1Ls, what's your impression thus far? Forum

[20121109]

I have

Civ Pro
Criminal
Property
Contracts
LRW

I lucked out with Civ Pro because I apparently have the best professor for the subject in the school. Criminal is nice, but my professor is a little anal and doesn't much like to take questions from students. I love to start the week with Ks because my prof is just so animated, even in the morning. I just completed a outline memo assignment for LRW but it was very manageable. My only real negative is Property class. I'm actually in class as I type this. Its horrible...no real direction or organization, and I've been told by 2Ls that class time is a waste and I should invest in a Gilbert's outline. I haven't even had a full two weeks of classes and I can tell Property will be the bane of my existence...ugh. I truly feel that the professor makes the class and right now, he's killing it for me. And weirdly enough, I haven't been called on in any class yet so I'm still kinda in suspense. I just want to make a fool of myself and get it over with already.

But other than that, I'm very happy here. I haven't met any overtly obnoxious people, but its still early days and people still have their best faces on. But I already have a group of girlfriends that I feel like I've known for years, so its nice to let loose with my girls at bars/clubs. We'll see what happens as the semester goes on. Hope everyone is enjoying the experience so far

[keg411]

Still liking my Contracts class for the most part, but now I'm starting to think I'm in the minority. My prof is kind of all over the place and a bit nutty during class, but I like the way he has us learn the material for the most part. I feel like it's both more interesting than standard case reading and we get to practice application of law to random facts constantly. But I can see why some people wouldn't like it, but I do. It's almost like we get almost mini-exam on a single subject to prepare for every class. Or at least that's how I treat it (since half our exams are going to be structured the same way)

[kalvano]

I have -

Torts
Civ Pro
Contracts
Criminal Law
Property
LW&R (combined into one class)

All are graded. No pass/fail option.

All this semester? Wow.

Some are year-long, others are 1 semester. I don't know which is which, though. It really doesn't matter since I have no say.

[Kobe_Teeth]

Anyone doing any extracurriculars?

[Bustang]

Anyone doing any extracurriculars?

I joined an e-mail list for 1 or 2 clubs. Haven't heard from them, though

[Grizz]

Anyone doing any extracurriculars?

2nd Amendment Club. That's it.

[TCScrutinizer]

Anyone doing any extracurriculars?

I've been to a few meetings, and it looks like I'll end up being active in maybe two or three orgs. I also joined the law school softball and darts leagues.

[Burger in a can]

I have -

Torts
Civ Pro
Contracts
Criminal Law
Property
LW&R (combined into one class)

All are graded. No pass/fail option.

That's a lot of classes! I have the same, minus Property (and LW&R is called "Lawyering Process" here). I can't even imagine dealing with another class on top of my 5. I am impressed that you're doing so well in all of these and spending such little time at it!

[kalvano]

So far I have perfect grades.

[Aston2412]

So far I'm thinking law school isn't as hard as everyone said it would be. I think the key factor here is that I'm actually interested and engaged in all of my classes and doing all of my readings. I have on occasion had to go back and review a difficult case but for the most part reading something once and taking notes is keeping me on par with what the professor seems to suggest I should be taking from the case.

I'm mostly worried that attempting to cheer while in law school may eventually get too difficult. I cheered in undergrad and loved it and so I thought I'd give it a try. I almost backed out but the coach talked me into at least giving it a shot and I agreed on the provision that law school must always come first. I can always divest myself of cheerleading if I need to later.

All of this, said my first memo is due on Sunday so my perspective on it being "easier than everyone said" may completely change this weekend.

Side note - my favorite class is Contracts and then probably Civil Procedure (which was incredibly lame at first but much more interesting post-International Shoe).

[homestyle28]

I'm mostly worried that attempting to cheer while in law school may eventually get too difficult.

From what I understand this is the #1 fear for 1L's

[Aston2412]

I'm mostly worried that attempting to cheer while in law school may eventually get too difficult.

From what I understand this is the #1 fear for 1L's

Glad to know I'm not a member of some weird fringe group!

[09042014]

I'm thoroughly convinced they're still taking it easy on us.

they're- Bear's Defensive line

us- holly and her ginie

[Aston2412]

And don't get me started on italicized periods and commas...

