What did you learn from 1L? Forum

[Anonymous User]

For OCI...i feel like everything from 1L was something learned. It was a whole other world! Thoughts on a good answer? I can't think of anything non-cliche.

[delusional]

For OCI...i feel like everything from 1L was something learned. It was a whole other world! Thoughts on a good answer? I can't think of anything non-cliche.

I practiced over the weekend with random friends, and we found that you will never answer such a broad question. Choose one or two of your favorite parts or lessons, say, I really enjoyed X because A and Y because B. And then turn it back to the interviewer - "did you find yourself enjoying similar things in practice as you did in school?" Otherwise, it becomes a long directionless ramble.

[Anonymous User]

still struggling with this. what can we hone in on? the idea of learning how to "think like a lawyer" and being able to synthesize information and apply it to new situations seems weak/overdone.

[bjsesq]

That you truly know nothing about anything.

[romothesavior]

Try to talk about research or writing, since that's what you'll be doing. This is a fairly easy one. Talk about how law school introduced you to a new style of writing and you learned how to do legal writing.

[MissLucky]

Try to talk about research or writing, since that's what you'll be doing. This is a fairly easy one. Talk about how law school introduced you to a new style of writing and you learned how to do legal writing.

good point, but i feel like that ignores all the doctrinal courses and just focuses on Legal Writing class - because in doctrinal courses we certainly didn't hone our legal writing skills - it was more a mad dash to spot as many issues as possible, and writing style/ability was not even on the radar.

[Gorki]

Try to talk about research or writing, since that's what you'll be doing. This is a fairly easy one. Talk about how law school introduced you to a new style of writing and you learned how to do legal writing.

good point, but i feel like that ignores all the doctrinal courses and just focuses on Legal Writing class - because in doctrinal courses we certainly didn't hone our legal writing skills - it was more a mad dash to spot as many issues as possible, and writing style/ability was not even on the radar.

I guess this may depend on how well you performed in your doctrinal classes, but you could say you learned to analyze complex factual situations in a high-pressure and timed environment. Then try to tie this into what you know about working in a firm and meeting out-of-the-blue deadlines... Then again if you were average or below in doctrinal courses maybe it is better to say nothing about them unless asked and focus on your (hopefully) stellar grade in LRW.

[Anonymous User]

Try to talk about research or writing, since that's what you'll be doing. This is a fairly easy one. Talk about how law school introduced you to a new style of writing and you learned how to do legal writing.

good point, but i feel like that ignores all the doctrinal courses and just focuses on Legal Writing class - because in doctrinal courses we certainly didn't hone our legal writing skills - it was more a mad dash to spot as many issues as possible, and writing style/ability was not even on the radar.

I guess this may depend on how well you performed in your doctrinal classes, but you could say you learned to analyze complex factual situations in a high-pressure and timed environment. Then try to tie this into what you know about working in a firm and meeting out-of-the-blue deadlines... Then again if you were average or below in doctrinal courses maybe it is better to say nothing about them unless asked and focus on your (hopefully) stellar grade in LRW.

i'm average in doctrinal courses and our LRW is P/F (and i didn't get honors in it). just talk about learning how to write like a lawyer? concisely and clearly? idk it seems so fluff.

[romothesavior]

Try to talk about research or writing, since that's what you'll be doing. This is a fairly easy one. Talk about how law school introduced you to a new style of writing and you learned how to do legal writing.

good point, but i feel like that ignores all the doctrinal courses and just focuses on Legal Writing class - because in doctrinal courses we certainly didn't hone our legal writing skills - it was more a mad dash to spot as many issues as possible, and writing style/ability was not even on the radar.

Re: the bolded, that's not a bad thing. Your interview responses should be focused on how you will be a good associate and bring something to the firm. What are the most important legal skills for an associate? Research and writing. You should find a way to sell or tie these skills in wherever possible. Firms use grades in doctrinal classes for rough measures of intelligence and work ethic, but they don't really care how well you know the statute of frauds or mens rea or any of the crap you learned in those doctrinal classes.

So when answering this question, don't just tell them what you learned during 1L. Tell them what you learned during 1L year that you can actually use as an associate to be successful at the firm. IMO, that means talking about how you learned an important new skill (legal writing/research), not talking about being a fast typer or good at torts or whatever.

[Anonymous User]

That you truly know nothing about anything.

I actually said something like this. I learned how little I know a/b the actual practice of law, and my summer taught me just how important my legal writing/research classes were. I then went on to talk a/b how awesome my legal writing prof was, and how much of a hard-ass re: writing/editing my summer boss was (i.e.- they taught me to write. Sort of.).

Results pending.

[snyphil2]

woah, as a dude who did OCI last year and did pretty well I think you guys are getting a little extreme with the thinking about specific responses and trying to subtly let the interviewer know that you're a strong writer. what DID you learn from 1L? I learned how to work hard to get something done, a whole lot about the law I never knew, and met a bunch of great friends. why make it complex?