One of the hardest pills for me to swallow in law school is the simple fact that my grades sometimes suffered simply because I did not have enough time to prepare.  This is not to say that my grades are bad (honor roll, deans list), just that I believe I could do better if I had more time.  But then I think, what is really important in my life?

Sure, it would be great to go through law school making the deans list every single term and pulling all As.  But the reality is that I just simply do not have the time to devote to getting all As in law school if I want to maintain some semblance of a happy family life.

When we decide as non traditional law students that we want that law degree, we must consider the demands on our time that we are willing to keep and to give up.  For me, my family time is something that I treasure and value.  Getting all As is just not worth my family or sanity.  Although it was a hard pill to swallow, and perhaps a somewhat humbling experience, I am still a very blessed and happy man.  Law school is for 3 years, family is forever.

God bless and have a great day.

I have known many law students that get so excited about finally graduating that they forget to put forth their best efforts during the last term.  Generally speaking, non traditional law students do not have this problem to the extent traditional law students do.  Perhaps that is because we tend to have many more responsibilities that continue regardless of where we are in our law school studies.  Still, it can and does happen.

Remember that our GPA does not differentiate between the first term and the last.  Remember that a bad grade in the last term is still a bad grade.  In fact, a downward slide in performance during the last term or last few classes could actually work against us.  Future employers do not want to see that we start strong and finish weak.  If anything, we should always finish strong.  Moreover, the last few classes are usually electives.  If we cannot do well in classes we actually chose to take, what does that say about us?

Senioritis is a real phenomenon.  Just don’t let it get the best of you.  God bless and have a great day.

For non traditional law students it is a welcomed break from the hustle and bustle of work, family, and school.  Take this time as I will be to forget about school and work for a few days.  Concentrate on your family and that scrumptious turkey and gravy.  God bless and have a great Thanksgiving!

• Create a separate “data” folder on your computer specifically for law school.
  • My system looks like this: c:\data\law\…
  • In this directory, create a separate folder for each of your classes.  If you wish, you may also want to further subdivide these folders into more specific elements.
    • c:\data\law\pretrial skills\
      • cases
      • statutes
      • motions
      • interrogatories
      • etc…
  • Not only does this folder help you stay organized, you can easily backup this directory of all your law school materials onto a flash drive for safe keeping.
• Have a 3-ring binder for each of your classes to organize outlines and class handouts.
• Keep a calendar of deadlines for writing classes and other classes that require periodic work to be turned in.
• Track the week you studied certain areas in both your casebooks and your notes.  This provides easy reference when you study for the final exam.  I have found that those small book tabs work very nicely.
• Know how long it takes to prepare for each class and manage your time appropriately.  Some classes just take longer than others to read or write for.
• For non traditional law students that have kids, have a place that is reserved specifically for your law school materials.  Do not keep them in areas where kids are likely to get at them.  I have a special bookshelf and desk that is separate from other bookshelves.
• Keep a list of your professors and their contact information.  Not only will you need this during law school, it may come in handy when you begin your career.

These are just a few of the things that have helped me keep organized in my busy life of family, work, and school.  I hope you too will find them useful and helpful.  God bless and have a great day.

For the most part, a traditional law student will devote most of her time to school (study, law review, moot court, etc.).  For the non traditional law student however, law school is in addition to work, family, and probably many other responsibilities.  Of course we must also balance the fact that many non traditional law students do not attend full time either.  That notwithstanding, most stresses for traditional law students come from school, while for the non traditional law student they come from many more sources.

That being said, for a law student who has basically all of her time to devote to school, she will probably obtain a very nice GPA if she wants to.  For the rest of us, it may be almost impossible to pull the same GPA simply because we do not have enough time to devote to our studies.  Does that mean that we are not as intelligent or as hard working as our traditional counter parts?  No.

I do not have a 4.0 GPA.  But I work full time.  I have a wife and six children.  I cut the grass and pay the bills.  I take the kids to activities.  The list goes on and on.  If you are like me, and I know some of you are, you know exactly what I am talking about.

I am very competitive and put a lot of pressure on myself.  During my first few terms I did very well grade wise, but my family and personal life suffered somewhat as a result.  In my later terms I have decided that being a 4.0 student is not worth three years of alienating my family, church, and friends.  This is not to say that I do not strive to do the best that I can do.  This is only to say that I realize that I must prioritize my life and create a proper balance.  Grades are certainly important, but they are not the most important.

I carry a class load that I feel comfortable with; that I can maintain a good GPA and still have time for the other important things in my life.  I have just had to except the fact that if I want to graduate from law school before I am, ahem, too old, I will probably not attain the GPA that I wish I could.

