- Meet as many people as possible during the first month of school. You will meet wankers and wingnuts alike, but there are a fair amount of people who are now my "friends" that really rubbed me the wrong way when I first met them. Everyone shuts down the "make friends" thing after the first couple months. Friendly does not = cheeseball. Don't schmooze b/c you want to get into politics in a few years.
- DO NOT DATE ANYONE IN YOUR CLASS! All the 2 and 3Ls know there are exceptions, but they are few and far between. The cost-benefit analysis leads me to believe that the risk of a relationship totally blowing up in your face is not worth the benefit of seeing someone everyday, all day.
- Do not start outlining too early. Trust me. I ran into a family friend who finished at the top of his class at Michigan Law School before school started, he told me to do enough work to go to class, and kick it up a notch the last three weeks of class. I didn't believe him, started studying six weeks before the end of class, and hit a wall in the middle of exams. Not only did I hit a wall, I never could remember what I outlined/reviewed six weeks before, so all the work I did at the beginning of my "cram period" was completely worthless.
- Write down your goals, aspirations, beliefs and thoughts on law, and priorities in life at the beginning of school. Revisit this letter after your first year, or whenever you feel it necessary. I still remember when Professor Mueller asked us if we thought a case was decided correctly or not during class in April. Nearly everyone raised their hand, indicating they agreed with the result. Mueller's response: "I bet everyone would've disagreed on their first day of law school." He was right. The point: we had all changed. We discounted "fairness" in favor of "judicial efficiency," something that layman find unnerving and repulsive.
- Ditch class to do something fun at least once. I will always remember finishing my brief for Appellate Advocacy a day before it was due, turning it in and skipping Civ Pro to go skiing at Vail with one of my classmates. It was one of the best days of my life. We spent half the day making fun of all of our classmates sitting in class while we tore up 15" of fresh snow. In the long run, I think it helped me stay focused while others burned out towards the end of the semester.
- Similarly, remember that law school is a marathon, not a sprint! You don't get points for reading every page on the first day of class.
- Notwithstanding #6, study the way you've always studied. You've been admitted into law school for a reason. You might need to tweak a few things, but I wouldn't suggest completely changing everything just because everyone else seems to be doing the same thing. At least one person in my class' top 10% doesn't outline. I know the #1 person in the 2005 class didn't either.
- Avoid the 1L fads. Throughout the year there are certain topics that 1Ls obsess over: how to outline, closed and open memos for Legal Writing, how to study, when to start preparing for exams, fall semester grades, jobs, interviews, etc.. Be real. Realize that everything's relative. I freaked out about bombing my Torts exam, but felt silly afterwards because I remembered some of the real problems I saw people face in India, Vietnam or some other developing country. There are billions (yes, billions!) of people who only wish they had our problems. That may be cliche, but its true and most 1Ls lapse into a warped perspective where stupid things become life and death.
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
Bolder on 1L Year, Part I
The time is quickly approaching when the 1Ls will start moving into Boulder and gearing up for the beginning of school. Madisonian Theory already outlined a few suggestions for incoming law students. With that in mind, let me offer my first set of suggestions:
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4 comments:
1. If you are going to listen to u. of chicago law, listen only to point number two, as points one and three are symptomatic of the dysfunctional behavior found in top-ten types. His/her choice of handle says it all.
2. Read Planet Law School, a book penned under the pseudonym "Atticus Falcon." It gave me tremendous insight into the law school game, but I caution that it should be read with a healthy helping of salt grains.
3. Don't be competitive. It's annoying. I know I do it sometimes, and I find it an annoying personality trait in myself.
4. Be extremely selective with what activities you get involved in. If it's not something even tangentially related to your chosen career direction, do not sign up, even if the person running the student organization is hot and you're looking to hook up. You just don't have time.
5. Identify the "smart" tutors and learn from them. These folks are a hidden gem, and can be a huge help.
6. As a certain maligned property professor once advised me, write exams like you're explaining the law to your mother.
7. Answer every question on the exam.
8. Don't get pissy with the "center squares." This refers to the people who always raise their hands in class and find themselves in the center of the law school bingo grid. True, some are annoying, but you'll eventually learn something from them, and they're just keeping the heat off of the rest of us.
9. If you're going to write a semi-anonymous blog about your experiences at CU Law, reveal your identity to only a select few that you can trust.
10. Don't let your love life suffer. Studies have shown an inverse correlation between the level of academic achievement and the frequency of sexual intimacy. I've been told that several good boot-knockings per week with someone you love does wonders for the headaches.
my advice:
(1) don't overthink this. law school is not your life. it is a part of your life. "gaming" and other such law student activities are clearly not necessary for success.
(2) have a support system ready because you'll need it in that first semester. it's not that bad--it's just different. i almost quit law school after i received my grades back from the first semester. it was harsh. but remember that you're in a high quality school with very smart people. it's okay to not be the best. i told my husband that he should have had his name on my diploma too. it's amazing how much other people can help you put things in perspective.
(3) find your own system for studying and don't let people talk you out of it. i got harassed a lot for my system but it worked. do your own thing.
(4) find people who are on the same page as you. the people i hung out with were also somewhat detached from the law school scene. they kept me sane.
(5) try not to worry. you might feel overwhelmed but it's not as bad as it seems at first.
and, for the record hakim, not all individuals in the top 10 are dysfunctional.
I sincerely hope that my first impulse that u. of chicago law is a satire on condescending law students is correct.....
On a more direct point, I totally agree with Campos on signing up for BARB/BRI early.
u. of chicago: you're for real? Impressive ego, I must say.
I suggest you read Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh.
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