ACADEMICS
Supporting Your Success From 1L to the Bar
The Academic Success Program is one of your most valuable resources from the time you begin law school to the time you sit for the bar exam. In your first year, our advisors offer guides and skills workshops on adjusting to the new style of learning and writing demanded by the study of law. The skills workshops help you master the fundamental techniques and habits essential for law school achievement. Individual skills development, academic counseling, and legal-writing assistance are also available.
When you’re an upper-level student, our offerings help you develop and refine analytical and writing skills that are vital for continued success in law school, on the bar exam, and in professional practice. And, of course, our advisors are always available for one-on-one training.
First Year
In your first year, we provide you with essential tools for law school. In the Introduction to Law course, which starts during Orientation, and our 1L Skills Workshops, you will learn the fundamentals needed for law school success.
1L First-Semester Workshops
- Reading and Briefing, Classroom Experience, Study Strategies
- Outlining
- Exam-Taking Strategies: Essays
- Exam-Taking Strategies: Multiple-Choice Questions
Legal Methods
Legal Methods is designed to assist you in developing the analytical and writing skills necessary for success in law school. The goal of this course is to help you become effective, independent learners through an instructional approach that gives you many opportunities to develop and hone your analytical and writing skills. To start familiarizing you with bar exam questions, we have incorporated Multistate Performance Test (MPT) questions, as well as bar-style essay and multiple-choice questions, into the course.
Legal Methods is only open to and required for students in the bottom third of the class based on rank.
Second Year
In your second year, we offer programs that help you develop and refine the skills you learned in your first year. We also introduce a series of key initiatives meant to begin your bar exam preparation.
Approaches to Legal Analysis and Writing (ALAW)
ALAW, which is taught in the first semester of your 2L year, focuses on practical skills that can be used now, in law school, and later, on the bar exam and in practice. The course is designed to offer specialized and targeted assistance to students.
ALAW is only open to and required for students in the bottom third of the class based on rank.
Bar Exam Basics Workshop Series
This series is designed to educate 2Ls on the bar exam process and includes advice on:
- Selecting a bar prep provider
- Planning your course schedule with an eye toward bar readiness
- Overcoming bar admissions hurdles such as the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam (MPRE), the New York Component (NYLC and NYLE), and the Character and Fitness evaluation
Third Year
In your third year, we provide you with various tools that help jump-start your bar exam studies and ensure that you are prepared for the bar.
Diagnostic Test
The diagnostic test, offered at the beginning of your third year, provides you with helpful data to establish a baseline before you begin your formal bar preparation. After completing the diagnostic test, you will receive a detailed report outlining your results.
Bar Strategies and Preparation Workshops
- Registration for the bar exam and other bar components (e.g., MPRE, NYLC, NYLE)
- Bar prep provider selection
- Time management and budgeting strategies
- Presentation by a member of the New York Board of Law Examiners (NYBOLE)
Perspectives Course Required*
This course is designed to introduce you to the format and components of the bar exam; enhance your critical reading, thinking, and writing skills to maximize your performance on the exam; and show you effective approaches to studying for the bar exam. You will review selected substantive subjects traditionally tested on the bar exam to help you become familiar with techniques for answering multiple-choice questions from the Multistate Bar Exam and strategies for analyzing, organizing, and writing responses to essay questions.
Bar Subject Primer Series
This workshop series targets bar-tested subjects and provides an overview of how each subject has been tested on recent exams, with a focus on heavily tested and recently tested rules and concepts.
*Students ranked in the top 20% of the class, based on their cumulative 1L ranking, may apply to opt out of Perspectives provided they do the following: complete the diagnostic test referenced above and obtain permission from the academic dean.
Postgraduation Support
Our academic support continues even after you graduate law school. We are here to ensure you are prepared to pass the bar exam.
P.A.S.S. (Practice, Assess, Simulate, Succeed) Workshop
MBE Workshop
One-on-One Support
ACADEMIC SUPPORT
Meet the Academic Success Team
In addition to our bar-related initiatives, our advisors are always available for personalized one-on-one training.
Get To Know Academic Success