A Day in the Life of a Law Student

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Use these real-world law student schedules to get a sense of what your life in law school might be like...

If you’re a soon-to-be law student, you’re probably asking yourself: what will my typical day look like?

Well, your daily schedule will depend on a lot of factors, like the classes you’re taking, your extracurricular commitments, whether you’re a full- or part-time law student, and how far you live from campus. Your schedule can vary a lot from year to year in law school too.

One thing’s for sure: in law school, you will be busy and your time will be precious. But! You can fit in internships, student groups, campus events, and—yes—fun.

These real-world law student schedules prove it.

Each example below represents a typical day in law school, and they run the gamut from the first year of law school (1L) to the last (3L, usually). Keep in mind that meetings with faculty, events after class, study groups, and other things often pop up too!

Julia Low, 1L Schedule

Graduating Year: Class of 2022
Program: Full-Time Student
Undergrad: University of Connecticut
Hometown: Pomfret, Connecticut

6:30 a.m. Wake up time just about every day! I enjoy getting started early—I’m definitely a morning person.
6:45 a.m. Get ready for the day, have breakfast, and walk to the train.
7:45 a.m. Commute. I finish up any readings I have due that day on the train as it’s usually a forty-minute ride.
8:30 a.m. Get coffee and head to the library before class to finish readings and briefing.
10:35 a.m. My first class of the day: Civil Procedure with Professor Jordan Singer.
12:00 p.m. Lunch break where I catch up with friends and finish readings if I need to.
1:00 p.m. Last class of the day: Criminal Law with Professor Victor Hansen.
6:30 p.m. I try to stay in the library as late as I can, as I am more productive there than at home; how late I need to stay varies depending on the week (read: I basically live here during finals week!).
8:00 p.m. Arrive home, have a late dinner, pack lunch for the next day, and do anything around my apartment that needs to get done/prepare anything I might need for the next day.
10:00 p.m. Bedtime/Netflix! I’m one of those people who needs at least eight hours of sleep, so bedtime is non-negotiable.

Ashley Owens, 1L Schedule

Ashley-Owens Graduating Year: Class of 2021
Program: Full-Time Student
Undergrad: East Carolina University
Hometown: Greenville, North Carolina

6:00 a.m. Wake up time, every day. Law school is my job, and I treat it as such. I eat my breakfast and review for classes and get ready for the day.
6:15 a.m. Park time with the puppy. A nice long walk to get the day started.
6:45 a.m. Shower and coffee.
8:00 a.m. In the car with my boyfriend on the way to school. He drops me off on his way to work.
8:40 a.m. More coffee!
9:00 a.m. First class of the day. I sit in the first row so I’m not distracted by those around me—and it forces me to be on time!
10:30 a.m. Some days I have back-to-back classes; other days I have small breaks, so I go to the library or the student lounge to get some stuff done.
1:00 p.m. Lunch with my friends. This is crucial. It keeps me sane and is an opportunity to bounce thoughts and ideas around about class discussions we’ve had.
2:30 p.m. Last class of the day begins. I contemplate how much I need a nap but push through because skipping class isn’t worth it!
4:00 p.m. Finally done with all classes. My brain hurts and I’m a little cranky—which means it’s time for more coffee. Then back to the library.
6:00 p.m. Pack up and go home. Pro tip: when you treat law school like a full-time job and use your hours wisely, you get to go home at a reasonable time!
6:40 p.m. Play time with my puppy. We spend about an hour at the park every afternoon.
8:00 p.m. Dinner and a glass of wine with trash TV and couch snuggles.
9:00 p.m. Review notes for the next day’s classes.
10:00 p.m. Prep bookbag, snacks, drinks, and food for tomorrow.
11:00 p.m. Bedtime with sweet dreams of doing it all over again the next day…

Jennifer Bade, 1L Schedule

Jennifer-Bade Graduating Year: Class of 2020
Program: Full-Time Student
Undergrad: Virginia Commonwealth University
Hometown: Richmond, Virginia

6:30 a.m. Alarm clock rings and I get up. I shower, check my email, and pack my backpack with books and homework. Then I walk to school!
8:00 a.m. Get to school and either head to class or read for the next day
1:00 p.m. Lunch in the break room, whenever I get out of class
2:00 p.m. Catch up on reading, email, and papers that are due.
4:00 p.m. Catch up on re-reading for the next day’s classes to ensure the cases and briefs are fresh in my mind.
6:00 p.m. Dinner either at school or after walking home.
8:00 p.m. Finish up reading, briefs, or anything else I need for the next day. Work on papers that need to be written or edited.
10:00 p.m. Get ready for bed and watch some Netflix before going to sleep.

