Michigan 2012 Forum

[06072010]

Accounting for Lawlzers.

The final in this class PWNED me. Beware.

I have already pass / failed this class in my head. I plan on playing a lot of bejeweled or something.

[tcortez]

Has anyone heard back about Grad Plus yet? I have all my Stafford and grant/scholarship info I’m just wondering how long it takes to get approved for additional loans. Also, for the current students, when does the law school usually disperse financial aid? Late Aug?

Should I be applying for Grad Plus now? I don't know the timeline for this. I am a fall starter.

[Alexandria]

I know everyone and their mom is going to be in ADR, but anybody here taking JJ White's Secured Transactions and Bankruptcy doubleheader?

Me too.

I pussed out and opted for evidence with the crazy guy.

Hmmm... I wasn't aware either option was crazy. I had one of them for Jurisdiction and liked him.

Re Acctng... I'm hoping it's lots of math and lots of people suck at math? Bc I'm pretty good at math. (I'm taking this in the fall.)

[Alexandria]

Has anyone heard back about Grad Plus yet? I have all my Stafford and grant/scholarship info I’m just wondering how long it takes to get approved for additional loans. Also, for the current students, when does the law school usually disperse financial aid? Late Aug?

Should I be applying for Grad Plus now? I don't know the timeline for this. I am a fall starter.

No, apply in July or so.

[Alexandria]

Oh nice. Are we all looking forward to the 5 hour exam? Somebody throw something at me if I pass out 4 hours in.

How do I overlook this? Maybe I should pass/fail this over EO or Transnat.

No, you can't pass up the chance to take a class with a legend. I thought about taking it even though I have no interest in the subject, just for old times' sake (I had JJ for Ks at 8 a.m. fall semester of 1L year... he wakes you up!).

[jackassjim]

No, you can't pass up the chance to take a class with a legend.

For someone who's very new to the law, and who is unfamiliar with most of the scholarship that has been produced in its many subfields, how do I figure out who are the star profs at Michigan?

Thanks!

[Lawlcat]

With respect to class rank, for any job, Michigan Law is fine. If you want a market-paying (though this term is changing as we speak) job in a major city, top half is a great place to be in, though you might want to be a little higher in this economy. The more elite and prestigious firms, of course, require an even higher rank... somewhere in the top 20%-10%. But that's the name of the game, son. You can't expect Michigan law to bag you Sullivan and Cromwell on its own reputation.

That firm sounds perfectly cromulent. But, I ask, is it flummery?

Also, late-coming to the topic: I'm in D-11, it seems. A single, which is nice, I suppose.

And what's all this talk about picking classes?

[snotrocket]

For someone who's very new to the law, and who is unfamiliar with most of the scholarship that has been produced in its many subfields, how do I figure out who are the star profs at Michigan?

Some of the best profs to have aren't (yet) known as superstars. But most of the ones who are "household names" in their fields will appear on one or the other of these lists:

http://www.leiterrankings.com/faculty/2 ... reas.shtml
http://www.leiterrankings.com/faculty/2 ... ship.shtml

Just search those pages for "Michigan."

[snotrocket]

And what's all this talk about picking classes?

It's nothing. Just a bunch of crusty 1Ls that hijacked your noob thread to gripe about grades, the writing competition, and what we're taking next year.

[jackassjim]

For someone who's very new to the law, and who is unfamiliar with most of the scholarship that has been produced in its many subfields, how do I figure out who are the star profs at Michigan?

Some of the best profs to have aren't (yet) known as superstars. But most of the ones who are "household names" in their fields will appear on one or the other of these lists:

http://www.leiterrankings.com/faculty/2 ... reas.shtml
http://www.leiterrankings.com/faculty/2 ... ship.shtml

Just search those pages for "Michigan."

Thanks a lot for posting this. I had been to the Leiter website but somehow missed that page.

Cheers,

[mr.undroppable]

be warned, just because they are legal superstars does not mean they are any good at teaching you the material.

[Alexandria]

Yeah, there's a separate set of profs that everyone wants to take classes from because they're good teachers, not because they're superstars. There's some overlap between the two lists. Examples of popular *teachers* at Michigan: Reimann, Seinfeld, Primus, Brensike-Primus, Herzog, Logue, JJ White.

[jackassjim]

mr. & Alexandria:

Will certainly think about this if I ever end up at Mich

Thanks!

[jackassjim]

Sorry to monopolize the thread, but I was just wondering how easy it was to take a course with these profs. Is there some kind of lottery system or is it a first come first served type thing?

[06072010]

Yeah, there's a separate set of profs that everyone wants to take classes from because they're good teachers, not because they're superstars. There's some overlap between the two lists. Examples of popular *teachers* at Michigan: Reimann, Seinfeld, Primus, Brensike-Primus, Herzog, Logue, JJ White.

Very true, although Herzog may very well be a superstar in poli sci -- I seem him cited all the time for political thought stuff.

I think my major "rockstars" at Mich are:

Catherine MacKinnon -- she's not just a rockstar, she's like the Beatles. Love her or hate her, I think it would be hard to argue anyone else had more star power.
Jessica Littman - <3 <3 <3 (c)
Susan Crawford - when she comes back
Ellen Katz - pretty much the only law prof anyone talks to about election law anymore
Douglas Laycock - He's pretty much the guy on remedies.

