UChi Students & Alumni Taking Questions Forum

A forum for applicants and admitted students to ask law students and graduates about law school and the practice of law.
Post Reply
User avatar
Dany

Diamond
Posts: 11559
Joined: Mon Sep 28, 2009 3:00 pm

Re: UChi 1Ls - 2 Quarters Down (!!) & Taking Questions

Post by Dany » Sun Mar 20, 2011 3:46 am

Knock wrote:Thanks for the awesome post, it is much appreciated.
Last edited by Dany on Sun Mar 20, 2011 2:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
Muenchen

Silver
Posts: 1187
Joined: Tue Mar 09, 2010 4:42 pm

Re: UChi 1Ls - 2 Quarters Down (!!) & Taking Questions

Post by Muenchen » Sun Mar 20, 2011 2:24 pm

Dany wrote:
Knock wrote:Thanks for the awesome post, it is must appreciated.

User avatar
JFo

Bronze
Posts: 397
Joined: Thu Feb 17, 2011 7:23 pm

Re: UChi 1Ls - 2 Quarters Down (!!) & Taking Questions

Post by JFo » Mon Mar 21, 2011 1:06 pm

Does anyone know how busy the Midway airport usually is on Saturday afternoons?

My flight leaves at 1:43PM, and I'm trying to see if I can leave UChi at 12:00 and make it on time.

User avatar
Emma.

Gold
Posts: 2408
Joined: Sun Oct 05, 2008 7:57 pm

Re: UChi 1Ls - 2 Quarters Down (!!) & Taking Questions

Post by Emma. » Mon Mar 21, 2011 1:29 pm

JFo wrote:Does anyone know how busy the Midway airport usually is on Saturday afternoons?

My flight leaves at 1:43PM, and I'm trying to see if I can leave UChi at 12:00 and make it on time.

Midway is about 8 miles by surface streets and 14 miles by highway. The traffic shouldn't be too bad on a Saturday and on the highway it is about 20 minutes without traffic, so I think you'll be OK.

I'm not sure how long the bus takes. The 55 or 59 both take a much more direct route than the highway, but with stops I'm guessing it is something like 40 mins.

Midway isn't a huge airport, but security can still be a pain. I'd hope on Saturday afternoon it wouldn't be too bad though. Check out http://dailypress2.com/newsroom/airports/MDW/

User avatar
alphamoose

Bronze
Posts: 252
Joined: Mon Jan 10, 2011 2:02 pm

Re: UChi 1Ls - 2 Quarters Down (!!) & Taking Questions

Post by alphamoose » Mon Mar 21, 2011 2:06 pm

.
Last edited by alphamoose on Thu Aug 25, 2011 9:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Want to continue reading?

Register now to search topics and post comments!

Absolutely FREE!


User avatar
funkyturds

New
Posts: 95
Joined: Mon Jun 07, 2010 10:32 pm

Re: UChi 1Ls - 2 Quarters Down (!!) & Taking Questions

Post by funkyturds » Mon Mar 21, 2011 5:38 pm

Stone's the biggest name, but Miles is friggin awesome.

le_taon

New
Posts: 29
Joined: Fri Oct 24, 2008 11:25 pm

Re: UChi 1Ls - 2 Quarters Down (!!) & Taking Questions

Post by le_taon » Tue Mar 22, 2011 5:33 am

Emma. wrote:
JFo wrote:Does anyone know how busy the Midway airport usually is on Saturday afternoons?

My flight leaves at 1:43PM, and I'm trying to see if I can leave UChi at 12:00 and make it on time.

Midway is about 8 miles by surface streets and 14 miles by highway. The traffic shouldn't be too bad on a Saturday and on the highway it is about 20 minutes without traffic, so I think you'll be OK.

I'm not sure how long the bus takes. The 55 or 59 both take a much more direct route than the highway, but with stops I'm guessing it is something like 40 mins.

Midway isn't a huge airport, but security can still be a pain. I'd hope on Saturday afternoon it wouldn't be too bad though. Check out http://dailypress2.com/newsroom/airports/MDW/
Do not count on taking the bus. Remember that it's a five-block walk from the law school to catch the 55 bus, and then you have to wait for a bus, which can sometimes be a bit unpredictable (and the bus intervals are already a longer on weekends), and it generally does take a bit longer than 40 minutes. A cab is the only way to go on this tight schedule.

