What do you wish you knew/did when starting 1l Forum

[Lincoln]

Keep in mind that a lot of this is just personal. I regret all use of supplements.

[Cobretti]

Keep in mind that a lot of this is just personal. I regret all use of supplements.

Just curious, why? I've heard a bunch of arguments for them, but I've never heard someone argue against them.

[Lincoln]

Keep in mind that a lot of this is just personal. I regret all use of supplements.

Just curious, why? I've heard a bunch of arguments for them, but I've never heard someone argue against them.

I found that doing the reading carefully, attending class (and paying attention), and engaging with the material both in class (instead of playing solitaire) and when reading is a lot more helpful in terms of learning the material. I'm generally terrible at memorization of rules or mnemonics, but if I actually understand the underlying policy or can relate it to a fact pattern, it sinks in better. Most of my friends (and we're all top 1/3 and have V15 jobs or clerkships lined up) agree with me. It sometimes requires more work, but I prefer reading the cases. I served as a TA for both LRW and Civ Pro, and I think my approach was helpful in that role, too.

[daleearnhardt123]

If your goal is to be median whilst putting forth the absolute minimum (albeit still a decent amount) amount of work, then supplements are certainly the way to go. Also, best not to read the actual cases if your goal is to be this mediocre.

[Bronck]

If your goal is to be median whilst putting forth the absolute minimum (albeit still a decent amount) amount of work, then supplements are certainly the way to go. Also, best not to read the actual cases if your goal is to be this mediocre.

You can totally do better than median by doing this. It worked for me, it might not work for others. For example, Wikipedia and Chemerinsky (plus paying attention in class to see if your professor deviates from either) is all you need for Con Law.

I'd probably suggest reading cases first semester just because law school will be something completely new. But as long as you did well first semester, I don't see much reason to put forth unnecessary effort.

[hiima3L]

Keep in mind that a lot of this is just personal. I regret all use of supplements.

I second this. But mostly because in retrospect they were totally unnecessary and a waste of money. I didn't use any 2L or 3L year and did the same or better with significantly less studying (but this is a correlation/causation issue).

1. I would have studied more and differently 1L. TL;DR I would have just focused on getting a good outline, memorizing everything, and practicing exams more. I wasted so much time reading and making my own outline and did not practice tests enough. I feel like I blew it 1L year, but you never know. I know plenty of people who studied more and did worse, and vice versa. It's a crapshoot in most cases.

2. I would have gone over my exams with professors after 1st semester.

3. I would have treated write-on MUCH more seriously. I did not fully appreciate how important getting on law review was until after graduating.

4. I would never have taken any bar classes with the exception of Evidence (but that's mostly because I liked it a lot and some 2L/3L jobs require it). The rest are completely and utterly unnecessary.

5. Related to (4), I would have done more practice-oriented classes. I also would have done more paper-based classes.

[AreJay711]

I wish I knew my place and didn't ask retarded questions instead of just letting the prof. get through the material. Whatever cool, insightful thoughts on the law you have don't mean shit. Again, your thoughts don't mean shit.

[swimmer11]

You have absolutely no idea what this year is going to bring. Prepare for the worst.

[TheThriller]

You have absolutely no idea what this year is going to bring. Prepare for the worst.

Aren't you just a ray of sunshine.

[AreJay711]

You have absolutely no idea what this year is going to bring. Prepare for the worst.

Aren't you just a ray of sunshine.

The sun doesn't shine in hell.

[hephaestus]

I wish I knew my place and didn't ask retarded questions instead of just letting the prof. get through the material. Whatever cool, insightful thoughts on the law you have don't mean shit. Again, your thoughts don't mean shit.

Yeah. I kept class participation to a minimum. It was a great decision. No one cares what you think about the 14th amendment.

[hiima3L]

You have absolutely no idea what this year is going to bring. Prepare for the worst.

Related to this: I wish I fully understood (and actively sought out more info so I would have better understood) just how bad the legal market is. I knew 1L year was pretty determinative of the rest of your career, but I didn't fully understand the snowball effect it has.

If you aren't in a top school, you should really, truly consider dropping out after 1L if your grades are mediocre. And by mediocre I mean if you're not in at least the top 15-20%. If you're at a terrible school, you should be in the top 5%.

I thought TLS was overblown doom and gloom until 3L year. It's not. You need to go into this with a do-or-die, feast-or-famine mentality because that is precisely what it is for 99% of you.

[RodneyRuxin]

You have absolutely no idea what this year is going to bring. Prepare for the worst.

This is both devastating for the nervous 0Ls ITT and so true. Love it.

[Lincoln]

You have absolutely no idea what this year is going to bring. Prepare for the worst.

Related to this: I wish I fully understood (and actively sought out more info so I would have better understood) just how bad the legal market is. I knew 1L year was pretty determinative of the rest of your career, but I didn't fully understand the snowball effect it has.

If you aren't in a top school, you should really, truly consider dropping out after 1L if your grades are mediocre. And by mediocre I mean if you're not in at least the top 15-20%. If you're at a terrible school, you should be in the top 5%.

I thought TLS was overblown doom and gloom until 3L year. It's not. You need to go into this with a do-or-die, feast-or-famine mentality because that is precisely what it is for 99% of you.

This is hyperbolic. At schools where 50% get Big Law, being in, say, the top 30% is not grounds for dropping out.

