Be calm. It's not the end of the world. Grades are curved. You didn't flunk out.
You will be fine.
Look at me, I've made it through, and I can barely use the English language.
Saturday, December 09, 2006
Sunday, October 22, 2006
On Campus Interviewing
Grades Are Important
You have heard it from us, and you may hear one variation or another from your classmates and faculty: “Grades are not everything,” “Grades are not that important,” “You are not defined by your grades.” Bullshit. If you want to go work at a big firm and you want to do OCI, grades are everything.
If you don’t go to a top tier school, and you want to work for a large law firm in town then you have to be in the top ten.
Seriously, I wish I would have known that it is not worth all of the mental and emotional effort if you are not in the top ten. You are probably reading this and thinking: “Well maybe if she wasn’t in the bottom half of her class she wouldn’t be complaining.” While this may compromise what anonymity I have left, I want you, as you are reading this, to understand where I am coming from: I am on Dean’s List, law review, student government, [insert 4 other school activities here ], highly active in community service and I have several years of corporate business experience before coming to law school. My resume is just as well rounded, if not more well rounded, then most. Despite this, I’m not one of the top ten people in my class, and that is all that seems to matter.
How It Played Out
The breakdown of numbers: I applied with 14 of the big firms in our metropolis, I got interviews with 8, and a callback with only one. Given those numbers, surely I screwed something up during the on-campus interviews. That’s what I thought.
I went all out for my #1 firm. I had lunch with a partner, did a mock interview with another, schmoozed with the interviewer during our OCI Reception for over 30 minutes, and even had one of the faculty members at school that used to work at that firm put a good word in for me. I did everything to have the “in” short of having the last name that is on the letterhead. In that manner I must have done something right because instead of simply getting a rejection letter, I was left a rejection voicemail by the interviewer. After letting me down very politely, she said that if she could do anything to help me in my job search she would. So I called her.
I asked for constructive criticism, “Is there something that I said during my interview that I shouldn’t have? What can I improve on?”
She responded, “Nothing. You didn’t do anything wrong. I thought you were great. [Partner #1] thought you were great, as did [Partner #2].”
Me (thinking), “Well something must be wrong then. What the hell was it?”
She continued, “It’s just that we have a quota system here. For example, we call back 4 people from your school, and ten from [larger law school in town]. There were five law students from your school that we really liked; you were all equally qualified. The hiring committee only had one thing to make their decision on. They went by class rank, and yours was the lowest. I hate saying that because your rank is not bad…”
I tuned her out at that point, as reality began to sink in slowly. No matter how much grades were downplayed, this proved a hypocrite of every professor that had told me: “you’re not defined by your grades.” I was being defined by exactly that. They had seen me on paper, met me in person, and it all came down to the low two-digit number on my resume. Effing class rank.
Nothing is quite as demoralizing as OCI.
However, that is not to say that if you are not top 10 you will not be able to find a job or that OCI is not for you. Every school and every situation is slightly different. If the DA’s office is coming on campus and that is where you want to work – interview! If the PD’s office is coming on campus, and that is where you want to work – do it! OCI will work out a little different for everyone, but just remember that for those big firms (i.e., the majority of employers coming on campus) you probably don’t stand a chance unless you are in the top ten, or highly-ranked in a top tier school.
Was It All Bad?
While it definitely was bruising to the ego, it did help me in several respects: (1) it forced me to prepare all of my job application materials – get together my writing sample, practice writing cover letters, etc; and (2) it provided great interviewing experience. Did I get a job from it? Well, the verdict is still out on that. I only recently had my callback and have not heard back yet. So maybe. Am I still wishing that I had not put myself through this? Yes.
That’s my two cents.
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
How's the 1L grind going?
I figure we are about at the halfway point of the semester. Are there any questions, comments, rants, fears, etc? Let us know if we can help you out!
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
How Not To Succeed in Law School.
Hat tip to TJ for alerting us to this article.
In a classic "I Wish I Would Have Known Moment" I can only say that I wish I would have read this article before I went to law school. Wait, it probably wouldn't have stopped me, and I probably would have spent all of my first year trying to figure out which one of the three 1L groups I would fit in.
Yeah, it is 28 pages. But what else do you have to do during Civil Procedure?
Bonus points to anyone that can tell me how this actually got published in the Yale Law Review.
In a classic "I Wish I Would Have Known Moment" I can only say that I wish I would have read this article before I went to law school. Wait, it probably wouldn't have stopped me, and I probably would have spent all of my first year trying to figure out which one of the three 1L groups I would fit in.
Yeah, it is 28 pages. But what else do you have to do during Civil Procedure?
Bonus points to anyone that can tell me how this actually got published in the Yale Law Review.
Saturday, September 09, 2006
Grumble, Grumble...
On behalf of the contributors on this blog, I sincerely apologize for the lack of posting lately.
Not sure what aLs and Namby are up to (well, Namby's a 3L who I'm sure is experiencing the senior slide and aLs has obviously been busy mastering Microsoft Paint), and I'll admit that I don't even have a terribly fantastic excuse. Instead of blogging I've been running around like a chicken with my head chopped off as I try to deal with OCI*, these terrible things called cite checks that apparently are the "prestigous" part of law review, student government stuff, working, and, oh yeah - thats right - those things called classes that apparently I'm supposed to be attending.
Anyway, I'm not here to complain (because there is never any reason to bitch about law school - sigh) but rather to say "stay tuned." If I survive these next two weeks, then I promise I'll give the lowdown on the 1L Job Search, what to look forward to with OCI, and explain the so-called glamour of law review.
