1Ls: What are you changing for next semester? Forum

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jawsthegreat

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Re: 1Ls: What are you changing for next semester?

Post by jawsthegreat » Mon Dec 28, 2009 9:42 pm

CE2JD wrote:
jawsthegreat wrote:
CE2JD wrote:
jawsthegreat wrote:So there is not enough important information being said in class to leave you at a disadvantage for using pen and paper?
It really depends on the class.

My CivPro prof was a didactic machine gun. He spoke very quickly in bullet points and, while he occasionally repeated the important points, he rarely (if ever) got sidetracked into something that wasn't a core concept of the material.

My Torts prof was a joke. I'd say about 20% of class time was useful, and only 5% was absolutely essential. Others in my section might say even less than 5% was essential. He basically told jokes and random stories during class.
Lol, did you find it easier to prepare for the exam in Civpro or torts based on the class style?
I found it harder to study for Torts for several reasons.

1) My Torts professor completely left out several major topics like product liability and only briefly touched on other topics like damages.
2) The topics which we DID spend a lot of class time were sometimes treated similiarly to how the casebook treated them, but often my professor would emphasize and analyzes certain concepts in a... unique way. I found that the material we spent time on in class was covered almost exclusively on the final exam.
3) For the above reasons I found it ultimately useful and necessary to spend more time correlating what we read in the casebook with what he emphasized in class. But this took much more time than what I did for CivPro because my CivPro prof basically gave us everything we needed to know on a silver platter via our class notes.
Cool thanks, so wait your torts prof didn't even touch on Products liability? I was under the impression that PL was a major part of any 1L torts class.

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CE2JD

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Re: 1Ls: What are you changing for next semester?

Post by CE2JD » Mon Dec 28, 2009 9:44 pm

jawsthegreat wrote:
CE2JD wrote:
jawsthegreat wrote:
CE2JD wrote:It really depends on the class.

My CivPro prof was a didactic machine gun. He spoke very quickly in bullet points and, while he occasionally repeated the important points, he rarely (if ever) got sidetracked into something that wasn't a core concept of the material.

My Torts prof was a joke. I'd say about 20% of class time was useful, and only 5% was absolutely essential. Others in my section might say even less than 5% was essential. He basically told jokes and random stories during class.
Lol, did you find it easier to prepare for the exam in Civpro or torts based on the class style?
I found it harder to study for Torts for several reasons.

1) My Torts professor completely left out several major topics like product liability and only briefly touched on other topics like damages.
2) The topics which we DID spend a lot of class time were sometimes treated similiarly to how the casebook treated them, but often my professor would emphasize and analyzes certain concepts in a... unique way. I found that the material we spent time on in class was covered almost exclusively on the final exam.
3) For the above reasons I found it ultimately useful and necessary to spend more time correlating what we read in the casebook with what he emphasized in class. But this took much more time than what I did for CivPro because my CivPro prof basically gave us everything we needed to know on a silver platter via our class notes.
Cool thanks, so wait your torts prof didn't even touch on Products liability? I was under the impression that PL was a major part of any 1L torts class.
Heh. My prof teaches Torts as a hobby and covers whatever the hell he wants to which incidentally includes in-depth discussions about English royalty, Major League Baseball, and structural constitutional law.

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emilybeth

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Re: 1Ls: What are you changing for next semester?

Post by emilybeth » Mon Dec 28, 2009 9:46 pm

jawsthegreat wrote: Cool thanks, so wait your torts prof didn't even touch on Products liability? I was under the impression that PL was a major part of any 1L torts class.
Are you even in law school yet?

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jawsthegreat

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Re: 1Ls: What are you changing for next semester?

Post by jawsthegreat » Mon Dec 28, 2009 9:47 pm

emilybeth wrote:
jawsthegreat wrote: Cool thanks, so wait your torts prof didn't even touch on Products liability? I was under the impression that PL was a major part of any 1L torts class.
Are you even in law school yet?
No, thats why I was asking. :?

