How much reading does a lawyer do?
Asked by: Dr. Lucio Lehner PhD | Last update: January 3, 2026Score: 4.1/5 (30 votes)
Law school typically has a heftier work load than undergrad. You should treat it like a full-time job, dedicating at least 40 hours (or more) to reading and studying each week.
Is being a lawyer a lot of reading?
We lawyers spend much of our days reading. We read for multiple purposes: discovering facts, finding legal authority, developing advice, learning about a client, editing a document, preparing for a meeting, studying a new law.
How much does a law student read?
First-year law students should expect to commit an average of 30-40+ hours of studying per week (some advocating for more), with around 30-60 pages of reading per class each week. At the very least, some say that you should study for twice the amount of class time you have per semester.
What type of reading do you do in law school?
In law school, however, most of your reading assignments will be from casebooks, i.e., textbooks that are primarily made up of selected (and edited) court cases with some limited explanatory text. If you are like most law students, you will find that these reading assignments are often far from straightforward.
How hard is law school reading?
When you start reading in law school, the reading won't be that hard but there will be a lot of new words, almost like learning a new language. But once you learn the new vocabulary, and it won't take that long, the reading is not any harder than undergraduate reading. You can also read law review articles.
HOW MUCH DO YOU HAVE TO READ AT LAW SCHOOL?
Is law or medicine harder?
Each path demands extensive education and a commitment to rigorous training before becoming a qualified professional. Although both law and medical schools present their unique challenges, it's generally accepted that medical school demands a higher level of intense coursework and thorough training.
How many hours do law students study a day?
Law Students' Average Daily Study Hours
All in all, however, law students typically spend around 30 – 40 hours per week studying. That may sound like a lot, but a good rule of thumb is that you should be studying at least two hours for every one hour of class time per week.
How much daily reading in law school?
It is typical for students to be assigned anywhere from twelve to twenty- five or more pages of casebook reading a night in each class. Not count- ing legal research and writing assignments, most first year law students meet with three classes on average per weekday.
Is law school a lot of writing?
Law school students are expected to read hundreds of pages of legal text each week, and they are often required to write long essays and research papers for their law school classes. Second, the material you'll need to learn to become a lawyer is complex and non-intuitive.
Is there memorization in law school?
Learning the skill of memorization will help you both in law school and when you are studying for the bar exam. We recommend you start memorizing your law school outlines as soon as you make them. (And, we recommend you make your law school outlines ASAP!)
What is the hardest year of law school?
Law school is an academic challenge; most students agree the first year (“1L” year) is the most difficult. In part, this is because law school is taught using methods entirely different than the lecture method used in most college classrooms.
How much math is used in law?
In a typical law practice, it is common to have to deal with numbers as part of cases that might involve child support calculations, collection of debts that are accruing interest, totaling the value of estates, assessing losses in personal injury cases, etc.
Is there homework in law school?
Accordingly, homework tends to focus on reading casebooks and statutes to learn legal doctrines. As part of your assignment, you'll be expected to read and comprehend individual court cases and notes from the author or editor. Assignments may range from 40 pages to 100 pages of reading per class per week.
Are lawyers highly intelligent?
According to the American Bar Association, various studies have shown that lawyers overall score high in certain forms of intelligence—typically the cognitive intelligences of linguistics and logical/mathematical—but low in emotional intelligence.
Do lawyers read all day?
It just happens that lawyers tend to read a lot because it's part of the job. I even know some attorneys who do not like reading, but they still enjoy other aspects of legal practice. If you're talking about reading for leisure, I'd say that's probably a personal preference.
How stressful is becoming a lawyer?
Lawyers often work long hours under intense pressure. Many grapple with high volumes of cases, work to extremely strict deadlines, and come into conflict with clients and opposing counsel. This also impacts lawyers' work-life balance, affecting their life outside working hours.
Does law require a lot of reading?
Studying. Law school typically has a heftier work load than undergrad. You should treat it like a full-time job, dedicating at least 40 hours (or more) to reading and studying each week. And you should make sure your study and time management skills are up to snuff too.
Is law school really stressful?
The combination of long hours, competing with peers, and pressure to perform at a high level can lead to law student burnout. Stress is also a key contributor. Unmanaged stress leads to burnout in any industry, and most law students report significant stress—even when compared to other graduate students.
Is it hard to be a lawyer?
Entering the legal profession is no small task, so the choice to become a lawyer should not be made lightly, experts say. Getting a license to practice law in the U.S. generally requires years of strenuous effort and often involves acquiring significant student loan debt to cover the cost of law school.
Is law school harder than college?
In summary, law school is hard. Harder than regular college or universities, in terms of stress, workload, and required commitment. But about 40,000 people graduate from law schools every year–so it is clearly attainable.
What is 1L like in law school?
In law school, however, there is no time to waste. The first year – called 1L – is critical to your career. Most first-year classes are large, intimidating lectures. Grades are typically based on final exams graded blindly using a fixed curve, with percentage quotas for each grade.
Is law school all day?
Most law schools offer classes at a variety of times during the day. Morning classes might start as early as 7:45 am, and the final evening class can begin later than 6:00 pm. This does not mean that students are in classes all day every day. Most students take an average of four classes each semester.
What is the hardest part of law school?
The workload is the first thing that comes to mind when former law students say that law school is hard. You will be expected to do a lot of reading, most often on dense legal cases that will require you to understand (or look up) legal jargon.
Does law school have summer break?
As a traditional law student at a three-year law school, you have two summer “breaks.” The first is between your first and second years of law school (your “1L summer”). The second is between your second and third years of law school (your “2L summer”).
Do law students work full-time?
Even though the American Bar Association (ABA) dropped their 20 hour a week work limit for full-time law students, many law schools themselves typically limit how many hours a law student can work per week, making it impossible for a professional to keep a full-time job while also attending law school.