Penn Students Taking Questions Forum

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wildcatatpenn

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Re: Penn Students Taking Questions

Post by wildcatatpenn » Tue Aug 05, 2014 3:07 pm

Anyone have any opinions on Sharbaugh, and/or "law firm as a business"?

1948

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Re: Penn Students Taking Questions

Post by 1948 » Mon Aug 11, 2014 6:52 pm

any suggestions on where to get penn apparel/clothing other than the bookstore? looking for a store, not online

ymmv

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Re: Penn Students Taking Questions

Post by ymmv » Mon Aug 11, 2014 7:21 pm

1948 wrote:any suggestions on where to get penn apparel/clothing other than the bookstore? looking for a store, not online
Once the semester starts the Penn Law store in the Silverman basement will be open. Maybe during orientation? I can't remember if it was last year. Much better LS gear than the book store.

1948

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Re: Penn Students Taking Questions

Post by 1948 » Tue Aug 12, 2014 10:07 am

ymmv wrote:
1948 wrote:any suggestions on where to get penn apparel/clothing other than the bookstore? looking for a store, not online
Once the semester starts the Penn Law store in the Silverman basement will be open. Maybe during orientation? I can't remember if it was last year. Much better LS gear than the book store.
thank you i appreciate the response. and just general penn apparel? seems that the bookstore is the only show in town

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Re: Penn Students Taking Questions

Post by ymmv » Tue Aug 12, 2014 10:13 am

1948 wrote:
ymmv wrote:
1948 wrote:any suggestions on where to get penn apparel/clothing other than the bookstore? looking for a store, not online
Once the semester starts the Penn Law store in the Silverman basement will be open. Maybe during orientation? I can't remember if it was last year. Much better LS gear than the book store.
thank you i appreciate the response. and just general penn apparel? seems that the bookstore is the only show in town
As far as I know, yeah, though someone more experienced with UG here can correct me. Maybe try eBay?

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tigersaresexy

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Re: Penn Students Taking Questions

Post by tigersaresexy » Sat Aug 16, 2014 2:58 am

Do you guys prefer Ebooks or normal textbooks

ymmv

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Re: Penn Students Taking Questions

Post by ymmv » Sat Aug 16, 2014 6:16 am

tigersaresexy wrote:Do you guys prefer Ebooks or normal textbooks
Lots of professors don't allow electronic devices in class just FYI. And if you care about cold calls it's very hard to do rapid flips through the material on e.g. an iPad, even though it might be nicer than a casebook for reading/highlighting.

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PennBull

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Re: Penn Students Taking Questions

Post by PennBull » Sat Aug 16, 2014 12:18 pm

ymmv wrote:And if you care about cold calls
spoiler alert: you shouldn't

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B.B. Homemaker

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Re: Penn Students Taking Questions

Post by B.B. Homemaker » Sat Aug 16, 2014 3:07 pm

PennBull wrote:
ymmv wrote:And if you care about cold calls
spoiler alert: you shouldn't
I was right there with ya until OCI happened.

I'll report back in a couple weeks on whether I can still +1 the pennbull approach.

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PennBull

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Re: Penn Students Taking Questions

Post by PennBull » Sun Aug 17, 2014 7:55 pm

haha how is my approach affecting OCI at all?

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B.B. Homemaker

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Re: Penn Students Taking Questions

Post by B.B. Homemaker » Sun Aug 17, 2014 9:00 pm

PennBull wrote:haha how is my approach affecting OCI at all?
I feel like a little more caring during 1L (just a bit, nothing crazy) might have helped in the grades department, which would have helped with OCI.

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PennBull

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Re: Penn Students Taking Questions

Post by PennBull » Sun Aug 17, 2014 9:52 pm

Oh I absolutely gave a shit about grades and did what was necessary for them, but the sooner you realize what shit is worth it and what isn't, it makes the hard stuff a little more manageable

some people like doing class reading to understand the material, but many others read to be as prepared as possible for the infamous cold call; the latter reason can be really problematic for many reasons

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DCNTUA

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Re: Penn Students Taking Questions

Post by DCNTUA » Tue Aug 19, 2014 4:26 pm

Sections were released today. Anyone care to comment on:

Morse for Criminal

Wolff for Civ Pro

deLisle for Torts

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tigersaresexy

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Re: Penn Students Taking Questions

Post by tigersaresexy » Tue Aug 19, 2014 4:45 pm

I have Baker (torts), Wax (civil procedure) and Robinson (crim)

Thoughts?

1948

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Re: Penn Students Taking Questions

Post by 1948 » Tue Aug 19, 2014 5:06 pm

any reason not to rent textbooks for semester-long classes? not worried about losing them. thanks!

westphillybandr

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Re: Penn Students Taking Questions

Post by westphillybandr » Tue Aug 19, 2014 5:16 pm

DCNTUA wrote:Sections were released today. Anyone care to comment on:

Morse for Criminal

Wolff for Civ Pro

deLisle for Torts
deLisle is entertaining in class. his exams are standard race horse issue spotters aka typing contests. don't expect too much out of class. a good outline and a solid supplement (don't remember what I used) will get you through.

i think renting is the worst option for getting casebooks.

icytoes

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Re: Penn Students Taking Questions

Post by icytoes » Tue Aug 19, 2014 5:24 pm

Any insights into scirica (civpro), Katz (crim), or Feldman (torts)?

