First Semester of Law School: Setting Expectations

The months leading up to law school are full of unknowns. You’re entering a new curriculum that could not be more different from any other type of schooling and you don’t know what to expect. How will you manage your time? Can you keep your job during school? Will you make friends? Are you going to get involved in clubs or solely focus on studying? These are all very real questions that I had when I started law school, but I quickly came to find out that the answers simply come with time. The only thing you should worry about in the summer leading up to your first day is having your materials and knowing when and where to show up; the rest comes later.

The Basics of Time Management

The fact of the matter is, when you’re a law student, your time becomes much more valuable. Not only do you have to focus on daily readings, outlining (which requires its very own post), and studying, you also have to make time for networking, clubs, friends, family, and anything else that requires your attention. I’m not saying it’s easy to balance these things, but I promise it is possible.

Luckily for me, my law school had a one week orientation that focused completely on how to maintain our wellbeing as law students during the first semester. I would argue that the largest part of that is being efficient with your time. I started with the basics and built from there. First, I put all my classes, test dates, and events that I could get straight from my syllabi into my Google Calendar. And while organization is fun for me, I recognize that not everyone shares that trait. To make it a little simpler and more enjoyable, I recommend color coding and setting classes to repeat weekly to save yourself some time. You can always go in later and edit the days that might look different from the rest.

After my Google Calendar was up to date, I put my attention towards tangible organization. By this I mean obtaining the essentials: folders, planners, pens, highlighters, and all the rest. The planner I used covered 3 semesters rather than 2, so I’ll still get to use it going into my second year of law school this fall. You’ll also need a good laptop. A lot of my peers use Macs, but I prefer my Windows because it doesn’t have all the distractions. I can’t text from it or use my Apple apps, so I’m not as tempted during class. And trust me, when you’re hitting the hour mark during a nearly two hour class, the temptations to do anything else but pay attention will come.

Once you have your laptop, download OneNote. This has been my holy grail. At first, I thought I would take all my notes in Google Docs, but I quickly came to realize that Docs doesn’t allow you to organize very well. OneNote allows you to separate into folders. Mine looked something like this first semester:

These tips are not the end all be all of staying organized throughout law school, but they are a great place to start until you find your own rhythm!

Working During the First Semester

I hate to say it, but even though it is possible, working during your first semester of law school is not a good idea. This wasn’t too awful for me because I had taken a gap year working full time prior to starting law school, so I was ready for a break. But I know many students who were fresh out of their undergrad with tons of students loans who then had to take out more student loans to be able to afford living during law school. All they wanted to do was find some way to make money, but they all had to face the same hard truth all law students do: law school is an investment, and the return on your investment takes some time.

On the bright side, student loans are a thing! I’m pretty sure all grad school loans are unsubsidized (don’t quote me on that), so they start accruing interest immediately upon disbursement, which is a negative. However, if you can find a way to pay off the interest each month and just keep your principal the same, you’ll thank yourself later. Again, I can go wayyy into student loans in another post, so I’ll keep this surface level. My advice is to take what you know you need, and then add a little more to that. Especially the first semester, when the last thing you want to worry about is money, it’s better to have too much than too little, and you can always pay the extra back. I did the opposite during my first semester and tried to be as frugal as possible, and then found myself pinching pennies until I got my second semester loans.

The other thing to keep in mind for your first semester of law school is that grades matter… a lot. If you want to find a nice paying job during your 1L Summer, then you need to prioritize getting good grades. I’ve always been in the mindset of “as long as I do my best, nothing else matters,” and while that is true, you have to make sure you are doing your very best to try to stay ahead of the daunting 1L Curve. The more you focus on getting into a solid study routine that’s healthy (!!!), the more opportunities you will have to work in the legal field when the school year wraps up. Balance, as you could probably tell by now, is my biggest goal. Part of that balance can only be achieved by making sacrifices, and one sacrifice that I think is necessary is foregoing having a job in your first semester and relying on student loans. Money comes back, but your first semester grades don’t change; let yourself take a rest from work and really adjust to your new life as a law student.

