What are the top 5 tips you would give an incoming 1L?` Forum

[Grizz]

1. Read a bunch of contradictory TLS study advice.

2. Figure out what works best for you.

3. Do that.

4. ???

5. PROFIT.

[BaiAilian2013]

1. Do what works for you, even if it's not what other people are doing (or what TLS says to do).

2. (Subject to tip 1) Take advantage of any and all opportunities during your first semester to get TA/professor feedback on your practice exam answers, or to learn how a TA would answer a question, or to read model answers.

3. If you should find GTM to crushingly, eye-wateringly boring and feel that you will never be able to finish it as long as you live, don't worry about it. It's helpful if you don't know anything about law school exams, but it's advice you'll be exposed to anyway in varying forms (especially if you follow tip 2).

4. It's just law school.

[quakeroats]

1. Read a bunch of contradictory TLS study advice.

2. Figure out what works best for you.

3. Do that.

4. ???

5. PROFIT.

How would you measure how much reading they should do in Libraries of Congress?

[Journeybound]

1. Read 1L by Scott Turrow. It will scare you to death and get you prepared to put those insane hours in each week.

2. Make a plan on how you will study and make outlines. I read "Law School Confidential" and used that as my bible. You have to know what's coming. (I placed top 3%, 1L). Stick to that plan.

3. Read "Getting to Maybe," so that you know how to get the most points out of an exam.

4. By the middle of the first semester, start reading/taking practice exams. Become very familiar with sample answers so that you know how an exam should look.

5. Prepare for EVERY class, go to EVERY class, and turn off the internet and pay attention/take notes in EVERY class. You should have a maximum 2 or so hours of free time a day for meals, exercise, TV (although I had a wife to make this happen). The rest of the day should be filled with briefing, outlining, going to class, practice exams. NO REGRETS. You never want to ask: what would have happened if I had spent that Saturday studying?

-As you can tell, I had no out-of-school social life during my 1L. But I bonded with my classmates while at school/in the library. I loved it, and I have no regrets.

I am a married 0L looking for some solid advise and I definitely feel like this is good stuff. I like your "no regrets" outlook and I hope to have as much success as you. Placing top 3%, 1L is incredible.

It is not solid advice. I would heavily advise you to NOT do any of that.

I did most of this and it reeeally paid off (at least last semester it did). However, I did not brief cases.

To each his own, though.

The problem is that as a 1L, you don't know which method of approaching law school will work best for you. One of the top ten students (not percent) that I knew was able to do well without spending lots of hours studying. The rest, however, did. You don't know how you will perform that first semester. Maybe you have a natural talent for taking law school exams. But maybe you need to put in the extra hours to do do well. Who knows? You'll eventually find out in January/February, but by then it's way too late. You don't ever want to have regrets. My LSAT was a point or two below the bottom 25%, so I knew that I couldn't afford to make a mistake. That first semester, I worked the hardest that I've ever worked in my life. It was rewarding! Since then I've transferred, I'm rocking it at a T10, and I love law school. Don't worry, I'm not spending nearly as much time at school as I did 1L. Actually, things eased up during my second semester of 1L.

[eaglemuncher]

Great advice, thanks everyone!

[Stringer6]

Great advice, thanks everyone!

[aliarrow]

How much info does the OCD/OCS usually give 1Ls prior to the Dec. 1st deadline?
I've been attempting to compile spreadsheets with pretty much every Federal Judge, State Supreme Court Judge, Company, and Firm that hires 1Ls in the regions I want to work, but I'm starting to rethink this as I might just be doing all this work for nothing if the OCS gives us the exact same info later on in November.

[GreenWithNvy]

1. Do what works for you, even if it's not what other people are doing (or what TLS says to do).

2. (Subject to tip 1) Take advantage of any and all opportunities during your first semester to get TA/professor feedback on your practice exam answers, or to learn how a TA would answer a question, or to read model answers.

3. If you should find GTM to crushingly, eye-wateringly boring and feel that you will never be able to finish it as long as you live, don't worry about it. It's helpful if you don't know anything about law school exams, but it's advice you'll be exposed to anyway in varying forms (especially if you follow tip 2).

4. It's just law school.

Am I the only 0L that actually found GTM pretty interesting?

Thanks for this thread, it will be a great resource in the next couple months!

[sundance95]

Am I the only 0L that actually found GTM pretty interesting?

No, I also enjoyed it, at least the first half that spoke mostly in generalities. I figured the more specific parts will be clearer in the context of 1L.

[northwood]

Am I the only 0L that actually found GTM pretty interesting?

