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BigLaw attorneys: what classes do you wish you had taken?

Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2016 9:17 pm
by Chicago_Dog
In law school a lot of my energy goes towards picking classes that sound interesting, fun, or easy.

What classes (if any) do you wish you had taken in law school / classes that you found essential on the job?

Re: BigLaw attorneys: what classes do you wish you had taken?

Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2016 10:58 pm
by TLSModBot
I think a good mix of practice-area classes (Sec Reg, Admin law, Antitrust, White Collar, M&A, etc) are good foundations and potential launching off points for finding what you might be interested in but law school doesn't prepare you for practice so you're not "missing" anything.

Evidence was super helpful for bar prep.

Re: BigLaw attorneys: what classes do you wish you had taken?

Posted: Tue Nov 15, 2016 12:04 am
by banjo
I wish I had taken the pass/fail accounting for lawyers course at my school. Nobody will expect you to have intelligent comments on a company's balance sheet, but it helps to put things in context. I also think it would have been helpful to take a securities course, but I doubt it would have been given me more than a passing familiarity with some of the work I'm doing.

Re: BigLaw attorneys: what classes do you wish you had taken?

Posted: Tue Nov 15, 2016 1:42 am
by TFALAWL
Somewhat related, a district judge outright lectured me on why I should have taken Admin. and fed courts.

For big law, I would say clinic (something land landlord-tenant where you have lots of procedure), advanced legal research, and Admin -- in that order.

Re: BigLaw attorneys: what classes do you wish you had taken?

Posted: Tue Nov 15, 2016 1:45 am
by TFALAWL
banjo wrote:I wish I had taken the pass/fail accounting for lawyers course at my school. Nobody will expect you to have intelligent comments on a company's balance sheet, but it helps to put things in context. I also think it would have been helpful to take a securities course, but I doubt it would have been given me more than a passing familiarity with some of the work I'm doing.
I agree. If you have a particular practice area that interests you, definitely take any related courses (e.g. IP survey, Complex litigation, etc. ).