Finding Your People

As I mentioned in my previous post, finding friends at law school was never really something I cared too much about. My law school is located in the same city as my undergrad, so I was fortunate enough to still have all my college friends nearby. I truly thought I would just show up to school, go to my classes, and head home. But law school has a way of creating a community that I never thought I’d have in an educational setting, and I’m determined to share how this can be possible for you, too,

I’m not sure how other law schools do it, but I had a one week orientation. This orientation was filled with ice breakers, small talk, and forcing all the students to get to know each other. I dreaded going to orientation, but it ended up being a very helpful week. I got to meet pretty much everyone in my cohort and by the second day, I found myself going to lunch with a group of girls I had just met. I’m a social person but I know that doesn’t come easy to many people, so my biggest piece of advice is to just be open to conversations, smile, and if you find yourself sitting alone, go join the group you think looks the least intimidating! I promise you, everyone is in the same awkward position of finding people to talk to, and if someone looks at you funny for trying to make friends, that’s not the kind of person you want to hang around anyways.

During that first week, you really just have to suck it up and make sure your social battery is fully charged. Most of the conversations are the same: Where did you go to college? What did you study? Did you take any gap years? What kind of law do you want to go into? If you have the answers to those questions down, you’ll do just fine. As conversations always go, you’ll quickly find people you have things in common with. Stick with them at first, but be open to continuing to meet people. Law school is about reading and studying, but I say that over 50% of it is about networking. Networking has always had a negative connotation in my mind – like forced kindness that reeked of ingenuity to get people to do things for you. But the more I do it, the more I think it’s really just about making and maintaining relationships. You don’t have to ask anyone for anything, just be friendly and happy you met another person who values their personal growth just like you.

As time goes on, your relationships may change and that’s okay! Everyone is still trying to find who they mesh with the best, who pushes them the most, and who shares their similar goals. If you find yourself creeping away from the group you started law school with, don’t freak out. People only take things as personally as you make them. If you met some other people who you just click better with, no one is going to be mad at you. But realize that these are the people you are probably going to be spending the majority of your career working amongst, so try not to burn any bridges, unless of course, the bridge needs to burn.

My final overall tip for making friends is taking advantage of your law school’s opportunities! Join clubs you’re interested in, go to the happy hour everyone is headed to after class, sign up for the free seminars which (usually) have a free lunch!! Nobody knows what they’re doing, and if they think they do, they’re kidding themselves. Stay authentic, do the things you’re genuinely interested in, and the right people will come into your life.

Student Clubs & Orgs

Law schools care about many things, but they care a LOT about their students getting involved. The first few weeks of law school you’re very likely to have some type of student org fair. Go to it! Talk to the student representatives! Find what interests you! I only knew one thing when I started law school and that was just that I liked the idea of practicing in a field that helps people who are part of marginalized groups. So when I went to my school’s student org fair, I sought out all the tables I thought related to that interest in some way.

If you don’t know what you like, sign up for everything. Get on all the email lists so you know all the events going on, and then you can just pick and choose as you go. If you really have no clue, then only pick the events that work in your schedule. Something will be sure to stick. When you get a better idea of what you like, look for a leadership position. Future jobs don’t only care about your grades, they also want to see your involvement. You don’t have to go too crazy – spreading yourself too thin is not sustainable long term – but try to get some sort of representative position and commit to it! I joined my law school’s student org for public interest as a 1L Representative, and now I’m going on to be President of the chapter this fall. Do your best, find your groove, let good things happen to you.

Joining a club not only builds your resume, it also gives you another opportunity to make friends and makes your time as a student feel more meaningful. I don’t know about you, but during my undergrad I was very disconnected from student life. I did my homework, took my tests, and hung out with my friends who all were in very different majors from my own. But in law school, everyone is (generally) working towards the same goal – to become an attorney. This means that all the student clubs help advance that goal in some way. You have the opportunity to meet with practicing attorneys in the field you want to work in and you also get the support of other students who have the same interests you do. Even if the club has nothing to do with law, you are still building important relationships! A couple of my friends and I did Legal Hoopers, my law school’s basketball club, and while it had nothing to do with law at all, I met a ton of people I probably wouldn’t have and now consider them to be good acquaintances and friends.

When push comes to shove, law school is what you make it. Starting off your first semester on the right foot will help you set healthy habits that you carry with you throughout your 3 years and into your professional career. Taking everything one day at a time, making an honest effort, and staying open-minded to people and opportunities will build a foundation necessary for long term success. You’ve got it!!