Duke 1L (soon to be 2L) taking questions Forum

[motoman92]

What's the motorcycle presence like on campus and around Durham? One of the draws of Duke for me is being able to take my bike up to NC.

I'm from FL, and don't really know the first thing about winterizing, winter riding, parking on campus, etc etc. Would be great if a current student with some info would be willing to answer a few questions on this and PM me!!

[Serett]

What's the motorcycle presence like on campus and around Durham? One of the draws of Duke for me is being able to take my bike up to NC.

I'm from FL, and don't really know the first thing about winterizing, winter riding, parking on campus, etc etc. Would be great if a current student with some info would be willing to answer a few questions on this and PM me!!

I don't own a motorcycle or know anyone who does, but in case no one fits either of those categories...

A motorcycle permit is significantly cheaper than the parking permits the rest of us buy (or from what I can tell comes free with a car permit, if you need both), and there's enviously plentiful motorcycle parking directly across the street from the law school. My take on the weather is likely different than yours, since you're coming from Florida while I came from the Upper Midwest, but I don't think the weather here precludes year-round motorcycle use provided you take the proper precautions on the colder days (but you can to some extent judge that for yourself by just keeping an eye on Durham's weather and determining what is/isn't too cold for you). It's only a 15 minute drive, tops, from anywhere you'd likely live. The area hasn't gotten snow this year and never gets too much (from my perspective), but motorcycle, car, whatever, apparently the whole region shuts down for snow anyway. The one questionable day for motorcycling this year would've been when it was icy exactly one morning.

Regarding winterizing and winter riding, I predictably have nothing to offer, but Google may. For what it's worth, this long-gone person indicates that at least some people use or used motorcycles at some point in time.

[motoman92]

Thank you!!!

[Merylian]

I've got a buddy who drives a motorcycle in and I'm so jealous of his parking situation.

Alternatively, people with those 50cc scooters get to ramp the curb and park it on a bike rack right next to the building without paying for any parking permit at all. Lucky bastards.

[06102016]

..

[Cobretti]

Does anyone have an outline for corporate tax with Professor Zelenak? He's visiting our school and it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

[lawzzz]

Is there a consensus on the best cell carrier (with respect to cell reception) in Durham, or is it a mixed bag depending on where you live etc?

[SplitMyPants]

Is there a consensus on the best cell carrier (with respect to cell reception) in Durham, or is it a mixed bag depending on where you live etc?

I have zero issues w/ AT&T getting LTE everywhere.

It's the Triangle, which is sufficiently metropolitan to have good service. Consequently, AT&T and Verizon are probably equal w/ T-Mobile (probably) sucking as usual.

[usn26]

This might not really be specific to Duke Law, but what the heck...

How essential is it to have a good laptop for law school? In other words, can one go through 1L the old fashioned way (pen and paper) without much fanfare? I never got into the habit of taking notes on computers and, now that I think about it, I would prefer not to. Are exams all taken on the laptop, pen and paper, or does it vary by class/professor?

Strictly speaking, you don't need a laptop. However, you're probably going to be at some disadvantage in classes that give "traditional" (or, "write as much shit as you can in three hours") exams, if only because your peers will be able to type faster than you'll be able to write.

Ah, gotcha. Nice to know contemporary Luddites aren't necessarily doomed at Duke. How many traditional exam classes can one reasonably expect throughout 1L and law school generally? Also, can you elaborate on the disadvantage? Do people who hand write such exams typically do worse than their typing peers simply because of the speed issue you mention?

Exam types will vary heavily depending on your professors. I had only one "traditional" exam as a 1L, though friends in other sections had more. The disadvantage is exactly what it sounds like: where points are awarded for spotting and analyzing every issue and sub-issue, the student who can spot and analyze more of those issues will get more points (and, consequently, a better grade). So you're probably gonna be at a disadvantage relative to your faster-typing peers, who can simply throw more words - and more issues/analysis - on the page. (This is why some 0Ls on here get all jacked up on improving their typing speed prior to starting law school.)

What does a "non-traditional" exam look like?

[intlsplitr]

What does a "non-traditional" exam look like?

'Traditional' = in class exam. Anything else is 'non-traditional.' At Duke that usually translates to take-home exams (8-hour/24-hour or floating).

[NoLieAbility]

Tagging. Good resource.

[usn26]

What does a "non-traditional" exam look like?