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emilybeth

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Re: 1Ls: What are you changing for next semester?

Post by emilybeth » Mon Dec 28, 2009 10:00 pm

jawsthegreat wrote:
emilybeth wrote:
jawsthegreat wrote: Cool thanks, so wait your torts prof didn't even touch on Products liability? I was under the impression that PL was a major part of any 1L torts class.
Are you even in law school yet?
No, thats why I was asking. :?
Not trying to be a brat, just genuinely curious. I see you chime in a lot on this forum for a Class of 2013'er.

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jawsthegreat

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Re: 1Ls: What are you changing for next semester?

Post by jawsthegreat » Mon Dec 28, 2009 10:03 pm

emilybeth wrote:
jawsthegreat wrote:
emilybeth wrote:
jawsthegreat wrote: Cool thanks, so wait your torts prof didn't even touch on Products liability? I was under the impression that PL was a major part of any 1L torts class.
Are you even in law school yet?
No, thats why I was asking. :?
Not trying to be a brat, just genuinely curious. I see you chime in a lot on this forum for a Class of 2013'er.
Very Bored, my present location and job over the break have left me with Waaaay too much time on my hands.

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BlueCivic

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Re: 1Ls: What are you changing for next semester?

Post by BlueCivic » Mon Dec 28, 2009 10:15 pm

Yo ILs!

As someone who will be entering law school next year (probably HLS but not sure) and wanting to do well but not look like a douche, do you guys think that any review before school starts would be helpful? Would it be worth it to read through the E and E books? Or do you think thats not productive/harmful? Thanks much.

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emilybeth

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Re: 1Ls: What are you changing for next semester?

Post by emilybeth » Mon Dec 28, 2009 10:18 pm

BlueCivic wrote:Yo ILs!

As someone who will be entering law school next year (probably HLS but not sure) and wanting to do well but not look like a douche, do you guys think that any review before school starts would be helpful? Would it be worth it to read through the E and E books? Or do you think thats not productive/harmful? Thanks much.
Totally unnecessary. Relax. Chill. Enjoy the last few months of your life as you know it. You'll have time enough to do what you think is necessary once school starts, and you won't be able to judge whether reading all of each E&E is going to be a productive & helpful use of your time until then. Not to mention you don't know what topics your professor is going to cover. Some of my professors covered less than half of what the E&Es did.

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BlueCivic

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Re: 1Ls: What are you changing for next semester?

Post by BlueCivic » Mon Dec 28, 2009 10:23 pm

Ok thanks for the advice. But lets assume that my life as i know it consists of kind of an annoying job an i'm (naively?) excited to start law school and thinks the stuff is kind of interesting. Would reading this stuff be harmful do you guys think?

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mallard

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Re: 1Ls: What are you changing for next semester?

Post by mallard » Mon Dec 28, 2009 10:24 pm

I would counsel very seriously against summer prep.

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BlueCivic

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Re: 1Ls: What are you changing for next semester?

Post by BlueCivic » Mon Dec 28, 2009 10:27 pm

mallard wrote:I would counsel very seriously against summer prep.
Fair enough. I will find some other hobby. :)

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mallard

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Re: 1Ls: What are you changing for next semester?

Post by mallard » Mon Dec 28, 2009 10:29 pm

BlueCivic wrote:
mallard wrote:I would counsel very seriously against summer prep.
Fair enough. I will find some other hobby. :)
Some people will disagree. I guess if you really want to pick something up, there's the Civ Pro E&E. But even as Civ Pro goes there are as many approaches as professors, really. You should spend your time on something fun and worthwhile, like a language, or classical music, or a new philosopher or author. You have enough time during the year to do this crap.

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emilybeth

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Re: 1Ls: What are you changing for next semester?

