends, classmates, and professors. You just have to remember to be kind to yourself, do not worry too much, and study in a smart way.
Not many incoming students know what to expect when they start law school, and only have common perceptions to cling on to. I believe that debunking a few myths can bring some clarity to 1Ls. So, what are some of the common myths about law school?
Law school is not a good place to look for long-life friends because it is so competitive. This is false for many individuals who choose this career path. There is a competitive aspect to law school, however, many students also want to build lasting relationships. Law school is where many individuals build a community and bond with others from similar or different walks of life. Further, law school can bring several different stressors and exhaustion that only other law students will understand. The fact that the individuals around you can relate to your experience, alone, often brings a sense of comfort and belonging. On a more positive note, law school is also where you begin to start networking and building relationships for post-graduation.
It is nearly impossible to maintain a social life during law school. In all honesty, law school is time-consuming. However, many students, professors, and lawyers would note maintaining a social life as one of the most important things to do during your law journey. With a little organization and preplanning, it can become easy to maintain a social life. An easy way to work social time in is to make a schedule carving out time blocks for studying/reading and free time(etc). You can spend the free time however you choose, but it is good to plan a stopping point for work. Use this time to step away from school work and do something that makes you happy.
Being a person who is good at debating, automatically means that you will excel in law school. Legal disputes and arguments are art and require many skills. Being good at making a logical point, does not translate to being a great lawyer. There are several other qualities that make someone a good attorney (good listener, great researcher, detail-oriented, etc). Further, law school is more than arguments, oral or written. There are different forms of law that require a lawyer to be good at different things.
The smartest students are those with the best grades. If you have made it to law school, it is basically understood that you are smart and competent. There will be students who appear smarter than everyone else. However, there is a difference between being smart and knowing what to look for/pay attention to. Being smart does not equate to having the patience to (1) study or learn how to take exams and (2) learning your best study techniques. Law school is also about self-awareness. What will help with success in law school is the combination of all these things.
Law school is a learning curve for all. But, the perception of law school is often scarier than the reality.
The Blackacre Times 
You must be logged in to post a comment.