WUSTL Recent Grad (and others) Taking Questions Forum

[Randomnumbers]

Badawi, Mandelker, and Goldwasser. Go.

I'd appreciate insights about any or all of them. Also, overall, should I anticipate a difficult first semester?

Goldwasser is a pretty standard - and easy - Torts horserace. We didn't even cover anything past Negligence and intentional torts, and we probably read at most half of what the other sections were reading for Torts with Tamanaha. (I'm assuming she's still doing Torts). I've only heard good things about Badawi.

As far as Mandelker - don't fear. He's old enough that there is a fair chance that god will step in and save you from the hell of, for all practical purposes, randomly assigned grades.

[theycallmefoes]

Badawi, Mandelker, and Goldwasser. Go.

I'd appreciate insights about any or all of them. Also, overall, should I anticipate a difficult first semester?

Goldwasser is a pretty standard - and easy - Torts horserace. We didn't even cover anything past Negligence and intentional torts, and we probably read at most half of what the other sections were reading for Torts with Tamanaha. (I'm assuming she's still doing Torts). I've only heard good things about Badawi.

That's reassuring. Thanks.

As far as Mandelker - don't fear. He's old enough that there is a fair chance that god will step in and save you from the hell of, for all practical purposes, randomly assigned grades.

Haha. Not so reassuring. Anybody have advice for dominating Mandelker's class?

[DoveBodyWash]

Badawi, Mandelker, and Goldwasser. Go.

I'd appreciate insights about any or all of them. Also, overall, should I anticipate a difficult first semester?

Goldwasser is a pretty standard - and easy - Torts horserace. We didn't even cover anything past Negligence and intentional torts, and we probably read at most half of what the other sections were reading for Torts with Tamanaha. (I'm assuming she's still doing Torts). I've only heard good things about Badawi.

That's reassuring. Thanks.

As far as Mandelker - don't fear. He's old enough that there is a fair chance that god will step in and save you from the hell of, for all practical purposes, randomly assigned grades.

Haha. Not so reassuring. Anybody have advice for dominating Mandelker's class?

Read the cases. Take notes during class, don't slack off. But beyond that don't kill yourself studying for that class. Organization is probably the most important thing you can do for yourself since you'll have to compile a ton of cases/statutes for the final. Get some outlines from 2Ls and 3Ls. As long as you can read a hypo and identify the topic that it's addressing, then u can flip to your outline/casebook and find the group of cases that you covered for that, and then narrow it down from there. Don't rush on the final since using the wrong case/topic is the main way people lose points.

here's what I did:
1. Buzzfeed during every lecture except when i was on call (don't do this, it hurt me)
2. Didn't read any of the cases (Read the cases, not reading the cases the first time through made life miserable in November)
3. Got a bunch of outlines from 2Ls
4. Merged all the outlines by topic into one long-ass 150 page outline
5. Indexed the monster outline and created table of contents on separate document so i could flip to it, and find the corresponding page in the outline for that topic. TOC was just a list of the cases and statutes grouped by topic.
6. Didn't look at property again until after the contracts final, so had 2 days to study for property
7. Scrolled up and down the outline like this: O_O for 2 days straight just to try and osmosis content into brain.
8. Taught myself property law during the final. Three hours for 5 questions with 300 words each? You'll have the time.
9. Went over exam with Mandelker, turned out i forgot to cite a case in the last answer. Identified right topic and used correct analysis, literally just forgot to reference the case/page number. Did fine on the exam though.

It's the easiest class to do well on and to do poorly on. Literally all about bringing in as MUCH material into the exam room with you as possible. You'll have time to go through the stuff. You don't have to be fast. Just accurate.

[theycallmefoes]

Badawi, Mandelker, and Goldwasser. Go.

I'd appreciate insights about any or all of them. Also, overall, should I anticipate a difficult first semester?

Goldwasser is a pretty standard - and easy - Torts horserace. We didn't even cover anything past Negligence and intentional torts, and we probably read at most half of what the other sections were reading for Torts with Tamanaha. (I'm assuming she's still doing Torts). I've only heard good things about Badawi.

That's reassuring. Thanks.

As far as Mandelker - don't fear. He's old enough that there is a fair chance that god will step in and save you from the hell of, for all practical purposes, randomly assigned grades.

