Northwestern 1L/2L/3L/Grads Taking Questions and Challenges Forum

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

New
Posts: 12
Joined: Fri Nov 08, 2013 4:06 pm

Re: Northwestern 1L/2L/3L/Grads Taking Questions and Challenges

Post by starz » Wed Jul 08, 2015 11:23 pm

For those of you who have done clinic before:

About how many hours a week? Is most of the work in person? Was it worth it?

User avatar
rinkrat19

Diamond
Posts: 13922
Joined: Sat Sep 25, 2010 5:35 am

Re: Northwestern 1L/2L/3L/Grads Taking Questions and Challenges

Post by rinkrat19 » Wed Jul 08, 2015 11:45 pm

Clinic is pretty much everyone's favorite thing, or close to it.

I did the Criminal Defense clinic (non-death penalty). Probably 4-6 hours per week of research/writing/trial prep/doc review, 30 min of reading for class (except we did read two books which took a bit longer but were interesting reads). I did plenty of my work at home, researching whatever the prof had assigned me. Got to argue a motion in court once, and wrote a motion to resentence that is getting a dude out of federal prison 4 years early. I would have handled most of a 1-day trial had the accuser shown up to court, so I had to prep for that even though I didn't get to use any of it. Enjoyed my classmates (it's one of the smaller groups) and the prof (Urdangen) a lot.

The clinics vary a lot along the scale how much action you get. Crim Def is probably the most action, because it handles the smallest cases that move the most quickly, and everyone is working on multiple cases at a time. At the other end of the scale, I would guess, is the Supreme Court Clinic, where it's all research and writing on small pieces of a much larger case that you definitely won't be arguing yourself. Read the CTEs to get an idea of some of the work each clinic assigns. Also, there may be more in-person work if it's a clinic that has more client contact instead of just once in a while like my clinic.

It's almost worth doing clinic just to have access to the student work room. It's quiet, there's free coffee, best view of the lake, no neurotic 1Ls, and you can nearly always find a seat. All 3L year, if I was on campus and not in class, I was in the clinic work room.

User avatar
Holly Golightly

Gold
Posts: 4602
Joined: Wed Jan 13, 2010 10:30 am

Re: Northwestern 1L/2L/3L/Grads Taking Questions and Challenges

Post by Holly Golightly » Fri Jul 10, 2015 11:48 am

starz wrote:For those of you who have done clinic before:

About how many hours a week? Is most of the work in person? Was it worth it?
Time commitment depends a LOT on the clinic. I worked a ton in my clinics, but for one of them it was obvious going in that it would be very time-consuming, and for the other I did more work than I had to because I loved it and requested to be put on additional projects. So clearly for me it was more than worth it. Most of the work was not in person, but in-person work can add up if you are staffed on multiple cases/projects. I loved both of my clinics so much.

User avatar
BaberhamLincoln

Gold
Posts: 2992
Joined: Thu Jan 02, 2014 1:50 pm

Re: Northwestern 1L/2L/3L/Grads Taking Questions and Challenges

Post by BaberhamLincoln » Fri Jul 10, 2015 12:37 pm

Checking in to say thanks for this. Transferring in and will have a ton of questions later after I've skimmed a lot of what's been asked already.

User avatar
star fox

Diamond
Posts: 20790
Joined: Fri Feb 01, 2013 4:13 pm

Re: Northwestern 1L/2L/3L/Grads Taking Questions and Challenges

Post by star fox » Fri Jul 10, 2015 4:11 pm

leigh912198972 wrote:Checking in to say thanks for this. Transferring in and will have a ton of questions later after I've skimmed a lot of what's been asked already.
Woo hoo! Welcome aboard!

Want to continue reading?

Register now to search topics and post comments!

Absolutely FREE!


User avatar
wojo98

Bronze
Posts: 123
Joined: Wed May 22, 2013 1:55 pm

Re: Northwestern 1L/2L/3L/Grads Taking Questions and Challenges

Post by wojo98 » Fri Jul 10, 2015 11:37 pm

Pretty surprised Accounting won't be offered in either the fall or the spring. Leave it to Becky to look out for me though – glad she kept a full slate of foundational transactional classes like “Water Law,” “Food Law and Policy,” and “Reform of Criminal Procedure: Tanzania II” as alternatives.

