In This Section

• Overview
• Center for Children's Rights
  • Certificate in Children’s Rights
  • The CCR Fellowship Program
  • CCR Colloquia Series
  • The Children’s Rights Clinic
  • Whittier Journal of Child & Family Advocacy
  • National Juvenile Law Moot Court Competition
  • 2013 Distinguished Speaker Series
• Center for Intellectual Property Law
  • Welcome
  • The CIPL Fellowship Program
  • The CIPL Certificate Program
  • Intellectual Property Externships
  • 2013 Colloquia and Distinguished Speaker Series
  • Summer Opportunities In Intellectual Property
  • Extracurricular Opportunities in Intellectual Property Law
• Center for International and Comparative Law
  • The CICL Fellowship Program
  • The CICL Certificate Program
  • The CICL Colloquia Series
  • CICL Symposium
  • International Law Society
  • Study Abroad Opportunities
  • 2013 Spring Distinguished Speaker Series
• Legal Clinics
  • Children’s Advocacy Clinic
  • Family Violence Clinic
  • Special Education Clinic
• Private and Public Externship Program
  • Externship Opportunities
• Institute of Student and Graduate Academic Support
  • Academic Support Program
    • ASP Personnel
    • ASP Office Hours
    • ASP Workshops
    • ASP Blogs
    • Introduction to Law Skills
      • Briefing
      • IRAC
      • Outlining
      • VARK
    • Time Management
    • Exam Strategy
    • Orientation
• Institute for Trial and Appellate Practice
  • Advocacy Competitions
  • ITAP Concentration
• Institute for Writing and Professional Skills
  • Student Learning Goals
• Study Abroad
  • Barcelona, Spain
  • Mexico City, Mexico
  • Toulouse, France
  • Nanjing, China
  • Israel

Introduction to Law Skills

If you are an incoming first year or just beginning your 1L experience, then you probably have questions about what to expect and where to begin. As an overview, law school tests not only your ability to comprehend multifarious information, but also your ability to condense, memorize and analyze complex material in a limited time setting.

Therefore, it’s important to understand how to approach law school and to appreciate that law school will be completely different to undergrad or other graduate programs. Creating a study strategy that best utilizes your time and skills is the key to success.

As an overview, there are 3 main law school skills that are paramount to achieving success:

1. the ability to brief
2. the ability to IRAC
3. the ability to outline

If you are having a difficult time grasping any of the above skills, please drop in during ASP office hours for assistance.

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