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was considering reading the chemerinsky supplement before next semester, thumb through gilbert's for property, etc.

is this just as useless an activity after one semester of law school as it is during 0L?

i have a horrible semester ahead of me [two 5 credit classes, one 4 cr class and then legal writing] so was thinking I should try to get a big picture of the courses before the semester starts

Apply for jobs instead?

goosey wrote:was considering reading the chemerinsky supplement before next semester

meh, this doesn't sound like a terrific idea

goosey wrote:was considering reading the chemerinsky supplement before next semester, thumb through gilbert's for property, etc.

is this just as useless an activity after one semester of law school as it is during 0L?

i have a horrible semester ahead of me [two 5 credit classes, one 4 cr class and then legal writing] so was thinking I should try to get a big picture of the courses before the semester starts

Chemerinsky is over 1,200 pages and you probably won't even cover half of what is covered in it. If you want to read anything from Chemerinsky, read through the Commerce Clause (and I wouldn't touch dormant commerce clause for now) and maybe read through the beginning discussion about modes of interpretation. What might be somewhat helpful and more interesting is reading about different supreme court justices on Wikipedia. I started doing that as a break to break the monotony of class reading last semester and found it was pretty interesting and somewhat helpful.

...

so nutshell would be worth it?

Read Lopez, Morrison, Raich, Comstock, Heller, McDonald, Parents Involved, Gratz, Grutter, Casey, and Carhart. This will get you through 4 of the more important areas of modern Con Law.

quakeroats wrote:Read Lopez, Morrison, Raich, Comstock, Heller, McDonald, Parents Involved, Gratz, Grutter, Casey, and Carhart. This will get you through 4 of the more important areas of modern Con Law.

We didn't even touch on Comstock, Parents Involved, Gratz, Grutter, and Carhart. Different professors will have different interests.

Richie Tenenbaum wrote:

quakeroats wrote:Read Lopez, Morrison, Raich, Comstock, Heller, McDonald, Parents Involved, Gratz, Grutter, Casey, and Carhart. This will get you through 4 of the more important areas of modern Con Law.

We didn't even touch on Comstock, Parents Involved, Gratz, Grutter, and Carhart. Different professors will have different interests.

I found this especially true for conlaw, which is why I think a lot of prep before the class would be essentially meaningless unless you can somehow wrangle up an old outline or syllabus. And I think there's a real danger in learning stuff you don't need to know on the off chance that you forget that you read it on your own and it wasn't covered in class. Our class didn't even touch on stuff like free speech, right to bear arms, freedom of religion, etc.

Prep for 2nd Semester? Unless you include sleeping and watching bad movies (and attempting to apply for jobs)... .

keg411 wrote:Prep for 2nd Semester? Unless you include sleeping and watching bad movies (and attempting to apply for jobs)... .

CREDITED

My plans for 99% of my break:

Does it involve any substantial amount of thinking?
Yes? ---> Avoid like the plague
No? ---> Feel free to engage

Helmholtz wrote:

Richie Tenenbaum wrote:

quakeroats wrote:Read Lopez, Morrison, Raich, Comstock, Heller, McDonald, Parents Involved, Gratz, Grutter, Casey, and Carhart. This will get you through 4 of the more important areas of modern Con Law.

We didn't even touch on Comstock, Parents Involved, Gratz, Grutter, and Carhart. Different professors will have different interests.

I found this especially true for conlaw, which is why I think a lot of prep before the class would be essentially meaningless unless you can somehow wrangle up an old outline or syllabus. And I think there's a real danger in learning stuff you don't need to know on the off chance that you forget that you read it on your own and it wasn't covered in class. Our class didn't even touch on stuff like free speech, right to bear arms, freedom of religion, etc.

We didn't touch on Comstock either, until the exam. That list is a good start for federalism which will almost certainly be covered, and cutting edge substantive due process/equal protection which will be covered in one way or another.

yeah I dont know what I was thinking--I was so burned out by my last exam and I didnt even do any 0L prep. I think I will stick to tv, internships, and the gym.

I dont want to burn myself out before classes even start, considering I was ALREADY burned out

Richie Tenenbaum wrote:

goosey wrote:was considering reading the chemerinsky supplement before next semester, thumb through gilbert's for property, etc.

is this just as useless an activity after one semester of law school as it is during 0L?

i have a horrible semester ahead of me [two 5 credit classes, one 4 cr class and then legal writing] so was thinking I should try to get a big picture of the courses before the semester starts

Chemerinsky is over 1,200 pages and you probably won't even cover half of what is covered in it. If you want to read anything from Chemerinsky, read through the Commerce Clause (and I wouldn't touch dormant commerce clause for now) and maybe read through the beginning discussion about modes of interpretation. What might be somewhat helpful and more interesting is reading about different supreme court justices on Wikipedia. I started doing that as a break to break the monotony of class reading last semester and found it was pretty interesting and somewhat helpful.

this. Just do commerce clause.

What?

Break=GTL

Helmholtz wrote:
CREDITED

My plans for 99% of my break:

Does it involve any substantial amount of thinking?
Yes? ---> Avoid like the plague
No? ---> Feel free to engage

That's basically my thought process thus far

Don't do anything except apply for jobs. Like first semester, there's no need to prepare in advance. You should have plenty of time once the semester begins to learn the law. But if you can secure a legal position for the summer, you won't have to worry about that during the semester, which will give you more time for other things.

Cavalier wrote:Don't do anything except apply for jobs. Like first semester, there's no need to prepare in advance. You should have plenty of time once the semester begins to learn the law. But if you can secure a legal position for the summer, you won't have to worry about that during the semester, which will give you more time for other things.

+1

Have outlines for all my classes and old syllabi handed down to me from older friends. Granted, profs probably change things around... but not that much... I am going to read and apply for jobs this break starting from tomorrow.

uvahooo wrote:Have outlines for all my classes and old syllabi handed down to me from older friends. Granted, profs probably change things around... but not that much... I am going to read and apply for jobs this break starting from tomorrow.

If you're reading for classes over break, I think you go to the wrong school.

Cavalier wrote:

uvahooo wrote:Have outlines for all my classes and old syllabi handed down to me from older friends. Granted, profs probably change things around... but not that much... I am going to read and apply for jobs this break starting from tomorrow.

If you're reading for classes over break, I think you go to the wrong school.

If you're reading for classes during the term you're still at the wrong school.

i ordered my books/supplements, but i wont touch them until i get my first semester grades back. the registrar's office has already told us they wont upload any grades until after winter break is over because they won't be in the office the entire time. ah, to be a state employee...

im looking at jobs, but outside of externship applications (which i sent out on the 1st and have not heard anything yet), i still need to decide whether else to apply. meh.

Cavalier wrote:

uvahooo wrote:Have outlines for all my classes and old syllabi handed down to me from older friends. Granted, profs probably change things around... but not that much... I am going to read and apply for jobs this break starting from tomorrow.

If you're reading for classes over break, I think you go to the wrong school.

nooo.... more reading now=more free time next semester where I can party.

Don't go to the wrong school

I'd advise you against prepping for the second semester. I have chosen to do the following:


1. Research firms/other job opportunities for a summer internship.
2. Update my Resume/Cover Letter.
3. Networking Events / Informational Interviews (been a little lax on this one).
4. Have Fun. Go out with friends. Watch movies. Play computer/video games. Etc


I don't think reading up on your substantive courses will help much. But starting to work on getting a summer internship definitely will. You don't want to be "struggling" to get your Resume in order or looking up firms to apply to at the last minute. Get the summer internship preparation going now and worry about your courses when they start.


Just my two cents.