How can you tell if you're "getting it", doing enough, whatever?

[ANBUDOM]

It is definitely a good sign if you go to class and you know wtf is going on.  A lot of students go to class even after having done the readings and will not know what the professor is talking about.  When it comes time to study for exams they will need to put in a lot more effort just to understand enough material to do well on the exam. 

It's a good thing that you're starting to look at past exams but I think it's a little too early for that.  You might be freaking yourself out prematurely.  After you complete your outline and you understand the black letter law, looking at past exams will help you to apply your knowledge to hypotheticals.  If possible try to look at A-exams so you can get a feel for what type of answers law professors are looking for.

[notagunner]

I'm a 1L too and I'm likewise concerned that I'm understanding the material too easily.  I don't brief cases, but I review them briefly before class.  I don't really take notes in all of my classes.  But it all seems so straightforward and I haven't had to exert much mental energy into understanding the cases.  I'm planning on using the outlines I found on the student bar database and the old exams of my professors to study focusing solely on writing exams.  I'm not sure if I'm getting supplements, but I was thinking about doing it for CivPro because its a 4 credit course.  I've always done well with minimal studying and hopefully that trend continues.  I'm just trusting my gut and not buying into the hype. 

[cesco]

I've always done well with minimal studying and hopefully that trend continues. 

I have yet to meet or hear of anyone that was successful with this strategy. 

Law school may be full of a lot of overstressed, hyper people, but the reality is that it takes work to do well in law school.  The concepts themselves might not be tough, but figuring out how to combine them and apply them in various situations takes practice and work.

For example: It is easy to understand that green is green, and blue is blue.  But what gets confusing is when you mix green and blue.  Then you have to consider what happens when you throw in some red, and perhaps a little yellow. 

Dont buy into the "hype" that you can get away with minimal studying, because even if you get the concepts you need to be practicing hypos and learning how to write law school exams.

[jacy85]

I'm a 1L too and I'm likewise concerned that I'm understanding the material too easily.  I don't brief cases, but I review them briefly before class.  I don't really take notes in all of my classes.  But it all seems so straightforward and I haven't had to exert much mental energy into understanding the cases.  I'm planning on using the outlines I found on the student bar database and the old exams of my professors to study focusing solely on writing exams.  I'm not sure if I'm getting supplements, but I was thinking about doing it for CivPro because its a 4 credit course.  I've always done well with minimal studying and hopefully that trend continues.  I'm just trusting my gut and not buying into the hype. 

With perhaps a few exceptions, the concepts you learn in law school are hardly rocket science.  It's not difficult for most to understand the individual concepts taught.  It's putting them together that's tricky - this is why people do so well in undergrad, which more often requires rote memorization and little analytical thinking that encompasses the entire course.

So people like you ("I've always done well with doing minimum work!) always make me shake my head a bit.  I'm pretty sure most of us have seen lots of people like you in our sections and classes who end up extremely disappointed in their grades, and confused how they screwed up so badly when they'd always done so well before.  And there's nothing any of us can say to convince you otherwise at this point - you'll have to get your grades to get your wakeup call. 

And hey, let's face facts - SOMEONE has to round out the lower half of the class...

[thorc954]

I've always done well with minimal studying and hopefully that trend continues. 

I have yet to meet or hear of anyone that was successful with this strategy. 

I have plenty of friends that took that approach.  Very minimal class attendance, and very little studying.  It worked well for them, but I guess they are naturally brilliant.

[ANBUDOM]

Well some people just study very very efficiently or they're good at taking law school exams.  As a 1L you don't really have any way of knowing whether or not your studying efficiently nor do you know how to take law school exams. 

For your first semester, at the very least, i'd put in a lot of effort even if you're the type that puts in minimal work.  Even if you're the lazy type (like myself), if you work really hard first year and get awesome grades, you will get a job offer very early and the next 2 years of law school will be a breeze.  If you have that type of mentality then putting in a lot of effort first year won't seem that bad. 

[MiamiLaw]

Is it really necessary to long brief each case? I basically just write out facts, holdings and relevent laws. I don't really write out the rationale for each case because it seems fairly obvious how they are rationalizing their decisions in the majority of cases and doesn't seem necessary to write.

[jacy85]

Is it really necessary to long brief each case? I basically just write out facts, holdings and relevent laws. I don't really write out the rationale for each case because it seems fairly obvious how they are rationalizing their decisions in the majority of cases and doesn't seem necessary to write.

It's not necessary to brief at all....

[MiamiLaw]

Is it really necessary to long brief each case? I basically just write out facts, holdings and relevent laws. I don't really write out the rationale for each case because it seems fairly obvious how they are rationalizing their decisions in the majority of cases and doesn't seem necessary to write.

It's not necessary to brief at all....

hmm. Right now im under the impression that what I do in class and for readings has no relation or little relation to prepping for the final. But in class i am following all the concepts we learn, but to me it just strikes me as useless being able to answer questions right in class since I don't think it will have any bearing on final exam performance?