Consequences for Failing LRW at HYS Forum

[Ineedhelplease]

I am on the verge of failing LRW. My question is whether or not it is possible to continue in law school having failed LWR.

I was seeking an answer to this general question in light of my specific situation. I attend either HYS law school. We do not receive traditional grades for any our classes. A GPA is impossible for us to compute. It is not just a matter of me making up for this fail by doing well in my other courses, raising my GPA up to an acceptable point.

*Please, if possible, in providing an answer recognize that I’m just only concerned with understanding exactly or just what was asked (i.e. is it possible, in terms of program requirements/regulations to continue on having failed). In answering, please make every assumption possible in my favor (so assume I can pass every other class, assume there is incentive for me to continue, assume there is no possibility of me passing). In quickly glancing through similar posts I noticed there were two broad categories of responses that, at least for what I’m hoping to find out, would be off-topic.

First, I noticed a lot of responses to similar questions were along the lines of "it's really rare for someone to fail LRW,” ”talk to your instructor,” etc. Please assume for the sake of answering that I will fail. (As a side-note, I have, in fact, been told by my instructor that I will fail. My instructor suggested I speak with a specific dean regarding consequences because he or she, being just a fellow, was unaware. I do not want to alert this dean, however, of my situation and I couldn't think of a good way to ask anonymously. I have failed out of two other graduate programs and I know once you are on the verge of failing out everything changes in terms of treatment/opportunity. The point is, I no longer have the option of passing LRW.)

Second, I have noticed, in other similar posts, a common set of responses along the lines of “if you can't pass LRW maybe a career in law is not for you,” “if you can’t pass LRW you won’t be able to pass other classes,” etc. Please assume that the specifics re why I failed LRW provides no basis for inference as to my potential for success in other law school classes or beyond. Furthermore, while I understand this perspective, I feel the specifics of my situation, being at a HYS law school, renders this point moot.

I decided to go law school for purposes of career advancement in a field I was already working in. I know a law degree from HYS law school will get me the position I wanted regardless of my specific performance in law school. (I was a finalist for the promotion without a law degree.) I am not in law school to be a lawyer/work for a firm. To simply be able to say I got a JD from HYS law school means a lot in the real world, outside of law firms (inside too, but I know inside the legal profession specific performance, in addition to the name HYS, matters). Unlike at other law schools, even in comparison to other T-14 schools, just making it through is of great value.

In addition, and unlike others with similar concerns, there is no real cost to me at least trying to stick it out. I have a scholarship that pays for the cost of tuition. My scholarship is need based so I do not need to worry about GPA or how many classes I fail or pass as the case may be. I just need to be able to continue on.

Thank you in advance for any imparted knowledge or insight!

[extempore88]

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[Bildungsroman]

My instructor suggested I speak with a specific dean regarding consequences because he or she, being just a fellow, was unaware.

This would be my recommendation. When you fail the cat will be out of the bag anyway. You're not likely to find a lot of people here who failed ungraded LRW, and you don't even narrow it down to the specific school.

[The Gentleman]

My instructor suggested I speak with a specific dean regarding consequences because he or she, being just a fellow, was unaware.

This would be my recommendation. When you fail the cat will be out of the bag anyway. You're not likely to find a lot of people here who failed ungraded LRW, and you don't even narrow it down to the specific school.

That would be my advice too. Yours is a rare situation so talking to this dean sounds like the best idea. Maybe there's still time to defer until next year.

And how are you failing LRW? Did you just not turn in a memo?

[shock259]

Not sure what you are trying to hide from the dean. He's going to find out. If you tell him now, maybe you all can work together to come up with a solution. If you ignore it, it'll only get worse.

[TheFutureLawyer]

My instructor suggested I speak with a specific dean regarding consequences because he or she, being just a fellow, was unaware.

This would be my recommendation. When you fail the cat will be out of the bag anyway. You're not likely to find a lot of people here who failed ungraded LRW, and you don't even narrow it down to the specific school.

That would be my advice too. Yours is a rare situation so talking to this dean sounds like the best idea. Maybe there's still time to defer until next year.

