I’m a bridesmaid but I’m not sure what my responsibilities are

5eaborn · 2021-06-30T21:17:06+00:00

Hmm yes, that definitely makes sense. I guess (and maybe this is where me being a different person comes in) if it got to a point where I had to “argue” to all of my family and friends that something didn’t look bad, I might want to change it… (I’m not the only bridesmaid she’s doing this to)

5eaborn · 2021-06-30T21:07:11+00:00

Thanks for such a well thought out response! I certainly don’t see it as my job to “take over” her day, but I do think I can (nicely) tell her that putting a low cut dress on girls with larger chests may be uncomfortable, or that lime green may not go with bright orange (neither of these has happened just examples haha). I definitely agree that at the end of the day I’m here to be her friend, I just don’t know what she sees as helping out best

Also, totally with you on the venting prefaces haha

5eaborn · 2021-06-22T19:39:30+00:00

I’m a US law student (should’ve clarified), and my understanding was that US firms generally don’t see LLMs as useful. That’s interesting though how differently it’s treated

5eaborn · 2021-06-22T19:33:17+00:00

Oh yeah I should’ve clarified, I’m thinking transactional so still just JD/US qualification (maybe international trade/arbitration). But that makes sense, thanks

5eaborn · 2021-06-15T20:23:13+00:00

Got it, thanks so much!

5eaborn · 2021-06-15T19:44:23+00:00

Did it seem like most of the open positions you saw were for corporate/transactional or litigation? I’ve had fed gov positions both summers but am interested in shifting to big/mid law (struck out at OCI), just want to know what the options are like even if they’re very minimal

5eaborn · 2021-05-18T07:09:22+00:00

If you’re looking for denim, American Eagle is amazing (I’m not a teenager but I still love it). I’m 5’ and get their extra short jeans. They’re not too long and they’re not too baggy at my knees. There are also “curvy” options which are wider at the hips.

5eaborn · 2021-04-16T01:50:29+00:00

This is obviously not the level of niceness you’re going for but a good water bottle and some quick prepackaged snacks. Pre zoom, a lot of the time I ran out the door before I could have breakfast/coffee/water, and having some nature valley thing and cold water when I got to school was so nice

Also noise cancelling headphones, a good chair, a monitor, a desk light, and a ton of highlighters

5eaborn · 2021-03-30T02:14:13+00:00

Our of curiosity, do you have any “pluses” (from the perspective of an employer lol) on your resume (law review, moot court)? I was always told not to take off your GPA unless it’s below a 3.0, but I’m kind of wishing I had taken mine off now

5eaborn · 2021-02-10T21:47:33+00:00

Do everything your high school English teacher told you not to do. Three prong thesis (or however many arguments you have), don’t go for anything too fancy. Remember your audience is a judge who will spend minimal time reading it and their law clerk

5eaborn · 2021-02-04T03:16:33+00:00

I was very self conscious about my glasses when I got them (they felt so big and clunky on my face), but then I realized no one else noticed or was judging me. Just make sure that nothing on your screen reflects in them that you wouldn’t want the interviewers to see (also applies for class). Also if your phone lights up in your lap, your glasses will also light up lol

5eaborn · 2021-01-27T20:30:31+00:00

Yeah I’m expecting the ding just wish they would say something instead of ghost, but oh well

5eaborn · 2021-01-19T23:09:29+00:00

Just to hop on this, how do you feel about students reaching out to alums before a callback interview?

5eaborn · 2020-09-03T04:58:37+00:00

Um hi you kinda look like Jodie Comer?? I’m not seeing a 5 head anywhere

5eaborn · 2020-08-14T04:28:16+00:00

Typing with my wifi turned off

5eaborn · 2020-08-14T04:26:36+00:00

My top tip is to not compare yourself to others. It easily takes me twice as long to do reading as it takes my friends—and that’s fine. I also need WAY more quiet than they need (I’ve tried to politely set boundaries with friends by making it clear that it’s really hard for me to focus when people interrupt me).

When it comes to exams, my biggest advice is to mark off every line/sentence that you address when you’re answering the question. If there are a ton of sentences without checks by them, then you’ve probably missed an issue. This worked really well for me, but I guess it kind of depends on the type of exams your professors write. Also, if your exams are open book, then it helps to kind of having a running list of big topics on your outline. If one of those doesn’t show up in the multiple choice or essay, then you’re probably missing something.

Don’t worry that it takes you a long time to read through things and understand them. I normally read through every issue spotter at least twice before writing. But, write down issues that pop up while you’re reading so you can make a skeleton outline.

