Harvard Student(s) Answering Your Questions Forum

[robotrick]

I think this leads to the same conclusion. I'd hold off on taking 14th if you can't take it with either Klarman or Feldman.

It seems crazy to me that Harvard Law School only has 2 really good con law professors that everyone fights over...

No, just echoing what others above said, other con law profs such as Fried and Minow are all brilliant too. In terms of fame, probably Fried is the most famous. Feldman and Klarman are considered the best teachers. I have not taken any Feldman class yet but went to one of his lunch events. He is very eloquent and clear in his expressions. Probably the most articulate person I saw here thus far. But the best teachers are not necessarily the best academics. By the way, Klarman is the most popular choice for the 14th Amendment and Feldman for the 1st. You definitely cannot go wrong with any other renowned con law prof for either of the two courses however.

I was only talking about teaching quality, so I'm not sure how your post disagrees with mine. Minow is fine, I guess - I had her for 14th. I thought her class lacked in the organization department and the classroom discussion was out of control (especially early in the class). But maybe that style would work better for other people than it did for me.

[tomwatts]

Got pretty good feedback on Rana from the Cornell thread, but hey, who knows.

Eh, in that case, if you feel like it, take it in the spring. I've found it hard to get good information on visiting profs, but if you actually have good info, then run with it.

14th is just such a potentially good class that it's not worth it unless you take it with someone good.

[sdfsdg22]

I'm thinking of punting one of my courses (doing the least amount of prep required for a P) in order to spend more time on the rest of my courses in the hopes of excelling there. Is this a reasonable strategy?

[despina]

I'm thinking of punting one of my courses (doing the least amount of prep required for a P) in order to spend more time on the rest of my courses in the hopes of excelling there. Is this a reasonable strategy?

Yes. I would guess that most people do this, most of the time, for at least one course.

The tricky thing is that spending more time on your other classes doesn't mean you'll get an H. More than once when I tried this strategy, I got the H or DS in the "punt" class, and a P in the one I worked hard for.

[despina]

14th is just such a potentially good class that it's not worth it unless you take it with someone good.

For a different perspective, my schedule never worked out to take 14th with a "good" prof. I took it with someone not especially popular and whose teaching style I really didn't care for, so basically ended up teaching myself. It was frustrating and a lot of my classmates felt the same way.

I'm still glad I took it. The 14th amendment underlies so much of 20th - 21st century conlaw and issues that matter to a lot of people every day (gender, sexuality, race, state intervention in the economy, welfare, etc). It would really be a shame to graduate from any law school without a basic understanding of the concepts of equal protection and due process.

[tomwatts]

14th is just such a potentially good class that it's not worth it unless you take it with someone good.

For a different perspective, my schedule never worked out to take 14th with a "good" prof. I took it with someone not especially popular and whose teaching style I really didn't care for, so basically ended up teaching myself. It was frustrating and a lot of my classmates felt the same way.

I'm still glad I took it. The 14th amendment underlies so much of 20th - 21st century conlaw and issues that matter to a lot of people every day (gender, sexuality, race, state intervention in the economy, welfare, etc). It would really be a shame to graduate from any law school without a basic understanding of the concepts of equal protection and due process.

This post made me realize that I was potentially unclear: I meant it's not worth it in a given semester unless you take it with someone good. You should take 14th at some point.

[jthomas98032]

Northwestern student here. My professor was a visiting professor in 2010, would anyone be able to help me get his exam from that year from the exam bank? Jide Nzelibe. Thanks.

[TripTrip]

Northwestern student here. My professor was a visiting professor in 2010, would anyone be able to help me get his exam from that year from the exam bank? Jide Nzelibe. Thanks.

PM me your email.

[Person1111]

Two thoughts:

(1) There is a huge range of quality among visiting professors who have taught 14th. Some (e.g. David Strauss from Chicago, who taught in Fall 2011) are probably just as good as the best professors at HLS. But there are others who aren't.

(2) I really do think Fallon should be in the conversation for best 14th professors at HLS, although for whatever reason people seem much more enamored of Klarman. From reputation alone, I do think there is a noticeable drop-off between those two and the other professors who teach 14th (even though many of them are great scholars and/or lovely people).

[tomwatts]

(2) I really do think Fallon should be in the conversation for best 14th professors at HLS, although for whatever reason people seem much more enamored of Klarman.

I think Fallon rarely if ever teaches 14th. He teaches 1st regularly, though, and I understand his reputation for that class is quite good.