Thanks for this thread, it will be a great resource in the next couple months!

I found it to be interesting. Its a good read, and wastn that dense. Ill re read it again in July, and for another time in the middle of the semester.

I think itll get even easier and more interesting once you are able to put it into context with 1L.

[ktg808]

How much info does the OCD/OCS usually give 1Ls prior to the Dec. 1st deadline?
I've been attempting to compile spreadsheets with pretty much every Federal Judge, State Supreme Court Judge, Company, and Firm that hires 1Ls in the regions I want to work, but I'm starting to rethink this as I might just be doing all this work for nothing if the OCS gives us the exact same info later on in November.

This. I'm getting conflicting advice from TLS in regards to how early we can contact the OCS and what information they can give us before the Dec. 1st deadline. I plan to start researching firms and judges this week so that I can hopefully draft firm/judge specific paragraphs to drop in my cover letters before 1L starts. I've also considered updating my resume, but then I've also read that I should go to the OCS for real feedback on how to create a legal resume. But can I even go in and ask for that kind of service before Dec. 1st?

[kalvano]

How much info does the OCD/OCS usually give 1Ls prior to the Dec. 1st deadline?
I've been attempting to compile spreadsheets with pretty much every Federal Judge, State Supreme Court Judge, Company, and Firm that hires 1Ls in the regions I want to work, but I'm starting to rethink this as I might just be doing all this work for nothing if the OCS gives us the exact same info later on in November.

This. I'm getting conflicting advice from TLS in regards to how early we can contact the OCS and what information they can give us before the Dec. 1st deadline. I plan to start researching firms and judges this week so that I can hopefully draft firm/judge specific paragraphs to drop in my cover letters before 1L starts. I've also considered updating my resume, but then I've also read that I should go to the OCS for real feedback on how to create a legal resume. But can I even go in and ask for that kind of service before Dec. 1st?

OCS cannot help you before November, I believe. But the earliest you can apply for stuff is December 1.

[aliarrow]

How much info does the OCD/OCS usually give 1Ls prior to the Dec. 1st deadline?
I've been attempting to compile spreadsheets with pretty much every Federal Judge, State Supreme Court Judge, Company, and Firm that hires 1Ls in the regions I want to work, but I'm starting to rethink this as I might just be doing all this work for nothing if the OCS gives us the exact same info later on in November.

This. I'm getting conflicting advice from TLS in regards to how early we can contact the OCS and what information they can give us before the Dec. 1st deadline. I plan to start researching firms and judges this week so that I can hopefully draft firm/judge specific paragraphs to drop in my cover letters before 1L starts. I've also considered updating my resume, but then I've also read that I should go to the OCS for real feedback on how to create a legal resume. But can I even go in and ask for that kind of service before Dec. 1st?

OCS cannot help you before November, I believe. But the earliest you can apply for stuff is December 1.

But what do they give you after November? Do they give you pretty extensive lists of judges, firms, and companies? Or should I be looking all this up on my own over summer?

[uwb09]

Personally I wouldn't count on OCS/OCD for anything, and I don't plan to.

Last year when I was working full time, I had several department directors and vice presidents help me with my resume/cover letter/interview skills before I left. When I went to OCS, to just talk about legal work and how to to game plan with employers, they made me show them my resume, and tried to tell me that my resume wasn't good and needed massive changes, they wouldn't talk to me again until I changed my resume to their stupid little template. Never went back to that place, and from what I hear from my friends who have gotten more info out of them, it's nothing more than they could've learned searching legal offices on google maps. No one really goes there after their first visit because they realize what a waste it is.

[aliarrow]

Personally I wouldn't count on OCS/OCD for anything, and I don't plan to.

Last year when I was working full time, I had several department directors and vice presidents help me with my resume/cover letter/interview skills before I left. When I went to OCS, to just talk about legal work and how to to game plan with employers, they made me show them my resume, and tried to tell me that my resume wasn't good and needed massive changes, they wouldn't talk to me again until I changed my resume to their stupid little template. Never went back to that place, and from what I hear from my friends who have gotten more info out of them, it's nothing more than they could've learned searching legal offices on google maps. No one really goes there after their first visit because they realize what a waste it is.

That sounds like every advising/counseling office at every school I've ever been to. I was hoping law schools could afford something decent, since we are paying them $40k a year and all.

[shepdawg]

I have begun to compile most of the tips that have been posted. I haven't spent much time on it, and may have skipped over some great tips. I am breaking down my tips into 1 category/week. I am thinking of using the following categories: Briefing, Exams, Study Skills, What to do in class, Social life & Health, and Summer Employment.