And how are you failing LRW? Did you just not turn in a memo?

Not sure what you are trying to hide from the dean. He's going to find out. If you tell him now, maybe you all can work together to come up with a solution. If you ignore it, it'll only get worse.

Yep.

Would also like to know how you are failing out of LRW. And you flunked out of two other grad programs? I mean, jesus. Do you just not turn stuff in?

[mrloblaw]

I would just like to applaud you for somehow getting into HYS after failing out of two grad programs.

And seriously, the dean is going to find out. I'd rather it be now than in some sort of future expulsion proceeding or whatever.

[Veyron]

He must have plagiarized something, its the only thing that would explain both his failure and reluctance to talk to the dean.

Also, how the hell do you get into HYS after failing out of two other graduate programs?

[ToTransferOrNot]

My insight: GTFO and stop wasting need-based aid that obviously should have been given to someone else.

Seriously, what do you want us to tell you? While you may not be the only person who has ever managed to fail an ungraded LRW class at freaking Harvard - throwing away a freaking golden ticket in the process - your situation is rare and ridiculous enough that no one will have any insight aside from ridicule for you.

In closing, you are awarded no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.

[mrloblaw]

Also, how the hell do you get into HYS after failing out of two other graduate programs?

On second thought, maybe he's named 'Bush' or 'Kennedy.'

[JRD]

Barring some catastrophic incidents in your life (that have inexplicably happened three times), you sir are ridiculous. Stop wasting grant money by attending grad programs/law programs and failing out. That is the credited response.

[Renzo]

This is the worst flame ever.

You are getting a JD at YHS so that you can get a promotion at a job that's good enough that you would forego the opportunity to practice law, and yet you are on a need-based, full-ride scholarship? You managed to fail out of three graduate programs and somehow still keep said job?

But, pretending for a second that this is real:

Stop wasting grant money by attending grad programs/law programs and failing out. That is the credited response.

And stop plagiarizing shit, as that's the only conceivable nonfictional explanation for your situation.

[vanwinkle]

He must have plagiarized something, its the only thing that would explain both his failure and reluctance to talk to the dean.

Also, how the hell do you get into HYS after failing out of two other graduate programs?

+1 to Veyron. (Mark this day in the annals of history.)

[Veyron]

He must have plagiarized something, its the only thing that would explain both his failure and reluctance to talk to the dean.

Also, how the hell do you get into HYS after failing out of two other graduate programs?

+1 to Veyron. (Mark this day in the annals of history.)

Duly noted.

[wildhaggis]

Poor flame may actually be real.

[CanadianWolf]

It's difficult to believe that you were admitted to Harvard Law School or Yale Law School or Stanford Law after having failed out at two other graduate programs. Also difficult to understand how you expect others to offer meaningful advice when you withhold crucial information regarding why you are failing & why you failed in the past. For example, is it due to a flare-up of a medical or psychological condition, or is it due to dishonesty such as plagiarism ?

[emkay625]

I think why you failed will have a large impact on the outcome/what you should do.

Did you miss a deadline/not turn something in? Or are you just struggling academically?

[law777]

I think why you failed will have a large impact on the outcome/what you should do.

Did you miss a deadline/not turn something in? Or are you just struggling academically?

It's difficult to believe that you were admitted to Harvard Law School or Yale Law School or Stanford Law after having failed out at two other graduate programs. Also difficult to understand how you expect others to offer meaningful advice when you withhold crucial information regarding why you are failing & why you failed in the past. For example, is it due to a flare-up of a medical or psychological condition, or is it due to dishonesty such as plagiarism?

+1. If this is the case, the Dean may be willing to let you defer for a year or otherwise rectify your situation somehow (I know of someone who has done this).

[SilverE2]

You write weird.

[Ineedhelplease]

Thank you everyone for taking the time to comment; it’s greatly appreciated! I think there’s definitely been some great advice provided—specifically, suck it up and go speak with the dean you were referred to. (Although, I have to admit, I was feeling a little bit better today after speaking with my LRW instructor BEFORE coming home and seeing some of the more negative comments.)

