Law Students

What I’ve Learned About Law School (Or At Least Cal Western) Thus Far (1L Recap) (4/12/2008).

By Steve Pirates

Well, 1L year is over (I don?t count finals as part of the year). Law school was in many ways exactly what I was hoping it would be, but in other ways very different from what I was expecting. All in all, I?m really glad that I chose California Western. For those of you who are thinking about applying this next cycle, or who have decided on Cal Western, I?ll share some of my experiences. For those of you who are in law school, tell me how your experiences jibed with mine. I?m really curious to see how different the atmosphere is from one school to another.

When I started law school, I decided to take the Summer Enrichment Program. Part of it was an eagerness to start law school, and part of it was based on everyone telling me that the class was really helpful. I found it to be really useful. I think the best part of it was meeting people in other sections. It was surprising to me how separated the sections were. I feel that being in Summer Enrichment helped me meet people that I would never have met otherwise. I met people in other sections, and through them met more people in those sections. I also met people in my own section early, so on the first day I already had a pretty good idea of people that would be my friends. Learning how to brief and outline really helped as well. Being able to spend the first semester of law school learning about the classes, and not having to ?learn how to go to law school? was beneficial. I think it helped my grades.

First semester was interesting. The material was not quite as difficult as I had expected. Don?t get me wrong, it was hard. But, based on talking to some people and reading One L I was expecting?. more? I dunno, it just wasn?t quite as hard as I thought. Finals on the other hand were brutal. The application of the material to complex fact patterns was really hard. In retrospect, I should have spent more time taking practice tests. So, for your soon to be 1Ls? do that. Track down old practice tests and do them. Don?t just read the answer keys, actually do the tests. The tests weren?t so much ?difficult? as they were ?comprehensive?, time is a factor. With half an hour more on each test I would have done better. Rushing is not fun. I think that actually doing the tests in advance will help you speed up. So, don?t worry so much about the material killing you. But do take the time to try and apply it. There are a lot of resources that will give you little quizzes and explain things. I recommend them. Glannon for instance really helped me apply Civ Pro II throughout the year.

I was surprised first semester by the cliquishness of some people. Not everyone, just some. I guess in a way that law school is a lot like going back to high school. You have all of your classes with the same people again, and you spend all of your time socializing with the same people. It made me a little sad to see that even after graduating college, the old 5th grade habits stuck around. The ?pretty girls? sat next to one another in each class. The ?cool guys? sat next to one another in each class. The ?front row kids? were probably the same ?front row kids? from high school. And I think that it made for insta-cliques. BUT, I found that each and every single person in my section was really approachable if you made the effort. I think that people as a general rule are kind of insecure in new situations, and tend to group up based on outward visual cues. But, much like kindergarten, if you go up and just talk to people, you?ll often find a new friend pretty quickly. So my advice would be to talk to people early. Don?t be afraid to talk to people that don?t look like you. Think about it, everyone in law school is a college graduate. And everyone in law school is interested in the law. So you already have two things in common right there. In the course of two semesters I think I made at the very least positive acquaintances with nearly the entire class. At least I hope so? I liked them anyhow.

Balance is the key to law school success. Maybe other people think differently, but I gotta tell you, I?m happy with how things went. I didn?t study as much as I ?could have?, and I probably didn?t do as well first semester as I ?could have?. But, I did well enough for what I wanted to do. And I did it without having any major freakouts. I did it while engaged to a gorgeous and awesome fiance. I did it while taking enough time to stay the same guy I was before law school. Don?t lose yourself. Go to the beach. Go to Balboa Park, the Zoo, Sea World. Have friends. Fall in love. BUT, don?t overdo the ?social? side of life either. Several of the people who left after the first round of grades were the people who were a bit notorious for going out all the time. They were cool people, and were completely capable of doing well? they just didn?t have the right balance.

The faculty were more accessible than I thought they would be. At least at Cal Western, I?ve noticed that 90% of the faculty have explicit open door policies, and the other 10% have generous office hours and e-mail policies. Take advantage of it. I?ve noticed that my best classes were the ones where I was in office hours frequently. You get to know your professors better that way, they?ll often tell you what they look for in exams, and you?ll make a new friend. And in the legal profession, it?s who you know.