Seriously - who decided this was a good idea? Oh wait. It was HYCP, now it all makes sense...

[Holly Golightly]

I'm thoroughly convinced they're still taking it easy on us.

they're- Bear's Defensive line

us- holly and her ginie

Reported.

[09042014]

I'm thoroughly convinced they're still taking it easy on us.

they're- Bear's Defensive line

us- holly and her ginie

Reported.

Reported for abusing reporting.

[Omerta]

I really enjoy law school so far, significantly more than undergrad. Yeah, I spend a lot more time doing work but it feels oddly satisfying to be productive. Maybe I'm just old.

Contracts is rough for me. I'm having a pretty hard time with nailing the right point. I keep striking glancing blows, where my answer is in the same zip code but not the right one. I've briefed every case and spent the most time on it, but I gave up and ordered a K supplement to help out even though I was planning to hold off for a few more weeks.

Legal writing is so much fun it's scary how much I enjoy it. I thought I wanted to do litigation from my experience in summer jobs and this seems to confirm it. I almost equally love civil procedure.

Torts can be easy, you just need to not listen to the professor. Mine loves to pull out a hypothetical like taffy until it's completely absurd but raises all kinds of insane legal questions. This is making everyone over-analyze torts to death and get waaaaay to into the facts of the case.

There are some kids here that are already hating it. Whether they went to school on a whim or had parental encouragement, I don't know, but I feel bad for anyone who came to school because of alleged prestige and income potential. I don't even to go a T14. Moral of the story follows exactly what I read on this board; if you want to be a lawyer, go to law school (with certain exceptions). If you don't, then don't.

[zeth006]

I really enjoy law school so far, significantly more than undergrad. Yeah, I spend a lot more time doing work but it feels oddly satisfying to be productive. Maybe I'm just old.

Contracts is rough for me. I'm having a pretty hard time with nailing the right point. I keep striking glancing blows, where my answer is in the same zip code but not the right one. I've briefed every case and spent the most time on it, but I gave up and ordered a K supplement to help out even though I was planning to hold off for a few more weeks.

Legal writing is so much fun it's scary how much I enjoy it. I thought I wanted to do litigation from my experience in summer jobs and this seems to confirm it. I almost equally love civil procedure.

Torts can be easy, you just need to not listen to the professor. Mine loves to pull out a hypothetical like taffy until it's completely absurd but raises all kinds of insane legal questions. This is making everyone over-analyze torts to death and get waaaaay to into the facts of the case.

There are some kids here that are already hating it. Whether they went to school on a whim or had parental encouragement, I don't know, but I feel bad for anyone who came to school because of alleged prestige and income potential. I don't even to go a T14. Moral of the story follows exactly what I read on this board; if you want to be a lawyer, go to law school (with certain exceptions). If you don't, then don't.

Contracts is kicking my ass too esp since my prof is so facts and theory-oriented. His past exam questions were/are horrendous.


As for hating law school, I've had a couple of days when I wondered why the hell I'm here. I get the occasional bad days and I'm relieved once the weekend begins. I think that's why it's important to have hobbies that help you take your mind off of crap and recharge your batteries.

That's also why I've decided to resist my natural temptation not to join anything and to take part in 2-3 clubs.

[beach_terror]

Dear god,

Thank you for Dressler's Understanding Criminal Law. Without this holy grail, I'd be in trouble.

Amen?

[uwb09]

Torts
Criminal Law
Civil Procedure
Contracts
LARAW


Torts professor does a good job at getting the material across, but I feel like she moves at way too slow of a pace, a week's worth of reading takes me less than an hour, and I can basically predict exactly what will be covered in class before it starts. She also doesn't cold call, so class has become pretty boring.

Criminal Law professor is absolutely the mother effing man. The guy was a Rhodes Scholar who studied philosophy and political science at Oxford, was an independent film maker in New York City, and just got his JD from Stanford in 2006. He was clerked for the US Court of Appeals, and 2 years later became an associate professor. Probably one of the smartest guys I've ever known, and is actually really funny and make class extremely interesting. He's an ass kicker and definitely the most socratic of all my profs.