Here's an example of my formatting for the 1st week. --LinkRemoved--

[skw]

I have begun to compile most of the tips that have been posted. I haven't spent much time on it, and may have skipped over some great tips. I am breaking down my tips into 1 category/week. I am thinking of using the following categories: Briefing, Exams, Study Skills, What to do in class, Social life & Health, and Summer Employment.

Here's an example of my formatting for the 1st week. --LinkRemoved--

Very nice summary! Thanks for sharing. If you keep at it and decide to post additional summaries, I'm sure there will be many appreciative TLSers in your debt.

[Metaread]

Several people mentioned making cover letter templates and sprucing up the resume....do you recommend doing this as a 0L, or somewhere early in the 1L year? As I'm not applying for legal jobs yet, I honestly don't have any clue what a cover letter template should look or sound like...are there books with samples people would recommend?

Thanks for the advice so far, everyone!

[aliarrow]

Several people mentioned making cover letter templates and sprucing up the resume....do you recommend doing this as a 0L, or somewhere early in the 1L year? As I'm not applying for legal jobs yet, I honestly don't have any clue what a cover letter template should look or sound like...are there books with samples people would recommend?

Thanks for the advice so far, everyone!

--LinkRemoved--
http://www.law.berkeley.edu/1147.htm
http://www.law.duke.edu/career/profdev/coverletter
http://www.law.georgetown.edu/opics/doc ... etters.pdf
http://indylaw.indiana.edu/career/letter.htm
http://law.unh.edu/careertoolkit/cover-letters.php
--LinkRemoved--
http://www.law.upenn.edu/cpp/alumni/pub ... ionIII.PDF
http://www.law.upenn.edu/cpp/alumni/job ... riting.pdf

(I'm posting all of these for my own future reference too, and for any other interested 0L. I'm not overkilling the answer to be a dick or anything)

[ktg808]

Several people mentioned making cover letter templates and sprucing up the resume....do you recommend doing this as a 0L, or somewhere early in the 1L year? As I'm not applying for legal jobs yet, I honestly don't have any clue what a cover letter template should look or sound like...are there books with samples people would recommend?

Thanks for the advice so far, everyone!

--LinkRemoved--
http://www.law.berkeley.edu/1147.htm
http://www.law.duke.edu/career/profdev/coverletter
http://www.law.georgetown.edu/opics/doc ... etters.pdf
http://indylaw.indiana.edu/career/letter.htm
http://law.unh.edu/careertoolkit/cover-letters.php
--LinkRemoved--
http://www.law.upenn.edu/cpp/alumni/pub ... ionIII.PDF
http://www.law.upenn.edu/cpp/alumni/job ... riting.pdf

(I'm posting all of these for my own future reference too, and for any other interested 0L. I'm not overkilling the answer to be a dick or anything)

That was a speedy response! But thanks for the links!


eta: I'm glad I made the decision to start doing my cover letter drafts over the summer. I doubt I'll have the time to do all of this during the first semester. Eeeks.

[ilovesf]

Oh man it is 0L summer and I'm already getting stressed out reading through this thread.. it does not bode well for me. I think I'll stick to the advice of starting to look for interesting 1L summer positions and working through cover letters sometime soon, I have a pretty empty summer, I might as well be productive. When do people typically start applying for 1L summer positions? After November 1st so you can meet with your counselors first?

[aliarrow]

Oh man it is 0L summer and I'm already getting stressed out reading through this thread.. it does not bode well for me. I think I'll stick to the advice of starting to look for interesting 1L summer positions and working through cover letters sometime soon, I have a pretty empty summer, I might as well be productive. When do people typically start applying for 1L summer positions? After November 1st so you can meet with your counselors first?

You arent allowed to apply until December 1st (which is also the deadline for many places)

[tipler4213]

Thanks everyone--particularly for the advice re: cover letters and resume.

[Calla Lily]

For those of you 1Ls who compiled information about where you might apply to work for 1L summer, where are you getting the information from (specifically for judges and firms), if you would be so kind to share?

[TTH]

For those of you 1Ls who compiled information about where you might apply to work for 1L summer, where are you getting the information from (specifically for judges and firms), if you would be so kind to share?

Firms-
NALPdirectory
martindale
browsing the law school's website to see which firms showed a special commitment to the school.
the employers tab on Symplicity
alreadybored.com if it ever comes back up

Judges-
Dunno, didn't pursue this hard. lawclerkaddict.com is a good starting point, I suppose.