Remembering Cases

Aarghhhh...how will I ever get all these cases in my brain?

One of the biggest fears of law students is that, come exam period, every single case will fly from their mind. Indeed for many a larger problem is actually getting them there in the first place. There are certain cases that everyone remembers, usually because of the striking or unusual facts of the case. The snail and ginger beer of Carbolic, the excruciating candle wax in R v Smith, and the conjoined twins neccessity case in Re A.

But how can you be in the situation of being able to recall 20-odd cases for every question within an exam, and not just the case name but the legal principle inherent within?

A recent email from a student prompted me to think about this properly:

I would like to know what are the best methods/techniques for remembering cases. There are just so many and while I can remember the well emphasized cases from lectures and textbooks, I find that my memory lapses and I forget the other important cases...

After replying to the student with a few thoughts I decided a more detailed piece might be helpful to all. For this I asked for input on Twitter and got some great tips from the many helpful lawyers and law students active there.