Michigan Law School C/O 2019 Applicants (2015-16) Forum

basedvulpes · Post by **basedvulpes** » Sat Sep 19, 2015 8:44 pm

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gobears!! · Post by **gobears!!** » Mon Sep 21, 2015 7:11 pm

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slippin_jimmy · Post by **slippin_jimmy** » Tue Sep 22, 2015 3:04 pm

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Vexed · Post by **Vexed** » Tue Sep 22, 2015 7:48 pm

Just a heads up, current students got an email about curriculum changes that will be affecting incoming students this cycle onward:

"For students who matriculate in 2016-17 or after:
Constitutional Law - Constitutional Law will be a required course in the 1L year.
Property - Property will be an elective course and can be taken any time after the first semester.
International or Comparative Law Distribution Requirement - Students will choose from a list of 2-, 3-, or 4-credit international and comparative law course electives to be taken anytime after the first semester. Such course offerings will include, but are not limited to, Transnational Law.
Statutory or Regulatory Course Distribution Requirement - LegReg will no longer be a required course. Students will choose from a list of 3- or 4-credit statutory or regulatory course electives to be taken anytime after the first semester. Such course offerings will include, but are not limited to, Legislation and Regulation.
Mandatory Second-Semester 1L Elective - Students will choose from among a wide range of 3- or 4-credit elective classes that are available in the course schedule. I anticipate that many students will use this elective to take Property or satisfy either the International or Comparative Law Distribution Requirement or the Statutory or Regulatory Course Distribution Requirement, but that decision will rest with the student.
Experiential Learning - Pursuant to a new ABA rule, all law students will be required to take 6 credits of experiential learning prior to graduating. Four of those credits will be earned in the Legal Practice Program.
Professional Responsibility - Pursuant to a new ABA rule, all law students will be required to take at least 2 credits from a law school course dedicated to ethics."

TheodoreKGB · Post by **TheodoreKGB** » Tue Sep 22, 2015 8:14 pm

TheodoreKGB · Post by **TheodoreKGB** » Tue Sep 22, 2015 8:20 pm

urbanist11 · Post by **urbanist11** » Tue Sep 22, 2015 8:21 pm

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benwyatt · Post by **benwyatt** » Tue Sep 22, 2015 8:24 pm

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TheodoreKGB · Post by **TheodoreKGB** » Tue Sep 22, 2015 8:29 pm

gobears!! · Post by **gobears!!** » Tue Sep 22, 2015 8:59 pm

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urbanist11 · Post by **urbanist11** » Tue Sep 22, 2015 10:07 pm

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Vexed · Post by **Vexed** » Wed Sep 23, 2015 3:37 am

TheodoreKGB wrote:Thanks a lot for that, Vexed! That's some pretty good inside info.

Care to share your thoughts/experiences so far on UM Law?

Generally pretty happy here. Feels like just about everyone here is genuinely happy on a daily basis, which I think stems from a combination of Ann Arbor, the faculty, and in part due to how admissions presents itself and the type of people that attracts.

I know the general attitude on TLS towards Michigan is relatively negative lately, so I'm happy to answer any specific questions anyone might have, either here or via PM if preferred for some reason. We're at the tail end of OCI season so I've got sort of a general feel for how this year's class did in that regard.

urbanist11 · Post by **urbanist11** » Wed Sep 23, 2015 9:49 am

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alpha kenny body · Post by **alpha kenny body** » Wed Sep 23, 2015 10:51 am

benwyatt wrote:
urbanist11 wrote:
TheodoreKGB wrote:
gobears!! wrote:I like that every time I type "Michigan c/o 2019" into Google to get to this thread the Wolverine State Brewing Co. pops up.

Edit: It is part of my bookmark collection. I'm just clearly inefficient.
If you haven't tried any yet, get your hands on some Bell's. Two Hearted Ale quite possibly could be the best IPA on earth.
I'm going to say this in this nicest way possible (no blasting intended) - if you haven't had two hearted ale you've probably been living under a rock/only drink miller/bud/coors
Cosigned

Oberon is great as well. Also, New Holland Brewery in Holland, Michigan is dope AF.

WhiteHouse · Post by **WhiteHouse** » Thu Sep 24, 2015 11:39 am

Just went complete as of today! I guess it takes about another month before we start hearing back though

gobears!! · Post by **gobears!!** » Thu Sep 24, 2015 12:12 pm

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basedvulpes · Post by **basedvulpes** » Thu Sep 24, 2015 12:37 pm

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gobears!! · Post by **gobears!!** » Thu Sep 24, 2015 12:39 pm

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basedvulpes · Post by **basedvulpes** » Thu Sep 24, 2015 12:42 pm

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gobears!! · Post by **gobears!!** » Thu Sep 24, 2015 12:43 pm

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HP5450 · Post by **HP5450** » Thu Sep 24, 2015 8:20 pm

urbanist11 wrote:
Vexed wrote:Generally pretty happy here. Feels like just about everyone here is genuinely happy on a daily basis, which I think stems from a combination of Ann Arbor, the faculty, and in part due to how admissions presents itself and the type of people that attracts.

