Congratulations! You’ve just received your acceptance letter to start your LL.B (Hons) course and you just can’t wait to put on your power suit and start living your Elle Woods/Harvey Specter fantasy! Oh what do you mean that you can only wear black or blue or charcoal grey? Ties that are black, grey or white? Ew! Well, I guess that’s one way to learn to read the fine print.
Welcome to the blog post every student wishing to enroll into the UoM Law Course should read. It contains all those tips and tricks lecturers neglect to mention, that would make life as a first year ten times easier. Welcome to PB&C’s top 5 tips on How to Get Away with Law School.
Step 1: All Freshers should always attend the KSU Freshers’ Week. This is not only a great opportunity to get all your stationery sorted by grabbing as many freebies as possible - we get it, it’s a capitalist fever dream, but the merch has already been printed with this year’s date - but it’s also a great opportunity to meet up with various companies, law firms and student organisations. In a profession like ours branching out and networking is essential not only to acquire useful information, but also to start to get your name out there and really get an idea of what areas of law interest you. You will soon discover that areas of law that you could potentially study sometimes vary tremendously when it comes to putting them into practice, therefore getting exposure to various fields of law is always advisable.
Aside from the academic side to Freshers’ Week there is of course also the fun aspect where numerous ice-breaking events are organised. Many of the organisations that have a stand at Freshers’ will be organising different things, so it’s important to follow them on social media and figure out what interests you. As a yearly tradition, the ELSA water fight which takes place on quad pits the architecture students against the law students and is always a good time - try not to end up in a bin and remember that white does turn see through when wet - act accordingly. Additionally, towards the end of Freshers’ a Fresher’s Rave is also organised, which is a great start to your university experience and the academic year that awaits you.
Step 2: Get involved with university life by joining student organisations. University life can get repetitive - you’re going to lectures day in, day out - shake things up a little by joining a student organisation. The main aim of student organisations is to act as a bridge between the students and their university. The law organisations, for example, act as a bridge between the students and the Faculty of Laws. This is mainly achieved by amplifying students' voices. Involvement in student organisations provides a wealth of benefits - one not only acquires valuable skills which would stand out to any recruiter whilst reading your CV, but it is also a fantastic opportunity to branch out, make new friends, and get out of your comfort zone. The law course as it presently stands has 3 main law student organisations, these being: Għaqda Studenti tal-Liġi (GħSL), the European Law Students’ Association Malta (ELSA Malta) and Junior Chamber of Advocates (JCA). You’re really spoiled for choice here - it’s not cool to not care - contribute to your peers’ experiences and enjoy yourself along the way. If a law-based student organisation is not your cup of tea, there are so many student organisations registered at the UoM that one is sure to take your fancy. Get involved, it’s more important than you think.
Step 3: Lectures are going to be intimidating, especially for the first initial weeks, but don't let this dishearten you. Every lawyer we know can quote (verbatim) the first thing they were told when they sat down to their first lecture “look to your left, look to your right, those people won’t be there when you graduate.” - not cute and pretty scary. While it is true that many students do wash out after first year, the key is to keep yourself interested in your university experience, ask for help when you need it, and surround yourself with people who push you to be a better version of yourself. Make sure to listen to people who think, look and act differently to you, and don’t get caught in a repetitive bubble. University is the best time to branch out and make something of yourself - academically, and otherwise.
Step 4: Try your best to prepare your own notes and not to rely heavily on passed down notes. Creating your own notes from scratch isn’t always the easiest of tasks, however you will surely be grateful for them when exam season comes and whilst others are panicking over their outdated law notes, yours will be organised and up to date and reflect the latest amendments to the law. Remember, law is not static, it is constantly evolving, therefore having your own version of notes is always safer.
Apart from transcribing all that is said during lectures it is also important to make use of all the resources provided to you at University such as: the online library portal (OAR and Hydi), publications from the library, academic websites such as Google Scholar (avoid non-academic websites such as Wikipedia). Student organizations also distribute handbooks which are mostly compilations of academic writings which can come in great use for both assignments and examinations.
Also, for the love of all that is good in this world, learn how to reference your assignments properly - it’s a skill that will save you so much heartache when the time to start working on your thesis finally rolls around. The legal citation system required for all assignments and theses at the Faculty of Laws is the Oxford University Standard for the Citation of Legal Authorities (OSCOLA). GħSL’s Publications Office has recently released guidelines tailored specifically for Maltese legal resources. These guidelines, available online, serve as a highly useful reference.
Step 5: Our favourite! Don’t forget to have fun. University life might be incredibly stressful with the pressure of succeeding in your chosen career, but it also has the potential to be incredibly fun. I know it’s scary, but these may be some of the best years of your life - don’t squander them.
A career in the legal field opens so many doors for you, so don’t give up when you’ve already overcome countless other obstacles. Remember, that if countless other lawyers have graduated, you can too. You’ve got this!