UVA Law Students Taking Questions Forum

[North]

Was coming here to ask about the oral advocacy prep courses, so this is solid timing

I suck at making oral presentations (I get super nervous and blank, terrible at thinking on my feet, etc.) but really need to get better.

What is the credited way of doing that without tanking my GPA? The J-term one with all the other lawyers?

Other than that there's regular Trial Advocacy, Oral Presentations In & Out of the Courtroom, Hallmarks of Distinguished Advocacy, and the Rhetoric Seminar.

What should I take?

If you want to get better, and are willing to work at it, I'd recommend Hallmarks of Distinguished Advocacy. In fact if you have trouble with public speaking, it's almost a must, since that's a skill you're going to use for the rest of your life, even if you're not going to be a litigator. Some of the class is fun, sometimes it's embarrassing, but it's all is geared at making you a better speaker. There's homework almost every week, and there's a heavy B+ curve.

I felt confident going in and improved a lot during the semester. Importantly, so did everyone else in the class - there was a quite substantial improvement, even from those that had been doing public drama performances since they were knee high to a grasshopper.

All the classes are video taped, and you will be given personal guidance during each class asked to watch your videos at home. Do not be afraid of being terrible in week one, since I believe much of the assessment is upon your degree of improvement rather than your final performance. That makes the playing ground more level, given there will likely be some excellent speakers in the class.

Trial college (while you learn alongside lawyers in the lectures) is with students in the practical bits. There's a slim chance if you get an odd number of students that you could be paired with a practicing lawyer for the final trial. You're not going to get as much help with your public speaking skills in the Trial College, as there really isn't the time for it.

If you really need help with public speaking, I'd take Hallmarks first, and then do the trial college afterward to reinforce. If someone is comfortable with public speaking but would like to improve then the other way around might put you in better shape to grab one of the few A- grades on offer in Hallmarks, or just take a regular trial ad course if you really want to reinforce trial specific stuff and some public speaking at the same time (though trial ad is probably more work and the class is smaller so less chance of scoring the A-).

TY for this excellent response. Hallmarks it is. TY brother!

[anon sequitur]

I thought Schauer's jurisprudence to be a pretty easy B+, LR types not withstanding.

[olive16]

I thought Martin was fine for ConLaw and Immigration. That said, I wouldn't take immigration law unless you have an actual interest in the subject. The class will have several students who actually plan to do immigration law on graduation. It's heavily statute based and the statute is a terrible mess of cross-references that made me groan each and every time I looked at it.

If you want to do immigration law, I think it's easier to find this tolerable.

Is his immigration exam a normal issue spotter?

[BruceWayne]

I have a few class questions, if you can answer ANY of the following questions, I would appreciate it:

1) Would you recommend taking Federal Income Tax along with Accounting/Corporate Finance and Corporations this fall? If so, Hayashi or Doran?

2) Has anyone heard anything about Emerging Growth Companies and Venture Capital Financing with Lincoln?

3) Is Intl Law w/ Setear B+ heavy or not?

4) Any opinion of Christie (for Regulation of U.S. Industries)

5.) Anyone heard anything about Franchise Law and/or the professor Dienelt?

6.) Comments about Immigration Law as a class and/or the professor, Martin?

Thanks!

1) Hell no

[albanach]

I thought Martin was fine for ConLaw and Immigration. That said, I wouldn't take immigration law unless you have an actual interest in the subject. The class will have several students who actually plan to do immigration law on graduation. It's heavily statute based and the statute is a terrible mess of cross-references that made me groan each and every time I looked at it.

If you want to do immigration law, I think it's easier to find this tolerable.

Is his immigration exam a normal issue spotter?

Yes but not a typing race. Martin has a word limit, I think ours was either 800/question for three questions or similar.

{edit} Just adding I think one of the three questions may be a policy question. Also, he may still have a no-laptops in class rule.

[lookingin]

In case people are interested to see who in their section got law review:

http://www.virginialawreview.org/announ ... class-2016

[First Offense]

In case people are interested to see who in their section got law review:

http://www.virginialawreview.org/announ ... class-2016

Two people from my section.

[digifly]

In case people are interested to see who in their section got law review:

http://www.virginialawreview.org/announ ... class-2016

7 from section C.

[First Offense]

In case people are interested to see who in their section got law review:

http://www.virginialawreview.org/announ ... class-2016

7 from section C.

So C was the gunner section, I guess.

[Yardbird]

4 from section G...though, I expected all of them to get it.

[Br3v]

When should we expect results from LawReg?


Eta: might as well skip a step and direct this question directly to Shadow lol

[First Offense]

When should we expect results from LawReg?

I got mine already.

[LadyMary]

When should we expect results from LawReg?

I got mine already.

