You will be provided with a lot of useful information about Loyola Law student life at the orientation (you should attend orientation in business casual attire, but expect everyone to be far more casual when classes begin) you will attend prior to beginning class. If you would like to get a sense of the institution and student life in advance of orientation you might find it helpful to look at Law School Announcements and the Event Calendar, the Student Handbook and Code of Conduct, and course and curriculum planning information.
Once you arrive and receive your Loyola ID you will be able to access additional resources through our learning platform (Sakai), such as tutorials on outlining, reading cases, briefing cases, legal terms and vocabulary, time management, and mock classes. You can also access, through Sakai, a Law Student Resource page that has up to date information on all student services. Try to spend some time with these resources, at least enough to get a sense of whether they could be useful to you. "I never knew we had that!" is a very common lamentation among students who experienced what felt like an information gap that turned out to actually be an information overload.
One thing you may not hear at orientation is how overwhelming your first few weeks in law school can feel. That's not because anyone here wants you to feel overwhelmed, it's because we hope we have adequately prepared you and eased you in. HOWEVER, it's a lot to take in. You will be meeting many new people, some of them will be throwing out terms that mean something entirely different to you than they do in law school (check out the glossary below), and the information you receive will be more than you can retain. [Pro tip: It's all written down somewhere. Trying to memorize everything is generally not going to serve you as well as developing your information seeking skills.] Then, when classes start, you will be expected to have done reading prior to your first class in most subjects (see below re: sourcing casebooks), your professors will call on you out of the blue (it's called cold calling) to ask for your thoughts, and there will be times you feel totally inadequate. Please do not despair. As you would do in every other realm of life: pick yourself up, dust yourself off, seek help, and keep going. Also, browse through the resources below--even if you do not feel that you need them now, they may come in handy later so it is good to know they exist.
Below is a list of books, available in the Loyola Law Library or online, that might help you get a sense of what to expect (and how to get through) your first year of law school:
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Ruta K. Stropus & Charlotte D. Taylor, Bridging the Gap between College and Law School : Strategies for Success (3rd ed. 2014). KF 283 .S77 2014 |
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Tanya J. Monestier, Sh*t No One Tells You About Law School (2022). KF 283 .M658 2022 |
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Melissa A. Hale, A First Generation's Guide To Law School (2022). *This book can be accessed via Loyola Law School's subscription to CALI. |
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Russell A. McClain, The Guide to Belonging in Law School (2020). *This book can be accessed via Loyola Law School's subscription to West Academic Study Aids. |
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Kelsey May, Samantha Roberts & Elizabeth Shelton, What the L? : 25 Things We Wish We’d Known before Going to Law School (2010). KF 283 .M388 2010 |
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Albert J. Moore & David A. Binder, Demystifying the First Year of Law School : A Guide to the 1L Experience (2010). KF283.M66 2010 |
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Ian Gallacher, Coming to Law School : How to Prepare Yourself for the next Three Years (2010). KF 283 .G35 2010 |
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Ursula Furi-Perry, Law School Revealed : Secrets, Opportunities, and Success! (2009). KF 283 .F87 2009 |
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Atticus Falcon, Planet Law School II : What You Need to Know (before You Go)-- but Didn’t Know to Ask-- and No One Else Will Tell You. (2nd. ed. 2003). KF 283 .F34 2003 |
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Nancy B. Rapoport & Jeffrey D. Van Niel, Law School Survival Manual : From LSAT to Bar Exam. (2010). KF 283 .R37 2010 |
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Robert H. Jerry II, A Daily Reader for 1Ls: Becoming a Better Law Student and Lawyer in Four Minutes a Day (2024). *This book can be accessed via Loyola Law School's subscription to West Academic Study Aids. |
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Alexander D. Ruskell, A Weekly Guide to Being a Model Law Student (3rd ed. 2024). *This book can be accessed via Loyola Law School's subscription to West Academic Study Aids. |
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David C. Gray, et. al., Get a Running Start: Your Comprehensive Guide To the First Year Curriculum (2016). *This book can be accessed via Loyola Law School's subscription to West Academic Study Aids. |
Jumpstart is a free law school preparation program for Chicago-area law students. Jumpstart is organized and sponsored by the Chicago Consortium of Law School Diversity Professionals (a collaboration of diversity leaders from Chicago-area law schools) in partnership with the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism and spots in the program are allotted to each law school equally. The 3-day program includes the following:
| 1L, 2L, 3L | Abbreviations for first year, second year, and third year law students. |
| Black Letter Law | Basic, well-established legal principles that are not subject to reasonable dispute. These are the fundamental laws or rules that law students often study. |
| Bluebook | Citation manual used for legal citations |
| Case Brief | A written summary of a court case, highlighting the key facts, issues, legal arguments, and the court's decision. Law students often "brief" cases as part of their reading assignments to help understand and analyze the case. |
| Caselaw | Law derived from court decisions (a judicial body) rather than statutes (enacted by a legislative body) or regulations (promulgated by an administrative body). |
