Harvard Student(s) Answering Your Questions

[ph14]

I'm interested in the SV market (emerging companies/venture capital). Given that I have ties (went to school there, SO lives there, etc.), how difficult would it be? I'm at best a mediocre interviewer, have a couple degrees and a couple years WE.

Not sure what you are looking for here. It's Harvard Law School. It places well in every market, but that still depends on grades, ties, interviewing ability, etc. HLS gives you just about the best shot out there to get the job you want in the SV market. The most anyone can say at this point in time (assuming you are an 0L) is that it's not guaranteed and it's not extremely difficult.

What kind of grades should I be aiming for?

The best grades you can possibly get. You can't really "aim" for grades.

[ph14]

That looks terrible. This is such a 0L question, but do you need to bring the books to class? I mean, do you carry them around on the reg?

You do if you need it to remember things for cold-calling, and that will also depend on the sort of details your prof asks when cold-calling. I am a weakling so I for the most part stopped bringing casebooks to class even 1L. I managed to successfully get through my cold-calls without it, but I also have a good memory for the reading.

I brought my casebook, but I don't have a great memory for details and often read the cases ahead of time. I never got a chance, but I would like to have tried using a Kindle version of a casebook.

If you live off-campus and have a locker you can store some in there, but there will probably be times that you will have to end up carrying multiple casebooks to/from school if you want to do reading from home.

[094320]

..

[tomwatts]

I've lived in Gropius for the past three years...

I thought Gropius is "you're on your own" for your 2L and 3L years? Are there always Type-1 rooms left over after all the 1Ls are done choosing?

2. Thoughts on how to meet the undergraduate Houses' Masters and Deans so that you can apply to be a residential tutor in your 2L and 3L years, when you have no reason to be inside the Houses ever?

1. No and yes, respectively. If I remember correctly, returning students actually choose before 1Ls, but they choose from a limited number of rooms — but few enough people stay in the dorms as 2Ls and 3Ls that it's generally not a problem. If you want to live in Gropius during any year of HLS, you can live in Gropius. (I lived in Gropius during my MPP year of a JD/MPP, even.)

2. Become a freshman proctor? There are several times as many people who want to be resident tutors (and freshman proctors) as there are positions, so this is a hard gig to get.

I was told SF is litigation heavy so I should really only focus on SV offices. Am I misinformed?

That's an oversimplification. There are maybe half a dozen major powerhouses in emerging companies/venture capital work in the Bay Area. Some of them have much larger SF offices than SV offices (e.g., MoFo) and as a result do plenty of this practice in SF, some have pretty big offices in both places and do plenty of this in both places (e.g., Cooley), and some are only in SV (e.g., Gunderson). If you're interested in this practice in the Bay Area, you should look at both SF and SV.

I say this especially because the Bay Area legal market is a tough market, one of the toughest in the country. Cast your net wide.

[despina]

I never got a chance, but I would like to have tried using a Kindle version of a casebook.

I did this once. It saved me money (about $100 vs $200 for the hard copy -- I think it was a new edition so I couldn't find it used). It obviously was WAY lighter than a casebook, but it was actually a huge pain. It didn't have any corresponding notes to the print version pages, so I had to search by case name or keep notes on what Kindle reference number it was on. Let to several awkward cold calls where I was trying to answer the question from my notes while fiddling with the Kindle to find the text. Probably worth it for the savings to my wallet and back, though.

Also would need to check with the prof if this is ok, because some don't allow any electronic devices, or wouldn't want to let you use your kindle during an exam.

[wwwcol]

Is Harvard Law Entrepreneurship Project (HLEP) something worth trying? What's the time commitment and how likely would I benefit from it?
!

Yes, you should join. As an SPO you can try it for a semester - no need to make a long term commitment or anything. The time commitment is minimal, maybe an hour or two a week at the beginning of the semester and gradually ramping up to maybe 3-4 hours/wk as you get closer to deadlines.

I'm not going to go into extensive detail here because once you have your student account (if you don't already), then you'll be able to access in-depth student evaluations of HLEP. Collectively, those will provide far more insight and better inform you than TLS could. With that said, to my knowledge HLEP is one of the few (only?) SPOs/clinics that gives you the chance to work directly in the startup space, and a lot of the clients HLEP takes on are doing interesting work.

