How to Study in Law School: Lisa's Proven Nine Step Study System

No one really shows up to law school on the first day with a pre-planned, step-by-step system for studying.    

Studying is what you do when you complete the assignments in your syllabus. In return, you gain an understanding of those topics so that you can confidently discuss them in class and write them on an exam. 

If you can learn to study in a manner that leads to understanding every topic, you’ll have a much better chance of achieving your academic goals.  

And if you follow this process, you won’t be guessing—you’ll know with certainty what you need to do every day to give 100% to learning the topics on your final exam. 

Unfortunately, some students spend weeks or semesters studying only to discover they don’t understand their materials.  But you can avoid that with my proven nine-step system to learn every topic in your classes.  

Yes, I said, "proven."  It's not my system, and it's not what I did in law school to graduate with honors.  It's the combined study systems of other successful law students I interviewed in a qualitative study to uncover how successful law students study.    

Here’s the system successful law students employ to thrive in law school.

Understand the Big Picture in Each Class

Step 1 is to grab a commercial outline for the subject you're taking (well-known commercial companies are Kaplan, Themis, and BarBri).  Flip to the table of contents, understand the main topics that comprise the entire subject, and then skim the body of the outline to gain an overview of the topics. 

The goal is to create a framework of what to expect in the class before it begins. 

Understand What You’ll Learn in Your Class

Step 2 is to grab your syllabus, flip to the assignments, and understand what topics your professor intends to cover during the semester.  Create a one-page list that includes the main topics (and their sub-topics, if included) using the order and words your professor uses to name each topic. 

The goal is to chunk the assignments into related parts for each topic and understand the number of topics (and how many sub-topics within each topic) you're responsible for on the midterm and final exams.  You’ll see some of the topics you identified in Step 1, making the learning in Step 2 easier because it won’t be your first exposure to them. 

Study Time

Step 3 (outlining), Step 4 (reading), and Step 5 (briefing) happen simultaneously every week.  Take each week’s reading, understand which topic you are learning, and create one outline for each main topic, including your briefs and class notes. 

The goal is to be a week ahead of your reading and have all the information about each topic in one spot, so you don’t have to waste time combining notes and briefs later when preparing the topics for the midterm and final.   

Class Time

Step 6 is to go to class prepared to discuss what you (yes, you!) taught yourself. 

The goal is to confirm which topics/subtopics you understand and identify the topics/subtopics you are confused about. Seek clarification within twenty-four hours of class and solidify your outline with the correct information. This ensures your topic outlines are complete, accurate, and ready for Step 7.

Exam Prep Time

Step 7 happens when you finish learning a topic and is the process of transforming your topic outlines into an approach to how you’ll write the topic on the essay exam.  Depending on your preferences, some students create flow charts, lists, acronyms, approaches with headings/subheadings, and complete rules or flashcards. 

The goal is to examine every sentence in your topic outline and decide its relevance to your topic approach. Well before exam day, you’ll want to consider how you’ll write each topic in an essay, how you will format the essay, and whether your approach adheres to your professors’ essay preferences. 

Practice Time

Step 8 (writing 1-3 practice exams per main topic and taking 30-50 practice multiple choice questions per topic) and Step 9 (getting feedback from professors, study groups, sample answers, or rubrics) remove anxiety about how you’ll apply your Step 7 approaches and afford you a rubber stamp of approval from a trusted source that your organization, rules, and analysis are on point. 

Now you have a study system to learn and write every main topic on your essay exams. You can confidently say you gave 100% to learning every topic.  Yes, please!   

If you like this system, you can learn how students customize it to their learning preferences in my flagship course, The Law School Operating System, under the Students tab.  Cheers, law students!