Witt wrote:Thanks for your input!
Did you find the legal history/legal philosophy interesting or useful (I suppose I'm asking if the exams partially focused on the history/philosophy)? Did you use supplements? If so, was it difficult to utilize supplements because of the curriculum?
Thanks to Volsi for reminding me to check this thread. A few minutes ago she accosted me publicly, telling me I'm "prolific" on TLS and "post on there every day." Trying to get my clerkship application on, girl! That G.T.L. guy is a beast, so I've been checking this site a lot.
Yes, I found the Curriculum B readings both interesting and useful - both in the way you define useful and in the sense that I apply the readings in my life and in my other classes. There are two basic types of questions on law school exams: "issue spotters" and "policy questions." Issue spotters ask you to read a story and explain where and how the legal doctrines you've learned apply. Policy questions ask you to consider the state of the law you have read and comment on whether you feel it is a good thing, or to argue one way or the other (or both) regarding the rules as they exist. You might also need to explain that rules don't really exist yet, or are unclear.
Exams given in Curriculum B tend to have more of the latter type of question (policy questions). Usually the majority of your grade depends on issue spotting, but some of the Curric. B. tests could be as much as 33-40% dependent on a policy question. It is my impression that Curriculum A exams are in a range of 0-25% policy questions.
To answer a policy question, it's helpful to read materials that look at the law from a distance or consider why things are the way they are. This might mean a particularly thoughtful and ranging opinion by a judge, or a famous piece of scholarship on the topic. I find these materials interesting, and they are useful because they help you answer policy questions.
In classic Section 3 form, I'll note that the dichotomy I've set up between issue spotters and policy questions isn't so clear cut, and is really a tool one uses to talk about this stuff.
Supplements: yes, I used them. I met a 2L who was a nerd like me and had purchased multiple supplements for each class, and she kindly sold them all to me (if anyone's interested, I still have them). I think Glannon on Civil Procedure is great and was helpful to me. My professor was sufficiently clear in Property, so I didn't really use that one. I probably should have used them more for Torts/Contracts ("Bargain, Exchange and Liability" is the year-long, one-course version of those subjects), but maybe I'm just sour because I didn't do as well in that class.
I was afraid it would be difficult to use supplements because of the different course materials, too. I wouldn't say it was particularly difficult; I used the supplements to better understand materials I didn't get from class or my notes, and the topic in which I was interested was almost always covered in the supplement. Plus, if class is a little different from the supplement, the work you'll have to do in investigating why that is and what it means will broaden your understanding of the material; supplements can be a good way to see another way to look at things.
abstract wrote:
Hello all. I just received my official letter Thursday night and am leaning heavily toward GULC (live in DC and applied only to DC-area schools). I am looking at practicing law at the intersection of IP/cultural heritage/technology, which often falls under PI. Very excited to be able to post here, and hope everyone's cycle is going well.
I am similarly interested in Curriculum B, and in the above question. As a section, are the B folks especially collegial or cohesive? Also wondering whether the coursework would later have any impact on bar prep?
Lastly, if anyone has any DC-specific questions, I am happy to answer them!
Cool. I think you are making the right choice in choosing GULC over George Washington, even if you're interested in IP. I think they have more courses in the area than we do, but we have some pretty kickass professors for IP and from what I've seen, the name takes you further. I'm going to be a summer associate at a firm that's big into IP this summer and I did a science major in undergrad.
I think everyone at Georgetown would agree Curriculum B is "especially collegial or cohesive," yes. I've made truly great friendships with truly great people and I wouldn't trade them for anything. I just had a party at my house last night and getting Section 3ers to come is like setting food out and waiting for ants to come - we have a ton of love for each other and tend to be very supportive. The other sections have some great people, too, but from what I've seen, Section 3 tends to be pretty obviously more like a summer camp. If there is a group of 30 people in the Cafeteria who've congregated tables together to have a gigantic lunch together, it's most likely Section 3. This isn't to take anything away from the other sections, and there is something to be said for a different style of community; there are many people from other sections I count among those great friendships I mention above.
I'm not an expert on bar prep since I haven't done it yet, but I'm not worried about it. Be like Buddha and don't live life based on what bar prep is going to be like. From what I hear, at Yale they don't teach any black letter law and spend most of their time kayaking and reading opinions from the 18th Century England; I'm sure Yale's bar passage rate is fine.
And thanks, johndhi, for answering my questions.
