Ask a Harvard 1L Questions Forum

[1004LSAT]

Congrats on finishing up exams.
What's the nicest off campus housing/apartment bldg within 2-3 blocks of the school?

[1004LSAT]

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... =2&t=54846

Pink, don't know if you've seen this thread, but wondered if you had any interest in sharing your thoughts....

[PinkTiki]

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... =2&t=54846

Pink, don't know if you've seen this thread, but wondered if you had any interest in sharing your thoughts....

Well, to me one of Harvard's big advantages over Yale is size. I really like that it is one of the bigger law schools. To some people that may be a negative, but I like it because it means whatever you are - you won't be a class token. I think a bigger class size means a lot of different viewpoints, which to me is a rally good thing. Some people might prefer the smaller size, but I went to a huge high school and a big state college and can't imagine being in a class of only 200 or so. As for the which school is funner debate - I haven't gone to YLS, so I don't know what they're like - but there are plenty of parties here and most every Wed - Sat night there is someone going out to a bar. And there were people having people over to watch football in the middle of finals, so I don't think Yale has a big advantage there. People do seem to take finals more seriously here though. If you get into both, just go to which one feels best to you, you'll probably get plenty of job offers out of either.

Congrats on finishing up exams.
What's the nicest off campus housing/apartment bldg within 2-3 blocks of the school?

There are some nice ones on Concord Ave and Garden St, but I don't know the names.

[Objection]

Thanks Tiki!

Have some more questions for whoever, although they're toughies so I may do better emailing someone at HLS:

I'm very interested in the JD/LLM program with Cambridge. I noticed that only 6 2Ls are accepted into the program for their 3L year. This seems to indicate that the program is remarkably competitive. My concern is that if I put all my study-abroad-eggs into the JD/LLM basket, I risk missing out completely on any opportunity to study abroad. Is it considered bad form or detrimental to apply to both the JD/LLM program as well the other exchange programs?

For example, would I be able to, in an effort to "hedge my bets," submit an application for the JD/LLM program in November of my 2L year, and then in February of my 2L year submit an application for one of exchange programs (which would mean I'd do the exchange program in 3L fall if I were not accepted into the JD/LLM program)?

Also, what about studying abroad multiple times? Is it a one-time deal or are there students who study abroad during one semester of their 2L year and also apply to the JD/LLM for their 3L year?

[PinkTiki]

Thanks Tiki!

Have some more questions for whoever, although they're toughies so I may do better emailing someone at HLS:

I'm very interested in the JD/LLM program with Cambridge. I noticed that only 6 2Ls are accepted into the program for their 3L year. This seems to indicate that the program is remarkably competitive. My concern is that if I put all my study-abroad-eggs into the JD/LLM basket, I risk missing out completely on any opportunity to study abroad. Is it considered bad form or detrimental to apply to both the JD/LLM program as well the other exchange programs?

For example, would I be able to, in an effort to "hedge my bets," submit an application for the JD/LLM program in November of my 2L year, and then in February of my 2L year submit an application for one of exchange programs (which would mean I'd do the exchange program in 3L fall if I were not accepted into the JD/LLM program)?

Also, what about studying abroad multiple times? Is it a one-time deal or are there students who study abroad during one semester of their 2L year and also apply to the JD/LLM for their 3L year?

I don't know much about this, you probably should email someone who might know.

[iagolives]

Thanks Tiki!

Have some more questions for whoever, although they're toughies so I may do better emailing someone at HLS:

I'm very interested in the JD/LLM program with Cambridge. I noticed that only 6 2Ls are accepted into the program for their 3L year. This seems to indicate that the program is remarkably competitive. My concern is that if I put all my study-abroad-eggs into the JD/LLM basket, I risk missing out completely on any opportunity to study abroad. Is it considered bad form or detrimental to apply to both the JD/LLM program as well the other exchange programs?

For example, would I be able to, in an effort to "hedge my bets," submit an application for the JD/LLM program in November of my 2L year, and then in February of my 2L year submit an application for one of exchange programs (which would mean I'd do the exchange program in 3L fall if I were not accepted into the JD/LLM program)?

