Whether you want to become a lawyer who deals with real estate law cases, personal and business property law cases, personal injury lawsuits, divorce proceedings, or any other area of law, the first step towards success is making it to and through law school. The thought of both studying for law school and studying while you’re actually there can be intimidating and it’s easy to see why. After all, lawyers and other legal professionals are often tasked with making difficult, ethical decisions that have the potential to drastically alter the course of multiple lives, and not just the life and livelihood of their client. So yeah, law school is kind of a big deal.

A big part of succeeding in law school or any kind of college or institution of higher learning for that matter is studying. In law school, studying property law case briefs is a common way that potential real estate attorneys learn the ins and out of real estate contracts and laws. Studying property law case briefs gives potential real estate attorneys an opportunity to really get a firm grasp on the law using real world cases. However because they’re filled with so much legal jargon and words that are commonly used in everyday language, studying property law case briefs or any kind of law case brief can be a tedious task.

Luckily there are a number of ways to make studying property law case briefs, any other kind of law case briefs, or just studying in general, easier and productive. Using these studying tips while reviewing property law case briefs can help you understand the concept better, retain the information, and ace your law school exams and essays.

Explain it to someone else

It’s often said that the best way to learn something is to teach it to someone else. Even Einstein said that if you can’t explain highly advanced, technical, and scientific concepts to a bartender in their terms then you’re not really much of a scientist or research. That’s because having to explain a concept to another person or people actually helps your brain retain the information and grasp it on a deeper level. It allows you to understand the information on your terms and in your own language which you can then simplify to communicate to someone else. In addition, having to explain complex information to someone else, even if they don’t understand it, will help you identify any weak areas that you need to brush up on.

Get creative

Who says that reading notes or highlighting pages in a textbook are the only way to study? Getting creative while study and making thing such a flash cards, charts, graphs, video, drawings, mind maps, recordings, or anything else that works for your learning style can be extremely beneficial as well as fun. It’s important to realize that everyone has a different learning style, so what works for you may not work for someone else. Some students might be able to grasp complex law concepts through lecture alone while other might be auditory or visual in their learning style. Play around to see which style or combination of style works best for you. From there, you can creative studying resources that work best for you and how you learn.

All work and no play doesn’t work

While it’s a great idea to plan and set aside from studying, it doesn’t work if you don’t take any breaks. While you might think locking yourself in a room with no distractions for 8 or more hours will help you remember or understand information better, several scientific research studies say otherwise. While it’s important to keep distractions to a minimum, it’s equally if not more important to keep your mind and body stimulated by taking frequent breaks. During this time you can stretch, eat, meditate, relax, or socialize. But the point is to take a quick break before hitting the books again. Frequent breaks can actually help you become more productive. Setting a timer can help you stay on task.