Berkeley Students (Boalties) Taking Questions Forum

[sirchristaylor]

Booked my flight for ASW. Very excited! March needs to go by really fast

I'm waiting on my flight confirmation. The Cal travel agent used so many smiley faces in every email to me that she made me even happier than I was before...

Just got my confirmation. With the service fee, the total is over 150 (up to 150 is appropriated for us in staters). Do you think the cost will still be defrayed by Cal? The travel agent hasn't asked me to cover the rest of the cost and I'm not sure if the school will ask me to pay the rest either, not that it's a lot of money. Just curious

No idea, but I'm sure it will work out!

[Khasekhemwy]

What type of grades are needed/how tough is it to get a job as a criminal prosecutor for Alameda (or perhaps Contra Costa) county?

I figure it might be pretty competitive given that people would want to stay in the eastbay after law school and I'd imagine given the economy more people might be flocking to jobs with the local gov't. It's been a goal/dream of mine for some time to do this but I obviously have no idea what kind of grades I can achieve in law school.

This thread seems to have been dormant for some time but if any of you Boalties all are still checking the thread/have an answer to my question I would definitely be appreciative!

[bilbobaggins]

What type of grades are needed/how tough is it to get a job as a criminal prosecutor for Alameda (or perhaps Contra Costa) county?

I figure it might be pretty competitive given that people would want to stay in the eastbay after law school and I'd imagine given the economy more people might be flocking to jobs with the local gov't. It's been a goal/dream of mine for some time to do this but I obviously have no idea what kind of grades I can achieve in law school.

This thread seems to have been dormant for some time but if any of you Boalties all are still checking the thread/have an answer to my question I would definitely be appreciative!

This will have a lot more to do with the work you do your first and second summers than your grades.

[manu4ever882001]

...

[Rotor]

So since I've been out of school for a while, I'm thinking about taking some courses through UCSD Extension (I went to a UC system school) to get back into that mode. They offer a paralegal certificate program. I'm not going to do the entire program, though I would like to take some courses (intellectual property, torts, crim). The courses aren't that long (ranging from a month to three months), so I assume they won't cover material in depth. Do you guys think I should it would be better to start with a blank slate at Boalt instead of getting my feet wet? I realize it's hard to answer because I (and you) don't know what exactly will be covered, but any opinion would help. Thanks!

Manu-- everyone is different and you know yourself best. However, I was 21+ years removed from my days as a student in an academic setting and it was nooooo problem getting back into the swing. A) no quizzes, papers etc. means you have time to adjust; B) every mod (small section) gets a 3L tutor who will hold weekly sessions (voluntary) and office hours and C) study groups will also help you calibrate your study habits before heading into a midterm (if you have one) or final.

If I were you I would save the $$ and the time. Instead, go over to the Hotel Del, have drinks on the back deck and watch the sunset. Both time and $ will be better spent (IMO).

[Knock]

I'm heading up to the Bay Area this weekend to check out some schools, including Berkeley/Boalt. Is there anything I definitely need to see? or anyone I should talk to? Or just anything you want to recommend or tell me?

Thanks

[Rotor]

I'm heading up to the Bay Area this weekend to check out some schools, including Berkeley/Boalt. Is there anything I definitely need to see? or anyone I should talk to? Or just anything you want to recommend or tell me?

Thanks

Unfortunately, Spring Break starts tomorrow and the school is going to be closed. The building will be locked so you won't even be able to just walk around and take a look. (You will however be able to observe the big construction project out front that is on track to be done sometime next year)

That doesn't mean your trip will be unproductive. You can explore the city, get a sense of the neighborhoods where you might want to live, etc. For a gorgeous view, I highly recommend Indian Rock park. (google maps will get you there. Climb to the top of the rock on the west side of the street.)

I'd offer to meet up for coffee to chat & answer questions, but I'm headed to Yosemite.

Sorry about the timing, but I hope you enjoy the trip!