Also, what about studying abroad multiple times? Is it a one-time deal or are there students who study abroad during one semester of their 2L year and also apply to the JD/LLM for their 3L year?

Hey, if you do email someone about this program, could you either PM me or post their response? I'm really interested in that program too, though I have to talk to more people about it because some say that studying abroad hurts your marketability after graduation (though, I can't imagine a degree from Cambridge hurting chances for academia).

[Objection]

Thanks Tiki!

Have some more questions for whoever, although they're toughies so I may do better emailing someone at HLS:

I'm very interested in the JD/LLM program with Cambridge. I noticed that only 6 2Ls are accepted into the program for their 3L year. This seems to indicate that the program is remarkably competitive. My concern is that if I put all my study-abroad-eggs into the JD/LLM basket, I risk missing out completely on any opportunity to study abroad. Is it considered bad form or detrimental to apply to both the JD/LLM program as well the other exchange programs?

For example, would I be able to, in an effort to "hedge my bets," submit an application for the JD/LLM program in November of my 2L year, and then in February of my 2L year submit an application for one of exchange programs (which would mean I'd do the exchange program in 3L fall if I were not accepted into the JD/LLM program)?

Also, what about studying abroad multiple times? Is it a one-time deal or are there students who study abroad during one semester of their 2L year and also apply to the JD/LLM for their 3L year?

Hey, if you do email someone about this program, could you either PM me or post their response? I'm really interested in that program too, though I have to talk to more people about it because some say that studying abroad hurts your marketability after graduation (though, I can't imagine a degree from Cambridge hurting chances for academia).

I'm a little worried about studying abroad hurting post-graduation marketability, as well. However, I do think it would be helpful for some fields that require a lot of travel or have offices overseas (such as consulting, which is something I'm interested in).

It's something I definitely plan to research more, and hopefully I can find someone to put me in touch with students who have gone this route.

[Haribo]

Thanks Tiki!

Have some more questions for whoever, although they're toughies so I may do better emailing someone at HLS:

I'm very interested in the JD/LLM program with Cambridge. I noticed that only 6 2Ls are accepted into the program for their 3L year. This seems to indicate that the program is remarkably competitive. My concern is that if I put all my study-abroad-eggs into the JD/LLM basket, I risk missing out completely on any opportunity to study abroad. Is it considered bad form or detrimental to apply to both the JD/LLM program as well the other exchange programs?

For example, would I be able to, in an effort to "hedge my bets," submit an application for the JD/LLM program in November of my 2L year, and then in February of my 2L year submit an application for one of exchange programs (which would mean I'd do the exchange program in 3L fall if I were not accepted into the JD/LLM program)?

Also, what about studying abroad multiple times? Is it a one-time deal or are there students who study abroad during one semester of their 2L year and also apply to the JD/LLM for their 3L year?

Hey, if you do email someone about this program, could you either PM me or post their response? I'm really interested in that program too, though I have to talk to more people about it because some say that studying abroad hurts your marketability after graduation (though, I can't imagine a degree from Cambridge hurting chances for academia).

I'm a little worried about studying abroad hurting post-graduation marketability, as well. However, I do think it would be helpful for some fields that require a lot of travel or have offices overseas (such as consulting, which is something I'm interested in).

It's something I definitely plan to research more, and hopefully I can find someone to put me in touch with students who have gone this route.

I have many of the same questions, so let me know as well!

(Although I will say that I'm almost certain you can't study abroad your second year, and then do the joint degree your third year...)

Finally, another option to keep in mind is the free period in January where it sounds as though it is very easy to receive a small stipend to do research abroad, so long as your research is approved by a Harvard faculty member - Link here.

[iagolives]

Thanks Haribo! I wasn't aware of the Winter term travel stipend. That would be cool too. I just, I don't know, would LOVE to study at Cambridge if I had the chance. I mean, I love England and it is pretty much the pinnacle (co-pinnacle at least) of English education....

[Objection]

Here is the response...

(If you are reading this Ms. Zucker and would like me to take this down, feel free to email me)

First, congratulations on your admission!

