Law School

[skylark]

Originally Posted by Kevin

Also, for those 1L classes, if you have CALI, USE IT!

I second any recommendation for CALI, especially for multiple choice exams. In particular, the personal income and business tax sections are SO helpful.

[Kevin]

Just take your MPRE right after your PR class.

Everything should be okay.

[GeekyPenguin]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8ABhatAfsA

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by GeekyPenguin

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8ABhatAfsA

LOL. While my first grader has been (seriously) talking about mounting a production of "Elementary School Musical," my less earnest fourth grader has been joking about what "College Musical" and "Law School Musical" or "Medical School Musical" would be like.

[adpiucf]

That has been making the rounds through UF, too. Funny stuff. How's the semester going, everyone?

[GeekyPenguin]

I hope BarBri gives me a Birkin bag to carry the books around. I also like that they include a "free" MPRE class when the jurisdiction I'm sitting for the bar in doesn't require the MPRE.

[adpiucf]

Originally Posted by Kevin

Just take your MPRE right after your PR class.

Everything should be okay.

I can't --> we have PR first semester of 1L (whose genius decision was that?), and you can't take the MPRE until you have a certain number of credits under your belt (i think I can take it this summer?)

[GeekyPenguin]

Originally Posted by adpiucf

I can't --> we have PR first semester of 1L (whose genius decision was that?), and you can't take the MPRE until you have a certain number of credits under your belt (i think I can take it this summer?)

Double-check that carefully. One of my classmates took it fall of 2L year when he was in PR and passed for the jurisdiction the law school is in, but not the one where he wants to practice. He took it again spring of 2L year and passed everywhere, but then found out the jurisdiction where he wants to go requires you take it after being done with 2 years of law school - so he just had to take it AGAIN for the 3rd time.

[deadbear80]

Originally Posted by adpiucf

I can't --> we have PR first semester of 1L (whose genius decision was that?), and you can't take the MPRE until you have a certain number of credits under your belt (i think I can take it this summer?)

I took PR 1st semester of 2L year. Did fair in the class but not great. I took the MPRE 1st semester of 3L year, buckled down and studied my booty off and easily passed for every jurisdiction in the US. You should be fine by the time you have to sit for the MPRE provided you study at least a little bit. Every person I know who didn't pass for the jurisdiction they needed to thought to themselves "It's just ethics; it's easy." Yeah, the MPRE is easy--when you've actually studied for it!

I agree with GeekyPenguin though; check the jurisdiction you're planning to be in quite carefully. And remember that the MPRE is offered in August, November, and March--so technically the August exam would be AFTER your 2L year is done if you're on semesters.

[adpiucf]

Thanks-- good advice! I would hate to have to take a test more than one time. I don't see any huge harm in waiting until summer after 2L; will check with jurisdictions.

I am starting to feel the pressure. GP -- good luck with the bar!!! I am a few weeks away from my first semester finals. A little nervous -- ok, a lot nervous-- but I've been diligently keeping up with the reading and outlining all semester, doing hypos and practice problems. I think it is starting to make sense... I think...

Any survival tips or tactics? I'm done with LRW, so just focusing on Contracts, Crim Law, Torts and PR for now. All will be essay (with some variations -- short answer, MC, MC with explanation, T/F).

My Crim Law prof is huge on MPC... she gave us one take-home practice question and gave us individual feedback. The whole class was having probs. with MPC causation. Anyone have experience with MPC vs. C/L?

[deadbear80]

adpiucf,

I'm sorry to hear that your prof. is big on the MPC....since it's not on the Bar! That's right...the MBE is SO cool that it deals with the wonderful 17th century common law stuff your professor probably isn't focusing on! (If you can't tell...this is dripping with sarcasm).

Flashcards. It's all about flashcards. If I flashcarded in law school it would've been better. Flashcards really helped me with the Bar. And I mean flashcards you make, not the ones you buy (although I've heard they're helpful too).

And don't be worried about the fact that the MPC isn't really on the Bar. You will learn everything you need to know (and everything you forgot over time) in a Bar prep course.

[GeekyPenguin]

Originally Posted by adpiucf

Thanks-- good advice! I would hate to have to take a test more than one time. I don't see any huge harm in waiting until summer after 2L; will check with jurisdictions.

