General 1L Year Advice / U Chicago Professor Reviews
Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2010 10:59 pm
I just thought I'd take a minute to put down my thoughts now that I'm done with 1L year. (I'm not new to TLS, but I lost my old password). I'm definitely not claiming to "know everything" about 1L year - there are plenty of books for that. I'm just sharing some things that I wish I had known at the beginning of my 1L year. I had plenty of successes and just as many failures, and ended up in the middle of my class. I also threw in some notes on specific U Chicago professors for anyone who's interested.
Non-School Specific Advice:
1) Try different strategies.
Do NOT lock yourself into one method. In my opinion, there is no one method that works for every class. Vary your methods throughout the year, and see what works for you. Tweak your briefs or highlighting. It's also important to get a feel for every class - in some classes, the readings are vitally important, in others, they won't help you at all. There's no good way to figure this out beforehand. Just notice whether you are getting most of your knowledge from the textbook or from class discussion, and then focus your efforts accordingly.
2) Don't be a perfectionist.
Outlines don't have to be incredibly detailed and perfect - they just need to jog your memory. Like everyone says, the process is what helps. Personally, I wouldn't recommend the "outline-as-you-go" method, especially for 1Ls. For some courses, like Contracts, you probably won't know what is really important until you get to the end of the class. For rules-based classes, like Civ Pro, you can probably start outlining earlier. My favorite method of outlining is to read over an entire section of class notes first, THEN outline it. This keeps your outline from becoming a shorter version of your class notes. Most importantly, you need to tailor your outline to the amount of time you have. If it's a week before exams and you haven't started outlining, don't be afraid to make it quick and dirty. Be realistic about how much time you have and DON'T overestimate your ability to finish an extensive outline.
3) Sleep.
You will need as much sleep as you can get. If you're prone to procrastination, it's better to get your reading done directly after class. If you take a break, there is a distinct possibility it will turn into an extended period of procrastination. There are some serious reading assignments. If you get behind, you will be miserable, and you probably won't be able to catch up. If you don't get enough sleep, you will be even more miserable. So try to make a workable schedule. If you're consistently behind on readings and/or sleep deprived, shift everything in your daily schedule earlier.
4) Study away from law students.
Studying around other law students was highly stressful for me. I wouldn't recommend living with another law student, unless you know them already, or they go to a different school. Even unintentionally, law students psych each other out by talking about how much work they're doing. This is rarely helpful. Avoiding this discussion will help you concentrate on yourself and your own goals. That being said, study groups can be very useful. The group activity that helped me the most was to ask and answer each others' questions. Explaining familiar concepts helps you just as much as hearing about unfamiliar ones.
5) Add some variety to your weekdays.
Doing the same thing every day gets incredibly tedious and leads to burnout. For that reason I recommend doing other things during the week wherever possible. If your schedule has one day that is less intense, plan to get out of the house and do something on that day to recharge your batteries. It can be something as simple as dinner in Chinatown, or seeing a movie - the point is to break up the monotony of your class/reading/sleep schedule. I always did best when I had something to look forward to, no matter how insignificant.
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University of Chicago Professors-
The 1Ls were split in half for all the core classes. Certain two-quarter classes were split so that one professor taught the first quarter and another taught the second. I'm writing based on both my own knowledge and my friends' reviews.
Civ Pro I:
Buss - Buss is great at easing you into law school. Her readings are easy and geared toward helping you understand. She wastes a lot of time on circular class discussion where you end up hearing from the same 6 people.
Samaha - People were fairly terrified of Samaha and found him intense, but with a wicked sense of humor.
Contracts:
E. Posner - NOT Judge Posner, but his son. He commands a lot of respect and has a "tough but fair" reputation. Most people liked him, a few hated him. He's not known for being a joker and I heard quite a few complaints that his class was boring.
EDIT: According to pehaigllleises, E. Pos actually makes hilarious "sarcastic wisecracks."