MDW security lines can be unpredictable. Generally they move relatively quickly, but I would not risk it.

le_taon

New
Posts: 29
Joined: Fri Oct 24, 2008 11:25 pm

Re: UChi 1Ls - 2 Quarters Down (!!) & Taking Questions

Post by le_taon » Tue Mar 22, 2011 5:42 am

alphamoose wrote:Do any of you know anything about these classes?

Evidence with Professor Geoffrey Stone (Room II)
Federal Regulation of Securities with Professor Tom Miles (Room IV)
Health Law with Professor Anup Malani (Room I)
International Trade Law with Professor Anu Bradford (Room III)
I have to say that if there's one class here that people do not seem to take too seriously (aside perhaps from ethics), it's Evidence. My sense is that most people tend to think of it as an entirely required course, and that the discussion is not nearly as motivated (or the class as interested) as it is in other classes.

But it's true that Stone is a big name and I'm interested to see what he does with that class, which I didn't realize he had such a long history of teaching (LinkRemoved).

Anyway, I do hear that some students are very fond of Miles, and I think he's very bright. Health Law is one of Malani's areas of expertise, and though I don't think the 1L's who had him last year for Contracts were particularly fond of him, I hear he's much better in upper-level courses.

Also, the students who had Strahilevitz last year very much liked him, and if I were to pick one class at that time to sit it in, it would probably be that one. I also don't know why they've not listed Antitrust at that time as a class to attend, since it might be a good class to sit it on (it's the second part of a two-quarter Antitrust sequence).

Here's the full course schedule, in case people are interested: --LinkRemoved--

User avatar
Emma.

Gold
Posts: 2408
Joined: Sun Oct 05, 2008 7:57 pm

Re: UChi 1Ls - 2 Quarters Down (!!) & Taking Questions

Post by Emma. » Tue Mar 22, 2011 12:16 pm

le_taon wrote:
alphamoose wrote:Do any of you know anything about these classes?

Evidence with Professor Geoffrey Stone (Room II)
Federal Regulation of Securities with Professor Tom Miles (Room IV)
Health Law with Professor Anup Malani (Room I)
International Trade Law with Professor Anu Bradford (Room III)
I have to say that if there's one class here that people do not seem to take too seriously (aside perhaps from ethics), it's Evidence. My sense is that most people tend to think of it as an entirely required course, and that the discussion is not nearly as motivated (or the class as interested) as it is in other classes.

But it's true that Stone is a big name and I'm interested to see what he does with that class, which I didn't realize he had such a long history of teaching (LinkRemoved).

Anyway, I do hear that some students are very fond of Miles, and I think he's very bright. Health Law is one of Malani's areas of expertise, and though I don't think the 1L's who had him last year for Contracts were particularly fond of him, I hear he's much better in upper-level courses.

Also, the students who had Strahilevitz last year very much liked him, and if I were to pick one class at that time to sit it in, it would probably be that one. I also don't know why they've not listed Antitrust at that time as a class to attend, since it might be a good class to sit it on (it's the second part of a two-quarter Antitrust sequence).

Here's the full course schedule, in case people are interested: --LinkRemoved--

I think the reason they've limited the classes to these few is the limited seating for extra people in many classes. I think they're offering classes where they know there is extra room or moving smaller classes into the larger classrooms to create room.

That being said, if there is a different class that you are especially interested in, I'd email the admissions department and ask to sit in on that instead.

Want to continue reading?

Register for access!

Did I mention it was FREE ?


le_taon

New
Posts: 29
Joined: Fri Oct 24, 2008 11:25 pm

Re: UChi 1Ls - 2 Quarters Down (!!) & Taking Questions

Post by le_taon » Tue Mar 22, 2011 1:06 pm

Emma. wrote: That being said, if there is a different class that you are especially interested in, I'd email the admissions department and ask to sit in on that instead.
Meh. I wouldn't bother admissions...but then again, I'm of the "don't ask questions you don't want the answer to" philosophy. No one will care -- up to and including Dean Perry -- unless there are way too many people or a disturbance is being caused.

