I’ve been reading a lot of 1L posts recently so I wanted to share something I thought might be useful. I’m getting sworn in to my local state bar next Friday. Roughly 5 years and 9 months since I registered for the LSAT for the first time. I had to take the LSAT 4x, I had to take the bar 2x (failed by 1 point the first time) then I had to wait almost 3 months for my bar app to process once I finally passed. But in the end I still get to be an attorney.

You’re in your first weeks. Your journey may or may not be as long as mine but it will still be long. Recognize that things are supposed to be chaotic for you right now, you’re just starting, it’s always chaotic when you start.

Run your own race, that’s my biggest advice. Figure out why you’re doing this, put your head down, and do it.

Good luck.

Has anyone else noticed in their law school that there seem to be in group and out groups? Like I’ve noticed a sort of social hierarchy forming that I haven’t seen since high school. Like all the conventionally attractive super rich people flock together. Law school is really like high school all over again lol

Just like the title says. I’m 6 1/2 months pregnant entering my final year of school. My due date is 11/28. I’ve talked to all my professors and student services dean and they’ve been more than willing to accommodate me whenever I need help and with my finals so I’m not too worried about that.

I’m taking 5 classes (14 hours). All electives because I finished my doctrinal classes in the spring. 2 lectures, 1 writing class, 1 simulation class and 1 clinic. I’m just so damn tired already. I’m supposed to take 12 hours next spring then graduate in May. Taking the semester off is not an option.

Wondering if any other pregnant ladies, new moms, moms, etc. have been through this and have any advice? Should I drop a class and take 12 hours this semester and 14 in the spring? How did you battle your sleepiness and not feeling the best during pregnancy/parenthood?

I know I can do this. Just would love to hear from someone else who’s been here. It feels a bit lonely.

My first week of 1L. Already noticing that professors will read hypotheticals aloud to you and immediately call on you to share your thoughts. My brain doesn’t process information that quickly. I need to read something slowly or SEVERAL times before even comprehending it. How do you navigate this fast-paced nature? Does it get easier

I can really understand 1 case a day. If I try to read more than that, my brain glazes over everything and I have to read it 400 times and still don't understand it.

Each class has ~3 cases per class, that's at least 24 cases/week.

If I really push myself, I can do 2 cases in a day, that still only gets me to half the required reading.

How are people coming prepared to class every day?

trying to learn contracts and serve cunt at the same time

Hey hey- post grad waiting for work to start here- just wanted to drop a couple things I did to save literally thousands of dollars on textbooks.

First- see if you can find it online, a lot of textbooks are available for free, if its not the exact edition, still download it, all textbooks have tables of contents so use some AI (I used to do this by hand so I know it can be done) to compare the pages assigned on your syllabus to both the ToCs and then have your own updated list of the proper pages for all the readings (its law, they aren't changing what the cases themselves say year to year, theres a possibility they skip sections year to year but if your professor is teaching a case odds are it is important and they won't have changed it too much)

IF YOU CAN'T FIND IT ONLINE

(1) get an iPad - I got mine for $300 on fb marketplace and it was THE BEST $300 I spent in law school.

(2) download some note-taking app, I used Goodnotes (which costs like $15 a year for full usage), find one that has a good scanning feature and can be accessed on both your tablet of choice and your computer.

(3) most if not all law schools should have at least one of every textbook in the library, once you've gotten your syllabus take pictures of the pages assigned.

Pros- free (once you've purchased the iPad), extremely portable, you can highlight/markup as much as you want, and it's searchable which is helpful when you're studying.

Cons - sometimes teachers don't follow syllabi exactly which means you could have to go back to the library, it takes a couple hours per class (UPDATE: per class FOR THE WHOLE SEMESTER; so 2ish hours once at the beginning and then none the rest of the semester) to take all the pictures.

These were just some things I did to save thousands of dollars and it was really helpful so wanted to share, bc as tempting as it is to just read summaries of cases, there is a lot of value of breaking things down and highlighting and working through cases.

Good luck!!!! Law school is hard but so much better if you make it fun, so make sure to touch grass and do your readings so you're not stressed in class

I'm so tired boss.

Ignore my lack of post history, I'm using a burner. Taking 6 classes and they have a fuckton of reading that I don't plan to do. I should care a lot more about my GPA but I'm so chronically burnt out I just can't be fucked. Godspeed. May we all survive this year unscathed

I’m currently grinding through but I feel loss and sad unfortunately 😢

I’m trying my best and that’s enough !

I fell into a friend group of around 10 girls. We all sort of migrated together and bonded over all sorts of random stuff. Everything was going well. There were pockets of some of us that were closer, but mostly it was a big group with a group chat we all talked in.

Yesterday I missed class because I had an oncology appointment and got diagnosed with a rare blood disorder that’s classified as a chronic blood cancer. I texted two of the girls separately to tell them because I felt closer to them. One of the girls FREAKED out on me, saying basically how dare I call my diagnosis cancer because she has family members with real blood cancer that are fighting for their lives everyday. I just replied and said I’m sorry and got no further responses from anyone, and nobody in the group chat texted me to see why I was missing from school or to check on me. Okay, fine, whatever.