| Certiorari or Cert | From Latin, meaning “to be informed of.” It is the word for requests to be heard in certain types of appellate proceedings, including applications to the United States Supreme Court. |
| Civ Pro | Abbreviation for Civil Procedure |
| Clerking or Clerkship | A prestigious job for law students or recent graduates that involves working with judges to assist with legal research, writing, and case preparation. Clerkships are typically highly competitive. |
| Code | A compilation of laws (either statutes or regulations), typically organized by subject or "Title." |
| Commercial Outline | A study aid sold by various publishers that summarizes the key points of legal concepts in a course, often using bullet points and examples. Some students use commercial outlines as a supplement to their own notes and outlines. |
| Common Law | A legal system based on judicial decisions. |
| Con Law | Abbreviation for Constitutional Law |
| Crim | Abbreviation for Criminal Law |
| Dicta | A comment, opinion, or observation put forth in a court decision that is not material to the resolution of the case and therefore has no precedential weight. |
| Dissent | The formal disagreement (usually in a written opinion) of one judge with all or part of the holding of the majority opinion. |
| Hypo | Abbreviation for hypothetical, a fictional scenario developed as an analytical exercise or test question |
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IRAC (Issue, Rule, Application, Conclusion) or CIRAC (Conclusion, Issue, Rule, Analysis, Conclusion) |
Methods for organizing legal analysis. This involves identifying the legal issue, stating the applicable rule or law, applying it to the facts of the case, and concluding with the result. These are common approaches for writing legal memos and exam answers. |
| K | Abbreviation for Contracts |
| Legalese | The formal and technical language of legal documents |
| Moot Court | A simulated court proceeding where law students argue fictional legal cases before a panel of judges. Moot court helps develop public speaking, legal reasoning, and oral advocacy skills. Many law schools offer competitions. |
| Outline | A detailed summary of the material covered in a specific course. Law students often create outlines as a way to organize course content in preparation for exams. |
| Precedent | Past judicial decisions that establish a principle or rule of law. Precedent is an important concept in the common law system, and law students must understand how it applies to current cases. |
| Stare Decisis | Latin for "let it stand." The legal principle of adhering to the holdings in prior court decisions. |
| Tort | A non-criminal act (other than breach of contract) that causes loss or harm for which the actor may be held liable in a civil proceeding. |
The curriculum for your first year of law school is mostly pre-determined. As a Loyola Law student you will take Civil Procedure, Property, Torts, Legal Writing, and Professional Identify Formation in your first semester and Constitutional Law, Contracts, Criminal Law, Legal Writing II, and one elective (limited to a subset of classes that examine perspectives on law and justice) your second semester. Law school casebooks are expensive but you can often source books used.
The University Bookstore sells used and new books and has a location across the street from the law school. You can also sell your books at the University Bookstore when you have completed the class. Casebooks can be sourced directly from other law students (there is currently a GroupMe for buying and selling used casebooks). Other options for casebooks are Chegg, Ebay, Cheapest Textbooks, Knetbooks, Amazon, and West Academic (wait until you have registered for your free West Academic account with your Loyola I.D. so that you can get a 10% discount and free shipping).
The Law Library keeps at least one casebook for each first year class on reserve behind the circulation desk. Course reserves must be returned the same day and will remain available throughout the semester.
Do your research on scholarships! You may qualify for or be able to win scholarship money at any point during law school, including post-graduation as you prepare for the bar exam, and the eligibility criteria may not be what you expect. The resources below are a good starting point for seeking out scholarship funds:
After you are admitted to the law school you will have access to services designed for new Loyola law students (you will receive communication about accessing these services from the admissions team). Please take advantage of them. They can help you build familiarity with the law school and its community and give you opportunities to ask questions outside the information-overload setting of orientation. Services often include the following:
Starting law school may not feel like the right time to add to your time commitments, but there are many benefits to joining student organizations and/or participating on moot court, mock trial or dispute resolution teams beyond building leadership, advocacy, and other practical skills (like public speaking). Student group and competition team members collaborate with peers, faculty, and professionals, exchanging ideas, sharing insights, and building strong relationships and a sense of community. These connections enhance personal and professional growth but also open doors to internships, job opportunities, and mentorship within the legal community.
If joining a group is not the right decision for you, you might still benefit from the work these organizations do and the events they sponsor. The Student Bar Association (commonly referred to as the SBA) is a student run organization that acts as a liaison between students and the law school, bringing student concerns to the attention of faculty and administrators. In addition to the SBA, which represents the interests of the entire student body, are many student chartered and run affinity organizations, some of which post helpful resources and all of which have their leadership and faculty advisor contact information listed. We have listed a few below (look out for the Student Activities Fair every fall semester to learn more):
Visit the Corboy Law Center's webpage for a map and directory of the law school and law student services.
For quick reference, most law student services offices are located on floors 12 (Student Services, Registrar, Admission & Scholarship, DEI) and 13 (Career Services).