Downside: It's a relatively new organization and the lack of institutional knowledge shows at times. IMO the exec board made a few bad calls last semester in taking on clients whose legal work turned out to be extremely technical and/or dull stuff, but as they get more client applications and do a better job choosing clients moving forward this will be less problematic.

[MyopicVisage]

Is Harvard Law Entrepreneurship Project (HLEP) something worth trying? What's the time commitment and how likely would I benefit from it?
!

Yes, you should join. As an SPO you can try it for a semester - no need to make a long term commitment or anything. The time commitment is minimal, maybe an hour or two a week at the beginning of the semester and gradually ramping up to maybe 3-4 hours/wk as you get closer to deadlines.

I'm not going to go into extensive detail here because once you have your student account (if you don't already), then you'll be able to access in-depth student evaluations of HLEP. Collectively, those will provide far more insight and better inform you than TLS could. With that said, to my knowledge HLEP is one of the few (only?) SPOs/clinics that gives you the chance to work directly in the startup space, and a lot of the clients HLEP takes on are doing interesting work.

Downside: It's a relatively new organization and the lack of institutional knowledge shows at times. IMO the exec board made a few bad calls last semester in taking on clients whose legal work turned out to be extremely technical and/or dull stuff, but as they get more client applications and do a better job choosing clients moving forward this will be less problematic.

Thanks! This is really helpful. I have my student account but many of the sites are still blocked at this point. Does HLEP require application/interview? Didn't find any info on their website. Where could I access the student evals?

[rathgra]

Is a backpack necessary if you're living in Gropius? If so, any recommendations? Preferably something sturdy, relatively inexpensive, decent-looking, and waterproof (I realize this is asking a lot).

It's probably not as necessary, but I (and most people I know) used one. It's just easier to deal with.

I've posted this before, but I have the same LL Bean backpack everyone in New England had in middle school - it fits all those criteria. I used it through my last two years of high school and college and it's still in excellent shape.

Herschel is probably the most visibly common brand, I know nothing about it personally.

[t-14orbust]

Is a backpack necessary if you're living in Gropius? If so, any recommendations? Preferably something sturdy, relatively inexpensive, decent-looking, and waterproof (I realize this is asking a lot).

It's probably not as necessary, but I (and most people I know) used one. It's just easier to deal with.

I've posted this before, but I have the same LL Bean backpack everyone in New England had in middle school - it fits all those criteria. I used it through my last two years of high school and college and it's still in excellent shape.

Herschel is probably the most visibly common brand, I know nothing about it personally.

I love how dorky the model in the final picture looks hahaha. definitely a consideration, thanks!

[094320]

..

[delusional]

Is a backpack necessary if you're living in Gropius? If so, any recommendations? Preferably something sturdy, relatively inexpensive, decent-looking, and waterproof (I realize this is asking a lot).

It's probably not as necessary, but I (and most people I know) used one. It's just easier to deal with.

I've posted this before, but I have the same LL Bean backpack everyone in New England had in middle school - it fits all those criteria. I used it through my last two years of high school and college and it's still in excellent shape.

Herschel is probably the most visibly common brand, I know nothing about it personally.

Edited. LOL this post did not come out the way I had intended.
I meant to write "outed".

[Doorkeeper]

side rant: why the fuck is Herschel so popular? I see them everywhere. It just looks like another ol' backpack to me.

[jrf12886]

I rocked a Nike bookbag I got from Citysport. Haha. But seriously, no one will notice/care what kinda bag you have. Get something thats comfortable and won't fall apart with lots of heavy casebooks. And I second the suggestion to get a locker. It's a must.

[despina]

no one will notice/care what kinda bag you have. Get something thats comfortable and won't fall apart with lots of heavy casebooks.

Totally agreed. I had never heard even of Herschel before looking it up after the comment in this thread. I would just add, this should be common sense but just in case... your backpack doesn't need to be formal / businesslike but make sure you wouldn't be embarrassed to have an impromptu networking opportunity with a foreign diplomat / informal interview with the partner of a big firm / lunch with a Supreme Court Justice etc with it. You truly never know who you are going to run into on campus. In other words, fine if it is boring or shows your personality with a fun color / pattern, but make sure it's neither ripped to shreds nor covered with obscene patches. Same with laptops -- some people have bizarre stickers on them, which I think is fine if it shows some personality, but I've occasionally questioned somebody's judgment at leaving on something pretty juvenile.

