Law School Insider: The First Weeks of Law School – 1L Insights

“All the resources the College of Law provides. We always have afternoon guest lectures on various topics, networking opportunities, and there are so many opportunities for mentorship.” – Jessica Vestal, University of Illinois College of Law

“The best part of starting law school has been meeting so many incredible people with a huge diversity of experiences and perspectives. Being in community with them and having a plethora of opportunities to pursue our unique interests has been fulfilling and so much fun.” – Mariama Mwilambwe, Yale Law School

“The wealth of knowledge from the law school professors is astonishing and certainly my favorite part of law school. I genuinely get excited to go to class to be able to gain insight from such intelligent people. The same can be said about my classmates. I have people in my class from around the world, and it is great to hear so many perspectives and be surrounded by diverse ideas.” – Allie Johnson, University of Illinois College of Law

“It has been incredibly rewarding to meet classmates with a variety of backgrounds and interests and know that you are starting your legal career together. The diverse perspectives and experiences create engaging classroom discussions about important topics in the law.” – Brendan McGovern, University of Virginia School of Law

“Staying on top of your reading assignments can definitely be a challenge during your first few weeks. The beginning of the year comes with a number of professional development, extracurricular and social events that keep you busy all while you adjust to your first year doctrinal classes.” – Brendan McGovern, University of Virginia School of Law

“The environment can be extremely challenging. The tension can be cut with a knife in some classes! You have to find the confidence in yourself to speak your ideas when you are called on and to say them, knowing you could be wrong (and you probably are. If you knew everything, why would you be in law school?).” – Allie Johnson, University of Illinois College of Law

“The greatest challenge has been both adjusting to the workload and accepting how much learning the law challenges my beliefs and assumptions about it. It is much easier to go through those changes with others who are experiencing the same thing!” – Mariama Mwilambwe, Yale Law School

“I thought I had a lot of work and readings in undergrad, but law school is a whole different beast. You NEED to commit to doing the work. There will be distractions, but you need to power through them and keep your eye on the prize.” – Jessica Vestal, University of Illinois College of Law

“I knew that this field certainly tended to be more competitively inclined, but I didn’t realize how much so. Although my peers are generally very kind and open, there is always an underlying pressure to compete. Although I guarantee there are great variations in the amount of competitiveness in each law school, I highly doubt it will ever fully dissipate no matter which one you choose.” – Allie Johnson, University of Illinois College of Law

“I thought I would spend much more time learning all of the rules and regulations that would help me to practice law – but so far that has only been one class (Procedure)! I did not expect to spend so much time thinking about how our legal system has developed, and the normative, cultural beliefs that shape our interactions with it.” – Mariama Mwilambwe, Yale Law School

“My expectations around the workload, difficulty and classroom experience have proved to be true, but law school has been a much more open and social experience than I anticipated. Outside of the classroom, I have been able to get to know my peers through social events hosted by the law school, student organizations and my section, which has helped me to decompress and meet others.” – Brendan McGovern, University of Virginia School of Law

“I thought I understood how hard law school was going to be, but I don’t think anyone is able to fully understand it until they’re in it.” – Jessica Vestal, University of Illinois College of Law

“There is a huge difference in the amount of free time I had in undergrad compared to law school. I am much more aware of how long I need to complete readings and have to be careful to avoid overcommitting to other activities (of which there are many!). I’ve started time blocking instead of only keeping to-do lists and that helps a ton.” – Mariama Mwilambwe, Yale Law School

“Going for the obvious one here: the workload! This is unlike anything I experienced as an undergrad, even after taking challenging courses like organic chemistry. It is just an entirely different ballgame of thought. These topics, especially constitutional law, can push you to your threshold of thought. There are many layers of historical and social contexts to the information you are learning. This is real information that has laid the very foundation of our society and touched all aspects of life. It isn’t a memorization game. You have to learn to become the material in a way; you can’t just memorize it; you have to know it inside and out to use and apply the material in complex and gray ways. There is usually no black-or-white answer to any question.” – Allie Johnson, University of Illinois College of Law

“I see a major difference in myself from undergrad to law school. In undergrad, I did the work and then went on to commit to extracurriculars and jobs. Now in law school, extracurriculars and jobs must come second in order to succeed in school.” – Jessica Vestal, University of Illinois College of Law

“The “myth” I heard about law school was that your classmates are going to be very competitive with you. While UIUC’s law school is way more collaborative than other law schools, it’s still very competitive. As I walked into orientation on the first day, I felt my classmates scoping each other out, trying to figure out who the “threat” (academically) was going to be. This may sound strange, but it’s very important to be kind to everyone. If you’re rude or rub someone the wrong way, you may find yourself working with them or interviewing for a job at their company and they will remember you.” – Jessica Vestal, University of Illinois College of Law

“I heard that 1L fall is a time when people “disappear” and never see their friends or family! This is NOT true, but it is not too far off. It is a big adjustment period and it takes a while to learn how to time manage in law school. Learning how to read, brief, and outline comes over time, but days can fly by in this process! I’ve found intentionality with time to be paramount to living a balanced life in law school. Do the things that you enjoy and leave the rest.” – Mariama Mwilambwe, Yale Law School

“Cold calls are scary, and people can be extremely competitive. It is true. It is not a myth. What is true is that you will get through both of them. Your first cold call will be scary. You will feel intimidated by your peers. That is part of the process; believe it or not, you will start getting used to it! It felt like I lived lifetimes in my first three weeks of class. Things will start to become routine after that. The cold calls will get less scary, and you will become accustomed to the competitive pressure. It will always lurk, though. You will never stop sweating just a bit when you get called on. Doesn’t every great thing in life make you a little nervous? This may be a perk, not a defect.” – Allie Johnson, University of Illinois College of Law

“I get eight hours of sleep, work out, call my family, and spend most of my weekend doing nothing law-related. This is non-negotiable, and I can still get all the readings done. Taking care of yourself and still adequately engaging in the material is possible. My technique is to avoid getting wrapped up in what others are doing. Run your own race, and do what you must to feel good!” – Allie Johnson, University of Illinois College of Law

“I love to time block at the beginning of the week to make sure I have enough time to read for class, socialize, exercise, and participate in law school and community events. This forces me to prioritize what is most important in my day, and not overcommit my time. I also volunteer on the student farm every weekend and I would really recommend regularly doing some sort of service (non law school) related activity – it has helped me to feel grounded!” – Mariama Mwilambwe, Yale Law School

“I wasn’t balancing time well the first month or so, but my Google calendar has saved my life. I found that I can read and brief a case or read 10 pages of supplementary material in an average of 30 minutes. So, I figure out next week’s readings, average out how long each day’s work will take, and span out work accordingly.” – Jessica Vestal, University of Illinois College of Law