Haha. Not so reassuring. Anybody have advice for dominating Mandelker's class?

Read the cases. Take notes during class, don't slack off. But beyond that don't kill yourself studying for that class. Organization is probably the most important thing you can do for yourself since you'll have to compile a ton of cases/statutes for the final. Get some outlines from 2Ls and 3Ls. As long as you can read a hypo and identify the topic that it's addressing, then u can flip to your outline/casebook and find the group of cases that you covered for that, and then narrow it down from there. Don't rush on the final since using the wrong case/topic is the main way people lose points.

here's what I did:
1. Buzzfeed during every lecture except when i was on call (don't do this, it hurt me)
2. Didn't read any of the cases (Read the cases, not reading the cases the first time through made life miserable in November)
3. Got a bunch of outlines from 2Ls
4. Merged all the outlines by topic into one long-ass 150 page outline
5. Indexed the monster outline and created table of contents on separate document so i could flip to it, and find the corresponding page in the outline for that topic. TOC was just a list of the cases and statutes grouped by topic.
6. Didn't look at property again until after the contracts final, so had 2 days to study for property
7. Scrolled up and down the outline like this: O_O for 2 days straight just to try and osmosis content into brain.
8. Taught myself property law during the final. Three hours for 5 questions with 300 words each? You'll have the time.
9. Went over exam with Mandelker, turned out i forgot to cite a case in the last answer. Identified right topic and used correct analysis, literally just forgot to reference the case/page number. Did fine on the exam though.

It's the easiest class to do well on and to do poorly on. Literally all about bringing in as MUCH material into the exam room with you as possible. You'll have time to go through the stuff. You don't have to be fast. Just accurate.

Thanks so much for the advice. Really helpful.

[gk101]

Badawi, Mandelker, and Goldwasser. Go.

I'd appreciate insights about any or all of them. Also, overall, should I anticipate a difficult first semester?

I had Badawi for corporations. Really enjoyed his class. The exam was a straight forward issue spotter without any hiding the ball bullshit.

[georgej]

When is the absolute latest one could get away with buying required casebooks? De Geest has still not posted his books, and my ocd is acting up and making me very stressed.

[jdmonkey]

When is the absolute latest one could get away with buying required casebooks? De Geest has still not posted his books, and my ocd is acting up and making me very stressed.

I was without my con law text book for 3 weeks. But so was a large portion of the class cause there was a problem with the school store. So the prof posted the readings online. If ur prof. hasn't posted the casebook yet nobody has it. People will let u photocopy the readings until your book comes in, so there is no need to worry. Also many books are available at the library where u can check them out for 2 hours and photocopy the pages that way.

[georgej]

When is the absolute latest one could get away with buying required casebooks? De Geest has still not posted his books, and my ocd is acting up and making me very stressed.

I was without my con law text book for 3 weeks. But so was a large portion of the class cause there was a problem with the school store. So the prof posted the readings online. If ur prof. hasn't posted the casebook yet nobody has it. People will let u photocopy the readings until your book comes in, so there is no need to worry. Also many books are available at the library where u can check them out for 2 hours and photocopy the pages that way.

Ah, thank you. That's reassuring.

[notedgarfigaro]

Read the cases. Take notes during class, don't slack off. But beyond that don't kill yourself studying for that class. Organization is probably the most important thing you can do for yourself since you'll have to compile a ton of cases/statutes for the final. Get some outlines from 2Ls and 3Ls. As long as you can read a hypo and identify the topic that it's addressing, then u can flip to your outline/casebook and find the group of cases that you covered for that, and then narrow it down from there. Don't rush on the final since using the wrong case/topic is the main way people lose points.

here's what I did:
1. Buzzfeed during every lecture except when i was on call (don't do this, it hurt me)
2. Didn't read any of the cases (Read the cases, not reading the cases the first time through made life miserable in November)
3. Got a bunch of outlines from 2Ls
4. Merged all the outlines by topic into one long-ass 150 page outline
5. Indexed the monster outline and created table of contents on separate document so i could flip to it, and find the corresponding page in the outline for that topic. TOC was just a list of the cases and statutes grouped by topic.
6. Didn't look at property again until after the contracts final, so had 2 days to study for property
7. Scrolled up and down the outline like this: O_O for 2 days straight just to try and osmosis content into brain.
8. Taught myself property law during the final. Three hours for 5 questions with 300 words each? You'll have the time.
9. Went over exam with Mandelker, turned out i forgot to cite a case in the last answer. Identified right topic and used correct analysis, literally just forgot to reference the case/page number. Did fine on the exam though.