[gymboree]

I'd offer to meet up for coffee to chat & answer questions, but I'm headed to Yosemite.

The fact that you're heading to Yosemite for Spring Break instead of.... I don't know, sitting in a library, says almost everything we need to know about Boalt.

Have a great time!

[Knock]

I'm heading up to the Bay Area this weekend to check out some schools, including Berkeley/Boalt. Is there anything I definitely need to see? or anyone I should talk to? Or just anything you want to recommend or tell me?

Thanks

Unfortunately, Spring Break starts tomorrow and the school is going to be closed. The building will be locked so you won't even be able to just walk around and take a look. (You will however be able to observe the big construction project out front that is on track to be done sometime next year)

That doesn't mean your trip will be unproductive. You can explore the city, get a sense of the neighborhoods where you might want to live, etc. For a gorgeous view, I highly recommend Indian Rock park. (google maps will get you there. Climb to the top of the rock on the west side of the street.)

I'd offer to meet up for coffee to chat & answer questions, but I'm headed to Yosemite.

Sorry about the timing, but I hope you enjoy the trip!

Thank you very much. That's too bad you guys are on spring break, but I will definitely check out neighborhoods and the area! I will have to check out this Indian Rock park.

No worries, enjoy your trip to Yosemite! This is just a very preliminary trip, I will definitely be back a couple more times in the next year.

[MahaloMontana]

Will probably ask this at the housing session at ASW, but throwing it out there if any current students want to jump on it:

I'm in my early thirties and have an amazing one-bedroom apartment in the Mission in SF, right near the Bart. All my friends live around there, and my boyfriend, etc. I really don't want to leave it to move to Berkeley. (Nothing against Berkeley. I love it there. I just love my apartment more.) Will having to commute 30 or so minutes from SF really make things hellish for me during the first year?

edit to add some context: I have a friend who just got her Masters from Call and keeps telling me it will be fine to commute from SF, in fact she preferred it. But I feel like her Masters program might be a little different than a 1L year, so I'd love to get some feedback from someone who's been through it.

[voice of reason]

I think a site like padmapper.com could help in the search. It's a mashup of Craigslist postings, so you can see how far from Boalt the apartment would be.

This makes craigslist 100% better! tyvm

[Rotor]

Will probably ask this at the housing session at ASW, but throwing it out there if any current students want to jump on it:

I'm in my early thirties and have an amazing one-bedroom apartment in the Mission in SF, right near the Bart. All my friends live around there, and my boyfriend, etc. I really don't want to leave it to move to Berkeley. (Nothing against Berkeley. I love it there. I just love my apartment more.) Will having to commute 30 or so minutes from SF really make things hellish for me during the first year?

edit to add some context: I have a friend who just got her Masters from Call and keeps telling me it will be fine to commute from SF, in fact she preferred it. But I feel like her Masters program might be a little different than a 1L year, so I'd love to get some feedback from someone who's been through it.

Can't speak from personal experience, but a good friend in my mod takes the F-bus from the City every day and has no problem. (Bus is free with the AC Transit pass; Bart is 7.40/day RT; campus parking is limited and very expensive, not to mention the tolls) She also lives in the Mission (near Valencia).

[MahaloMontana]

Will probably ask this at the housing session at ASW, but throwing it out there if any current students want to jump on it:

I'm in my early thirties and have an amazing one-bedroom apartment in the Mission in SF, right near the Bart. All my friends live around there, and my boyfriend, etc. I really don't want to leave it to move to Berkeley. (Nothing against Berkeley. I love it there. I just love my apartment more.) Will having to commute 30 or so minutes from SF really make things hellish for me during the first year?

edit to add some context: I have a friend who just got her Masters from Call and keeps telling me it will be fine to commute from SF, in fact she preferred it. But I feel like her Masters program might be a little different than a 1L year, so I'd love to get some feedback from someone who's been through it.

