Michigan 1Ls/2Ls/3Ls taking questions Forum

[Earlskies]

Everybody Apply for the MAP program btw!

How do you apply and/or when is the application available?

[gsy987]

Everybody Apply for the MAP program btw!

How do you apply and/or when is the application available?

They'll send an email about it sometime in May or June.

[rationalhound]

How soon before classes do we need to buy our books/is there somewhere students sell their old books or something?

P.S. Friedman is the new summer start professor for CivPro. Anyone know what he's like in that class?

Brace yourself.

Brace for what? Is this a 'tough but fair hardass' kind of thing or more of a 'he's crazy and you'll learn nothing' kind of thing?

[Iwanttolawschool]

How soon before classes do we need to buy our books/is there somewhere students sell their old books or something?

P.S. Friedman is the new summer start professor for CivPro. Anyone know what he's like in that class?

Brace yourself.

Brace for what? Is this a 'tough but fair hardass' kind of thing or more of a 'he's crazy and you'll learn nothing' kind of thing?

He's one of the coolest professors at MLaw. It's a lucky break that you have him.

[Earlskies]

Everybody Apply for the MAP program btw!

How do you apply and/or when is the application available?

They'll send an email about it sometime in May or June.

Awesome -thanks!

[herecomesthesun]

How soon before classes do we need to buy our books/is there somewhere students sell their old books or something?

P.S. Friedman is the new summer start professor for CivPro. Anyone know what he's like in that class?

Brace yourself.

Brace for what? Is this a 'tough but fair hardass' kind of thing or more of a 'he's crazy and you'll learn nothing' kind of thing?

He's one of the coolest professors at MLaw. It's a lucky break that you have him.

Have heard mixed reviews. I can't follow his lecture style, and I really felt like the class was disorganized and I didn't learn much

[brinicolec]

How soon before classes do we need to buy our books/is there somewhere students sell their old books or something?

P.S. Friedman is the new summer start professor for CivPro. Anyone know what he's like in that class?

Brace yourself.

Brace for what? Is this a 'tough but fair hardass' kind of thing or more of a 'he's crazy and you'll learn nothing' kind of thing?

He's one of the coolest professors at MLaw. It's a lucky break that you have him.

Have heard mixed reviews. I can't follow his lecture style, and I really felt like the class was disorganized and I didn't learn much

It seems like ppl either love him or aren't a fan

[brinicolec]

Anyone have any thoughts on residential parking permits/street-parking in Ann Arbor? Specifically wondering if it's a pain to get parking sometimes, even with the permit, and whether or not if I have a new (2015, but new to me) compact SUV, I should be worried about parking it on the street b/c ppl suck at driving.

[nyu2019maybeplease]

Richard Friedman is without a doubt one of the two or three most caring, gracious, engaged, and genuinely kind instructors I have had at any point in my life, kindergarten through now. The man's family literally hosts refugees. Friedman loves Michigan, and if you go to Michigan, he loves you.

He teaches theory, not black letter law. You don't go to an elite law school to learn black letter law (you can do that on your own with two days and a supplement). You go there to hear what brilliant people have to say, and Richard Friedman is one of those people.

How soon before classes do we need to buy our books/is there somewhere students sell their old books or something?

P.S. Friedman is the new summer start professor for CivPro. Anyone know what he's like in that class?

Brace yourself.

Brace for what? Is this a 'tough but fair hardass' kind of thing or more of a 'he's crazy and you'll learn nothing' kind of thing?

[nyu2019maybeplease]

Put another way, if it's good enough for Antonin Scalia, it's good enough for you.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 03690.html

Richard Friedman is without a doubt one of the two or three most caring, gracious, engaged, and genuinely kind instructors I have had at any point in my life, kindergarten through now. The man's family literally hosts refugees. Friedman loves Michigan, and if you go to Michigan, he loves you.

He teaches theory, not black letter law. You don't go to an elite law school to learn black letter law (you can do that on your own with two days and a supplement). You go there to hear what brilliant people have to say, and Richard Friedman is one of those people.