User avatar
alphamoose

Bronze
Posts: 252
Joined: Mon Jan 10, 2011 2:02 pm

Re: UChi 1Ls - 2 Quarters Down (!!) & Taking Questions

Post by alphamoose » Tue Mar 22, 2011 1:32 pm

.
Last edited by alphamoose on Thu Aug 25, 2011 9:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
Sentry

Silver
Posts: 1234
Joined: Tue Mar 02, 2010 6:38 pm

Re: UChi 1Ls - 2 Quarters Down (!!) & Taking Questions

Post by Sentry » Tue Mar 22, 2011 6:03 pm

L_T are what are people that struck out at OCI doing? besides freaking out.

le_taon

New
Posts: 29
Joined: Fri Oct 24, 2008 11:25 pm

Re: UChi 1Ls - 2 Quarters Down (!!) & Taking Questions

Post by le_taon » Wed Mar 23, 2011 3:44 am

Sentry wrote:L_T are what are people that struck out at OCI doing? besides freaking out.
Excellent question.

I guess I'll start out with a disclaimer: I'm not in this boat, and so I can't say personally that I am aware of everything that's going on with people who are in this boat. I also don't think anyone -- except perhaps for Career Services -- knows how many people are in this situation, because this is obviously not something that gets wantonly advertised. But my sense is that the numbers were certainly higher in 2010 than they were in 2008, although I also think that we as a 1L class were more attune to this possibility than in 2008 or 2009.

First, let's start with the reality: doing OCI and coming out of it without a job must is obviously less than ideal, and I'm sure it's enormously stressful and a huge emotional blow. I think the first step, therefore, was that, after OCI, Career Services actually reached out to people and inquired to them about how things were going and whether or not they'd received an offer. (This is necessary because after OCI, they have no way of knowing who gets what offers, etc., without us telling them.) And I know they met with people who didn't receive offers and counseled them about next steps. People have varying opinions about Career Services, and there's one person in Career Services in particular who has left a bad taste in a lot of people's mouths, but I will say that the Career Services people I know (which does not include this person) care very deeply about placing people in jobs and know that their reputations depend on it, and I think we have a very deep and experienced bench of counselors.

I think Step #1 was, looking at firms that didn't come to OCI or firms that people didn't interview with. Because of Chicago's size and (frankly) the elitism of our students, I think a lot of small- and mid-size firms don't come to OCI, because it's not worth it to them. I think this is particularly true in non-Chicago and non-NYC markets. So I think a lot of students looked at other firms.

Obviously, I think a lot of people also looked to public interest positions to fill the gap. Because ultimately even if there's no promise of a job opportunity, the experience is still quite good. I know that informal networks have also been helpful in this regard (e.g., FedSoc).

My sense is that there are still at least a few people who haven't secured either of these types of positions, and that efforts likely have or will continue to be made by Career Services to find them some form of summer position. Again, that's where the networks and experience come in handy, in terms of knowing what's open and available. Chicago also places students into judicial internships quite well (they've picked up a lot of the slack from the huge downturn in firms hiring 1L's), and that's another area in which networks and connections help.

For a number of these people, it's obviously going to be a much more difficult road ahead in terms of finding post-3L employment, and I don't envy them that task. While there are signs that post-3L hiring is up somewhat, my understanding is that it's still very tough.

That said, I have to say that I have no indication that Chicago students are in any worse shape than students at any other law school, whether top or not. The only exception to this, perhaps, is the fact that everyone has grades -- even those in the bottom 10% of the class -- and so while at Harvard, the bottom 10% might just be all "Passes", at Chicago there's a GPA that indicates exactly where you are. I can't personally say the extent to which that has an effect, but I think the employment numbers in general speak for themselves.

But the truth is, the NLJ 250 hiring numbers (which place Chicago at the top for number of graduates going into the top 250 NLJ firms) don't lie: a significant portion of 2L classes at every law school must be striking out at OCI. And if Chicago's numbers are accurate, there are substantially fewer of us than at a number of other schools. And I really do believe that our small class size is really an asset in terms of getting hired and being able to count on resources from Career Services.

