Never go after the unattainable. Each day, make sure that reality is where you left it the night before. Never underestimate the importance of work that is merely adequate. All is not hopeless. Odds are that there is a law student worse than you.
Most professors take tardiness personally.
Good reasoning in no way makes up for a bad answer. In the grand scheme of law school, Murphy was an optimist. There are no experts, only those slightly less clueless than the general community. The law does not protect fools and dullards, but it will protect the slightly clueless and somewhat sleazy. Never overestimate the power of positive thinking.