millennialmiles

[millennialmiles]

Case Digests for Dummies

What is a case digest?

For law students, a case digest is a simplified presentation of pertinent facts, issues, and ruling of a case in relation to a learning objective or topic.

It’s supposed to be a tool for students to better understand a case and the important principles or jurisprudences cited therein. Guilty as charged, I sometimes just do it for the sake of fulfilling the requirement which should be a big no no.

Why do we make case digests?

We summarize lengthy cases in order to help ourselves or any reader understand a case easier and be able to pinpoint important discussions relevant to a subject matter or topic.

How does one make a case digest?

Most case digests have three parts: 1.) Facts; 2.) Issues; and 3.). Ruling. After reading the full text of a case, you should identify the following:

1.) Facts

2-4 Sentences of the backstory

The Complaint/Action of the Petitioner

Contention or Defense of the Respondent

Ruling of the CFI/RTC

Ruling of the CA

Contention of the Appellant;

2.) Issues related to the learning objective; and

3.) Ruling

Yes or No

The Law or Jurisprudence cited

Application and Conclusion.

This is just a suggestion. There’s no “One-way” to make a case digest.

Tips and Techniques

Look for a Guide for the Topics- try to look for a guide or a reference in identifying the subject matter or topic that you should focus on when reading a case. If your professor provided you with a syllabus, most likely the topics are already provided. If not, you can try searching for other available syllabus online or check with your books. Most of the time the cases provided by your professors are already cited in your text books. Should that be the case, they will expect you to know the case law for that matter.

Assess the workload- it is inevitable in every law student’s life that one will be assigned to read more than 15 cases for a 3-hour recitation. Some times it’s just impossible to read every case. This is where you will need to asses the assigned workload and make a decision on which cases you’ll read first and which ones you can breeze through. One can’t help but say “Kage Bunshin technique x2 x2 x2 x2″. Kaso parang yung cases na ang nauna nagmultiply sa dami.

Feynman Technique- this learning technique really helped me improve my comprehension and retention skills. Basically, the Feynman technique says that if you can’t explain a topic in simple terms to a layperson or a child, you have not understood what you have studied. What i do is that I would recall everything that I have learned wether verbally or through diagrams while imagining that I am explaining what I’ve learned to another person who have not read what I have read. The catch is that the “other person” must have understood what you said, which is kind of difficult to ascertain.

The Art of Story Telling- When you’re reciting a case, think of it like story time or a mukbang. Only difference is that your professor is grading you, you don’t earn money doing it, and there’s no food. 

Going back to the topic, if you think of it that way you will better understand the case and be able to have structure in reciting it back. There should be a beginning (the facts), a wicked witch (the issues), and an end (the ruling) every time. Never leave it on a hanging note? The end? Your professor will definitely ask you “Are you asking me?” or “Is that it?” Speak with conviction. Fake it ‘till you make it.

Use keywords and diagrams- say you have 30 cases assigned for the day. How the hell are you gonna know which story to tell when the name of case is mentioned? Use keywords or diagrams to associate the case title with the story! So for example, the case chosen was Chi Ming Tsoi v CA Gina Lao. You could associate it with “Hindi GINALAW” or “Gina Lao wanted his piTSOI”. Your imagination is the limit. But try to keep the keywords in your head. You need not to say them out-loud. I taught this technique to a classmate of mine and it really helped her during her recitation. However, the professor started to notice that she spewed out certain words repeatedly before starting with the facts. I and my other classmates tried our best not to laugh because we knew she was just trying to remember the case using the keywords.

I guess that’s all that I have for you today.

I hope you learned something Hahaha Tootles!

[millennialmiles]

Studying Tips for Law Students

Before I started Law School, I really doubted myself. I knew memorization was a waterloo of mine and that I have really bad anxiety which made me constantly worry that I might not finish the course. I wish someone told me what to do.

But eventually, I got a hang of it. I figured out ways to study smarter and learned techniques to improve my reading, communicating, and writing skills. 

I have a couple of Studying Tips I thought I could share with you today that might help you through law school. Here goes nothing.

1. Minimize distractions.

The first thing you should do, before anything, is to teach yourself how to focus. 

When we’re focused, we understand what we’re reading faster and better. When you’re not focused and you still force yourself to read, you’re actually just wasting your time and precious energy. You might be better off sleeping or doing something more productive.

You can try the Pomodoro technique for short bursts of productivity and making sure that you are actually accomplishing things on time. The reward after every session is also important because it will help you unwind and program yourself to enjoy what you’re doing.

