Prepping for Law School Finals: One Month Out

I am not sure where the time went butttttt final exams are in like a month. Cue epic freak out. Time to outline, write out flashcards and take practice exams until I'm blue in the face. Here is what I am doing to prepare and set myself up for success one month out from final exams.

The 1L Appellate Brief

I have been pretty absent from blogging recently... all of my spare time, and then some, has been devoted to my appellate brief. For those new to the law school lifestyle, most law schools require a legal research and writing class. Generally, second semester of your first year, the big assignment that determines most of your grade is an appellate brief process over a big legal fact problem.

For my class, we were given a fact pattern involving trademark infringement. First, we did a serious of research reports, then a trial brief and lastly the 30-page appellate brief that I turned in on Monday. I still have an oral argument that is ungraded and I will be done with legal research and writing!

I am not going to lie- this was the hardest writing assignment I have ever had. It took forever, given the amount of my grade it represented I had to be a perfectionist, and we had a really complex fact pattern and law to deal with. However, now that it is over and turned in, I am feeling pretty good about the work I did and proud of myself for completing such a huge assignment.

What is an Appellate Brief?

(I am going to give you the cliff notes version because your respective professor will give you the precise outline and information on what you need to do.)

An appellate brief is submitted to urge an appellate court to affirm or reverse the lower court decision. The Appellant is the moving/appealing party seeking a reversal while the Appellee is the non-moving party asking for affirmation of the lower decision. It is generally a large document written very persuasivly in regards to your parties position. In real court, these briefs are what the appellate court looks to for the information they use to make a decision. In the law school arena, this is an exercise in legal research and persusasive writing. 

The Process

Basically, the way it went at my school is that we were given the fact pattern, assigned plaintiff or defendant and asked to start research when spring semester began. From there, we had a series of research assignments to really hone the cases and the related law. This was challenging because the problem we dealt with had an applicable 8-factor legal test to decide the case. That was a lot of law to consider and learn. All said and done, I think I used about 15 cases to make my arguments.

The next step was to write a persuasive trial brief for the plaintiff or defendant. I had plaintiff side and this paper rounded out at about 18 pages complete.

Once the trial brief was over, they adjusted our facts to add what happened in the fictional "trial" and we were swapped from our existing side and given the opposing side to write the appellate brief in favor of. This was the most challenging thing for me- I had to turn off my advocate in my head for the plaintiff and start advocating for the defendant. It took a bit to wrap my head around that.

I had about 3 weeks to write my appellate brief. It went reallyyyy fast. I worked steadily on it a little bit at a time and finally turned in the 30-page final project this Monday.

Sticking with the appellate brief sides, we are doing an oral argument next week for no grade but we get feedback and it doubles as a try out for moot court if you choose to do so.

Some Tips to Ease the Process

1. Start EARLY
I know you probably hear that from every teacher under the sun but seriously, start really early. This is not like those papers in undergrad that you could knock out in a long weekend or an all nighter. If you want a return of a good grade, you have to put in ample work over time to ensure it is quality. The more time you have, the more time you have to write a little bit at a time so you don't get burnt out, rework on a sentence level for maximum persuasiveness and to edit edit edit.

2. If possible, meet with Professor
Not all professors will meet with you in regards to the brief and looking over your work. If they are willing to, I highly suggest doing so. They are the grader and they have more experience so whatever they have to say will probably have a positive impact on your grade. Another set of eyes, especially the highly trained eyes of your professor, is always a good idea.

3. Make time to look at it with Fresh Eyes
Finish early and leave yourself ample time for editing. I find it best to take a little time away from the paper and returning to it with fresh eyes. I find that I catch a lot more mistakes and have better luck rephrasing when I do this.

4. Find a Stopping Point
There comes a point where you have done everything you can do and you need to stop nitpicking your paper. Eventually, you just need to stop and turn it in- staying up all night and editing will not make a huge difference- in your tired state you may do more harm than good. Start early, leave time for editing and find a stopping point to press submit and be done.


The appellate brief is hard but you can do it. The feeling you have when you turn it in is one of relief and extreme pride knowing you completed such a huge accomplishment. Then, you put it out of your mind as grades won't be out until after the semester and the exam grind is on.

As for me, I should probably get back to outlining! No rest for the wicked... or law students...

Friday Five 3/3/17

I"M ON SPRING BREAK! Granted, my spring break will be full of my appellate brief and outlining but I do not have to attend class or leave my house for a week so it's still super exciting. I am so ready for some time to relax, rejuvenate and catch up on life. Spring break came just in time!