/s

User avatar
rinkrat19

Diamond
Posts: 13922
Joined: Sat Sep 25, 2010 5:35 am

Re: Northwestern 1L/2L/3L/Grads Taking Questions and Challenges

Post by rinkrat19 » Fri Jul 10, 2015 11:57 pm

wojo98 wrote:Pretty surprised Accounting won't be offered in either the fall or the spring. Leave it to Becky to look out for me though – glad she kept a full slate of foundational transactional classes like “Water Law,” “Food Law and Policy,” and “Reform of Criminal Procedure: Tanzania II” as alternatives.

/s
I'd sure as fuck rather go to Tanzania and help them rewrite their legal system shit than try to get through accounting without stabbing myself in the ear with a pen.

User avatar
wojo98

Bronze
Posts: 123
Joined: Wed May 22, 2013 1:55 pm

Re: Northwestern 1L/2L/3L/Grads Taking Questions and Challenges

Post by wojo98 » Sat Jul 11, 2015 12:21 am

rinkrat19 wrote:
wojo98 wrote:Pretty surprised Accounting won't be offered in either the fall or the spring. Leave it to Becky to look out for me though – glad she kept a full slate of foundational transactional classes like “Water Law,” “Food Law and Policy,” and “Reform of Criminal Procedure: Tanzania II” as alternatives.

/s
I'd sure as fuck rather go to Tanzania and help them rewrite their legal system shit than try to get through accounting without stabbing myself in the ear with a pen.
Ehh quibble with the list of absurd electives all you want, but not offering Accounting seems akin to not offering Fed Tax or SecReg - boring, yes, but are practically transactional canon.

User avatar
lhanvt13

Gold
Posts: 2378
Joined: Wed Jun 09, 2010 12:59 am

Re: Northwestern 1L/2L/3L/Grads Taking Questions and Challenges

Post by lhanvt13 » Sat Jul 11, 2015 2:18 am

How do I request to take classes at other grad programs?

Want to continue reading?

Register for access!

Did I mention it was FREE ?


User avatar
cookiejar1

Silver
Posts: 867
Joined: Fri Mar 11, 2011 2:07 am

Re: Northwestern 1L/2L/3L/Grads Taking Questions and Challenges

Post by cookiejar1 » Sat Jul 11, 2015 6:11 am

wojo98 wrote:
rinkrat19 wrote:
wojo98 wrote:Pretty surprised Accounting won't be offered in either the fall or the spring. Leave it to Becky to look out for me though – glad she kept a full slate of foundational transactional classes like “Water Law,” “Food Law and Policy,” and “Reform of Criminal Procedure: Tanzania II” as alternatives.

/s
I'd sure as fuck rather go to Tanzania and help them rewrite their legal system shit than try to get through accounting without stabbing myself in the ear with a pen.
Ehh quibble with the list of absurd electives all you want, but not offering Accounting seems akin to not offering Fed Tax or SecReg - boring, yes, but are practically transactional canon.
Just take corporate finance in the Spring

User avatar
feralinfant

Silver
Posts: 893
Joined: Sat Feb 12, 2011 11:54 pm

Re: Northwestern 1L/2L/3L/Grads Taking Questions and Challenges

Post by feralinfant » Sat Jul 11, 2015 12:34 pm

Why does ITA Ethics meet at the same time as most of the clinics?

I basically have to choose between getting the extra ITA credit or doing my clinic. Seems kind stupid to schedule something "practical" like the trilogy during the time that your practicing clinics meet. :/

User avatar
MT Cicero

Silver
Posts: 692
Joined: Sun Oct 14, 2012 7:40 pm

Re: Northwestern 1L/2L/3L/Grads Taking Questions and Challenges

Post by MT Cicero » Sat Jul 11, 2015 12:51 pm

feralinfant wrote:Why does ITA Ethics meet at the same time as most of the clinics?

I basically have to choose between getting the extra ITA credit or doing my clinic. Seems kind stupid to schedule something "practical" like the trilogy during the time that your practicing clinics meet. :/
Quite annoyed by this as well, though there are a couple clinics that meet at times that would work. Still, ITA precluding a number of of clinics, including two of the main civil litigation clinics, seems poorly conceived.

Bonus though...I should be able to keep my schedule M-W if things hold.

User avatar
Micdiddy

Gold
Posts: 2231
Joined: Tue Mar 20, 2012 3:38 pm

Re: Northwestern 1L/2L/3L/Grads Taking Questions and Challenges

Post by Micdiddy » Sat Jul 11, 2015 3:01 pm

I'm pretty sure they either assumed no one would do the trilogy and a clinic, or are actively discouraging it.