Although there are only six spots for the Cambridge program and the selection process is competitive, we do not receive as many applications as prospective applicants often fear! The Cambridge LLM is a wonderful program and it's a terrific fit for some students, but it requires an adjustment to the normal trajectory of law school that is not appealing to all JDs.

It is not uncommon for a student to indicate interest in semester abroad if s/he is not able to go to Cambridge. Applicants to the Cambridge program are notified by the end of December if they are being recommended to Cambridge. If they are not recommended, they still have plenty of time to apply for semester abroad by the February 15 deadline. If a student is recommended but is not admitted, we would also accept an application for semester abroad and could extend the deadline if circumstances warranted.

It is not possible, however, to participate in more than one of our study abroad programs.

I hope this answers your questions and look forward to meeting you.

I followed up asking about post-grad marketability and if she could put me in touch with an alum who did the program.

I am concerned about the timeline. It's 3.5 years, which might scare some prospective employers (particularly big law) away. Why hire someone who won't be able to work full time or take the bar until almost a year after the standard student (your classmates will be graduating in May 2012 and entering the work force/studying for the bar immediately thereafter, whereas JD/LLM students won't graduate until December 2012 at the earliest).

And this also might complicate the clerkship process. Since our 3L year would typically be 2011/2012 (meaning our clerkship applications to clerk in 2012 would go out Fall 2011), would JD/LLM applicants instead apply for clerkships during Fall 2012 and clerk in 2013?

The standard timeline would be:

1L (2010) summer - do whatever
2L (2011) summer - big law SA
post-grad (2012) - clerkship or full time big law

The JD/LLM timeline...

1L (2010) summer - do whatever
2L (2011) summer - big law SA
3L (2012) summer - ????
3.5L (ends 12/2012) - graduate
post-grad (2013) - clerkship? big law?

I'm worried big law firms will be turned off by that additional summer, which might be exacerbated if you also plan to clerk. Do firms make exceptions for people in that situation and allow them to be an SA for an additional summer? Would you just wait until 3.5L to participate in OCI?

[littleboyblue]

I am concerned about the timeline. It's 3.5 years, which might scare some prospective employers (particularly big law) away. Why hire someone who won't be able to work full time or take the bar until almost a year after the standard student (your classmates will be graduating in May 2012 and entering the work force/studying for the bar immediately thereafter, whereas JD/LLM students won't graduate until December 2012 at the earliest).

This may not be the case anymore (or I could be totally wrong that it ever was the case) but I remember reading a HLS blog written by a women who had a baby during law school and took of a semester off. She finished her credits in December but couldn't technically graduate until May b/c that is the only time students can graduate from HLS. I think she was working for a law firm in Boston but couldn't take the bar yet and maybe got special permission by the state to work on cases (or something like that - I can't really remember). You may want to look into this.

[Kevin '11]

1-if you bring a car, approx how much is a parking space?
2-do you feel as though the 1st year legal writing class is a beneficial component to your education? (versus somewhere like Yale where this is not part of the curriculum)
3-is there a track at the gym? or just regular cardio machines?
4-are the harvard affiliated housing buildings nice / are they close to school? how close?

1 - I don't own a car so I can't be sure, but I hear they're pricey. You'd probably be best off trying to find an apartment that has parking included. But unless you have some kind of special situation (spouse commuting to work, etc.) there's really no reason to bring a car. You can get around with the T just fine, join ZipCar for out of town trips, and take a cab for big shopping trips and other things like that.

2 - LRW is definitely beneficial; I've heard a lot of recent grads say it is actually the most useful class you will take in law school. Employers, in the summer and in your career, are going to want you to be able to do legal research and write a memo. (Also, ask the Yalies to be sure, but I believe they have a writing class also as part of their small group that's pretty similiar to what we have)

3 - There's no track, but there is a big basketball court upstairs that you can run laps around as a close substitute. The cardio machines also have TVs with 50 or so channels on them.

4 - The HRES buildings are very nice. I live in one of the older ones and it's very nice and spacious. Some of my friends live in the newer buildings and don't have as much space as I do, but they do have maybe a few more amenities. Many of the buildings are literally right across the street from the law school, others like mine are about a 5-10 minute walk. Google "Harvard Affiliated Housing" - their website has lots of great pictures and information. Going through HRES will also save you from the hassle of dealing with apartment brokers, etc. if you're moving from across the country.