In the meantime, it's time for WishIWouldHaveKnown (WIWHK) to attempt its first interactive post. I'm not the only one around here that should be complaining; now that you are all a few weeks into school what do you absolutely hate or are you absolutely fed up with? Come on, bitch away -- it is good therapy.
*On campus interviewing for those of you who haven't asked why all of the 2Ls and 3Ls are running around in suits every day.
Not sure what aLs and Namby are up to (well, Namby's a 3L who I'm sure is experiencing the senior slide and aLs has obviously been busy mastering Microsoft Paint), and I'll admit that I don't even have a terribly fantastic excuse. Instead of blogging I've been running around like a chicken with my head chopped off as I try to deal with OCI*, these terrible things called cite checks that apparently are the "prestigous" part of law review, student government stuff, working, and, oh yeah - thats right - those things called classes that apparently I'm supposed to be attending.
Anyway, I'm not here to complain (because there is never any reason to bitch about law school - sigh) but rather to say "stay tuned." If I survive these next two weeks, then I promise I'll give the lowdown on the 1L Job Search, what to look forward to with OCI, and explain the so-called glamour of law review.
In the meantime, it's time for WishIWouldHaveKnown (WIWHK) to attempt its first interactive post. I'm not the only one around here that should be complaining; now that you are all a few weeks into school what do you absolutely hate or are you absolutely fed up with? Come on, bitch away -- it is good therapy.
*On campus interviewing for those of you who haven't asked why all of the 2Ls and 3Ls are running around in suits every day.
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Some Tips on Briefing
In a moment of obvious weakness, John Roberts from There's No Competition in Law School, decided to provide this advice to his mentees. (Yes, why they allowed any of us LawBitches to be mentors, I'm not entirely sure.) I thought someone might possibly benefit from it, so with his permission I republish it here:
By now you might be reconsidering your choice to go to law school. Don't worry, this is normal; I was doing the same thing last year. Keep in mind you are learning how to read all over again.
By now you might be reconsidering your choice to go to law school. Don't worry, this is normal; I was doing the same thing last year. Keep in mind you are learning how to read all over again.
Below are some tips on how to brief cases:
1) Start with the Issue. This is the purpose of the case. Look for the magic word "whether." If the opinion doesn't include it, look for clues in the case book such as section or chapter headings that can help you figure out what the case is about and why you are reading it [besides that it was assigned :-)]. This is the most important thing to get right, because you will use it as the lens that you examine the rest of the opinion through because all the important bits of the opinion serve to answer this question.
2) Next find the holding. This is going to be the answer to the "whether" question, and will be a sentence or two about what the Court held. Go beyond just saying "affirmed" or "reversed." You want the actual rule they came up with.
3) After you get the holding find the reasoning. This is the why of the opinion. If you can, try to figure out what the losing side's reasons were as you will get a better understanding of why the Court sided the way it did. This will probably be a combination of synthesis of existing rules and application of the facts.
4) Now start recording the facts. You only really need to pay attention to the facts that were used in the reasoning, and in some cases, none of the facts may have been used because the Court was examining a wider issue of law.
5) Finally find the procedural history, basically how did this case get to the Court which wrote the opinion. In a pinch, it's enough to know what Court wrote the opinion (i.e. Court of Appeals, Supreme Court), and the jurisdiction (i.e. is this a state or federal opinion, does it deal with state or federal law).
Finally, I would say its worth writing your case briefs out until they become easy to do because once they become easy, you probably are comfortable navigating an opinion. Then its fine to switch to book briefing.
Be well folks.
Saturday, August 26, 2006
Hang In There
Well, 1Ls. How are you all doing out there? I think most of you have probably just survived your first week. Think you'll be able handle a whole semester of this?
It can be frustrating. It can be overwhelming. It can be discouraging. Nothing like spending 10 hours a day studying and still not understanding what is going on in class.
Well, I'm here to tell you that it will get better. Not necessarily immensely, or in a life-shattering way, but several things will happen to you over the course of the next few weeks:
1) You will begin to get used to the workload. (Not entirely a good thing, but it does make it easier once you just surrender that last little thought of maintaining your previous social life.)
2) You will begin to understand what each particular professor is looking for and then less stuff will be going over your head. You'll get a better idea of how to take notes in class and maybe even begin to focus on what will actually be relevant for the exam. You'll also learn that you don't have to prepare as much for some classes, because you may never get called on.
3) You will find the learning curve. Some find it earlier than others, but everyone finds it at some point. What takes you 10 hours to do now will only take you 3 hours to do in the future. Really. I promise. However, usually once the learning curve kicks in the professors somehow seem to pile on even more reading, so it's not like you'll be having 7 hours a day to spare.
4) You will make a complete and utter idiot of yourself. No matter how carefully you guard yourself, you will say something entirely stupid. But you know what? Take comfort in the fact that EVERYONE will make a complete ass of themselves over the course of the semester.
I know that me saying is not just going to make it better. But just think about how many people ahead of you have made it through 1L year without dying. See, isn't that encouraging? It may not seem like it now, but you will survive.
It can be frustrating. It can be overwhelming. It can be discouraging. Nothing like spending 10 hours a day studying and still not understanding what is going on in class.
Well, I'm here to tell you that it will get better. Not necessarily immensely, or in a life-shattering way, but several things will happen to you over the course of the next few weeks:
1) You will begin to get used to the workload. (Not entirely a good thing, but it does make it easier once you just surrender that last little thought of maintaining your previous social life.)
