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Advice For Entering Law Students

Brannon Denning is offering advice for entering first-year law students over at Instapundit, so I thought I would weigh in with a few thoughts as well. Here are two tidbits of my own:

1. Understand that it is normal to feel lost. The first year of law school uses an immersion approach; professors start treating you like you’re in the legal profession from day one. It takes a while to get the hang of it, and in the meantime it’s only normal to feel a bit lost. I know I felt pretty much at sea for much of the first semester; I felt like I was working really hard but I didn’t really understand what was going on. (Which, come to think of it, was basically true.) If you feel this way, too, don’t think you’re weird. Most people have that same reaction. Fortunately, your first exams are pretty far off; you’ll have a good chunk of time to get the hang of things.

2. Go to your professors’ office hours and ask lots of questions. This is related to point one. You’re going to be confused, and the best way to figure things out is to go to your professor’s office hours and pelt your professor with questions. Don’t worry about asking a dumb question: if there is ever a time in your life to ask a dumb question, it is during your first semester of law school during a professor’s office hours when no one else is around. Your professor can probably set you straight on something that will avoid lots of headaches down the road.