[Objection]

Students tend to report that the LLM degree, and the attendant realignment of a student's employment, is either an asset or not a factor in obtaining employment. Many employers appreciate the student's extra academic training as well as the fact that s/he has gained an additional summer's worth of work experience.

I've contacted a couple of people who have gone the JD/LLM route to get their first hand accounts.

[iagolives]

Students tend to report that the LLM degree, and the attendant realignment of a student's employment, is either an asset or not a factor in obtaining employment. Many employers appreciate the student's extra academic training as well as the fact that s/he has gained an additional summer's worth of work experience.

I've contacted a couple of people who have gone the JD/LLM route to get their first hand accounts.

Awesome, thanks. As always, I'm impressed with the number of various degreed people you know, lol.

[Objection]

Students tend to report that the LLM degree, and the attendant realignment of a student's employment, is either an asset or not a factor in obtaining employment. Many employers appreciate the student's extra academic training as well as the fact that s/he has gained an additional summer's worth of work experience.

I've contacted a couple of people who have gone the JD/LLM route to get their first hand accounts.

Awesome, thanks. As always, I'm impressed with the number of various degreed people you know, lol.

Ha! I got their email addresses from the woman responding to emails for the study abroad program.

Here is a long response from someone who did it. He gave me permission to post it. I was shocked (and felt kind of bad) that he responded with such a lengthy email, but it is very thorough.

Hello,

Thanks for your message. I am glad you're considering Harvard and the
Cambridge LLM program. I enjoyed it very much, and found it very
worthwhile. I will try to address your concerns about employment and
scheduling -- my basic message is not to worry. I have divided the
discussion up by topic below.


LARGE EMPLOYERS:

I found that the scheduling issue was not a terribly serious problem
for employers, especially large ones. The point to remember with big
firms -- if you are thinking of them -- is that they have dozens and
dozens of lawyers entering and leaving the firm every year and at all
different times of year. If you finish up in a January, the worst
case is that they'd tell you to wait any number of weeks or months
before starting so you can join an incoming cohort, instead of
starting right after the February bar exam date all by yourself. But
a very long delay seems unlikely -- I know that the firm I have an
offer with (Sullivan & Cromwell) will start people in the spring, and
a friend of mine from the Cambridge program at another firm (Davis,
Polk & Wardwell) has a similar option to start early in the year; this
does not seem to be unusual among major firms.

In any event, employers almost never decline to accept a good
candidate just because he or she will start later on account of doing
something worthwhile / educational / interesting. A good example is
when a job candidate takes a year-long judicial clerkship. Because
you haven't started at law school you may not know the specifics of
the hiring-process timing yet, but generally people end up with
permanent job offers at firms or government offices before they are
even sure if they have, or will accept, an offer to clerk with a judge
after law school. Big employers know this, and have well established
policies about deferring already-made job offers so that candidates
can clerk. From all I've heard, firms are willing to do similar
things for Cambridge program participants, and I think major
government offices will be similar.

Basically, to address your question, "Why hire Jeremy and not have him
able to start full time for an extra year when we can hire Jane Doe?",
the firm's answer is something like: "We'll hire Jane Doe to start
now, and Jeremy to start later, so that when next year rolls around we
won't have to go back out and spent time and effort to find a Jane Roe
to fill the new vacancy which we know will open up." You can just
fill a spot in next year's "class" instead of this year's.


A NOTE ABOUT JUDICIAL CLERKSHIPS:

Speaking of clerkships, if you are thinking of doing one of those, the
odds are that you will have to cool your heels for a few months after
graduating in January, because most clerkships run summer-to-summer
and have much less schedule flexibility than firms(because judge's
chambers only have three or four employees at a time, instead of
dozens or hundreds like at the Department of Justice or a big firm).
I'm doing that, and it's okay; use the time for an extended bar trip
in the spring, do some academic work then, or do some odd jobs for the
money (keep your eye on your student loans -- repayments begin six
months after leaving school, which is July if you graduate in January
-- but clerks often file for a hardship forbearance because their
salaries are so low, so you can probably swing it that repayments
won't even begin until your full time job starts). So in my case, I
did the Cambridge program and I'm slated to do a one year clerkship,
and my firm's hiring office barely batted an eyelash -- they just
deferred my start date from October 2008 to October 2010.