Register now!

Resources to assist law school applicants, students & graduates.

It's still FREE!


User avatar
rinkrat19

Diamond
Posts: 13922
Joined: Sat Sep 25, 2010 5:35 am

Re: Northwestern 1L/2L/3L/Grads Taking Questions and Challenges

Post by rinkrat19 » Sat Jul 11, 2015 3:04 pm

The clinics were scheduled at the same time as a bunch of stuff I wanted to take. (Not ITA, just other electives.)

Clinic is worth it, IMO, since nobody outside the school knows what ITA is (so completing it is fairly useless) and you'll still get the ITA classes that are actually useful on their own (i.e. the ones that aren't ethics).

If the one credit is what's driving you, take an interesting seminar as a 2/3-draft instead of a 1-draft.

User avatar
feralinfant

Silver
Posts: 893
Joined: Sat Feb 12, 2011 11:54 pm

Re: Northwestern 1L/2L/3L/Grads Taking Questions and Challenges

Post by feralinfant » Sat Jul 11, 2015 3:16 pm

rinkrat19 wrote:The clinics were scheduled at the same time as a bunch of stuff I wanted to take. (Not ITA, just other electives.)

Clinic is worth it, IMO, since nobody outside the school knows what ITA is (so completing it is fairly useless) and you'll still get the ITA classes that are actually useful on their own (i.e. the ones that aren't ethics).

If the one credit is what's driving you, take an interesting seminar as a 2/3-draft instead of a 1-draft.
I'm going to do clinic without a question.

I mean its more that im going to take ITA, I'm going to take evidence and I HAVE to take ethics. What sucks is that if I took a specific ethics offered at a specific time on monday that conflicts with clinic, I would get three credits. If i take a different one, I get two.

So it's not like I'm taking the trilogy for a bonus credit, it's that I want to take those classes and because of scheduling I will get one less credit than i might have otherwise which is stupid. Plus, won't get to take it with Burns which is also a bummer.

User avatar
Micdiddy

Gold
Posts: 2231
Joined: Tue Mar 20, 2012 3:38 pm

Re: Northwestern 1L/2L/3L/Grads Taking Questions and Challenges

Post by Micdiddy » Sat Jul 11, 2015 4:12 pm

feralinfant wrote:
rinkrat19 wrote:The clinics were scheduled at the same time as a bunch of stuff I wanted to take. (Not ITA, just other electives.)

Clinic is worth it, IMO, since nobody outside the school knows what ITA is (so completing it is fairly useless) and you'll still get the ITA classes that are actually useful on their own (i.e. the ones that aren't ethics).

If the one credit is what's driving you, take an interesting seminar as a 2/3-draft instead of a 1-draft.
I'm going to do clinic without a question.

I mean its more that im going to take ITA, I'm going to take evidence and I HAVE to take ethics. What sucks is that if I took a specific ethics offered at a specific time on monday that conflicts with clinic, I would get three credits. If i take a different one, I get two.

So it's not like I'm taking the trilogy for a bonus credit, it's that I want to take those classes and because of scheduling I will get one less credit than i might have otherwise which is stupid. Plus, won't get to take it with Burns which is also a bummer.
I'm taking The 2 credit ethics, join that one.

chardeemacdennis

New
Posts: 14
Joined: Mon Sep 01, 2014 1:09 pm

Re: Northwestern 1L/2L/3L/Grads Taking Questions and Challenges

Post by chardeemacdennis » Sun Jul 12, 2015 10:09 am

wojo98 wrote:
rinkrat19 wrote:
wojo98 wrote:Pretty surprised Accounting won't be offered in either the fall or the spring. Leave it to Becky to look out for me though – glad she kept a full slate of foundational transactional classes like “Water Law,” “Food Law and Policy,” and “Reform of Criminal Procedure: Tanzania II” as alternatives.

/s
I'd sure as fuck rather go to Tanzania and help them rewrite their legal system shit than try to get through accounting without stabbing myself in the ear with a pen.
Ehh quibble with the list of absurd electives all you want, but not offering Accounting seems akin to not offering Fed Tax or SecReg - boring, yes, but are practically transactional canon.
Water law is now exceedingly important given climatic changes, population growth, and depleted aquifers.

