Cornell 1L taking questions Forum

[toothbrush]

Random question: does one have any chance at successfully subletting their apartment during the summer? Or is that for all intents and purposes lost cash if you don't plan on staying in Ithaca during the summer?

lots of people did - some had to discount it though to get rid of it. my advice would be, if you know you wont be here, to move quickly posting it in the appropriate places

[sheldoncooper622]

Bump. Also, is Law Governing Lawyers a relatively easy class?

Are you a median-bro looking to improve or a top-1/3 looking to grade protect? Either way, I feel like your class-picking strategy is going to bite you in the ass.

fwiw i've heard most corp-heavy classes are rough just bc of the curve.

Thanks Lace and toothbrush. So you think a combination of tax, evidence, law governing lawyers, business concepts is going to be hard?

[FlanAl]

Bump. Also, is Law Governing Lawyers a relatively easy class?

Are you a median-bro looking to improve or a top-1/3 looking to grade protect? Either way, I feel like your class-picking strategy is going to bite you in the ass.

fwiw i've heard most corp-heavy classes are rough just bc of the curve.

Thanks Lace and toothbrush. So you think a combination of tax, evidence, law governing lawyers, business concepts is going to be hard?

If you take law governing lawyers I would highly recommend taking the MPRE the same semester. I took a different ethics class (practical ethics for Public Interest Lawyers) and while I was in it the stuff didn't seem like it was really applicable to the MPRE, but it turned out it was basically a semester of prep for the MPRE. It was even broken down by MPRE subject and when went through the ABA rule at the beginning of each class. Because the course was pass fail I of course didn't pay attention. A few days before the MPRE when I started reviewing it was like "damn, that whole class was for this test".

The MPRE is not hard, like most people I passed with about 2 days of review BUT it would have been way less of a stressor if I had gotten it out of the way during fall 2L and had made the connection that my readings for class would have been good prep for it.
I don't know exactly what is covered in the law governing lawyers but I'd recommend getting one of the free MPRE books that the bar companies give out and comparing it to your syllabus.

[sheldoncooper622]

Bump. Also, is Law Governing Lawyers a relatively easy class?

Are you a median-bro looking to improve or a top-1/3 looking to grade protect? Either way, I feel like your class-picking strategy is going to bite you in the ass.

fwiw i've heard most corp-heavy classes are rough just bc of the curve.

Thanks Lace and toothbrush. So you think a combination of tax, evidence, law governing lawyers, business concepts is going to be hard?

If you take law governing lawyers I would highly recommend taking the MPRE the same semester. I took a different ethics class (practical ethics for public interest lawyers) and while I was in it the stuff didn't seem like it was really applicable to the MPRE, but it turned out it was basically a semester of prep for the MPRE. It was even broken down by MPRE subject and when went through the ABA rule at the beginning of each class. Because the course was pass fail I of course didn't pay attention. A few days before the MPRE when I started reviewing it was like "damn, that whole class was for this test".

The MPRE is not hard, like most people I passed with about 2 days of review BUT it would have been way less of a stressor if I had gotten it out of the way during fall 2L and had made the connection that my readings for class would have been good prep for it.
I don't know exactly what is covered in the law governing lawyers but I'd recommend getting one of the free MPRE books that the bar companies give out and comparing it to your syllabus.

Thanks for the suggestion man. However, isn't the MPRE date for 2014 in November?

[kls120]

anybody play soccer at Cornell? Does Law School have its own intramural team? Do people play any pick up games?

[Lacepiece23]

anybody play soccer at Cornell? Does Law School have its own intramural team? Do people play any pick up games?

Yes.

[toothbrush]

anybody play soccer at Cornell? Does Law School have its own intramural team? Do people play any pick up games?

there's everything ranging from formal (intramural) to informal iirc. I know for fact people played regularly most weekends. Keep an eye on the fb group and you will find out w/ everyone else. If by, say, the third week, you haven't heard anything - post that you're interested and see what happens

[Lavitz]

anybody play soccer at Cornell? Does Law School have its own intramural team? Do people play any pick up games?

there's everything ranging from formal (intramural) to informal iirc. I know for fact people played regularly most weekends. Keep an eye on the fb group and you will find out w/ everyone else. If by, say, the third week, you haven't heard anything - post that you're interested and see what happens

I believe the 2L intramural team already recruited some of the 1Ls. If the remaining 1Ls have enough people interested in intramurals, they should make their own team.

[Lacepiece23]

I'm a pretty athelitc 3L free agent with a lot of free time btw.

[kls120]

Do I need to get a fitness center membership in order to participate intramural sports?

Also, if any one of you guys know someone recruiting for their soccer team, please PM me and hook me up. I can guarantee I would be a valuable asset.

[toothbrush]

Do I need to get a fitness center membership in order to participate intramural sports?

only intramural bench pressing

[Lavitz]

Also, if any one of you guys know someone recruiting for their soccer team, please PM me and hook me up. I can guarantee I would be a valuable asset.

