Harvard Law School Class of 2018 Forum

[cecily2015]

Any chance books change between now and class starting? Was gonna go ahead and get mine, but don't want to get shafted. (This is something my undergrad profs would do sometimes).

I've never heard of that happening. A lot of these professors have used the same book for years (esp. Torts and Property). For Civ Pro it's usually the same casebook but the newer edition since the rules are constantly changing. (Or a course packet from the professors who actually care about students.)

dont have a casebook posted for civpro, crossing my fingers i get a course packet

Professors Hubbard and Cohen will provide course packets. Cohen always does and I emailed Hubbard before I listed him without any.

does that mean you don't need to purchase any books or Cohen's course? Or you still need to buy the required one? Also great many thanks for the work on Dope!!

[TripTrip]

Any chance books change between now and class starting? Was gonna go ahead and get mine, but don't want to get shafted. (This is something my undergrad profs would do sometimes).

I've never heard of that happening. A lot of these professors have used the same book for years (esp. Torts and Property). For Civ Pro it's usually the same casebook but the newer edition since the rules are constantly changing. (Or a course packet from the professors who actually care about students.)

dont have a casebook posted for civpro, crossing my fingers i get a course packet

Professors Hubbard and Cohen will provide course packets. Cohen always does and I emailed Hubbard before I listed him without any.

does that mean you don't need to purchase any books or Cohen's course? Or you still need to buy the required one? Also great many thanks for the work on Dope!!

Ah, it looks life Prof. Cohen is changing it up this year. The book listed on Dope is the one he seems to be requiring.

Weird.

[ChemEng1642]

omg in Section 1's Civ Pro class 25% of your grade is "quality of cold calls"

[TripTrip]

omg in Section 1's Civ Pro class 25% of your grade is "quality of cold calls"

I would be very surprised if that ended up being the case. HLS profs aren't supposed to grade class participation in 1L courses.

[LawBron James]

omg in Section 1's Civ Pro class 25% of your grade is "quality of cold calls"

Man, reading through that Syllabus is throwing me off. It's knocked into your head here that all that matters is the exams; I didn't expect all these extra assignments.

[Kobaine51]

omg in Section 1's Civ Pro class 25% of your grade is "quality of cold calls"

Man, reading through that Syllabus is throwing me off. It's knocked into your head here that all that matters is the exams; I didn't expect all these extra assignments.

For real, I was not prepared for the exam to only be 50% of the grade. Kinda freakin me out.

[ChemEng1642]

omg in Section 1's Civ Pro class 25% of your grade is "quality of cold calls"

Man, reading through that Syllabus is throwing me off. It's knocked into your head here that all that matters is the exams; I didn't expect all these extra assignments.

Oh yeah this too

[blueberrycrumble]

omg in Section 1's Civ Pro class 25% of your grade is "quality of cold calls"

Man, reading through that Syllabus is throwing me off. It's knocked into your head here that all that matters is the exams; I didn't expect all these extra assignments.

For real, I was not prepared for the exam to only be 50% of the grade. Kinda freakin me out.

What kind of extra assignments do you have?
My section still only has 1 syllabus........

[radio1nowhere]

Speaking of grades, the only syllabus I have up doesn't mention any kind of grading system whatsoever. Is that common?

[S.Lee2018]

omg in Section 1's Civ Pro class 25% of your grade is "quality of cold calls"

I would be very surprised if that ended up being the case. HLS profs aren't supposed to grade class participation in 1L courses.

Hooray! Otherwise we have a lot more things to worry as the final only accounts for 50% of the grade (what?!) ...

[TripTrip]

Speaking of grades, the only syllabus I have up doesn't mention any kind of grading system whatsoever. Is that common?

Yes, because by default in 1L courses the exam is 100% of the grade.

[crazyhazy]

Just got to Boston and want to move into my aptttttt..... where are people staying in the interim? The Motel 6 last night was killer.

[Hat Trick]

What's the deal with Cable TV in the dormitories? Today's e-mail with move-in instructions implied that we have to contact Comcast ourselves to set it up. Does anybody know how much it costs? Thanks.

[snoopdogg]

Hey ya'll -- 2L here, just wanted to spread the word about a barbecue that the Democrats Club is hosting on labor day.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1004887782889954/

We'd love to see some 1Ls there if you're interested in getting involved this year!