Remember also that if you are thinking about clerkships, it is
reasonable to apply in the summer after finishing your Cambridge year.
There is a clerkship application and interview schedule which
generally requires paperwork to be ready in August and interviews to
be held in early September of 3L year. Since a Cambridge participant
does not have a full 3L year left, you can probably get permission to
send out materials early (I did), but it more or less amounts to
interviewing at the beginning of your final fall semester like
everyone else. The advantage is if you have friends from 1L and 2L
who are now ahead of you and have started their clerkships, they can
help guide you through the process. Some judges, especially on the
federal appellate bench, will sometimes hire a candidate for two years
out, instead of hiring at the beginning of 3L for a start date right
after graduation / bar exam. Thus, you might try doing the standard
interview process the August/September before leaving for Cambridge
(be very explicit about your unusual timing in your cover letters to
the judges) and seeing if any judges would be willing to sign you up
that far in advance. I did not try this, but it only costs time,
postage and some pestering to get the Harvard bureaucracy to go along
with it (there is a good chance that they will go along with it,
because it is in Harvard's interest to maximize your clerkship
chances, because that makes Harvard look better), so think about it.


SMALLER EMPLOYERS:

Regarding smaller firms and government offices -- I'm less certain
about how they will treat the Cambridge program exactly. I cannot
imagine that they would hold it against you, especially because they
also deal with people getting clerkships after a job offer is on the
table, and many (as I understand it) offer deferrals until the
clerkship it over, like the big firms do. I could imagine, though,
that they are more likely to rule out a spring start date, and tell
you to take a full year deferral as if you were clerking, forcing you
to wait out the spring. For any given smaller employer, sound out
their policies on clerkships, and use that as a template for figuring
out how to handle the Cambridge schedule. Any small employer big
enough to be hiring at least one new law graduate each year (and
that's not very big, compared to the thousand-lawyer megafirms that
hire dozens or hundreds of lawyers a year) would probably not have
much trouble saying in response to either a clerkship offer or the
Cambridge program "we'll start Jane this year and you next year,
allowing us to take a year off from the recruitment game."


A NOTE ABOUT THE JOB INTERVIEW AND CAMBRIDGE APPLICATION SCHEDULES:

The timing of the hiring process tends to work in your favor, in the
following way. Most employers seeking to recruit HLS students to work
for them full time after graduation (both major firms and major
government offices) will hold on-campus recruiting interviews at the
very beginning of 2L year, which will lead to call-back interviews and
firm offers of 2L summer jobs by around October. Some smaller
employers will not come to campus physically, but will post openings
at OCI during that season. Those summer jobs are the dry-run for
full-time employment, and at the end of the summer each prospect is
evaluated for a full time offer -- traditionally, almost everyone who
behaves himself is given an offer; the summer is just to screen out
the sociopaths and weirdos. The main screening is really done during
the early 2L interviews, when they look hard at your transcripts and
resume. At the same time, if the traditional Cambridge application
deadlines still hold, you won't even begin to file your paperwork,
until sometime in November, and you probably won't know at all of your
chances of admission until at least December/January of your 2L year,
and final confirmation will usually be much later.

Thus, any major firm or government office in which you might want to
work will have interviewed you and put a job offer on the table (at a
cost of time and money to themselves) before you've even taken formal
steps to apply to the Cambridge program. During the actual
interviews, its up to you whether to volunteer the fact that you're
thinking about the program (I did not volunteer this) and/or up to
them to ask if you are thinking of such plans (none of my prospective
employers asked) -- unlike most joint-degree programs, this won't show
up on your transcript or your official paperwork until the end of 2L
year. Once the 2L summer job offers are on the table, the bargaining
advantage is yours: You will likely have several reasonable offers,
and once you formally submit your Cambridge paperwork in November you
can call them all back and tell them that you just applied to this
program, and if you get in the timing with be thus-and-such, and ask
what they are willing to work out with you. During the interview
process, be sure to ask what their clerkship deferral policies are,
and use those as a point of reference. Unless the economy continues
to be very, very bad, you will likely have several very good offers,
and thus if one employer seems hesitant you can just turn to another,
or (if you'd prefer to be with the first one), use the willingness of
other employers as a bargaining chip.