Ben-Shahar/Anup Malani - "Omri" Ben-Shahar is probably best known for being very nice to his students - he hosted a party at the end of fall quarter for his students. He was very effective at clarifying difficult concepts with concrete examples. Malani was very confusing and condescending. His syllabus had no set dates, and he ended up rushing some concepts while beating a dead horse with others.
Criminal Law:
McAdams - Hilarious professor, and a really enjoyable class to sit through, but the exam was very easy and therefore the curve was tight. Little mistakes ended up costing a lot.
Braman/Harcourt - Both professors were confusing and at times dull. Harcourt rushed through material toward the end of the class, and his personal views on the death penalty took up a lot of class time.
Elements
Strauss - Really nice person, funny, and enjoyable in class. He assigned dramatically less reading than Dixon, but chose to cover less material.
Dixon - Quite intimidating young, attractive Australian woman. The up-side of Dixon's class is that everything was relevant to the rest of the 1L classes and ended up helping a lot, and those who didn't learn it felt a little lost.
Torts
Gersen/Levmore - Gersen was a character - he has a lot of tics and peculiarities, and was a little hard to follow, but he was very likeable and really cared about his students. Levmore came across as pompous and mean early on, but most gradually ended up liking him. He taught basically whatever he felt like, and assigned much-despised worksheets.
Fennell/Epstein - Fennell was boring but relatively clear. Epstein was the opposite: incomprehensible but quite amusing. There was quite a lot of reading and it was pretty vital for the exam.
Property
Helmholz - Helmholz is amusing in class, and also terrifying. He wants his students to know the cases inside out and will pick on the same group of students all year. You learn a very limited amount of property law, and the exam is random and based largely on strategy. However, there is very little reading.
Strahilevitz - Strahilevitz covered the basic property curriculum much better than Helmholz, and was loved by basically everyone.
Civ Pro II
Wood - Assigned massive readings and then didn't review them. This was one of those classes where people basically taught themselves the material. Many people gave up on the readings and just used case briefs and Glannon to get by. However she had lots of amusing anecdotes.
Cox - Nice, funny, a total hipster, and a lot of the girls thought he was hot. He gave out helpful charts and was very good at distilling complex material. He also assigned way less reading so you could figure out which cases were really important.
Non-School Specific Advice:
1) Try different strategies.
Do NOT lock yourself into one method. In my opinion, there is no one method that works for every class. Vary your methods throughout the year, and see what works for you. Tweak your briefs or highlighting. It's also important to get a feel for every class - in some classes, the readings are vitally important, in others, they won't help you at all. There's no good way to figure this out beforehand. Just notice whether you are getting most of your knowledge from the textbook or from class discussion, and then focus your efforts accordingly.
2) Don't be a perfectionist.
Outlines don't have to be incredibly detailed and perfect - they just need to jog your memory. Like everyone says, the process is what helps. Personally, I wouldn't recommend the "outline-as-you-go" method, especially for 1Ls. For some courses, like Contracts, you probably won't know what is really important until you get to the end of the class. For rules-based classes, like Civ Pro, you can probably start outlining earlier. My favorite method of outlining is to read over an entire section of class notes first, THEN outline it. This keeps your outline from becoming a shorter version of your class notes. Most importantly, you need to tailor your outline to the amount of time you have. If it's a week before exams and you haven't started outlining, don't be afraid to make it quick and dirty. Be realistic about how much time you have and DON'T overestimate your ability to finish an extensive outline.
3) Sleep.
You will need as much sleep as you can get. If you're prone to procrastination, it's better to get your reading done directly after class. If you take a break, there is a distinct possibility it will turn into an extended period of procrastination. There are some serious reading assignments. If you get behind, you will be miserable, and you probably won't be able to catch up. If you don't get enough sleep, you will be even more miserable. So try to make a workable schedule. If you're consistently behind on readings and/or sleep deprived, shift everything in your daily schedule earlier.
4) Study away from law students.
