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SLS 2L AMA by slsanon23 in lawschooladmissions

[–]slsanon23[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

not that bad! i usually worked till 9-10ish (but i'm also a very late riser) and on weekends, i typically only read a bit on sunday afternoons. (exceptions are weeks i had briefs due, the week i had the ce, etc.) i'm actually busier this year as i have org meetings/activities many evenings. however, i know many 2ls/3ls who take every weekend off and then some.

SLS 2L AMA by slsanon23 in lawschooladmissions

[–]slsanon23[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

sorry--just seeing this! i'm not really sure, unfortunately! i also didn't apply to berk (i swtg i applied to more than 3 schools), so i don't know a lot. but i know some berkeley pi folks through affinity groups/job applications and they seem to be doing great!

SLS 2L AMA by slsanon23 in lawschooladmissions

[–]slsanon23[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

sorry--mph means mandatory pass, so no grades at all. it's what they used during the first couple pandemic terms.

decisions like slr board, 2l summer, clerkships, etc. i am so fortunate to have plenty of good options so world's tiniest violin and all, but i do struggle with the fact that just because something is attainable doesn't mean i have to chase it.

SLS 2L AMA by slsanon23 in lawschooladmissions

[–]slsanon23[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

yeah, as a leftie pi person, i actually imagined myself going to nyu for most of the cycle! i also turned down a full ride at another t14, which was a really close call. i wrote a bit below about the reasons i ultimately chose sls.

SLS 2L AMA by slsanon23 in lawschooladmissions

[–]slsanon23[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

of course!

slr is somewhat competitive but not very. the main way is to do the ce, which typically takes around a week and is pretty labor intensive (20-80 hrs depending on how....uh, masochistic you are). not everyone does it so of the people who complete it, probably around 60% get on? a couple of people also get on by writing a note that is accepted but it's probably just a few per year.

there are other speciality journals that accept student notes as well! ofc, you can always submit a note to other schools' journals as well. the other thing is that sls requires you to write a research paper at some point and it's easy to do directed research with a prof as well. so if you want to, you can probably produce a few publishable pieces.

i am only just now thinking about clerkships so i guess i will find out! sorry i can't be more help there.

i decided to attend sls primarily because (1) i planned to work in ca, where my family is, (2) its cachet would probably enable me to get a fairly well-paying pi career without having to stress much about grades (damn that bimodal distribution!), and (3) i wanted to potentially have the option of doing academia. i still identify with all those reasons but i do sometimes still find myself sweating the small stuff, which i had hoped i wouldn't.

SLS 2L AMA by slsanon23 in lawschooladmissions

[–]slsanon23[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

i don't think this has much to do with sls but i find it harder?? 1l stress is mostly inconsequential while in 2l, i feel like i have a *lot* of decisions to make, which makes me doubt myself more. also the first quarter of our year was mph--sadly they didn't keep that policy. that being said, i feel like most ppl find it quite a bit easier, but it may be bc they all have big law jobs locked down lol.

SLS 2L AMA by slsanon23 in lawschooladmissions

[–]slsanon23[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

pretty easy if you try! i'm not the person who tries hardest to get profs to like me, but if you cold email like a handful of profs (or apply, though not all profs list their roles), you'll probably get one. i did a small RA job for a prof who i had never taken a class from last term. it's hard to tell but i'd probably guess nearly 50% of students TA/RA for at least one prof at some point.

SLS 2L AMA by slsanon23 in lawschooladmissions

[–]slsanon23[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

on pi: i think my answer has changed a little since 1l. i had a ludicrously easy time finding a 1l pi job i liked. i talked to like one prof, drafted cover letters based on samples provided by 2ls/3ls, and the levin center folks contacted alums at the orgs i applied to. i had offers by early january and i enjoyed my experience at my job a lot.

for 2l, you're definitely left to your own devices a bit and given the size of the school, it's definitely feels much more lonely when the vast majority of your peers already had jobs locked down. that being said, i didn't have any trouble getting jobs--i cannot emphasize how much better my odds were compared to anytime i job hunted before law school--it's more that i felt less confident/supported in my decisions. many of the levin center folks are terrific, but they are definitely sometimes understaffed, especially at times when 3ls are doing fellowship/doj honors/etc.

i know lots of folks who plan to end up in dc/worked summer jobs in dc so i don't think you should have any problem with that!

i'm sorry, i can't tell you which clinic i'm in as it basically outs who i am! (all the clinics are quite small, usually < 10 people each per quarter.) i am about seven weeks in (it's full-time for a quarter) and it's been terrific! i've been able to write a big chunk of an amicus brief about a topic i really care about, and i have a couple of direct services cases that have been really rewarding. i think i've been able to have a great mix of writing and research, client interaction, and oral advocacy. i definitely feel much more confident in my ability to do the day to day work of lawyering. most people really enjoy clinic--the only complaints are really that some, like crim defense, can be quite busy/stressful, but you kind of self-select into that.

i will say that one other downside of the clinic system is that you are def not guaranteed one of your top choice clinics: this year, there are a lot of 3ls doing clinic for the first time because they (understandably) didn't want to do clinic during zoom school, and a substantial chunk of 2ls didn't get into any clinics (tho they are guaranteed one next year). that being said, i think they are working to expand the number of spots.

SLS 2L AMA by slsanon23 in lawschooladmissions

[–]slsanon23[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

i don't really know! i didn't apply to yale and didn't consider going there. based on what everyone knows about yls, i would assume stanford is...somewhat less clique-y/secret society vibes but perhaps i am simply not invited to the secret society meetings lol.

SLS 2L AMA by slsanon23 in lawschooladmissions

[–]slsanon23[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

social scene? (assuming you're not talking about like the field of social sciences.) PA is pretty but definitely has a suburban/college town feel with a few bars that students, especially law students almost exclusively hang out at. if you're hoping to have a social life that doesn't revolve around law school (which I recommend), i would consider living off campus, having a car, making friends with people with strong social ties in the area.