Post by emilybeth » Mon Dec 28, 2009 10:30 pm

BlueCivic wrote:Ok thanks for the advice. But lets assume that my life as i know it consists of kind of an annoying job an i'm (naively?) excited to start law school and thinks the stuff is kind of interesting. Would reading this stuff be harmful do you guys think?
Yes. You will burn out much earlier than your classmates, and it will put you at a disadvantage. Of course some people may chime in to state that they're the exception, but when you have tons of law students talking on here about pushing past the burnout, etc., why would you want to do something to hasten it?

If you're bored in your job, pick up a t.v. show on DVD, start playing a sport, delve into a new novel. You're giving the rest of your life to law school. I repeat: CHILL.

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BlueCivic

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Re: 1Ls: What are you changing for next semester?

Post by BlueCivic » Mon Dec 28, 2009 10:32 pm

Haha. Good advice all. I will not do these things. Too bad Mad Men's over.

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superserial

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Re: 1Ls: What are you changing for next semester?

Post by superserial » Mon Dec 28, 2009 10:34 pm

jawsthegreat wrote:
emilybeth wrote:
jawsthegreat wrote: Cool thanks, so wait your torts prof didn't even touch on Products liability? I was under the impression that PL was a major part of any 1L torts class.
Are you even in law school yet?
No, thats why I was asking. :?
*cough* gunner.

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ihatelaw

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Re: 1Ls: What are you changing for next semester?

Post by ihatelaw » Mon Dec 28, 2009 10:38 pm

more E&Es
hornbooks for clarification when written by prof
keep going to class
keep doing short briefs of cases
keep outlining once or twice a month prior to the last month before finals
keep doing practice exams, though ill probably re-take them this time as well
*go out more, drink more, worry less*

I realized that no matter what grades I get I'm going to do that - if I get bad grades I know that what I need to fix is my test taking, confidence in the material, and clearer writing. The only things that will make that better will be reviewing my outline more and doing more practice exams.

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atlantalaw

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Re: 1Ls: What are you changing for next semester?

Post by atlantalaw » Mon Dec 28, 2009 10:45 pm

spend less time reading for class.

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Re: 1Ls: What are you changing for next semester?

Post by ak362 » Mon Dec 28, 2009 11:25 pm

Re: computer use - I actually went the opposite direction than most folks. I went pen and paper first (first did briefs in notebook, then when I couldn't read my writing, switched to case note printouts to enforce the self-imposed no laptop policy). Finally, I gave up sometime in November - brought out the laptop and boy, did my attention span sink (except in one class where the prof pretty much had your attention for the entire class). This semester, I'll probably get a feel for each class by going to the first couple of classes with laptop - and then decide whether I can concentrate enough without deviating to GChat, Facebook, etc.

+1 for not doing products liability in torts - we did Winterbottom and MacPherson and then we never heard from PL again. We did strict liability - sort of - but we were explicitly told it wouldn't be on the final exam. The E&E and the Prosser hornbook were pretty clutch, too.

I second not falling behind on the reading. I fell behind in Ks and it came to bite me hard. A missed reading or two put off until the end of the semester really adds up - especially when you need to spend that precious time outlining/taking practice exams, etc.

I finished my outlines maybe three weeks before exams - gave me plenty of time to do practice exams and some E&E drill sets, as well as CALI lessons (CivPro CALI is boss, Torts CALI is hit or miss, Contracts CALI is boss, and LRW CALI ???). I reviewed in different ways - for one class, I took several fully simulated exams (strict 3-hour limit, wireless shut off manually, etc.) - for the others, I just ran through other schools' exam banks and did quick issue spotting run-throughs or carefully looked over the sample exams our profs gave us with a fine-tooth comb. There are different strategies, obviously - and I guess I'll see what happens when grades come out.

