Law School Academic Support Blog

Academic and Bar Support Scholarship Spotlight

A deluge of fine scholarship from the academic and bar support world this week:  

1.  Kris Franklin (NYLS) & Paula Manning (McGeorge./ WCSL), Make it Work! Teaching Law Students to Get Great Supervision (Even When Supervisors Aren't That Great). 

From the abstract:

In an ideal world every single meeting between law students and professors, or between beginning lawyers and their supervisors, should leave supervisors impressed by their charges and junior lawyers/students with a clear sense of direction for their work. We do not live in that ideal world.

This Article seeks to improve those supervisory meetings, and to do so from the perspective of the ones under supervision. We posit there is a genuine art to getting the best supervision possible, and that doing so can be both learned and taught. We first unpack some of the disconnects and hidden assumptions that can hinder effective supervisory meetings. We observe that participants in supervisory meetings may have very different expectations about the roles of the participants. We further explore the relational aspects of supervision and note that a shared sense of responsibility for supervision promotes more effective supervisory interactions. Next, the Article turns to considering what law professors can do to prepare law students to get the most out of feedback from their supervisors. We conclude that teaching law students to adjust their attributions toward growth, to set clear and achievable goals, and to be thoughtfully self-reflective, will maximize their learning in any academic and professional supervision.

2.  Melissa Hale (Loyola, Chicago), Antonia Miceli (St. Louis), & Tania Shah (WSCL), The Ultimate Guide to the UBE (Wolters Kluwer, May 28, 2021).

From the publisher's description:

The Ultimate Guide to the UBE is your "one stop shop" for all things UBE (Uniform Bar Exam). Now administered in over 35 jurisdictions, bar exam takers don't want to just pass - they want to excel and obtain the highest score possible so they have their choice of UBE jurisdictions. This Guide covers it all - from the basics of what is tested on the UBE, to the best ways to personalize your bar exam study, to the most important of all - how to maximize your score on each of the three sections of the UBE.

With over 40 years of combined experience in preparing students to pass the bar exam, Tania Shah, Melissa Hale, and Antonia (Toni) Miceli bring their expertise in the bar exam field directly to you and use actual bar exam answers from real bar examinees to show you exactly what you need to do to pick up points on the UBE!

(Louis Schulze, FIU Law)

Visiting Professor at University of Memphis

The University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law invites applications for a visiting professor to offer programming and teach courses related to Academic Success and Bar Prep.

Memphis Law has a strong interest in hiring a visiting professor who will contribute to creating a broadly diverse campus community. Applicants should have an outstanding academic record, excellent communications skills, and both a desire and an ability to work collegially in a collaborative environment. Applicants must have a J.D. Teaching experience is desired, but is not required.

The base salary will be $84,000 for a preferred twelve-month visiting appointment. Tennessee does not have an income tax, and, in several different surveys, Memphis consistently ranks in the top ten for having one of the lowest costs of living in the United States.

Applicants should send the following materials to Dean Katharine Schaffzin, at [email protected]: a letter of interest, a resume or CV, and a list of three references. (Please include “Visiting Professor Application” in the subject line of the e-mail.) In addition, applicants must submit materials through the University’s hiring portal at https://workforum.memphis.edu/postings/26789. Application review will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled.

While the University of Memphis does not treat race, color, religion, national origin, gender, age, disability, or sexual orientation as dispositive in hiring decisions, the University of Memphis has a strong institutional commitment to hiring persons who will add to its diversity. The University of Memphis is an EEO/AA employer.

Director of Academic Support at Tulsa College of Law

The University of Tulsa College of Law is hiring a Director of Academic Support. 

The Director of Academic Support provides programming and activities from 1L orientation through post-graduation bar preparation for student academic and professional success. To implement the goals of student success, the Director of Academic Support will work closely with the Associate Dean of Students, administrators and faculty to envision, develop and implement on-going academic success, time management, and wellness programming for all students, with targeted programs as needed for students.

Please submit a cover letter, résumé, and contact information for three references to: The University of Tulsa, Office of Human Resources, 800 S. Tucker Drive, Tulsa, OK 74104 or email to [email protected] or fax to (918) 631-3543.

Missing Spring Break

I don’t know about your law school, but we did not have a regular week-long spring break this year. Instead, perhaps as an afterthought, we were awarded a one-day reprieve which occurred on St. Patrick’s Day…in Boston (people who have ever lived in Boston will know what I mean).

