what do you do in law school?

<p>I am just wondering.. if you go to grad school in the sciences/engineering, you'll study for the quals, do research and stuffs.. but what do you exactly do in law school? Memorize the laws? Study cases? Do you debate and stuffs? What else do you do?</p>

<p>does not anyone know?</p>

<p>What you do depends on what classes you take and--to an extent--what kind of law school you go to. </p>

<p>Law schools generally teach on the case method, so you read cases from different eras and parts of the country (sometimes other countries). Of course, most of these cases are no longer "good law" or were never valid in the place you'll practice! The goal is to get you to "think like a lawyer." In some classes, you look at the law more closely (example: many tax classes). Most schools also have classes about legal research and writing, and clinical classes where you actually get to represent clients (under a professor's supervision). Most classes have final exams (generally these count for all or nearly all of your grade) but some have papers. In some schools, you're required to do a mock trial/ moot court and in others that's an optional extracurricular activity. </p>

<p>higher-ranked schools tend to teach more about theory. This is great if you want to be a professor or a clerk, but it might put you slightly behind in some ways when you study for the bar or start practicing. the reasoning behind the difference seems to be that high-ranked schools are more confident that their students can learn everything for the bar exam from a bar prep course, and that teaching a particular state's law is more useful at lower-ranked schools, where students tend to practice in-state.</p>

<p>hope that helps.</p>

<p>You read hundreds of cases, you go to class, and you get grilled by your professors until you say something completely stupid and embarrass yourself in front of your classmates.</p>