Studying around other law students was highly stressful for me. I wouldn't recommend living with another law student, unless you know them already, or they go to a different school. Even unintentionally, law students psych each other out by talking about how much work they're doing. This is rarely helpful. Avoiding this discussion will help you concentrate on yourself and your own goals. That being said, study groups can be very useful. The group activity that helped me the most was to ask and answer each others' questions. Explaining familiar concepts helps you just as much as hearing about unfamiliar ones.
5) Add some variety to your weekdays.
Doing the same thing every day gets incredibly tedious and leads to burnout. For that reason I recommend doing other things during the week wherever possible. If your schedule has one day that is less intense, plan to get out of the house and do something on that day to recharge your batteries. It can be something as simple as dinner in Chinatown, or seeing a movie - the point is to break up the monotony of your class/reading/sleep schedule. I always did best when I had something to look forward to, no matter how insignificant.
------------------
University of Chicago Professors-
The 1Ls were split in half for all the core classes. Certain two-quarter classes were split so that one professor taught the first quarter and another taught the second. I'm writing based on both my own knowledge and my friends' reviews.
Civ Pro I:
Buss - Buss is great at easing you into law school. Her readings are easy and geared toward helping you understand. She wastes a lot of time on circular class discussion where you end up hearing from the same 6 people.
Samaha - People were fairly terrified of Samaha and found him intense, but with a wicked sense of humor.
Contracts:
E. Posner - NOT Judge Posner, but his son. He commands a lot of respect and has a "tough but fair" reputation. Most people liked him, a few hated him. He's not known for being a joker and I heard quite a few complaints that his class was boring.
EDIT: According to pehaigllleises, E. Pos actually makes hilarious "sarcastic wisecracks."
Ben-Shahar/Anup Malani - "Omri" Ben-Shahar is probably best known for being very nice to his students - he hosted a party at the end of fall quarter for his students. He was very effective at clarifying difficult concepts with concrete examples. Malani was very confusing and condescending. His syllabus had no set dates, and he ended up rushing some concepts while beating a dead horse with others.
Criminal Law:
McAdams - Hilarious professor, and a really enjoyable class to sit through, but the exam was very easy and therefore the curve was tight. Little mistakes ended up costing a lot.
Braman/Harcourt - Both professors were confusing and at times dull. Harcourt rushed through material toward the end of the class, and his personal views on the death penalty took up a lot of class time.
Elements
Strauss - Really nice person, funny, and enjoyable in class. He assigned dramatically less reading than Dixon, but chose to cover less material.
Dixon - Quite intimidating young, attractive Australian woman. The up-side of Dixon's class is that everything was relevant to the rest of the 1L classes and ended up helping a lot, and those who didn't learn it felt a little lost.
Torts
Gersen/Levmore - Gersen was a character - he has a lot of tics and peculiarities, and was a little hard to follow, but he was very likeable and really cared about his students. Levmore came across as pompous and mean early on, but most gradually ended up liking him. He taught basically whatever he felt like, and assigned much-despised worksheets.
Fennell/Epstein - Fennell was boring but relatively clear. Epstein was the opposite: incomprehensible but quite amusing. There was quite a lot of reading and it was pretty vital for the exam.
Property
Helmholz - Helmholz is amusing in class, and also terrifying. He wants his students to know the cases inside out and will pick on the same group of students all year. You learn a very limited amount of property law, and the exam is random and based largely on strategy. However, there is very little reading.
Strahilevitz - Strahilevitz covered the basic property curriculum much better than Helmholz, and was loved by basically everyone.
Civ Pro II
Wood - Assigned massive readings and then didn't review them. This was one of those classes where people basically taught themselves the material. Many people gave up on the readings and just used case briefs and Glannon to get by. However she had lots of amusing anecdotes.
Cox - Nice, funny, a total hipster, and a lot of the girls thought he was hot. He gave out helpful charts and was very good at distilling complex material. He also assigned way less reading so you could figure out which cases were really important.