[malleus discentium]

Does anyone have an idea when results from the Q round will be released?

[polareagle]

Does anyone have an idea when results from the Q round will be released?

Last year they were released the day after Final Round.
Final round is next Monday.
So if it's the same day as last year, it will be next Tuesday.
No idea if that's still the plan.

[cheesin23]

Looking for anyone who may have lost their jacket at the halloween party at the sinclair or who ended up with someone else's. I've been looking for mine with no success I'm looking for a black peacoat, and have one belonging to someone else. would love to return it to its rightful owner!

[Nonconsecutive]

Does anyone who has had Clark for corporations know how big of a deal it would be to miss six classes? I have something already planned during part of class time that would cause me to miss two weeks of class (but only that class). I'm less concerned about the substantive material since I'm more of an outline learner anyways and I have someone to share notes with me, and more concerned about whether or not this would be one of those oddball classes where he'd actually realize I wasn't there and it could potentially effect me. I saw from an earlier discussion ITT that he does panels, so I just figured I'd ask.

[Indifference]

So, some of the jobs on the Mass Consortium list ask for writing samples. May be a dumb question, but how are 1Ls supposed to meet this requirement? LRW stuff? Past writing?

[TripTrip]

So, some of the jobs on the Mass Consortium list ask for writing samples. May be a dumb question, but how are 1Ls supposed to meet this requirement? LRW stuff? Past writing?

LRW memos. Past writing is a no-go unless you happen to have a bunch of prior legal writing with bluebook citations.

They don't expect them to be unique or exceptional. They know how 1L works.

[Indifference]

So, some of the jobs on the Mass Consortium list ask for writing samples. May be a dumb question, but how are 1Ls supposed to meet this requirement? LRW stuff? Past writing?

LRW memos. Past writing is a no-go unless you happen to have a bunch of prior legal writing with bluebook citations.

They don't expect them to be unique or exceptional. They know how 1L works.

I figured as much, but thank you (as always) for clarifying.

P.S. I'm curious, what happens to Dope/corresponding support after you graduate?

[TripTrip]

P.S. I'm curious, what happens to Dope/corresponding support after you graduate?

It'll stick around. Just working out the details.

Expect it to be renamed though. I get a lot of raised eyebrows at the name whenever I seek sponsorships to fund continued maintenance.

[NoLongerALurker]

Does anyone who has had Clark for corporations know how big of a deal it would be to miss six classes? I have something already planned during part of class time that would cause me to miss two weeks of class (but only that class). I'm less concerned about the substantive material since I'm more of an outline learner anyways and I have someone to share notes with me, and more concerned about whether or not this would be one of those oddball classes where he'd actually realize I wasn't there and it could potentially effect me. I saw from an earlier discussion ITT that he does panels, so I just figured I'd ask.

You're fine. You can reschedule panel dates if need be. I know people who missed way more than six classes and got an H.

[robotrick]

Does anyone have or know where I can find a PDF version of the handbook of academic policies? I only found the school's online version, and the format is maddening and not conducive to Ctrl+f searches.

[Nonconsecutive]

Does anyone who has had Clark for corporations know how big of a deal it would be to miss six classes? I have something already planned during part of class time that would cause me to miss two weeks of class (but only that class). I'm less concerned about the substantive material since I'm more of an outline learner anyways and I have someone to share notes with me, and more concerned about whether or not this would be one of those oddball classes where he'd actually realize I wasn't there and it could potentially effect me. I saw from an earlier discussion ITT that he does panels, so I just figured I'd ask.

You're fine. You can reschedule panel dates if need be. I know people who missed way more than six classes and got an H.

Cool, thanks!

[Pneumonia]

Does anyone have or know where I can find a PDF version of the handbook of academic policies? I only found the school's online version, and the format is maddening and not conducive to Ctrl+f searches.

Not sure where to find, but if you PM me your email I'll send it to you.

[Mullens]

Can someone please check to see if there are any Bruce Markell Secured Transactions outlines on any of the Harvard outline banks? He's teaching it for the first time at Northwestern but taught it at Harvard before. Thanks!

[Mack.Hambleton]

if anyone else is planning on doing case prep for MBB during J-term/break and wants to work together pm me

[nothingtosee]

When I'm taking a cab from logan to cambridge, and they say "should I take the masspike" what is the right answer? I feel like the drivers take the tunnel on purpose for extra toll and sort traffic.