any reason to do journal tryouts? Forum

[Anonymous User]

If you're fairly set on transferring, is there any reason to do journal tryouts at your current school?

For purposes of this question, I'm assuming that transferring is a legitimate possibility given current grades/school.

Thanks!

[jess]

.

[Uncle.Joe]

Also if you make LR at your old school you can put it on your resume for OCI.

[jbiresq]

Check your grade-on requirements for journals. I didn't do mine b/c I knew I was transferring before 2nd semester finals (our LR did a tryout right after) but ended up grading onto it.

[Anonymous User]

Check your grade-on requirements for journals. I didn't do mine b/c I knew I was transferring before 2nd semester finals (our LR did a tryout right after) but ended up grading onto it.

OP here, yeah this is what I was thinking.

When you transfer, does the new school care at all about whether or not you made a journal? I assume they see your transcript anyway so it's not too big a deal

[bk1]

Your grades might drop and you might not get into the schools you want (like Jessuf said). Don't be cocky.

[Uncle.Joe]

Check your grade-on requirements for journals. I didn't do mine b/c I knew I was transferring before 2nd semester finals (our LR did a tryout right after) but ended up grading onto it.

OP here, yeah this is what I was thinking.

When you transfer, does the new school care at all about whether or not you made a journal? I assume they see your transcript anyway so it's not too big a deal

It has nothing to do with what your new school does or doesn't care about.

[Jsa725]

.

[quakeroats]

anecdotally, last week i emailed and got an opportunity to speak w/ a partner @ KE... i asked him what he wished more incoming associates knew or did better... he said 2 things:

1) that they worked better with others so he could put them in front of clients more frequently
2) that they were better writers. he said "you can never be too good of a writer"

Basically, a partner at a V10 firm, a firm that hires many preftigious law-school grads, wishes that they could all write better.

Moral: take this opportunity to get some legal writing practice.

Journals aren't going to teach you how to write better.

[Jsa725]

.

[shock259]

Also if you make LR at your old school you can put it on your resume for OCI.

This.

Plus all of the other reasons mentioned here, like don't be cocky.

[A. Nony Mouse]

Journals aren't going to teach you how to write better.

OP said journal try-outs ... i am assuming there is a required writing portion? if so, then practicing writing is a good thing... especially if you can have the LR folk or another good writer (professor) look at it and give you guidance on how to improve.

The LR people are unlikely to do this... generally, you grade write-ons blind, and while in theory you could get the LR board to track down which essay was yours and who graded it and ask the people who graded it what they thought, I've never heard of anyone doing this, and it would probably be more trouble than it's worth (to the LR people if not you). Plus, grading write-ons is frequently more about how a given piece of writing compares to the others submitted than a more objective assessment of the writing. Basically, it's not a good learning-to-write-better experience. (And the essays are usually enough of an artificial exercise that I'm not sure they're very helpful as practice, either, honestly.)

[Jsa725]

.

[A. Nony Mouse]

^^
I agree that the LR people may not do this... but if you do not ask you will never know... plus....

the only reason I said this is b/c my friend did this @ a T14... brought his piece to a professor to look at.... probably not many people do this, but he said he got valuable insight... also, it goes back to my original position that a V10 partner (KE) said most incoming associates are poor writers (even ones at the T14 schools that KE hires); therefore, practicing writing is a good thing to do.... IF you have someone that can point out your mistakes.

just here to pass along what was told to me... do with it what you wish.

Getting feedback from a professor is a very good idea, and part of what professors are paid to do, so yes, do this. But that has nothing to do with whether LR people will give you feedback (or are even any good at giving you feedback).

[Jsa725]

.

[greenchair]

Also if you make LR at your old school you can put it on your resume for OCI.

Is this credited? Can we actually do this and not look like a douche? Seriously curious. It'll be a good motivator for me.

[Uncle.Joe]

I was told to do so by career services and did it. I don't see why you wouldn't put all the gold stars you've collected on before the oci meat market.

No idea if I looked like a douche but probably.

[greenchair]

I was told to do so by career services and did it. I don't see why you wouldn't put all the gold stars you've collected on before the oci meat market.

No idea if I looked like a douche but probably.

Did you get good bites? (This is important

[Uncle.Joe]

I did pretty well on preselects. Didn't over or underperform though.

[lisavj]

Also if you make LR at your old school you can put it on your resume for OCI.

This.

Plus all of the other reasons mentioned here, like don't be cocky.

[SiRR]

It seems like the write-on at your current school would be good practice for the write-on at any transfer targets. Thoughts?

[A. Nony Mouse]

It seems like the write-on at your current school would be good practice for the write-on at any transfer targets. Thoughts?

Depends if the two schools run their write-ons in similar ways. In the sense that any legal writing is good practice, sure, but the processes and topics and so on may be different enough that doing one write-on won't especially help with another (except perhaps in getting practice Bluebooking).

[lisavj]

It seems like the write-on at your current school would be good practice for the write-on at any transfer targets. Thoughts?

Depends if the two schools run their write-ons in similar ways. In the sense that any legal writing is good practice, sure, but the processes and topics and so on may be different enough that doing one write-on won't especially help with another (except perhaps in getting practice Bluebooking).

FWIW Berks and SLS are mostly the same...Hastings is crazy (IMHO). And not in the intense way.

[SiRR]

It seems like the write-on at your current school would be good practice for the write-on at any transfer targets. Thoughts?

Depends if the two schools run their write-ons in similar ways. In the sense that any legal writing is good practice, sure, but the processes and topics and so on may be different enough that doing one write-on won't especially help with another (except perhaps in getting practice Bluebooking).

FWIW Berks and SLS are mostly the same...Hastings is crazy (IMHO). And not in the intense way.

I figured they would (predominately) be Bbook exercises and a closed-universe memo or brief, but I am definitely interested what else is out there.

[A. Nony Mouse]

I figured they would (predominately) be Bbook exercises and a closed-universe memo or brief, but I am definitely interested what else is out there.

AFAIK about the memo/brief, some places make you write a casenote about one Supreme Court case, some places give you a huge stack of material to write something from (my school gave us 800 pp), I've even heard of a school requiring an objective memo (which is weird. That might actually be Hastings...). Some schools give you 72 hours to write the thing, some give you 3 weeks. It's not going to hurt you to do 2, but I don't think it will give you much of a leg up on the second to have done one already.