September 2, 2026
At the start of every academic year, the editors of The Temple 10-Q share tips for new law students on how to approach their first year of law school. The two-part series contains advice that applies to all 1Ls. This is the second part of this series—you can read Part 1 here.
- Don’t be afraid to network. Send that email to a firm out of the blue, attend the Bar Association networking reception, and talk to lawyers hosting a meet and greet in the lobby (if only for the donuts they bring)! You never know what advice they may share and what connections they may have for you. They may even think of you when the perfect opportunity comes up. Put yourself out there!
- Be a go-getter. While Temple has amazing resources and faculty and administration to help you along the way, you are on your own. No one is going to tell you to go to the club meeting, apply for law review, or audition for the mock trial team. If you are interested in something and want to learn more about certain areas, go for it! Be your own self-motivator or cheerleader and make the most of your 3 (or 4) years here at Temple Law.
- Don’t treat your classmates as your competition. The curve makes this easy to forget. Someone else doing well does not take away from your own career. Share notes when someone is sick, answer questions, and send opportunities to people who might be a good fit. Law school is a small community, and your reputation for being kind and helpful travels.
- Actually write out your answers to practice exams. At some point, your professors will post old exams and sample answers, and you’ll skim through them thinking, “Yeah, I totally get what that question was asking. I could definitely answer that.” Do not let your actual final be the first time you ever write a full exam answer. Write out your answers under both timed and untimed conditions, either on your own or with friends in your section. Bonus points if you can get your professor or a TA to review your answers and give you personalized feedback.
- Print your outline and use it to answer practice questions. It’s important to become familiar with your printed outline before your final so you know where specific information is located. Time is very precious in a testing environment, and you don’t want to be flipping through the whole outline to find what you need. Use labeled sticky tabs as shortcuts!
- Try your best to review and practice early. Law school is notorious for nerve-wracking cold calls, hundreds of pages of reading, and the absence of feedback. What incoming 1Ls should realize early on is that their grades are determined at the end of the semester with a 4-hour, anonymized exam for each subject. This means that throughout the semester, not only are you battling nerves and daunting reading assignments, but you must prepare yourself every week for those final exams. Set aside some time every week, to review the most difficult (if not all) of the concepts from your previous week of class and try to do some practice problems in preparation for your end goal. This will allow you to get comfortable with writing out well-reasoned answers and identifying where your weaknesses are before final exam days.
- Start (everything!) early—your networking, outlining, and assigned readings. Law firm recruiting timelines keep moving earlier, so if that’s on your radar, don’t wait until winter break to start building connections. Reach out to alumni, practicing attorneys, and 2Ls and 3Ls who have already gone through the process. Also, start outlining after the first month, even if your outline is rough. Doing so will help you identify gaps in your understanding while there is still time to ask your professor questions. Office hours can become crowded as finals approach, and you may not get the same opportunity for individualized help. Finally, begin your reading early. Sometimes an opinion will not make sense the first (or even second) time you read it, so give yourself enough time to read it again before class. It’s never too early to start anything in law school!
- Talk to Career Strategy & Professional Development (CSPD) early. The first semester goes by very quickly and deadlines for summer internships tend to sneak up on you, often in the midst of midterms and finals prep. It is never too early to get your resume and cover letter updated, so you have one less thing to worry about when it is time to apply. CSPD can also help you form a plan for applying to internships, so you can plan your schoolwork around your deadlines and set aside the time needed to get your applications done. Even if you are not sure what kind of law you are interested in practicing, CSPD can help guide you early on.
- Don’t compare your timeline to everyone else’s—particularly with jobs. One person will seemingly have their entire career figured out in September; someone else won’t get their summer job until April. The same is true with grades, journals, moot court, relationships with professors, etc. Law school creates a lot of artificial milestones that make you feel “behind” when you’re not. Remember you are on your own journey.
- Take pride in your experience so far and seek all the support you can get. Not all law students come from the same circumstances. Some are students are juggling professional work, child rearing, internships, and studying all at the same time. Thankfully, Temple Law’s faculty, staff, and students are well-informed of the unique challenges that these students face and are always willing to help. Don’t be shy about sharing your unique background and circumstances and seeking advice and support.
- Give yourself grace. Law school is hard. You are essentially learning a brand-new way of writing, reading, and thinking—and relearning things that have come naturally to you for a long time. Your first assignments may receive critical feedback, but do not doubt your abilities. These are the growing pains of learning something totally new. Keep track of your progress and notice how much easier things get after your first few months. It is even helpful to look back at some of your older assignments to realize how much you have learned in such a short time. And never forget how much you have already accomplished by getting accepted to a great school during a particularly difficult application cycle. You belong here, and you have what it takes to succeed.