Recently Graduated UT Law Student taking questions Forum

[timeandspace11]

I have Bracha for Contracts. Any useful supplement recommendations?

as do I..I'm going through Chirelstein right now. it's semi-helpful

Thanks...Did a former student or alumni recommend it to you? Otherwise what made you choose Chirelstein?

[dkb17xzx]

I have Bracha for Contracts. Any useful supplement recommendations?

as do I..I'm going through Chirelstein right now. it's semi-helpful

Thanks...Did a former student or alumni recommend it to you? Otherwise what made you choose Chirelstein?

I picked it up b/c I always saw people recommending it on TLS. I leafed through the other supplements available and Chirelstein seemed easier to digest. There's a hornbook by Farnsworth as well but I haven't used it yet.

[mediocrity]

As mentioned, 3 years ago (when I applied) I got in off WL w/ a 172/3.4. With a 3.3 you'd probably need at least low 170's.

That said, with applications #'s so low, it's a crapshoot now.

Check your inbox

[timmyd]

Does anyone have a Sokolow contracts outline?

[timeandspace11]

Any 2Ls have an idea how OCI went. I have been hearing conflicting reports.

[cannibal ox]

Are there any intramural sports offered by UT, or that students participate in?

Regarding the matching scholarship program, I assume any t14 school along with maybe UCLA and Vandy would be considered 'peer schools', but what about offers from the top 20? I know they say you can only request a matching scholarship once, but is that something they say or something they actually stick to?

[HYSenberg]

What percentile does one have to be in order to land a job in Austin? I assume Austin biglaw is a very small affair, but are there many government or midlaw jobs available to graduates?

[StylinNProfilin]

Are there any intramural sports offered by UT, or that students participate in?

Regarding the matching scholarship program, I assume any t14 school along with maybe UCLA and Vandy would be considered 'peer schools', but what about offers from the top 20? I know they say you can only request a matching scholarship once, but is that something they say or something they actually stick to?

Every small section has their own co-ed intramural football team and plays the other small sections. Suprisingly alot of pretty athletic 1Ls, except in my small section.

[BigZuck]

What percentile does one have to be in order to land a job in Austin? I assume Austin biglaw is a very small affair, but are there many government or midlaw jobs available to graduates?

Just a 1L here so take with the appropriate heap of salt: but, I've heard that you can pretty much forget about Austin unless you have really strong ties to the city. It's one of the more desirable places to live (definitely in Texas, but probably in the country as well) and there's not a ton of jobs so they can be pretty picky if they want to be. Then again most people say that in reference to big law so not sure how that would work with government and smaller firms.

Also, keep in mind that TLS conventional wisdom says that the government isn't hiring right now and midlaw doesn't exist.

Personally, I think Austin would be an incredible place to live long term. However, my first priority is getting a job and when I see how bad some of my classmates want to stay in Austin and how few firm jobs there are I'm content to focus on the larger markets in TX and don't really plan on gunning too hard for Austin for fear of totally striking out.

[cannibal ox]

Are there any intramural sports offered by UT, or that students participate in?

Regarding the matching scholarship program, I assume any t14 school along with maybe UCLA and Vandy would be considered 'peer schools', but what about offers from the top 20? I know they say you can only request a matching scholarship once, but is that something they say or something they actually stick to?

Every small section has their own co-ed intramural football team and plays the other small sections. Suprisingly alot of pretty athletic 1Ls, except in my small section.

What about other sports? Specifically soccer. Know of any law students who play in leagues, whether it's through UT or just in the area?

[HYSenberg]

What percentile does one have to be in order to land a job in Austin? I assume Austin biglaw is a very small affair, but are there many government or midlaw jobs available to graduates?

Just a 1L here so take with the appropriate heap of salt: but, I've heard that you can pretty much forget about Austin unless you have really strong ties to the city. It's one of the more desirable places to live (definitely in Texas, but probably in the country as well) and there's not a ton of jobs so they can be pretty picky if they want to be. Then again most people say that in reference to big law so not sure how that would work with government and smaller firms.