I’m hesitant to respond to the majority of the comments. I really don’t want to come across as seeming petty and I definitely don’t want to add any to the negativity. I do however, want to clarify my original question. Hopefully this will lead to me getting more of the kind of responses I was shooting for. I’m aware that, in type, most any attempt at clarification will come across as snide. That’s definitely not my intent with what follows. I'm definitely feeling hated after reading some of the responses; I'm not trying to increase such sentiment.

Maybe I posted my original question in the wrong forum, or maybe my question wasn’t constructed very well (obviously expressing myself via the written word is not my strong suit) but, in asking my question, I was specifically NOT seeking advice on what I should do about MY situation. In asking my question, I was only hoping to find out what the program requirements and/or regulations are at my (or at a comparable) school.

So, to rephrase my question… What are the consequences, in the situation of a program that doesn’t award traditional letter grades, for a person failing LRW? In such a situation, is it possible for that person to continue on? My question is meant to be equivalent in kind to such general programmatic questions as “how many units do you need to graduate,” “is it possible to take electives outside the law school during your 1L year,” etc.

In my original posting, I provided what little background information that I did for the sole purpose of precluding responses that were specific to me and my situation. I thought I could cut responses such as "how are you failing LRW" off at the pass by being upfront about the fact that I, personally, am failing LRW. This strategy obviously backfired.

I was also purposely vague in my first response with regards to the specifics of my situation. But possibly, I now realize, not vague enough. Hopefully, by phrasing my question in the third person (like I've done here), it might be easier to see what kind of answer I’m going for. The distinction is between asking for advice (i.e. what I, personally, should do next) and what the specific requirements, in general, are of a HYS law school.

An answer to my question with regards to the programmatic requirements at any of the three schools I mentioned would satisfy my concern. Even if I got advice on what the requirements are at one of the three, and that one turned out not to be my particular school, since the three are so similar I feel I could make proper inferences.

*I am aware this is a question best suited for a dean at my school. I am aware the dean I was referred to by my instructor would not only be able to provide me with an immediate answer but an absolutely accurate answer as well. I feel justified in at least asking here, without being made to feel hated, because I have read a number of other questions on this forum that could instead be answered by a dean at the respective law school. Before asking my question here I searched my program’s Web site for an answer. I also browsed other program-related literature I have at home. In much the same way, and in the same spirit, I have sought an answer here on this forum. I am not asking my question as an alternative to speaking with the dean (although my originally phrasing obviously implied that). I simply have a general question about program requirements (requirements alas that are directly relevant to my specific situation) for which I sought the answer to online.

Thanks again to anyone who knows anything with regards to my concern!

[ph14]

Flame. But if not, you know that Yale doesn't have a traditional LRW class, right? Might as well just say which of H or S you are at if you want to get an answer.

[Ineedhelplease]

Flame. But if not, you know that Yale doesn't have a traditional LRW class, right? Might as well just say which of H or S you are at if you want to get an answer.

Lol yeah I debated mentioning that. As pointed out, I've actually narrowed my question down to two schools.

[spondee]

If you just want some dumb generic answer, read the student handbook.

[zomginternets]

This is the most retarded thread I've read in a while. OP knows how to get the answer, but insists on getting it in a different and completely unreliable way.

[09042014]

I decided to go law school for purposes of career advancement in a field I was already working in. I know a law degree from HYS law school will get me the position I wanted regardless of my specific performance in law school. (I was a finalist for the promotion without a law degree.) I am not in law school to be a lawyer/work for a firm. To simply be able to say I got a JD from HYS law school means a lot in the real world, outside of law firms (inside too, but I know inside the legal profession specific performance, in addition to the name HYS, matters). Unlike at other law schools, even in comparison to other T-14 schools, just making it through is of great value.

Since you don't care about legal hiring, who cares. You'll have to take it again, and you'll have to pass it.

You may even pass, I know at my school, one of the Deans has to sign off on D's and F's. And profs are too lazy to fight to give you an F, so they'll give you a C.