Stephanie Niles, 1L Schedule

Graduating Year: Class of 2020
Program: Full-Time Student
Undergrad: University of Massachusetts Amherst
Hometown: Bronx, New York

7:30 a.m. Wake up and leave house
8:00 a.m. Arrive at school and have breakfast. I may print things out and catch up on reading for the next few days too.
9:30 a.m. Criminal Law class
11:00 a.m. Academic Excellence class
1:00 p.m. Constitutional Law class
2:15 p.m. Contracts class
3:30 p.m. Study and/or read
6:00 p.m. Dinner
7:00 p.m. Study, read, and/or attend student organization meetings
9:00 p.m. Head home for the evening

Anissa Davidson, 2L Schedule

Graduating Year: Class of 2019
Program: Full-Time Student
Undergrad: University of North Texas
Hometown: El Paso, Texas

7:30 a.m. Shower, eat breakfast, check my email
8:30 a.m. Leave for class
9:30 a.m. Business Organizations class
11:00 a.m. Study
12:30 p.m. Take a break. I typically grab something from Starbucks and find some lunch around now. I don't need a lot of time to grab food, since there are so many options right across the street from school!
1:00 p.m. Ethics class
2:30 p.m. Criminal Procedure class
4:10 p.m. Current Issues in Intellectual Property class
6:00 p.m. Patent Law class
7:30 p.m. Head home!
8:30 p.m. Make and eat dinner. Watch Netflix, if we’re being honest.
11:00 p.m. Bed—finally!

Hailey Manfredi, 2L Schedule

Graduating Year: Class of 2019
Program: Full-Time Student
Undergrad: University of Connecticut
Hometown: Milton, Vermont

6:00 a.m. Alarm goes off. I like to get up as soon as it goes does to avoid getting stuck in the snooze cycle.
7:00 a.m. Leave the house after eating breakfast, reading the news, doing various household chores, and reminding my cat I still love him even though I am leaving again. If I still have some class reading to finish, I will try to get it done around now or on the train.
8:00 a.m. Arrive at work. As a clerk for a solo practitioner, a day can involve anything from meeting with clients or conducting research and writing all day to filing paperwork or attending trial with a client.
12:30 p.m. Head back to school and eat lunch.
1:00 p.m. Begin classes for the afternoon. I try to stack classes so they can be done one after another.
4:00 p.m. Leave school right after class to head to the gym.
5:30 p.m. Get home to intermittently cook, apologize to my cat, eat dinner, and get reading done for the next day.
8:30 p.m. Try to cut myself off from homework to touch base with my roommates. Make sure we all survived another day. Talk about how excited we are for summer.
10:00 p.m. BED. No compromises!

Brigitte A. Alexander, 3L Schedule

Graduating Year: Class of 2018
Program: Full-Time Student
Undergrad: Concordia University Irvine
Hometown: Bakersfield, California

6:30 a.m. Wake up and get ready for the day
8:00 a.m. Take the T (Boston's subway) to school
9:00 a.m. Grab breakfast and study
10:00 a.m. Review homework so I’m prepared for class
12:00 p.m. Lunch
1:00 p.m. Classes all afternoon
5:30 p.m. Dinner. I am also very social and tend to build in time to allow for chatting with my fellow classmates.
6:30 p.m. Do homework and/or attend student meetings and events. I try to make sure I have time for myself and for participating in school activities.
9:00 p.m. Take the T home
10:30 p.m. Go to sleep

Ashley D. Rozes, 4L Evening Schedule

Graduating Year: Class of 2018
Program: Part-Time Student
Undergrad: Salve Regina University
Hometown: Portsmouth, Rhode Island

4:00 a.m. Wake up! It is time to rise and shine!
4:45 a.m. Commute to work
6:00 a.m. Go to my “real-world” full-time job. For me, that means contracts, contracts, and more contracts!
3:00 p.m. Review for my upcoming evening law school classes
5:00 p.m. Dinner
5:30 p.m. Head to class
6:00 p.m. Class
10:00 p.m. Commute home
11:30 p.m. Bed. And for those of you doing the math: yes, I have survived on 4.5 hours of sleep, three nights a week, for four years of law school. You can do it too!

Meet these and more New England Law | Boston students and alumni to learn more about what your life in law school will be like.

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