I feel as if reading/briefing the cases actually helped. Granted, 98% of it won't even be necessary on the exam, but if I had difficulty recalling the rule of a particular case which I needed to pull, I remembered one itsy-bitsy fact to help jog the memory, and that usually worked. So I'll probably continue briefing the cases, contrary to popular opinion that case briefing isn't all that great.

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Re: 1Ls: What are you changing for next semester?

Post by ShiftyPig » Tue Dec 29, 2009 2:10 am

Not going.

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Re: 1Ls: What are you changing for next semester?

Post by Who32 » Tue Dec 29, 2009 1:00 pm

I only did this for two classes - but I will not study with other people. 1 hypo that I can go over in 10 minutes takes over an hour with other people. Study groups are a serious effing waste of time.

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superserial

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Re: 1Ls: What are you changing for next semester?

Post by superserial » Tue Dec 29, 2009 1:06 pm

Who32 wrote:I only did this for two classes - but I will not study with other people. 1 hypo that I can go over in 10 minutes takes over an hour with other people. Study groups are a serious effing waste of time.
+ 1000000. I quit my study group after a few sessions.

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Re: 1Ls: What are you changing for next semester?

Post by mac.empress » Tue Dec 29, 2009 2:31 pm

superserial wrote:
Who32 wrote:I only did this for two classes - but I will not study with other people. 1 hypo that I can go over in 10 minutes takes over an hour with other people. Study groups are a serious effing waste of time.
+ 1000000. I quit my study group after a few sessions.
I only use mine to review near the end of the year. Apart from that, I ignore them.

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Re: 1Ls: What are you changing for next semester?

Post by apper123 » Tue Dec 29, 2009 2:35 pm

For those having issues with discipline (such as being on the internet in class):

This sounds so stupid, but it worked for me. Say I wanted to get up early on a Saturday and get to school by 9 AM to do some work or wanted to stay off the internet in class but didn't want to switch to pen and paper... I'd go to one of my roommates and hand him a 20 dollar bill. I told him if I am not at school by 9 AM or jump on the internet in class, he can keep the 20 dollars. I emphasize to him to not offer me back the 20 under any circumstances and to not feel bad if I tell him to keep it.

It's sad that I had to do that, but especially when it came to dragging myself out of bed early on a Saturday morning it was really, really effective. I never lost my 20 dollars.

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Re: 1Ls: What are you changing for next semester?

Post by CE2JD » Tue Dec 29, 2009 2:50 pm

apper123 wrote:For those having issues with discipline (such as being on the internet in class):

This sounds so stupid, but it worked for me. Say I wanted to get up early on a Saturday and get to school by 9 AM to do some work or wanted to stay off the internet in class but didn't want to switch to pen and paper... I'd go to one of my roommates and hand him a 20 dollar bill. I told him if I am not at school by 9 AM or jump on the internet in class, he can keep the 20 dollars. I emphasize to him to not offer me back the 20 under any circumstances and to not feel bad if I tell him to keep it.

It's sad that I had to do that, but especially when it came to dragging myself out of bed early on a Saturday morning it was really, really effective. I never lost my 20 dollars.
My wife is my roommate and she already takes all of my money anyway.

Any other ideas?

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Re: 1Ls: What are you changing for next semester?

Post by superserial » Tue Dec 29, 2009 2:51 pm

apper123 wrote:For those having issues with discipline (such as being on the internet in class):

This sounds so stupid, but it worked for me. Say I wanted to get up early on a Saturday and get to school by 9 AM to do some work or wanted to stay off the internet in class but didn't want to switch to pen and paper... I'd go to one of my roommates and hand him a 20 dollar bill. I told him if I am not at school by 9 AM or jump on the internet in class, he can keep the 20 dollars. I emphasize to him to not offer me back the 20 under any circumstances and to not feel bad if I tell him to keep it.

It's sad that I had to do that, but especially when it came to dragging myself out of bed early on a Saturday morning it was really, really effective. I never lost my 20 dollars.
I'm too financially irresponsible for this to work.

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