Law School Fast Track
Essential Habits for Law School Success
Cover of Contents
Sample Chapters
About the Author
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Law School Fast Track

Sample Chapters

Sample Section #1: Before You Start
Sample Section #2: Habit #2: Make a Plan and Stick To It
Sample Section #3: Reading the Law
Sample Section #4: Preparing for Finals
Sample Section #5: Habit #8: Write Your Own Outlines
Sample Section #6: Keep Living Life

Habit #8: Write Your Own Outlines

Writing outlines isn’t particularly hard. But it is time-consuming. It can also seem overwhelming, especially if you wait until the last minute to start. And commercial outlines lurk in the shadows, tempting you to throw down your own notes and read a pre-packaged outline in place of writing your own. As tempting as these pre-packaged outlines are, these are no substitute for your own work, both in creating and in refining your outline; without that effort, you simply won’t get enough out of it.

This is not just a “survival” guide. It is a “kick ass” guide! The whole point of all of these habits is not so that you’ll feel good, or save time, or get a brownie point. It’s so that you’ll ace your exams!

Almost anyone can survive law school: Step 1, sign up only for classes for which commercial outlines are available; Step 2, procure said commercial outlines, while not purchasing casebooks (unless you need paperweights); Step 3, spend resulting savings on beer and pizza; Step 4, skip class as much as you can get away with; Step 5, cram from your commercial outlines; and Step 6, obtain passing grades. That’s it. Oh, and the last step, applicable to everyone but children of senior partners and sitting justices, is Step 7, starve.

It takes something special to do extremely well in law exams. And much of that “something special” is good habits, not just legal brilliance. Part of doing extremely well on exams is in knowing the material as well as you know your own name—and part of knowing the material that well is in writing it out, yourself.

Note: this doesn’t mean that you don’t use commercial outlines at all. Not true: they are very handy. If used in the right way—to supplement your work—they are invaluable. But you’re not abdicating your responsibility to the commercial outline. Understanding the law is your responsibility, and, as we’ll see, there’s really no substitute for doing it yourself.

So, with that in mind, how do you write an outline? The first and most accurate step is to write down the major chapter headings first. You will find these headings in your book, and also in commercial outlines. You will include specific points—initially and during the semesters—to tie the “official” law to your professors’ individual takes on each subject.

Outlining for Open-Book Exams

Your outlines should be pretty much the same for both open-book and closed-book exams, and you should be equally prepared for both. Do not fall into the trap of relying on any materials you can take into the exam. These are not a security blanket, they are a trap. If you do rely on these, you will most likely not study as hard as you need to and will end up wasting your precious exam time searching for the answers in your outline. Ideally, you should know the material so well that you shouldn’t even have to look at an outline during an exam, open or closed book.

One benefit to an open-book exam is that you can bring in super-super-condensed outlines, each containing the concepts for just one issue. I wrote them out in short statements so that, however I answered each question, I immediately knew what elements I needed to discuss.

Again, although it is fine to take your outline into an open-book exam, you should not rely on being able to look up information. If you take in a list like this, you have the benefit of being reminded about the elements of the issue. This list is a cue for answers you already know!

If you have a list like this and you understand and can write out every single element, then you have accomplished your goal of being efficient and effective. When you reach this point, you are ready to take your exam, whether it is open book or not. This is the end goal, to be able to see two words like “Secured Party” and just know everything you need to know about a secured party and the subsequent relationships with other parties. That’s when you’re ready!

Another preparation for an open book exam is knowing where in your outline you have certain concepts. I did this by putting tabs into my outline and compiling a short table of contents. That way, if I did have to open my outline, then I would know exactly where the section I needed was with minimal effort.

If you develop the good habits outlined in this book and truly prepare for each final, you won’t worry about “open versus closed” book exams, and you won’t need to take your outline into the test with you. You will in fact be at an advantage either way.


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