Ancillary Skills And Law School Success

Michael D. O. Rusco (Southern), Ancillary Skills and Law School Success, 35 The Second Draft 1 (2022):

This article assumes that some of what influences a student’s ultimate law school performance are “ancillary skills.” Ancillary skills are skills that affect performance or address stressors that law students commonly face but are not primarily academic or intellectual in nature. In fact, most of them are physiological, psychological, and organizational. Despite the impact these skills can have on performance, most law students are never advised on the effect they can have or instructed how to use them.

Given the impact these skills can have on performance and how few law students are even aware of them, they warrant more than a sidebar in a lecture. This article seeks to fill that gap, particularly for students of color who often lack mentors in the profession.