Also, keep in mind that TLS conventional wisdom says that the government isn't hiring right now and midlaw doesn't exist.

Personally, I think Austin would be an incredible place to live long term. However, my first priority is getting a job and when I see how bad some of my classmates want to stay in Austin and how few firm jobs there are I'm content to focus on the larger markets in TX and don't really plan on gunning too hard for Austin for fear of totally striking out.

Thanks for the helpful reply .

[BigZuck]

Are there any intramural sports offered by UT, or that students participate in?

Regarding the matching scholarship program, I assume any t14 school along with maybe UCLA and Vandy would be considered 'peer schools', but what about offers from the top 20? I know they say you can only request a matching scholarship once, but is that something they say or something they actually stick to?

Every small section has their own co-ed intramural football team and plays the other small sections. Suprisingly alot of pretty athletic 1Ls, except in my small section.

What about other sports? Specifically soccer. Know of any law students who play in leagues, whether it's through UT or just in the area?

Heard another student mention that yesterday was his last soccer game of the year, so yes

[mrsmartypants]

What percentile does one have to be in order to land a job in Austin? I assume Austin biglaw is a very small affair, but are there many government or midlaw jobs available to graduates?

To add to the earlier reply, there really isn't a presumptive set of credentials that will guarantee a job in Austin--I knew top 10% + LR folks who couldn't crack the market, and folks farther down in the class who did. Part of the issue is that there aren't a lot of biglaw slots to be filled, and smaller firms/agencies don't necessarily recruit through the usual OCI procedures.

The flip side is that there are opportunities to be found for those willing to do some legwork. But at least back when I was in school, most students are conditioned to having the opportunities come to them via OCI and are less prepared to pound the pavement. At the time, career services was pretty unhelpful in advising on job searching outside OCI--perhaps now that the market has been in the tank for awhile, this has improved.

[HYSenberg]

Thanks for the informative replies. I really want to work in TX (ideally Austin), but I feel like my decision will come to Cornell (60% biglaw/fed clerkship) or UT (35%). Do you guys think that the top 1/3 of the class is guaranteed one of these coveted jobs? What kind of job/salary does somebody at median or the bottom half get? As a recent transplant to TX with tenuous ties to the state (I own property in Austin, but have not lived here long), will it be difficult to obtain a job in Houston or Dallas? I think I could give a convincing rationale regarding why I want to live here, but I understand that these are insular markets.

[philosoraptor]

I would not count on Austin biglaw jobs being plentiful or even available when you graduate. I do some work out of my firm's Austin office now and then, and even though we're crazy busy, no one wants to hire more newbie lawyers. Firms are cutting costs like mad, and entry-level associates are a huge money sink. My firm stopped recruiting at UT a couple years ago and now appears to focus on midlevel laterals to get new people. (So when I'm here I'm the only first-year, and I don't think there are any second-years.) Pretty much all the partners and senior associates I've chatted with about this seem to think the OCI/summer associate model is going away soon, at least in secondary markets.

I have no idea how they expect law school grads to get any relevant training if all the big firms ditch their entry-level hiring programs, but that's the way things are going. If you're set on Austin, I'd say take your $150K and try starting a business instead of going to law school.

[Chaucer1343]

re

[BigZuck]

Anyone have outlines/syllabi for the following courses/profs?

1L Spring:

Civ Pro - Bone
Con Law - Berman
Torts - Robertson
LRW - Sharp

Not sure what I could give in return (except for helping the future batches of 1Ls)... ;P

PMed. Lots of bros had Robertson for torts this semester.

[philosoraptor]

Anyone have outlines/syllabi for the following courses/profs?

1L Spring:

Civ Pro - Bone
Con Law - Berman
Torts - Robertson
LRW - Sharp

Not sure what I could give in return (except for helping the future batches of 1Ls)... ;P

You are in for an interesting semester.