Long story short: It's a difficult road, but there is life beyond OCI, and I think we do about as well as any school in helping people with it.

Register now!

Resources to assist law school applicants, students & graduates.

It's still FREE!


User avatar
Calla Lily

Bronze
Posts: 242
Joined: Wed Aug 04, 2010 3:50 pm

Re: UChi 1Ls - 2 Quarters Down (!!) & Taking Questions

Post by Calla Lily » Wed Mar 23, 2011 1:44 pm

Thank you for that helpful response, L_T!

This was somewhat mentioned before, but since you are a 2L, I was wondering if you could provide more information on clinics/practice opportunities. When comparing Chicago to other top schools, it looks like Chicago is pretty "light" on clinical and student practice opportunities (mainly compared to HLS, but other small schools also have a much more developed roster). Also, if I am correct, students at Chicago cannot do externships for credit, which other schools do offer. Can you comment on the importance of this and what your experience has been in this area? Do you know if you can create your own clinical opportunity? Are there any other substantial non-clinical practice opportunities like Corporate Lab, or is that pretty much it? Does it really matter for someone who is not interested in litigation?

User avatar
Dany

Diamond
Posts: 11559
Joined: Mon Sep 28, 2009 3:00 pm

Re: UChi 1Ls - 2 Quarters Down (!!) & Taking Questions

Post by Dany » Wed Mar 23, 2011 2:22 pm

Question: if you see a girl wandering around lost in Hyde Park in a few days, can you point her in the right direction? :wink:

So excited for my visit!!!

User avatar
Sentry

Silver
Posts: 1234
Joined: Tue Mar 02, 2010 6:38 pm

Re: UChi 1Ls - 2 Quarters Down (!!) & Taking Questions

Post by Sentry » Wed Mar 23, 2011 2:30 pm

I know it won't be an official number but l_t do you have any guess of how many people got something through OCI? Do all of your friends have jobs/some of your friends/about half etc.?

le_taon

New
Posts: 29
Joined: Fri Oct 24, 2008 11:25 pm

Re: UChi 1Ls - 2 Quarters Down (!!) & Taking Questions

Post by le_taon » Wed Mar 23, 2011 4:18 pm

Sentry wrote:I know it won't be an official number but l_t do you have any guess of how many people got something through OCI? Do all of your friends have jobs/some of your friends/about half etc.?
Truthfully, I don't actually know, mostly because I don't keep track and don't generally ask. The very good majority of my friends got OCI jobs -- but they're not a representative sample.

Again, though, my strong suspicion is that we did as well as (if not better than) most other schools. I bit Career Services has stats?

Get unlimited access to all forums and topics

Register now!

I'm pretty sure I told you it's FREE...


User avatar
Sentry

Silver
Posts: 1234
Joined: Tue Mar 02, 2010 6:38 pm

Re: UChi 1Ls - 2 Quarters Down (!!) & Taking Questions

Post by Sentry » Wed Mar 23, 2011 4:24 pm

They say they don't keep track of those stats.

le_taon

New
Posts: 29
Joined: Fri Oct 24, 2008 11:25 pm

Re: UChi 1Ls - 2 Quarters Down (!!) & Taking Questions

Post by le_taon » Wed Mar 23, 2011 4:54 pm

Calla Lily wrote:This was somewhat mentioned before, but since you are a 2L, I was wondering if you could provide more information on clinics/practice opportunities. When comparing Chicago to other top schools, it looks like Chicago is pretty "light" on clinical and student practice opportunities (mainly compared to HLS, but other small schools also have a much more developed roster). Also, if I am correct, students at Chicago cannot do externships for credit, which other schools do offer. Can you comment on the importance of this and what your experience has been in this area? Do you know if you can create your own clinical opportunity? Are there any other substantial non-clinical practice opportunities like Corporate Lab, or is that pretty much it? Does it really matter for someone who is not interested in litigation?
I really can't speak comparatively (that is, with reference to what other schools do), but let's talk about what we do have.

