Tips To Make Studying Law Easier!

How to Study Law – Law Study Tips

Welcome to my first post on how to study Law! Studying Law is not easy and today I have concluded some basic tips on how I make studying law easier.

1. Case Briefs

I make a case summary for each case I have to read for my seminar/tutorial. It includes- 1. Facts 2. Issues 3. Judgment.

How I study a topic: lecture (ppt if any) –> cases + prepare case briefs –> Textbooks –> journal articles –> answer seminar/tutorial questions while you read –> participate in discussions during seminars/tutorials.

The easiest way to understand a concept in detail is to read your textbooks, and sometimes one textbook is not enough. If you don’t have time, only read the part you don’t understand.

2. Don’t be silly, you can’t read everything

It is impossible to read everything on the list in detail. You cannot read the full judgment of every single case.

Apart from journal articles and textbooks, I had about 440 cases on my Company Law compulsory reading list. Don’t try to read everything. Some judgments have over a hundred pages + you need to time search for the cases on databases. You won’t have enough time to finish them. I suggest finding reliable case summaries, forming study groups and working with your friends. If you want to read full judgment, you may read the full judgment of leading/important cases.

3. Study Groups

What you should NOT do:-

Sit together and study for 5 hours.

What you SHOULD do:-

Treat it like a seminar / tutorial. Study before meeting your friends. Discuss, exchange ideas and learn from each other during the study session.

4. Application and Understanding

Application is very important. There is no point in memorizing all the cases/ statutes. Most of the time you get points and marks by explaining how the cases are applicable in the scenario, or your analysis on that case. You must understand the rulings and principles, and know how to apply them.

5. Read case facts if you have time

Case facts help you understand rulings better. It helps you apply cases to problem/scenario type questions so much easier.

6. Do Past papers

Past exam papers are very important as they tell you the “trend” of question types. When you don’t have the time to study everything, you should find out what are the topics that you can skip and what are the things that you need to focus on. Past exam papers also allow you to practise your application skills!

Happy studying!