How soon before classes do we need to buy our books/is there somewhere students sell their old books or something?

P.S. Friedman is the new summer start professor for CivPro. Anyone know what he's like in that class?

Brace yourself.

Brace for what? Is this a 'tough but fair hardass' kind of thing or more of a 'he's crazy and you'll learn nothing' kind of thing?

[4'sup]

How do most students do summer internships? Move back to their parent's house and use that as a main base? My family does not live near a major market, so I'm worried this will really hurt my summer plans after my 1L year as Michigan is not situated in an area ripe for internship opportunities.


Also, how would you rate your michigan experience? Can someone give me some pros and cons? Trying to get psyched up and excited to attend. Thanks for all the advice so far everyone.

[californiauser]

How do most students do summer internships? Move back to their parent's house and use that as a main base? My family does not live near a major market, so I'm worried this will really hurt my summer plans after my 1L year as Michigan is not situated in an area ripe for internship opportunities.


Also, how would you rate your michigan experience? Can someone give me some pros and cons? Trying to get psyched up and excited to attend. Thanks for all the advice so far everyone.

You can get a public interest grant for around $3000-3500 to use for the summer. I used that and a tax return to subsist during the summer. You can also stay in Ann Arbor and work for a clinic or a professor, which is nice since Ann Arbor rent is extremely cheap in the summer.

For a law school experience, I'd rate it 10/10. I don't think I would have been happier anywhere else. I liked Ann Arbor since it was easy to go out and relatively low cost compared to NYC, Chicago, Palo Alto, etc. People are really involved with the law school community since we're in a small town. Pros: cost, tight-knit community, laid back student body (for the most part), college football. Cons: weather, law school is stressful, lacking amenities/diversity of big city

[deuceindc]

How do most students do summer internships? Move back to their parent's house and use that as a main base? My family does not live near a major market, so I'm worried this will really hurt my summer plans after my 1L year as Michigan is not situated in an area ripe for internship opportunities.

In addition to what's already been said, pretty much everyone leaves Ann Arbor for their summers (this is almost universally true after 2L). And, the contention that Michigan is not near a major market is demonstrably false - plenty of attorneys practice solely in Ann Arbor (we have a federal courthouse and everything!), and Detroit is 40 minutes away. This is "an area ripe for internship opportunities."

Also, how would you rate your michigan experience? Can someone give me some pros and cons? Trying to get psyched up and excited to attend. Thanks for all the advice so far everyone.

10/10, easily. Pros: great school, faculty give a fuck, low cost of living, critical mass of culinary and cultural options, exit options. Cons: winter, exams (same goes for any school, I'm sure), no grocery stores near campus.

[4'sup]

Thanks for the great replies everyone! Love reading about positive experiences at Michigan(I have read very few negative experiences!).

[brinicolec]

Thanks for the great replies everyone! Love reading about positive experiences at Michigan(I have read very few negative experiences!).

I haven't read any negative experiences regarding Michigan by people that actually attend LS there.... It's kinda crazy lol

[4'sup]

Thanks for the great replies everyone! Love reading about positive experiences at Michigan(I have read very few negative experiences!).

I haven't read any negative experiences regarding Michigan by people that actually attend LS there.... It's kinda crazy lol

It truly is. Many other schools have so many negative reviews such as Columbia, Chicago, and Georgetown.

[dc_diva]

Hi everyone, thanks so much for taking questions. I'm still on the fence, primarily for personal reasons. In a vacuum it would definitely be Michigan. However, my long-term SO (whom I live with) is in the military and based in DC so passing up Georgetown is proving to be difficult.

I'm curious about a few things:

1) If I attend Michigan I'd be banking on doing an externship in DC for a semester of 2L, to help break up the distance. It doesn't seem too hard to get an externship wherever you want, but I don't want to make this assumption. Has anyone had difficulty with this and/or would anyone advise against it?

2) I would be traveling back to DC at least once per month. It's less than 2 hours by plane, but does this seem manageable? Due to military leave the SO can't come visit AA more than once per semester, so I'd have to do most of the traveling.