Civil Procedure prof I swear is going senial, he completely contradicts himself during lecture multiple times, and disagrees with almost all the court opinions, so I dunno what the heck to put on the final exam. Although when you talk to him one on one he's a really chill guy, but I am so confused in this class it's not even funny. I'll read a case, feel like I understand it, talk to other students, feel even more confident, then this guy will give a lecture and i'll just be completely clueless.

Contracts prof is a visiting professor from Indiana and I feel like class is kind of worthless. Reminds me a lot of undergrad business classes, everything I learn is from the book, during class she just throws up powerpoints that re-iterate exactly what the book went over and doesn't really do much to clarify, but she's really nice and understanding, already promised not to put a UCC rule that was giving us fits on the exam.

LARAW is laraw, prof doesn't really help much, and the curve in that class is absolutely effin ridiculous, like 40% of the class gets C's or some crap?

overall though I love it, I've never been so mentally challenged in my life and i'm thriving on it

joined, and am becoming pretty active in criminal law society and tax and estate planning society

[uwb09]

Dear god,

Thank you for Dressler's Understanding Criminal Law. Without this holy grail, I'd be in trouble.

Amen?

buying it on amazon right now with a gift card i got for my birthday... god that's sad

[APHill]

I only have Civ Pro (4), Crim Law (4), Torts (4) and LRW (2 - P/F). I feel super lucky for not having 6 graded courses.

[JCougar]

I'm really confused.

All this stuff seems fairly straightforward, and the majority of it common sense. Especially Torts and to a great extent Contracts as well. Property not as much so far...but we're heavily focused on policy in that course. I don't understand yet how the curve is going to sort this out. If everyone's as smart as they seem in class, I feel like everyone's going to get an A. There's not a lot of people who don't seem to get it yet.

Perhaps it's just a matter of succinct yet comprehensive exam notes and typing speed.

[dakatz]

I'm really confused.

All this stuff seems fairly straightforward, and the majority of it common sense. Especially Torts and to a great extent Contracts as well. Property not as much so far...but we're heavily focused on policy in that course. I don't understand yet how the curve is going to sort this out. If everyone's as smart as they seem in class, I feel like everyone's going to get an A. There's not a lot of people who don't seem to get it yet.

Perhaps it's just a matter of succinct yet comprehensive exam notes and typing speed.

This is my theory at least, but perhaps it has a ring of truth. I think many of these smart people will eventually fall victim to their own intelligence. Such bright students always had one way of learning things: They want to know the answer, plain and simple. They want to be able to come to a conclusion and be confident in their ability to convey "the answer". This would be their downfall on a law school exam from what I have been told from all too many upperclassmen. Since the exam values arguing both sides, acknowledging ambiguity, not concluding things when they can't be concluded, etc, it seems to run counter to the mindset of the smart kid who wants to "know" the stuff and "answer" the question. This is where proper preparation will give you the advantage. Doesn't matter how smart they are, if you know how to do it right, and they don't

[solotee]

I'm really confused.

All this stuff seems fairly straightforward, and the majority of it common sense. Especially Torts and to a great extent Contracts as well. Property not as much so far...but we're heavily focused on policy in that course. I don't understand yet how the curve is going to sort this out. If everyone's as smart as they seem in class, I feel like everyone's going to get an A. There's not a lot of people who don't seem to get it yet.

Perhaps it's just a matter of succinct yet comprehensive exam notes and typing speed.

This is my theory at least, but perhaps it has a ring of truth. I think many of these smart people will eventually fall victim to their own intelligence. Such bright students always had one way of learning things: They want to know the answer, plain and simple. They want to be able to come to a conclusion and be confident in their ability to convey "the answer". This would be their downfall on a law school exam from what I have been told from all too many upperclassmen. Since the exam values arguing both sides, acknowledging ambiguity, not concluding things when they can't be concluded, etc, it seems to run counter to the mindset of the smart kid who wants to "know" the stuff and "answer" the question. This is where proper preparation will give you the advantage. Doesn't matter how smart they are, if you know how to do it right, and they don't

Yea but even the analysis in class from many students seem like good exam answers. I didn't expect so many bright people in law school!