With the strike over and a return to classes last Monday, it’s
a fresh start to the academic year! Having survived my first semester with a
few bruises, there are lessons learned and advice received that I am keen to
apply as I soldier on to on to April finals. I don’t want to give away all my
tricks (my competitive streak is beginning to develop) but these are my top
three:
1. Consult secondary sources. On most course syllabi, professors
suggest secondary case or textbooks in addition to the required resources which
are available on hold at the law library. As exams approached, I flipped through
a couple which in some cases helped to crystallize concepts. I plan to make
this a more regular routine throughout the second semester.
2. Make each case a story. The list of cases to know in law
school seems endless. The fact that many are mind numbing does not help. On the
advice of my cousin, a lawyer in Los Angeles, I applied a storyline to cases I struggled to memorize, complete with a protagonist (usually the plaintiff),
villain (often the defendant), narrative etc… Admittedly, some were bloody boring
stories but the technique generally worked and I want to continue applying it.
3. Exercise OUTDOORS. Fredericton’s winter weather doesn't make
outdoor exercise easy but taking breaks from reading and school during warmer
weather breaks to jog along Waterloo Row and the St. John River always
distracted me and let me think of something other than law school and the
goings on at Ludlow Hall.
