UVA Law Students Taking Questions Forum

[anon sequitur]

I think most everyone likes the one they get into, if you like the prof or at least are interested in the topic they are presenting, you should be fine. Many people choose based largely upon the reputation for high quality food provided.

[lookingin]

Hah. Cohen's section notes that he provides pizza. The other sections don't have as much detail yet

[anon sequitur]

I don't think many others will ever have any detail at all, you just gotta get that info through the grapevine. If I recall correctly, Coughlin was known as a great host, but she doesn't seem to be doing a seminar this year.

[Daily_Double]

edit, never mind.

[cornerstone]

Can anyone comment on the following professors? If you know that one of these professors has a heavy B+ curve, if the final you took was unpredictable, or if you just hated the professor's class, then please let me know.

Curtis Quinn
Woolhandler
Hylton

I took Hylton for PR and didn't really enjoy the class. He's one of the nicest people you will ever meet, but his classes drag on and often go over the time limit. He's into the history of lawyering and ethics, so if you like that sort of stuff then you might enjoy it more. I personally like to focus on the law and rules, so I had a hard time paying attention.

The test was pretty straightforward, though it was frustrating since we weren't allowed an outline and he asked us things about historical contexts which he had only discussed in class (no readings on it). Although I had heard he was a narrow curve kind of guy I pulled an A, and know of 2 other people who got A's as well, so he obviously isn't overly narrow. If you sort of pay attention in class, take good notes, study the rules, and read your notes over the night before the final you should be able to beat the curve especially given that people don't try very hard in PR.

Not sure if any of this translates into other courses that he teaches, but I hope this helps.

[cornerstone]

Hey y'all forgive me for interjecting with something pretty unimportant:

Is the keg no longer a thing?

Yeah. It's part of a general reform across the University to not glamorize the use of alcohol. I think the actual rule is no alcohol on grounds until after 4:30 (?). The rule even applies to the faculty.

You might be right about the technical rule, but the law school had been given an exception for a long time. Then Dean Mahoney (on his way out in a year) decided to take "proactive" steps to align the law school with changes on main grounds (quote from Mahoney in the Law Weekly addressing the whole thing in April, months after the changes were underway). However, Darden still gets to have their keg, probably because of the whole Darden vs. Sullivan fiasco a while back.

Can you elaborate on the fiasco? I always wonder how people know so much about school politics or whatever and I remain so oblivious.

Obviously don't want to out the people who are in the know, but if you talk with double hoos and people in SBA they tend to have some good knowledge of what's been going on. That being said, Mahoney has been a closed book, so some of the things you hear might just be rumors.

edit: poor quoting

[cfr1225]

Can anyone comment on the following professors? If you know that one of these professors has a heavy B+ curve, if the final you took was unpredictable, or if you just hated the professor's class, then please let me know.

Curtis Quinn
Woolhandler
Hylton

Love Woolhandler. Admin Law is boring, but that's not really her fault, it's just the nature of the material. She gives you a decently detailed outline at the start of every class so it's ok to let your mind wander, and the exam is very straightforward.

[Daily_Double]

edit, never mind.

[rhododactylos]

Perfect. Thanks cornerstone and cfr1225.

Had Hylton for PR and everything cornerstone said is correct--a super nice and knowledgeable guy but a super dull lecturer. I'll also add that he has an annoying habit of ending class 2-3 minutes late every single day. But he's probably the best option for PR if you want to keep your workload down and also have a good shot at beating the curve, since I've heard Cohen can be a lot tougher.

[cornerstone]

Perfect. Thanks cornerstone and cfr1225.

I should add that I only read for like 1/4 of the classes. Stopped that within the first couple weeks

[Yardbird]

Can anyone comment on the following professors? If you know that one of these professors has a heavy B+ curve, if the final you took was unpredictable, or if you just hated the professor's class, then please let me know.

Curtis Quinn
Woolhandler
Hylton

I had Quinn Curtis for Corporations and Securities Regulation. He gives out a fair amount of As and A-s, not sure if he balances that out with lots of B’s or a wider spread. I enjoyed his classes, though at times the material was very dry (e.g. gun-jumping rules in SecReg).

