Hey Robert,

I posted this earlier, but it does not seem to have gone through. So here goes a second time. The biggest problem you will run into in law school is management of time. We lost half the entering class, not because they were intellectually unfit (the LSAT weeded them out), but because 1. they could not figure out what was going on, 2. they could not compartmentalize a difficult course from an easier course and failed both or 3. they could not stand the pressure. Most first year law students hate the Socratic method of teaching. It is a total departure from your undergraduate lectures.
If you make it through your first year, you will make it through to graduation.

During your first year it will seem as though your law professors are torturing their students. It is kind of like basic training in the Marines. There is a reason for this. They are trying to turn soft flesh into leather. They are trying to teach you an analytical thought process. They are trying to prepare you for an unforgiving profession in which mistakes can be fatal. This is especially true in litigation. The court room is the last arena of the gladiators. There can be only one winner at trial.

I think that you will find that your professors treat the upperclassmen like junior faculty because after they have made it through the first year they have demonstrated that they are both intellectually and emotionally fit to represent their future clients. They have made it through basic training.

There is a proverb among law students. If you know the law, you get a C in the course. If you are creative with the law, you get a B in the course. If you are extremely creative with the law, you get an F in the course. What your professors are looking for is someone that is both knowledgeable and creative in his approach to the law without going over the edge. Remember, there are no answers in law school. There are only arguments, and some are better than others.

During my later years in law school, I remember a first year student asking if law school got any easier. The answer is no. However, as time passes you gain confidence, an understanding of the thought process to approach a problem and how to weed out that which is not important. You learn to handle it.

Best wishes in your first year. It is a great experience, if you just let it happen. If I can help, let me know.