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westphillybandr

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Re: Penn Students Taking Questions

Post by westphillybandr » Tue Aug 19, 2014 5:30 pm

icytoes wrote:Any insights into scirica (civpro), Katz (crim), or Feldman (torts)?

Katz is great but you won't get much from class or the reading. Get Dressler and work on your typing speed and you'll be fine.

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goldenboy514

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Re: Penn Students Taking Questions

Post by goldenboy514 » Tue Aug 19, 2014 5:51 pm

tigersaresexy wrote:I have Baker (torts), Wax (civil procedure) and Robinson (crim)

Thoughts?
same section here, looking for some opinions.

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sopranorleone

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Re: Penn Students Taking Questions

Post by sopranorleone » Tue Aug 19, 2014 5:59 pm

tigersaresexy wrote:I have Baker (torts), Wax (civil procedure) and Robinson (crim)

Thoughts?
Had Baker and Robinson my 1L year. Baker is a pretty cool dude--he won't grill you if you honestly don't know the answer. He has this "game" that's actually kind of fun and is helpful in trying to distinguish or analogize to cases. Sometimes he rambles, but otherwise I loved his class.

Robinson will actually try to scare the shit out of you for the first two weeks. You have homework assignments, can't use laptops in class, and he or his TA will point out and make note of students who aren't paying attention in class. And he's very into his own thoughts and beliefs about crim law, so definitely DON'T disagree with him.

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AlwaysPlayTheFox

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Re: Penn Students Taking Questions

Post by AlwaysPlayTheFox » Tue Aug 19, 2014 6:01 pm

icytoes wrote:Any insights into scirica (civpro), Katz (crim), or Feldman (torts)?
Same question but sub Burbank for Scirica

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westphillybandr

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Re: Penn Students Taking Questions

Post by westphillybandr » Tue Aug 19, 2014 6:15 pm

AlwaysPlayTheFox wrote:
icytoes wrote:Any insights into scirica (civpro), Katz (crim), or Feldman (torts)?
Same question but sub Burbank for Scirica
Class with Burbank is intense and he rubs some people the wrong way. That being said, he knows Civ Pro extremely well and is one of the most intelligent people you'll meet at Penn. The material covered in the first half of the course will be of little use to you for the exam. He doesn't allow outlines for the final but I found it to be pretty fair. You don't need to write a ton to do well. He actually prefers brevity. I would highly recommend the Freer supplement.

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AlwaysPlayTheFox

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Re: Penn Students Taking Questions

Post by AlwaysPlayTheFox » Tue Aug 19, 2014 6:20 pm

westphillybandr wrote:
AlwaysPlayTheFox wrote:
icytoes wrote:Any insights into scirica (civpro), Katz (crim), or Feldman (torts)?
Same question but sub Burbank for Scirica
Class with Burbank is intense and he rubs some people the wrong way. That being said, he knows Civ Pro extremely well and is one of the most intelligent people you'll meet at Penn. The material covered in the first half of the course will be of little use to you for the exam. He doesn't allow outlines for the final but I found it to be pretty fair. You don't need to write a ton to do well. He actually prefers brevity. I would highly recommend the Freer supplement.

Thank you!!

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Nelson

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Re: Penn Students Taking Questions

Post by Nelson » Tue Aug 19, 2014 7:31 pm

I think worrying about professors for 1L is overrated since it really does not make a very big difference for a 1L. That said:

Burbank is an incredibly prominent scholar in the field. He's a bit obtuse in lecture though. He also doesn't teach CivPro "by the book," which means supplements aren't that useful. There are a ton of old outlines though, so that doesn't really matter as much. Closed book exam.

Wax is an unpleasant person. She goes out of her way to be old school and intimidate 1Ls, but she softens up over time. Her exam is a preposterous multiple choice monstrosity.

I have personal issues with Wolff, but he's probably the fairest and most straightforward 1L civ pro professor not named Struve.

Gelbach is fine. He's just young. Don't let the ATL stories freak you out because I would be money that his second year goes much more smoothly.

Scirica is a federal judge and an incredibly well regarded one. Generally considered a really great person. That said, I would not be surprised if his first year teaching 1Ls is rough. He previously only co-taught upper level classes with other professors, so this is his first crack at 1L. He's friends with Struve and Burbank though so I imagine his syllabus will crib from theirs, making old outlines still relevant.

DeLisle is straight black letter law. Torts is easy regardless, but I think deLisle is about as straightforward as law school gets, in terms of class and exam.

Baker is a fabulous man. Really, really fantastic person. Loves insurance more than anyone else in the universe.

Katz is incredibly obtuse in lecture, and he admits it, but the exam is straight black letter. It's a DIY class, so get some outlines and supplements early.

Robinson got a pretty bad rep my year for being lazy. Generally considered to be pretty checked out as a professor.

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jumpin munkey

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Re: Penn Students Taking Questions

Post by jumpin munkey » Tue Aug 19, 2014 11:53 pm

Nelson and others are pretty right on. For Katz, just make sure your typing is up to snuff. If you can type more, you will do better. His exam is a total sprint. For Burbank, know the rules pretty well and read and reread Glannon's E and E for personal jurisdiction, Erie, and preclusion. His exam is very straightforward if you know those things very well. For Morse, I personally think it is very important to go to every class and hang on his every word. He is fairly clear about what his views are and his views make up a huge percentage of the exam. And just get Dressler and know it back and forth.

Burbank is intentionally terrifying for 1Ls, especially at first, so just know that ahead of time. Your cold call with him will be one you will always remember.

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