Does doing a Law degree mean no Social Life?

Reply 100

Jonesy038

IMO you can never do too much. There are always more concepts to grasp, more journals to read....

There certainly are but what is the point? The further you move away from the core cases and concepts of a topic, the less useful the information becomes. If your reading list identifies 15 cases for a particular topic, only a few of those cases will actually be critical to your understanding of the topic. Reading them all in their entirety, as though they were all of equal importance, would be pointless. The same is true of journals - some will be insightful, others will be bordering on useless. You do not need to read everything to obtain a top mark and there is no reason to tell any would-be Law students that they will struggle if they don't treat their studies as a full time job (this is a general comment and not directed at you). You could apply the law of diminishing returns to legal studies; someone who spends twice as long studying a topic will not have twice the understanding or twice the amount of useful knowledge.

Then you have legal skills to consider. Law firms will not be delighted with a trainee who divides his time equally between highly useful and barely useful material. You might still be at university but it is never too early to actually start thinking as a lawyer.

YellowBentine

Apologies if I'm being cheeky here, but you're quite clearly 'Not a Lawyer' if you think most textbooks can be read cover to cover in two days. Gower and Davies' Principles of Company Law, anyone?

I already replied to Chalks' similar comment near the top of Page 5. To expand on it a bit, Land Law and Tort are the only subjects I've done so far that occasionally required me to read the same section several times. Anson's Contract, Bradley's Constitutional and Denis' Evidence were all fairly straight forward by comparison. Most areas of law are not monstrously difficult to grasp.

Reply 101

rystar00

well said......

this reiterates my point that alot of the work some law students do is irrelevant and does not have a beneficial effect on grades.

1. extra work sometimes detracts from the crux of the issue, yes it may flesh out your knowledge of that particular area, but due to the difficulty of attaining a first why bother with the extra when you can get a 2:1 with the basics? many people who go the extra mile only end up with a 2:1 anyway, so why not enjoy your life at the same time?

2. hardly any of the law degree itself is relevant to the daily work of a lawyer so you do not NEED to do all the extra work.

Reply 102

Dreama

13

rystar00

I know I sound like a p***k but if you knew what the law students are like at my uni you'd be the same trust me, all self-important and arrogant *****,

Warwick? I quite liked them... :smile:

Reply 103

YellowBentine

rystar00

many people who go the extra mile only end up with a 2:1 anyway, so why not enjoy your life at the same time?

Well said. My graduation ceremony was brilliant, seeing people who'd worked their asses off for three years and had no social life, not got involved in sports teams or university societies, get the same 2:1 as me - schadenfraude!

Reply 104

tiger306

5

I have just completed the first year of my law degree, I didnt go out clubbing hardly at all- 5 times if that in the year, but i did other things with my friends such as cinema, badminton. I think as long as you don't have too many late nights, you'll be fine, there is plenty of time really,as long as you don't mess around, do the work first, then relax. Thats what I did and got a 2-1, whilst everyone else I know got 2-2s and thirds, they went out getting drunk , often 3 times a week.

I did all the drinking business before uni, so Im ready to work now.
And I can work alot harder next year, I was quite lazy in my first year and slept alot (in the days!)-thats what happens when you start reading the law books!

Reply 105

Jonesy038

rystar00

guys, just read my post back and I do sound like a knob!

Honestly, I'm not embellishing or exaggerating what I do, I was just pissed off with law students in general and how they seem to go on about how much work they do.

I haven't got much experience of what law students are like in general, but at Warwick I find that alot of the law students there are extremely competitive and all up their own arses, to the point where they are all just absolute w*****s.

Im sorry if I tar you all with the same brush, but when law students babble on about the 40 hour weeks they put in it just smacks of arrogance and appears to be an opportunity for them to show off and go on about how hard their degree is when alot of the work they do is irrelevant.