I truly understand why we did not have our usual break. We are part of a university that has undergraduates, as well as a business school, and we did not want students leaving and returning to campus in the middle of a pandemic, especially since these students are most likely to be vaccinated in the last wave. As a result, we started a week later in January to allow more self-quarantining and to keep our end dates and commencement on schedule. One Wednesday in the middle of March made sense from a strategic planning point of view.

And yet, this is the week I have spent the most time talking to tearful and anxious students who have hit a wall. This is also the week that students have disappeared from my radar and I have had the most correspondence with our Dean of Students Office about students I am worried about. I have begun starting my emails to them with, “me again...” and ending them with, “again, sorry to add something else to your plate.” Joni Mitchell was absolutely right when she said, “Don't it always seem to go; That you don't know what you've got till it's gone.[1]” Sigh.

The one class I teach on Wednesdays is a one-credit MPT driven class. We meet for about an hour at the utter apex of the workweek: high noon. I am never sure if I should ask how everyone’s weekend was or whether I should wish them a good one-it is an awkward time for small talk. I’d like to think that this class, at its silly time, is an oasis in an otherwise Zoomful chaos. Since spring “break,” fell on our class day, I told the students in this class that I would consider the day sacred and assign no new work or have any assignments due, so long as they each did something that gave them joy and send me a picture to prove it. I wanted students to think that the one “assignment” they had, for the one day of break they had, was to do one thing that brought them joy. In return, I promised I would send them my proof as well.

As usual, this class of students did not disappoint. The first picture I received was of an absolutely adorable baby and the caption, “I’m spending some time with my niece!” This was followed by a selfie of a student driving a few dogs to the dog park-even the basset hound looked cheerful. So far, I have received photos of snuggly kittens, excited meetings with friends, a birthday cake, a recent publication, a dog who had lost a battle with a skunk but smiled at a bath, a bubble bath drawn and ready (for a human), a map of a five-mile run, and a pizza from a favorite place shared with a favorite person. The picture of a visit with a grandmother--for the first time in a year-- made me cry. In return, my students got a series of shots from me that included: a recipe, my gathered ingredients, batter in a pan, and, finally, my son eating a gooey brownie. The fact that not everyone was in a position to engage in happy activities was not lost on me either-there are no consequences or penalties for not sending the picture and pictures were sent only to me, not the whole class.

While our Wednesday off was something, it was also clear that one day was not enough of a break for students in times that are already fraught. It is not enough time for a student to turn away from the pressure of law school and then, refreshed, turn back to finish up the semester. Everything we do these days seems both rushed and suspended in time, abbreviated and yet drawn out. I worry that we will crawl over the finish line at the end of the semester at exactly the time students need to summon the energy to run. Safety and wellness do not belong on opposite sides of the same scale and I hope that we are not forced to weigh them against each other again. Next year, may we all find ourselves somewhere with, “a pink hotel, a boutique, and a swingin' hot spot[2]” for spring break.

(Elizabeth Stillman - Guest Blogger)

 

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2595abcvh2M (last accessed March 19, 2021).

[2] Id.

Academic and Bar Support Scholarship Spotlight

M. Griggs (Washburn) & D. Rubenstein (Washburn), It’s Time to Re-Set the Bar for Online Proctoring (Bloomberg Law, March 24, 2021).  

ASP's own Professor Marsha Griggs and her colleague ask crucial questions here.  Everyone in ASP should be aware of these troubling issues.  

From the intro:

Online bar exams administered during the pandemic were marked by controversy around the use of proctoring using artificial intelligence and allegations of cheating that mostly were proved false.  Washburn University School of Law professors David Rubenstein and Marsha Griggs say regulation and best practices are needed, since online exams appear to be here to stay.

(Louis Schulze, FIU Law)

 

 

 

Assistant Dean of Academic Skills at UCI

UCI Law is hiring a new head of its ASP department.  The person will hold a working title of “Assistant Dean of Academic Skills.”  Under UCI’s Academic Personnel Manual, the person will hold an “Academic Administrator” title.  Here is a link to the official posting: https://recruit.ap.uci.edu/JPF06651.  Jennah Jones, the Assistant Dean of Student Affairs and Inclusive Excellence ([email protected]), is heading up the search process.  If you are interested in applying, please submit your materials by April 12, 2021 at 11:59 p.m. PT.

