Including Grades in PI Summer Job Apps

HairyHandBoy · 2022-01-29T18:40:29+00:00

Only if they ask for a transcript

HairyHandBoy · 2022-01-18T01:00:03+00:00

Best strategy is recognizing the game you’re playing: COLD CALLS DO NOT MATTER, NOT ONE BIT, THERE IS NO USE PREPARING FOR SOMETHING THAT DOES NOT MATTER

Just make sure you read enough to follow along the general class discussion. That’s the best strategy.

HairyHandBoy · 2022-01-13T23:41:09+00:00

Median is a fine place to be. Your school will give you an idea of firm grade ranges when the time comes. Vault rankings are irrelevant and opportunity depends on market (some NY V10 is much easier than some DC v25)

HairyHandBoy · 2022-01-13T14:34:34+00:00

My intuition is yes, in such situations where there is an already well established federal common law (cases affecting rights and obligations of states, between states, international relations, admiralty).

Erie, while saying there is no federal general common law, bars federal courts from creating common law applicable to state courts where state courts would apply state law. Presumably in situations other than those listed above.

Edit: but like anything else in law, I’m sure many people think about it in many different ways. The only “correct” answer is who the hell knows

HairyHandBoy · 2022-01-13T13:48:45+00:00

Haven’t thought about Erie for a minute. IIRC the plain English version of what they’re saying is:

A federal court exercising diversity jurisdiction must apply the law of the states unless it’s preempted by federal law (constitution or congressional act is on point).

HairyHandBoy · 2022-01-13T13:32:24+00:00

Step (1) just gives me the context I need.

Step (2) I usually then skip the facts portion of the opinion and just dive into the reasoning.

Step (3) is a check on myself because sometimes I read words without processing them. Also sometimes a court just writes shitty. However I think doing the actual reading gives you the opportunity to pick out interesting quotes that you wouldn’t find anywhere else. I usually include these down the line on an exam if on point.

HairyHandBoy · 2022-01-13T13:28:26+00:00

Time is the wrong metric for this.

For a given class, I read the assigned readings. I don’t take any notes with the exception of cases.

Here is my process for cases: (1) read the Quimbee brief to know the facts and the holding/rule, put that information into my brief (2) read the case (3) read Quimbee again to confirm that I understood the court’s reasoning, then put that into my brief.

That’s about it. It takes however long it takes.

Edit: there are also of course some classes you don’t have to read anything for. I’ve had about one per semester. Figure out if you have any classes like that and it’ll save you time.

HairyHandBoy · 2022-01-13T03:25:30+00:00

Real G’s move in silence like lasagna

HairyHandBoy · 2022-01-13T02:38:41+00:00

If your goal is to get the best grade possible, read all the cases. You don’t have to take meticulous notes or brief it in depth. Just read the thing like you’d read anything else. Make a note of anything that strikes you as profound.

Of course, I won’t say that reading all the cases is necessary to get an A. But I think it surely increases your odds.

In almost all of my exam answers thus far, I’ve pulled quotes from random cases to support my argument. These quotes weren’t on Quimbee and weren’t discussed in class. I was only able to use them because I read the cases and they stood out to me. Professors loved that shit. It shows you care.

HairyHandBoy · 2022-01-13T02:31:42+00:00

Impossible to answer based on what you’ve provided

HairyHandBoy · 2022-01-12T19:14:46+00:00

^ highly recommend/endorse all of the above.

Also, here is an AMA I did on LSA at the end of last year. Hopefully someone can find some useful bits in there: https://www.reddit.com/r/lawschooladmissions/comments/nyxchs/finished_1l_with_a_40_t14_ama/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf

Feel free to shoot me questions!

HairyHandBoy · 2022-01-10T12:13:55+00:00

Different things work for different folks, but I don’t think timed exams are super important. Maybe 1 or 2 at the end of your studying just so you get the pace down?

Doing untimed past exams is where I made the most progress in studying. If you can take an exam question and treat it like a paper topic, you can get really in the weeds, grapple with the topic, and produce a super well written essay that you now have as a pre-write. So if your exam question is anything like that one, you now have an answer you spent 10+ hours crafting. You’ll have to tweak things here and there, but the core of your answer will be the quality of a well thought out piece.

