TAKING THE FRESHERS ON A LEGAL EXCURSION TO THE DISCOVERY OF SELF

Hurray! Your dream of becoming a lawyer is fast approaching, Congratulations!

 It is not fiction that you have all heard of studying law at the University, whether through family, friends or films. It is difficult to know what it really does involve and there is no shortage of stories out there, from the most accurate to the utterly fantastical. This article should debunk a few myths, confirm a few and make sure you know what you are figuring up for when you fill in that application form. It includes a little advice to help you settle into law student life that bit quicker. Law is a great subject to study at University but it does have its challenges:

Here are what you can expect.

(1)   There is a lot of reading

Just to get the scary ones put off the way first

Do not under estimate how much reading a law student have to do. It is difficult to explain how much reading a law degree involves other than to say there are a lot of law books. Law students get a reputation for clocking up the library for hours because each week you need to learn what law actually is. There is actually an art in reading and you will get all the advice you need from older students when you first arrive, but it does take a while to get used to the Faculty of Law and LAWSAN as a whole. That said, by the end of the first term, and after a brawl with legal methods, you will not believe how quickly you can pick up and find the important passages from a case. Just be ready for the inevitable long nights when you need to stay up getting through an endless reading list. If you manage your time well, self-imposing a schedule for getting reading done, you will surmount.

(2)   There is a rat race, but you do not need to join it

Do not let competitive classmates scare you. Being a law student is what you want it to be. The flexible hours of a law student give you opportunity to get involved in student activities in LAWSAN and beyond. Perhaps I am giving the impression that law students spend their whole lives in the library learning statues back to front, this just isn’t true. University is exactly what you make of it and that will eventually and should involve meeting some of your best friends and many of your future colleagues.

(3)   Get involve in students activities

Getting involved in as many student activities as you can make time for and at the same time, having the odd quiet night of reading, make you a balanced student. Make the most of it. The extra-curricular activities can be really rewarding for yourself and others. Some mooting, even though it is quite scary, it does wonders for your public speaking. There is no “single law degree experience”, much as there is no single ‘University experience’ choose what you want to make your priorities over the five-year period, as long as you always make time for your work.

(4)   Everyone is going to ask you legal advice

Somewhat ironically, the more law you know, the less confident you become, and so, be ready for legal consultations from everybody who is not lawyer or law student. There comes a time where you learn about liability for giving advice and accepting responsibility. This is even more so that you as a Part I law student. No one cares, everyone out there expect you to know the law. I remember I gave a legal advice to a medical student on matters arising from negligence while I was still in my first year in law, two years after I started the Law of Tort, I realized how hilarious it could be, but the fun of it was that the other guy did not notice the defect in the advice. For some reason, everyone assumes that the law students are over flowing fountains of legal knowledge to be tested at will. So if your give advice, be sure to add disclaimers

(5)   Pay attention to Tutorials

The workload becomes easier if you are well organized and focused on working efficiently. The planning ahead early and prioritizing work over play will guarantee a sure future in the Faculty. You will have lectures, then you will be assigned reading to do, and answers to prepare for your tutorials and presentations I was unlucky enough to have tutors who would use tutorial as interrogation sessions to highlight your deficiencies in knowledge of the law. In hindsight, these methods of teaching clearly work. Keep up with the tutorials, attendance is crucial to your success in any exams. You must be in class to learn and you must be on time and avoiding the disturbance of a late entrance. Ask questions and pay attention to other questions asked by others. Volunteer an answer or response when a question is put to the entire class. Give your lecturers and classmates the respect and courtesy they deserve, do not appear too important to mingle, do not judge other of your classmates, be polite and be friendly, you must be found worthy in learning and in character.

(6)      Social Stereotypes of Law Student

Finally, a series of phrases you will have to get used to hearing. Get thinking of good responses. “Oh, you are studying law? May be you can help me some day if I get into trouble”

 “Oh! These law students sef”

 “Is he/she a student? No wonder”.

 “They say law students belong to secret societies, is it true? I can see you have sold your soul to the devil for riches”

“How can you defend someone you know to be guilty? You lawyers are heartless and cold-blooded” etc.

 When you start learning the law, you will laugh over these stereotypes.

Master the law questions

There will be a lot of reading to do and you will require close attention to detail. The “sharp mind” you need for studying law comes in different varieties, and each demands a particular mix of certain skills. Law requires both absolute command of the details of legislation and cases and a wider view of how different areas interlock and what they aim to achieve. This is shown most clearly in the two main types of examination question.

(1)               Problem question require you to apply the law to very specific (and sometimes outright preposterous) factual patterns and explain why in this specific set of circumstances a piece of legislation or principle of law would/could apply in a certain way. Your need to known the legislation and the case law, by heart. If you do not know part of the case law or the required legislation it is an area that can lose you marks or narrow down the number of points.

(2)               Essay question: Requires you to make a broad point using specific examples, so you need to have a whole arsenal of example at hand. Basically, you need to remember a lot of things, and you need to be prepared to sit down and learn cases and cram them, for exams.

In conclusion, be resilient, stand your grounds on issues, study and stand out of the crowd.

CONGRATULATIONS!

UWEMEDIMO DOMINIC

LLB IV

IVY LEAGUE LAW FIRM AKA UDO UDOMA CHAMBERS

N/B: FOR RESOURCES ON HOW TO ANSWER LAW QUESTIONS AND SOME ACADEMIC ASSISTANCE, CALL 08100880230.