Harvard 2Ls Taking Questions Forum

[ph14]

Aside from finals period, is there any time of the year that's particularly busy/stressful?

The law review competition. FML. Way worse than finals.

Agreed.

[ph14]

Aside from finals period, is there any time of the year that's particularly busy/stressful?

The law review competition. FML. Way worse than finals.

Agreed.

When the closed and open memos are due, and when the brief is due are relatively stressful times. That's probably the worst besides finals.

[splbagel]

Aside from finals period, is there any time of the year that's particularly busy/stressful?

The law review competition. FML. Way worse than finals.

Agreed.

This is a thing I can get away with not caring about / participating in, yes?

[ph14]

Aside from finals period, is there any time of the year that's particularly busy/stressful?

The law review competition. FML. Way worse than finals.

Agreed.

This is a thing I can get away with not caring about / participating in, yes?

Yeah, a significant number of people don't participate in the competition.

[094320]

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[ph14]

Got all my grades in so I am now officially a rising 2L. Happy to answer any questions still.

[Lovely Ludwig Van]

Got all my grades in so I am now officially a rising 2L. Happy to answer any questions still.

If this isn't too forward, approximately what were your grades like, and what firms will you be targeting for EIP?

[ph14]

Got all my grades in so I am now officially a rising 2L. Happy to answer any questions still.

If this isn't too forward, approximately what were your grades like, and what firms will you be targeting for EIP?

PM'd about grades. I'll be targeting firms in NY and DC, preferably those that have strong litigation practices. Or at least that is my very rough plan as of now. I'll probably be targeting V20 and then other firms selectively.

[thelawschoolproject]

What kind of grades/contacts are needed to secure a paid firm job your 1L summer? And, if you do some kind of public interest work, are there serious limits on what area of the country you can work in?

Thanks you all for doing this!

[094320]

..

[ph14]

What kind of grades/contacts are needed to secure a paid firm job your 1L summer? And, if you do some kind of public interest work, are there serious limits on what area of the country you can work in?

Thanks you all for doing this!

If you are eligible for diversity positions, I'd guess you'd be comeptitive H or two. For other 1L firm employment, the lowest person I know to get a summer associateship had 3 Hs out of 5 classes their first semester. Sample size is pretty low though, so keep that in mind. But 1L SAs are very difficult to get so I wouldn't be surprised if 3/5 Hs is a good benchmark to be competitive.

As far as public interest work, there are no limits on what area of the country you can work in (I assume you are talking about 1L summer). I know people working all over the country, literally all four corners and everywhere in between. HLS is certainly a portable degree, and can get you where you want to go, especially if you have ties.

[094320]

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[ph14]

If you are eligible for diversity positions, I'd guess you'd be comeptitive H or two. For other 1L firm employment, the lowest person I know to get a summer associateship had 3 Hs out of 5 classes their first semester..

I know of ppl with like 2Hs.

Well, there you go. But I agree with ATL's post above, 1L SAs are very difficult to get because there are just simply not a lot of positions available. I wouldn't count on getting one, the vast majority of people do public interest.

[thelawschoolproject]

If you are eligible for diversity positions, I'd guess you'd be comeptitive H or two. For other 1L firm employment, the lowest person I know to get a summer associateship had 3 Hs out of 5 classes their first semester..

I know of ppl with like 2Hs.

I'm NA female, so I am expecting that to help with some sort of diversity position. I just want to make sure I can support myself over the summer. :/

[094320]

..

[ph14]

If you are eligible for diversity positions, I'd guess you'd be comeptitive H or two. For other 1L firm employment, the lowest person I know to get a summer associateship had 3 Hs out of 5 classes their first semester..

I know of ppl with like 2Hs.

I'm NA female, so I am expecting that to help with some sort of diversity position. I just want to make sure I can support myself over the summer. :/

I definitely would not plan on having a SA, so do whatever you need to do to make sure you will be good to go for the summer. Like ATL said, you can get public interest funding pretty easy, you just need to volunteer 5 hours towards helping the public interest auction I believe. The position has to be eligible, and for some reason judges aren't, so keep that in mind as well.

[thelawschoolproject]

Thanks you two. The information is really helpful!

[ph14]

Thanks you two. The information is really helpful!

No problem, happy to answer any questions or help out in any way.

[Lovely Ludwig Van]

PM'd about grades. I'll be targeting firms in NY and DC, preferably those that have strong litigation practices. Or at least that is my very rough plan as of now. I'll probably be targeting V20 and then other firms selectively.

Thanks for the response! I've got a few more questions if you don't mind:

Did you find - both amongst yourself and the people you know - that grades correlated with the amount of work the person put in? I know it's been asked a couple dozen times already, but would you say that grades come down to a matter of pure test-taking ability, or is there some element of how the person prepares that makes a difference?

Also, do you have any advice on test-taking strategies?

[094320]

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[delusional]

PM'd about grades. I'll be targeting firms in NY and DC, preferably those that have strong litigation practices. Or at least that is my very rough plan as of now. I'll probably be targeting V20 and then other firms selectively.

Thanks for the response! I've got a few more questions if you don't mind:

Did you find - both amongst yourself and the people you know - that grades correlated with the amount of work the person put in? I know it's been asked a couple dozen times already, but would you say that grades come down to a matter of pure test-taking ability, or is there some element of how the person prepares that makes a difference?

Also, do you have any advice on test-taking strategies?

I would say that effort is necessary, but not sufficient for good grades. I worked hard first semester, but was unhappy with my grades, and I worked equally hard, but more efficiently second semester, and I did much better.
For me, the biggest difference was, in fact, how I prepared. First semester, I didn't know what to expect, and nobody told me, no matter how many times I asked, or how I phrased the question. I knew the basics - IRAC, spot as many issues as possible, etc. but even when I took practice tests, I never knew how I did because I didn't know what I was looking for.
Second semester, I had a bunch of tests that I was able to go over with profs. They explained what I had done well and what I had not done well. Also, I had several ideas for how to study that I thought would work for me that I didn't try until second semester. I thought that a study group would be helpful, and I thought that flashcards would be helpful. But I was stupid, and I didn't feel comfortable asking into a study group, and I heard negative things about flashcards, so I didn't use them at first.
Once I had the feedback that I needed, from the first semester exams, and I asked in to a study group early, and I had kept up with the syllabus all semester using flashcards, I did as well as I thought I should.
If there's a moral of the story, it's to trust your instincts and don't let stupidity get in your way. Also, I don't even know how one would do this, but if you could actually have someone - a TA or even a privately hired tutor critique a series of practice tests as you take them that would be awesome - there's no reason why you should have to wait until after a set of grades before you know what a good test looks like.

[delusional]

Got all my grades in so I am now officially a rising 2L. Happy to answer any questions still.

If this isn't too forward, approximately what were your grades like, and what firms will you be targeting for EIP?

PM'd about grades. I'll be targeting firms in NY and DC, preferably those that have strong litigation practices. Or at least that is my very rough plan as of now. I'll probably be targeting V20 and then other firms selectively.

And after PMing, you then advertised them to everyone. Congratulations, dude, I don't begrudge you anything.

[thelawschoolproject]

Alright, another rando question: What are your thoughts on owning a car while attending school?

[094320]

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[thelawschoolproject]

If you need a parking space you should rent from me.

This is something that I very well may do. I have a car, but I don't really know what to do with it.