But consider this.  If you can average a 3.0 (or even a 2.5) with a moderate amount of study time, just think of what you can do if you really apply yourself during your study for the bar exam.  If you are serious about learning you will learn the material.  When you go for your bar review course it will all come back to you.  Then you can take 2-3 months and really cement the material into your mind.  Moreover, once you are a lawyer you will not have a full time job other than that of lawyer.  For me this means 40+ hours a week that I will have to familiarize myself with areas of the law that I did not have each week I was in law school.  After all, ethics do not require you to know the law in an area before you take a case.  They do require you to be able to learn the law through proper research and preparation.

So if your GPA is not as high as you would like it to be, take a moment to reflect why.  Is it because you are lazy?  Is it because you really just don’t care?  Or is it because you have made the commitment to prioritize your life and accept the fact that law school is not the most important thing in the world to a non traditional law student?

Don’t read this and think for one minute that I am promoting any slackers out there.  I study hard.  I just don’t study as much as I would like to because there are only 24 hours in a day (and I like it when my kids remember who I am.)  If you are doing the best you can, and you are not on academic probation, buck up and be happy.  When the bar review rolls around you will kick some booty!  God bless and have a great day.

Much of our power as law students (and future lawyers) comes from our unique ability to use and interpret words and language.  Words can elicite anger, joy, sadness, regret, etc…  The course of our nation has many times been altered according to the way a majority of Supreme Court justices have interpreted words in a document that is more than 200 years old.

The way we as law students use words can mean the difference between passing or failing an exam.  But the way we as lawyers will someday use our words could mean the difference between life and death, freedom or imprisonment, financial security or financial ruin, for the lives of people.

We as law students will someday be lawyers.  Let us all remember that we have the power.  With the stroke of a pen the lives of our clients could be changed forever.  As lawyers we can and will make a difference.  Let’s strive to make that difference a positive one.  Study hard and write with diligence and perseverance.  Let us remember to choose our words carefully and with great forethought.  We will be better law students and better lawyers for it.  God bless and have a great day.

Disclaimer: Before you study at work be sure to have your supervisor’s permission

This is not a bad thing, just a fact of life.  I love to spend time with my kids, but law school is very demanding and I need time to study and prepare.  Balancing family, work, and law school can be a very, very big challenge.  But it is doable if you are willing to put in the time and effort.  No matter what the family must come first.  I just explain to them that I need to study and it will not be for much longer.

They are very understanding and generally leave me to my studies.  But I take the time to play with them and listen to what they have to say.  A conversation with your kids will go a long way.  If you ignore them they will only increase their efforts to vie for your attention.  This causes frustration for both you and them.  Take time out of your day to spend with your kids and they will be much more likely to respect the time you must take with your law school studies.  God bless and have a great day.

After all, you are in law school now.  You have matured.  You have learned from the mistakes you have made.  Well, at least I hope you have.  But if you lie on your application all you have proven is that you haven’t matured.  You haven’t learned from you mistakes.  And you are currently in error.  We all make mistakes.  Just admit them and move on.  Granted, some are worse than others, but generally they can be worked through.

One big piece of advice: before you were in law school you were probably immature and ignorant of what high standards of conduct lawyers must adhere to.  Now you are in law school and presumably know these things.  Don’t screw up in law school!  Keep you nose clean and strive to be of “good moral character.”  The last thing you want is to pass the bar and fail character and fitness.

If you have misrepresented yourself on your application change it now.  Disclose all you can now if it is pertinent.  When you apply to the bar the examiners WILL find out about it.  Better to explain how you have grown and matured over the years than why you are currently a liar.  Just ask yourself if you would want an honest lawyer or one who tried to deceive you to get what he wanted.

Be honest and forthright.  Endure the shame now, not later.  God bless and have a great day.

Sorry to be so blunt, but the simple fact of the matter is law professors are people just like you and I.  Everyone has a different personality and a different way of approaching things.  Some law professors teach visually via props.  Some teach by lecture while others utilize the Socratic method.  Some law professors have a jovial demeanor and others a more subdued, “all business” demeanor.  But just as law professors differ in their styles of teaching, law school students differ in their styles of learning.

Some students like the jovial, fun-loving style of teaching.  Other students just want to hear it the way it is and would prefer to forgo the rest.  The fact of the matter is that in reality these professors are presumably teaching you the law and it is up to you – the student – to learn it.  It is your responsibility to study the cases and learn the law.

If we receive poor grades it is most likely our fault, not the professors.  If you have a professor that teaches in the style you really like you will learn well and quickly.  But if you have a professor that teaches in a style you do not prefer that does not mean you will not learn well.  But it may mean that you will not learn as quickly.  You may just need to study harder and longer, but you will learn the material if you are committed to doing so.

If you have never had a law professor that you did not like, you will.  Do not go into the class with the wrong attitude, you will be defeated before you even begin.  Look at the experience as an opportunity and a challenge.  Think to yourself, if I can get an ‘A’ in this professor’s class I can get an ‘A’ in any professor’s class.  Let the challenge strengthen your resolve to do well.  Remember, in practice you will encounter many clients and bosses that are “difficult” to work with.  But they will still expect the same results from you as would a client or boss that you “like”.

God bless and have a great day.