General advice from a 2nd-semester 1L Forum

[texanwahoo]

Jesus. From reading the various threads on this board, it sounds like half of you guys are entitled d-bag assholes. self-loathing alcoholics, or utterly fucking clueless about how to deal with the various demands of law school. Ergo, here's some entirely unsolicited advice:

1) DRUGS. Legal ones, that is. Fake a case of ADHD and get an Adderall scrip, for fuck's sake! Forget all that coffee and energy-drink bullshit: Adderall is the real deal. Also, if you get "stage fright," pop into student health and get a scrip for a beta blocker; propanolol is probably the most common. Beta blockers keep your heart from suddenly accelerating, so you don't end up with flop sweats and stuttering when you're trying out for moot court and the like.

2) NETWORKING. Just from my SBA post alone I'm already BFFs with my school's two deans as well as the head of the local state bar chapter. Come up with some original fucking ideas, IMPLEMENT THEM (as long as they don't overly impact study time), and sit back and appreciate the accolades.

3) BE PRACTICAL. Yes, we all know how fucking awesome it will look on your resume if you managed to secure one of the exceedingly rare 1L summer clerk jobs in BigLaw, but we also know that 1Ls are de facto copy boys and mail distributors at such firms. Yes, we know the $3K weekly paychecks are alluring, but in the long run, that judicial internship -- please, please tell me you know I mean *federal* internship -- or DA's intern gig will provide vastly more *applicable* training for the remainder of your law school years.

4) Focus on GROWTH AREAS. Health law is far and away the biggest projected growth field within the law vertical over the next decade. International law is growing as well. Ditto environmental law. Focus on THOSE areas, and not ones subject to market whim, e.g. anything related to Wall Street/M&A/securities, etc. Also know that the Web 2.0 bubble is going to burst soon (VC funds are rapidly drying up for companies with no viable revenue models), so rethink your plan about, say, pushing for a gig at Wilson Sonsini.

Again, totally random comments. Fire away if you want...

[jrsbaseball5]

Well you sound charming

[RELIC]

4) Focus on GROWTH AREAS. Health law is far and away the biggest projected growth field within the law vertical over the next decade. International law is growing as well. Ditto environmental law. Focus on THOSE areas, and not ones subject to market whim, e.g. anything related to Wall Street/M&A/securities, etc. Also know that the Web 2.0 bubble is going to burst soon (VC funds are rapidly drying up for companies with no viable revenue models), so rethink your plan about, say, pushing for a gig at Wilson Sonsini.

Again, totally random comments. Fire away if you want...

LOL

Health Law over IP and Tech Related Work in SV?

You are an idiot with a ton of undue hubris. This is literally the least informed opinion on this topic I have ever read.

[09042014]

LOL at environmental law. HUGE NEW SECTOR OF THE LEGAL ECONOMY (it is 1971)

You are an idiot, I hope you strike out.

[RELIC]

Jesus. From reading the various threads on this board, it sounds like half of you guys are entitled d-bag assholes. self-loathing alcoholics, or utterly fucking clueless about how to deal with the various demands of law school. Ergo, here's some entirely unsolicited advice:

1) DRUGS. Legal ones, that is. Fake a case of ADHD and get an Adderall scrip, for fuck's sake! Forget all that coffee and energy-drink bullshit: Adderall is the real deal. Also, if you get "stage fright," pop into student health and get a scrip for a beta blocker; propanolol is probably the most common. Beta blockers keep your heart from suddenly accelerating, so you don't end up with flop sweats and stuttering when you're trying out for moot court and the like.

2) NETWORKING. Just from my SBA post alone I'm already BFFs with my school's two deans as well as the head of the local state bar chapter. Come up with some original fucking ideas, IMPLEMENT THEM (as long as they don't overly impact study time), and sit back and appreciate the accolades.

3) BE PRACTICAL. Yes, we all know how fucking awesome it will look on your resume if you managed to secure one of the exceedingly rare 1L summer clerk jobs in BigLaw, but we also know that 1Ls are de facto copy boys and mail distributors at such firms. Yes, we know the $3K weekly paychecks are alluring, but in the long run, that judicial internship -- please, please tell me you know I mean *federal* internship -- or DA's intern gig will provide vastly more *applicable* training for the remainder of your law school years.