Can't speak from personal experience, but a good friend in my mod takes the F-bus from the City every day and has no problem. (Bus is free with the AC Transit pass; Bart is 7.40/day RT; campus parking is limited and very expensive, not to mention the tolls) She also lives in the Mission (near Valencia).

Wow, that's really helpful! Thanks very much. I know parking in Berkeley can be terrible, so it's nice to learn about the F as an alternative to Bart. Do students get a free AC Transit pass?

[Rotor]

Wow, that's really helpful! Thanks very much. I know parking in Berkeley can be terrible, so it's nice to learn about the F as an alternative to Bart. Do students get a free AC Transit pass?

Well, "free" in that you pay a mandatory transit fee to the school. But everything after that is free. There was some buzz earlier about adding a small per trip surcharge for bridge crossings, but I think that got shot down.

[bilbobaggins]

The one other Missionite I know moved over halfway through 1L year. I plan on moving back as a 3L. However, it is definitely doable, especially if you don't care about the 1L social scene.

[Formerbruin]

Ha Amy, love your 'tar.

Berkeley 3L here, in case anyone wants the perspective of someone who has (almost) been through the wars. I've had a chance to work for a judge, a big firm, and the federal government in DC while at Boalt, if anyone wants a law student's perspective on those and how they compare.

[Kronk]

So the website claims that Berkeley gives you $5,215 for rent and utilities for nine months. That has to be incorrect, yes?

[dudester]

So the website claims that Berkeley gives you $5,215 for rent and utilities for nine months. That has to be incorrect, yes?

It's $5,215 per semester.

[Dignan]

I've got a couple of questions:

1. I am interested in trying to get a competitive fed gov internship in DC for my 1L summer (e.g., an internship with DOJ). Do you know Berkeley students who have done this or are going to do this? Will the law school faculty and staff help you in landing such internships?

2. Is the student body ideologically diverse? I lean left, but I really enjoy a variety of viewpoints, including conservative and libertarian ones. Are non-liberal viewpoints treated with respect?

[Rotor]

I've got a couple of questions:

1. I am interested in trying to get a competitive fed gov internship in DC for my 1L summer (e.g., an internship with DOJ). Do you know Berkeley students who have done this or are going to do this? Will the law school faculty and staff help you in landing such internships?

2. Is the student body ideologically diverse? I lean left, but I really enjoy a variety of viewpoints, including conservative and libertarian ones. Are non-liberal viewpoints treated with respect?

1. I don't know anyone personally, but I know it has been done. But rather than doing just a summer, you may want to do a semester there under the UCDC program. The program director said the semester long students have more diverse, interesting opportunities; get more responsibility than the typical SA since they get to really know you; and by extension create a bigger/better network. If I weren't married, and not wanting to be a geographic bachelor, I'd be doing that program in a heartbeat. And you get credits to boot!

2. Absolutely. There are a couple of Big-L Libertarians in my supermod and they regularly speak up with opposing viewpoints. I'm a center-right kinda guy and have never felt like I couldn't speak up. The Federalist Society is as active as the National Lawyers Guild (even if the number of members aren't equal). In the last few weeks, we have had John Walker Lindh's ("American Taliban") father here speaking against the govt anti-terror policies on the left and the lead counsel for the plaintiff that led to the SCOTUS decision to overrule the campaign finance laws on the right. [yes, Justice Alito, I'm aware that's an oversimplification]

Hope that helps.

[Dignan]

Thanks, Rotor. That was very informative.

Although the UCDC opportunity is appealing, there are a couple of reasons why I might prefer a summer internship to a full semester in DC. It could be helpful to have fed govt. experience on my resume before OCI (I don't think you can do UCDC until the fourth semester), and it seems like a full semester away might interfere with the opportunity to work on law review or a journal.

And pardon my ignorance, but what is a supermod?

[Formerbruin]

Thanks, Rotor. That was very informative.

