Hey y’all!

How do you like my 1L headshot? That’s right, my first year of law school has begun!

I’m currently taking a break from reading for my Criminal Law class. I’ve finally gotten settled into this new city and my new home! With both orientation and intro weeks over, my first semester of law school is in full swing. I thought I’d check in and chat about my thoughts about everything thus far.

Orientation:

Our orientation was a lot like how it was in undergrad (minus the bubbling excitement of finally getting our first tastes of freedom). The whole shabang was 4 days long, typically starting at 8:30 and ending around 5. It was quite organized might I add, and included lunch and a few dinners (which is always a plus). I got to meet my classmates, professors and faculty, some upper level students, as well as student organizations and their leaders. We got introduced to expectations of students and what our life will look like for the next 3 years. We were even able to see what our lives can possibly look like after, as we took a tour of the local county and federal courthouses. There, we met a Judge and a U.S. Attorney who explained their roles and some tips for our incoming class.

Because our first year courses are chosen for us, 1L students are assigned to sections with whom we take all of our first year courses with. I basically view sections as simiilar to a elementary/middle school “homeroom” class that does everything together. From what I’ve gathered, your section mates are the people who will be in the trenches with you as we all transition into life as law students.

Intro Week:

In the week following orientation, we had a week dedicated to introducing us to law school. The entire week counted for 1 course credit, graded pass/fail, and ended with my first law school exam. The idea of having an exam in the first week had me shook to be quite honest, but I don’t think I did so bad. As I remember, our incoming class represents about 36 different undergrad majors. This means only a small portion of us have a true understanding of the American Judicial System (thankfully I’m not alone). In addition, those who may have some knowledge, have never been law students. So we’re all basically in the same, lost, boat. Which is, ironically, comforting to know.

We were introduced to different aspects of the law. To keep it simple, we discussed the U.S. legal system, how to brief and synthesize a case, and how to structure a legal memo by using the IRAC structure, amongst other things. We applied these new ideas and concepts into a written exam on the last day of the week. After, the school hosted a mixer, and we all got (well-deserved) drinks Friday night.

The first week and my current thoughts:

So, with all of that being said. I have no clue what I’m doing, but I am feeling lawyer-y already! I do find comfort in knowing that I’m not alone in feeling a bit lost at the moment. It also is good to hear from second and third year students that they felt the same way at this point in their journies, and made it through. I’m only on my second day of actual classes, and I have already gained a wealth of new knowledge about our Judicial System, “the law,” and lawyering.

Gonna get back to studying now, and will hopefully update sometime soon!

Question: If you’re studying/planning to study law, how do you plan to prepare for your role as a lawyer? If you’re a lawyer, what tips do you have for students to prepare to be a lawyer?

xo,

Ty