Associate Director for Bar Performance at Golden Gate

Associate Director for Bar Performance and Assessment

 

BASIC FUNCTION & SCOPE OF JOB

Under the supervision of the Faculty Director of Bar Services, the Associate Director will design and implement a comprehensive communications and monitoring system to annually track student preparation and performance on the bar exam by graduating class in all jurisdictions, and assume primary responsibility for collecting and analyzing a wide range of bar performance data for reporting to the law school faculty, university senior leadership and accrediting agencies. The Associate Director will also oversee the delivery of the law school’s 3L/4L and post-graduation bar exam preparation curriculum and programming, including but not limited to the alumni bar mentoring program, essay feedback program and simulated exams.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

• Create and implement a comprehensive program for communicating with students about bar exam requirements in order to assess their preparedness and predict success;
• Design and implement a case management and monitoring system for students in each graduating class, to track exam performance in all jurisdictions, with particular focus on the California Bar Exam;
• Collect, compile, manage and secure a wide-range of data that relates student demographics, participation and academic achievement to bar performance outcomes;
• Conduct statistical analysis and prepare reports for the law school faculty and the university senior leadership following each exam administration;
• In collaboration with the law school dean’s office, compile statistics for the ABA’s annual bar passage questionnaire; recommend strategies to maintain compliance with accreditation standards;
• Oversee and provide individualized counseling to GGU students preparing for the bar exam as well as repeat bar takers;
• Review student practice essays, provide detailed feedback and oversee the law school’s alumni bar mentoring program;
• Formulate and revise as needed the curriculum for bar preparation workshops, courses and orientation sessions;
• Provide training for adjunct instructors and supervise teaching assistants;
• In collaboration with the Faculty Director of Academic Achievement, administer all Themis programs and services throughout the student lifecycle; and,
• Provide support for Academic Achievement programming and teach academic skills courses as needed.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• JD from an ABA-accredited law school and member of the State Bar of California;
• Minimum two years’ experience in preparing students for the bar exam, with prior experience grading the California bar exam preferred;
• Experience with standard practices of data collection, management and analysis; familiarity working with relational database systems and statistical program software packages preferred;
• Proficiency in using Excel and the MS Office suite;
• Superior organizational, written, oral, and interpersonal communication skills;
• Ability to provide motivation and encouragement to students; think creatively and critically around strategies to assess student preparedness and improve bar exam performance;
• Ability to work independently, managing multiple projects and deadlines under minimal supervision; set priorities, demonstrate initiative and assume leadership while working as a member of a professional team;
• Ability to handle confidential information, collaborate with colleagues, and exhibit good judgment when interfacing with students, staff and faculty; and
• Ability to establish and maintain positive and professional working relationships with all law school constituents, bar examination officials and the legal community.

SALT Webinar next Friday

Society of American Law Teachers Presents:

Social Justice in Action Webinar Series

Can You See Me?
Inclusive Practices for Entry
into the Legal Profession

Friday, March 26, 2021 from 3:00 to 4:00 PM ET
From law school classes to artificial intelligence proctoring, students of color are asking, “Can You See Me?” Myriad stressors contribute to disparate bar pass outcomes that deprive the legal profession of much needed diversity. Some stressors are the costs, content, and cut scores of the bar exam; others manifest in the law school classroom.

Can we challenge and mitigate these stressors without exacerbating stereotype threat? Recent law grads, professors, and an identity researcher will address the problematic invisibility of students of color and present law faculty with interventions to promote inclusion.
Panel discussion with including Octavia Carson, Areeb Been Khan, Victor Quintanilla, Heidi Williams, and Pernell Jackson

Moderators: Marsha Griggs and Joan Howarth

Panelists will be available until 4:15 PM for Q&A.

 

 

An Exercise in Learning (and Welcoming!)

It might seem a bit late in the learning curve. To welcome our students, again, to class.  

But, I suppose I'm in a habit of doing so because each class I start with an enthusiastic "Welcome!"  

Nevertheless, do I, do we, really mean that?  Do we really "welcome" our students?  And, if so, what do we mean and how do we go about "welcoming" our students?

It seems to me that the word "welcome" suggests something like "being present to embrace my students, coming along side them to create a place of graciousness wellness."  

