5 Tips for 1L Academic Success

By: Eriele M. Tellis

Today’s Affirmation: I belong.

Song: Cranes in the Sky x Solange

“I totally understand exactly what I am doing,” said no 1L ever. The first year of law school lives in infamy as it thrusts students into an educational and social environment, unlike none they have ever experienced. I remember being a 1L a whole 365 days ago. I was beginning my career at my dream school. Though I engaged in a few pipeline programs, I still felt lost.

Embarking on your law school journey can feel especially lonely and overwhelming for first-generation students (like me). Some classmates have law firm partners as parents or come from wealthy backgrounds with access to knowledge and resources. It may seem like everyone is cued up on some insider information, but I am here to tell you that everyone, despite their backgrounds, is just as confused and anxious as you are. Most importantly, as you navigate your 1L journey, constantly remind yourself that you deserve to attend your respective law school. You were admitted because the school believes in your ability to thrive, make great intellectual contributions, and have an indelible impact in the future. Know that to be true.

My name is Eriele M. Tellis and I am a 2L at Yale Law School. I started law school virtually and it was the most challenging year of my life. Along the way, with the help of classmates and trusted mentors, I developed a bank of knowledge that helped me to succeed. Though 1L year was tough, I was able to make it out with great grades and a summer associate position at an amazing firm. Now as a 2L, I am sharing the tips I have gathered as a PracticePro Law School Mastery tutor where I guide very talented students through their 1L year. I want to share that knowledge with you too. In this article, I am going to provide five critical tips on how to succeed academically during your first year of law school.

Create a Study Strategy

Law school is very different from undergrad and I cannot emphasize this enough. Sometimes your study strategies from undergrad will not work for law school. For example, in undergrad, I always read in advance for my classes. Sometimes, I read two weeks ahead in the syllabus. This was principally fueled by my academic anxiety. I tried using this technique my first week of law school and discovered that it was not humanly possible to read extreme amounts of dense, long, and seemingly non-English text efficiently enough to keep the same strategy.

Though it may seem like you are overloaded with cases (because you are) and you do not have time for something so arbitrary, crafting an effective study strategy will save you so much pain and angst down the line. So, I urge you to allow yourself the time to sit down and determine a study strategy and flow that best fits your personal needs.

Stay On Top of Your Work

As mentioned above, during the first year of law school, it feels like you are drowning in work without sufficient time to get through the material. You may feel this way because you are taking all blackletter courses (Constitutional Law, Contracts, Torts, and the crowd favorite, Civil Procedure, to name a few). These courses often have heavy reading loads with cases doused in archaic language that take an insufferable time to read. In my 1L year, while I attempted to do all of my reading, I was not always successful. However, I was able to employ a couple of tips and tricks (mentioned later in the article) to cover enough content to understand the concept we were learning in class that week. Trust me, it is much better to get through 4/6 cases than 0/6. It is very likely that the four cases already articulate the overall concept for the class so you should not be missing much. Reading as much as you can while taking care of yourself (i.e., do not skip sleep to read, it’s not worth it) will help you not fall behind on course material.

It is very critical to not fall behind because it will be incredibly difficult to catch up. During the reading period, there’s no need to further stress yourself out trying to decipher a new concept when you are already stressed about impending exams. One of my great mentors had advised me to never completely take a day off from school whether you are going to do a very light reading day or just review material. While I think that is generally very helpful advice, there is one exception. If you feel you need a mental health day, take it!! I took a host of mental health days throughout the semester, where I did nothing academic-related, and I was better for it. However, the majority of the time I took my mentor’s advice to heart, and it was very helpful in keeping me on schedule with my class readings.

Work Smarter Not Harder

Often, we first-generation, high-achieving students believe that we must work ourselves to the bone to be successful. Yes, you need to work hard to succeed but using other avenues that ease the journey to reach your goal still counts as working hard!

To stay on top of my work and to understand the material, I used many resources outside of my casebooks and supplements. A couple of resources that I would recommend are Quimbee, OYEZ (a lifesaver for Con Law), and outlines from the professor’s previous classes. Each time before I read a case 1L year, I “Quimbeed” it. Quimbee simplifies the main concept of the case and helped me focus on the important elements when I read for myself. It also has great short videos about landmark cases that give your brain a short break from reading while still covering important material. Quimbee is also very useful for overarching concepts such as what consideration means in Contracts or the difference between personal and general jurisdiction for Civil Procedure.

You can find old outlines by asking 2Ls, 3Ls, or by locating one of the outline banks at your school. Most of these resources should be included in your tuition, so check in with your school to use the resources that you pay for! If you’re heading to law school next year, you should also check out programs like Law School Mastery!

Review Regularly

Reviewing class material is immensely important. Sometimes law students will neglect reviewing because we always have something else to do and think it is more important to check off our readings. However, it is more important that you understand the readings you have already done before moving on to the next ones.

I suggest going over the class material weekly or bi-weekly. I also would suggest going through your professor’s presentation slides from class (if it is posted). Every Thursday, I would condense my notes (with some soothing lofi in the background) and only included the most relevant and important material. While condensing I was simultaneously reviewing the concepts. This allowed my notes to be very helpful when it was time for me to create outlines for finals.

Also, this practice will help you spot concepts that you may not fully understand. It is in your best interest to go to your professor’s office hours, ask a friend, or Siri to gain clarity. Utilizing this strategy will not only benefit your final grades but save you a lot of strife when finals peak over the horizon in November.

Test Yourself Regularly

It is important that you test yourself regularly on the material you have learned in class. This can be done weekly, bi-weekly, or when you have completed a section in the syllabus. Law school exams are not solely based on memorization, but rather the application of the rules and concepts you have covered.

To test yourself, I suggest that you try to teach the concept to someone or complete chunks of past exams from your specific course. While I did not test myself regularly throughout the semester, I did right before finals. I found it effective to hold mock classes with imaginary students where I would continually run through a concept, breaking it down to the simplest terms that I could. Once I tired from talking to myself, I would call my best friend and run my lesson through her and ask if she understood. If she remotely understood what I was talking about, I took it as a win.

Taking chunks of practice tests is helpful as well because you can gauge how the professor will structure the exam. However, I would caution against looking at model answers early in the semester. Previewing model answers too early in the semester can psyche you out and cause more harm than good. Ultimately, the idea is to go over your materials and practice to ensure you’re grasping the material.

I hope these tips are helpful to you as you continue to wade through 1L. I encourage you all to talk with 2Ls and 3Ls at your schools and inquire about the study practices that were most helpful to them during their 1L year. The most important part when sourcing this information is to take it with a grain of salt. Understand that what works for them may not work for you and that does not mean something is wrong with you. There is a vast array of learning styles which is why your strategy must be tailored to you. Lastly, while receiving high marks is important in law school, it is not an indication of your self-worth or your potential to do amazing things in the future. Remember, you belong, you deserve, and no matter what, you will be fine!

I want to take this opportunity to thank all my mentors, professors, and SEO and PracticePro families. Special shoutout to Professor Hemanth Gundavaram for helping me navigate my 1L year with his invaluable advice, warm disposition, and inspiring example as a former first-generation law student.