Upon hearing that I am currently enrolled in law school, the response that people usually give is “That’s insane, what made you get into law?” and I always respond with “Asian parents, what choice do I have?” but to tell you the truth, my passion for law was ignited by Rafael Barba from Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. The moment I saw him acing his submissions in court as the Assistant District Attorney, I knew that I wanted to do the same in the future.
It feels silly to sign up for an extremely difficult, taxing and underpaid career field because of a fictional character but I believe that I am not the only one who cluelessly and willingly jumped on this boat and are now dragged along in the journey of sleepless nights and endless case law readings.
Because of how romanticised being a legal practitioner is, most of us were interested in becoming one, having dreamt of driving sleek cars and showing up in court looking all smart and powerful. I would not say that these are lies, and here I am still persevering in law school to achieve these dreams, but getting there definitely isn’t as easy as I thought it would be. But hey, what did I know when I applied for that law degree all those years ago?
If you’re like me, your expectation of law school would include sipping on coffee while taking down pretty notes and reading regal-looking scripts as you wait for court visits or internship opportunities. With these skewed and rose-coloured expectations in mind, you signed up for law school and lo and behold, that acceptance letter came in the mail. This is it; you are one step closer to achieving your dreams.
Where do things start to feel challenging? Maybe it’s those early morning lectures where staying focused becomes a struggle, or perhaps the tutorial questions that seem harder to crack than expected. For many law students, the volume of reading—whether it's lengthy articles or case judgements filled with complex legal terms—can feel overwhelming. As someone who is approaching the final years, here’s what I can tell you- it does not get easier. However, accepting this early on can make a big difference. Law school, with its fast pace and intellectual rigour, will certainly require a lot of your time and energy.
If it is any consolation, I’m here to tell you how you can survive this rough voyage and maybe even ace it by landing yourself in the Dean’s List every semester. Here’s how you can do that.
Step one: Get rid of that cramming habit. If you manage to get into law, chances are you’ve always performed well in academics and are able to get good grades with just cramming everything a few days before the final examinations- that’s how it was for me too before law school humbled me.
I can tell you upfront that cramming will not work in law school. If you’re lucky enough, you can achieve a passing grade but getting an A- and above will be impossible. This is simply because of the sheer volume of information contained in each topic and the legal principles reflected in case laws or statutes also require deep understanding for us to apply in our essays. Memorising and understanding the law cannot be achieved overnight, hence you need to have a head start if you don’t want to spend the night before your Contract Law paper crying and pulling your hair out.
After every lecture, revise the notes that you took down in the lecture theatre and see if there are any gaps in your understanding of the legal concepts. If there are any, ask your lecturer about them immediately before you forget which areas needed clarification. You may feel hesitant to do this in fear of looking inferior or stupid because most of your classmates would look like they totally understood everything said in the lecture and zoomed out of the theatre immediately after the lecture is done but trust me when I say 90% of the time everyone is also struggling. Even if they are seemingly ahead of you, not improving your understanding of the topics would cause you to fall behind even more, so seize the chance and ask your lecturer.
Step two: Surround yourself with the right people. This may sound like basic advice, but finding the right friend group in law school is more important than you think. First year students need to work in groups for their coursework hence finding reliable group members are pertinent to obtain a high carry mark. Moreover, the workload in law school gets much more bearable if you find yourself with productive individuals that can encourage you to get your work done and share resources with you.
Law may feel like a highly individualistic degree as most of the syllabus and grading are based on your individual performance, but it does not have to be. Sharing your notes with friends or discussing legal principles with them in study rooms will do wonders to your grades. On the other hand, being confined in your own room with numerous tabs open filled with cases and journal articles will not only drive you crazy, but you will also never be able to tell whether you are on the right track with your studies when you are alone.
Step three: Get the highest carry mark that you possibly can. Most of our law modules follow the 10:30:60 ratio consisting of tutorial participation, assignment and final examination respectively. While tutorial participation and assignment marks do not seem significant in comparison to the final examination, think of it this way: the higher those marks are, the less effort you have to put into your final exams to achieve your desired grades.
Matter of truth is, with respect, many lecturers are strict in marking, and getting high marks on your final paper is not easy. Moreover, excelling in those three hours with close to zero reference material is much more difficult than preparing a written essay or a video presentation over the course of three weeks. Hence, your chance of getting a good grade falls heavily in that assignment submission. Make sure you do your research extensively and give your best shot at creating the best quality of work you possibly could, even though you may feel like you are wasting all that time and effort for a mere 30% of your final grade. Think of it as an early investment for your final grade (and your own sanity) so that you won’t have to work so hard in preparing for the final examination.
As for tutorial participation, try to stand out and answer questions in class! Even though this only makes up 10% of your grade, being active in class is more important than you think. Producing great answers in class would help your lecturer remember and recognize you among the sea of law students in your cohort, and this may even create a halo effect which could help in your grading at the end of the semester. Furthermore, getting recognized by your lecturer as a well-performing student will lead you to great opportunities and projects such as internship opportunities so make sure you do your best in class!
With these three steps, I can assure you that you can survive the rough waves that come with getting this law degree. Just know that if you feel like you want to tap out and never go on LexisNexis ever again, your peers, seniors and future juniors in law school also feel the same way.
We’re all here for the sleek car and showy litigation sessions in court, none of us here are enjoying scrolling through HeinOnline to meet the journal article requirements in our written assignments.
You don’t have to enjoy law school; you just have to survive it.
But I do hope you’re able to have fun moments that will shine in your memories when you look back on your years at Taylor’s in the future (hopefully in your sleek car on the way to court for a trial).
Best of luck to all of you! Written by: Tahlia Binti Mohd Tahir Edited by: Lee Mann Heyy
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