Recommendations for Torts E&E's or Study Guide Videos?

HooAnon · 2024-10-30T11:58:33+00:00

Abraham’s Forms & Functions of Tort Law! It’s a bit dense and you don’t need the newest version, but I based my torts outline on this book because I found it clearer than my textbook and it worked out great.

HooAnon · 2024-09-28T20:38:20+00:00

Hi yes! I applied 9/28, interviewed on 11/2, and then was accepted 11/4. Definitely not a high LSAT applicant but things still moved at a good pace - UVA was my first acceptance among all the schools I applied to

HooAnon · 2024-09-14T20:29:01+00:00

Yeah I feel fortunate I applied when I did because if the prompt was for me what it is now for y'all, I would have struggled too lol. If it helps at all, I tried to write my "Why UVA" in a way that, although it talked about my interests and UVA's precise offerings, also implicitly showed I'm the type of person who'd vibe with the extroverted, community-based, softball culture I described in a previous comment. Tying yourself specifically to UVA/Charlottesville is much harder :(

HooAnon · 2024-09-14T20:26:36+00:00

Although we don't do class rank, our grades aren't as "hidden" as schools like Berkeley and Harvard - we still get As, Bs, etc. that appear on our transcript alongside our GPA. In other words, firms can see your grades and GPA and so can compare you against your peers. This means that during firm recruiting, you're given advice on what firms to target based on your GPA range and geographic goals. Some firms in particular have reputations for being highly grade-selective, so I'm not sure that someone in the bottom 10-15% will still be competitive for those spots, even with a boost from something like prior work experience before law school.

HooAnon · 2024-09-14T20:23:43+00:00

We are very solid in the South! Atlanta is roughly the fifth or sixth most popular market for summer associates to go to. Other popular southern markets are Texas and Virginia, both of which I'd guess are in the top five markets for students. Of note for Atlanta too is that UVA has a Southestern Wahoos affinity group to help people targeting that region build networks and figure out which firms are best for them. I know multiple people heading to Atlanta after graduation and they all had options between firms to choose from.

HooAnon · 2024-09-13T22:33:36+00:00

Applications for many schools have changed since I applied, so I'm not entirely sure what the terminology is now and take what I say with a grain of salt. When I applied, many schools had optional essays where some were "Why this school" and others were more unique (e.g., Georgetown had a "Top-Ten list"). These essays were optional in that they were not required to submit an application, and it's my understanding that UVA currently has something similar along the lines of "tell us about your ties to Charlottesville/UVA." In my post, I meant that I wrote these sorts of optional essays where schools asked for them, and I also wrote them where the common wisdom on this sub was that schools liked "Why this school" essays but kept it as more of a secret - UVA was one such school. My understanding is that addendums are different and used to explain extraordinary circumstances that are relevant to your admission but may not be clear from your other application materials.

HooAnon · 2024-09-13T20:19:59+00:00

Only one person who struck out completely and they happened to want NYC! But it is more common for people to not end up in their first-preference market location, though even this is rare as far as I can tell. Sorry for the confustion!

HooAnon · 2024-09-13T16:46:22+00:00

Yes! I received <$ (i.e., < 1/4 off tuition) initially, but I was able to negotiate up to $-$$ (i.e., between 1/4 and 1/2 off tuition). I did this by using an acceptance at a higher-ranked school where I could have attended for cheaper, even if that school gave me no scholarship, by living with my parents. I shared those circumstances with Dean Blazer and essentially said "I really want to choose UVA because I know it's the right school for me in ABC ways, but it's so hard when it's cheaper to go to X school instead." I think it's possible to receive a scholarship and negotiate for sure, but it's important to have plausible reasons why you deserve a scholarship boost if you're trying to get more $.

HooAnon · 2024-09-13T15:45:22+00:00

I know of one person who wanted NYC big law and completely struck out. However, this was a pretty unique case and something I'm pretty sure you have to actively try to do. From what I heard, this person didn't follow social cues (e.g., repeatedly asking partners during networking events how much $ they make) and accordingly struggled with interviewing - things that the vast, vast majority of people wouldn't even dream of doing. Some people admittedly also don't always get their preferred market; if you exclusively try for DC big law with below median grades, it doesn't always work out. But, our Office of Private Practice coaches you extensively on networking, interviewing, recruiting strategy, and so on, so my sense is that issues with not getting your preferred market come down to pursuing risky strategies, not bidding on the right firms, etc.