4) Focus on GROWTH AREAS. Health law is far and away the biggest projected growth field within the law vertical over the next decade. International law is growing as well. Ditto environmental law. Focus on THOSE areas, and not ones subject to market whim, e.g. anything related to Wall Street/M&A/securities, etc. Also know that the Web 2.0 bubble is going to burst soon (VC funds are rapidly drying up for companies with no viable revenue models), so rethink your plan about, say, pushing for a gig at Wilson Sonsini.

Again, totally random comments. Fire away if you want...

Also, QFP

[texanwahoo]

Health Law over IP and Tech Related Work in SV?

WTF? Um, no. I'm talking nationwide, not limited to the microcosm of the Bay Area. Health law will be growing exponentially thanks to the continuing impact of the Affordable Care Act (regardless of how you personally feel about it). Related jobs will mostly be in D.C., state capitals and cities with huge health care industries, e.g. NYC, Houston and Minneapolis.

[Danger Zone]

1. No, drugs are bad mmmkay
2. Well, duh
3. No, get paid
4. You're admittedly a 1L and therefore have no idea wtf you're talking about here.

[texanwahoo]

LOL at environmental law. HUGE NEW SECTOR OF THE LEGAL ECONOMY (it is 1971)

Oh, I'm sorry, I guess you didn't get the memo that the fields of energy and environmental law have already essentially merged, and the newer developments in energy (fracking in particular) are going to lead to a shitload of environmental claims over the next decade. Just wait till the first fracking project leads to a major environmental disaster, e.g. permanent contamination of an entire region's water supply. Hello, class action! Btw I guess you missed that oh-so-minor oil-well explosion in the Gulf of Mexico a couple years back that cost BP $20 billion and counting in damages/reparations?

[texanwahoo]

1. No, drugs are bad mmmkay

Why thank you, Nancy Reagan! Please, enlighten us further as to how perfectly legal drugs are "bad"! (And, for that matter, how alcohol is preferable!)

Btw I'm a 1L over 30 with 10+ years of REAL-WORLD business experience, something I know many of you 23-year-olds lack, but keep it up with the "naive 1L" comments if you must...

[Danger Zone]

1. No, drugs are bad mmmkay

Why thank you, Nancy Reagan! Please, enlighten us further as to how perfectly legal drugs are "bad"! (And, for that matter, how alcohol is preferable!)

Btw I'm a 1L over 30 with 10+ years of REAL-WORLD business experience, something I know many of you 23-year-olds lack, but keep it up with the "naive 1L" comments if you must...

Sorry about your tiny pink Adderall.

[gaud]

How can I impress the ladies at school?

[togepi]

I don't think OP had to "fake" having ADHD

[RELIC]

1. No, drugs are bad mmmkay

Why thank you, Nancy Reagan! Please, enlighten us further as to how perfectly legal drugs are "bad"! (And, for that matter, how alcohol is preferable!)

Btw I'm a 1L over 30 with 10+ years of REAL-WORLD business experience, something I know many of you 23-year-olds lack, but keep it up with the "naive 1L" comments if you must...

Oh my god this explains so much. You are the "I have so much life experience let me interject it into every conversation" law student.

Just so you know. Everyone in law school hates you.

And most of this people on this board are 25-30 and have at least a couple years of work experience under their belt.

[eric922]

1. No, drugs are bad mmmkay

Why thank you, Nancy Reagan! Please, enlighten us further as to how perfectly legal drugs are "bad"! (And, for that matter, how alcohol is preferable!)

Btw I'm a 1L over 30 with 10+ years of REAL-WORLD business experience, something I know many of you 23-year-olds lack, but keep it up with the "naive 1L" comments if you must...

Oh my god this explains so much. You are the "I have so much life experience let me interject it into every conversation" law student.

Just so you know. Everyone in law school hates you.

And most of this people on this board are 25-30 and have at least a couple years of work experience under their belt.

To to be perfectly clear: I'm not in law school and I already don't like him.