Another suggestion when looking for backpacks -- make sure their zippers are covered and that the material is water-resistant at the very least, preferably water proof. You'll be carrying your laptop in the rain / snow.

[justinp]

Herschel is sort of the go to"I'm not devil may care enough to forego a backpack entirely but I would like to look stylish nonetheless" backpack.

I just used the same jansport I've had since high school. No one cares.

[zor]

side rant: why the fuck is Herschel so popular? I see them everywhere. It just looks like another ol' backpack to me.

Because it's a great bag? I don't consider it stylish at all but maybe that's because I have the workhorse one. I had the LL Bean ones for years, but was frustrated that it didn't have much padding for a laptop so I wound up taking a whole laptop case with me every day. I love the Herschel one because it has a fuzzy lined laptop sleeve in the backpack (so I don't have to carry a case, the laptop just slips in), the bag and straps sit wider and more comfortably on my shoulders (and they're slimmer with your goods resting against your back, unlike the huuuge LL Bean ones where you feel like you're tipping back), it has a little top zip pocket for my sunglasses and mouse, and it has a lot of great zipper pockets on the front for various school stuff. It also has a plastic-lined exterior bottom so that when I put it on the floor of the T or the ground it doesn't soak nastiness through into the bag.

I wanted an awesome backpack because at the time I had a long commute, so I basically bought every backpack on Zappos and decided when they arrived which one to keep and sent the rest back.

[wert3813]

Anybody know where I can read a #smarttake that's a unique perspective on the Hobby Lobby case? Something that isn't just the same stuff being said over and over again?

This Noah Feldman article is from long before the case was decided, but it anticipates the holding and is a bit more pragmatic than Jezebel and Free Republic. http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2 ... a-surprise

It was a shoutout to one of our own who wrote a pretty sharp article and while I didn't feel like I was outing him for reasons that are plan and that I won't mention here, he didn't respond so I let it be.

[EdSaid]

Any thoughts about Sunstein for admin law? I've heard not so great things about him and his reviews aren't great, but it would be convenient for my schedule.

[tomwatts]

HLPR often has a decent (albeit unabashedly left-wing oriented) article up shortly after a major case is decided.

Yes. Yes they do.

Unsure if being sarcastic or affirming that HLPR is decent.

It was a shoutout to one of our own who wrote a pretty sharp article and while I didn't feel like I was outing him for reasons that are plan and that I won't mention here, he didn't respond so I let it be.

Oh, was I supposed to say something?

Any thoughts about Sunstein for admin law? I've heard not so great things about him and his reviews aren't great, but it would be convenient for my schedule.

Everything that I've heard is that it's bad news. Avoid if possible.

[Doorkeeper]

Any thoughts about Sunstein for admin law? I've heard not so great things about him and his reviews aren't great, but it would be convenient for my schedule.

Very theoretical/abstract. He rambles all the time on random side tangents. No coherence to his lecture.

Unless you're particularly interested in admin theory and you don't mind putting in a lot of work to make his incoherent lectures coherent, then I would avoid.

[delusional]

Any thoughts about Sunstein for admin law? I've heard not so great things about him and his reviews aren't great, but it would be convenient for my schedule.

I took his class and the stuff that others wrote here is pretty accurate. That said, I don't regret having taken it. It was incoherent all semester and then the last couple weeks and during exam period it started to come together a bit. If you take it, it helps to use the commercial case brief book because he refers to cases in passing as though everyone is familiar with them, and sometimes they weren't even in the reading.

[jrf12886]

Any thoughts about Sunstein for admin law? I've heard not so great things about him and his reviews aren't great, but it would be convenient for my schedule.

Take with Rakoff if possible.

[MyNameIsFlynn!]

Any thoughts about Sunstein for admin law? I've heard not so great things about him and his reviews aren't great, but it would be convenient for my schedule.

Take with Rakoff if possible.

Unfortunately the only options next year are Sunstein and Stephenson.

[Miznitic]

Harvard Grads: How's it feel knowing you should've gone to Yale?

[lawlorbust]

Rejected.

179 LSAT

2.89 cumulative GPA ( < 1.0 First attempted (long story) :: 3.68 second attempt, 10 years after initial attempt)

URM.

probably not as bitter as you still are about harvard