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Preparing for law school

In preparing for law school, it should be remembered that there are many different skills that you will have already gained, or can easily gain, which will be relevant for law school and which can be improved before attending law school. Similarly, in preparing for law school, some areas of knowledge should be improved. This piece will consider the best ways to go about preparing for law school and provide a brief outline of how to fulfil your potential.

Firstly, considering the skills that you will already have, when preparing for law school you should try to increase your reading speed. At law school you will be expected to read, digest and understand large pieces of information in a fairly short period of time. Preparing for law school may therefore include a speed reading course or just making sure that you are well practiced in reading. It is a good idea to have a look at some case reports as part of preparing for law school as these are written in a style which is unfamiliar to those who have not previously studied law in any depth. Furthermore, the reading you will be expected to do in law school will be of a more critical nature than previously. Writing brief synopses of the case reports you read and any comments you have on the judgments should help you get used to this.

Another important skill which you should aim to improve whilst you are preparing for law school is that of oral communication. Before going to law school you could develop your basic presentation skills by joining a debating group, making formal presentations in class, or speaking for a community organisation. Similarly, law school will require good listening skills, and so in preparing for law school you should make sure that you are truly a good listener. Reflecting on your participation in the groups already mentioned should give you an opportunity to critique your own listening abilities and improve if necessary.

Preparing for law school should also involve improvement in your writing ability. This will come naturally through participation in the activities already mentioned, however, in order to make sure that you are preparing for law school effectively, you should ask someone to look over your written work, for example a critique of a law report. After listening to any constructive criticisms they have, you should then revise the work, taking on board these criticisms and adjusting as necessary.

Tied with this, in preparing for law school you should also undertake to improve your research skills. In fact, this will become one of the most important skills to you as a lawyer and it is good to start early. Undertaking any project that requires significant library research will help with this, as more specific legal research skills will be taught to you once you arrive at law school. However, any legally related projects that you could research for would be very useful to give you familiarity and an upper hand when embarking on more in depth legal research projects. For example, you could join a pro-bono group such as Citizens Advice or the Free Representation Unit which will enable you to have practice at legal research and give you a great boost in preparing for law school.

Tied in with all of the above ways of preparing for law school is the development of your analytical and problem solving abilities. Undertaking any or all of the above mentioned preparation will have an impact upon these skills. Preparing for law school should involve critical thinking and looking at arguments from all sides. A good way to practice this further is to read a good newspaper, pick a topical and potentially controversial issue, and then write down all the arguments you can think of from as many points of view as possible. You can then pick a few of these arguments and think about the possible challenges to them. This is a good way of preparing for law school as it not only develops the skills you will need but also results in your thinking more like a lawyer.

The final important skill you should focus on when preparing for law school is the skill of organization and time management. This is because law school will involve many different tasks all needing to be completed at roughly the same time, tight deadlines and a busy schedule. Ways of preparing for law school which focus on this skill can be through undertaking school projects which involve substantial research and writing, or through preparation of reports for an employer or community organization. However, if you are preparing for law school in all the ways mentioned above then drawing up an efficient timetable for these activities and sticking to it will help develop this skill at the same time.

Lastly, preparing for law school should also involve knowledge based preparation. If you have studied law before then re-reading your notes will be a good starting place. If not, borrowing a basic legal textbook from a local library will help in preparing for law school. This book could be a basic introduction to the broad area of law as a whole, or could be on a specific area of interest, such as criminal law or employment law. However, you should not worry too much about remembering it all at this stage, just getting used to reading about law will help later on. Preparing for law school should also involve the gaining of more general knowledge, with particular emphasis on politics, as this forms a major part in how law develops. Again, reading a good newspaper on a regular basis will improve your general knowledge without having to study detailed text books.

In conclusion, preparing for law school should involve the development of both skills and knowledge. This can be done in many ways, but the techniques mentioned above should provide a good starting point. For further information you could visit your local careers advice service or attend open days at the law schools you are interested in attending.

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