2) You will begin to understand what each particular professor is looking for and then less stuff will be going over your head. You'll get a better idea of how to take notes in class and maybe even begin to focus on what will actually be relevant for the exam. You'll also learn that you don't have to prepare as much for some classes, because you may never get called on.
3) You will find the learning curve. Some find it earlier than others, but everyone finds it at some point. What takes you 10 hours to do now will only take you 3 hours to do in the future. Really. I promise. However, usually once the learning curve kicks in the professors somehow seem to pile on even more reading, so it's not like you'll be having 7 hours a day to spare.
4) You will make a complete and utter idiot of yourself. No matter how carefully you guard yourself, you will say something entirely stupid. But you know what? Take comfort in the fact that EVERYONE will make a complete ass of themselves over the course of the semester.
I know that me saying is not just going to make it better. But just think about how many people ahead of you have made it through 1L year without dying. See, isn't that encouraging? It may not seem like it now, but you will survive.
Monday, August 14, 2006
Required Reading
One of my bosses told me to read this book. So I did.
I sat down yesterday morning with Brush with the Law and promptly spent five hours on my porch reading it from cover to cover. All I have to say is that I wish I had read this book before starting 1L. My advice to you soon to be 1L's is to find this book, buy it, burn Turow's 1L, and speed read this as soon as humanly possible.
I'm going into my last year of law school and the only regret that I have is not reading this book sooner. You will laugh and then you will realize that if these two authors can make it through the most prestigious law schools in the nation in the manner that they did, that you can survive the rigors of the first year at University of Phoenix Online's College of Law.
I think I would have had a lot more fun first year had I been given this advice.
I sat down yesterday morning with Brush with the Law and promptly spent five hours on my porch reading it from cover to cover. All I have to say is that I wish I had read this book before starting 1L. My advice to you soon to be 1L's is to find this book, buy it, burn Turow's 1L, and speed read this as soon as humanly possible.
I'm going into my last year of law school and the only regret that I have is not reading this book sooner. You will laugh and then you will realize that if these two authors can make it through the most prestigious law schools in the nation in the manner that they did, that you can survive the rigors of the first year at University of Phoenix Online's College of Law.
I think I would have had a lot more fun first year had I been given this advice.
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Commercial Study Aids
We’ve had requests for a break down of commercial study aids. We each use them to varying degrees, so I asked someone else I knew who has used them in almost every shape and form to put together a summary. Much thanks to Scalito from There’s No Competition in
Gilbert
Scalito: I purchased Gilbert for his first semester Torts class. The substance of the Gilbert outline was lacking when compared to Emanuel's so for that reason alone I wouldn't recommend them. In the test prep department I thought that the hypotheticals were too easy and the True/False/Multiple Choice were sub-par as well. That being said, if you already have a Gilbert Outline - there are a few good things. The charts are excellent for learning the materials and the indexing system using the section symbol gives the newby 1L practice with finding substance via § § 's instead of page numbers.
Scalito: I purchased Emaunel's for Contracts, CivPro, Property, ConLaw, Crim and CrimPro. I found these outlines more well suited for reviewing daily reading and putting each concept in the context of the class. The review problems at the end of each chapter are worth doing but there were many times where the review problems covered issues that we skipped in class. For review problems, I would suggest using Chemerinsky for the ConLaw and Examples and Explanations for Property. Perhaps pick one up and review with it in the first semester before committing both time and money to long-term use.
Calculating: Chemerinsky is expensive, but it was the best $50 that I spent all semester! For me at least, Con Law cases were long, boring and full of dicta. Our class also had a lot of emphasis on how each justice would vote, and Chem helps to summarize this as well as to get to the root of each case. It doesn’t have sample problems, but it synthesized the information so well that I stopped reading my casebook altogether.
Namby: I corrected my 1L mistake in the Second year by only buying Emmanuels, they were great because of the substance of the actual outline (I don’t need nice pretty arrows, I need substance!). They are worth every penny especially down to the wire. This outline saved my butt for CrimPro
Emanuels CrunchTime
Scalito: I purchased the CrunchTime's for ConLaw, Contracts and CrimPro. The CrunchTime is really a consolidation of the full Emanuel Outline of the same subject minus detailed substance discussion. It is full of exam tips, sample problems and answers and great flowcharts for analysis of issues in each class. I can recommend the CrunchTime if you have a visual learning style as I do. When used in combination with Examples & Explanations, a winning combination emerges.
Calculating: I only purchases CrunchTime for Contracts. Everything I know about Contracts I learned from CrunchTime. It was a life saver! I highly recommend buying CrunchTime in any situation where you stopped reading about six weeks before the final and you didn’t take any notes in class because none of what the professor said made any sense.
Namby: Used in concert with your own work or the material of full outlines, these things are genius
Examples & Explanations
Scalito: My favorite of the bunch. Not a true outline but Examples & Explanations offers real world problems after each a great (and usually simple) explanation of each topic and an easy to understand explanation of the law behind the answer. I purchased E&E for CivPro, Property, Torts and Crim/CrimPro. If you use CrunchTime for outlining purposes and E&E to supplement your understanding of the topics, professor comments and your notes - you should do fine.