Although the UCDC opportunity is appealing, there are a couple of reasons why I might prefer a summer internship to a full semester in DC. It could be helpful to have fed govt. experience on my resume before OCI (I don't think you can do UCDC until the fourth semester), and it seems like a full semester away might interfere with the opportunity to work on law review or a journal.

And pardon my ignorance, but what is a supermod?

It's true you can't do UCDC until your fourth semester. In terms of OCI, however, I don't think it would make much difference (if any) if you spent 1L summer working for, say, a judge as opposed to starting directly working for the feds. If you're sure that's what you want to pursue for those ten weeks, by all means, but I don't think it's necessary for OCI to have federal experience to get a federal job for 2L OCI.

I never found UCDC to be much of a hindrance to my journal work since so much is done by email/skype/phone conference these days anyway. It may be a different story if you're editor in chief of a journal or on CLR, though. I highly recommend it as an experience.

The class is organized into 3 "supermods" with about 90 people each. The supermods are then further organized into 9 "mods" of 30 people each. Your first semester, you will have one small class with your mod and two large classes with your supermod.

[black celebration]

Thanks for answering our questions. I have a few of my own:

1. How are the clerkship-application services? Is student advising on that front pretty strong? I would really love to jockey for a C.O.A. clerkship, but I know it's incredibly competitive. I am trying to decide between Berkeley and Michigan, and I understand that Michigan fares a little better on the clerkship front...but not sure *how* much better, and if it's enough to affect my decision?

2. Part of the argument that Michigan folk make is that the SF job market is "flooded" by Boalt grads and that it would be easier to distinguish myself as a Michigan graduate. I heard this sentiment echoed by a hiring partner at a big SF law firm, but he didn't elaborate as to how much this really matters. Can anyone speak to this? Does the Bay Area market really seem "flooded" by Boalt grads?

[black celebration]

Also, do you have to stay in Cali for the summer if you want to maintain residency?

EDIT: And one more question! I am going to make a final visit to the school on Monday. I know classes are almost over, but oh well. I am planning on sitting in on three or four classes; any recommendations? Is Liu actually still teaching his Con Law class, or has he been in D.C. for the hearings?

[Rotor]

Thanks for answering our questions. I have a few of my own:

1. How are the clerkship-application services? Is student advising on that front pretty strong? I would really love to jockey for a C.O.A. clerkship, but I know it's incredibly competitive. I am trying to decide between Berkeley and Michigan, and I understand that Michigan fares a little better on the clerkship front...but not sure *how* much better, and if it's enough to affect my decision?

2. Part of the argument that Michigan folk make is that the SF job market is "flooded" by Boalt grads and that it would be easier to distinguish myself as a Michigan graduate. I heard this sentiment echoed by a hiring partner at a big SF law firm, but he didn't elaborate as to how much this really matters. Can anyone speak to this? Does the Bay Area market really seem "flooded" by Boalt grads?

1. My impression is that the Michigan and Berkeley clerkship prospects have been roughly equal. I would expect that to improve over time with the improvements that Dean Edley is making to cement us in the 6-7 range. (Don't know if we'll ever get the respect to make it YHS CCNB MVP...., but they're working hard to that end). More specifically answering your qeustion, CDO does have a lot of clerkship specific info avail. Also, the faculty just approved a new ranking system to be more clerkship friendly (the way Berkeley implemented its "gradeless" grades apparently was detracting from some candidates). Add to that Prof. Liu moving over to the 9th Cir. won't hurt, assuming he gets confirmed (though he also has tight ties to Stanford and YLS). I have a 3L friend who has a COA gig in DC next year, so we're also having success outside the 9th Cir. (may be more I'm not aware of).
2. No. Obviously, there are a bunch around-- but that's a good thing networking wise. I wouldn't say the SF market is flooded with them. Will a Michigan resume get a half-second longer glance because it's something different? Maybe. But it's not going to give you a substantial boost. Your performance at Boalt or Michigan will be the deciding factor.