[nacho cheese]

People taking the VA bar - I know we have to wear a suit, but I remember hearing rumblings about having to wear rubber-soled shoes, as well. The dress code section of the VBBE website only says "business attire." Anybody know if there is a shoe requirement?

[sundance95]

Perfect. Thanks cornerstone and cfr1225.

Had Hylton for PR and everything cornerstone said is correct--a super nice and knowledgeable guy but a super dull lecturer. I'll also add that he has an annoying habit of ending class 2-3 minutes late every single day. But he's probably the best option for PR if you want to keep your workload down and also have a good shot at beating the curve, since I've heard Cohen can be a lot tougher.

Cohen's PR was easily the most difficult exam I took in law school, and I took most of the gunnerish classes.

[Br3v]

Perfect. Thanks cornerstone and cfr1225.

Had Hylton for PR and everything cornerstone said is correct--a super nice and knowledgeable guy but a super dull lecturer. I'll also add that he has an annoying habit of ending class 2-3 minutes late every single day. But he's probably the best option for PR if you want to keep your workload down and also have a good shot at beating the curve, since I've heard Cohen can be a lot tougher.

Cohen's PR was easily the most difficult exam I took in law school, and I took most of the gunnerish classes.

What does this mean? That you should take him or not?

[jkpolk]

What does this mean? That you should take him or not?

Do you want to risk a wide distribution or do you want to 3LOL to a B+?

[5ky]

Cohen exams are needlessly stressful. While you can get very high grades if you are willing to put in obscene amounts of work and grind it out (many people will not), I took a Cohen class my 2L year and it was awful.

[asundialwatch]

Any thoughts on these classes for fall?

Evidence w/Schauer
Corporations w/Kordana
Civil Rights Litigation w/Jeffries
Fed Income Tax w/Hayashi or Mason
Int'l Law w/Verdier

I'm most curious how Schauer is in evidence and whether corporations with Kordana is decent.

[olive16]

Kordana is hilarious but may be the most arbitrary grader I've experienced in law school. If you want an entertaining quirky professor, he's your guy. If you care about your GPA, he's risky.

[whats an updog]

Probably answered somewhere else in the thread, but who else is good for Corporations then

[anon sequitur]

Is Geis teaching it this year? If so, the answer is Geis.

Also, for Fed Tax as previous poster asked, I've heard a lot of good things about Hayashi's class. I had Mason, and I think she was a very good lecturer and extremely clear about what she expects you to learn to do well in her class.

[North]

Do not do Kitch.

[North]

Anyone done two clinics at once?

[anon sequitur]

I did, for one week. Fuck that, would have been a miserable semester. And one of my clinics was even a pretty light one (defense clinic).

[rhododactylos]

Any thoughts on these classes for fall?

Evidence w/Schauer
Corporations w/Kordana
Civil Rights Litigation w/Jeffries
Fed Income Tax w/Hayashi or Mason
Int'l Law w/Verdier

I'm most curious how Schauer is in evidence and whether corporations with Kordana is decent.

Schauer is the man. I have not had him for evidence but would recommend him for any class. Excellent lecturer, presents the material in a clear and interesting way, genuinely nice person and an absolute fucking genius. The one knock against his lecturing is that his sentences can be 5 minutes long (typical Schauer sentence: "Now because the standard is rational basis, and keeping in mind the composition of the court, now let me put it this way, and going back a second to Lochner, in the New Deal era, with political pressure on the court, and I want you to think about this part.....[main point]....and just a few more thoughts and then I'll stop talking for a few minutes").

Also fwiw the other evidence section this semester is being taught by Schauer's wife.

[Yardbird]

Probably answered somewhere else in the thread, but who else is good for Corporations then

Even if you have no business background or haven’t taken accounting or corporate finance take the law & business section of corporations with Curtis. He’s a great lecturer and his exams are very fair. Not arbitrary like Kordana. Unless you have had Kordana in the past or want to experience him, I’d go for Curtis since Geis isn’t teaching Corporations this fall.