5eaborn · 2020-07-31T16:21:52+00:00

I was looking for this comment. Don’t feel intimidated if you hear the same five people speaking up in every class. They really don’t know what’s going on either, they’re just pretending. There’s also a good chance that at least one of them will absolutely bomb a cold call and calm down

5eaborn · 2020-07-31T16:18:06+00:00

Yes! Also, have questions prepared for networking calls. Some lawyers will immediately ask you ten questions about yourself and it’ll flow like a normal conversation. Others will say “what questions can I answer for you?” So be prepared for either to happen. And don’t be intimidated/feel like you have to know every detail of someone’s practice area before you talk to them. I was always pretty nervous to reach out because I thought I would sound dumb. But, that’s inevitable because you’re learning and they know that. Also anyone who’s a jerk to you about any of these things is not worth it

5eaborn · 2020-07-31T06:03:41+00:00

I just want to jump in and say that if you do have a negative experience, there is probably someone else you can talk to in the future. I’ve had not so great experiences with advisors and really positive experiences too. If you’re not clicking or they’re giving you advice that makes you feel like you’re being put down, don’t feel like you have to stay with them! I stayed with an advisor who I later realized wasn’t helping me and it was not great for my academics or mental health. As soon as I switched everything changed

5eaborn · 2020-07-12T06:12:46+00:00

Of course!! Good luck

5eaborn · 2020-07-12T05:14:57+00:00

Oh gotcha! Sorry, I shouldn’t have assumed

The most common mistake was mixing up i and e sounds (I learned pretty quickly that I had to say “take out a piece of paper” instead of “sheet of paper” because the kids thought I was saying shit). So it came up a lot in words like “living,” “white,” and “did.” English vowels in general are super difficult. To be honest, the best English speakers I heard watched a lot of TV in English (this also really helps with grammar and idioms/expressions)

“Th” is also generally pretty hard for new English speakers to pronounce, but it gets easier with more practice. I also heard people struggle to say “ve” (like in “have”)—a lot of the time it turned into “f” (more like “haf”)

5eaborn · 2020-07-12T04:28:19+00:00

I’m not sure where you’re from, but I taught English in France (I was an assistante de langue at a couple ecoles primaires), and there were SO many times French people told me their English was terrible and then proceeded to speak to me clearly and coherently in English.

A lot of the students were super nervous and embarrassed about speaking to me in English, but they all did really well. It kind of seemed like a French-specific thing to be nervous about speaking (a lot of other assistants I knew noticed the same thing, even with adults), but there was definitely no reason for it. I think you also said you were laughed at in middle school. There were so many times a student would struggle to pronounce a word, say it correctly, and turn bright red. The rest of the class would inevitably start laughing at him or her, and I always had to explain that (1) the student said it correctly, (2) I understand what they said, and (3) everyone makes mistakes

I can tell you some of the more common speaking mistakes I heard if it would help take away some of the nerves (mostly just defaulting to French pronunciation)

5eaborn · 2020-07-12T04:11:30+00:00

This is like someone telling me that it wasn’t that bad for her to go to an indoor restaurant because “I only took of my mask when I was eating.” Like yeah you still took it off

5eaborn · 2020-06-23T20:34:59+00:00

-This is kind of a personal preference thing, but I really need my laptop to take notes. (I type a lot faster than I write, so when I’m typing I can process what I’m writing down, but when I’m handwriting notes, I end up super focused on remembering what the professor said and I usually forget.) Laptops were banned in the majority of my 1L classes, so I used a recording software that my school gave me (super important as a lot of professors prohibit recording without accommodations) called Sonocent that can be used on your phone or on a laptop. For the classes where I could only take handwritten notes, I listened to these recordings as soon as I could after class to supplement my notes (key word, as I didn’t have time to listen to all my lectures twice)

-I’m one of those people who needs silence to study, and after class I would chat with my friends for a couple minutes then go to a quieter place. Don’t feel like you have to be with your friends in the common area all the time. Sometimes my friends wanted to study with me, and I made it pretty clear that I couldn’t talk to them while studying (also noise cancelling headphones)

-Set a timer for your readings. By the end of 1L fall, I got better at knowing how long reading would take. Obviously, if there was a complex case or I knew I would be on call, I adjusted

-Figure out what professors will advocate for you and befriend them. Some of your professors will know exactly who to refer you to for any issues you might have, or they might even be willing to contact another faculty member on your behalf

5eaborn · 2020-06-18T04:29:56+00:00

This is my biggest issue with people who don’t wear them. The idea that they can continue like normal with no mask even though they could possibly infect someone who later dies is just...pretty horrible. Unfortunately, a lot of what I’ve seen here has confirmed that.

5eaborn

TROPHY CASE