In my case, though, I waited until I was sure that I could go on the
program before broaching the subject with my firm (much later than
November), because they were pretty up-front about being open to
clerkship-type deferrals, so I was not worried about a "my way or the
highway" ultimatum. At the very minimum, I think you should discuss
the program and the timing issues with your prospective employer
before you accept any formal *full time* job offers -- meaning, before
accepting the offer you get at the end of your 2L summer -- though it
is entirely reasonable to discuss this earlier in order to get
explicit assurances. Most employers generally understand that until
you commit to a full time offer, you are still free to shop around,
make your own plans, and decline their offer. Keeping your
cards/plans close to your chest until you choose to discuss something
is acceptable -- it is higher stakes, though, since once you don't
have several open offers they can also reasonably say (though I think
most employers are unlikely to do so, especially if they have a
permissive clerkship policy and don't want to appear mean) "the offer
is for next fall only; take it or leave it" and leave you feeling more
pressured.


SECOND ROUND RECRUITING: THE 3L INTERVIEW PROCESS

Finally, there is a fairly active 3L recruitment system, which
generally consists of 3L participating in the same beginning-of-year
recruitment process that is mainly aimed at 2Ls. This is for the rare
3L who does not get an offer at the end of the summer, and for the
more frequent 3L who has an open offer but decides to look at
different firms or cities because of changed personal circumstances,
dislike of the past summer's firm, or something else. If you do the
Cambridge program, you could probably double-dip in this system. The
English academic year starts pretty late, so you could spend September
in the U.S. contacting and interviewing with prospective employers
(you'd have to disclose the fact you were going to England, in order
to plan interview and summer employment logistics) and probably land a
post-Cambridge summer job which would then turn into a full time job
offer after HLS. A friend of mine in the Cambridge program did a
little bit of this. Finally, you could use your last semester at HLS
to interview yet again -- I'm not sure what kind of early start dates
employers would offer at that point, but at a minimum I'm sure you
could get a job starting in the fall with all the other 3Ls being
hired then too. Remember, too, that your Cambridge LLM degree makes
you a more interesting and marketable candidate, which is helpful in
the long-run.


LAW REVIEW AND JOURNALS:

I did not make law review, but I have good friend who was on it, so I
know a bit about how it works. I know that their system may pose some
difficulties to doing the Cambridge program. At the least, doing
Cambridge may make it impossible to run for and hold a management
position in the law review organization, but you may be able to
accommodate a rank-and-file membership, though you may end up owing
them some labor during the spring after you are officially finished
with HLS. In any event, the law review selection process takes place
after your 1L spring semester is over, so you'll know over the summer
if you're doing it, which is well before you'd apply to Cambridge,
giving you plenty of time to work out the details. Regarding the
other journals -- I participated in two -- their membership structures
and work requirements are much less onerous than the law review, so
while you might not be able to run for a masthead position, you can
still participate and work your way up to a mid-level editor position
by the end of 2L year (and then basically bow-out when you leave the
country), which is a worthwhile experience and a good resume item.


BAR EXAM:

Finally, as I've probably noted before in passing, finishing your HLS
courses in January allows you to sign up for the February bar exam
date in most states -- the other traditional exam date is in July.
Note that HLS will not formally confer winter degrees until March, and
some jurisdictions will not let you sit the exam without the actual
degree, but most allow you to sit as long as you furnish a letter from
the law school stating that you've completed all your course
requirements by the time of the exam. So look up the requirements for
the state(s) in which you'd like to qualify, to see if you can use the
February date for any of them.


SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION:

My one-line summary is: For most employers, the timing of the
Cambridge program should not pose a problem, let alone a serious one.