Namby: Great for the first year classes to read along with the actual caseload. I used these predominatly for CrimLaw, CivPro, Torts, and I think one or 2 other classes. Buy this early and use often
aLs: The E&E for contracts was incredibly useful. The text followed our class almost perfectly and it did a very good job defining and explaining everything. The examples at the end of the sections were very useful. The primer was good at pointing out all the differences between the UCC and the common law. I should also say that for Contracts I used a primer that was written by one our casebook authors. If you want hardcore, thoroughly explained law, this is a good way to go. Check online to see if your textbook has a primer out there made to go with it.
The E&E for torts was somewhat useful. The examples and explanations aspect were the most useful. The actual text seemed kind of watery and often left me scratching my head. I still think that all things considered, it's not a bad buy, but if someone tells you that they had a good experience with another book, I would go for that one instead.
The E&E for civil procedure was a mixed bag indeed. During the first semester it often provided helpful insight into the law. The hypothetical problems were useful for applying all the difficult questions that revolve around jurisdiction. During the second semester, the book was completely useless. It has nothing or next to nothing about class action lawsuits, joinder, and various other important topics. I think this book will help you, but be prepared to find a new supplement when Spring hits.
The E&E for property was excellent. Just like the contracts primer, it was very well done and covered everything in plenty of detail. The sample problems were useful and well done. I think that this E&E is a very good deal.
I did not use an E&E primer for con law. I used a primer that was written by one of our casebook authors to explain everything in the casebook. It eventually got to the point where I would read a canned brief for the assigned case, then skip to the primer to really understand what was being said. I think that for con law, primers and canned briefs can be a major help. At the very least, they can save you many hours of reading, and rereading, Supreme Court cases.
Commercial Briefs
Scalito: I have mixed feelings on the topic of commercial briefs. I used an electronic version in the first semester (ecasebriefs) and a paper version second semester (Casenotes Legal Briefs). These can be useful early on while you are learning how to brief your cases in your own way but you may start to rely on them and sometimes even skip the reading in favor of a commercial brief. While this is tempting, the professors often asks questions which are not covered by the commercial briefs which may leave you high and dry in a Socratic stare-down with your prof. If you use them only to review and to double check your briefs against them, they can be a good tool.
Calculating: I got eCasebriefs for all of my classes second semester. Six of us put in money for them, and I’d email the briefs out on a weekly basis. We found that for some of our classes, they weren’t even beneficial at all (due largely to the prof having her own briefing template that she required us to follow and she said that she’d basically crucify anyone that she found using canned briefs). So my advice: only use others briefs after you are comfortable with briefing on your own. I’m not a big fan of paying for things I can get for free, so first try to find them online (such as 4LawSchool – but those are student briefs, so make sure they are accurate before you start quoting from them in class) or use your Lexis/Westlaw access to use their Brief It functions (in my personal opinion, Lexis has a clearer briefing tool). One last word of advice, if you do decide to buy a canned brief do it after the first day of class.
Namby: I’m against briefing in any form. Briefing is a canned way to learn what you are studying, find what you are looking to do and go with it. Don’t spend money on something like this.
Final Closing Thoughts:
All of these primers can be purchased on Amazon. Don't waste your money buying them in your school bookstore. You can usually get these used for 20 bucks. If you buy an older version, beware, the law may have changed a bit....but as long as you pay attention in class, I'm sure you'll catch any changes. Also, another reason to buy the new ones is that they usually cover more material and have been improved.
Some other sites you can buy books:
- LawBooksForLess
- BookFinder.com
- Half.Com
- Also checkout your local Craigslist or make friends with a 2L/3L who's been there, used that.
Update!
Rumors of our demise is greatly exaggerated and new posts are on the way shortly.
Check back over the next couple of days!
Check back over the next couple of days!
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
My Two Cents on Financial Aid
Lily over at Law School Virgin had some good questions regarding financial aid and a few other things, and given the anxiety that I recall feeling about this time last year, I figured it would be appropriate to address her concerns. Please note, I’m no expert when it comes to financial aid, but here is what I know and how I understand it working…
Why haven’t I gotten my financial aid information yet?
If you haven’t received your financial aid information yet don’t panic. If you haven’t filled out a FAFSA yet, it's time to do so. However, loan information is not even available until July 1, so most financial aid offices will send out information specific to their schools in late July. If you’re really anxious you can call your financial aid office and they probably have information on their website that you can take a look at regarding lenders, etc.
Applying for loans is a fairly simple process – especially after you’ve applied for the first one. It will only take a few minutes to complete the process, although usually the first time you apply with a lender you have to go through an online loan counseling session.
Now that you are in graduate school, no matter what your FAFSA says your SAR is, lenders will pretty much loan you all of the money up to the "budget" that your school provides. (Financial aid offices come up with a "budget" number -- it's tuition for the average credit load plus rent, food, utlities, etc for 9 months. Budgets are the same for every student and are not adjusted to account for people with kids, mortgages or any other circumstances; which means that you really need to learn to budget if you're going to actually live off the budget.) As long as you have not defaulted on any federal aid money in the past or have no major strikes on your credit report you will get approved for loans without need for a cosigner.
The way that most schools and financial aid work is that the money is all disbursed to the school, they take out what you owe them for tuition and then they send you the leftover. At my school this doesn’t usually happen until the second or third week in September (despite starting classes in August), so make sure that you save some money or can borrow some from a parent to cover the rent and bills for that first month.
Should I get a co-signer?
If you can get loans without a co-signer I would recommend doing so. I believe (and someone correct me if I’m wrong) that if you die before your federal loans are paid off then the government cannot come after your estate or your family members for the remaining money. If you have a co-signer, however, then your creditors will come after them. The last thing I want to do is die and leave $120K in student loans for my husband to pay back, so I did not have him co-sign.