Yeah, they should be available on lawweb by now (if you haven't already received the email)

[Br3v]

Got the email 30 minutes ago, I just hadn't checked yet. Thanks

[digifly]

I signed up for Corporations (Law & Business) with Curtis and am wondering if my lack of a finance/accounting background will make the course too difficult?

I know a few pages back someone said that the L&B classes are no different, but I was wondering if anyone has any comments about this class/professor specifically? I appreciate the advice!

[Yardbird]

Eta: might as well skip a step and direct this question directly to Shadow lol

lol, thanks?

Anyone know when add/drop starts? LawReg brute forces registration until you're at the max credits and I want to drop a class and get into a short course instead. Also, how does the wait list process work?

[5ky]

I signed up for Corporations (Law & Business) with Curtis and am wondering if my lack of a finance/accounting background will make the course too difficult?

I know a few pages back someone said that the L&B classes are no different, but I was wondering if anyone has any comments about this class/professor specifically? I appreciate the advice!

People should just forget law and business is a thing. It's not.

[Br3v]

Eta: might as well skip a step and direct this question directly to Shadow lol

lol, thanks?

Lol I meant it as a compliment

[jkpolk]

I signed up for Corporations (Law & Business) with Curtis and am wondering if my lack of a finance/accounting background will make the course too difficult?

I know a few pages back someone said that the L&B classes are no different, but I was wondering if anyone has any comments about this class/professor specifically? I appreciate the advice!

Corporations doesn't go into balance sheets, think of it like "an overview of the organizations which are structured as corporations," so you're fine w/o accounting.

[lookingin]

So I think the generally recommended advice is to take 12 credits this fall because of all the time we'll be putting into OGI, but shouldn't we be taking 14-15 credit hours a semester on average to graduate with the requisite number of credits? After this semester, did most of you 3Ls take like 5 classes in the spring? Or a clinic and then 4 classes or something?

I guess what I'm asking is do most of you really only take 4 classes every semester, but maybe load up on the 4 credit ones? What are the typical semester loads / number of classes like for most of you each semester?

[anon sequitur]

So I think the generally recommended advice is to take 12 credits this fall because of all the time we'll be putting into OGI, but shouldn't we be taking 14-15 credit hours a semester on average to graduate with the requisite number of credits? After this semester, did most of you 3Ls take like 5 classes in the spring? Or a clinic and then 4 classes or something?

I guess what I'm asking is do most of you really only take 4 classes every semester, but maybe load up on the 4 credit ones? What are the typical semester loads / number of classes like for most of you each semester?

You only need 86 credits to graduate, and most everyone takes 30-32 credits as a 1L (31 for me). So you only need about 55 credits your 2L and 3L years, so you only need to average 13.75 per semester here on out. Even fewer if you do a J-term or two. A lot of people take 2-3 "real" classes to get you to 10-11 credits, plus a 2-3 credit fun class. There's really not that man 4-credit classes to take though.

[lookingin]

So I think the generally recommended advice is to take 12 credits this fall because of all the time we'll be putting into OGI, but shouldn't we be taking 14-15 credit hours a semester on average to graduate with the requisite number of credits? After this semester, did most of you 3Ls take like 5 classes in the spring? Or a clinic and then 4 classes or something?

I guess what I'm asking is do most of you really only take 4 classes every semester, but maybe load up on the 4 credit ones? What are the typical semester loads / number of classes like for most of you each semester?

You only need 86 credits to graduate, and most everyone takes 30-32 credits as a 1L (31 for me). So you only need about 55 credits your 2L and 3L years, so you only need to average 13.75 per semester here on out. Even fewer if you do a J-term or two. A lot of people take 2-3 "real" classes to get you to 10-11 credits, plus a 2-3 credit fun class. There's really not that man 4-credit classes to take though.

That's why I'm thinking you can't really plan to coast through taking 4 different three credit classes a semester, because that won't be enough (12 credits). But I guess if you try to take a short course/j-term and maybe one 4 credit (instead of a 3 credit) a semester you'd be fine... cool. Thanks.

[sundance95]

4 credit classes include:

Fed courts
Admin
Evidence
Corporations
Crim pro survey
Some clinics (scotus, appellant, others?)

The sommelier suggests pairing with credit/no credit classes, such as:

Negotiation institute
Seminar in ethical values
Trial ad college (2 cr j term)
Directed research
2d semester of some clinics (scotus, appellant, others?)

Season w/seminars to taste

[5ky]

FWIW, I definitely thought taking one 4 credit >>> one three credit + some BS 1 credit. For whatever reason, I always felt that the extra 1 credit class was more work than the difference between a 3 and 4 credit class, with some exceptions (Negotiation institute, lol just lol, seminar in ethical values, etc)

[lookingin]

Haha, sounds good. Thanks for the course credit advice.