First week of 1L

[cuincourt2027]

Hi everyone!

It feels silly making a post about this, but I was wondering if anyone who’s been through 1L already, or is currently in 1L could give me some advice…

None of my professors have taught me how to read or brief a case. I also come from a family of non-lawyers, so I really don’t know how to go about this. Do any of you have any resources I should look into? I’ve been told that it’s about figuring out what works for you, but I’m very methodical and was wondering if anyone has an outline that they’re willing to share and that has worked for them?

I’ve also been told to read the full cases, and am wondering if it’s done anyone a disservice to double-check their work afterward with AI?

I’d appreciate any advice as classmates that I’ve met so far have been gatekeeping CANs and FIRACs lol

[englishmajor]

1. If you're reading from case books don't then go online and read the whole decision on CanLII. Everything you need is in what is assigned and unless you're particularly interested, reading the whole decision is a waste of time. 

2. You don't have to do a full brief for every case. Many shorter ones in tort on contracts can be boiled down to a principle in one or two sentences. 

3. FIRAC is a pretty self-explanatory format. If you can't parse out how to fill it out from the information available to you in the cases you read, therein lies the problem. How you organize your CANs is personal preference, but generally your school or LSS has a database of past students who uploaded theres, so look into that. 

My format was:

[Case citation] as a heading for table of contents, plus 3-4 word reminder of what the case is for. 

Facts:

Issue:

Ratio:

Analysis:

Conclusion:

It's really that simple. 

My practical 2 cents are (1) that you shouldn't even worry about them until much later in the semester when you need to prepare for exams because making them is a good method of study, and you will have a much better foundation to go off; and (2) if your 1L classmates don't want to share theirs it's most likely because they also don't know what they are doing so are emabrrased about them or are not in fact actually making any.