It's the easiest class to do well on and to do poorly on. Literally all about bringing in as MUCH material into the exam room with you as possible. You'll have time to go through the stuff. You don't have to be fast. Just accurate.

Thanks so much for the advice. Really helpful.

I think that's a bit much for Mandelker. I went in with my class notes, a case list (every case sorted by topic, 1 or 2 bullets identifying specific rule and description, indexed to both the pages in the case book and my notes), and a statute list for those statutes he put up on the projector. During the exam, read the question, find the case relevant to the question, and you've got your notes and the casebook page ready to go.

Main thing is, do not overprepare- spend most of your time on the other classes b/c that's where extra preparation with the more subtle areas of the law can actually help distinguish yourself from your peers. With Mandelker, there's no room for in depth analysis- you have to show him you know what he's asking and what the relevant case law is, period. It's actually kinda like the bar exam in that respect (save the 300 word limit and the fact that he doesn't touch on 90% of the property law on the bar exam. But that 1 con law takings question, you'll nail it. Nolan and Dolan motherfuckers). Just pay attention in class, spend the 2 days before the exam preparing, and know that it will be the most relaxing 3 hour exam you ever take in law school. Then enjoy your semi-random grade.

[jdmonkey]

Read the cases. Take notes during class, don't slack off. But beyond that don't kill yourself studying for that class. Organization is probably the most important thing you can do for yourself since you'll have to compile a ton of cases/statutes for the final. Get some outlines from 2Ls and 3Ls. As long as you can read a hypo and identify the topic that it's addressing, then u can flip to your outline/casebook and find the group of cases that you covered for that, and then narrow it down from there. Don't rush on the final since using the wrong case/topic is the main way people lose points.

here's what I did:
1. Buzzfeed during every lecture except when i was on call (don't do this, it hurt me)
2. Didn't read any of the cases (Read the cases, not reading the cases the first time through made life miserable in November)
3. Got a bunch of outlines from 2Ls
4. Merged all the outlines by topic into one long-ass 150 page outline
5. Indexed the monster outline and created table of contents on separate document so i could flip to it, and find the corresponding page in the outline for that topic. TOC was just a list of the cases and statutes grouped by topic.
6. Didn't look at property again until after the contracts final, so had 2 days to study for property
7. Scrolled up and down the outline like this: O_O for 2 days straight just to try and osmosis content into brain.
8. Taught myself property law during the final. Three hours for 5 questions with 300 words each? You'll have the time.
9. Went over exam with Mandelker, turned out i forgot to cite a case in the last answer. Identified right topic and used correct analysis, literally just forgot to reference the case/page number. Did fine on the exam though.

It's the easiest class to do well on and to do poorly on. Literally all about bringing in as MUCH material into the exam room with you as possible. You'll have time to go through the stuff. You don't have to be fast. Just accurate.

Thanks so much for the advice. Really helpful.

I think that's a bit much for Mandelker. I went in with my class notes, a case list (every case sorted by topic, 1 or 2 bullets identifying specific rule and description, indexed to both the pages in the case book and my notes), and a statute list for those statutes he put up on the projector. During the exam, read the question, find the case relevant to the question, and you've got your notes and the casebook page ready to go.

Main thing is, do not overprepare- spend most of your time on the other classes b/c that's where extra preparation with the more subtle areas of the law can actually help distinguish yourself from your peers. With Mandelker, there's no room for in depth analysis- you have to show him you know what he's asking and what the relevant case law is, period. It's actually kinda like the bar exam in that respect (save the 300 word limit and the fact that he doesn't touch on 90% of the property law on the bar exam. But that 1 con law takings question, you'll nail it. Nolan and Dolan motherfuckers). Just pay attention in class, spend the 2 days before the exam preparing, and know that it will be the most relaxing 3 hour exam you ever take in law school. Then enjoy your semi-random grade.

