Ah, the age old question. This question may not be as pertinent for a traditional law student who may attend classes 15 hours a week and then has the rest of the time to study. It is, however, a very pertinent question for the non-traditional law student who probably has precious-little time to spare. I was told I should be studying about 3 hours outside of class for every hour in class. You may have heard anywhere from 2-4 hours for every hour depending on who you talk to.

The simple fact of the matter is that there is no answer. The primary thing you must ask yourself is “How do I learn the best?” Are you a visual learner? An auditory learner? Do you have a good memory? Etc . . . Evaluating your individualized learning style is imperative. For me, reading the material and then hearing it explained in class is essential. For others acronyms are a great tool (PITT – The four unities of joint tenancy are Possession, Interest, Time, and Title).

In a way the non-traditional law student may actually be at an advantage. Because the traditional law student probably has much more time to devote to studying there is the possibility of procrastination; the idea of “I can always do it later”. The non-traditional law student generally has precious little time to devote to reading and studying the material. As a result you will probably be much more apt to focus and utilize that time more efficiently. Do not get caught up in the notion that if you do not study for a certain amount of time every night that you are not learning what you should. This is simply not true. The average time recommended for study is exactly that, an average. It may take some 1 hour (not including the reading) to study. It may take others 4 hours. The key is to know thyself.

Whether you study one hour or four hours every night, if your exam grades are consistently high then you are learning the material. If it takes you three hours to learn the concepts of the Statute of Frauds, great! If it takes you two hours to learn the concepts of the Statute of Frauds, great! Either way, you have learned the Statute of Frauds. Remember, on exam day the key question will not be how long you have studied; but rather, have you learned the material.

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