Current Law Students- How much free time do you typically have each week?

[livitup1233]

I realize this definitely varies based on numerous factors but I have been seeing lots of posts saying that those who are going into law school should start spending as much time as possible with friends and family because this will become few and far between once in school. 

[lawfacade123]

It varies so much person to person. I have a lot of free time now in 2L because grades don't matter as much anymore and I think I'm just more efficient as a student. 

1L was definitely a head down kind of year, but I think it's a bit over the top to say you won't see your friends or family very much. Most of the time I got away with a 40-50 hour week. 

[LMP]

2 hours ago, livitup1233 said:

I realize this definitely varies based on numerous factors but I have been seeing lots of posts saying that those who are going into law school should start spending as much time as possible with friends and family because this will become few and far between once in school. 

Maybe like, 26 or 27 hours, including class? I have plenty of free time. Now I'm not a straight A student so if that's the goal you may need to step it up. 

But in general I believe I'm on the nicer side of the curve and have a good understanding of the material. 

I get lampooned every time I say this but law school isn't really that hectic. Most of the time your only tasking is to read a book. Occasionally you'll be asked to write a bit. I'm not even being reductionist that is literally the job. 

Go to class, do the readings, ask questions if you don't get something and talk things over with a friend. You'll be fine and still have plenty of time for whatever else you might want to do. 

Heck, I still work while in law school (part time) and I've got a classmate with grades in the top 10% who works full time. Trust me when I say that your life goes on in law school. 

[HoggPower]

One of the issues that people don't think about prior to law school is that, for some, law school takes over their identity. It's pretty easy to get caught up in the hype. Best thing to do is to establish a good routine prior to law school, which could include meeting up with friends and family and taking care of your physical and mental health everyday. 

Law school will be as hard as you make it. Set reasonable goals. Don't kill yourself. Make meaningful connections and keep sane by connecting with people not in the echo chamber that law school can create. 

Edited March 4, 2022 by HoggPower

[Mr. Deeds]

1L - Few hours per day 

2L - Why am I even in school at this point - 5-6 hours per day

3L - Wouldn’t even call it “attending” law school anymore - as many hours as you want. 

 

Overall, the answer will differ per person. Some people don’t do readings at all and some do every one and take notes. Some get a job in the recruit and only care about passing and some need to keep their grades high for a successful articling recruit. 

 

There won’t be an exact answer to this, there won’t even be an answer close enough to answer this.

Edited March 4, 2022 by Mr. Deeds

[ccq35]

I think one of the challenges of law school is deciding when to stop studying. There's always more to do: trying to finish the readings, consulting textbooks and other secondary sources, looking up cases cited in assigned readings, etc. It's very possible to do well in law school without doing any of this, and it's also very possible to do less well in law school even if you go the extra mile, but for many students, it's hard to resist trying to get ahead by prioritizing "the grind". 

For me at least, the solution has been figuring out how to become more efficient, both in terms of reading/briefing speed and deciding what the most effective ways of learning/preparing for exams are for different classes. All in all, law school occupies about 6-8 hours a day right now, and I'm happy with my overall school/life balance. 

[TobyFlenderson]

It’s better to start with a lot of time spent and scale it back when you feel comfortable. In 1L, especially first semester, you’ll want to take the time to do the readings. Take notes as you read, if that’s helpful. You might spend 3 hours a night reading, on top of class time. As you get better reading case law, and things start to click, you’ll probably find that you can get through the same amount of work more quickly. Then you might find that you don’t need to do every reading. Effort will vary each year, and from one class to another.

Eventually you’ll find the balance that works for you between putting effort in to get the grades you want and having free time. It is unlikely that you will need to sacrifice every waking moment to score Bs, if you’re happy with Bs. Ultimately, people on this forum could give you 100 different answers to this question, and it won’t change how much time you need to get grades that you’re happy with.

As far as how you actually use your free time, though, you may want to work through your “fun” reading backlog, if you have one. A lot of people seem to stop reading non-school stuff when school starts because you might not want to spend a few hours reading a textbook and then end the night with more reading.

 

[Ripcord]

You're right, it'll depend on a lot of factors! 

I agree with what everyone on the thread here says; as you continue on in your law school journey, the more time you'll have your hands. A part of it was just figuring out what works for me as a student and my study habits. The way I study now is not how I studied in 1L (honestly, do I even study anymore?!). 

I think the main reason why I get to spend more time with my parents is of course, due to classes having been online for the majority of my law school career. During break times, I get to pop downstairs and have a chat with my parents (hard to do when I'm in class across the province). Additionally, since classes are recorded, it made it easier on my conscience to "skip" classes and attend smaller family gatherings if need be and catch up by watching the recordings (again, hard to do when one is in class). 

All this to say, the first year of law school might be tough. It's a year of trials and tribulations, but once you have your eureka moment and figure out what works best for you, everything else falls into place. I had the fortune of doing a lot of moots and while there were some stressful times, on average, I'm happy with the work that I put in with school and the time I get to spend with friends and family. 

