Academic Success

Photograph: Graduates of Brandeis School of Law

At the University of Louisville's Brandeis School of Law, your academic and professional success is of the utmost importance to the faculty, staff and administration. The Academic Success Office is dedicated to helping every law student achieve his or her full academic potential.

Founded in 1991, the Academic Success Program assists students in developing and enhancing the critical skills necessary for success in law school, on the bar exam, and in practice. Services include personal academic counseling and study plan assessments, recommendation of campus resources, general advice, class preparation, outlining, exam preparation and more.

The Office of Academic Success has an inventory of study aids to help supplement the work product created by law school students. This inventory of supplements includes horn books, treatises, outlining supplements, flow charts, bar prep materials, and multiple books published offering advice on how to succeed in law school. There are also Academic Success Workshops throughout the semester that focus on basic skills required for normal law school student expectations, such as briefing, outlining and exam preparation.

Resources and Strategies for Incoming Students

For current students, there are additional services and resources available through the Office of Academic and Bar Success. For incoming students, there are a number of readings that can help you before and during law school. Books covering various court structures, progression of a lawsuit, and the legislative process can help you become more familiar with the U.S. legal system. Some suggested readings include:

  • Getting to Maybe: How to Excel on Law School Exams, Richard Michael Fischl
  • Succeeding in Law School, Herbert N. Ramy
  • Law School Without Fear: Strategies for Success, Helene & Marshall Shapo
  • Strategies & Tactics for the First Year Law Student, Kimm Alayne Walton, Eric S. Lambert, Lazar Emanuel
  • A Civil Action, Jonathan Harr
  • One L, Scott Turow
  • What Can You Do with a Law Degree?: A Lawyer’s Guide to Career Alternatives Inside, Outside and Around the Law, Deborah Arron