The most important advice I can give you about doing well in your first year of law school is to go to each and every class. Several people who were not doing well after the first term asked me for advice on how they could improve their grades and invariably they were people who did not feel that going to class was that important. I cannot tell you how many times I heard, “He just repeats what is in the textbook” or “I go to most classes”. Going to half of the classes will get you half the grade and if you do not mind a B- or C, then do not bother going to class.
This advice is applicable for all years in law school but especially the first year. Even in my third year of law school, I would read and brief a case and be surprised when I would attend class and find that I missed a significant point. In addition, often when I read cases and then subsequently went to a class, I found that I may not have paid as much attention to the part of the opinion that the professor found most interesting. If a professor finds a particular aspect of an opinion fascinating, you can bet that this aspect is what is going to show up on the exam.
For example, in some cases the professor may find the dissent (when there is a panel of Judges who vote and the Judge who loses writes about why he disagrees with the majority opinion) the most interesting part of the case and you may have just skimmed this to focus on what the winners said. This is just one example but rest assured that almost all professors gear exams towards what was covered in class which is what they found most important.
In addition, when you do not go to class or when you know that you will not go to class, you do not prepare. The briefs that you prepare to deal with the Socratic method of teaching go a long way towards increasing your exam scores. If you know that you are not going to go to class, you may not prepare a brief at all. Even if you do prepare something knowing that you will not go to class, it will not be as thorough as if you thought that you might be called on to answer questions. While the Socratic method might be a bit of a pain, the good thing about it is that it keeps you up to date so that studying for the final exam is easier and with this advance preparation your studying will be more effective.
Finally, there is one more important reason to attend class. In law school, in order to study for law school exams, almost all students make what is called an outline. An outline integrates the key points from your class notes, your briefs and the professor’s syllabus. It is an invaluable tool and if you do not have class notes, making an outline becomes difficult or impossible.