[livitup1233]

23 hours ago, LMP said:

Heck, I still work while in law school (part time) and I've got a classmate with grades in the top 10% who works full time. Trust me when I say that your life goes on in law school. 

Was also going to ask this. I am interested in picking up a part time job once I get the hang of things and am able to budget my time. Thank you so much for your response

21 hours ago, Mr. Deeds said:

There won’t be an exact answer to this, there won’t even be an answer close enough to answer this.

Thanks for the response. Yeah, I figured its a bit of an unrealistic question but I guess my real objective was to see if the idea that law school is so busy that "time spent with family and friends will be non-existent" was a myth or not.

[Pecan Boy]

21 minutes ago, livitup1233 said:

I guess my real objective was to see if the idea that law school is so busy that "time spent with family and friends will be non-existent" was a myth or not.

Definitely a myth, don't worry about that

[burnedout]

I'm currently a 2L and on the deans list, and spend maybe 15-20 hours a week outside of class doing readings etc. However, I have pretty severe ADHD and basically won't start writing papers/summaries until the last minute. Near the end of the semester I'm frequently putting in 10-12 hours a day of work because of my procrastination. I don't recommend it, but it does work for me. I rarely do schoolwork on the weekends, unless I have a paper/assignment due.

Really depends on your personal style of study/grades you want to achieve/if you've learned the "formula" of how to write exams. I know a ton of students who spend far more time preparing than me, who have a much better grasp of the material than me, but just haven't figured out how to write exams. 

[denning]

Loads! I'm a 1L, so the workload has been heavy, but way better than expected. 

For reference, I got good grades (you can DM me if you want to know them) on midterms and I definitely studied loads but still managed to go out with friends most weekends, keep up with working out, and spend time on tiktok/TV/chatting with friends most days. Obviously, this varies with assignments/extracurriculars coming up every few weeks but the vast majority of my days are fairly chill. I would say that I probably study an hour before class each day, and then anywhere between 0 to 6/7 max after class (on a rare bad day!).

I value both social time and personal chilling time and if you do too, you'll be able to fit both in. 

[Diplock]

On 3/4/2022 at 12:32 PM, livitup1233 said:

I realize this definitely varies based on numerous factors but I have been seeing lots of posts saying that those who are going into law school should start spending as much time as possible with friends and family because this will become few and far between once in school. 

If you need to "start" spending significant amounts of time with friends and family, then clearly it isn't an existing priority in your life to begin with. I don't say that particularly to be mean, but to point out a basic reality. Lawyers who don't make personal lives a priority don't just happen. They aren't manufactured out of students who used to be socially active and at family functions all the time, but then got turned to the dark side as soon as someone gave them an expensive suit and a desk in a glass tower. Your priorities are your own, and they develop over time. You make your choices, you find your balance, and you live with the consequences. No one has everything in life.

Whatever you do, please don't imagine you can bulk up on time with friends and family and then disappear into a law firm for several years and live off the fat like a bear in hibernation. By the time you emerge, that'll be your life - your friends won't be your close friends anymore, and your family will have stopped inviting you to things. Make the time or don't. But don't pretend it's something that was done to you, either way. We all have choices.

[Dood]

You can spend your entire time in law school partying and raising hell and still do ok.

[Byzantine]

I’m 1L and have been tracking my time since January. Spending about 40-45 hours a week between class time, readings/CANs, and my volunteer legal clinic (I spend about 10-12h a week on that). Spend more time than that on campus but that includes some socializing, social media, going for walks, etc. I did well 1st term. 

[QueensDenning]

Most people need to treat lawschool as a full(ish) time job to do well. I do about 7-9 hours of work per day, depending on the week, and I don’t do much work on the weekend.
 

If you’re happy with straight B’s, you can just go to class and study previous years’ outlines in the week or two before the exam. 

Edited March 10, 2022 by QueensDenning

[CertaintyOfTerms]

I'll echo most on this thread, a lot of it depends on:

1. what your goals are, 2. how you perform during the recruit, 3. how comfortable you get with understanding good study strategies.

First year I had very little time to myself, I ended up with almost straight A's (barring one class) but it definitely took a toll on me. Towards the end of the year though I realized I didn't always need to do EVERY reading so closely and if I wanted to hangout with friends to get my mind off of work it wouldn't impact me overall. That is because I started to realize the work I was putting in was significantly more than needed for the grades I was getting, i.e., I could've got the same grades with taking a bit more time for myself.

Now in second year, having secured a position through the recruit there is considerably less pressure, I have A LOT of time time myself to do whatever (I would almost say that I spend more time doing things I want as opposed to work). Some people learn better by listening in class, some better by doing the readings, some need a combination of both. Figure out how you learn best and prioritize yourself!

(I'll also add I had a part-time job through all of this, so again, free time is 100% doable and as you progress you will have way more of it)

[cokezero]

Late to the party. In 1L I had oodles of free time (well, maybe not "oodles," but 1L was easily the least stressful year of my academic life, bar none). 2L was a completely different experience; I couldn't believe how much the workload picked up compared to 1L. Hoping to have a successful upcoming articling recruit and be able to simply vibe for 3L, cause I'm tired, man.