A Guide to Law School Outlining

If you are in law school and you have heard the word outlining 365x since starting, raise your hand. If you were 110% confused as it what the elusive "outline" was, raise it again. If you spent 1L Thanksgiving break frantically outlining and still having no clue what you were doing and then entered your first round of exams with no confidence in those 30-40 page monster outlines, raise it one more time. If you raised your hand every time, you are just like me.

I had NO idea what on earth an outline was when I started law school. I looked all over the internet, talked to all my professors, talked to 2Ls and 3Ls and yet I still did not fully understand what I was supposed to be doing. I gave it the good old college try over Thanksgiving break because prior to that, I just hadn't been able to wrap my head around what I needed to do. Come exam time, I studied the crap out of those outlines but I was not 100% confident I had everything I needed to know or had it arranged and synthesized correctly. Throughout my first semester of law school, just the word "outline" caused me to have extreme anxiety. Now that I am on to semester two, I am feeling much better about the whole process. So for anyone out there who is struggling the way I did first semester, I truly hope this helps! A good outline is a big key to law school exam success so understanding the process is key.

Friday Five

Happy Friday all!! I am starting up something new- I am calling it the "Friday five". Basically it is just me sharing five things that have piqued my interest throughout the week. Please let me know thoughts on this new blog idea!

Everything You Need to Know about Taking Notes in Law School

Notes.... seems like half my life during law school is spent taking notes. Reading notes, class notes, notes on how to outline, notes of how to study, notes on internship searching.... it never ends. One of the pros to this-I have gotten extremely good at my notetaking system.

Thoughts on Starting the Second Semester of Law School

Well.... I just completed my 3rd week of the second semester of law school. SOS.... it's been rough. First semester sucked.... second semester is so far even harder. Does someone want to remind me why I thought law school was a good idea?

So far, I have twice as much reading each night compared to last semester, legal research and writing assignments every weekend, professional development activities left and right, making time to review my exams from last semester and trying to find an internship. Outside of law school, I was rear-ended in a hit & run accident, my car is in the shop, I have been sharing a car with my husband and driving him to and from work, we got a new dog and my house chores are so overdue it's not even funny. It has been crazyyyy. 3 weeks in and I already had a meltdown.

One thing I know that is weighing on my mind is my grades from last semester- they were not at the level I had wanted, though they were not bad. I am working twice as hard thus far trying to set myself up for success this semester and to raise my GPA. I am reading more thoroughly, taking excessive reading notes, raising my hand twice as much in class and I have already started outlining. I sure hope it pays off because I am exhausted.

As for the internship search, I have an interview next week (hallelujah!!). I know it will be a huge relief once I have something pinned down and that isn't hanging over my head and stressing me out anymore.

I hope your second semesters are off to a better start than mine!

Spring Semester Goals

My second semester of Law School is just 3 short days away! Break has flown by. As I prepare to start another semester, I am making some goals for myself to try to further improve my learning and study habits. Hopefully I will stay on track.... Here are my 10 goals for my second semester of Law School.

Bring On 2017

Well, 2016 is over. Hallelujah. I had many high moments in 2016: I graduated college, bought a house, got a puppy, married my high school sweetheart, started law school and made some amazing new friends. However, 2016 was also pretty rough at times... I lost some friends, I dealt with some personal challenges, I lost a dog, was academically challenged more than I ever have been in my life and moved to a new city. After first-semester law school finals and a leaking toilet that flooded my house, I am ready for a new year.

First Semester of Law School Recap

Well... I did it. I finished my first semester of Law School. I am not going to lie- it was the hardest semester of my life and it tried me in ways that I have never been tried before. I studied harder than I ever have in my life, I read more than I ever have and stuffed more knowledge into my brain than I thought was possible.

A Law School Update

Sorry it has been so long! Life has been so busy I could barely find time to cook dinner let alone blog. But, without further adieu, here is an update on Law School.

I just turned in my final legal memo for my research and writing class. It was a huge challenge and seemed to overtake my life for a week or so and I am so relieved to have it turned in. However, now the anxiousness of waiting for the grades may just give me an ulcer.

Classes are simultaneously getting harder and winding down at the same time. We are to the point where everything has interwoven and has come full circle.... it is a lot of information to keep straight.However, at the same time, we are getting shorter reading assignments, let out of class early and things are noticeably slowing down. I start to get excited and think I have spare time and then I remember that exams are sneaking up really fast and get right back to work.

