A course outline is one of the most important and valuable tools a law student can develop in order to excel in his or her courses.

Organizational Tool. Law school courses are comprised of an enormous amount of material, which must be memorized, comprehended and applied by law school students.  The sheer volume and complexity of such material can feel extremely overwhelming, if you don’t have an organizational structure in place to manage such information.  A law school course outline is the most effective means of organizing such copious information.  Furthermore, you are bound to see the same information from multiple sources.  Compiling all of the information into one spot allows for a streamlined approach of comprehending the material without duplication of effort.

A very common question among new law students is determining how many hours they are permitted to work while in law school.

Many students who have gone from working full-time to law school may have to make an adjustment if they plan to enroll in more than twelve class hours.

If you go to a law school accredited by the ABA, the ABA says:

"student may not be employed more than 20 hours per week in any week in which the student is enrolled in more than twelve class hours." (Standard 304 from ABA)

Each law school must enforce this rule themselves by having the student commit to this and other rules.

Keep in mind that some law schools restrict this limit even more or prohibit working entirely in the first semester or two. Either way, most will tell you that working your first year at all may effect your performance adversely. 

There are always questions sent to me about what it is like in a typical day of a law student. I always respond by saying that law school is what you make of it, because there was hardly anything typical about my law student day.

To answer the question of what you would expect, just think of it as a 40 to 50 hour-a-week job OR... just see a day in the life of law student Jesse in this video after the jump.

Your law school student loans can seem daunting. However, student loan consolidation is a valuable means of managing your debt. This article will advise you as to your federal and private student loan consolidation options, and criteria and benefits pertaining to same.

Federal Student Loan Consolidation

What Consolidation Loans Are.  The Federal Student Loan Consolidation program was created by the Higher Education Act of 1965.  Federal student loan consolidation is offered by private sector lenders, and these loans are guaranteed and subsidized by the federal government.  When you consolidate your federal student loans, your existing federal loans are refinanced and incorporated into a single, new federal loan---comparable to refinancing a home mortgage.

I remember my civil procedure professor describing horror stories of law students who wish to get a jump on their legal career by taking an opportunity in small claims court. A stern warning that there was no fury like "judges scorned by the presence of neophytes attempting to fine tune their litigation skills with frivolous lawsuits before graduation." For a short demonstration of possible fury, see the video on the people's court of a law student who crossed with Judge Milian. See the video after the jump.

I know this may be a strange notion for some, as the purpose of a shower is to get clean and get out; but like many people (I hope), I do my best thinking in the shower. It's a time for me to get away and clear my head resulting in some of my best ideas.

Study in the Shower

I only wish I had discovered this tactic while in law school. I can see it now, memorizing future estates would be the easy part of property. (I actually liked property, so I guess that analogy doesn't work)

My next msision is to somehow figure a way to be able to write my spontaneous eureka moment ideas while in the shower. I don't think a DRY-erase board will do very well, but perhaps some use of watercolors will suffice. Any ideas?

Law school grades can make or break your chances of getting that all important summer internship or associate position upon graduation. If you are not at the top of your law school class, it is easy to feel like all hope is lost. However, there are steps that you can take, both during and after graduation, to improve your chances of securing gainful employment. This article will tell you about what you can do overcome the stigma of a low grade point average.

I know that when I was in law school, laptops were a savior in taking notes and doing off-the-cuff case briefs, but I couldn't help drifting off to a series of commonly visited favorites and a game here and there. Despite my slight detours, I know this was nothing compared to some students who risked the full-screen games.

No Laptop Allowed

Bob Morse, director of data research at U.S. News & World Report, fielded a flurry of questions Friday about his publication's law school rankings. See the interview transcript here: Link. The answers may have been a little dissappointing, but you be the judge.