Dear Students
As the exam period comes around, I want to wish you all the very best. I know the exam period is always a stressful period, so it is essential to keep a positive outlook, and look forward to the much-deserved break that comes after!
This term I had the privilege of teaching one section of the Year 1 LLB batch (whereas in the past I’ve had the pleasure of teaching the JDs). As always, I have been most impressed by our students, whether in the LLB, JD (or LLM, which I haven’t had the opportunity to teach and learn from). If these students are a fair representation of the quality of our students (as I am sure they are), then I am sure that you will do your best for the exams.
In the course of preparing for the exams with my students, I went to look at my own exam preparation notes from my time at law school (which was more than a decade ago). As I am not so old (yet), I had studied in law school with the aid of a computer and electronic notes. (However, I should note that, unlike today, we did not have broadband or even Wi-Fi back in those days, so I had to dial up via a 56.6kbps modem to get onto Lawnet and Westlaw).
And as I looked at my notes again, it reminded me of the mistakes that I made as a student, and how, with the guidance of my teachers, I (hopefully) improved and became a better student of the law. I still am a student of the law, and continue to learn everyday, including from my students. But the point of mentioning this is that even as you find the going tough now, bear in mind that the study of the law is a marathon, not a sprint. What may seem hard to you now (for example, for the Year 1s, perhaps writing in the ‘IRAC’ format may seem alien now), but in a year’s time, things will get easier relative to the first year. You would have grown and law school can get easier (however, it will not get easy).
Let me give you an example from my own notes. I always tell my students that footnote references should almost always be after the punctuation mark. Hence, the correct way of presentation is ‘The relevant case is A v B.1’, rather than ‘The relevant case is A v B1.’ I am so used to telling this to my students that I may have forgotten that prior to law school, students may not have used footnote references, or were taught a different way. And so, when I saw my own Legal Writing assignment (on the then-newly decided Malcomson v Mehta), I saw that I too had put the footnote reference before the punctuation mark. It brought a smile to my face and reminded me that, we are all learning, and we were once there before, where people are now.
So, may I wish you all once again all the very best for the exams. Remember that this is but a point in your long journey as a student of the law. If you do well, be happy but not arrogant. If you don’t do well, keep your chin up, and draw encouragement from the fact that, relative to a year ago, you surely have grown as a law student and a person.