[Cobretti]

You have absolutely no idea what this year is going to bring. Prepare for the worst.

Related to this: I wish I fully understood (and actively sought out more info so I would have better understood) just how bad the legal market is. I knew 1L year was pretty determinative of the rest of your career, but I didn't fully understand the snowball effect it has.

If you aren't in a top school, you should really, truly consider dropping out after 1L if your grades are mediocre. And by mediocre I mean if you're not in at least the top 15-20%. If you're at a terrible school, you should be in the top 5%.

I thought TLS was overblown doom and gloom until 3L year. It's not. You need to go into this with a do-or-die, feast-or-famine mentality because that is precisely what it is for 99% of you.

This is hyperbolic. At schools where 50% get Big Law, being in, say, the top 30% is not grounds for dropping out.

I think he qualified that immediately before the part you bolded...

You have absolutely no idea what this year is going to bring. Prepare for the worst.

This is both devastating for the nervous 0Ls ITT and so true. Love it.

If 1L winds up being even in my top 3 most stressful years of my life I'll bake both of you a cake.

[stillwater]

coming out of TLS retirement to lay down my one solid 1L conviction: Freer's TREATISE is the best 1L supp. ditch that piece of shit by Glannon (joinder sections are pretty good tho) and audio tapes are for tourists.

[AreJay711]

You have absolutely no idea what this year is going to bring. Prepare for the worst.

Related to this: I wish I fully understood (and actively sought out more info so I would have better understood) just how bad the legal market is. I knew 1L year was pretty determinative of the rest of your career, but I didn't fully understand the snowball effect it has.

If you aren't in a top school, you should really, truly consider dropping out after 1L if your grades are mediocre. And by mediocre I mean if you're not in at least the top 15-20%. If you're at a terrible school, you should be in the top 5%.

I thought TLS was overblown doom and gloom until 3L year. It's not. You need to go into this with a do-or-die, feast-or-famine mentality because that is precisely what it is for 99% of you.

This is hyperbolic. At schools where 50% get Big Law, being in, say, the top 30% is not grounds for dropping out.

I think he qualified that immediately before the part you bolded...

You have absolutely no idea what this year is going to bring. Prepare for the worst.

This is both devastating for the nervous 0Ls ITT and so true. Love it.

If 1L winds up being even in my top 3 most stressful years of my life I'll bake both of you a cake.

Stressful? It wasn't for me. It was awful for many other reasons but not stress. No, your 1L grades are pretty much already set in stone: no matter how hard you study or prepare or work, nothing is going to change them much. Fortunately, I was inclined to good grades . . . but I won't say I earned them, because that would be a lie.

[sinfiery]

Can you, like, go over a practice exam with your prof before the exam?

I feel like that would be the best value for time spent studying, ever.

[andythefir]

If you have any substance abuse/medical/personal/psychiatric/anxiety/depression issues fix them before you leave for law school. Law school is all about amping up uncertainty and fear while making you doubt everything you've ever done.

If you have an issue that you were able to cope with in high school/undergrad so you think you can handle it in law school you're wrong. Law school drives people to abuse substances and doubt every single decision they make. If you're already on that road it can consume you.

[Lincoln]

You have absolutely no idea what this year is going to bring. Prepare for the worst.

Related to this: I wish I fully understood (and actively sought out more info so I would have better understood) just how bad the legal market is. I knew 1L year was pretty determinative of the rest of your career, but I didn't fully understand the snowball effect it has.

If you aren't in a top school, you should really, truly consider dropping out after 1L if your grades are mediocre. And by mediocre I mean if you're not in at least the top 15-20%. If you're at a terrible school, you should be in the top 5%.

I thought TLS was overblown doom and gloom until 3L year. It's not. You need to go into this with a do-or-die, feast-or-famine mentality because that is precisely what it is for 99% of you.

This is hyperbolic. At schools where 50% get Big Law, being in, say, the top 30% is not grounds for dropping out.

I think he qualified that immediately before the part you bolded...

Fair enough. I guess it depends on what you mean by "top."

[Devlin]

I wish I knew to go out more at the beginning of fall semester. Enjoy the first month or so of school. Take that time to get to know your classmates and have fun with them. You will never have that down time again.

[unlicensedpotato]

If you have any substance abuse/medical/personal/psychiatric/anxiety/depression issues fix them before you leave for law school. Law school is all about amping up uncertainty and fear while making you doubt everything you've ever done.

If you have an issue that you were able to cope with in high school/undergrad so you think you can handle it in law school you're wrong. Law school drives people to abuse substances and doubt every single decision they make. If you're already on that road it can consume you.

O.K. this is hyperbole. Uncertainty? Maybe. I would not describe it as about fear and doubting everything you've ever done. Let's be honest here. It's grad school.

[Danger Zone]

Fair enough. I guess it depends on what you mean by "top."

If half the class is getting big law, that sounds pretty "top" to me, considering there's only about six schools in any given year that boast 50% big law employment.

[hookem7]

I wish I didn't stress about being called on so much. It literally does not matter for your grades.

For the supplements, I think it's pretty professor specific. If you have an oddball prof, getting into their mindset is key (at least it was for me). But for most classes, I would agree that supplements will probably teach you more than those expensive textbooks will.

[RodneyRuxin]

If 1L winds up being even in my top 3 most stressful years of my life I'll bake both of you a cake.

I miss being a starry-eyed 0L. Fuck the real world.