Study group- Yay or Nay?

[legalkitty]

Personally, I say "nay" to a study group, except for I.A.N.!!!!

[duma]

When I first started complainging about my study group, a lawyer friend chuckled. He said that I had fallen into a mistake on my part, and a good plan on the others.

[squarre]

I think it depends on the individual.  I did not join any because I knew it would make me rely too much on everyone else.  For some it is great to help learn about difficult or confusing areas.

[lawgirl]

Thanks for checking it out. 
Nothing personal, but I'd rather not disclose where I am at right now. I kind of like the anonymity.

Hey LawGirl,

I just clicked on your blog.  It's pretty cool. What T1 are you at?

I prefer to work alone, but it could be beneficial for some people.

[rezipsa]

I have a study group and it works for me. At the begining of the year, our group works on outlines and towards finals we do pratice exams. This seems to work well for our group. Our group has the #1, 5, 8, 12 rankings.

However, study groups do have a tendency of getting off subject. Our group has a rule that we get our studying done and then we go have lunch or get drinks after we are completed.

Like most things in law school, you have to find out what works good for you. If working in a study group works for you, stick with it. If studying on your own works for you, do that.

That sounds great.  How did you acquire such a sucessful study group?  I am worried if I join one it will turn into junior high group projects in which I inevitably did all the work.  I am interested in joining one if I can develop one that is with organized and motivated students.  Any suggestions?

Good question...It just happens that I sit next to most of my study group.  Another key is that we all get along and don't annoy each other.  I think that is a major key to a successful group.  It also helps if you join a group with one of the top students. 

Our group usually comes up with a study plan and one person usually takes control to ensure that we don't get off topic.  This keeps our group orgainized.  This works for our group but may not work for others.

[Cosmoline]

I graduated in '98 and my experience was that study groups were fading in importance by that point.  The advent of on-line research and the ease with which outlines drafted on laptops could be shared seemed to make them less useful.  The "study groups" formed when we were 1L's pretty quickly degenerated into social cliques.