1. Follow your coach’s advice:
Assess needs and prescribe a study program.
2. Outline efficiently: Teach best methods for
outlining each course.
3. Cut out all nonessentials: Review activities
and recommend changes.
4. Use your free time wisely:
Encourage proper rest, nutrition, and exercise.
5. Simplify your life so you can F.O.C.U.S.: Avoid
all obstacles to your success.
What kind of job do you want after law school?
The F.O.C.U.S. Method is not just about time management. It's
about why you applied to law school. Do you want the most prestigious
legal jobs? Or the highest paying? Or both? Do you want the opportunity
to choose? If so, you will need the best grades you can get in
your first year because: (1) your transcript will be scrutinized for
top law firms positions, law school professorships, and judicial
clerkships for the rest of your legal career; and (2) it is impossible
to make up for an entire year of bad grades, even if you later
become a straight "A" student.
What kind of job can you afford after law school?
For those of you who want to practice public interest law, or
who are not interested in the highest paying jobs, here is more
bad news. How much do you think you need to earn in your first
legal job to start paying back your student loans? You may not
know that first year associate salaries at law firms in Los Angeles
range from $50,000 to $140,000.
1 Public interest legal jobs typically
start at much less.
How much have you invested in law school?
Do you realize how much your law school is costing you? If you
are a UCLA "California resident," (if you are not, add
$12,245 to the total), your three years of law school totals an estimated
$138,523.38.
2 If you are a USC law student (regardless of resident
status), your three years costs $178,367.88.
3 If you are a Loyola
law student, your three years costs $156,258.
4 If you are a Southwestern
law student, your three years costs $147,000.
5 Keep in mind, these
figures do not include the high cost of study aids, a bar exam
prep course, childcare (if applicable), or your loss of earnings
for three years.
Investing in the F.O.C.U.S. Method is a "no-brainer."
You will invest over one hundred thousand dollars and three years
of your life into a career that typically requires a decade just
to pay back your student loans. On a starting average salary of
$50,000, you will probably need to rent an apartment with a roommate
to make ends meet. It would be foolish to waste the opportunity
of getting better grades in your first year when to do so would
make the rest of your life easier. If your first year grades are
excellent, your options are wide open.
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1 Information obtained from Findlaw.com on 01/07/05.
2 Estimate based on information obtained from UCLA School of
Law website on 01/07/05.
3Estimate based on information obtained from USC Law School
website on 01/07/05 combined with
the living expense estimates from UCLA's website on 01/07/05 as USC's did not provide
such information.
4 Estimate based on information obtained from Loyola Law School
website on 01/07/05.
5 Estimate based on information obtained from Southwestern Law
School website on 01/07/05. 
