AttheBackoftheClassCurve? Lessons Learned from Academic Probation

ByEmilyKarsik

By now, everyone has received all of their fall semester grades. While this time of year is anxiety-producing for most law school students, it can be an extra tense time for students who received grades that are nowhere near what they expected to receive. Students who perhaps find themselves at the back of the pack when they expected to be in the middle of the herd. I know this because I was one of those students.

Receiving any kind of bad news is unwelcome But listening to classmates talk about how they got a “B+” in Criminal Law when they really wanted an “A-” while you are drowning in your own thoughts of, “Should I stay in school?” “Do I belong here” and “Can I make it?” can feel really isolating and scary. I know this because I’ve had these same thoughts

My main goal in writing this article is to let you know that you’re not alone. I felt so ashamed after getting the news that I was on academic probation that I didn’t tell my family until a couple days after I received the news.

I won’t tell you that it’s all going to be okay – although I really hope it is! The reality is, I don’t know the future and I don’t like making promises I can’t keep. I also know that phrases like “You’ll be fine!” and “It will work out!” – though offered as encouragement – can sound unhelpful and even abrasive when your world feels like it’s crumbling around you. Again, I say all of this because I’ve lived it.

My Story

During Finals Week of my first semester in law school, I remember walking out of most of the exams (except for Property; that class is still an enigma to me!) thinking I did “okay.” I wouldn’t say I aced any of the exams, but I also never felt like I failed any of them. So, imagine my surprise when I got my first semester grades and learned that my grades were so bad, I was officially on academic probation.

When people – and especially fellow law students – hear my story, one of the most asked questions I get is “What did you do differently?” I hope that my story and the advice of my classmates shared here can help answer this question and spark ideas for change in students that are finding themselves in a similar situation I was in

There were truly no words. As someone who has done a lot of schooling in their lifetime – including years of schooling after graduating from college - I had never been anywhere close to academic probation. I had never been confronted with choosing between taking a leave of absence from school for academic reasons, withdrawing from school altogether, or staying and hoping I could course-correct to stay in school

As a disclaimer, I’m not a teacher, academic counselor, therapist, psychologist or other trained professional. So, my story that follows should not be seen as some magic formula or guarantee. As you read this story, please don’t hear me as saying “Make these changes and I promise you’ll be academically fine in no time!” Again, I don’t know the future and I’m also aware that we are all at different places in our academic journeys. What worked for me and my friends may not work for others.

But, as part of my goal in making this scary time seem a little less scary, it is my hope that sharing my story – and the story of a couple of my classmates – will spark ideas of how you, too, can be a better student

And, what’s worse is that when people asked me “What went wrong?” I truly did not know what to say I never missed a class, had a study group, attended the extra tutoring sessions offered by TA’s and Deans Fellows, did all of the reading assignments, and even scored decent on my midterm exams I truly was at a loss.

The only thing I knew to do was to meet with a couple Deans and some of my professors for guidance. In my past years of schooling and in my jobs before law school, when I wanted to get a better understanding of where I went wrong or how I could improve, I went to my professors and supervisors and asked them.

More specifically, I met with a couple professors that I knew I would be having for both semesters – such as my LAWS professor, my Civil Procedure professor and my Contracts professor That’s not to say I couldn’t have met with my other professors as well. It just made sense to me to meet with professors that I would have two semesters in a row rather than meet with professors I may never have again during my time in law school. Together we talked through my fall Final exams and what the spring semester would look like in terms of curriculum, among other things

As a first-generation law student, I didn’t have attorneys in my family to help me process the feedback I was receiving from the people I was meeting with at school I didn’t know if it was even feasible to go from one letter grade to another. On the one hand, it seemed like a pretty straightforward task On the other han on per thin per law had the sha can

So, cou Prio non had case Cou had scho firm abo me proc

I knew nothing (literally nothing!) about what to look for in a law school, what rankings I should consider, etc. All I knew was that I needed to take a test called the LSAT and score as high as possible on it in order to even have a shot at getting into a law school. My journey to law school was arduous –another story for another time – but I couldn’t have navigated the process without this man’s help

So, when I learned that I was on academic probation, I was not only scared and doubtful; I was also ashamed Ashamed that I had literally one job – to be a law school student –and was literally on the cusp of failing at it. But also ashamed that after all the work this man had put in to help me get into law school, I was now blowing it All that work, for nothing.