There is a chance with a co-signer that you may get a lower interest rate, but personally I’m a fan of consolidating loans after I graduate so that way I will only have to pay back one or two loans, and given the right program I’ll lock in a fixed interest rate. Some people like to consolidate their loans after each school year. I see this as problematic because: 1) you can’t consolidate a consolidated loan, 2) you can’t consolidate federal with private, and 3) most consolidation programs make you start paying your loans back without a 6 to 12 month grace period. Wait until you are done and consolidate all federal together and all private together.
One more note about consolidation: you can only consolidate all private loans that you have with one bank. So if you take out your private loans with three different banks, you will not be able to consolidate those together. Just something to think about.
What about GraduatePLUS loans?
GraduatePLUS loans are new this year. Use them! It used to be that you could take up to $18,500 in
As I see it, the advantages of GradPLUS compared to regular private loans: they are still federal loans so they can be consolidated with your Staffords and they lock in a lower interest rate then a lot of the private loans(I think like 8.5% this year). Plus, I think that federal loans affect your credit differently then private loans and the type of debt you have outstanding will be taken into consideration after graduation when you decide to start living like a lawyer and buy a new car, a new house and a line of credit to furnish the house.
Both Stafford Loans and GraduatePLUS loans have to be taken out through private lenders. Check with your financial aid office for info regarding which lenders they work with and which ones they prefer. Each lender usually has its own advantages. For example, I chose Wells Fargo because I bank with them, and last year they had an incentive that after 36 months of on-time payments they’ll pay off 10% of my interest. Find a private lender that works for you.
Should I get insurance?
If you can milk your parents’ health insurance for a little while more (although most companies will kick you off once you turn 25), then by all means, do so. If you can’t stay on a parents’ health insurance, check out the options that your school offers. Most of them have a student health services that you can drop into for the little things, and several schools will also offer a health insurance option that is usually pretty reasonable. Just remember that your law school “budget” given to you by financial aid probably doesn’t cover health insurance.
As far as getting supplemental insurance for a life insurance policy, I think as long as you don’t have the co-signer on the loans, then you probably don’t need one. However, if you’ve got a co-signer and don’t want to leave them in a bad position, then it might be a good idea. Honestly, I don’t know a lot about how insurance policies for repayments of loans work. If someone else out there does, please chime in.
Should I try to get residency where I’m going to be attending school?
Yes. Unless there is some major advantage to staying a resident where you live now, then change your address with the school to where you’ll be living during the school year and change your driver’s license. Even if you don’t stay in that apartment all three years, you’ll still be in the same vicinity. Plus, if you have a chance of getting residency and thus cheaper tuition always go for it.
Residency is usually pretty easy to establish, and actually, since there is no national DMV, you can have valid licenses in two states at the same time. (Not saying you should here, just that it is possible.)
You can change your residency and still remain on your parent’s health insurance. If you’ll be going to a doctor that is out-of-network, then it might be wise to sit down with your parents and see what options their health insurance has for PPOs. (Co-pays and coverage rates can get a little sticky if you are not seeing a preferred provider.)
This really only begins to touch on the questions that LSV raised and is based solely on my own experience. Most schools are similar, but each one can have its quirks. Ultimately, call up and harass your financial aid office. Don't feel guilty about it - just remember that your tuition is helping to pay their salaries.
Sunday, July 16, 2006
Intra-Section Dating: Can One Who Plays With Fire Not Get Burned?
This will be the first, in what likely will be a series of posts, on the topic of relationships...
The same 100 people five days a week. A lot of them are new to the city where the school is located. The same 100 people six days a week. Partying together. Commiserating together. Relieving stress together. The same 100 people seven days a week. And so it begins: the relationships form. There are the ones that fizzle. There are ones that become serious. And others are those 'arrangements' where the two meet, late at night, in the law school bathrooms, libraries, classrooms, or conference rooms for an intimate study session.
This tidbit is more targeted to those that become serious. As was mentioned in an earlier piece, the first year law school section is a tight knit group and dating within the law school community is a great idea to find solace from the daily firestorm that is first year. Next to no one will be able to better understand what you are going through then a fellow classmate; this connection can serve as a solid foundation for a relationship.
There were three types of couples that formed in my first year section: the short term (several months), the school year long (this is where my experience came from), and the real thing.
So, here are the lessons that I learned from 1L intra-section dating:
1. Dating within your section can put your relationship into a Pressure Cooker. Words really can't describe what dating is like. It might be that I am a little more outgoing then most, a little more boisterous then most, but wow is all I can really say. The pressure cooker phenomena is that the "normal" relationship occurrences (i.e. casual dating to boyfriend-girlfriend, to serious boyfriend-girlfriend) seemed to happen at warp speed. I think that this, at least in my case, was a result of near never-ending separation between the two of us. So, when most people are identifying themselves as boyfriend-girlfriend, my significant other had a key to my condo. Yeah...it was fast. But this is the pressure cooker syndrome that I am referring to, it goes quick.
2. When you are fighting and go to class, likely Con Law will not be on your mind. My 1L girlfriend sat several rows behind me in each of our classes and like almost all law students, instead of paying attention to the prof, Instant Messaging was taking place. As I mentioned above, the two of us being in the hyper-relationship, had woken up that morning and for some reason started fighting. We went to school fighting and we were feuding right up until class started. Then it carried over to IM during class. [I can only imagine what the people behind me were thinking as I tried to surreptitiously glance over my shoulder at her to get some sort of feel for what she was communicating to me] When the person that you are dating is 20 feet from you, I could not resist the urge to finish what we had started. Class took second fiddle to trying mend the relationship and this can be a detrimental thing.
