You may be overwhelmed starting law school if you don’t know someone in law school or who recently attended law school. I know I was. Over the past two years, I have gained vital tips and advice that I think would also be valuable for your first year of law school.
There are a few different points to consider when starting law school.
The first point is classes. Suppose you are taking criminal law and procedure and foundations of law at the same time. The consensus is that it is difficult to wrap your head around criminal law when you do not grasp the foundations. Also keep in mind, that majority of law students may have taken ‘legal studies’ during their HSC and may already have a grasp of the basic concepts which are taught in foundations of law. While it is not a complete advantage, it does make the transition in the first semester much easier. Often, tutors may not be aware that you or many other students are doing foundations and criminal law at the same time. In that case, I advise you to tell them so they can provide more context when explaining concepts.
However, after the first few weeks of the semester, criminal law will become more accessible to grasp; do not panic. I highly suggest keeping up with the content weekly. There have been times when I was consistently up to date and when I was behind, and I could see a literal difference in how well I did in the two subjects. You will likely be behind when assignments roll in, but do not let that bring you down. UTS does have a mid-semester break, which is NOT actually in the middle of the semester but a few weeks further, so that is the perfect time to catch up and take a breather.
The last point to consider is textbooks; I’m confident that I, along with many others, would agree that you do not need to buy them. Often, the chapters are given/listed for most subjects and can be easily downloaded and accessed every week from the online UTS library. I download the relevant chapters every week and put them in a folder to quickly access them in order.
The next point to consider is the Brennan program. A program that is not compulsory but is a valuable asset if you complete it. The program offers many aspects of law that may pique your interest, volunteer programs and legal work opportunities. The volunteer opportunities vary from being able to go to court to assisting legal centres. These volunteer opportunities give you range, exploration, and, occasionally, further opportunities to progress your law degree and future career. In that case, the Brennan program assists you in this journey by giving you a little taste of everything.
Competitions. I have to admit that it is also quite intimidating. Mooting. Witness Examination. Negotiations. The list goes on. It’s all quite intimidating and challenging for someone unfamiliar with them. However, the pros of being a first-year law student are that there are junior competitions. So that means even if you know nothing and may not even be sure if this is the thing for you, everyone else is in the same boat. I highly recommend that if you are even slightly interested in participating in one, you should. It may be your calling, or you may hate it. Either way, you would regret it more if you did not try.
Do not delay it; most of the time, if you delay and say you will do it next year, well, you will say, ‘I’ll do it next year; a few more times until it is too late. The first year is the year to jump into every opportunity and the year that is the ‘easiest’; as the years go by, you may need to sacrifice your choices depending on where you are at school, work or other parts of your life.
These are just some points to consider whilst in your first year; the first year of law school can be confusing, great, horrible, etc. Don’t be too hard on yourself. Some parts of the law are boring and terrible, and some aren’t too bad and pretty interesting. Time will be your best friend. These points are just some things to consider to ease it in a year full of new opportunities and environments.
Rabab Hafji