+1. I wouldn't write anything down on his exam until you go through your case book index. Using this method you can immediately narrow down which case you want to use to 2 to 3 just by topic area before even looking at your outline. Also don't be embarrassed to take pics of his slides in class that contain statutes using your phone. He applauds people for doing this and it isn't being a gunner, it is essential for you or a friend u trust to have photos of the statutes. You can bet your life he will test them and the people without the pics will pay a heavy price.

[mann124]

sorry to jump in here, but I was wondering if people actually fly away for thanksgiving or stay in STL to prepare for finals?. thanks

[notedgarfigaro]

sorry to jump in here, but I was wondering if people actually fly away for thanksgiving or stay in STL to prepare for finals?. thanks

I did every year, but my 1L and 2L years there was a week between thanksgiving and exams, and last year and this year there isn't.

[jdmonkey]

sorry to jump in here, but I was wondering if people actually fly away for thanksgiving or stay in STL to prepare for finals?. thanks

I did every year, but my 1L and 2L years there was a week between thanksgiving and exams, and last year and this year there isn't.

Yeah the break this year is only 4 days. Plus flying the Wednesday before thanksgiving is the most expensive day to fly in the US.

[mann124]

Thanks all.

Does anybody know if either Flagg, Norwood or DeGeest enforce a no laptop rule? And how do these professors run their class?

[sublime]

..

[theycallmefoes]

Anyone else have advice about Badawi, Mandelker, and Goldwasser? Also, what are their laptop policies?

[hoos89]

Badawi doesn't allow laptops. The others do. Pay attention to what Badawi says in class. If he takes time to talk about how he thinks something is interesting, write it down because there's a pretty good chance it will be on the exam.

[KanyeShrug]

Wow, you guise are fucking awesome.

Any chance we can get similar pro tips on Norwood, Osgood, and De Geest?

Thanks in advance.

[notedgarfigaro]

Don't refer to Osgood as sir. He doesn't like it.

[TatteredDignity]

No laptops for De Geest, either, in response to someone's question.

[AceDeuces]

Re: Thanksgiving, The "break" only goes Wednesday-Sunday, but on the calendar it looks like exams don't start til December 3 (The next Wednesday). You think we could get away with flying back on that Monday (December 1st)? Flights are way cheaper. That's also inconveniently 1L summer application day, but alas.

[sublime]

..

[DoveBodyWash]

My opinion is that going home during the semester during 1l is a bad decision.

it reminds u that there is a world outside of law school, which makes you soft.

Re: Thanksgiving, The "break" only goes Wednesday-Sunday, but on the calendar it looks like exams don't start til December 3 (The next Wednesday). You think we could get away with flying back on that Monday (December 1st)? Flights are way cheaper. That's also inconveniently 1L summer application day, but alas.

in all seriousness i'm guessing it's fine to return closer to finals as long as you utilize your time effectively while you're home. Some people work better at home. Some people work better in a prison-like environment where there is nothing to do but read. (<-- me)

[mann124]

My opinion is that going home during the semester during 1l is a bad decision.

it reminds u that there is a world outside of law school, which makes you soft.

Re: Thanksgiving, The "break" only goes Wednesday-Sunday, but on the calendar it looks like exams don't start til December 3 (The next Wednesday). You think we could get away with flying back on that Monday (December 1st)? Flights are way cheaper. That's also inconveniently 1L summer application day, but alas.

in all seriousness i'm guessing it's fine to return closer to finals as long as you utilize your time effectively while you're home. Some people work better at home. Some people work better in a prison-like environment where there is nothing to do but read. (<-- me)

i get the 'going soft' part. just moved back home for three weeks before moving out to STL...all i do is walk my dog, play ultimate, browse tls and watch tv.
..
definitely going to opt into staying over for thanksgiving, hopefully my buddy's family will have me over for thanksgiving or some 1Ls are up for organizing some boston market or something

[Randomnumbers]

If you aren't going to waste it by being crippled by stress, taking a few days off before - or even during - the finals period can be fantastic. Studying all day every day is horribly inefficient. Figure out a good study plan, schedule it out, put in some break days. You can use these days to travel home, if that isn't going to stress you out even more.

Take days off. Take weekends off. Hell, take weeks off. Yes, even during 1L first semester. It will be far better for your grades then not doing so.