So, taking the inspiration from a presentation by Prof. Katie Jones (Lincoln Memorial University) about how to incorporate online corporate drafting exercises in law school spaces, I tried my hand at a very brief mini-exercise with the goal of helping my students welcome each other.  

As Prof. Katie Jones explained, the first step was to craft a discussion question requiring group responses.  Dividing the class into 12 to 20 small groups of students (and using google docs), the students - working in teams - drafted answers to the following question:

"What are three things that you share in common with your group outside of law school and legal education?"

Hard at work, the groups came up with lists, often times with more than 3 things shared.

Back together as a whole, I asked one group to share what they had learned about their group.  The lists were fascinating, welcoming, and embracing, even if some of the things that they shared were things such as "We are all so fully spent and exhausted."  

In short, they learned, at least a bit, that they weren't alone.

I next asked the group of students to share how they had learned the things that they shared in common.  

That's where it got really interesting because the key to learning about group members was in asking questions, lots of questions, sometimes questions that led to dead ends and then other questions that led to sparks of commonness.  

The questions required curiosity and creativity and openness.  As they questioned, they learned.  In fact, as one of my students at the end of class responded to the question from me about what they had all learned today, the student remarked that she learned that "asking questions is a form of learning."

How true!  How well said!  

So, rather than having students read research articles about how to learn to learn, you might try this simple exercise, courtesy of Prof. Kate Jones, in exploring in real-time how to learn.  After all, sometimes the best lessons - the lasting lessons - come from within.  (Scott Johns - University of Denver).

P.S. Asking questions, being curious, and engaging in creativity seem like the same tools that can make law school learning bloom.

Academic and Bar Support Scholarship Spotlight

Allie Robbins (CUNY), Everything I Know about Teaching Was Reinforced by Auditing Remote Kindergarten, COVID Care Symposium, January 14-15, 2021.

From the abstract:

Watching my son’s kindergarten class has reinforced what I learned about teaching from our academic support community. I have come up with six takeaways for class design that align with my new philosophy of “everything I know about teaching was reinforced by auditing remote kindergarten.” My six main takeaways are:
1. Repetition is key.
2. Practice is everything.
3. Sitting still and focusing is really hard.
4. Kindness is crucial.
5. Relationships matter.
6. Everyone is trying their best.

I try to bring these reminders to all of my interactions with my law students. They’re home too. Their work/life/school balance has been destroyed as well. They’re dealing with the tremendous overwhelm of COVID-19, the racial injustice of simply living as a BIPOC in this country, and vitriolic hate-filled politics. They’re anxious about their futures. They are trying their very best.

(Louis Schulze, FIU Law)

NECASP Conference Registration

The New England Consortium of Academic Support Professionals (NECASP) will be holding its annual conference virtually on March 26, 2021 at 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM EST.

This year's conference theme is "'A Year in the Life:' Delivering ASP and Bar Support in our Ever Evolving Circumstances." It's hard to believe we have been remote for about a year now, and this conference will be centered on what worked, what didn't, and any related topic regarding this new normal. 

 

If you'd like to RSVP/register for this virtual conference, you can do so here.

AASE Presentation Proposals Due at Midnight on March 15

 The 8th AASE National Conference, which will be held virtually May 25-27, 2021.

American University Washington College of Law is our gracious host.

In addition to happily welcoming submissions on the “usual” range of topics that help us all so much in a “normal” year – Diversity, Mental Health, Bar Prep, Academic Success, etc. – we are also seeking submissions that address what our work will look like in a post-COVID world, including what we’ve learned in our new, Zoom-centric universe.

Submit your presentation proposals here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1FDuSoNFI8qffI1SaTja3bbspkXUAlWgpTRIe24RoLC4/edit

We will be accepting proposals until midnight on March 15, 2021.  Thank you!

Assistant/Associate Director of Academic Achievement at Chapman

Chapman Fowler School of Law is hiring an Assistant or Associate Director of Academic Achievement.  This person will work with me to provide Academic Achievement workshops, one-on-one services, and teach a 3L bar prep course.  They will also work with bar students over the summer.   

The job posting can be found at https://chapman.peopleadmin.com/postings/23780.