I know the general attitude on TLS towards Michigan is relatively negative lately, so I'm happy to answer any specific questions anyone might have, either here or via PM if preferred for some reason. We're at the tail end of OCI season so I've got sort of a general feel for how this year's class did in that regard.
Thanks for fielding questions!
1) What schools were you considering and why did you choose Michigan?
2) Why is TLS harsh on Michigan? Just general loss of "preftige" compared to the boomer generation? Are any of the TLS critiques things that you have noticed to be accurate?
3) Michigan's biglaw lags a slight bit compared to some of its peers. To what extent do you think this is self-selecting out of biglaw, and to what extent is it that Michigan attracts students with different goals?
4) What don't you like about being at Michigan? Are these general law school things or specifically related to Michigan?

Thank you! Sorry for bombarding you with questions.

I'm obviously not the same Mich. Law student, but I will chime in. Currently a 3L and have greatly enjoyed/am enjoying my time here.

1) What schools were you considering and why did you choose Michigan?
I was thinking about Michigan, Northwestern, Penn, Georgetown, and Cornell. The biggest factor in choosing Michigan was relative cost, but in retrospect, I would have been happy to pay more to come to Michigan. Things I didn't appreciate at the time that have made a difference include the comparative cohesiveness of the student body. This is something of a cliche, but the reality is that there's a big difference between going to school in a city where people live far apart and branch out socially and going to school in a large town where most law students in the same class know each other very well, care to be thought of well, and pretty much live their social lives among other law students. There's obviously a downside to that, but I really like the vast majority of my classmates, and I'm happy to have them as great friends as well. The difference becomes apparent when you do callbacks. There will be Harvard and Columbia students interviewing with the same firms you are, and they've somehow never met and vaguely recognize their classmates. That's almost unimaginable to me. I also really like Ann Arbor and going to the sports games--not that you should make a law school decision based on that, but it's pretty cool to be part of--especially if you haven't had a power conference sports experience as an undergrad.

2) Why is TLS harsh on Michigan? Just general loss of "preftige" compared to the boomer generation? Are any of the TLS critiques things that you have noticed to be accurate?
TLS is harsh because there were years when the class size jumped to 400 and the jobs numbers weren't as good at Michigan as at Penn, Cornell, Columbia, or NYU. Largely this problem has been fixed and the numbers are have corrected themselves, but because you get jobs as a 1L but the data doesn't reflect what's happened for 2 1/2 years, people think we're living in a job market environment here that's a lot worse than reality. And yes, there's also the lay prestige thing and a failure to understand that obviously the New York schools do "better" in big law employment. That's because people who go to school in New York probably want to live in New York. And it's about five times easier to get a job in New York as a below median student than in DC, Chicago, Boston, or San Fran.

3) Michigan's biglaw lags a slight bit compared to some of its peers. To what extent do you think this is self-selecting out of biglaw, and to what extent is it that Michigan attracts students with different goals?
See above. Also the class of 2016 did a ton better than the class of 2015, which did a lot better than the class of 2014, but the data doesn't reflect that yet. There's a good bit of selection out. Michigan has always pitched itself as a public interest, public law school. That isn't changing. However, there were years that were worse for Michigan than they should have been, and the school took the steps it needed too--bringing the grade curve closer in line with peer schools and lowering the class size.

4) What don't you like about being at Michigan? Are these general law school things or specifically related to Michigan?
Parking sucks, though most people don't drive around A2. Winter is rough. Transnational Law was a shit class that the school made you take. Although they fixed that problem (thank God). Law school can be a draining experience, especially as a 1L, but that's got nothing to do with Michigan; it's just that you're stuck in a curve with really smart people. Everyone here could have been a straight-A college student if that's what they had devoted themselves to in undergrad, and now you're in law school and 80 percent of the class is on your level.

urbanist11 · Post by **urbanist11** » Fri Sep 25, 2015 8:37 am

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The Abyss · Post by **The Abyss** » Fri Sep 25, 2015 11:37 pm

gobears!! wrote:I like that every time I type "Michigan c/o 2019" into Google to get to this thread the Wolverine State Brewing Co. pops up.

Edit: It is part of my bookmark collection. I'm just clearly inefficient.

Wolverine State Brewing is an interesting spot. They only do lagers, but they do (or did) offer a free shuttle to the Big House on gamedays.

zty · Post by **zty** » Sat Sep 26, 2015 10:52 am

Just checked and it is complete. Any one else?

WhiteHouse · Post by **WhiteHouse** » Sat Sep 26, 2015 11:15 am

zty wrote:Just checked and it is complete. Any one else?

Gobears!! and I are