3) Related to the above, how common are Friday classes? I rarely had Friday classes in UG and am hoping a similar schedule would allow more flexibility for travel.

4) If anyone has been in a similar position I'd appreciate your input! PM is fine if you'd prefer.

5) Unrelated to the above -- can someone shed some light on the food of LC? I'm vegetarian and usually eat pretty healthy, what are the options like? Is there a salad bar or anything like that? Also, is it a set menu and you get 1 serving or is it dining hall style where you can get as many as you want?

Thanks again!!

[blueapple]

Hi everyone, thanks so much for taking questions. I'm still on the fence, primarily for personal reasons. In a vacuum it would definitely be Michigan. However, my long-term SO (whom I live with) is in the military and based in DC so passing up Georgetown is proving to be difficult.

I'm curious about a few things:

1) If I attend Michigan I'd be banking on doing an externship in DC for a semester of 2L, to help break up the distance. It doesn't seem too hard to get an externship wherever you want, but I don't want to make this assumption. Has anyone had difficulty with this and/or would anyone advise against it?

2) I would be traveling back to DC at least once per month. It's less than 2 hours by plane, but does this seem manageable? Due to military leave the SO can't come visit AA more than once per semester, so I'd have to do most of the traveling.

3) Related to the above, how common are Friday classes? I rarely had Friday classes in UG and am hoping a similar schedule would allow more flexibility for travel.

4) If anyone has been in a similar position I'd appreciate your input! PM is fine if you'd prefer.

5) Unrelated to the above -- can someone shed some light on the food of LC? I'm vegetarian and usually eat pretty healthy, what are the options like? Is there a salad bar or anything like that? Also, is it a set menu and you get 1 serving or is it dining hall style where you can get as many as you want?

Thanks again!!

1) I don't think you would have any trouble at all getting an externship in DC for a semester.

2) I think this would be manageable. There are like 10 Delta flights a day between DTW/DCA and if you plan ahead you can get inexpensive flights.

3) 1L year is a crapshoot re: Friday classes - some sections have 2-3, some have 1. Just depends on the luck of the draw. 2L and 3L you can select your own classes so you obviously have much more control over this. I think I had a couple of semesters without Friday classes and then a couple of semesters with 8:45am Friday classes. If I wanted to, I could have selected classes that only met M-Th but there were some classes I really wanted to take which met on Fridays... so it just depends if you care about what classes you take, I guess.

5) You'll be fine in the LC although you might get a little bored. It's buffet style and there is an extensive salad bar (in addition to vegetarian dishes available off the salad bar). The people who run the dining hall are open to requests and are happy to try to accommodate people's dietary preferences also (i.e. you can ask them if they could try making a specific dish and they're often willing to give it a shot).

[ChervonaKatya]

Hi everyone, thanks so much for taking questions. I'm still on the fence, primarily for personal reasons. In a vacuum it would definitely be Michigan. However, my long-term SO (whom I live with) is in the military and based in DC so passing up Georgetown is proving to be difficult.

I'm curious about a few things:

I second everything blueapple said, but would add, as a vegetarian, LC food is not as bad as I anticipated. You can also check the menu online several days in advance (maybe up to a week?) to plan ahead. It can get a little boring, but you can always grab a to-go box and whip something up in your room. I frequently grab a box of veggies and someone from the vegan bar, take it back to my room, and make veggie ramen or a baked pasta in my crock pot. The LC rooms have a microwave and a refrigerator, so you can keep some staples in there in case you're really disappointed in the food and don't want to walk to a nearby restaurant/get take out (I've had this happen to me when I show up 5 minutes before it closes for the night and they're out of a lot of things, but even that's pretty rare). Also, pretty much all of the lunch talks will have solid vegetarian options, so if the dining hall is disappointing at lunch time, you have other free options!

Traveling to see SO and keeping up law school work during 1L sounds difficult to me, but I usually took Friday nights and Saturday mornings off and was fine, so you could definitely make it work if you plan well! Good luck! Feel free to message me if you have any LC questions or otherwise!

