Berkeley Students (Boalties) Taking Questions Forum

[Rotor]

Is Berkeley genuinely a good place for free thinkers, or is it more a place for conformist liberal dogma?

Plenty of room for many different opinions. The Federalist Society is just as active as the ACS.

Also, would the latest problems in Cali including the UC finance issues be a genuine reason, or merely an excuse, to cross Berkeley off the list?

Cali's problems are cyclical. This downturn may last longer than past ones, but rumors of Cali's downfall are somewhat exaggerated. As for the UC fiscal situation, Dean Edley's long range plans are designed to eliminate dependence on the regents. What it means for us is higher tuition. Yes that sucks, but I see it as protecting my investment rather than letting the quality of the school wither for lack of funding from the state. To answer your question directly, for most people it's an excuse.

I heard somewhere the law library is closed more than most people would like, and I do think that is a genuine concern for potential students. If you cant utilize it, what's the point, right?

This doesn't sound accurate to me. You have to go home sometime. I tend to study at home rather than the library, but friends that study there haven't ever complained about the hours. The librarians--the real resource of any library-- are f***ing awesome.

[worldtraveler]

I just asked my recommenders to write a specific letter for each school so it reads "Dear Berkeley Law admissions" instead of "To whom it may concern". As to how they tailored it after that, I can't really say since I didn't see the letters. But even that speaks a lot to your interest in a particular school. (profs aren't likely to personalize if you are applying to tons of schools. And even if they do, they must really like you and isn't that the point?)

If they know what you want to specialize in that could be a bonus, but I don't think it's essential.

Also--targeted letters aren't Boalt specific. You may want to ask the broader TLS for advice.

Right - You can also target them to "IP" programs, or "Enviromental Law" programs. However, I wanted my letters specifically targeted to what program(s) I find most interesting at the two schools at the top of my list. The remainder of my applications will get the "for all law schools" recommendation. For MY purposes, the targeted letters will be Boalt- and Stanford-specific.

Thanks for the advice! I'll make sure my recommenders change their addressing line from "To whom it may concern" to something more specific for the targeted letters.

I'm not sure I see the point in this. If you have specific things that interest you here, talk about those in your PS. LORs are more important for what the writer has to say about you and how well they know you and less about certain programs at law schools. Unless the writer has specific knowledge of Berkeley (like she/he is an alum) I would recommend asking them to focus more on you and less on the school.
I'm not sure I know anyone here who used targeted letters. I can't see it making a big difference between 2 candidates. Somewhere there is a law dean interview talking about how they don't want to hear about themselves and they'd rather hear about you. Just mention a sentence or two about a particular interest you have in Berkeley and other than that, just focus on the rest of the stuff.

[Aggiegrad2011]

Hmm, an interesting perspective. This entire process is so nebulous and, for lack of a better word, frustrating! As if it's not enough to have to graduate in the top 1% of your class from undergrad, and do a bucketload of ECs, you have to then figure out what the heck these people want from you!

Well, hopefully it won't be a mistake having the Boalt letter targeted. I spoke with my recommender, and she said she planned only on mentioning the school in the address portion "To Berkeley law admissions" for example, and then once or twice in the letter but only as it relates to me as a student and how the programs at Boalt would be a good fit for me, and vice versa.

Does that sound more appropriate?

Thank you!

I'm not sure I see the point in this. If you have specific things that interest you here, talk about those in your PS. LORs are more important for what the writer has to say about you and how well they know you and less about certain programs at law schools. Unless the writer has specific knowledge of Berkeley (like she/he is an alum) I would recommend asking them to focus more on you and less on the school.
I'm not sure I know anyone here who used targeted letters. I can't see it making a big difference between 2 candidates. Somewhere there is a law dean interview talking about how they don't want to hear about themselves and they'd rather hear about you. Just mention a sentence or two about a particular interest you have in Berkeley and other than that, just focus on the rest of the stuff.

[markariz]

I know we don't get to chose our profs, but I'm interested to hear some 1L prof reviews just to know what to expect when we get our schedules in August. Can any former 1Ls just go class by class and discuss briefly teaching style (how socratic, types of evaluation, etc.) and course load for each prof they had their 1L year? Thanks!

[Tangerine Gleam]

I know we don't get to chose our profs, but I'm interested to hear some 1L prof reviews just to know what to expect when we get our schedules in August. Can any former 1Ls just go class by class and discuss briefly teaching style (how socratic, types of evaluation, etc.) and course load for each prof they had their 1L year? Thanks!

I know we don't get to choose our professors first semester, but I too would be interested in learning about others' 1L experiences. On average, how many hours a day (or per week) are you in class?

And how much time did you spend studying? Obviously it differs greatly from person to person, but anecdotes are always interesting.

Can't believe we start in less than 4 weeks...

[bilbobaggins]

I have yet to hear of or experience a Boalt professor who uses the Socratic method. The closest would be a con law prof who shouts inane questions and then interrupts with the next question before you can answer the first one.

Most professors I had were less engaging than most I had in UG. Most are fairly nice in class unless you really make yourself look bad or continuously pass when called on.

[gymboree]

I know we don't get to chose our profs, but I'm interested to hear some 1L prof reviews just to know what to expect when we get our schedules in August. Can any former 1Ls just go class by class and discuss briefly teaching style (how socratic, types of evaluation, etc.) and course load for each prof they had their 1L year? Thanks!

I know we don't get to choose our professors first semester, but I too would be interested in learning about others' 1L experiences. On average, how many hours a day (or per week) are you in class?

And how much time did you spend studying? Obviously it differs greatly from person to person, but anecdotes are always interesting.

Can't believe we start in less than 4 weeks...

More 2L/3L input on the 1L professors/classes would be great! We don't have our schedules yet, but notes about fave professors/classes or those to watch out for (and tips for handling them) would be helpful!

[Rotor]

The prof question really is so open ended it's tough to answer. Once you all get your schedules, we might be able to answer specifics for you.

In general though, I haven't heard of anyone using socratic method at Boalt. More just typical lecture/discussion.

Probably the most important thing driving your work load is how profs put you on call. From the profs I had, some just took volunteers (but kept track to make sure everyone spoke eventually). Others put a limited number on call (ranging from 3 individuals for a day to an entire mod for a week). One prof (Gergen) put everyone's name on an index card. He shuffled the deck every day and drew from the stack (so we were on call every day, essentially). At the end of the semester, he bought the person with the most selections a bottle of wine.

If you want to do some research on the profs, there's some good discussion over at Nuts & Boalts...
boaltalk.blogspot.com

[worldtraveler]

You guys also might not have the same profs as us. The schedule changes each year, so what we tell you might not be relevant.

I also never really kept a set schedule everyday, so I don't really know how to answer questions about studying.

[saradsun]

I think doing IP without a science background is possible, but it isn't as easy as with one. I have a pretty heavy science background, so I never really looked into what it would be like to not have it. I do hear that a lot of firms want to hire IP litigators that can function as patent litigators if need be. That being said, some firms have quite large soft IP (copyright, trademark) practices that you really don't need a science background for. I would talk to some 2Ls and 3Ls when you get to Boalt (or if there are any in this thread?) who are interested in IP that don't have a science background. I know they exist, and tend to be members of Berkeley Technology Law Journal (BTLJ woo!).

I am working in IP lit this summer and do not have an academic science background. I do have a working background in tech though. I thought I would not be able to do IP law without a science background and didn't even join BTLJ my first semester because of that. I was strongly encouraged to reconsider.