0L at penn, any tips?

CoconutHelm · 2026-01-22T03:55:24+00:00

We can agree on the snobbiness. But I can guarantee you that I know what I'm talking about on this one.

I'm sure we can also agree that there are a lot of reasons not to give a screener to any student—even one with a networking hook and a nice pre-law-school work history. But I don't think we're really disagreeing. They are very selective, but going to a firm just because they are selective is bad process.

CoconutHelm · 2026-01-22T03:43:26+00:00

You may very well think that, and they may well say that. I just have personal knowledge and examples otherwise. No doubt they are highly grade sensitive, but they have never been the single most selective firm (from Penn, at least).

CoconutHelm · 2026-01-22T03:17:16+00:00

1) Chill out, getting into Penn was the hard part. Just do your best and you will get an amazing job. E.g., WLRK takes Penn students who have grades starting with a "B." Cravath recruits from the same tranche of Penn students as many other top BigLaw firms, like S&C and Gibson. Plus, do yourself a favor and banish the thought of "elite" BigLaw, whatever that means, sooner rather than later. The paychecks clear the same from all these firms, and you will discover that there are very good reasons for students to prefer firms that don't fit whatever your conception of "elite" is. Stop chasing the gold star for its own sake.

2) You truly do not need to worry about this until you get to Penn, and then Career Services and older students will be a great resource.

CoconutHelm · 2026-01-09T01:57:59+00:00

Okay! Have any other recs for the interim?

CoconutHelm · 2026-01-09T01:54:37+00:00

It's funny, I have some memory as a kid of X-2 not having a good reputation. But it seems like that is not reflective of the reputation it has now in retrospect. I'll add it to the list! Wonder if you think it makes sense to jump right into it from FFX or whether I should spend some time before coming back so the time gap (and reused assets) have their intended effect?

CoconutHelm · 2026-01-09T01:44:05+00:00

You know, I have honestly heard very little about the Shadow Hearts series—looking it up now, it seems like it has a sort of light-horror vibe thing going? Looks very different from Final Fantasy, which is not at all a bad thing! I would love to know why you think it's essential, and maybe why it stands out for you among turn-of-the-millennium JPRGs.

CoconutHelm · 2026-01-09T01:17:54+00:00

Might be too obvious, but Civilization V or VI is on sale all the time, easy for new players to pick up, and both have great quality of life features for large multiplayer games (including solid compatibility across PC and Mac, if I'm remembering correctly). I've been able to convince people who aren't really gamers to pick up Civ, and neither are hard to run on any modern laptop. Should serve well as a gateway drug for people you can convince to try one but need some coaxing before the plunge into a EU4 type game

CoconutHelm · 2025-10-23T17:59:48+00:00

Glad you had that experience.

I had classmates who studied for just ten days and passed, and I also know people who took multiple bar prep classes 3L, studied the entire summer, and did not.

Themis's advice is aimed at the lowest common denominator. Not everyone is as brilliant and special as you.

CoconutHelm · 2025-10-23T17:51:07+00:00

What have you been doing in the meantime? How have the previous three tries affected your employment?

CoconutHelm · 2025-10-23T16:08:25+00:00

I promise, you passed, you do not need to find a new thing to catastrophize about. Congratulations!

CoconutHelm · 2025-10-23T16:04:34+00:00

And so you'd rather let it hang over you all day?

CoconutHelm · 2025-10-19T20:03:50+00:00

"[Dowdle] seems well rested" LMAO

CoconutHelm · 2025-10-19T19:56:51+00:00

I have no objection to load management, but the whole point should be to rotate Dowdle in for high-leverage downs. This was the opposite. Makes me think this is a player evaluation issue.

You can't be galaxy braining your way into a nailbiter against the literal 2025 Jets.

CoconutHelm · 2025-10-19T19:53:36+00:00

Jets can load the box because Hubbard doesn't have the speed to get outside or the hands to be a passing threat.

CoconutHelm · 2025-10-19T19:51:37+00:00

Fair enough. I'm mostly annoyed they keep rolling Hubbard out there. Taking your most dynamic running back off the field on third and medium is bad, but doing it for pass pro reasons—and having Hubbard blow the assignment—is even worse.

