1L Reading Assignments: How to Keep Up

1L reading loads average 100-200 pages per week of dense legal opinions. That's significantly more than most undergrad programs, and the material is harder to read. A single appellate opinion can take 45-60 minutes to understand as a 1L. But by the end of your first semester, you'll be reading cases twice as fast. The key is developing efficient reading strategies now.

Don't read cases like a novel. Before you start, ask: What am I supposed to learn from this case? Your syllabus or casebook headings usually tell you. Then read with a focused eye for:

1. The legal issue the court is deciding
2. The rule the court applies
3. How the court applies the rule to the facts
4. The holding and any concurrences/dissents

Everything else — the lengthy factual background, the procedural history, the dicta — is context. Important, but secondary.

First pass (10-15 minutes): Skim the entire case. Read the first and last paragraphs closely. Identify the parties, the issue, and the outcome.

Second pass (20-30 minutes): Read more carefully, focusing on the court's reasoning. Brief the case as you read — this forces active engagement.

This is faster than reading the entire case word-by-word once, and produces better comprehension because you already know where the opinion is going.

Not every page is equally important. Learn to skim:

Lengthy procedural history — unless it's a Civ Pro class
Background facts that aren't legally relevant
String citations — the court listing 10 cases to support a point
Concurrences/dissents — unless your professor specifically assigns them or they're famous (like the Palsgraf dissent)

Focus your energy on the majority opinion's reasoning — that's what your professor will ask about.

Legal reading speed improves dramatically with practice. Track your progress: if you're reading 10 pages per hour in week 1, you'll likely be at 15-20 pages per hour by week 8. The vocabulary becomes familiar, the court opinion structure becomes predictable, and you develop an instinct for which parts of an opinion matter most. Trust the process — it gets easier.