I am starting to feel the pressure. GP -- good luck with the bar!!! I am a few weeks away from my first semester finals. A little nervous -- ok, a lot nervous-- but I've been diligently keeping up with the reading and outlining all semester, doing hypos and practice problems. I think it is starting to make sense... I think...

Any survival tips or tactics? I'm done with LRW, so just focusing on Contracts, Crim Law, Torts and PR for now. All will be essay (with some variations -- short answer, MC, MC with explanation, T/F).

My Crim Law prof is huge on MPC... she gave us one take-home practice question and gave us individual feedback. The whole class was having probs. with MPC causation. Anyone have experience with MPC vs. C/L?

I had this book for Crim Law that was a supplement to our text but it really laid out sections of the MPC well - I think it was called "Understanding Criminal Law" and it was by Dressler. I never learned any common law in that class because they said we'd learn it in BarBri - nothing like knowing what you're learning is useless!

I'm really grumpy about law school right now because I spent almost the entire weekend on my couch preparing for my Trial Advocacy trial and a group project for another stupid class - the only social interaction I had was when I went to the grocery store last night. At least the end is in sight - I graduate in 174 days!

[skylark]

Hmm... are these memoranda or were these writings filed with the court?

If memoranda... this is a bad situation. Sorry. I'd spiff something up for a class, I guess, and hope for the best, maybe?

If these were filed with the court (and hence, public record), I think it is the kind of funny coincidence that I'd point out up front in your writing sample cover sheet that explains the context of the document (I'm assuming students in your area do these cover sheets, although not all students from my school included one). I'd say something like: "While at the time I wrote this I did not contemplate the possibility of using it to seek employment from the opposing side, I think that this is a representative sample of my work and your firm's familiarity with the case's context makes this sample that much more meaningful as an indicator of my abilities."

Good luck to you!

[GeekyPenguin]

Originally Posted by unspokenone25

It's better than having to underline cites. A partner at my firm won't allow associates to use italics in cites...EVER.

Oh, that's bizarre. My boyfriend uses this made up system of citation that I can't believe nobody has called him out for yet. If he is referring to a case, he'll write:

The court held in Roe that abortion should be legal.

but if he's citing to the case, he'll put:

As the Court held, the Constitution has "penumbras, formed by emanations." Roe v. Wade, 410 US 113 (1973).

I have no idea where he got this from. I've worked with attorneys from his school and they do it too. I think one of their legal writing professors was high.

Originally Posted by skylark

Hmm... are these memoranda or were these writings filed with the court?

If memoranda... this is a bad situation. Sorry. I'd spiff something up for a class, I guess, and hope for the best, maybe?

If these were filed with the court (and hence, public record), I think it is the kind of funny coincidence that I'd point out up front in your writing sample cover sheet that explains the context of the document (I'm assuming students in your area do these cover sheets, although not all students from my school included one). I'd say something like: "While at the time I wrote this I did not contemplate the possibility of using it to seek employment from the opposing side, I think that this is a representative sample of my work and your firm's familiarity with the case's context makes this sample that much more meaningful as an indicator of my abilities."

Good luck to you!

They were documents filed with the court - it's a defense firm and I worked for the prosecutor this summer. They were filed under my supervising attorney's name, but I wrote them all - there's a few appeals that we won and a bunch of motions that we won. I actually really like the statement you have and think I'll do something like that. I usually do a really short cover sheet that just says "This document was prepared as a response to a motion to suppress evidence in a drunk-driving case" but this seems like a situation where a longer explanation would be good!

Thanks for the advice!

[SigmaChiCard]

Not sure if I mentioned it, but I passed the KY bar exam this past July.

I take the patent bar on Thursday.

For anyone who has had to study for the regular bar.....that is a cakewalk compared to this thing! Anyone else doing patent law here?



also, if anyone ever wants my old outlines, you're more than welcome to them.....i tended to have very minimalist outlines, but they tend to have the bulk of the info in them & are very efficient if you can follow them. My friends sometimes thought they were hieroglyphics. For the Bar exam, my longest outlines were 4 pages for Wills, Trusts & Estates & 4.5 pages for real property. Criminal Law was 1.

Currently I've gotten most of the patent law down into 7 pages.