But I also knew I had to tell him what was happening. So, I emailed him. I gave him the rundown of my grades my

First, I dropped the study groups. Study groups work really well for some people but didn’t add value to my own studies So, I stopped being a part of one

Second, I did a ton of practice exams and multiple choice questions to help apply what I was learning in class

During my first semester of law school, I did not write any practice exams. Really; I did zero. I skimmed a couple practice exams for one class but did not try to write out any for myself So, during my spring semester, I started writing out practice exams early and often. By the time Reading Week came around, I had written out every single practice exam each class had to offer –twice over I also did a lot of practice multiple choice questions from different sources such as Themis and CALI. I was determined to leave it all on the table so that, even if I didn’t make it to see my 2L year, I could look back and say “There was nothing that I didn’t do ”

Third, I outlined early and often I started my outlines very early in the semester. In general, one of the reasons outlining is recommended is because it’s a good way for students to see what portions of the material they aren’t understanding. The additional benefit of starting early is that it helps you spot those gaps early in the semester and address them sooner Additionally, I’m convinced that outlining – particularly when you see where the holes are in your outline and in your thinking – will help you connect the dots for future class meetings so that you can better track how the rules and exceptions fit together and ask better questions when things don’t make sense.

Fourth, I learned how to write law school essays. This sounds silly, perhaps It sounded silly to me because I was a Communications major in college so if anyone should know how to write an essay, it should be me. But, as you know by now, law school is truly a league of its own. I met with other law students and practicing lawyers who quite literally walked me through how to organize my thoughts into the format necessary for a law school exam. Along with a lot of prayer, these practical changes made a huge difference in my studies My grades drastically improved and I managed to “cure” my academic probation which was, of course, the overarching goal. But additionally, I noticed that the quality of questions I asked during class lectures improved and the connections I was making with the material during my own personal study time was better, too

But don’t just take my word for it

A couple classmates who are now good friends (adversity has a way of bringing people together) also went through a challenging time academically. Each of us experienced the isolation, shame and fear of academic probation and being at the back of the curve. So, I asked them if they would be willing share some of their own tips and advice for overcoming the academic struggles they experienced. Here’s what they shared:

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Caitlin P.

·Start studying early! If you think it's too early in the semester to start cleaning up your outline or memorizing or doing hypotheticals, it's never too early. I struggle with memorization, so if it's only week one or two and we've already gone over a rule, I start practicing typing it out and getting it memorized right away instead of waiting until closer to finals to try to memorize many, many things in a short amount of time.

·Plan and organize your time, but also be ready to make some changes and adapt. My first year [of law school] was entirely on Zoom and the world around us was still opening up after Covid, so my schedule was easy to maintain, and study time was easy to delegate because it was the only thing besides classes that I was planning my time around. My second year was a mix of in-person and Zoom classes, and I tried to stick to a schedule that was only based on class time and studying, but I left out the time spent commuting, getting my kid ready for school, making dinner, and other things that I should have taken into consideration.

·Life happens; sometimes things happen that you can't plan for, and sometimes you just need a self-care day, and if you start with a prepared detailed schedule, it's easier to adapt and work in studying time.

Nathalie G.

· Change the environment! Get outside of the house and head to the library or a coffee shop Somewhere where I’m forced to study, essentially

Handwriting everything; actually writing out my outline and flashcards by hand This helps with memorization

Completing practice essays Take the time to read through an entire practice exam and write out full answers But also, as it got closer to the exam date, I focused more on issue-spotting and outlined my answers to those exams

Office hours Many times, professors are actually alone or just with one or two students, so they have all the time to answer questions

Make use of the TA’s Many times, they can explain the concepts in layman’s terms and they know firsthand how a professor wants their exams to look

Scheduling better No more pulling all-nighters but rather, start studying earlier in the semester – weeks in advance of exams, and during the morning and afternoons were the goal

Re-listening to all the lectures posted on Canvas Even if I thought I understood the concepts or my notes were cohesive/extensive, I always went back to re-listen, just in case I missed something And sometimes it helped just to listen again

I’m so proud of my classmates-turned-friends The three of us are graduating from law school this May – something that, at one point or another, seemed nearly impossible for each of us because of our grades. We learned how to “do” law school and in just a matter of weeks we will cross the stage and receive our J.D. degrees. Law school is a learned process and the only way to learn it is by doing it

But even beyond that, I’m so proud of them because they – like me – want to end the feelings of shame that often come with being at the back of the class. They, like me, see the value in sharing their own stories and struggles because they recognize that naming the things you are ashamed of actually takes away that thing’s power.

