2L Is Easier Than 1L.

2L is easier than 1L.

That is something I heard constantly my first year. Is it true? Time for the classic law school answer: it depends.

It truly depends on what classes you take, when your classes are scheduled, what extra-curricular activities that you are involved in, and if you are working simultaneously. For me specifically, 2L has been both easier and much harder.

My classes are easier, but I think that is because I have way more confidence in this whole “law school thing” than I did last year when I literally knew nothing. The material hasn’t gotten easier, but when you walk into the classroom and don’t automatically think “OMG I know nothing, why am I here, what does any of this mean,” you feel a little better about yourself and your academic prowess.

However, it has also gotten harder because I have way more on my plate than I did as a 1L. As a 1L, you cannot work, so you don’t have to worry about getting to a job when you feel like you should be studying. You also are not allowed to get involved with many of the teams or clinics on campus until you finish your 1L year. Most of these opportunities are extremely time consuming and require significant outside work and time, so as a 2L, I am now juggling my classes and my time devoted to the Byrne Trial Advocacy Team. While it is all totally worth it, it does make things harder than “2L is easier than 1L” makes it seem.

The moral of the story is: don’t let “2L is easier than 1L” allow you to slack off or think that you aren’t going to have to put effort in. When you eventually reach your 2L year, you will still have to do all of that, it is just that you will have already trained your brain to think the way that it needs to think. And that makes things much easier.