At the end of the day, academic robots are not particularly employable, and alot of the LLB (and even parts of the LPC) are not actually relevant to the eventual job they will be doing (I have heard that from a number of current second year trainees). Therefore, the point I am making is that you don't NEED to do all this work as it is possible to actually have a life and pursue other interests, whilst still attaining 2:1's and paradoxically increasing employability by actually developing a personality.

in essence......you do not NEED to do 40 hour weeks like some of you say unless you are aiming for a 1st.

and to adress a few points

We know that Law firms look for well rounded individuals. Are you saying it's not possible to be a well-rounded individual if you work 30-40 hours a week? That's equal to or less than a regular monday-friday full-time job. Most of us are probably awake for about 16 hours per day. If you work for 8 hours that leaves another 8 hours free. That way you get 40 hours of work in and have just as much time again to pursue other things.

I am indeed saying that working 30 hours a week makes it hard to be a TRUELY well rounded individual. You may have a few interests but it is unlikely that you will be able to pursue them to a fully committed level.

do i need to reiterate? I have already stated that I got a 66% average ie a 2:1, and I have posted a link to highlight the level of my involvement with just one of the societies at uni.

Yellow Bentine is completely right, you only need to cram for exams, all the spouting on about "oh I do a million hour week and its so hard (boo hoo)" is just self importance. It is unlikely that many of you will get a 1st, so just do what you need to do to get a 2:1 and stop whinging!!

Rystar, I'm sorry, but you're plain wrong. You're telling me you can't be a 'truly rounded' individual if you work THIRTY hours a week? Let's say that those thirty hours are 6 hours a day, 5 days a week. If you sleep for 8 hours, you're awake for 16. If you spend 6 on work, you have ten hours PER DAY free monday-friday and ALL DAY at weekends. In otherwords, non-working time actually hugely outweighs working time.

How can you possibly say that you can't be properly 'commited' to anything with maybe EIGHTY hours per week of free time and thirty hours of work?

What kind of hobbies do you have which you can't fit into 80+ hours a week? Do you travel to far flung countries in a Kayak or something?

I worked around 40 hours a week last year. I got a first. I also played every single game for the law department footy team, played for the University first team at golf, went out, practiced my guitar for hours on end, came home regularly to spend time with my family..... In terms of being rounded and having a balance, I couldn't have it better.

Contrary to what you say, I reckon if you can't work for a mere thirty hours (which is absolutely nothing if you consider you're probably up and around for over 100 hours per week) and still be a rounded individual, there must be something wrong with you.

And who has actually said 'Oh I do a million hours a week and it's so hard (boo hoo)!' in this thread? Saying something daft like that just makes you look silly. No one is asking for a medal, people are just telling it as they see it.

Reply 106

Lady Narcissus

14

You know what they say; if you want to get some thing done, then ask a busy person!!

Some times one can over work. Balance leads to clear thinking and results.

Reply 107

chriswhit

1

argh, I go away for nearly 3 weeks and this thread is *still* going..*sigh* :smile:

Reply 108

Bexxxx

14

I study Criminology, which i know is not LAW, but its close. Ive just completed my first year, and i managed to do so pretty well, despite going clubbing twice a week, and missing a few lectures. SO, as long as you have yor priorities, and set aside time for work, i see no reason as to why you cant have an active social life, whatever you class as one!
Dont stress yourself out in the first year, youl probably regret it. University is about experience too, and employers are begining to realise that a 1st from uni, although being sososo good, may mean that the individual has dedicated too much time to work, and not enough to experiencing life.

Reply 109

Profesh

20

rystar00

well said......

this reiterates my point that alot of the work some law students do is irrelevant and does not have a beneficial effect on grades.

1. extra work sometimes detracts from the crux of the issue, yes it may flesh out your knowledge of that particular area, but due to the difficulty of attaining a first why bother with the extra when you can get a 2:1 with the basics? many people who go the extra mile only end up with a 2:1 anyway, so why not enjoy your life at the same time?

2. hardly any of the law degree itself is relevant to the daily work of a lawyer so you do not NEED to do all the extra work.

Some would have it that "hardly any" of the History, Politics and English Literature A-Levels I recently completed pertains to the "daily work" of a Law student; funny, isn't it, how grades still warrant consideration. Irrespective: I have no doubt that Lawz would be quite happy to educate you, in monetary terms, as to the benefits of a 'First' versus a 2:1; I know which I'll be gunning for. :wink:

Does doing a Law degree mean no Social Life?

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