GULC Students Taking Questions Forum

[PDX4343]

Hi all, I was just accepted into the class of 2020, and I'm really interested in attending. I'm wondering if anyone has any experience working with the Equal Justice Foundation's guaranteed summer funding for qualifying PI or government employment. Specifically, around how much do they give for 1Ls and 2Ls (if there's a difference)? Also, is it pretty easy to find summer work in D.C. that qualifies for the program? I imagine there's no shortage of would-be employers looking for free legal labor, but I might be mistaken. Thanks! Hope to meet some of you next year on campus

[usn26]

Also, is it pretty easy to find summer work in D.C. that qualifies for the program?

Yes.

EJF funding can be a good way to go in the right circumstances. If you're going to end up doing LRAP it's kind of a waste though. (tbf, "definitely going to be doing LRAP" probably isnt the position you want to be in, but I imagine many are)

[PDX4343]

Also, is it pretty easy to find summer work in D.C. that qualifies for the program?

Yes.

EJF funding can be a good way to go in the right circumstances. If you're going to end up doing LRAP it's kind of a waste though. (tbf, "definitely going to be doing LRAP" probably isnt the position you want to be in, but I imagine many are)

What makes you say it's kind of a waste with LRAP? It sounds like I might not be understanding the EJF program correctly. My thought was that it would be a way to get public interest or government legal experience while giving me an avenue of making enough to cover my living expenses over the summer.

[usn26]

Also, is it pretty easy to find summer work in D.C. that qualifies for the program?

Yes.

EJF funding can be a good way to go in the right circumstances. If you're going to end up doing LRAP it's kind of a waste though. (tbf, "definitely going to be doing LRAP" probably isnt the position you want to be in, but I imagine many are)

What makes you say it's kind of a waste with LRAP? It sounds like I might not be understanding the EJF program correctly. My thought was that it would be a way to get public interest or government legal experience while giving me an avenue of making enough to cover my living expenses over the summer.

That is correct, although IIRC you'd have to live *super* frugally to make ends meet in DC without another source of funding in addition to EJF.

It's a waste of effort and frugality if you'll definitely be relying on LRAP. You can take a class or get externship credit, and get cost of living loans that are a good 1-4k more than EJF depending on the year. It's a small drop in the debt bucket, and LRAP/IBR will wash it all away in the end. Obviously less debt is usually better, but once you reach a certain point you might just as well take the loans.

[PDX4343]

Got it. That makes total sense, thank you.

[Gray]

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[buckiguy_sucks]

i did the EJF summer funding it is a pretty paltry amount it doesn't even cover rent

i only survived because of my sugar momma

though it can also help enormously to be at a gov agency that subsidizes travel and there are certainly plenty of agencies

[WhiskeyAndCupcakes]

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[ChristineBaskets]

Does anyone have any insights on the following elective classes, or the professors?

· Lawmaking – Professor Timothy Westmoreland
· Legislation and Regulation - Professor William Buzbee
· The Regulatory State – Professor Eloise Pasachoff
· European Law and Policy in Times of Crisis – Professor Philomila Tsoukala
· International Law I: Introduction to International Law – Professor David Koplow
· International Law, National Security, and Human Rights – Professor Mitt Regan

RateMyProfessor has not been of much assistance.

[Hand]

Does anyone have any insights on the following elective classes, or the professors?

· Lawmaking – Professor Timothy Westmoreland
· Legislation and Regulation - Professor William Buzbee
· The Regulatory State – Professor Eloise Pasachoff
· European Law and Policy in Times of Crisis – Professor Philomila Tsoukala
· International Law I: Introduction to International Law – Professor David Koplow
· International Law, National Security, and Human Rights – Professor Mitt Regan

RateMyProfessor has not been of much assistance.

I took Buzbee's elective last year. The class was alright (he's pretty engaging, the material is rather dull but quite likely the most useful of all of your 1L classes), the exam was utterly insane (but I somehow still got an A- on it despite feeling like I was just talking out of my ass with no basis in anything we were supposed to have learned).

[TLSModBot]

I adore Mitt Regan, but for the life of me I have no idea why he's teaching Human Rights/International Law unless he lost a bet or something. Stick with Regan on all things corporations/transactional law, but I don't see him A. doing it justice if it's a subject you care about or B. making it particularly interesting if it's just credits you're trying to live through.

[buckiguy_sucks]

I really like Pasachoff she's clear and engaging and the class is interesting and well structured 5/5 recommend


Plus then you don't have to take admin and international law is useless

[doctoroflaw91]

I adored David Koplow. I didn't take his international law class, but I did take one of his seminars and it was fantastic. He's incredibly engaging, brought in some excellent guest speakers, etc.

