Admin Law or Real Estate Development? Forum

[TTH]

Which would you take 3L year?

I'm probably going to wind up doing lit, but it's not a sure thing yet. I'm not applying to clerkships. The real estate prof is highly regarded, but the admin law guy is pretty well liked, too. Several friends describe real estate as the best class they've taken in law school. Plus, I wouldn't mind owning some rental properties some day.

But real estate starts at 8:45 three days a week whereas admin is at 1:30. If I don't take the morning class, I'd probably still get up early in the mornings to go to work anyhow.

Thoughts?

[kalvano]

I thought Admin was hard, but easily the most useful class I've taken law school.

[chasgoose]

Admin is going to have a lot more use to you as a lawyer, whatever field you practice in since the administrative state has its hands in everything. Admin teaches you how laws actually get made in this country, I would argue that its more relevant and useful on a day-to-day practicing law basis than Con Law. Real estate is going to be of limited use unless you want to practice in real estate law at some point.

[AreJay711]

Which would you take 3L year?

I'm probably going to wind up doing lit, but it's not a sure thing yet. I'm not applying to clerkships. The real estate prof is highly regarded, but the admin law guy is pretty well liked, too. Several friends describe real estate as the best class they've taken in law school. Plus, I wouldn't mind owning some rental properties some day.

But real estate starts at 8:45 three days a week whereas admin is at 1:30. If I don't take the morning class, I'd probably still get up early in the mornings to go to work anyhow.

Thoughts?

[somewhatwayward]

^
in my book, the 8:45 am start time is a plus for the real estate class

[quiver]

I'm not applying to clerkships.

Stay far far away from admin unless you really have to/wan to take it. Sure it's useful info but it comes at quite a cost. PS: I'm a little biased since I took admin this year.

[Julio_El_Chavo]

admin is for teh gunnars

[somewhatwayward]

I'm not applying to clerkships.

Stay far far away from admin unless you really have to/wan to take it. Sure it's useful info but it comes at quite a cost. PS: I'm a little biased since I took admin this year.

+1

it is just a horrible class. i bought the casebook for it ($180) and had it rebound ($30), making it unreturnable, but hated the class so much after a week that i dropped it and ate the $210

[starchinkilt]

If you want to learn a lot of admin without actually having to suffer through it, most environmental type courses should cover the basics and then some.

[lawstudent002]

My thoughts on Admin...as a 1L.

I took it because everybody who had been to law school told me I should take it at some point. I took it my first year second semester (alongside Con Law and Civ Pro). Let me just preface everything I am about to say with this: if you don't have an engaging professor, Admin WILL be boring to the point where even doing the reading is literally mind numbing.

Now, I agree with the poster above that it is an extremely important class, and could be one of the most practical classes you will ever take. Yes, the material is very dry, but in the end you know how government/law making/government enforcement of law making works and you realize that before you took this class you really knew nothing.

That being said, I have talked to students who have taken Environmental Law, for example, and their professor spent 3 weeks doing a crash course in Admin Law (the reason being is that Admin literally runs everything legal in this country). And, I totally agree that the overview Administrative Law class that most law schools give could probably be crammed into 3 weeks. But, since you are a 3L, I would assume that you haven't had this opportunity in any other class you've taken. The truth is, Admin is such a beast that there is literally no way to go into any real depth on anything; and once you take the class you realize that even if you did go into depth, there aren't a lot of definite lessons that can be learned.

So, having said all of this, I would say if you haven't taken Admin, or if you haven't had a "crash course" in Admin in one of your other upper level seminars, AND you aren't super into real estate development, then I recommend Admin. Hell, I'd bet that there is an administrative agency that practically governs real estate.

Now, having said all of that. Admin is a LOT of stuff, but it's mostly straight forward. I also happen to have a goldmine of an outline, which combined with Examples and Explanations, got me through the course. Yes, still waiting on the grade, but I felt decent about it.

[memo2partner]

Why can't you do both?