As for Evidence, I'm taking the guy who is big on confrontation clause. LawOpen overwhelmingly hated him, but again, self selection.

[06072010]

Sorry to monopolize the thread, but I was just wondering how easy it was to take a course with these profs. Is there some kind of lottery system or is it a first come first served type thing?

No prob dude, fire away. There is a priority system where you can spend your priorities to get advanced shot over someone else who didn't use theirs. You get two of these. I used mine on ADR and Defamation with dreamy Herzog. Some classes are prof pick where you have compete to get into the class through a writing sample, statement of interest. For the most part, if you want classes with these people, you will get them.

[snotrocket]

Sorry to monopolize the thread, but I was just wondering how easy it was to take a course with these profs. Is there some kind of lottery system or is it a first come first served type thing?

Big classes you can pretty much get as you want -- only a few will fill up and shut people out. The school gives you two "priorities" that you can use any time from your second semester on. If you use a priority when signing up for a class, then you go into the pool of people that they draw from randomly to fill the seats in the "first round." Those who use a priority and who do not get in during the first round will go onto the top of the waitlist (also in random order). For your first year elective, for instance, most people will have to use a priority to get into any small seminar class, and if you do use one, then your odds are probably better than 50/50 of getting in. After they process everyone who used priorities, then they go by seniority (higher chance of getting in the closer you are to graduation). The nice thing about priorities is they put you at the head of the line and on an even footing with everyone else who uses one, regardless of seniority. The not so nice thing is, you only have two of them for the whole three years. They have the most "value" earlier on, when you have no seniority, so it makes sense to use one for your 1L elective and one during 2L for any other small, popular class that you want to be guaranteed of getting before you graduate. The school publishes a list of classes that people spent priorities on in the previous two years, so you can figure out which ones you probably need to save one for, and which ones are not worth spending it.

[snotrocket]

Some classes are prof pick where you have compete to get into the class through a writing sample, statement of interest. For the most part, if you want classes with these people, you will get them.

Good point. The most popular classes seem to be prof-picks. You can use a priority on those just to show your interest, but it won't be "spent" if you get in, because they don't use the normal priority selection process. If you don't get picked for one of these the first time around, just keep trying for it and you may get in later.

[jackassjim]

Great info guys and gals. This is really much appreciated.

I might have to study some game theory to find my optimal strategy in using those priorities.

[Merriweather]

i used one to get into EO with khanna, because the school only had one section of it, it's with a professor well loved, and it's at a good time.

unfortunately, the ABA is making Michigan add more classes on Fridays, because they threw a temper tantrum about it.

as it stands now, i have 15 credits (leaning towards dropping Jurisdiction) that are all on MTW.

[Alexandria]

Yeah, there's a separate set of profs that everyone wants to take classes from because they're good teachers, not because they're superstars. There's some overlap between the two lists. Examples of popular *teachers* at Michigan: Reimann, Seinfeld, Primus, Brensike-Primus, Herzog, Logue, JJ White.

Very true, although Herzog may very well be a superstar in poli sci -- I seem him cited all the time for political thought stuff.

I think my major "rockstars" at Mich are:

Catherine MacKinnon -- she's not just a rockstar, she's like the Beatles. Love her or hate her, I think it would be hard to argue anyone else had more star power.
Jessica Littman - <3 <3 <3 (c)
Susan Crawford - when she comes back
Ellen Katz - pretty much the only law prof anyone talks to about election law anymore
Douglas Laycock - He's pretty much the guy on remedies.

As for Evidence, I'm taking the guy who is big on confrontation clause. LawOpen overwhelmingly hated him, but again, self selection.

Yeah, I agree, which is why I said there was overlap. Like Primus may be young and not on that list of Con Law scholars, but he got one of the two inaugural Con Law Guggenheim fellowships last year. But he's an awesome teacher anyway.

I think the person you have Evidence with is who I had for Jurisdiction. And I like him!!

[Alexandria]

Great info guys and gals. This is really much appreciated.

I might have to study some game theory to find my optimal strategy in using those priorities.

Um, you really don't need to worry that much about it. I just finally used one of my priorities for my first semester of 3L. I kept trying to use them and didn't need them to get the classes I wanted. I think most people would tell you the same. (Well, that you don't need to study game theory, not that they didn't ever need to use a priority earlier.) I agree with the above poster who said that 1L elective is a great use of a priority. I actually lucked out in NOT getting my 1L elective even with a priority, because I then got in off the waitlist, and the priority is not spent that way.

[airlineraddict]

Didn't Professor Cooper introduce himself as older than the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure?

[tcortez]

Has anyone heard back about Grad Plus yet? I have all my Stafford and grant/scholarship info I’m just wondering how long it takes to get approved for additional loans. Also, for the current students, when does the law school usually disperse financial aid? Late Aug?

Should I be applying for Grad Plus now? I don't know the timeline for this. I am a fall starter.

No, apply in July or so.

Thanks! Glad somebody saw my post.

[hdg315]

Anyone planning on tackling Mich's suggested 0L summer reading list? Or at least using it as a guide?