All the same, do your homework, try to figure out what kinds of jobs
you want to take or are willing to take, what sorts of other
activities you're thinking of doing (journals, clerkships, etc.), and
how you can or should fit all that together with your timing. Be
willing to be flexible, especially with regard to the few months that
you'll have after finishing school in January. The Cambridge program,
with it's odd scheduling, probably creates more opportunities than it
forecloses, but since it is unusual, you will have to think things out
for yourself, and not just rely on the timing of the herd to make sure
you're getting a shot all the opportunities that are really out there.

Write back if you have any follow-up questions about any of these issues.

[sixwings]

Do you guys know any Canadians at HLS?

[FrenchiePatootie]

Whats the weather like in cambridge?

[PinkTiki]

Do you guys know any Canadians at HLS?

Yes, there are some in my section. They love to play hockey on the ice rink.

Whats the weather like in cambridge?

Too cold for me, but I don't know what you're used to. A few days ago, the low was supposedly -1 and there has been tons of snow. It isn't unbearable, but it isn't the kind of weather I like. But I prefer warm weather and am from the southern part of the country.

[FrenchiePatootie]

Whats the weather like in cambridge?

Too cold for me, but I don't know what you're used to. A few days ago, the low was supposedly -1 and there has been tons of snow. It isn't unbearable, but it isn't the kind of weather I like. But I prefer warm weather and am from the southern part of the country. [/quote]

Thanks for the quick reply!
I'm in NV so it's usually very warm here but at the same time, I do miss trees.

But a couple more questions...
Do you have any idea if people from the west coast or SW tend to migrate back after HLS or does a large amt stay on the east coast? Also, do you personally plan on clerking after HLS? (sorry, pretty nosy)

[iagolives]

About the LLM thing (for the sake of everyone's sanity, I didn't quote the response--I hate board clutter), he said it wasn't that big of an issue, but it seemed like, if you actually read into the email, for a lot jobs outside of biglaw it would pose some sort of issue, as well as 3L things like interviews and law reviews. Anyone else looking into the program get this feeling? This email definitely made me more rather than less concerned.

(BTW: planning this far ahead I feel is a necessary illness for us future lawyers, haha)

[Objection]

About the LLM thing (for the sake of everyone's sanity, I didn't quote the response--I hate board clutter), he said it wasn't that big of an issue, but it seemed like, if you actually read into the email, for a lot jobs outside of biglaw it would pose some sort of issue, as well as 3L things like interviews and law reviews. Anyone else looking into the program get this feeling? This email definitely made me more rather than less concerned.

(BTW: planning this far ahead I feel is a necessary illness for us future lawyers, haha)

I didn't get that vibe at all from the email. Would you mind quoting or pointing me to the parts that concerned you?

For the "smaller employers" section, I got the idea that he really didn't know since he went the big law route (Sullivan).

And as for law review...well, if you get on law review, you can stay on it throughout 2L, have it on your resume, and then work out the details of your Cambridge trip later. Worst comes to worst, you bow out of law review 3L year and do Cambridge. You still have it on your resume (since you would have been on it for 2L year). Might not make editor, but what are the odds of that happening anyway?

And he seemed to imply that they're willing to give you a leave of absence sort of thing, as long as you continue to work for them during your 3.5L year.

[iagolives]

well, to be fair, I was mostly talking about the clerkships section. I didn't know how to take "cool your heels". It would seem to me as a judge hiring clerks to look at a resume and see that, for the past few months, my potential clerk has just been traveling or doing odd jobs would not be a positive thing.

[Kevin '11]

...

[PinkTiki]

But a couple more questions...
Do you have any idea if people from the west coast or SW tend to migrate back after HLS or does a large amt stay on the east coast? Also, do you personally plan on clerking after HLS? (sorry, pretty nosy)

A lot of people seem to wind up going to NY, but a lot also go back to where they're from if they want. I plan on moving back to somewhere warmer...

I'm not sure about if I'm going to clerk or not, some of that will probably depend on my grades...

[lawschoolorbust]

[
I'm in NV so it's usually very warm here but at the same time, I do miss trees.

What part of NV? It seems there are not a lot of NV students aiming for top law schools per lawschoolnumbers. I feel like I'm all alone! lol