Plus, his wife is an excellent baker. Sooooo many brownies were consumed that semester.

[Gray]

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[gotCentred]

Does anyone have any insights on the following elective classes, or the professors?

· Lawmaking – Professor Timothy Westmoreland
· Legislation and Regulation - Professor William Buzbee
· The Regulatory State – Professor Eloise Pasachoff
· European Law and Policy in Times of Crisis – Professor Philomila Tsoukala
· International Law I: Introduction to International Law – Professor David Koplow
· International Law, National Security, and Human Rights – Professor Mitt Regan

RateMyProfessor has not been of much assistance.

I took Buzbee's elective last year. The class was alright (he's pretty engaging, the material is rather dull but quite likely the most useful of all of your 1L classes), the exam was utterly insane (but I somehow still got an A- on it despite feeling like I was just talking out of my ass with no basis in anything we were supposed to have learned).

I also took Buzbee's class. I really enjoyed it. He has a great attitude, which I guess is a weird and abstract way to describe a professor, but he's so chill that I enjoyed coming to class and discussing the material. He also made sure to review the previous class and take questions at the beginning of each class which was helpful for me. I also agree that it was the most useful class I took 1L - it's half statutory interpretation and half admin, which are both extremely good to know for a variety of practice areas. I actually enjoyed the material on its own but maybe I'm weird. That said, his exam didn't seem to implicate almost any of the material we studied and was thus one of the most difficult I've ever taken. I also talked out of my ass (and only got to half the 2000 word limit, I didn't even mention Chevron) and randomly got an A-, after thinking I legitimately was at the bottom of the curve.

Also, if you're working for the federal government over the summer (which I suppose you can't predict now) taking LegReg or Reg State will be extremely helpful.

[doctoroflaw91]

I adored David Koplow. I didn't take his international law class, but I did take one of his seminars and it was fantastic. He's incredibly engaging, brought in some excellent guest speakers, etc.

Plus, his wife is an excellent baker. Sooooo many brownies were consumed that semester.

I was in the other IL class, but I heard from friends in his class that exam was just awful. I actually had decided not to IL with him because the past exams online reminded me of polisci and I was not having any of that. He is a delight though, so if you look at his exams and don't hear alarm bells going off, definitely consider his class.

In terms of content I wish I had taken a reg state type of class, but I am in GLS and did not have a choice.

Ah, thanks for chiming in on this, Gray. I only ever had to write a paper for him, so I couldn't speak about his exams.

[Londonbear]

I adore Mitt Regan, but for the life of me I have no idea why he's teaching Human Rights/International Law unless he lost a bet or something. Stick with Regan on all things corporations/transactional law, but I don't see him A. doing it justice if it's a subject you care about or B. making it particularly interesting if it's just credits you're trying to live through.

I found Regan extremely boring in Corporations. Very nice, but so dry and boring that I could never bring myself to go to more than a few classes.

[TheSpanishMain]

I adored David Koplow. I didn't take his international law class, but I did take one of his seminars and it was fantastic. He's incredibly engaging, brought in some excellent guest speakers, etc.

Plus, his wife is an excellent baker. Sooooo many brownies were consumed that semester.

I liked Koplow for IL, although I can see how it could remind someone of an undergrad seminar in a lot of ways. Super nice guy though, and I thought the exam was fair.

[buckiguy_sucks]

is it unusual that i haven't heard from my firm since accepting my offer

[Glasseyes]

is it unusual that i haven't heard from my firm since accepting my offer

Nope. You might get a Xmas card, but it doesn't mean anything either way.

[TLSModBot]

is it unusual that i haven't heard from my firm since accepting my offer

Nope. You might get a Xmas card, but it doesn't mean anything either way.

This. Expect radio silence (save a Xmas card maybe) til like March

[TLSModBot]

is it unusual that i haven't heard from my firm since accepting my offer

Nope. You might get a Xmas card, but it doesn't mean anything either way.

This. Expect radio silence (save a Xmas card maybe) til like March

[doctoroflaw91]

is it unusual that i haven't heard from my firm since accepting my offer

Nope. You might get a Xmas card, but it doesn't mean anything either way.

My firm was this way. I got a Christmas card/fall exams gift from them (I think it was some baked goods of some kind), but I otherwise didn't hear from them until we started to receive reminders about sending our bar prep receipts in for reimbursement (and that was probably in late March, or even after).

[Gray]

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[ChristineBaskets]

For DeLaurentis's in-class LRW exam:

What is the best way to prepare for this thing? Looking at past year's exams, it seems that 90% of the material is from her in-class Citation Workshop (which was covered in one day), and 0% of the material is from the required textbook (Tiscione). Yet, I'm reluctant to ignore the Tiscione book altogether. Not really sure what I'm even asking here... Any tips?