You're right that Chicago's official policy is, no externships for credit. This doesn't mean you can't get external jobs or that students don't. It mostly means that Chicago professors jealously guard their teaching time with students -- for the same reason, we're required to spend nine quarters (3/yr) in residence at the law school, and there are no study aboard programs -- and are extremely worried that allowing students to perform unsupervised externships will not actually provide education, particularly because many externships end up being law students doing menial work that is no substitute for actual, substantive knowledge and education.

There is the clinics, and I want to say that I know a number of students have had fabulous experiences in the clinics and have learned a ton. I also want to say that there are some non-litigation clinics (e.g., the IJ clinic, and the housing clinic, which is mostly transactional). But it's recognized that clinical offerings are limited by two things: (1) the capacity of the clinic is not exceptionally large (and certainly not as large as the interest) (and add to this the fact that access to the clinic is completely by lottery, aside from those who are able to obtain 1L summer jobs with the clinic and who are therefore guaranteed spots in the clinic); and (2) we're only allowed to 6 clinic credits over our entire 2L and 3L years (which generally works out to 1-2 credits/quarter, or 5-10 hrs/wk) (compare to say, CLS, where I know that students can take almost that in one semester with the clinic). The Dean has been very clear that to the extent the clinic grows in the years to come, it will do so in a corporate/transactional-based direction, and not in the more public-interested litigation mold.

There is the Corporate Lab, which a number of students take, and which, as I understand it, focuses on transactional/in-house type issues (but I don't really know). There's also an exception to the internship policy, which is the Poverty and Housing Law class. As the description states, students in the class "work on housing related cases at the Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago."

Also, there are classes on Pre-Trial Advocacy and Trial Advocacy, and (beyond the 1L Legal Research and Writing) Advanced Legal Research and Advanced Legal Writing. EDIT: There are also a number of other classes that provide practical brief-writing and/or oral arguing experience. There's one such class in IP this year, and another regarding Supreme Court practice, and I think another one re: divorce?

So that's what there is now, that I'm aware of. But all of these policies are currently under review. A faculty committee (headed by Prof. McAdams) was recently convened to evaluate the school's clinical and external offerings, and its recommendations are currently undergoing review by the administration. So we might expect to see some movement on this in the near future.

I suppose I want to close this all by saying, there's a big existential question right now in legal education regarding the extent to which students should come out of law school with more "hands on" lawyering experience. And I want to say that my sense is that (a) this is not really necessary to get a law firm job, (b) it is not necessary to do well at a law firm job, and (c) Chicago does not fully agree with the idea that law students require a ton of hands-on legal training.

To the first point, no 1L's can do clinics anyway, so it's not a big factor in terms of OCI or offers. To the second, I mean, the fact is, so many lawyers will still be coming out of law school with no training that I fail to see how not having a clinic will put one irreparably behind. In particular, the type of things one does in the clinic -- and the mechanics of how one goes about it -- while providing valuable skills, certainly won't be the way you'll be practicing law at a firm. I think anyway that a good summer experience (or a good pre-law experience) can more than make up for any skills that would be gained. (I say this not to insult the clinical professors, who I think are quite dedicated and with whom I've had invaluable learning experiences.)

Ultimately, though, at the end of the day, Chicago's an idea place, not a hands-on place. And that's true of the law school and the university at large. We think that the best education is not apprenticeship, but a mind that's been shaped and honed by sincere grappling with tough ideas. And the numbers show that law firms like Chicago students as attorneys -- so that philosophy can't be totally flawed...
Last edited by le_taon on Wed Mar 23, 2011 4:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.

scat_cat

New
Posts: 45
Joined: Sun Apr 12, 2009 11:12 am

Re: UChi 1Ls - 2 Quarters Down (!!) & Taking Questions

Post by scat_cat » Wed Mar 23, 2011 4:55 pm

Sentry wrote:They say they don't keep track of those stats.
That is a lie. They at least know how many people did not get offers from OCI, though they may not be able to differentiate between people who really wanted public interest and those that were trying primarily for a private firm SA. Get similar stats from another school you're looking at, bring them to ASW, and demand to know the stats here. (Then post the answers.) It is ridiculous that they're not being frank with applicants.