3. Everyone will know about everything in your relationship (including things that you didn't know about the relationship). People talk. Rumors get started. Fights occur in the presence of others. Needless to say, people know things. This really is more of a matter of fact statement rather than something that you can work to control. You have to be willing to deal with this; to put it another way: you are the celebrity and your classmates are the paparazzi. One of things that I took issue with is my friends, who were friends with her friends, would catch wind of something and then run to me to find out the truth (sound like high school yet?) When your significant other has friends that do not like you, this rumor mill/gossip chain can be used to make people's life interesting.
4. The Break Up can be a bitch. Everyone knows everything, there are people that do not like you, and to make matters worse, the relationship is entering its death throes. There were three options that I felt that I had: break up the week before finals, break up during finals, break up after finals (in the summer after 1L). I just couldn't bring myself to do the deed before finals started. I figured that it would be the most detrimental to us both if we were dealing with the fallout from our relationship and finals at the same time. So I waited the extra month. I hoped that things would get better (they didn't). And after finals were over, things were ended. Whoa boy. Hell hath no fury. The friends took sides. Horrible things were said. Hands down, this was the worst breakup that I have ever been through.
5. Once you've peed in the pool, it's hard to get permission to dive back in. I'm not going to say that you have only one shot at succeeding in your 1L section. However, if things do not work out, it is hard to overcome the perception that was formed about your dating abilities. Everybody has weighed in on you. They've seen you in action. And Lord knows what was said during the break-up. It's a steep hill to get over and it is possible, it just takes some work (and the desire to go through the same rigors that you faced in the last 1L relationship you were in).
Go out, be fruitful, and pray that you don't multiply.
The same 100 people five days a week. A lot of them are new to the city where the school is located. The same 100 people six days a week. Partying together. Commiserating together. Relieving stress together. The same 100 people seven days a week. And so it begins: the relationships form. There are the ones that fizzle. There are ones that become serious. And others are those 'arrangements' where the two meet, late at night, in the law school bathrooms, libraries, classrooms, or conference rooms for an intimate study session.
This tidbit is more targeted to those that become serious. As was mentioned in an earlier piece, the first year law school section is a tight knit group and dating within the law school community is a great idea to find solace from the daily firestorm that is first year. Next to no one will be able to better understand what you are going through then a fellow classmate; this connection can serve as a solid foundation for a relationship.
There were three types of couples that formed in my first year section: the short term (several months), the school year long (this is where my experience came from), and the real thing.
So, here are the lessons that I learned from 1L intra-section dating:
1. Dating within your section can put your relationship into a Pressure Cooker. Words really can't describe what dating is like. It might be that I am a little more outgoing then most, a little more boisterous then most, but wow is all I can really say. The pressure cooker phenomena is that the "normal" relationship occurrences (i.e. casual dating to boyfriend-girlfriend, to serious boyfriend-girlfriend) seemed to happen at warp speed. I think that this, at least in my case, was a result of near never-ending separation between the two of us. So, when most people are identifying themselves as boyfriend-girlfriend, my significant other had a key to my condo. Yeah...it was fast. But this is the pressure cooker syndrome that I am referring to, it goes quick.
2. When you are fighting and go to class, likely Con Law will not be on your mind. My 1L girlfriend sat several rows behind me in each of our classes and like almost all law students, instead of paying attention to the prof, Instant Messaging was taking place. As I mentioned above, the two of us being in the hyper-relationship, had woken up that morning and for some reason started fighting. We went to school fighting and we were feuding right up until class started. Then it carried over to IM during class. [I can only imagine what the people behind me were thinking as I tried to surreptitiously glance over my shoulder at her to get some sort of feel for what she was communicating to me] When the person that you are dating is 20 feet from you, I could not resist the urge to finish what we had started. Class took second fiddle to trying mend the relationship and this can be a detrimental thing.
3. Everyone will know about everything in your relationship (including things that you didn't know about the relationship). People talk. Rumors get started. Fights occur in the presence of others. Needless to say, people know things. This really is more of a matter of fact statement rather than something that you can work to control. You have to be willing to deal with this; to put it another way: you are the celebrity and your classmates are the paparazzi. One of things that I took issue with is my friends, who were friends with her friends, would catch wind of something and then run to me to find out the truth (sound like high school yet?) When your significant other has friends that do not like you, this rumor mill/gossip chain can be used to make people's life interesting.
4. The Break Up can be a bitch. Everyone knows everything, there are people that do not like you, and to make matters worse, the relationship is entering its death throes. There were three options that I felt that I had: break up the week before finals, break up during finals, break up after finals (in the summer after 1L). I just couldn't bring myself to do the deed before finals started. I figured that it would be the most detrimental to us both if we were dealing with the fallout from our relationship and finals at the same time. So I waited the extra month. I hoped that things would get better (they didn't). And after finals were over, things were ended. Whoa boy. Hell hath no fury. The friends took sides. Horrible things were said. Hands down, this was the worst breakup that I have ever been through.
5. Once you've peed in the pool, it's hard to get permission to dive back in. I'm not going to say that you have only one shot at succeeding in your 1L section. However, if things do not work out, it is hard to overcome the perception that was formed about your dating abilities. Everybody has weighed in on you. They've seen you in action. And Lord knows what was said during the break-up. It's a steep hill to get over and it is possible, it just takes some work (and the desire to go through the same rigors that you faced in the last 1L relationship you were in).