On the subject of exams, I am scared to death. I have been outlining and making notecards but I feel like I have so far to go in so little time. Thankfully the memo is out of the way and that frees up a lot of time for studying and outlining.

Another thing that had started to take up my time is professional development. They are officially talking us through the internship search process and we have to turn in resumes, cover letters and etiquette events. Also, we have at least one networking event every week that require dressing up business professional and take a good hour or so.

So long story short, Law School has officially gotten crazy, hard and stressful. It is testing me in a way I have never been tested and challenged before in my life. But it is a means to an end... it will be worth it when I am done and I can add Juris Doctor to my name.

Back to reading! Hope everyone's semesters are going well. 

My First Law School Midterm

Happy Halloween!!!! Law School is getting real folks. Want to know what sacred me today? I had my first midterm this afternoon. I realize this is a lot later than most schools but my teacher pushed it back a whole week to ensure we covered the last chunk of material. My exam was over Estates and Future Interests of Property Law. According to my professor, this is the hardest material we will cover all of 1L year... I am pretty sure I believe him. That stuff was hard. 

Group or Solo: Pros and Cons of Studying for Law Students

Law School studying is a new beast in comparison to my previous schooling. I have had to adjust my study habits and increase my study time. I heard that Law School was a place of dueling study groups and people stealing books, etc before coming (think Legally Blond); thank goodness I have not encountered any of that. Studying may be hard but my classmates are all in it to help each other succeed and it is wonderful. I have experimented with solo and group studying and would like to share some of what I have learned and my thoughts on the pros and cons of each.

Overcoming Insecurities in Law School

I wish I could call Elle Woods right now and ask her how she managed to stay so fabulous in the midst of the crazy that is Law School.... and then I remember she is a fictional character and real people aren't like that and it makes me sad. Law School is rough. I have never been so academically challenged in my life nor surrounded by so many people who are so much smarter than me. It is quite the adjustment. It is easy to get wrapped up in your own confusion and feel stupid when the person a few rows in front of you seems to have no issues and handles their cold call like a 3L. It is really easy to let insecurities get the best of you in the first semester of Law School.

A Day in the Life of a Law Student

Welcome to a day in the life of a Law Student. I am going to outline my day, Tuesday, and break down what life really looks like when you are a Law Student. FYI, it is the furthest thing from glamorous....

Law School Study Habits

Now that I am a few weeks into Law School, my study habits have settled into a routine. It is working well for me. It has taken me a long time to develop good study habits; in High School, I could get by with A's without studying or working very hard. In Undergrad, I stepped up my study habits but still got by easily with minimal effort and a high GPA. Law School is a new ballgame; I really had to buckle down and hone my skills to be successful and keep up. I am sharing my habits in a hope that they may help someone else develop their study habits to be their most successful self.

Week 2 Recap: Law School is Getting Easier

I am happy to report that week 2 of Law School has ended and it is getting easier every day. Despite some crazy stuff that happened this week, classes are making more sense and my reading is getting faster which combines to a much lower stress level overall.

A Visitors Guide to the All American Quarter Horse Congress

The All American Quarter Horse Congress.... aka any horse persons personal shopping paradise and heaven nestled in downtown Columbus, OH for the entire month of October. I have heard it called the Superbowl of horse showing. So many of us visit simply to watch, shop, see the famous horses, learn from clinics or just to get a feel for the biggest horse show in the world.

For the last 10 years I have been living in Ohio, a mere 1.45 hours from the Congress, I have visited at least 1-2 weekends every Congress to shop and hang out and watch. With my experience and amount of time spent there, I have amassed a large knowledge base on navigating the Congress as a visitor not exhibitor and many shortcuts and tricks. Here I will be outlining my best tips and tricks for a fun trip to the legendary All American Quarter Horse Congress for those of us not showing.

1. Best Times To Go
 -The first weekend is the best for shopping. Everything is fully stocked, lots of sizes, not very busy. Store workers are fresh and happy and excited to help you. They haven't run out of free stuff at booths yet. Downside is the classes are mostly reining and cow horse and if you don't want to watch that then theres not much to watch. Also, Gilligan stall fronts aren't all set up yet and those are so worth seeing.
-The middle weekends is the best for watching the classes. This is pleasure, hunter under saddle, trail, showmanship, etc. Freestyle Reining is the second weekend and always a fun evening of big stops and good music. It is busy though so shopping and navigating the buildings can be hard.
-Last weekend is a time for deals. Stores don't want to haul it home so prices are often reduced. Also, less traffic this weekend.