I'm a 3L, but my wild guess for this year is maybe 70% got firm SAs (either through OCI or hometown/small firm direct mailing), 20-25% wanted PI from the beginning and either didn't do OCI or did it halfheartedly, and 5-10% didn't get anything even though they wanted it. It definitely seems to me that more 2Ls came to UChi wanting to do public interest than in my year. And I'm pretty sure fewer 2Ls who wanted them failed to get SA positions compared to my year (when I'm guessing the ranks of the disappointed approached 15 or even 20%, and then maybe another 3-5% were no-offered after their SA; bizarrely, it seems that most of the people who were no-offered have subsequently scored firm offers elsewhere, whereas people who didn't do 2L SAs are still struggling).

User avatar
Calla Lily

Bronze
Posts: 242
Joined: Wed Aug 04, 2010 3:50 pm

Re: UChi 1Ls - 2 Quarters Down (!!) & Taking Questions

Post by Calla Lily » Wed Mar 23, 2011 5:03 pm

le_taon wrote:
Calla Lily wrote:This was somewhat mentioned before, but since you are a 2L, I was wondering if you could provide more information on clinics/practice opportunities. When comparing Chicago to other top schools, it looks like Chicago is pretty "light" on clinical and student practice opportunities (mainly compared to HLS, but other small schools also have a much more developed roster). Also, if I am correct, students at Chicago cannot do externships for credit, which other schools do offer. Can you comment on the importance of this and what your experience has been in this area? Do you know if you can create your own clinical opportunity? Are there any other substantial non-clinical practice opportunities like Corporate Lab, or is that pretty much it? Does it really matter for someone who is not interested in litigation?
I really can't speak comparatively (that is, with reference to what other schools do), but let's talk about what we do have.

You're right that Chicago's official policy is, no externships for credit. This doesn't mean you can't get external jobs or that students don't. It mostly means that Chicago professors jealously guard their teaching time with students -- for the same reason, we're required to spend nine quarters (3/yr) in residence at the law school, and there are no study aboard programs -- and are extremely worried that allowing students to perform unsupervised externships will not actually provide education, particularly because many externships end up being law students doing menial work that is no substitute for actual, substantive knowledge and education.

There is the clinics, and I want to say that I know a number of students have had fabulous experiences in the clinics and have learned a ton. I also want to say that there are some non-litigation clinics (e.g., the IJ clinic, and the housing clinic, which is mostly transactional). But it's recognized that clinical offerings are limited by two things: (1) the capacity of the clinic is not exceptionally large (and certainly not as large as the interest) (and add to this the fact that access to the clinic is completely by lottery, aside from those who are able to obtain 1L summer jobs with the clinic and who are therefore guaranteed spots in the clinic); and (2) we're only allowed to 6 clinic credits over our entire 2L and 3L years (which generally works out to 1-2 credits/quarter, or 5-10 hrs/wk) (compare to say, CLS, where I know that students can take almost that in one semester with the clinic). The Dean has been very clear that to the extent the clinic grows in the years to come, it will do so in a corporate/transactional-based direction, and not in the more public-interested litigation mold.

There is the Corporate Lab, which a number of students take, and which, as I understand it, focuses on transactional/in-house type issues (but I don't really know). There's also an exception to the internship policy, which is the Poverty and Housing Law class. As the description states, students in the class "work on housing related cases at the Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago."

Also, there are classes on Pre-Trial Advocacy and Trial Advocacy, and (beyond the 1L Legal Research and Writing) Advanced Legal Research and Advanced Legal Writing. EDIT: There are also a number of other classes that provide practical brief-writing and/or oral arguing experience. There's one such class in IP this year, and another regarding Supreme Court practice, and I think another one re: divorce?

So that's what there is now, that I'm aware of. But all of these policies are currently under review. A faculty committee (headed by Prof. McAdams) was recently convened to evaluate the school's clinical and external offerings, and its recommendations are currently undergoing review by the administration. So we might expect to see some movement on this in the near future.

I suppose I want to close this all by saying, there's a big existential question right now in legal education regarding the extent to which students should come out of law school with more "hands on" lawyering experience. And I want to say that my sense is that (a) this is not really necessary to get a law firm job, (b) it is not necessary to do well at a law firm job, and (c) Chicago does not fully agree with the idea that law students require a ton of hands-on legal training.