'Traditional' = in class exam. Anything else is 'non-traditional.' At Duke that usually translates to take-home exams (8-hour/24-hour or floating).

Oh okay. But still your typical fact pattern issue-spotter type of thing? Nothing crazy like multiple choice/research paper (except legal writing) I take it.

[06102016]

..

[intlsplitr]

What does a "non-traditional" exam look like?

'Traditional' = in class exam. Anything else is 'non-traditional.' At Duke that usually translates to take-home exams (8-hour/24-hour or floating).

Oh okay. But still your typical fact pattern issue-spotter type of thing? Nothing crazy like multiple choice/research paper (except legal writing) I take it.

I had some multiple choice sections as a 1L, but all 1L exams had an issue spotter. Upper level classes tend to vary; a fair number have research papers instead of finals (usually for smaller classes).

[FeraFera]

What does a "non-traditional" exam look like?

'Traditional' = in class exam. Anything else is 'non-traditional.' At Duke that usually translates to take-home exams (8-hour/24-hour or floating).

Oh okay. But still your typical fact pattern issue-spotter type of thing? Nothing crazy like multiple choice/research paper (except legal writing) I take it.

I had some multiple choice sections as a 1L, but all 1L exams had an issue spotter. Upper level classes tend to vary; a fair number have research papers instead of finals (usually for smaller classes).

I'm not sure what question we're answering, but yeah, all 1L exams have at least a fairly significant issue-spotting component and upper-level exams are mostly the same, but CAN be anything under the sun really -- I can think of a couple that are just multiple choice, corp. finance is what you'd expect a corp. finance exam to be, etc.

[Serett]

Regarding 1L exams, once the year is over (and excluding Foundations because lol), I'll have had one pure fact-pattern exam, two long fact-pattern/short-answer pattern mixes, one multiple-choice/fact-pattern mix, a take-home/8-hour mixed-length fact-pattern, and one that I think will be either pure fact-pattern or mixed with short-answer. Regardless, it's not worth worrying about for any of you yet

Is there a consensus on the best cell carrier (with respect to cell reception) in Durham, or is it a mixed bag depending on where you live etc?

I have zero issues w/ AT&T getting LTE everywhere.

It's the Triangle, which is sufficiently metropolitan to have good service. Consequently, AT&T and Verizon are probably equal w/ T-Mobile (probably) sucking as usual.

Confirming that Verizon is also without issues.

[SplitMyPants]

What's TCR regarding number of credits to take 2L fall? With winter sessions I need to average between 13 and 14. Is there anything wrong with taking 15?

[Brady199]

0L. Checking in.

[06102016]

..

[Brady199]

Any good weekend flag football leagues out there?

[06102016]

..

[Brady199]

So my question is whether we have the time to dodo this stuff other than the softball league. That's mandatory right?

[06102016]

..

[Brady199]

Thanks I hope to be prepared for a brute of a 1L with the additional courseload of the joint LLM as well. Also, any recommended prep or reading for the next 50 days? I did read Getting To Maybe.

[Serett]

So my question is whether we have the time to dodo this stuff other than the softball league. That's mandatory right?

For another perspective:

Many people do softball, but it's not mandatory. I and multiple people in my section never went, while others participated in every game, and still others played or attended just a bit. If it sounds enjoyable to you, it's manageable, though.

There's also a bowling league, but I recall its schedule (Wed. nights) working poorly with the 1L schedule.

Student orgs tend to be minimal work, especially first semester. Even the most active ones, like ACS and Fed Soc, don't require much time. Feel free to join these almost at-will.

Pro bono projects can vary. Slack mentioned Innocence Project being on the more time-consuming side. The Veterans Tax Assistance project is also probably among the more time-consuming (depending on how they have people sign-up or how many hours they require, if any; not sure, didn't do it myself). Lawyer on the Line assigns files on a volunteer basis, so you can have many hours or few, at your will. The DACA Renewal Clinic, if it happens again, wasn't very time-consuming.

I didn't do moot court (past what was required), the transactional deal activity, or mock trial, so I'm not sure how time-consuming they are (well, I do still know that moot court is inconveniently time-consuming around 1L Spring finals). But you don't actually have to worry about moot court until second semester, at which point you'll hear a lot about it and be in a better position to decide how far to take it.

Maybe don't attempt to do all of this, but you'll be able to try out multiple that interest you without trouble.