U. of Florida 2010-2011 Applicants!! Forum

[FeelTheHeat]

But closed book? Ehhh....

[RudyBaylor]

Section 2 / Crim Law B / LRW E
(Being underrepresented is like being underestimated...usually a good thing from my experience)

[AJaKe]

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[Barbie]

Can anyone chime in on Section 1 profs?

[AJaKe]

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[FeelTheHeat]

Can anyone chime in on Section 1 profs?

--ImageRemoved--

[Barbie]

I'm deliberately taking up 2 spaces when I get there at 8:30 so you can't find a spot at 11.

[GatorStudent]

Damn, is Section 3 the gunner section since there are so many of us on TLS?

Wow, that's really strange...there were many of "us" in that section from my class!

[GatorStudent]

A few of us already discussed many of these professors, but I'll add some and rehash some of what I already said re: section professors:

Lidsky--Didn't have her for torts but another class. She's very approachable outside class, and she has a running group that runs on Fridays. One of the nicest professors you'll find, and one of the hardest working, too.

Stinneford--Might be the best professor at UF Law. He was a U.S. Attorney in Chicago, and was Moot Court Final Four participant at Harvard. Not only is he smart, but he likes interacting with students during class and outside of class. You only have to participate once a semester. His exam is tough but fair, and he doesn't hide the ball. He wants people to learn, which you'll learn isn't always the case in law school.

Mashburn--I had her for professional responsibility rather than civil procedure (she's known as "the queen" of p.r.), but she's also known for civil procedure. For civil procedure, she is known for her crazy diagrams, so be prepared. A lot of people really liked her teaching style, but I felt that she didn't explain a lot and wanted people to just figure it out on her own. However, she's a nice lady who is willing to answer questions.

Wolf--He is the editor of the treatise "Powell on Property," which is very well-known. He knows his stuff, but he hides the ball A LOT...so be prepared. Test tips (assuming he teaches the class the same way he did when I took his property class): 1) Many people don't read his treatise and don't do the problems he assigns, but it really helps. He likes open notes/books/whatever for the exam, but most of the test comes from the treatise, NOT from the Dukeminier casebook. 2) At the same time, he puts some questions on the exam that you can ONLY get if you've read the textbook. 3) Also, he makes you go to a lecture series he and his wife sponsor every year, and he puts a question on the exam that isn't too hard if you actually read the materials he assigns for the lecture series. He can be mean to law students, which I didn't like.

Rambo--I had her for legal research and writing and appellate advocacy (she was originally a writing professor). She's VERY good at what she does, but she is known for failing people/scaring them with their first writing assignments. She treats her students as professionals, and she expects them to act accordingly when they hand in assignments (so they better be on-time, well-written, and adhering to instructions).

Flournoy--Had her for administrative law, not property, but I liked her, despite many people saying otherwise. I agree that she can be drone-y, but she likes teaching, and you can learn a lot from her if you listen carefully. She also makes a fair test, and you won't see any curveballs on the exam.

[GatorStudent]

I'm deliberately taking up 2 spaces when I get there at 8:30 so you can't find a spot at 11.

Have fun paying all those parking tickets!

[thewarflamingo]

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[Barbie]

I'm deliberately taking up 2 spaces when I get there at 8:30 so you can't find a spot at 11.

Have fun paying all those parking tickets!

Good thing catching on to jokes isn't a required law school course

[GatorStudent]

I'm deliberately taking up 2 spaces when I get there at 8:30 so you can't find a spot at 11.

Have fun paying all those parking tickets!

Good thing catching on to jokes isn't a required law school course

And I'm joking too!

But on a serious note, UF loves to give tickets. Make sure you're parked within the spaces, and in a valid spot.

Parking has gotten so much better since I was a 1L (wow, that feels so long ago), and it should be even better, since my class is the last class that entered with approximately 400 students.

