Intro.

Before you enter law school, everyone tells you the first year is the hardest. I cannot even begin to count all of the people who told me that if I just made it through 1L, my life after would be peachy. Those people either forgot about or never experienced 2HELL. There is just no way to prepare law students for how busy and hard 2L year is, but I’m going to try anyway. Below I will compile a list of all of the things I wish I knew before entering 2HELL and a few things that I’ve learned along the way!

I Wish I Knew…

• Not to add more than 15 credits if you are doing a clinic…it’s literal insanity. Like most other 2L’s, I ended up having to drop a class my first semester in clinic and went from five to four classes. Clinic is basically two classes…
• That the work I would do in clinic is way more than 4 credits worth of work. Doing a seminar weekly, a lot of reading, a quick learning curve, case reviews, having real clients and giving your all towards representing them, frequent client interaction, frequent visits to court for hearings, constantly checking and responding to emails, keeping your physical file updated, keeping your online files and folders updated, and billing GOOD LORD! I am sure I’m missing a few things but you get the point. Have your mind prepared to be doing more work than you are getting school credits for period. 
• That if you are in a clinic that requires litigation, you will be in court, and those court dates are often set without regard to whether or not you will have to miss class. Missing class in law school can sometimes feel like the end of the world. You can miss a lot of information by missing one class, and it’s almost a guarantee that your friends don’t take notes like you. Unfortunately, missing class is something that will be quite unavoidable if you are in a clinic that requires you to be in court often. My advice is to lean on your clinic partner and professor to make sure that you aren’t missing an obscene amount of class. You and your clinic partner can also discuss alternating your court appearances. 
• That for most clinics you will get one grade. If your clinic is year long and like mine – there are 4 credits for the fall and 4 credits for the spring. Even though it is split between the two semesters, I will be getting 1 grade and it will be worth 8 credits of my GPA. That’s SCARY! But just keep in mind that if you are doing the work and not half assing your time through clinic, you will be just fine.
• Getting a job for 2L summer is much harder than getting a job for 1L summer and that’s just the facts. If you don’t leave 1L summer with a job offer, which is common for most 2Ls, your job search will require a more active role than your 1L search. During your 1L year, if you have a great Career Development office like CU does, there will be a number of receptions and happy hours set up for you to network with lawyers from a number of different companies and firms that you will be notified about. There are also a number of diversity programs for diverse law students. Going into the 2L search, there are not as many diversity efforts and most of your networking will take place on your own. My advice is to keep your connections from 1L summer, talk to the attorneys from your old firm and see if they can connect you with anyone, talk to your Career Development counselor to help you narrow your job search, and to put you into contact with any alumni or current students at the company or firm you are interested in.
• That you no longer have your section cocoon, and you are in classes with a variety of law school students, including 3Ls. The aspect of being in class with 3Ls really freaked my sister out! As you know, there is a median in some law schools, and your grade not only reflects your performance, but your performance compared to others and their performance. This was not as big of a deal for me, but it can be intimidating to be going up against students who have been in law school longer, and have more experience with law school exams. This is just something you should be prepared for as a 2L. 
• In 2L year, your schedule will not be as predictable or easy to keep as it was during your 1L year. The big difference between 1L year and 2L year is that you are busier. You may be taking more classes, taking on leadership roles in student organizations, in a clinic, working an externship, doing a journal, or a number of these things at once. Because of that, keeping your reading schedule and making sure that you are on top of class work is much harder. Keep in mind that even though your schedule is unpredictable, it is manageable and you can do it.  

Pointers

• Start your outlines as early as is feasible for you. After 1L, most law students are a lot more lax when it comes to outlining (myself included), whether that comes from being lazier or procrastination LOL. With that being said, the fact doesn’t change that outlines take FOREVER! Start as early as you can!
• Make sure that you keep a good relationship with your Career Development counselor, that relationship will benefit you even after law school. My CDO counselor has been so supportive throughout my law school career thus far, and it is amazing to know that I will have that support even when I’m done. Keeping these relationships have allowed me to work on post graduate job opportunities and 2L summer opportunities at the same time. 
• Try not to overcommit, this goes for both the law school community and in your personal life. I am a compulsive overcommitter and then I end up stressed out, and not being able to give my all towards certain things in the end. Try to steer clear of overcommitment, you will thank yourself in the long run!
• Keep connections from your 1L internship and make connections with your law school professors. When you are applying for some 2L summer positions and most post graduate positions, you will need recommendations from some of your professors and your previous employers. Making and keeping those connections will go a long way. Not only will these individuals continue to support you, but the better they know you, the better your letters of rec will be!
• Make sure that you have a community. Whether these are people in the law school or outside of the school, support will carry you a long way. I would not have been able to make it this far without my mom and my sister, and there are also people that I have met (professors and peers alike) that have made this experience attainable.  
• Finally, steer clear of negativity. Do not hang around people that stress you out or bring you down, those are not your friends in law school. You will be so much better off by hanging around a positive group of people!

I hope this was helpful for my fellow law students. Wish me luck, and I wish all of you the best of luck in surviving 2HELL!

love, bria