Bombed 1L Fall Semester...COULD USE SOME ADVICE Forum

[Hypo, Esq.]

From what you wrote you are interested in patent law Do you want to prosecute or litigate. Patent prosecution is boring. So, unless you are cut for such tedious day to day work - think twice about it. Also keep in mind that the fees are set so you can only bill so much. Besides, you don't háček to be a JD to get patent bar. Patent litigation is much sexier but also much harder to get into.
So, with all that said - if you can eat another semester tuition - try to do your best this semester (PM me and I can give you some tips - I did pretty well in law school grade wise) and apply to as many employers as you can (there is limit) for the 2011 Loyola Patent fair. See if you get any interviews and call backs. Then you'll see if you should continue.

[Mich_Guy]

From what you wrote you are interested in patent law Do you want to prosecute or litigate. Patent prosecution is boring. So, unless you are cut for such tedious day to day work - think twice about it. Also keep in mind that the fees are set so you can only bill so much. Besides, you don't háček to be a JD to get patent bar. Patent litigation is much sexier but also much harder to get into.
So, with all that said - if you can eat another semester tuition - try to do your best this semester (PM me and I can give you some tips - I did pretty well in law school grade wise) and apply to as many employers as you can (there is limit) for the 2011 Loyola Patent fair. See if you get any interviews and call backs. Then you'll see if you should continue.

Actually that is my first plan of attack (to attend the Loyola job fair to see if I can score any pre-selects for 2L summer). However, for this summer, I have already scored some pretty decent non-law corporate internship opportunities, so I am leaning towards pursuing those as a means to have something to do this summer and generate income.

Patent litigation is my first love as far law school goes, and I do plan to take the patent bar this summer because it is still a pretty good field to get into. BTW, what is the best market to develop a successful patent career in? I will try to PM you for further pointers on how to improve my law school performance. Thx...

[wiseowl]

I'd suggest not going non-legal for the summer unless you absolutely have no other options...but if you've reached that point, might as well pull the trigger.

You won't know your Loyola preselect results until mid-June. Are you willing to stick it out that long?

Also look into the Atlanta Southeastern IP Job Fair (same week as Loyola) and the various Minority Fairs.

[Mich_Guy]

I'd suggest not going non-legal for the summer unless you absolutely have no other options...but if you've reached that point, might as well pull the trigger.

You won't know your Loyola preselect results until mid-June. Are you willing to stick it out that long?

Also look into the Atlanta Southeastern IP Job Fair (same week as Loyola) and the various Minority Fairs.

I'm not sure if I can wait that long because most likely I will have had missed out on definite offers for summer jobs that start in mid-May in hopes of interviewing in June at 1L job fairs. Plus, as you know, non-legal recruiters (i.e. Fortune 500 companies & BigBanking) tend not to focus or care all that much about grades as law firms (i.e. BigLaw & MidLaw) do.

Nonetheless, I'll still plan to attend those summer conferences even if I land an internship outside of the legal profession.

[MrKappus]

Assuming that your financial situation is good, then you should stay for the remainder of your first year & try to improve your grades by approaching your studies in a different fashion.
Don't use others' course outlines. A significant part of learning in law school is derived from creating your own class notes & outlines because these practices force you to organize, struggle with & understand the material.

I am doing pretty well by using others' outlines.

There is a better chance than not that if you made your own you'd do even better. Unless you're first in your class, there's always room to improve.

[Mich_Guy]

Assuming that your financial situation is good, then you should stay for the remainder of your first year & try to improve your grades by approaching your studies in a different fashion.
Don't use others' course outlines. A significant part of learning in law school is derived from creating your own class notes & outlines because these practices force you to organize, struggle with & understand the material.

I am doing pretty well by using others' outlines.

There is a better chance than not that if you made your own you'd do even better. Unless you're first in your class, there's always room to improve.

Hands down I am definitely planning to do my own outlines for all my classes this semester. Not only will I do my own outlines, but I am planning to start the exam prep process MUCH earlier than I did last semester. I cannot afford to do less than a 76 average or I will fail out of school.

I am also gonna load up on study aids and try to meet with professors 1 on 1 and do informal study groups as much as possible. Its do or die time.