There’s a folder on my computer titled “Grades and Probation ” It contains everything from that dark time in my academic life –the emails letting me know what my GPA needed to be and how I hadn’t met that number The questions I had and the answers I wrote down while talking with Deans and professors about what to do.

It also contains the bright spots since that dark time The email stating I had cleared my probationary status The scholarship award for having the “Most Improved GPA” after 1L year The email from my mentor saying, “You’re in the clear!”

And sometimes, even now, I revisit that folder just to remind myself how far I’ve come.

by the Law Commentator Editors

Whenyoufirstgotacceptedintolawschool,chancesarethatElleWoodsquotesstartedcoming tomind(“What,likeit’shard?”)orpeopleinyourlifestartedsuggestingyouwatchTVshowsand movieslike The Paper Chase, Suits and Law & Order (any version of Law & Order will do). On a moreseriousnote,articleshavebeenwrittenthatcompareandcontrastthelegalprofessionas it is portrayed on camera with the day-to-day realities of a practicing lawyer. In fact, Southwesternoffersaseminaronthistopiccalled“LawandLiterature.”

Inthisarticlewebreakdownsomeofthewaysthatthelegalprofessionisportrayed–accurately andnotsoaccurately–incomparisonwiththeactualrealitiesofthelegalprofession.

In Legally Blonde, Reese Witherspoon’s characterElleWoodssubmitsavideoessaytogo along with her application to Harvard Law School. In her video, the opening scene shows her wearing a swimsuit and floating on a pool floatie explaining to the viewer why she should get into law school. While this is definitely a novel approach to the law school application process, it’s unlikely that a law school admissions committee would watch more than theopeningsceneinthevideo.And,evenifthey didwatchthefull-lengthvideoessay,theywould probably think it was a prank not to be taken seriously.

During her application process, Elle Woods managestoraiseherLSATscorefroma143 toa179“justbydiligentlypreparing.”While anything is possible, such a drastic improvementishighlyimprobable.

But Legally Blonde isn’t the only show or filmwithaquestionableportrayalofthelaw schooladmissionsprocess.In Suits,Meghan Markle’s character, Rachel Zane, has taken the LSAT several times, with a dream of gettingintoHarvardLawSchool,whereher father and coincidentally, everyone at the law firm she works at went to law school. WhilewearenevertoldwhatRachel'spast LSATscoreswere,weknowtheywerenever high enough to get considered by Harvard because Rachel tells Mike Ross that she neversubmittedherlawschoolapplication after taking the LSAT all those times. Later intheshow,withalittletutelagefromMike Ross,RacheltakestheLSATonemoretime and, while it still isn’t a high enough score to get her into Harvard, it is a high enough score to get her an interview at Stanford andadmissionintoColumbia.

In Suits,RachelZanewasaparalegalatthe law firm “Pearson Hardman” for five years before attending law school. However, becauseofherlegalprowessasaparalegal, she is given an office akin to the ones that the firm’s junior associates and senior associateshave.Thisisunrealisticbecause a paralegal working in any law firm but particularly a “big law” firm would likely not be given their own office, no matter howskilledtheyareattheirjob.

Additionally, after Rachel gets accepted into law school, she makes a deal with the firm’s managing partner to continue working at the law firm while in school in exchange for a guaranteed job at the firm upongraduation.Throughoutthecourseof the show, Rachel somehow manages to successfully balance the demands and rigors of 1L schoolwork while also working nearly around-the-clock on cases at the firm. We rarely see Rachel reading a textbook or studying, and she only occasionallymentionshavingtostudyfora test or write an essay for a class, but somehow she still manages to pass all her classes and progress on to her second year at Columbia Law School. Never mind the factthattheAmericanBarAssociationdoes not permit full-time law students to work more than twenty hours per week during theschoolyear.

Thisscenarioplayedoutinreallifewouldmostlikely see Rachel as a part-time student. In a more life-like portrayalofRachel’sacademicendeavors,shewould keep her job at the firm in efforts to network and secureajobpost-bar.