I'm talking to the 2L captain tonight. You have a preferred position?

Do I need to get a fitness center membership in order to participate intramural sports?

No, you don't.

only intramural bench pressing

[kls120]

Also, if any one of you guys know someone recruiting for their soccer team, please PM me and hook me up. I can guarantee I would be a valuable asset.

I'm talking to the 2L captain tonight. You have a preferred position?

I will PM you.

[toothbrush]

I will PM you.

ok michael phelps

[Lavitz]

I will PM you.

ok michael phelps Tim Howard

Fixed.

[koval]

Just got schedule. Section B. Anyone have any insight on what their classes are like (or have a link to this info)?

CivPro: Holden-Smith
ConLaw: Dorf
Contracts: Hillman
Lawyering: Atlas
Torts: Heise

[bpc2110]

Section D

Holden-Smith for Civ Pro, Hillman for Contracts, McKee for lawyering, and Heise for Torts

[masked kavana]

Any help/tips for Section A:

Rana - con law
Clermont - civ
Hillman - contracts
Mooney - lawyering
Heise - torts

Thanks!

[Lavitz]

Just got schedule. Section B. Anyone have any insight on what their classes are like (or have a link to this info)?

CivPro: Holden-Smith
ConLaw: Dorf
Contracts: Hillman
Lawyering: Atlas
Torts: Heise

You can read clsevals for more info but:

BHS: Very nice outside of class, but teaches through the most intimidating cold-calling you'll ever experience. 2-3 people usually get called per class. Have fun. Tip for first day: Sibbach has a dilemma. Usual disclaimer: cold-calls don't matter for grades.
Dorf: Haven't had him yet. I think you know when you're on call.
Hillman: Dry sense of humor. Wrote the book he's using. Will not give you the reading assignments in advance. His hornbook is a must-have. Cold-calls about the same number of people as BHS, and is disappointed when you clearly haven't read, but he's nowhere near as intimidating.
Atlas: <3 . Director of Lawyering Program and the best lawyering prof in my biased opinion. You will learn a lot about grammar, writing style, and bluebooking. He's kind of strict, and he even expects you to use a ruler to make sure the margins are the right length, but he's really nice. His section is usually overrepresented on Law Review. I know who 2 of his 4 TAs will be, and they're pretty chill.
Heise: Very engaging and funny prof and makes the subject easy to understand. Probably no need for supplements. Will divide the room in 3, and cold-call one part on Monday, one part on Tuesday, and one part on Wednesday. Not as exact as Dorf, but at least you know which days you should be prepared. Will also cold-call if you make eye contact.

[Lavitz]

McKee for lawyering

McKee hasn't taught here since 2006. Nobody here will have info on her.

Any help/tips for Section A:

Rana - con law
Clermont - civ
Hillman - contracts
Mooney - lawyering
Heise - torts

Thanks!

Rana: Most down-to-earth ConLaw prof IMO. Extremely nice. Also has a different style than the others. Will basically go through the material in mostly chronological order. His exam is a take-home which is half issue-spotter and half thematic essay. Cares about good writing. Chemerinsky will be less helpful than in other ConLaw classes, but it might still be helpful. Wants people to participate in class, and will cold-call if nobody volunteers.
Clermont: Most eccentric. Has entertaining powerpoint slides. Loves to troll. Our final exam essay consisted of questions about an Above The Law article. I had him in Spring, but a lot of people in both semesters claim they can't follow him or that he doesn't teach the material. You'll use an iclicker to vote on questions he asks in class, which is a nice test of whether you understand the material, assuming he clearly explains what the right answer is--which doesn't always happen. Best part for me is that he rarely cold-calls. Some people preferred BHS because the cold-calls forced them to keep on top of the readings, but I preferred Clermont.
Mooney: idk. I've heard mixed reviews.

[Yea All Right]

Section C listed below, any feedback would be much appreciated!

Civ pro - Clermont
Con law - Johnson
Contracts - Taylor
Lawyering - Eagen
Torts - Wendel

I know Lavitz already covered Clermont in the post above.

[Lavitz]

Section C listed below, any feedback would be much appreciated!

Civ pro - Clermont
Con law - Johnson
Contracts - Taylor
Lawyering - Eagen
Torts - Wendel

I know Lavitz already covered Clermont in the post above.

Yeah, all I want to say is that this is the worst section for me to give advice about. Can't really say anything about any of them, except that Taylor is new.

[Yea All Right]

So the new professor is teaching the stand-alone Contracts section. Hope it's chill!

[bpc2110]

any advice on supplements for civ pro with holden-smith?

[Lincoln]

any advice on supplements for civ pro with holden-smith?

You will use the same book (Field, Kaplan & Clermont) for both semesters. I recommend Clermont's Black Letter Outlines over all the other 100 Clermont books hornbooks.

Fwiw, BHS was my fav prof at Cornell, and I took every class she taught while I was there. Her exam isn't great, but if you really engage with the materials and in class you'll learn a ton. And she is fantastic to talk to outside of class!