2. When in doubt, read. Not just some of it. Read it all, except when time restricted.

Your professors will definitely remind you time and time again to read the full text. They are not saying that to scare you or give you a hard time. They are constantly reminding you to do so because that is the only way you would understand and appreciate the contents and context of the law and/or the case. 

“READ THE FULL CASE” As much as you can! And try to make your own digests to ensure that you have a good grasp of the facts, issues, and ruling. But don’t stop there. Read it twice just to make sure you’ve understood what you’ve read and that you didn’t just highlight stuff for the sake of it.

References to prioritize:

Codals or the Black Letter Law

Cases

Annotations

Your professor’s lecture notes

Reviewer (last resort)

When time is of the essence, try to plan out your readings and calculate how fast should you read for a certain topic or coverage. Try to be strict with this. You should also learn how to spot unnecessary information in the reading material. If the assigned topic is a substantive issue, you may consider skipping the procedural part.

3. Recall what you have read.

After a few weeks into class, I realized that it’s one thing to be able to read the coverage and it’s another to recite what you have learned without difficulty. We tend to bombard ourselves with information when we read again and again. Come recitation time, we say n number of “uhmm” or not have any structure to our thoughts. One way I was able to perform better during recitation is allotting time to recall the things that I’ve read. I’d spend thirty minutes to an hour just reciting back what I have learned about a certain topic or course outline.

It will also be a lot easier to always refer back to the table of contents or course syllabus. When you know and understand the structure of the reading material, you will process the information better and be able to incorporate the same when reciting.

Think of your brain as a computer software that needs a flow to perform commands. And like every software engineer, you’ll have to write them down. Get it? Writing the code. And you, writing your notes...

4. Have the discipline of a Lawyer.

It’s presumed that, as a holder of a bachelor’s degree, you have already figured out what study technique suits you most. But sometimes, what we thought works for us, is not right or enough for the demand of studying in Law School. Change is the only thing constant with the Law. And if you’re not willing to change for the better, you might just be wasting your time.

You have to tweak some techniques and be more strict with your studying schedule to master the law. 

Law school is a place for the disciplined. And that, my friend, is something you would really have to develop. No buts or ifs.

If you are not willing to develop the discipline that it will take to survive Law school, maybe Law school is not for you. But if you’re someone who’s up for the challenge, then you will definitely have fun.

You’ll be learning a lot, that I am sure of. And it’s gonna be one hell of a ride.

I wish you (us) well in your Law School journey! God speed.

[millennialmiles]

I turned 25 last Nov. 21 and I thought I’d share some very life changing learnings and experiences from this year.

Boundaries work like magic.

As a recovering Codependent, this was a tough one. But after finally learning that I can’t live my life like a doormat, I finally realized that I’m the only person to blame for how shitty I feel at the end of the day. I can’t expect everyone around me to treat me the way I want them to treat me nor can I keep quiet when people treat me like shit. I can’t rely my happiness on others. Also, I might just have had enough. Anyways, cheers to boundaries!

Sustainable change means changing for yourself.

If you’re not doing it for yourself, that “change” will be short lived. Do it for yourself and also help yourself out. You’re the only person who could really get yourself out of that rut you are in. I’m not implying that mental health problems can be “changed” the same way and that you just have to choose to be happy to not be depressed. I mean it in a way that if you know you’re depressed, do something about it. Don’t nurse it. It’s hard. It’s fucking hard. But you have to put in the effort and the hours to help yourself out. 

Water your worries.

If you drink more water, you’re gonna go to the toilet more often. The more you pee, the less fuck you’ll give about unimportant things. Also, watering up is great for your body. You also force yourself to relax while you’re drinking. It’s easier to swallow stuff when you’re not tense like your pride.

Less is more.

I’ve been practicing minimalism for quite some time now. I think this is my 4th year. But this year I learned that the famous quote “less is more” also applies to relationships, especially friendships. You don’t have to keep in touch with everyone. Especially when they’re toxic. Just cut them off. If I could throw things away that does not bring me joy, I could do it to people who are trashy and just refuse to do better. 

Choose kindness every day.

But always try to choose kindness every day. Before I cut anyone off, I try my best to extend my patience and understanding. I try to ask and dig deeper as to why the fuck is this person acting up. Should I discover a reasonable cause, I reconsider not cutting them off. If I don’t, then bye bye! Care will leave the building in 3,2,1.

While writing this list, I realized that I finally internalized The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck. You guys should read it. Highly recommend!