Clinical Professor for Bar Success at University of Idaho

The Clinical Professor for Bar Success will work with the Associate Deans of Students, Clinical Professors of Academic Success, faculty, and others, in both locations [Moscow and Boise], to create and provide programming designed to improve students’ bar preparation efforts by advising, counseling, and supporting students individually, co-teaching an applied legal reasoning course for third-year law students to assist them in preparing for the bar examination, and developing and working with students and others in small group or workshop settings to promote bar success. 

University of Idaho Applicant Portal | Clinical Professor for Bar Success (peopleadmin.com)

Outside-In or Inside-Out?

You've most likely heard the expression that "there's a method to our madness."  I'm not so sure that's true in much of legal education, at least when it comes to teaching and learning.  

I sometimes wonder if there's not much of a method, beyond the Socratic method, which means that there might be a just a lot of plain madness without methods.  If so, then I suspect that we are leaving a lot of learners behind.  And our world needs each of them, each of their voices, their experiences, and their skills.

Big picture wise, I have a hunch that the method of legal education might be summarized as "outside-in" teaching.  By this I mean that our teaching practices seem to suggest that we believe that the best way to teach our students to learn is to have them hear from us, to listen to us, to watch us, and to emulate us.  "Outside-in."  

But research on legal education suggests that much if not most learning takes place outside of the classroom.  It's "inside-out." It's the work that our students undertake within themselves to make memories with the materials, to create new connections to what they've learned before, and to experience and grow as creative thinkers and critical problem-solvers. 

Everyday I skim the news and learn nothing.  

Why not? Because I don't act on it.  By my actions (or rather lack of actions) I seem to think - erroneously - that just by taking the news in that I am in some way learning something new about the world around me.  After all the word "news" is derived from the singular "new."  

But nothing new happens to me unless I take another step, unless I change something about me and how I view the world, in short, unless I act upon what I read.  

That takes resolve, work, time, reflection, passion, commitment, and patience.  That's because, if I were to brainstorm possible words that might serve as synonyms to learning, I think that the word I would choose would be "growing."  Learning means growing.  So as you work with students, you might ask them how they view learning.  Better yet, ask them what they are doing to learn...today. In fact, you might ask them to share examples of "inside-out" learning (and how that helped them learn). (Scott Johns).

A Year In Review

 

It occurs to me that this time last year I had no idea what was coming. The last week in February, first week in March, I was actually in NYC with some wonderful colleagues, finishing up our CALI lessons. We took precautions, I remember bringing Clorox wipes for the plane and the hotel, but it was all still relatively normal. We went out to dinner, and looking back at those pictures we were so close to one another. We really had no idea how things were about to change.

I remember this week last year I was looking forward to a trip to New Zealand, my first ever, to visit my mother-in-law. My husband and I were excitedly booking tours at Hobbiton and the Waitomo Glowworm Caves.  I had just ordered a new bathing suit for the hot springs. We had no idea that the trip would be indefinitely delayed.

It also seems crazy to me that this time last year I had planned a 200 person gathering, with pizza, for my students. My “Bar Orientation”. It turned out to be the last day we would all be on campus.

What seems strangest to me is that when I left campus, I really thought this would be over by summer. We all chatted about graduation plans, and I remember thinking that canceling graduation was downright silly, because surely this would all be over by May, right? I had summer plans, for my 40^th birthday, that included a large party, and two concerts. I celebrate a birthday week, ok? And again, I thought there was no way we’d still be in a pandemic when July came around! Not possible! I also remember hesitating to order a mask, because by the time it arrived, who would be wearing masks?

I was obviously incredibly naïve. But I’m not sure any of us really understood how much things would change, or that we were spending our last “normal” days having no clue they were so normal.

All of this to say that we are upon an anniversary that is not remotely normal, and it’s perfectly ok to feel strange. We have all missed so much; milestone birthdays, vacations, weddings, graduations, or just normal interaction with our friends and family.

This has been an odd year for all of us, students, faculty, administrators. I miss my colleagues, and just being able to run into them in hallways or share a lunch. I miss my students, and meeting with them in person, mostly because I can’t give them chocolate over zoom, nor can they just “pop by” my office. I miss being in the classroom. Sure, I don’t miss my commute, and I am enjoying comfy pants WAY too much, but I’m also mourning the loss of a year without my colleagues and students. So it’s ok to feel strange, to feel off this week, and to feel like none of this is normal. Because it really isn’t! It’s ok to mourn what we’ve lost, or appreciate the fact that there might be a light at the end of the tunnel. Take time to grieve, even if you are “mostly” ok. Give yourself time to process. And hopefully next year this will be part of our past!