[Barbie]

Are there specific motorcycle spots? Not sure if this has been answered. I have a car and motorcycle I could drive and I heard there different decals, which is a pain in the butt, are there different spots too?

[GatorStudent]

Do any of the Section 3 professors ban laptops?

I'm pretty sure Lidsky allows laptops, and Wolf definitely allows them. I thnk Stinneford allows them, but I'm not positive--I had him as a 2L. Mashburn does NOT allow laptops.

[GatorStudent]

Are there specific motorcycle spots? Not sure if this has been answered. I have a car and motorcycle I could drive and I heard there different decals, which is a pain in the butt, are there different spots too?

Hmm, that's a good question. I know there is a specific spot/decal for mopeds, but I don't know if motorcycles are also allowed to park there.

[matt4309]

Are there specific motorcycle spots? Not sure if this has been answered. I have a car and motorcycle I could drive and I heard there different decals, which is a pain in the butt, are there different spots too?

Yeah the spots are for mopeds and motorcycles, you just have to have a decal for them. Make sure you park in the lines, ive gotten a ticket for one wheel outside of the box..

[FeelTheHeat]

Do any of the Section 3 professors ban laptops?

I'm pretty sure Lidsky allows laptops, and Wolf definitely allows them. I thnk Stinneford allows them, but I'm not positive--I had him as a 2L. Mashburn does NOT allow laptops.

FFFFFFFF THATTTTTTTT

But seriously, are closed book exams and no laptops as awful as it seems?

[gpjc28]

Section 2 here! Which professors don't allow laptops?

[GatorStudent]

Do any of the Section 3 professors ban laptops?

I'm pretty sure Lidsky allows laptops, and Wolf definitely allows them. I thnk Stinneford allows them, but I'm not positive--I had him as a 2L. Mashburn does NOT allow laptops.

FFFFFFFF THATTTTTTTT

But seriously, are closed book exams and no laptops as awful as it seems?

Re: closed book exams, I'll just repost what I stated a few pages ago: "I'll be honest with you--in law school, having open book tests are not fun. They are often helpful in undergraduate courses, don't get me wrong, but there's too much of a time constraint to find something in the mammoth books. Even more importantly, though, is that often the answer isn't even explicitly in the book, as books tend to be just full of cases and questions without answers (you'll learn soon enough what I mean!). And...open book tests tend to be harder, as the professor often rationalizes that it should be since it's open book. However, open notes/outline exams can help you, since you've written down all the important things in a subject, but for many, it's more of a security blanket than anything else."

As for no laptops...it has its pro and cons. I consistently paid attention to the professor (some don't, as you can get away with just studying supplements/old outlines for many classes--however, note that you can learn a lot about doing well on a exam by learning how the professor will write an exam/what her criteria are), and even I found that laptops are a good distraction when class "devolves" (you'll see what I mean soon enough). At the same time, a con is that it can be too large of a distractor. It does stink not having a laptop, but you normally only have to bear it for one or two subjects. (My first semester, I had three professors with a no-laptop policy!)

[GatorStudent]

Section 2 here! Which professors don't allow laptops?

I think Stinneford allows them, but I had him as a 2L.

Rambo is all about scaring 1L's, and I doubt that she now allows laptops.

Flournoy--She allowed laptops, but I had her as a 3L.

[98234872348]

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[FeelTheHeat]

He/she used to teach torts?

[98234872348]

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[GatorStudent]

Lidsky is teaching Con Law now?

As AJake mentioned, she taught it once before. I was in that class.

Quite a few people did NOT like her as a constitutional law professor, but to be fair to her, it was her first time teaching it. Also, personally, I thought she did a decent job. The test was fair, and there wasn't too much material that you had to know. I highly recommend reading Chemerinsky's treatise on constitutional law, especially if con law is not your cup of tea/you're struggling with it. It's easy to read, and although it's a very large book, Lidsky didn't cover most of it in class, so you don't have to read as much of it as you might think.