[StylinNProfilin]

well I guess i'll chime in with any thoughts on these profs

Torts-Wellborn, ive talked to him a few times seems like a really cool guy
Con Law- Steiker
Civ Pro- Woolley

[Chaucer1343]

Anyone have outlines/syllabi for the following courses/profs?

1L Spring:

Civ Pro - Bone
Con Law - Berman
Torts - Robertson
LRW - Sharp

Not sure what I could give in return (except for helping the future batches of 1Ls)... ;P

You are in for an interesting semester.

hahaha, do tell =D

[philosoraptor]

Anyone have outlines/syllabi for the following courses/profs?

1L Spring:

Civ Pro - Bone
Con Law - Berman
Torts - Robertson
LRW - Sharp

Not sure what I could give in return (except for helping the future batches of 1Ls)... ;P

You are in for an interesting semester.

hahaha, do tell =D

You're basically going from one extreme of the theory/utility spectrum to the other. I didn't have Berman or Bone (at least for civ pro), but my spousal unit did, so I heard a lot about them. In Berman's class, pretty much everything will be theory and philosophy rather than reading cases. That might sound appealing, but you're just not going to get a regular crim law education; you'll learn Berman's fake law (I believe it's based on a narrative featuring a couple who do increasingly horrible things to each other) rather than actual law such as the TPC, which Laurin teaches. Check out his list of publications on his CV: I spent three years in law school and couldn't even begin to tell you what the hell "Pluralistic Non-originalism and the Combinability Problem" might mean. Sounds like a good use of time, though.

Bone, apparently, will drive you nuts if you've ever been in a setting where people actually litigate. He's all about Posnerian-type analysis of the economic efficiency of the FRCP, stuff like when is the optimal time to settle. Great if that's your thing, but you may have to shut off your real-world brain to do well in his class. (He was more practical in IP, though, and I've heard he's good for complex lit.)

I've said it before on this forum, but Robertson was by far my favorite prof at UT, and definitely the best writer/editor who's ever taught me. His articles and books tend to be readable and about useful topics, and I would highly recommend reading some of his torts work during the semester. His stuff is from the perspective of someone who's actually out there making real contributions to actual law, in practice and in scholarship.

So yeah, your section will definitely experience a diversity of perspectives.

[TexasWave]

I'm a 2L at UT and my undergrad roommate just gave our family notice at the start of December that he was moving out by Jan. 1st. I live in the apartment and manage it for our family.

If anyone is transferring to UT Law, or needs a new place for the spring, please get in touch with me. I would prefer to live with a law student for the remaining half of my J.D. education (apartment is about 15-18 minutes of walking to the school).

[BigZuck]

Hey upperclass and graduated bros- when can we start expecting grades to come in? After the new year? And do we just check the UT law website or do we get an email when a grade is posted?

[philosoraptor]

Hey upperclass and graduated bros- when can we start expecting grades to come in? After the new year? And do we just check the UT law website or do we get an email when a grade is posted?

Totally depends on the prof. No emails, you'll just have to keep checking. I'd say just try not to look until after the new year; if any come out early, you'll probably hear about it from your classmates or on TLS. Some profs are nice and send emails with lots of info when they post grades, but they're the exception rather than the rule.

[BigZuck]

Hey upperclass and graduated bros- when can we start expecting grades to come in? After the new year? And do we just check the UT law website or do we get an email when a grade is posted?

Totally depends on the prof. No emails, you'll just have to keep checking. I'd say just try not to look until after the new year; if any come out early, you'll probably hear about it from your classmates or on TLS. Some profs are nice and send emails with lots of info when they post grades, but they're the exception rather than the rule.

Thanks man

Ok, I'll be that guy. Anybody have thoughts on:

Kull (Contracts)
Dix (Crim)
Meyer (LRW)
Johanson (Property)

I think one of them is a visiting professor, can't remember who (not Dix or Meyer I know that)