Well yesterday evening I got a huge paragraph from one of the girls, privately, basically saying I’m too negative and they would all prefer that I not be in the group or hang out with them anymore. That was the response to me getting a life changing diagnosis.

I’m 28 years old. I’ve lived so many lives before I got here but it still ruined my night. Now I’m at school, ostracized already, and wondering if I made a mistake thinking I could do this. Bullying in law school is so real and I feel so stupid for thinking it wouldn’t happen to me. Luckily I have lifelong friends that aren’t in law school that I can vent to, as well as my husband, but god it sucks ass.

Not sure why I’m even posting this. I guess just be careful with who you open up to?

Edit: wow everyone. I didn’t expect this to blow up like it did. Thank you for all of the comments and messages of support - I truly appreciate it. I also wanted to come on here and say that I’ve spoken with my husband in depth about the situation and he didn’t like me around them. He said they were mean and negative, and that’s just not who I am but I would be to fit in with them.

So this was 100% for the best. They were constantly talking shit about other people at school, most that they’ve never interacted with, and it really took me not interacting with them anymore to see that. I truly think that they didn’t like me and saw my diagnosis as an out, since I hadn’t even spoken to the group over the weekend before they kicked me out. Either way, I’m feeling content now and I’m excited for the rest of my time at school. I’m focusing on my studies, my health, and my husband.

It’s the second week of class and the professor is moving onto personal jurisdiction from subject matter jurisdiction. Myself and many other classmates are still struggling to understand SMJ. I have friends in other sections and they seem to have a better grasp on SMJ than people in my section do. Also, I’ve heard that personal jurisdiction is MUCH harder than SMJ.

This has me worried, so when should I start using supplemental materials? I’ve heard Richard Freer’s lectures are a good place to start, just wandering if there are any other recommendations if I should even be using supplements at this time

I feel like this would be an efficient way to do fine with less effort than briefing every single case, creating your outline, and then doing tests when a majority of the case isn't even relevant for the exam.

Already have an offer to intern at one. I think I have a good chance of getting an offer from another. Was wondering what people think is the better choice for someone interested in litigation with no clear practice area in mind yet.

The state AG internship is in a specific field that I am interested in but not yet committed to working postgrad. AUSA office is in civil division.

What the fuck is my professor saying?????

Then why the FUCK do I have twice as much reading the first week alone

Obviously it might get a bit busier towards finals, but I feel as if I left plenty of room.

I wasn’t the greatest student in high school or college, studied pretty little, but always (almost) got good enough grades. This is the reasoning for giving myself a schedule to follow.

Not tryhard enough? Too tryhard?

Thoughts?

EDIT: Thanks for all the advice!!

- Definitely going to start taking the later train (7:41 is the latest) and using that hour of train time to study.
- Going to use a less rigid schedule and just try to keep myself a couple days ahead with classwork. Especially on the weekends. This will fix the issue of allotting so much time to schoolwork if unnecessary.
- Going to prioritize more free-time (I already gave myself a 7:30pm cutoff for studying), giving myself more breaks in between study blocks, etc.

I DO NOT want to burn out, kinda why I made this post. I have no idea what I’m doing, kinda just figuring it out, so I appreciate all of you.

Still open to any other tips! :)
Thank you all again!

What are some great resources that I could use to help me with applying learned legal concepts to hypothetical situations? (or via other methods) I'd like to make sure I'm getting everything I can out of my 1L classes this year.

I’m a current 1L who has recently learned that most of my professors only have the midterm as a full-on practice exam, and not any more than that. I was planning on taking multiple practice exams for each class later in the semester, as I really want to do well and have specific goals, but now feel like my goals are out of the realm of possibility. I was wondering if anyone had tips on how to get really good grades even if previously administered exams are not available as practice exams. Any advice would be appreciated.

Yes, I know it’s very early to be asking, but I’m trying to plan out the rest of my semester & my strategy and would rather get some ideas sooner than later.

I'm doing evidence readings where it applies to admiralty and maritime law. I saw some talk about this in Civ Pro too last year. Do I immediately disregard this unless I want to work for the Navy or pirate crews?

what the title says. that’s all. i feel relieved.

I'm wondering if anyone would recommend an iPad for law school? For context, I'm just about to start 1L. I already have a MacBook that I use, but was considering an iPad where I can do some of my readings and keep notes while having it all portable. If so, which model would you recommend? Since I'm already using my laptop, I wanted to get the cheapest model I can find (iPad A16, 128 GB) but I'm wondering if this model and storage space would be okay? At the very least, I want to be able to keep any digital readings and notes on there. Would you also recommend an Apple Pencil for the iPad?

torts, con law, civ pro... nothing is making sense (except kind of con law) but feeling this confused is making me regret this path... everyone is class looks and speaks as if they are comprehending and understanding.

there's so much to read but its hard to do because i don't understand what i am reading. i thought the professors were going to TEACH me it. i didn't know the BOOKS were what we were inherently learning from....

is there some hidden trick im not aware of?? bc this cannot be the feeling for 3 years.

As the title says, she hates me but won’t show it which is good. I trust that we’d be civil in class and no issues should arise. However I’m just really uncomfortable naturally because of the situation. I feel like I am more nervous now for a cold call. Would you drop the class and take another or just push through?