What a beautiful sight

2. Best Places to Shop
Personally, I love Schneiders, Rods and Big Dee's. They are the biggest and mainstream and there is good reason for that. They have a great selection and quality products. Schneiders and Big Dee's have very reduced stores at the congress this year but they offer free shipping in. Some of my more hidden favorites include The Tack Room: great quality and selection of English apparel and quality halters, storage materials and little bits and pieces. I also love Kathy Williams Tail Extensions; in addition to great tails, she always has great show clothes in her booth. Chicks and HorseLoverz are also good destinations for little random things- you can't beat the prices.

3. Walk Through the Barns
Trust me- take at least one walk down the main aisle of Gilligan and see the amazing set ups of the trainers. They are pretty incredible. Also, you never know when you will be walking down the aisle and see a famous trainer or horse.

           

Building the Stall Fronts and one of my favorite set ups

4. FOOD
The food stands are seriously the best. You MUST get a cinnamon roll from the Sweet Shop. Also, the Stromboli is to die for. You can't shop on an empty stomach so eat. A lot. It is worth it and you will work off the calories walking around and carrying all your purchases :)

YUM!

5. Go sit at the Practice Arena
This is usually my dad and I's favorite congress pastime. We love to sit at the practice arena next to Congress Hall and just watch everybody ride. It's amazing how much you can learn just watching these great trainers ride and listening to what they tell clients warming up. I highly suggest taking even just 15 minutes to go watch- you never know what you will pick up.

6. Fun Events
Freestyle Reining = enough said. It is a super fun evening. The rides are great, the music is fun... defiantly one of the Congress's best events. Grab a Stromboli and sit yourself down in the Coliseum for a night of music, spins and stops. Also, sometimes you get to witness history... such as 2006 when I watched Stacy Westfall perform her legendary bareback and brideless ride LIVE. The Masters is also a really cool experience- it is awesome to see the upcoming great horses in their first class and witness the pinnacle of talent in the industry.

Few things a cooler then watching Stacy Westfall win the Congress... again

7. Clinic's and Product Information Sessions
Why not? If you are there during a clinic, go stop by. Just like the practice arena, you never know what you might pick up and learn. These are put on by highly skilled and successful professionals and I guarantee you could learn something from any of them. This is also a great opportunity to rest your feet and set your bags down for a few minutes. Also, stop and listen to the product demonstrations. There are always a million new products available here and someone who wants to tell you all about it. Sometimes they are silly and other times they might be your new favorite product. I would have never found EquiFUSE if I had not stopped and talked to the dealer at Congress. It doesn't hurt to stop and get the info and sometimes they give you free samples... and who doesn't like free samples?? (only crazy people)

8. GIVEAWAYS
Ah the giveaways.... they are everywhere at the congress. Free stuff, gift certificates, free breedings... they are endless. When and doubt take the second to fill out that little paper. You can't win unless you play. Smartpak always has a great giveaway for not only starting Smartpaks at the Congress but also a raffle. Farnum usually has one, AQHA usually has one, The University of Findlay gives away hats and t shirts.... I know I am missing a ton but seriously find the giveaways and sign up. More chances to eventually win something.

9. Deals, Deals, Deals
I am a huge bargain shopper. I love nothing more then to find a good deal. Congress is great for this. I always take advantage of the deals on Jeans at congress: this year it was buy 2 get 1 free on Wranglers and Cinch at Rods! Yay! Also, as I previously mentioned, Chicks and HorseLoverZ always seem to have little deals like the zip up Sleazy I got for $20 yesterday! The last weekend will have a lot of places giving even better sales and deals because they won't want to take it home. Bargain shoppers heaven!

Nothing better then new riding jeans :)

10. Watch the Show
After all, this is the reason for the whole shebang. Go sit and watch the best of the best compete for bronze trophies and bragging rights. At risk of sounding like a broken record, you can learn something from this also. Drool over the outfits, dream about the horses and be in awe of the incredible  level of the competition. The Congress is overall, first and foremost a horse show... the biggest in the world.

The Celeste Arena

The Congress is one of my favorite equine destinations... such a convergence of all things equine and it is just a blast. I was there yesterday for the day and it was as good as ever. I got some new jeans, stuff for my puppies, treats for my spoiled ponies, a new sleazy for Charles and some information on breeding... more on that at a later date ;). I love the Congress and I like to think I have it pretty well figured out as a visitor. I hope these tips help you out when visiting the legendary show.

A beautiful evening at the Congress before we left

Happy Shopping and I hope you learn something too :)

 ~ Brandy

- What are your favorite parts of the Congress???