Detective-turned-AssistantDistrictAttorneyDominick Carisi of Law & Order: SVU provides a more realistic portrayal of a part-time evening student. While working as a detective in the Special Victims Unit, CarisibeginsattendingnightclassesatFordhamLaw School and is regularly seen on the show reading, drinking coffee like it’s water, and trying to connect hislawschoollessonstohisreal-lifejob. Hisjourney into law school reflects many of us who have maintained full-time careers in our pursuit of a legal degreeandwhohavebeenabletoapplythelessons learnedinschooltoourjobsinordertosucceedand possiblysecurepost-baremployment.

Similarly,intheTVshow Bull,anemployeeattheshow’strialconsultingfirmdecidestoattend law school. In Season 2 of the show, he begins attending law school in New York while also representingclientswhocometothefirmforlegalhelp.Whilethisisn’tentirelyfarofffromlaw school(lawstudentscanbecome“certified”andappearontherecordforsomeclientsinalimited capacity),whatisn’tentirelyaccurateishowthecharacter–ChesterPalmer–managestopivot fromaseriouscriminallawcasetoafamilylawcasetoalltypesofcivilcases.Whilealotoflaw firmsdon’tpurelypracticeonespecificareaoflaw,itseemshighlyunlikelythatonelawyerina firmwouldhandlealltypesoflegalissues.Usually,inafirmthatpracticesseveralareasoflaw,a handful of lawyers from that firm will practice in each of those areas, hence the term “practice group.”

Several TV shows attempt to portray the life of a lawyer, whether that’s in the criminal dramaof Law & Order,orothershowslike Bull and Suits. In each of these shows, the way legal practice is portrayed is quite different thanitoccursinreallife.Forexample,atone point or another the attorneys are in the middle of various jury trials when all of the sudden some new piece of evidence is introduced on-the-spot. Whether that’s from some random office assistant running into thecourtroomscreaming“Wait,yourHonor!” or a lawyer at counsel’s table saying “Your Honor,I’dliketointroducethisexhibit”while opposingcounselverballyopposes.Although anything is possible in Hollywood, actual Rules of Civil Procedure and Evidence typically require the opposing side first have an opportunity to see the newly introduced evidencebeforeitispresentedtoajury.

On the other hand, writers for the tv show Your Honor seemed to have done their due diligence. (Don't worry we won’t give any spoilers.) In a courtroom scene after the jury has left for the day, the prosecutor attempts to amend the witness list to bring in a very important witness that could ruin the defense’s case. The defense attorney objects to the prosecutions attempt to introduce a new witness near the end of trial. During the back and forth between attorneys, the judge interruptsandcallsthembothintothejudge’s chambers. While in chambers, each attorney gets their chance to convince the judge why the witness list should or should not be amended. Finally, the judge tells them to submitmemosbytheendofthenextday.

Andin Suits,wedon’tseeRachelZane’scharactersitfortheBarExam,letalonequitorpauseher workatthelawfirminordertotaketimeofftostudyforit.

Onefacetofthelawyeringlifethatalotoflegalshowsgetright–particularlytheattorneysin Law & Order and Suits – is the long hours that lawyers put into their craft. Whether it’s a District Attorney pulling together evidence for an upcoming murder trial, or a corporate lawyer working on a high-stakes merger, the lawyers in TV shows and movies are often shown working away in theirofficesuntillateatnight,afteralmosteveryoneelsehasgonehome.

While film and TV shows often portray the lawyering life as some high-powered professional life thatcomeswithalotofpower,prestige,andrapid-firecasework,therealityofanattorney’slifeis oftenfardifferent.UnlikeElleWoods,wecanagreethatgettingintolawschoolishard,andthe journeythroughlawschoolandbeyondisn’tanyeasier.Thenumberofcasesthatsettleinsteadof goingtotrialissomewhereintheninetiethpercentileandwhencasesactuallydogetfiledwithan eyetowardstrial,thecasesmovementthroughthejudicialsystemoftenoccursataglacialpace.

Yetdespitehowtheprofessionisromanticizedbythemedia,forbetterorforworse,theseshows remainverycaptivatingtoawideaudience,includingtolawstudentslikeus!Infact,perhapsone reasonthemedia’sportrayalofthelawyeringlifeissopopular,includingamongstlawstudents (whoknowbetter!),ispreciselybecauseofhowtheprofessionisromanticizedandfictionalized. Theprofessionisportrayedinthemediabythewaywewishit was ratherthanhowitactuallyis.

So, tell us, m/TV show portrayed a h real-life lawyering?