I?ve found that grades are a subject that inspires a lot of anxiety. Apparently the proper etiquette is to just not talk about them. That seems to be the prevailing sentiment as far as I can tell. I dunno, talking about grades doesn?t bother me, and I?ve met plenty of people who aren?t bothered by grade discussions either. I guess discretion is the better part of valor here. I think the real trick is to just make sure that whatever you say or do, try to not imply superiority or inferiority. I don?t know if it?s because everyone in law school is generally competitively minded, or if it?s because we?re all a little insecure and neurotic, but there you have it. My own theory is that most people in law school are used to doing very very well academically. So finishing outside of the Top Whatever is a foreign feeling. But really, as near as I can tell, as long as you?ve set realistic goals for yourself, and work hard, everyone turns out ok. All of my friends got internships or paying jobs this summer, regardless of their first semester grades. From my friend who finished first overall, to my friend who finished one point ahead of the curve, everyone is on track to be gainfully employed.

Setting goals is important. You know how when you applied to college and law school you had ?reach, fit, and safety? schools? Well, set goals for yourself accordingly. My goals are to finish first in one class, make law review, win an oral competition, make finals at an oral competition, make deans list, keep my scholarship, get an internship, get a job. So far I?m on course to manage most of my goals. I think that if you set goals that are too high, then you?ll wind up disappointed. If you set goals too low, then you might not achieve your full potential. If you only set goals that are in the middle then it?s just par for the course. I?ve set goals that I feel I ?need? to get in order to be ?ok with things?, goals that will make me ?happy? to get, and goals that will make me ?thrilled? to achieve. So far, I?m pretty happy with things. But there are enough goals I haven?t met to keep me from getting too self-satisfied and lazy. And I think that?s good.

The Curve is not nearly as scary as the myth of the Curve. My class lost a few people after first semester who felt they wouldn?t be able to succeed the second semester, but not many. And frankly, most of the ones who left were the ones who partied after class, and IMed and Facebook?d all class. There were a few people who after first semester were closer to the curve than they would have liked ot have been, but I?ve seen those same people work a lot harder, and smarter, during second semester. I would be shocked to find they fell short. The supposed Curve at Cal Western allegedly flunks out a third (1/3) of 1Ls. That?s simply not true. The 1L attrition number is right around 10%. And don?t forget that some people transfer out of here too. So, to you prospective students? be aware of the Curve. Don?t slack. It does exist. But, if you work hard and are diligent in finding out what you need to do to succeed (and the Professors WILL tell you), you?ll be fine. So don?t stress.

The only other thing I would really recommend for entering 1Ls is to read a few books the summer before law school:
Getting To Maybe and How To Write A Legal Memo will really help you understand what you?re going to be graded on. It?s worthwhile to read them in advance.

The Glannon Guide to Civil Procedure. Probably the single most helpful study aide, for the most complex course you?ll take. If I could change one thing about my law school preparation I would have bought this book before school started and would have started reading it before school. Civ Pro was by far the most challenging course for me. I did ok in it, but I think if I had read the supplement earlier I would have had a better foundation for the Casebook, and would have done better.

Civ Pro is the one class that you have no idea where it comes from. Property, Contracts, Criminal Law, Torts, you?re familiar with them. You?ve rented, you?ve bought things, you?ve signed leases, you?ve learned that punching people can get you sued or prosecuted. You understand that not paying attention and wrecking your car is bad. You have some basis to get perspective in all of these classes.

Subject Matter Jurisdiction? Federal Rules of Civil Procedure? Yeah, you don?t know anything about that. So, if you?re a big ol? nerd like me, it might be helpful to spend some time reading this book before you start Civ Pro. Not exhaustively, not cover to cover, just enough to get some feel for the course.

Lastly: Above all, have a plan, but be flexible. The people with no plans often seem to be adrift. If you don?t know where you?re going, you won?t know how to get there. The people who have perfect plans with no flexibility often aren?t much better. If you have your destination AND the exact path mapped out, what happens when life throws you a curveball?

My strategy? Have a few plans, and a few roadmaps. For instance, my plan coming in was to get married my first summer, and study abroad my second. But my other plan was to work both summers. The first one isn?t happening, but that?s ok, because I had another plan to switch to easily. I?ve looked over the course catalog and figured out which classes I?m interested in. I have a few ?class plans? printed out with different classes in different orders, so if I find one area of law winds up interesting me more than what I currently like? well, I?m flexible. But at the same time, I am pursuing internships and classes in a cohesive area of concentration to make myself attractive to employers.

Remember, prior proper planning prevents piss poor performance.

Hope this gives some of you a better perspective on what you might expect your first year. Current students, please tell me how your first year went, and your insights.

Full post as published by Jolly Lawger on April 18, 2009 (boomark / email).