[brinicolec]

Hi everyone, thanks so much for taking questions. I'm still on the fence, primarily for personal reasons. In a vacuum it would definitely be Michigan. However, my long-term SO (whom I live with) is in the military and based in DC so passing up Georgetown is proving to be difficult.

I'm curious about a few things:

1) If I attend Michigan I'd be banking on doing an externship in DC for a semester of 2L, to help break up the distance. It doesn't seem too hard to get an externship wherever you want, but I don't want to make this assumption. Has anyone had difficulty with this and/or would anyone advise against it?

2) I would be traveling back to DC at least once per month. It's less than 2 hours by plane, but does this seem manageable? Due to military leave the SO can't come visit AA more than once per semester, so I'd have to do most of the traveling.

3) Related to the above, how common are Friday classes? I rarely had Friday classes in UG and am hoping a similar schedule would allow more flexibility for travel.

4) If anyone has been in a similar position I'd appreciate your input! PM is fine if you'd prefer.

5) Unrelated to the above -- can someone shed some light on the food of LC? I'm vegetarian and usually eat pretty healthy, what are the options like? Is there a salad bar or anything like that? Also, is it a set menu and you get 1 serving or is it dining hall style where you can get as many as you want?

Thanks again!!

Is he in a position where he won't be getting orders to move somewhere else anytime soon?

[2020grad]

What is the 1L curriculum like? How many classes do 1Ls take per semester?

[herecomesthesun]

What is the 1L curriculum like? How many classes do 1Ls take per semester?

First semester is 3 1L doctrinals (crim/civ pro/contracts/torts) and then legal practice. Second semester is 2 1L doctrinals, legal practice, and an elective. You can also take the unemployment insurance clinic as a 1L.

Also caveat to the whole Friedman discussion above. He's undoubtedly a genius and genuinely cares about his students. I have no doubt about the fact that he's a kind soul, and I like him a lot as a human being. On the whole, most people I know who have had him have similar complaints (he tests on stuff he didn't cover, his lecture style is kind of a mess).

[deuceindc]

What is the 1L curriculum like? How many classes do 1Ls take per semester?

First semester is 3 1L doctrinals (crim/civ pro/contracts/torts/con law) and then legal practice. Second semester is 2 1L doctrinals, legal practice, and an elective. You can also take the unemployment insurance clinic as a 1L.

FTFY.

Next year's 1L electives are posted on the course schedule (coded with FN 16). I'd recommend something foundational, so that you can build on it during 2L/3L : Admin/LegReg (esp with Bagley), Evidence, Enterprise Orgs/Corporate Lawyer, maybe Tax (mostly because Logue is cool as fuck). If you want to do property/real estate, definitely take Property as your elective. Taking a heavy doctrinal (rather than, like, Model Rules or International Investment Law) also shows employers that you're responsible and not afraid of work.

[strawberrieee]

Regarding Friedman, I had him for Con Law this year. It's not true that he tested on stuffs he didn't cover. His test is fair. Most of the questions are variations of cases we studied in class. He sometimes included quotes from scholars/SCOTUS justices, or excerpts from a concurrence/dissent and asked you to support/reject a particular view. What he cares is the ability to make sound and creative arguments--sometimes to support conclusions rejected by courts (so you need to poke holes in SCOTUS' arguments)--using the principles we studied in class. I find that his lecture style is not as clear as other professors (probably because he is a genius, he assumes we know more than what we actually know--this means, make sure you use supplements to get black letter law straight), but his test is very fair.

Plus, it's always interesting to hear his behind-the-bench stories and his comments on SCOTUS justices.

[half moon]

Not sure who might know about this, but does anyone know have an idea how many people are still trying to get housing in the Lawyers Club over the summer?

I received my contract for the LC yesterday, and have to return it in 10 days to keep my spot. Assuming I end up at Michigan, I want to live in campus housing. But I'm also on a couple waitlists. My dilemma is that I don't want to give up on the schools I'm waitlisted at this early, but I'm not super into the idea of paying 65% of the LC lease if I back out and they can't find anyone to take the spot. Would I be better off giving up on the LC now and just planning to live off campus at Michigan?