Go out, be fruitful, and pray that you don't multiply.
Thursday, July 13, 2006
My reputation is your entertainment
I remember high school. I remember the cliques, the gossip, the parties, the teachers, and the mindless crap that we were forced to do just to get out the door with a piece of pretty paper. Law school is no different, except that we all have apartments and are of legal drinking age.
It’s usually at the first year orientation that you are going to meet roughly the 100 people who you will all get to know very well over the next nine months. You will see these same people everyday, for an extended period of time, engaging in astressfree challenging area of study. You will know them all either personally or by reputation very soon.
The following are things that I heard first year in some form:
Case in point: Me.
I am a very competitive guy and I play a wide array of intramural sports at the University that I attend. I was on a dominant co-ed team (we went undefeated and won the final 72-0). Anyway, there are other law school teams in the league. On the field, I had one incident where (and I don’t remember this, but it has been relayed to me from several witnesses) taunted an opposing team’s player. I didn’t think anything of it, but, three days later this entire section (not mine) was aghast about the guy wearing the mouthguard and how he had the balls to taunt one of their fellow section members. I was forwarded several group IM chats that occurred shortly after this occurrence. Let’s just say that my name was dragged through the mud and I was treated like that white substance that forms at the corners of your mouth when you are thirsty.
This entire section, not even my own, knew who I was, had an opinion formed about me, and frankly, most, did not want to give me the time of day.
You will soon be seeing the same people everyday for extended periods of time. My advice is to do as I say, not as I did. Think before acting, be discreet, and don’t promulgate the gossip (too much).
It’s usually at the first year orientation that you are going to meet roughly the 100 people who you will all get to know very well over the next nine months. You will see these same people everyday, for an extended period of time, engaging in a
The following are things that I heard first year in some form:
“Sheila slept with Peter in the bathroom and ended up going back to Greg’s place but didn’t tell her boyfriend Rich”
“Frank got bombed and made out with that one girl from Section C, but ended up going home with Eric”
“What year are you?”You are going to know everyone’s business. Knowing shit on people can be very entertaining and Lord knows that I would not have as much blog material to post about if people (myself included) didn’t know what was happening. The advice here is that age old maxim: discretion is the better part of valor. Reputations tend to stick pretty solidly once they have been formed, so this piece is an attempt to let you know that your actions (and even your inactions) can follow you around for a while.
“I’m a Freshman [in undergrad]”
“Really? I’m a first year too!”
Case in point: Me.
I am a very competitive guy and I play a wide array of intramural sports at the University that I attend. I was on a dominant co-ed team (we went undefeated and won the final 72-0). Anyway, there are other law school teams in the league. On the field, I had one incident where (and I don’t remember this, but it has been relayed to me from several witnesses) taunted an opposing team’s player. I didn’t think anything of it, but, three days later this entire section (not mine) was aghast about the guy wearing the mouthguard and how he had the balls to taunt one of their fellow section members. I was forwarded several group IM chats that occurred shortly after this occurrence. Let’s just say that my name was dragged through the mud and I was treated like that white substance that forms at the corners of your mouth when you are thirsty.
This entire section, not even my own, knew who I was, had an opinion formed about me, and frankly, most, did not want to give me the time of day.
You will soon be seeing the same people everyday for extended periods of time. My advice is to do as I say, not as I did. Think before acting, be discreet, and don’t promulgate the gossip (too much).
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
10 Tips For First Year
1. Breathe in, Breathe Out, Repeat. Sounds easy right? Yeah, not so much. 1L can be a little on the stressful side. If you are going straight from undergrad to the law school, it is highly likely that you have never experience a learning atmosphere like law school before. It'll be new, exciting, stressful...but nothing to go beserk about.
2. Laughter, in as many forms as possible, is key. I have seen people freak out. I've seen people lose their minds. I've gotten A's, I've gotten C's. People forget to have fun and laugh and realize that law school really shouldn't be as serious as the Paper Chase makes it out to be.
3. Don't overemphasize the small things. Seriously. A memo is a memo. It'll consume you for a little while. A grade is a grade. Law school is like a marathon, you don't finish it in the first 50 feet. Oh, and never judge your knowledge by the length of someone else's outline. Ever.
4. Grades are not everything, knowing the right people is everything. I'm going into my third year and I am in the process of having doors opened to me by coworkers (I am not a big firm, just a place with quality people who want to help me out). When your boss tells you that he is going to bust his ass to get you a great job, you know that the people you are with are the ones who care about you. Branch out. Make friends. Form relationships. These will be the biggest asset for you when you want to be gainfully employed
5. Making Law Review Does Not Mean that You are a) smarter than anyone, b) entitled to anything, or c) destined to get a Summer Associateship. Grading onto Law Review is something to be proud of, it shows that you are a great test taker (I am not one of these people) and you learned a lot along the way. But it doesn't mean that you are going to be God's gift to the legal profession. You have to retain your humility and appreciate all of your successes along the way.
6. Don't be a Gunner. Or a Douchebag. If you always volunteer an answer on every single question, chances are you are the gunner. No one wants to be the gunner. No one likes the gunner. The gunner does not help the law school educational process. The gunner is there to bet on or play Gunner Bingo. If you know the answer and you always know the answer, good for you. It shows that you are learning something; but keep that to yourself and show everyone how much you know by acing the finals.
