Top Law Schools

see title thread.

Legal Writing first semester. I was very confused.

Second semester I got a B+.

Legal Writing: B-, and I am probably lucky I got that.

I view it as a badge of honor now. First blood in an odd sense. I thought I'd be so much more upset than I actually was. Considering my modest typing speed (~40 wpm on a good day, and I like to go back and shift things around), I was lucky things turned out well enough in my substantive classes to offset it. I am not at the very top of my class, but still somewhere I didn't think I would ever be, and grateful to be so situated.

Top 5-15% at GULC.

B/B+ in LRW.

Hated it. Resented it. Didnt' work hard in it.

pasteurizedmilk wrote:Top 5-15% at GULC.

B/B+ in LRW.

Hated it. Resented it. Didnt' work hard in it.

Maybe they gave you a crappy grade because you weren't good at following directions.

Only got 3 grades in law school below a B+ and one below a B. You guessed, it: LRW. I hated that class so much- and I think it showed (B-).

top 20-25 + LR. Got a C in one class. Who knows...the prof hasn't made our exam available to review yet, but it nonetheless killed my gpa/rank. I did well in the same class 1st semester. We switched profs, so maybe that had something to do with it.

RVP11 wrote:

pasteurizedmilk wrote:Top 5-15% at GULC.

B/B+ in LRW.

Hated it. Resented it. Didnt' work hard in it.

Maybe they gave you a crappy grade because you weren't good at following directions.

Probably played a role.

amyLAchemist wrote:Am I the only person who liked LRW? Fave class by far.

Nope - I often wonder at why TLS hates the class so much. The only reason that I can think of is that it takes up a great deal of time and does not factor much (if at all) in your GPA. IMO, the solution is to make the class worth 4 credits. It seems absolutely crazy that the class that actually seems to teach skills that are somewhat like what we will use in practice does not factor into GPA at many schools.

Nope - I often wonder at why TLS hates the class so much. The only reason that I can think of is that it takes up a great deal of time and does not factor much (if at all) in your GPA. IMO, the solution is to make the class worth 4 credits. It seems absolutely crazy that the class that actually seems to teach skills that are somewhat like what we will use in practice does not factor into GPA at many schools.

It was 4 credits and graded at GULC. That didn't make me like it. Part of the reason most people hate it is because it tends to stifle creativity. Although all legal writing has a certain aspect of being formulaic, LRW takes it to the extreme. I got the sense that grading tended to be more on proper bluebooking than actual writing quality. Writing quality is too subjective- so the profs tend to fall back on the easy stuff. Additionally, they tend to put you through idiotic exercises like pulling up the cases in paper format when you could be studying for your substantive classes.

Law school improved my writing immensely, but that is mostly thanks to being an editor on a journal, taking upper-division paper classes, and writing extensively during my summer gigs. LRW was a consummate waste of my time.

Crim Law, basically a B-

Not into the topic, barely into the career path at all, not taught very well, test was long, I work very slowly, and I did not execute my timing or phrasing well on test day.

In an interview my response to this question is going to be "Didn't execute well on test day."

The above is fair. I didn't like the research exercizes either. My impression was that bluebooking was not the MAJOR focus of our grade (though I think the class did help me with my bluebooking). I agree with the "formulaic" stuff, but I think that putting these kind of constraints on writing makes the better writers stand out even more. I am sure it is different for different schools/sections. I am also sure many of my classmates would disagree.

I was hoping this thread had examples of how we can explain it to potential employers (apart from bad exam day performance). I hate con law

I got two grades below B in LS - one in Property 2 and one in a one week class on EU business orgs.

Property 2 I had blown a hemorrhoid from moving my buddy's 300 pound desk and had to go to the ER the night before the test - half of the med students at the U of Iowa tossed a finger in my bunghole that night and I couldn't sleep at all. The pain was intolerable during the test. Unfortunately, I couldn't pitch that story at OCI.

Second low grade was in a class with 7 students that got straight curved, I finished 4th or 5th in the class and got a C+. In hindsight, I shouldn't have taken that class - without that C+ I would have graduated in the top 5 instead of the top 15.

theghostofDrewTate wrote:Property 2 I had blown a hemorrhoid from moving my buddy's 300 pound desk and had to go to the ER the night before the test - half of the med students at the U of Iowa tossed a finger in my bunghole that night and I couldn't sleep at all. The pain was intolerable during the test. Unfortunately, I couldn't pitch that story at OCI.

Quote of the week?

I go to T20. Only two B's in LS are LRW1 and LRW2. Just couldn't get a hang of the whole writing formula.

Outside of LS every practitioner has said my writing is great.

I am resentful of LRW from keeping me from #1.

all a/a-(1 CALI); no b anything; 2 C+ (civpro and conlaw). school 25-35, at best bottom of top third.

explain this for OCI and I send you a Christmas turkey (meaning ANY possible explanation that wouldn't just make it look worse)

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Anonymous User wrote:all a/a-(1 CALI); no b anything; 2 C+ (civpro and conlaw). school 25-35.

explain this for OCI and I send you a Christmas turkey (meaning ANY possible explanation that wouldn't just make it look worse)

Where does that put you in the ranking? They might not even mention it. Though many probably will. By the off chance that those exams were close together and you got sick or your computer blew up, it certainly is a story to tell.

rando wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:all a/a-(1 CALI); no b anything; 2 C+ (civpro and conlaw). school 25-35.

explain this for OCI and I send you a Christmas turkey (meaning ANY possible explanation that wouldn't just make it look worse)

Where does that put you in the ranking? They might not even mention it. Though many probably will. By the off chance that those exams were close together and you got sick or your computer blew up, it certainly is a story to tell.

bottom of 1/3 or outside of it, prolly 50/50 chance. 1 C+ each semester. I understood the first, I was SHOCKED by the second, only grade I misjudged after the test.

Anonymous User wrote:

rando wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:all a/a-(1 CALI); no b anything; 2 C+ (civpro and conlaw). school 25-35.

explain this for OCI and I send you a Christmas turkey (meaning ANY possible explanation that wouldn't just make it look worse)

Where does that put you in the ranking? They might not even mention it. Though many probably will. By the off chance that those exams were close together and you got sick or your computer blew up, it certainly is a story to tell.

bottom of 1/3 or outside of it, prolly 50/50 chance. 1 C+ each semester. I understood the first, I was SHOCKED by the second, only grade I misjudged after the test.

Seriously shitty. Sorry to hear that.

And that ranking probably puts you right on the cusp or hiring for most firms. I would really focus on your interviewing skills and being as prepared as possible. I know that a lot of firms won't ever even look at your transcript. You need to knock your interviews out of the park and make them see that those grades are anomalies.

top 1/3 is not "seriously shitty."

The fact that you got a random C+ is shitty.

yinz wrote:

theghostofDrewTate wrote:Property 2 I had blown a hemorrhoid from moving my buddy's 300 pound desk and had to go to the ER the night before the test - half of the med students at the U of Iowa tossed a finger in my bunghole that night and I couldn't sleep at all. The pain was intolerable during the test. Unfortunately, I couldn't pitch that story at OCI.

Quote of the week?

This is a gem of a post.