[Richie Tenenbaum]

Law student at a Texas school that shall remain nameless here. If you're wanting to go into O&G, UH Law is definitely your best bet. Not only is Houston the nexus of pretty much the entire global energy field, it's also the HQ city for a number of BigLaw firms with O&G practices (V&E being easily the most prominent, w/Baker Botts close behind). For this specific field, at least, I'd actually recommend UH over UT, particularly now that it's leapt into the T1 category in the 2014 U.S. News rankings (tied with SMU at #48, among others). Speaking of SMU, try to remember that Dallas isn't like "Dallas," the TV show, and the center of the oil industry is most definitely not there, though Dallas definitely has a more diversified business economy overall (in Houston energy and health care reign). Also, I'll point out that even if you're accepted into UT Law, your odds of hitting the top-10% at UH are vastly better b/c of UT's national status (and the resultant fact that many of your classmates will be from top-10 undergrad schools), and you'll frankly do much better in the O&G job market -- or, really, at *any* job at a BigLaw firm in Houston or Dallas -- with a top-10% UHLC degree than a top-30% UT one. (Ditto SMU for non-O&G jobs, and particularly if you want to live in Dallas; SMU Law alums are probably the most loyal in the state in terms of hiring fellow SMU grads.) UH isn't far below UT in terms of job prospects at NLJ T250 firms (ranked #27 and #16 respectively), and an unusually high % of grads end up working as corporate counsel for Big Oil.

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 9#p6621869

You certainly seem to like giving advice, but I'm not so sure you've mastered the ability to give good advice.

ETA: Also, you should know that a good chunk of people get 1L SAs in Texas. And there isn't much of difference between what you learn during your average judicial internship. (And 1L SAs at bigfirms typically result in an offer to return as a 2L, which makes OCI a lot less stressful.)

[Tom Joad]

(Baylor guy telling YOU what to do)

[MinEMorris]

7/10 troll. You'd think you couldn't put that you were a 1L in a thread and open your advice with taking drugs and still have people take you seriously, but he pulled it off. I'm impressed.

[Jsa725]

.

[guano]

1. No, drugs are bad mmmkay

Why thank you, Nancy Reagan! Please, enlighten us further as to how perfectly legal drugs are "bad"! (And, for that matter, how alcohol is preferable!)

Btw I'm a 1L over 30 with 10+ years of REAL-WORLD business experience, something I know many of you 23-year-olds lack, but keep it up with the "naive 1L" comments if you must...

Real works experience doesn't mean you're not talking out of your ass.
(I got RWE and I do it all the time)

Also, anyone who recommends using drugs that have not been prescribed by a physician after diagnosis should be avoided like the plague

[stillwater]

you sound like a dumb

[Antrim]

You are an idiot, I hope you strike out.

My first thought after skimming this bullshit. OP, how are you going to call other people douchebags when you are a clueless 1L trying ti give job-seeking advice?

[texanwahoo]

Oh my god this explains so much. You are the "I have so much life experience let me interject it into every conversation" law student."

Not even remotely true -- I can count on one hand the number of people at my school who know about my work history, and they're all good friends. Why would anyone want to make themselves more of a target?

And most of this people on this board are 25-30 and have at least a couple years of work experience under their belt.

Ooooooooh, a "couple" of years! That must mean you know everything!

ETA: Also, you should know that a good chunk of people get 1L SAs in Texas. And there isn't much of difference between what you learn during your average judicial internship.

Wow, and you guys are calling *me* a bullshitter? This is a complete crock. Houston BigLaw firms hired a total of about 50 1L SAs last year. That's out of a total of around 2,000 1Ls from Texas law schools alone, never mind all the T14 kids originally from Houston or Texas seeking internships there (not to mention 1Ls not from Texas who want to work in O&G). I wouldn't call that a "big chunk," personally, but to each his own.

(And 1L SAs at bigfirms typically result in an offer to return as a 2L, which makes OCI a lot less stressful.)

You're ignoring several facts: 1) It doesn't matter what you do 1L summer as long as it's legally related; 2) anyone qualified enough to get a 1L SA gig will likely have a number of suitors courting them at OCI regardless; and 3) some of us don't let interviews stress us out, even in the face of bullshit questions like "the Brick."

[Danger Zone]

The worst part about OP is that he is not flame.

[3|ink]

I need some advice and you seem to be the right person to ask. How do I deal with my aspergers?

[target]

Dude, your advice is generally not good. Face it!