It's no wonder that these characteristics of an attorney's work are also the characteristics of legal education.   Moreover, legal education is, for many of you, unlike any educational experience you have had to this point.   You will soon discover that the volume and intensity of work is much greater.  In undergraduate programs, most of you could work hard (or maybe even not-so-hard) and complete all your assignments or even stay ahead of your assignments.  In law school, you will likely feel like Alice in Wonderland, taking all the running you can do just to stay in the same place.  As a general rule, you should plan on studying four hours for every class hour.  (For those who aren't math majors, that means that in a 15-credit hour semester, you will be spending 60 hours a week studying outside of class).  THIS IS NOT AN EXAGGERATION.

Moreover, there is always more you can do.  In law school, as in legal practice, there is always one more possible way to view a problem; one more possible source of authority or enlightenment; one more possible solution; one more possible way of communicating your ideas. In addition, for most of this work you are on your own.  In any educational setting, you are responsible for your own learning.  However, in law school, one of the primary skills you should be learning is how to exercise that responsibility.  At first, you may feel like there is a secret you haven't been told and you will be searching for answers. Yet this, too, is one of the differences about legal education.  In undergraduate education, you could usually come to class reasonably familiar with the assignment and leave class with greater clarity and certainty about the materials.  That won't happen in law school as often.  Rather, you will sometimes come to class believing that you understand and have mastered the materials and leave class feeling as though you really don't understand at all.  Why is that so?  Because law school is designed to develop your critical thinking skill.  That skill requires that you be able to generate as many questions as answers.  And that uncertainty can be extremely stressful.

By the way, I can help with some of that stress.  You will often find yourself, in the first weeks of the semester, asking yourself or each other "But what's the answer?"   I'll tell you the answer right now.  The answer is "IT DEPENDS."  It depends on the facts, the politics and the cultural context, it depends on which jurisdiction, it depends on which time, it depends on which decision maker, IT DEPENDS.... There is a sense in which legal education can be stressful.  Even if there were clear answers to most legal questions, you will be receiving less specific, evaluative feedback than in undergraduate education.  Most faculty in the first year give mid-term exams, but few (outside of perhaps your legal writing instructors) provide the type of weekly, graded homework that you might have received in undergraduate education. Instead, your entire grade for most classes is based on a final comprehensive exam.  And those grades count for so much -- becoming a source of considerable stress as you engage in a more competitive, explicit ranking process than many of you have faced since junior high.  Think about it -- you are all at the top of your class, you are all highly talented and intelligent people, you are all outstanding students -- but you can't all graduate with a 4.00 grade point average.  (You can all graduate, but 90% of you will not graduate in the top 10% of the class).

Stress from the educational process; stress from the socialization process; stress from living while in law school.  These are the sources of stress in law school. COPING WITH LAW SCHOOL STRESS: A FOUR-POINT PLAN.

First, have faith.  Have faith in the process.   (They really mean it when they say they would not have admitted you if they did not believe you could succeed.   You are an investment -- they would not squander their resources unwisely).  Have faith in yourself.  Become your own best cheering squad and reassure yourself with all the success you have already had that brought you to this point. Why are you going or in law school?  Watched enough episodes of "LA Law" that you just knew that being a lawyer would be the career for you?  Well, maybe you'd better schedule your study schedule to free up that programming hour each week.  Following in the footsteps of a role model in your life?  Better take him or her to lunch or read his or her biography regularly.  Have a hunger for justice?  Look around you and see all the desperate need for lawyers hungry for justice.  Carve out a bit of time to volunteer.  You get the picture.  Have faith that law school will help you meet (or even find) your goals.

Second, live outside the law.  You will have less time and energy for your family and friends -- but be sure not to neglect these important people in your life.  They are your buffer against stress -- your link to the rest of your life and self.  And for heaven's sake, when you are spending time with them, don't "lawyer" them.  Watching a football game with your buddies is not a good time to review your knowledge of the tort  doctrine of assumption of risk.  Don't use a discussion with your spouse as an opportunity to practice rephrasing the issue.  Instead, keep track of yourself and nurture the relationships that will nurture you.

Third, take care of yourself.  Follow the advice your mother gave you (or should have given you).  Pack a nutritious lunch -- don't make breakfast three cups of coffee and two chocolate candy bars out of the vending machines -- eat your vegees.  Get enough sleep -- especially during the times you think you can least afford it.  Get some exercise -- the Law Book Bench Press is not enough. Take twenty minutes a day to go for a walk at least. Keep a positive mental attitude. Don't let yourself fall victim to cognitive self-defeat and negative imagery. Fourth, if you do have problems, get some help.  Ask one of your professors, ask our student support staff, ask our assistant dean, ask the campus counseling center (by the way, you should know that law students and medical students are their largest clientele, so don't think you're the only one).   Law schools have helped many a student, with a truly horrendous crisis; navigate their way through the process to graduation.  But those students asked.  They asked before it was too late to find effective solutions. So there you have it.  For many of the same reasons that law school can be stressful, it can also be one of the most exciting, challenging, enriching experiences you will ever have.  I wish you all the greatest success.