It’s time to prepare for law school finals. For many of your courses, this is what you’ve been working toward all year. Your final exams will make up the majority of your grade; they’re designed to demonstrate that you’ve reached a level of competency where you don’t need to repeat the course. You cannot wait until dead week to start preparing. You need to begin now. Create a week-by-week study plan leading up to each exam. Use spaced repetition to strengthen your retention of rules. Practice writing “exam-ready” rule statements. Work through MBE-style questions, and consistently practice essay questions. If possible, seek feedback from your professor or a TA. Focus on issue spotting and writing full essays. Start untimed and open-note to build confidence and understanding, but as you improve, transition to timed, closed-note conditions so you’re ready for game day. Have a clear strategy for each subject. For example, in contract law, you should expect to address governing law, formation, terms, performance or breach, and remedies. Know the core rules in each of these areas cold. Your rules should be well-stated, but they don’t need to be perfect. What matters most is your analysis. In your IRAC, focus on applying the rules to the specific facts. Only address relevant issues and answer exactly what the question is asking, anything else is wasted time. Be strategic. Think things through. Leave as little to chance as possible. Preparation is how you create your own luck. Study under exam-like conditions so the real thing feels familiar. You won’t have your usual comforts in the exam room: no notes, no distractions, no “security blanket.” Build your mental toughness. Adopt a “win or learn” mindset. You will feel frustrated and burnt out at times, push through it anyway. Lean into your strengths while continuing to improve your weaker areas. This isn’t about perfection, but aim for it. Even if you fall short, you’ll still land in a strong position. And remember, you chose law school. This is a great problem to have.