To the first point, no 1L's can do clinics anyway, so it's not a big factor in terms of OCI or offers. To the second, I mean, the fact is, so many lawyers will still be coming out of law school with no training that I fail to see how not having a clinic will put one irreparably behind. In particular, the type of things one does in the clinic -- and the mechanics of how one goes about it -- while providing valuable skills, certainly won't be the way you'll be practicing law at a firm. I think anyway that a good summer experience (or a good pre-law experience) can more than make up for any skills that would be gained. (I say this not to insult the clinical professors, who I think are quite dedicated and with whom I've had invaluable learning experiences.)

Ultimately, though, at the end of the day, Chicago's an idea place, not a hands-on place. And that's true of the law school and the university at large. We think that the best education is not apprenticeship, but a mind that's been shaped and honed by sincere grappling with tough ideas. And the numbers show that law firms like Chicago students as attorneys -- so that philosophy can't be totally flawed...
I really appreciate your taking the time to write such a thorough response! You make some great points.

Communicate now with those who not only know what a legal education is, but can offer you worthy advice and commentary as you complete the three most educational, yet challenging years of your law related post graduate life.

Register now, it's still FREE!


le_taon

New
Posts: 29
Joined: Fri Oct 24, 2008 11:25 pm

Re: UChi 1Ls - 2 Quarters Down (!!) & Taking Questions

Post by le_taon » Wed Mar 23, 2011 5:04 pm

scat_cat wrote:
Sentry wrote:They say they don't keep track of those stats.
That is a lie.
I agree but I don't know how to call that bluff. Anyway I'm not sure it's a useful statistic. A far more useful one, long term, is the number of 2L summers at firms.

scat_cat

New
Posts: 45
Joined: Sun Apr 12, 2009 11:12 am

Re: UChi 1Ls - 2 Quarters Down (!!) & Taking Questions

Post by scat_cat » Wed Mar 23, 2011 5:08 pm

Calla Lily wrote:When comparing Chicago to other top schools, it looks like Chicago is pretty "light" on clinical and student practice opportunities (mainly compared to HLS, but other small schools also have a much more developed roster). . . . Do you know if you can create your own clinical opportunity? . . . Does it really matter for someone who is not interested in litigation?
L_t took care of most of this, but . . . yes, there are fewer clinical opportunities here than elsewhere, mainly due to the disinterest of the previous dean. Some people who want to do clinics do not get to do clinics. However, the existing clinics are unique. I think the only other school with a federal criminal defense clinic is Georgetown, and we're the only clinic with an IJ clinic. We do not have an appellate advocacy clinic, though I've heard some buzz that that might come back. The new dean is making motions in the direction of expanding the clinics.

You can't create your own clinical opportunity.

People who are not interested in litigation should not, in my opinion, be taking clinic spaces from people who are interested in litigation. (Exceptions obviously being IJ and housing, which are transactional.) You don't need it. The only point I can see would be to convince you that you are actually interested in/good at litigation.

scat_cat

New
Posts: 45
Joined: Sun Apr 12, 2009 11:12 am

Re: UChi 1Ls - 2 Quarters Down (!!) & Taking Questions

Post by scat_cat » Wed Mar 23, 2011 5:11 pm

le_taon wrote:
scat_cat wrote:
Sentry wrote:They say they don't keep track of those stats.
That is a lie.
I agree but I don't know how to call that bluff. Anyway I'm not sure it's a useful statistic. A far more useful one, long term, is the number of 2L summers at firms.
They definitely have a "who worked where" list for both 1L and 2Ls. They might not have a who-will-work-where list, but maybe ask for a (redacted) version of last year's?

Ghost

Silver
Posts: 1282
Joined: Fri Oct 29, 2010 7:34 pm

Re: UChi 1Ls - 2 Quarters Down (!!) & Taking Questions

Post by Ghost » Thu Mar 24, 2011 11:49 pm

.
Last edited by Ghost on Wed Aug 31, 2011 7:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Seriously? What are you waiting for?

Now there's a charge.
Just kidding ... it's still FREE!


Post Reply

Return to “Ask a Law Student / Graduate”