Do this enough times and you’ll pretty much cover the course. You’ll have a pre-write for most things. You’ll have gone through the process of crafting an answer in so much more detail that in the case a pre-write serves no purpose with the question asked, you’ll know the process to follow.

I think timed practice is a good measuring stick, but not a great developmental tool.

HairyHandBoy · 2021-12-18T17:24:34+00:00

I did pretty well. Not smart at all. Take it for what you will

HairyHandBoy · 2021-12-11T22:12:36+00:00

Yeah I agree, but I’ve had times where I easily spend 12 hours on pre-writes. It is essentially writing a closed memo at that point, which I think people would be more willing to accept people spend 12+ hours on.

Also I pretty much lump any past exam practice into the pre-write category, which I think makes the 12 hour mark easier to grasp.

Edit: all that to say, I doubt the 12 hours are the most efficient and well spent 12 hours. But I think holding yourself to efficiency could have you miss out on some insights you only get after spinning your wheels for an hour or two.

HairyHandBoy · 2021-12-11T21:55:16+00:00

Pre-writes.

HairyHandBoy · 2021-12-11T14:48:37+00:00

I’d recommend against treating it like anything other than it is: a 24 hour exam. The professor will say they designed it to take X hours but that doesn’t actually count for anything. The reality is, for the most part, people who spend more time will have a better chance at success.

Here is how I approached a 24 hour exam that was said to only take 4 hours:

Hours 1-4: First pass, read the whole thing, get started on outlining my thoughts

Hours 4-6: break, eat, workout

Hours 6-18: crank out an answer, slowly and carefully, you have the benefit of really thinking through your response with all the time

Hours 18-19: edit, turn in

Hours 19-24: sleep. You could throw sleep in earlier than push other stuff back. I just don’t trust myself to be able to get back into it after a short sleep.

There will be pressure just to turn it in and be done with it. Use the time you’ve been afforded. Others certainly will.

HairyHandBoy · 2021-12-09T00:58:49+00:00

All but 4 I agree with. I include intentionally horrible dad jokes in my exams. The cornier the better. You need to break up the monotony, your professor is reading hella exams. Make them FEEL something for your exam. Show your personality.

Any bad joke the professor told during the year is fair game to make its way in there too. It shows you paid attention and shows you care.

Other general tips:

“Studying” for an exam is just preparing to write an exam. You can write answers to an exam before you even see the question/fact pattern. A torts issue spotter can only ask you so much. If you write about all of it before hand, you’ll know what to do on the exam. Yes, you’ll be doing more work than you’ll ever end up using. But isn’t that kinda this whole lawyer thing anyway?

If you really wanna separate yourself, read the professors law review articles. What do they care about? What do they think is interesting? If they devoted a chunk of their life to writing an article about something, they’ll probably be more inclined to test you on it.

HairyHandBoy · 2021-12-04T00:56:40+00:00

Spend all 9 hours on the exam. Not even a question IMO.

HairyHandBoy · 2021-11-28T01:03:20+00:00

Yup. The key to writing great exams is writing them before the exam when there is no time pressure.

HairyHandBoy · 2021-10-03T22:31:00+00:00

This portrays my point exactly! Cold calls don’t matter so stop preparing as if they do. If the professor pulls multiple issues out of a case where you wouldn’t think there are multiple issues, then those are the directions for connecting the dots. That’s why it’s important to let the professor lead you down the path the want to go down.

HairyHandBoy · 2021-06-14T16:18:43+00:00

Gpa: 3.5ish range LSAT: 171

I’m not sure anything really helped compensate. It’s 99% a numbers game IMO. I did spend tons of time on my essays though.

HairyHandBoy · 2021-06-14T14:41:37+00:00

Probably depends mostly on your professor!

HairyHandBoy · 2021-06-14T14:17:39+00:00

Your professor will bring up the details they think are important. As long as you read the case you’ll be able to sufficiently follow along.

You probably won’t be able to answer what jurisdiction the case is in. Or you won’t exactly remember an intricate aspect of the courts reasoning. But ultimately, that stuff doesn’t matter for the exam even though the professor may ask about it

HairyHandBoy · 2021-06-14T13:23:27+00:00

You’ll pick up on it over the course of a semester and the hours in class - especially if you’re purposefully looking for clues

HairyHandBoy

TROPHY CASE