As a first generation lawyer, I knew very few people that went to law school personally. Most of the advice I obtained came from the work place and connections that I sought out on my own. Here are a few things that I discovered when I started law school with little insider knowledge. I know that most will already know this especially if you have connections, friends that are already in law school or recently graduated. But if you were a true clueless outsider like I was, hopefully you find this helpful.
I found out later that apparently not all law students call CANS, CANS. CANS is short for condensed annotated notes. They are basically a solid outline of a course and is typically used for the midterm and/or final exam as a roadmap for attacking exam questions. Many students (unbeknownst to me going into my first year) will have CANS inherited by previous students and these CANS are then traded amongst friends almost like currency. It’s very strange but this is when being resourceful really helps. Depending on the professor, the courses are more or less the same (the more recent your CANS obviously the better) so being able to access a set of CANS for a particular course if key to being ahead of the game.
**fun fact when I was articling, I found out that CANS was not a common term in other law schools so I guess another word for CANS are outlines**
Most of my exams during undergrad were closed book (there were a few that were open book or take home but not as many). In law school, most if not all of the exams were open book. I had no idea this was the case going in. Practically speaking, this method of examination makes the most sense. I mean, practicing law is not a closed book exercise…if you argue a motion you will usually have your factum and rule book readily available, so the closed book methodology is quite bizarre.
**side note: I also went to school in Detroit (I did the Dual J.D. program) and the American method of examination is primarily closed book**
What I didn’t know before hand was that all schools (in Ontario at least) generally curve to a B average. What this means is that if the entire class fails a course but the class average is a D for example the school will adjust the grades to force it to a B. Every school is a bit different but at my school grades were issued out of 100% and the average was generally 74% to 76%. This is why when you hear students discuss grades (if the they are raw grades) student will usually then add a disclaimer about the class average if the curve isn’t yet applied. There are also professors who grade against the curve (as a metre stick) which means they keep the curve in mind when grading therefore the raw score/grade is basically the same the post curve score/grade. I did not know any of this going in.
For some annoying reason many courses allocate a small percentage towards “participation”. I not entirely sure whether this was a requirement in the curriculum breakdown of all the courses, but it was basically a component of nearly every grade I earned. Many professors would use the socratic method where the professor would call on someone (warned or unwarned) and that person would basically have to answer questions about a case that we were reviewing in that particular class.
At the start (especially in first year) the professors would be all on this and then as the course went on I feel like a lot of them forget about cold-calling or there are too many students in the class to go through all so some people (usually whose names are at the bottom of the alphabet are forgotten about or not called on). Unfortunately, my last name was usually at the top of the list so I was always called and usually at the start of the course when everyone would attend classes.
I always had this vision of going to law school and being surrounded by the most woke, progressive, intelligent individuals and that just wasn’t really the case. I’ve witnessed the most ridiculous and inappropriate behaviour while in law school. At the same time, you will also meet some very sharp and bright individuals.
Depending on the school and size of your class, the competitiveness that is inherent in law school often gets ugly. Everyone is stressed out and is constantly comparing themselves to their peers. If you’re not careful this can become real dangerous and detrimental to your mental health and physical health so it is very important to stay grounded and keep positive throughout this time. Sure you’ll meet some terrible characters, but you will also likely make lifelong friends in law school and you’ll have the bond of going through this unique experience.
Anyway, these are just some of the things I noticed during my time but the take away is to take experience as it comes. This is a very important time and will basically act as your entry into this profession because let’s face it being a lawyer basically starts the moment you begin law school. This is when the grooming begins and every decision you make shapes the professional that you will become.