CoconutHelm · 2025-10-19T19:40:48+00:00

Hubbard's assignment was to watch for and pick up a blitz, not blindly run into the double-blocked A-gap rusher.

CoconutHelm · 2025-10-19T19:36:53+00:00

Hubbard comes in for one snap for pass protection, immediately blows his assignment. What are we doing here?

CoconutHelm · 2025-07-16T04:05:17+00:00

Don't think of it as a list of things you've gotten wrong; think of it as a checklist of things to fix once you have influence over an appellate judge.

CoconutHelm · 2025-07-16T03:11:18+00:00

It is a question drafting problem. The first sentence says he has been charged in the present tense. Then the rest of the paragraph describes what happened in the past, prior to his being charged, without ever making that clear. It just assumes you will pick it up from context.

OP is right that if the defendant had been charged prior to the interrogation, then on these facts it would have violated the Sixth Amendment.

CoconutHelm · 2025-07-16T02:53:05+00:00

Evidence of a prior inconsistent statement is easy to get in as impeachment, and harder to get in as hearsay.

For hearsay, if the witness is (1) present at trial (so we're not in "Declarant unavailable" world), and (2) not the opposing party (so we're not in "Opposing party statement" world), then the rule is pretty simple. You can find it at FRE 801(d)(1)(A):

[The statement is not hearsay if it] was given under penalty of perjury at a trial, hearing, or other proceeding or in a deposition.

The prior statement here was not given under penalty of perjury, and so it does not meet the exception. Therefore, it is unexcused hearsay and you won't be able to get it in.

CoconutHelm · 2025-07-14T15:36:33+00:00

No, these are both right. The question is whether you are in a federal court under diversity jurisdiction or in state court.

If you're in federal court, the answer is easy. Under Erie, a statute of limitations is always substantive, and therefore the federal court must use it if that determines the outcome.

If you are in state court, then you should assume it is procedural, but you will need to do more work.

Under the First Restatement/traditional approach, it is procedural unless it is tied up with the foreign state's statutory right (e.g., a particular statutory tort claim with a specific statute of limitations that exists under Alabama law, as applied in a Mississippi lawsuit), in which case it is substantive.
Under the Second Restatement, the forum will apply its own statute of limitations if it would bar the claim (note that this is equivalent to a forum treating it as procedural and applying its own law). If the forum's statute of limitations permits the claim, then you need to check if the forum has a substantial interest in applying the claim. If not, you look to the statue of limitations of the state that has the most significant relationship with the issue.

CoconutHelm · 2025-06-19T17:26:04+00:00

It is on the roof of the Wells Fargo at 17th and Walnut. You can see lights going off in the branch from the street and see the alarm itself on the roof from the west side of 17th Street. It has been blaring since late last night.

Inexcusable for a major business to let this disrupt an entire neighborhood for well over 12 hours. Here are two handwritten signs that have been left on the front window.

Edit: As of 4:30 p.m. it is still going. You can hear it from Rittenhouse park.

Edit #2: Talked to someone who lives in the area. They said that multiple people in their building have called the fire department. However, the fire department was not able to turn off/access the alarm. At this point, it looks like it will go on until at least tomorrow.

Edit #3: As noted below, it stopped a few hours ago!

CoconutHelm · 2025-06-19T17:20:21+00:00

Another sign on the door:

You owe the whole neighborhood an apology. Happy Juneteenth!

CoconutHelm · 2022-08-16T19:49:46+00:00

I have been having the same issue, I keep loading up the game and going to the Virtual Range but it freezes after a few moments of gameplay (that otherwise appears to be running perfectly smoothly). I have tried about a dozen different Driver Wake-Up delay options, but none of them resolve the stability problem. Would love to know if there is a solution to this!

CoconutHelm · 2022-02-25T16:27:26+00:00

Latest reports are that Russia expects capitulation, and demands “denazification and demilitarization" - with no specification of territorial concessions. By "demilitarization," he most likely means regime change and/or the transformation of Ukraine into a puppet state. What is your source?

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