[Mack.Hambleton]

Hey ya'll -- 2L here, just wanted to spread the word about a barbecue that the Democrats Club is hosting on labor day.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1004887782889954/

We'd love to see some 1Ls there if you're interested in getting involved this year!

Are Bernie shirts required for entry

[thequeen]

Hey everyone, joining in after just being accepted from the waitlist. Super stoked about coming to Harvard even though it's so late in the game haha.

Worried about securing housing. I definitely want something within a 15 minute walk of HLS, but that's about my only requirement - pretty flexible. Is anyone looking for a suitemate/apartmentmate? Definitely PM me!

[Mack.Hambleton]

Hey everyone, joining in after just being accepted from the waitlist. Super stoked about coming to Harvard even though it's so late in the game haha.

Worried about securing housing. I definitely want something within a 15 minute walk of HLS, but that's about my only requirement - pretty flexible. Is anyone looking for a suitemate/apartmentmate? Definitely PM me!

Look on the Facebook page (as well as Harvard housing fb page) and craigslist

[Indifference]

Hey everyone, joining in after just being accepted from the waitlist. Super stoked about coming to Harvard even though it's so late in the game haha.

Worried about securing housing. I definitely want something within a 15 minute walk of HLS, but that's about my only requirement - pretty flexible. Is anyone looking for a suitemate/apartmentmate? Definitely PM me!

What Mack said. Also congrats and welcome! Section?

[MnM22]

Congratulations on admission, everyone!

Law school can be intimidating –-especially if you come from a low-income background, are a first-generation college graduate, or have a disability. Supero Law Students Association is hosting a New L Orientation to help students from these backgrounds succeed in law school. The Orientation is open to everyone, but we would really like students from these backgrounds to come. There will be ice cream!

RSVP here: http://[link redacted]/forms/DKWVDdHM1F

[yomisterd]

Hey ya'll -- 2L here, just wanted to spread the word about a barbecue that the Democrats Club is hosting on labor day.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1004887782889954/

We'd love to see some 1Ls there if you're interested in getting involved this year!

Are Bernie shirts required for entry

i'll be there in my feel the bern v neck

[S.Lee2018]

omg in Section 1's Civ Pro class 25% of your grade is "quality of cold calls"

I would be very surprised if that ended up being the case. HLS profs aren't supposed to grade class participation in 1L courses.

May I know where this rule locates? I glanced over the Handbook of Academic Policies, but didn't find anything like this.

[Mack.Hambleton]

omg in Section 1's Civ Pro class 25% of your grade is "quality of cold calls"

How did I miss this lmao is this true

[TripTrip]

omg in Section 1's Civ Pro class 25% of your grade is "quality of cold calls"

I would be very surprised if that ended up being the case. HLS profs aren't supposed to grade class participation in 1L courses.

May I know where this rule locates? I glanced over the Handbook of Academic Policies, but didn't find anything like this.

It would be nice if these types of rules were documented publicly. The best we have are private conversations with professors who divulged the types of standards they are held to.

We know there is a recommended curve for classes over 30 students (this means LPs) and that this curve is more strictly enforced during 1L. We also know that professors giving an exam generally must engage in blind grading, which is why you have a unique exam ID every term and are specifically disallowed from indicating on your exam who you are. There are exceptions to blind grading, most obviously when you write a paper for a class instead of taking an exam.

In classes over 60 students (even in 2L and 3L) professors don't grade participation because, quite simply, how the hell do you keep track of the participation of that many students? You can read about how this was a big issue five years ago. General consensus is they've clamped down on participation grading a bit since that fiasco. But, as mentioned above, we don't know for sure.

A lot of visiting professors for 1L classes like to say they grade participation to frighten students into participating. It's a common visiting theme. But you probably don't have any tenured professors telling students they grade cold calls when they don't because they're figured out it's just a mean thing to do. (And lying to students isn't a good way to establish credibility.)

In other words, I have nothing to reference. It's just conventional understanding. It could be wrong. It probably shouldn't affect how you prepare for class either way.

[Mack.Hambleton]

[

Do you know what percentage of of the class in 1L courses gets an LP?

[TripTrip]

[

Do you know what percentage of of the class in 1L courses gets an LP?

Between 0% and 8%.