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Question from a 1L:

How much do you actually use the stuff you learn in law school? I know having a general analytical framework for approaching the law is important, but how relevant is the actual minutiae that you learn in your first year of law school? What about the coursework you took subsequently?

You'll probably use your civ pro knowledge a lot. Beyond that, it really depends on the firm and on the projects that firm assigns to you.

I took a course on legislation, and it ended up serving me very well during my firm summer. I summered at a DC firm that does a lot of government-related work, but I would imagine that having some legislative/statutory interpretation tools at your disposal would be helpful in any law job.

Anonymous User wrote:You'll probably use your civ pro knowledge a lot. Beyond that, it really depends on the firm and on the projects that firm assigns to you.

I took a course on legislation, and it ended up serving me very well during my firm summer. I summered at a DC firm that does a lot of government-related work, but I would imagine that having some legislative/statutory interpretation tools at your disposal would be helpful in any law job.

This sounds right to me, based on my experience at a DC firm for a summer.

How much do you actually use the stuff you learn in law school? I know having a general analytical framework for approaching the law is important, but how relevant is the actual minutiae that you learn in your first year of law school? What about the coursework you took subsequently?

I used Civpro, Evidence, Tax, and Crimpro (crimpro for pro-bono only).

It's not vital that you remember all the minutiae, but it's helpful to be able to spot general issues in a subject.