7. Do not force other peoples study habits onto yourself. This is huge. When I was on the verge of starting 1L, a lot of people told me about finding a study group or engaging in other various study habits (briefing cases is totally overrated, I stopped after the first day). Don't rush into this. Joining a study group first semester 1L caused me to do worse on finals and start a blog, both constructive uses of my time. Take a few weeks to get used to the system and see what works best for YOU. I defined my study habits a year too late and my GPA suffered because of that. Now that I said don't follow anyone else's studying habits, let me suggest a study habit...
8. Study Throughout the Semester in a Way That Prepares You For Finals. For me, this is the only study habit that I can suggest. As I alluded to above, people sweat the small shit and lose their minds. I found that my studying throughout the semester had me ready for finals and that I did not have to pull allnighters just to be competent in Torts or Contracts. I hope that this makes sense...
9. Stay close to your friends that are not in law school. Your other friends will remind you that there is more to life then case briefing or legal writing or gunner bingo. They won't likely understand what you are going through, but they still can help you through it. A support system like this will ease your transition from normal human being to oppressed law student.
10. Enjoy yourself. I have had more fun learning in law school then I had ever before in any educational setting that I have ever encountered. The law is a complex and intriguing field of study, but it is so important and vital to everyday life. I think that is cool, but, I am a big nerd. If nothing else, this is the last time you get to still be in school before real life hits. You don't have to think about 2000 billable hours or 7 day work weeks...yet. Enjoy it while you can!
2. Laughter, in as many forms as possible, is key. I have seen people freak out. I've seen people lose their minds. I've gotten A's, I've gotten C's. People forget to have fun and laugh and realize that law school really shouldn't be as serious as the Paper Chase makes it out to be.
3. Don't overemphasize the small things. Seriously. A memo is a memo. It'll consume you for a little while. A grade is a grade. Law school is like a marathon, you don't finish it in the first 50 feet. Oh, and never judge your knowledge by the length of someone else's outline. Ever.
4. Grades are not everything, knowing the right people is everything. I'm going into my third year and I am in the process of having doors opened to me by coworkers (I am not a big firm, just a place with quality people who want to help me out). When your boss tells you that he is going to bust his ass to get you a great job, you know that the people you are with are the ones who care about you. Branch out. Make friends. Form relationships. These will be the biggest asset for you when you want to be gainfully employed
5. Making Law Review Does Not Mean that You are a) smarter than anyone, b) entitled to anything, or c) destined to get a Summer Associateship. Grading onto Law Review is something to be proud of, it shows that you are a great test taker (I am not one of these people) and you learned a lot along the way. But it doesn't mean that you are going to be God's gift to the legal profession. You have to retain your humility and appreciate all of your successes along the way.
6. Don't be a Gunner. Or a Douchebag. If you always volunteer an answer on every single question, chances are you are the gunner. No one wants to be the gunner. No one likes the gunner. The gunner does not help the law school educational process. The gunner is there to bet on or play Gunner Bingo. If you know the answer and you always know the answer, good for you. It shows that you are learning something; but keep that to yourself and show everyone how much you know by acing the finals.
7. Do not force other peoples study habits onto yourself. This is huge. When I was on the verge of starting 1L, a lot of people told me about finding a study group or engaging in other various study habits (briefing cases is totally overrated, I stopped after the first day). Don't rush into this. Joining a study group first semester 1L caused me to do worse on finals and start a blog, both constructive uses of my time. Take a few weeks to get used to the system and see what works best for YOU. I defined my study habits a year too late and my GPA suffered because of that. Now that I said don't follow anyone else's studying habits, let me suggest a study habit...
8. Study Throughout the Semester in a Way That Prepares You For Finals. For me, this is the only study habit that I can suggest. As I alluded to above, people sweat the small shit and lose their minds. I found that my studying throughout the semester had me ready for finals and that I did not have to pull allnighters just to be competent in Torts or Contracts. I hope that this makes sense...
9. Stay close to your friends that are not in law school. Your other friends will remind you that there is more to life then case briefing or legal writing or gunner bingo. They won't likely understand what you are going through, but they still can help you through it. A support system like this will ease your transition from normal human being to oppressed law student.
10. Enjoy yourself. I have had more fun learning in law school then I had ever before in any educational setting that I have ever encountered. The law is a complex and intriguing field of study, but it is so important and vital to everyday life. I think that is cool, but, I am a big nerd. If nothing else, this is the last time you get to still be in school before real life hits. You don't have to think about 2000 billable hours or 7 day work weeks...yet. Enjoy it while you can!
Casebriefs, Outlines, Old Exams
If you haven't already discovered, the best place to start with is 4LawSchool. Complete with casebriefs, outlines, and old exams. Another decent one-site stop for outlines, exams and other resources is Hieros Gamos's Law Student Center.
Your school should have a subscription to Cali.org. When you get your password be sure to check the site out. Cali can be helpful if you're more of an interactive learner -- there are exercises, outlines, and podcasts available for most subjects.
Case Briefs/Class Notes
A lot of students who run sites will post their class notes. While these are specific to the professor, sometimes they can be helpful in explaining particular rules of law of cases or clarifying general concepts. Just remember that for these sites the find feature on your browser (recommend Mozilla's Firefox) is your best friend.
- 1L Law Source
- Former student from U of MN shares a plethora of information including case briefs, outlines, checklists and stuff from Emanuel's. He also has information available for upperlevel courses.
- Mike Shecket's Extravaganza!