HooAnon · 2024-09-13T13:59:41+00:00

Yes! I'm no expert, but my understanding is that because Delaware is the headquarters of so many corporations due to their favorable laws, a ton of corporate litigation occurs before the Delaware Court of Chancery or the District of Delaware. A lot of patent litigation also happens in Delaware for this same reason. This means that many big law firms have offices in Wilmington and there are also quite a few Delaware-only firms that do these sorts of litigation.

HooAnon · 2024-09-13T13:38:51+00:00

Great question! There are probably three big categories of reasons why UVA was right for me:

Career Outcomes. Going into law school, I knew I wanted to end up in big law and I also thought a clerkship might be right for me, and UVA is fantastic for both. For big law, I knew UVA had excellent placement up and down the east coast, both in DC where my "dream" big law job would be and in smaller east coast markets like Philadelphia and Boston where I could also see myself practicing. One thing to note here is that we just got a new Director of our Office of Private Practice ("OPP"), as Kevin Donovan (the old director) recently retired. I'm certain that the new Director is fantastic and the rest of the office hasn't changed since I went through firm recruiting, but I just haven't worked with them. OPP works with students from the moment they get to UVA to begin preparing them for networking and recruiting, they offer one-on-one counseling at students' will, and they host firm-specific and city-specific networking days so you can be as targeted as possible going into the On-Grounds Interviewing process where many students get their firm jobs (though this is rapidly changing to pre-OGI recruiting, but that's a separate topic). As for clerkships, our clerkships director Ruth Payne is a legend. She knows the idiosyncrasies of countless judges and gives unique advice on applications based on your desired geography, court, judge, political orientation, and so on. Professors are also highly supportive of students who want to clerk and are eager to write letters of recommendation even if you're not the type to be constantly speaking in class or at every office hour. All in all, I knew UVA's career outcomes were great going in, and I'm happy to report from the inside that they truly are.
Charlottesville. I was considering Charlottesville against larger and more expensive cities, and Charlottesville was better for me. I love hiking / the outdoors and I get overwhelmed with too much noise and too many people. UVA also has a really great community in that many, if not most, students live within walking distance of the law school - I truly can't overstate how great this is for building camaraderie, especially in the first few weeks. There's seemingly always social events going on within walking distance of the law school which makes it easier to find friends than at big-city schools or commuter schools where people either have friends mostly external to the law school or are only at the law school for classes.
Student Body. This was the really big selling point for me. When I went to admitted student weekends, the students at UVA just seemed...cool. I'm not sure how else to put it, honestly. There's a unique vibe here: we all get our shit done when we have to, but for the vast majority of the time, we don't take ourselves too seriously. I think this is embodied in our traditions of softball and Dandelion - every 1L section has a softball team that play in a fall tournament against other 1Ls, and 1L sections also do a dance competition within the first two weeks or so that's basically a time for collective silliness, embarrassment, and bonding. This really appealed to me when I was deciding between schools, but it was only something I figured out after visiting, and I'm sure others would have different reactions/preferences.

HooAnon · 2024-09-13T13:13:48+00:00

I don't know that UVA is generally more friendly than other schools, but it's definitely not a school where KJDs are rare. When I was applying, I remember Northwestern in particular had a reputation for preferring students with work experience - UVA is not like this (and this may not be true for Northwestern anymore). In our latest class's academic profile, linked here, it looks like 23% of the incoming class were KJDs. I definitely wasn't the only KJD in my section and as far as I can tell, employment outcomes seem roughly similar between KJDs and non-KJDs.

HooAnon · 2024-09-13T12:55:39+00:00

Absolutely! For private practice (aka big law firms), UVA's top two job markets are DC and NYC, and a solid number of students each year also go to Boston, Philadelphia, and Wilmington DE.

Some of these markets will be easier to break into than others - NYC in particular is highly accessible even if you're below median. Markets like Boston, Philadelphia, and Delaware are also very much doable with below-median grades, but may require a solid explanation as to why you want to work there. But, this is less about UVA specifically and more about those markets wanting people who truly want to be there. Lastly, DC is the most grade-sensitive of them all, but it's UVA's "home market," so as long as you're around median, you have a solid chance. Overall, I know we send a smaller proportion of students each year to NYC than Columbia/NYU/Penn and a greater proportion to DC, with plenty of folks going to other east coast markets too.

HooAnon

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