Many law school professors recommend that students use study guides called hornbooks. According to Professor Joyce Savio Herleth of the Saint Louis University School of Law, hornbooks provide helpful background information and explain specific areas of the law in a matter-of-fact way. If the professor goes over a particular case or law in class that a student has trouble understanding, he can turn to a hornbook for a more detailed explanation of the information. Since hornbooks can be expensive, law students should consider borrowing a copy of the university library's hornbook instead.
Law school material requires a significant amount of time spent on independent study, about four to five hours a day outside of class, reports Suffolk University Law School. In addition to studying on their own, law students should form review groups that meet once a week in a quiet place, such as the university library. Unlike study groups, law school review groups do not represent study sessions. Instead, review groups consist of three to four law students who meet up to debate hypothetical legal issues and test each other's knowledge of current class topics.
Law school students are expected to retain a high volume of information and express this knowledge in detailed descriptions on exam questions. Professor Joyce Savio Herleth states that flash cards can help law students remember specific facts and draw connections between legal theories, language and hypothetical situations. Students can purchase academic flash cards or write out their own on index cards. They can base information on flash cards on exam material pulled from class outlines or legal case studies. To help prepare for an exam, law students should include questions from past exams provided by their professors or online university resources.