Author: Meredith Galto

Summer Bar Prep: Midpoint Gut Check

Published by Meredith Galto

The Pennsylvania bar is on the horizon (July 25-26), making it about the half waypoint in your preparation for the exam. Now would be a good time to do an honest self-assessment of where you are in your studying and what you need to do going forward to set yourself up for success. Ask yourself: am I behind? Am I on track? Am I going to burn out? There is time to course correct depending on your answer. You have time to push and be prepared for the exam, but you have to start working hard now and really prioritizing your studying over everything else. Most of your waking hours should be dedicated to bar prep. If you are behind, take a look at how far behind. Make a list of things you need to do to catch up – perhaps all the skipped assignments from your bar course, including midterms, quizzes, graded essays, lectures, etc. and/or outlining, making notecards, or other study materials. Categorize each item as “critical” or “non-critical” in terms of completing. …

Do You Have the Time to Listen to Me Whine?

Published by Meredith Galto

Yes. Seriously. About nothing and everything all at once. And it’s not whining. Law students and lawyers tend to put their heads in the sand when thinking about issues in their own lives. As lawyers, we are so busy solving other people’s problems – defending a criminal charge, drafting a contract, bringing a workers’ compensation claim, or working on whatever is put in front of us by a client – that sometimes we forget to check in with our own health and well-being. Perhaps because of our role in society (and, if we are being honest, our egos) we tend to think that we can handle our problems ourselves. This perception is misguided and can lead to serious consequences if the stakes are high. Trying to tackle our own issues of mental health or addiction without professional help can be an uphill battle. Yet, a lack of self-care is particularly pronounced when it comes to these issues. We suffer in silence, letting the repercussions affect our work, personal life, and well-being. If one of us …

Begin as You Mean to Finish

Published by Meredith Galto

Sometimes we put so much focus on finishing something, that we don’t give credence or attention to how we began. We look at the result, how we did, what we have to show for it, and don’t respect the first steps we took to make it to the end. As law students, it’s easy to use your grades as a measurement of your experience during a semester, but really the path to those grades started fourteen weeks before the exam. And now, with the spring semester just beginning, you have the opportunity to start off as strong as you mean to end. What do I mean by that? In order to do well on exams, you must approach the entire semester in a manner that will lead to success in the end. If doing well on exams takes hard-work, grit, and determination, then you must put hard-work, grit, and determination into your everyday routine. It’s early in the semester and exams seem far away, but that doesn’t mean you should take it easy. Take advantage of …

The Odyssey of Law School Exams: Tips for the Coming Weeks

Published by Meredith Galto

Have questions about Temple Law exam schedules, Examsoft/SofTest, take-home exam procedures or other exam-related information? Check out the Exams section of the Temple Law website. “…we have still not reached the end of all our trials. One more labor lies in store boundless, laden with danger, great and long; and I must brave it out from start to finish.” – Homer, The Odyssey Classes have ended but your work is not done. Although the task that lies ahead will not involve an encounter with Sirens (as far as I know), preparing for and taking law school exams will take focus, stamina, and effort from start to finish. Here are some tips to help you through the next two-and-a-half weeks. Know What You Don’t Know Be realistic about where you need to focus your efforts. Students tend to concentrate on subjects or material they know well or enjoy, but everything is fair game on an exam. Just because you hate a topic, that doesn’t mean it won’t show up on the test. Be sure to take …

Living Forward but Understanding Backward: The Importance of Self-Assessment and Reviewing Class Materials

Published by Meredith Galto

We are more than half way through the fall semester, and for many law students, late October is a time for looking ahead to what is in front of them. You have settled in to a routine, finals are on the horizon, and you may be asking yourself questions such as, how much more reading can there be? When am I going to outline? Will I travel for Thanksgiving? Looking ahead is critical because knowing what you have to do and when you have to do it keeps you focused and on task. And really, time marches on no matter what anyone does. The semester will end and finals (like winter) are coming. Just as important, however, is looking back at where you have been. Like a coach or player at halftime, now is the time to think about self-assessment and adjustment. Granted, you don’t have a score to use as a measurement of your performance, but you can think about your classes, how you have approached them so far, and whether that approach is …

All Seven and We Watch Them Fall: Combating Mistakes and Bad Habits with an Intellect and Self-Awareness

Published by Meredith Galto

While the mistakes students make as they study law are not on par with the more famous seven sins, common mistakes and bad habits do affect students’ performance throughout the semester and ultimately on the exam. But, as with many things, a little self-awareness goes a long way. Learn the common mistakes law students make in the list below. Then make it your mission not to let them stand in the way of your success.

You’re Not in Kansas Anymore: How Law School is Different from Undergrad

Published by Meredith Galto

Now that you’re in your second week of doctrinal classes, it has probably become clear that law school is vastly different from your undergraduate or previous graduate studies. Rather than wind up in a headspace that makes you want to click your heels and mutter “I wish I was home,” it’s best to embrace and acknowledge these differences as you start your legal education. Some differences are apparent – we handed you a schedule instead of letting you choose courses, you have all your classes with the same classmates, free pizza, and more free pizza – but what are some of the other differences that lie under the surface? Let’s pull back the curtain… First, you have to take more responsibility for your own learning than you did in college. What does this mean? Well, you will have to do more work outside of the classroom. In college, maybe you did the reading assigned before class, maybe you didn’t. Either way, you were likely able to follow the lecture and get something out of class. …