Why most people study law the wrong way
Most students study the way that feels productive. They read the outline, highlight, and read it again. Afterwards everything looks familiar. The catch: recognising is not knowing. In the exam there is no outline in front of you, only a set of facts with the issues hidden inside.
Learning research has known this for a long time. Hermann Ebbinghaus showed in 1885 how quickly material fades without review. Roediger and Karpicke (2006) found that students who tested themselves remembered far more a week later than those who reread the text. Dunlosky and colleagues (2013) rated ten common study techniques: highlighting and rereading came out weak, practice testing and spaced practice came out best.
For law that means: read less, retrieve more, and spread that retrieval over weeks and months.
The method in four parts
1. Retrieve instead of rereading
Every exercise in Lexxington asks for an answer from memory. Flashcards test definitions, cases ask for a decision on each statement, the speed round trains fast recall. After each answer you see straight away whether it was right and why.
2. Spaced instead of crammed
Reviews do the most good when time passes between them. Cepeda and colleagues (2006) analysed more than 300 experiments and confirmed this spacing effect. So the app reschedules every card: if it sticks, it comes back later; if it wobbles, it comes back sooner.
3. Mixed instead of blocked
Solve ten problems on the same topic in a row and you know the right tool before you start. In the exam you do not. Mixed practice, called interleaving, trains exactly that choice. Lexxington’s daily session mixes due, weak and new questions across all subjects.
4. Apply it to cases
Knowledge only becomes exam-proof when you apply it to facts. That is why there are nearly 5,000 short cases. How to structure a solution is explained in solving German law cases.
The path from first semester to the state exam
A German law degree follows a rough pattern; your university’s study regulations set the exact order. Lexxington arranges its semester plan around the semester you choose.
Foundation: semesters 1 to 4
You start with the general parts: the Civil Code’s General Part, general criminal law and state organisation law. Obligations, fundamental rights, specific offences and administrative law follow. In this phase you learn how to structure an analysis and the key definitions.
Advanced: semesters 5 and 6
Now come property law, procedure, employment, family and succession law, and the state law of your federal state. You also choose your university specialisation.
Exam preparation: usually 12 to 18 months
Then you review the whole compulsory syllabus and write practice exams. This is where earlier spaced study pays off. More in preparing for the German state exam.
A study day with Lexxington
Short daily sessions work better than rare long ones. A typical day might look like this:
- Review the flashcards that are due, about 10 minutes.
- One new lesson on the current lecture topic, each part covered and recalled before you reveal it.
- Five to ten cases from the same subject, then a few mixed ones.
- A 60-second speed round to finish.
- Once a week, a timed exam graded from 0 to 18 points.
Stuck on a provision? Ask Lexxi. The AI owl explains it in plain words, gives an example and asks you a check question. Lexxi is included in the subscription.
What the course contains
- 267 lessons by subject and semester, with exam relevance and difficulty
- 1,116 flashcards and 300 definitions
- 1,499 practice questions and nearly 5,000 interactive cases
- 132 exam schemes and 118 leading decisions
- 33 timed exams with a grade calculator following § 5d DRiG
- 26 federal statutes offline and the state law of all 16 German states
- Web dashboard and one licence key for iPhone, Android and web
Everything is included for €6.99 a month after 7 free days. See all subjects.
Frequently asked questions
Can you learn law with an app?
An app does not replace lectures or textbooks. But it is the best tool for what books do badly: daily self-testing, spaced review and lots of short cases. Lexxington fills exactly that gap.
From which semester is Lexxington useful?
From the first. Review the basics early and spaced, and you will not have to relearn them before the exam. The semester plan shows what belongs to your semester.
How much time should I plan per day?
20 to 30 minutes a day is enough to clear due reviews and a few cases. Regularity matters more than length.
Does the app work offline?
Yes. The 26 federal statutes and your study content can be downloaded. Lexxi needs an internet connection.