Get unlimited access to all forums and topics

Register now!

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


User avatar
dagny05

New
Posts: 33
Joined: Sat Sep 21, 2013 6:10 pm

Re: Northwestern 1L/2L/3L/Grads Taking Questions and Challenges

Post by dagny05 » Sun Jul 12, 2015 3:10 pm

Are clinics graded?

And is taking the immigration clinic without any knowledge of immigration law a bad idea? It's something I want to learn more about, but there isn't a single immigration class being offered this spring or fall.

User avatar
feralinfant

Silver
Posts: 893
Joined: Sat Feb 12, 2011 11:54 pm

Re: Northwestern 1L/2L/3L/Grads Taking Questions and Challenges

Post by feralinfant » Sun Jul 12, 2015 3:19 pm

dagny05 wrote:Are clinics graded?

And is taking the immigration clinic without any knowledge of immigration law a bad idea? It's something I want to learn more about, but there isn't a single immigration class being offered this spring or fall.
Clinics are graded.

Classes are a bad way to learn about things, so taking a clinic is a great idea if you want to learn about something :)

User avatar
dagny05

New
Posts: 33
Joined: Sat Sep 21, 2013 6:10 pm

Re: Northwestern 1L/2L/3L/Grads Taking Questions and Challenges

Post by dagny05 » Sun Jul 12, 2015 3:38 pm

Admin Law with Burns or Fischman?

And I've heard that this class is considered quite hard -- bad idea to take it at the same time as ITA?

User avatar
feralinfant

Silver
Posts: 893
Joined: Sat Feb 12, 2011 11:54 pm

Re: Northwestern 1L/2L/3L/Grads Taking Questions and Challenges

Post by feralinfant » Sun Jul 12, 2015 3:44 pm

just realized Lupo isnt teaching law and rhetoric.

:(

Also how do I trick the registrar into letting me do multiple clinics?

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!


User avatar
Micdiddy

Gold
Posts: 2231
Joined: Tue Mar 20, 2012 3:38 pm

Re: Northwestern 1L/2L/3L/Grads Taking Questions and Challenges

Post by Micdiddy » Sun Jul 12, 2015 6:06 pm

feralinfant wrote:just realized Lupo isnt teaching law and rhetoric.

:(

Also how do I trick the registrar into letting me do multiple clinics?
Get approval from the clinic professors first? It seems like something the registrar should be flexible on (though I have no proof or reason to believe this).

User avatar
Holly Golightly

Gold
Posts: 4602
Joined: Wed Jan 13, 2010 10:30 am

Re: Northwestern 1L/2L/3L/Grads Taking Questions and Challenges

Post by Holly Golightly » Sun Jul 12, 2015 6:56 pm

dagny05 wrote:Admin Law with Burns or Fischman?

And I've heard that this class is considered quite hard -- bad idea to take it at the same time as ITA?
DF and I recommend taking it with Burns and never going to class. Also, I can say definitively that it's not that hard and can be learned in 2-3 days.

onionz

Bronze
Posts: 421
Joined: Thu Feb 23, 2012 11:22 pm

Re: Northwestern 1L/2L/3L/Grads Taking Questions and Challenges

Post by onionz » Sun Jul 12, 2015 7:42 pm

wojo98 wrote:
rinkrat19 wrote:
wojo98 wrote:Pretty surprised Accounting won't be offered in either the fall or the spring. Leave it to Becky to look out for me though – glad she kept a full slate of foundational transactional classes like “Water Law,” “Food Law and Policy,” and “Reform of Criminal Procedure: Tanzania II” as alternatives.

/s
I'd sure as fuck rather go to Tanzania and help them rewrite their legal system shit than try to get through accounting without stabbing myself in the ear with a pen.
Ehh quibble with the list of absurd electives all you want, but not offering Accounting seems akin to not offering Fed Tax or SecReg - boring, yes, but are practically transactional canon.
I also planned on taking accounting and am annoyed about this. Agree it's boring but seems pretty fundamental. At least give a heads up if they're no longer gonna offer it every year.

User avatar
crumb cake

Bronze
Posts: 394
Joined: Tue Jun 23, 2015 7:36 pm

Re: Northwestern 1L/2L/3L/Grads Taking Questions and Challenges

Post by crumb cake » Sun Jul 12, 2015 9:52 pm

.
Last edited by crumb cake on Fri Sep 25, 2015 1:07 am, 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”