(Melissa Hale)

NY Bar Exam Remote and Capped at 10k Students

Hat Tip to Shane Dizon who forwarded the NYBOLE news to the listserv.  If you haven't seen it, the excerpt is below.  With another round of remote bar exams, will the NCBE consider whether computer testing leads to different scores?  The inability to effectively notate, draw property transactions, and write out the communications in contract formation must have an impact on taker's ability to solve the legal question.  I don't believe the functions through the exam software are as effective as the ability to write in the book.  My hope is the NCBE would analyze the impact of remote testing on MBE performance.  I also hope they publish their findings.

(Steven Foster)

 

https://www.nybarexam.org

NOTICES:

UPDATED MARCH 5, 2021:

JULY 2021 BAR EXAMINATION

On February 2, 2021, the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) announced that it will make a full set of Uniform Bar Exam materials available for a remote examination in July 2021. Although vaccinations are now available and the number of COVID-19 cases is decreasing, the COVID-19 pandemic has not abated sufficiently to permit the Board of Law Examiners to safely conduct in-person testing of large numbers of bar applicants in New York. Therefore, in order to provide sufficient notice to prospective bar exam applicants, the July 2021 New York Bar Examination will be administered remotely.
 
Application to the July 27-28, 2021 bar examination will be open to all eligible applicants. However, the Board will cap the number of applications at 10,000. The application filing period for the July 27-28, 2021 New York bar examination is April 1 – 30, 2021. The application will close on April 30, 2021 or when the 10,000 cap is reached. Applicants shall apply through their BOLE Account in the Applicant Services Portal.
 
Since the results from the February 2021 bar examination are not anticipated to be released until late April, applicants who are unsuccessful on the February 2021 New York bar examination will be provided an opportunity to apply for the July 2021 bar examination after the release of the February 2021 New York bar exam results. 

IRAC Blog Post

Otto Stockmeyer from WMU-Cooley Law School recently reposted one of his prior blog posts explaining the background and basics of IRAC.  Most graders read answers where we believe the student knows more information than is written on the page.  Many times students make incorrect assumptions about what scores points on exams.  This is a good post to forward to students explaining the background of IRAC and providing a basic structure.  Check it out here.

(Steven Foster)

Is Learning to Learn a Fad?

I just read an article suggesting that learning to learn is the latest fad in higher education.  Something that will pass, sooner or later, much like the buzz a few years back about learning styles.  I'm not so sure.

Now I do have my doubts about the efficacy of lectures featuring talking-head presentations about how to learn to learn.  That doesn't seem like learning how to learn. Rather, that seems like a good way, especially on zoom, to lull a class into a nice dreamlike state of slumber.

But, I've shown a few of the charts from the research reports to my students.  When I show graphs to my students, I don't' talk. I wait.  I wait some more. And I ask them what they see.  I ask them what they learn from that chart about learning.  I ask them how they might apply what they are learning to their academic work as law students.  In other words, I have them act and create something personal from what they are witnessing so that what they are learning becomes part of them, becomes true to them.

So is learning to learn the latest craze?  I can't say for sure.  But it sure seems to be helping my students develop confidence in actively learning and diving into their studies, not as students, but as learners instead.  And that's something to say, fad or no fad. (Scott Johns).

 

 

The Chicken or The Egg?

You've heard the quip about "the chicken or the egg, which comes first?"  

Well, as the joke goes, "I've just ordered one of each from Amazon, so I let you know tomorrow!"  

That got me thinking about memorization.  

My students are really concerned about memorization, particularly because most of their law school exams, unlike bar exams, are open book/open note exams.  But take a look at the word "memorization."  That's a word of action, of a process, of recalling something previously learned.  In other words, at its root core the word "memorization" derives from creating "memories."  So how do you create memories when it comes to learning rules of law?  

Or, to ask it another way, which comes first, memorization or memories?  

Well, I think that the answer to that question is in the question because it's memories that we memorize.  So the key to memorizing is to work through lots of problems, to test yourself with your study tools, in short, to create lots of memories with the rules.  You see, memorization is just a fancy word for the process of experiencing memories through distributed and mixed practice over time.  So, instead of worrying about memorization, make a memory (and lots of them).  (Scott Johns).