Frequent Citations

Writing An Opinion (Or Four)

For my First Amendment class I have to write a Supreme Court opinion. But it has to address two separate issues, so that's really two opinions. Only I also have to write a dissent for each opinion, so voila--four opinions.

And I have less than 24 hours in which to do it.

I've done (most of) the reading I need to do, including some articles that made my head spin before it exploded. I've even sketched out some of my arguments. But the actual writing? Erm, not so much. Egad, it's going to be a long long night. And day.

And then I get to plunge into studying for Securities, which I rescheduled for Saturday due to my Tax exam today (well, yesterday now--Wednesday). The people who took Securities today came out of there looking ashen and mentioning that their hopes of graduating with honors were now permanently dashed. The omens are not propitious.

So...here I go. Write write write. Starting now! ish.

. . .

It's now about an hour and a half later. I've written . . . some. And I've maybe read a few news items. Possibly, I've taken a quiz and caught up with a blog or two. Yes, I'm nearly as bad as LL, although not having quite such a bad week. Seldom have I been so happy that those days of miserably ill (though adorable) babies are so long behind me.

But now I've decided that even I, self-professed political junkie, am sick of the news. So maybe I'll go back to writing about freedom of speech.

. . .

Several hours later and I'm both hitting a groove and getting pretty darn tired. Sigh. I think I have a pretty comprehensive outline of the opinion(s) done, but it's no more than an outline and a few paragraphs right now. The footnotes have already begun, though. He's going to kill me. Time to go make tea and try to write while it's flowing.

. . .

Oof. It's 5:30 am. I've got some decent stuff down on paper (electronically speaking) but I have a long way to go. I may need to go take a nap. I wish I didn't do my best writing between 1 and 5 am. It really messes up the rest of my schedule.

Outline Etiquette

Dear Freaked-Out Law Student:

I understand that the task of outlining a class can seem overwhelming, even if you have attended on a semi-regular basis and have done at least some of the reading. If you haven't attended class, or did but spent your entire time playing computer games instead of taking notes, or have never opened your text book, I can see how you might feel completely lost.

But you might want to reconsider your request for someone else's outline.

Consider finding outlines on the internets or even just using your syllabus and case notes. It's true, anyway, that someone else's outline isn't going to do you that much good, anyway.

That said, if you're going to ask for an outline, at least ask someone you know and not someone who's little more than a complete stranger. It is a tad presumptuous. Or have some kind of reason for why you're special. Or at least throw in a bribe!

Love and hugs,

Citations

A Syllabus A Day

On the one hand, I much prefer to have an overview of a course before it starts, so that I can enjoy the delusion of having some control over my studies. On the other hand, I wish I could enjoy a few days of spring break without getting the syllabi for upcoming classes. The instant I get them, I have to start working on them...

One thing I've learned works well for me is to take the syllabus and turn it into a skeleton outline immediately. I have my format that I like to use, with headings and whatnot. Then I go through and put in all the briefs I can, so even if I don't understand the cases I at least have a few lines for facts and rule and holding. I can get a class done in a day or two, depending on how case-heavy it is.

As the quarter progresses, I drop in notes from class and black-letter law drawn from commercial outlines or wherever--rarely from class or cases, of course. So by the end of the quarter I have a massive outline done. It's long but super-comprehensive. Then I condense it once or twice or thrice...

Anyway. I have Bankruptcy and Land Use done. Roman Law, I think, will be syllabusless. And the Hammer never hands out a syllabus, as far as I know. I have not, however, done diddly-squat on paper or Comment. I'm going to be in soooo much trouble.

Concentration

I'm going incommunicado.

Sometimes, when you really need to study and actually learn a lot of stuff in a short amount of time, you have to turn off your email program! 

*cringe*

And resist the internets in their entirety. Oh, the pain.

Ok, I'll let myself peek at my email every couple of hours. Because, you see, it's possible someone will email me the answer to all my problems, or all their class notes for Admin, or something equally miraculous.

What To Read Before Law School

Edit: it occurred to me, after I posted this, that I should have included a warning. Do as much preparation as you like, and as much as feels good, but do not burn out! Still, enjoy it while you can -- reading about law before you have any pressure on you. And don't worry about trying to memorize or understand it all on the first go-around; the idea is that by familiarizing yourself with some of the basic concepts, it will be easier for you to build a solid foundation during the year.  Other skills to practice include drinking large amounts of caffeine and alcohol, but not at the same time; shopping on-line because you'll never get to a store; and finding quiet things to eat in the library.

Before all else, a caveat: the following advice may not be helpful for all people at all schools. I can almost guarantee it won't be.

For what it's worth, I'm a type A with OCD and slacker tendencies* at a national law school.** Rankings, shmankings, but it's way up on the charts however you shuffle the numbers. They teach lots and lots of theory, but you better learn the black letter law all on your own, because you will need to know it and they won't teach it (with a few notable exceptions).

Without further ado (and not in any particular order), here's what I wish I'd read over last summer:

1. The Understanding series, especially Understanding Contracts and Understanding Criminal Law. The other property section, I noticed, all memorized Understanding Property Law also, but we didn't need it in my section.
2. In my Property section, we all memorized the Bible of Estates in Land, by Moynihan.
3. Foundations of Tort Law. I often wanted to throw it across the room, but it's all the theory you really need -- especially if you have a law and economics fan for a professor. The essay on comparative law is actually pretty interesting.
4. The Foundations series in general is decent for theory and background.
5. There are two Aspen Examples & Explanations books worth doing: Torts and Civil Procedure. The Torts is a bit iffy and definitely incomplete, but it will help more than hurt. The Civil Procedure book, however, is indispensable. It's not sufficient, but it's an excellent place to start. And yes, that says "doing" and not "reading:" you should work through the problems. But be warned: sometimes he only gives you information in the answer to the question you just struggled to answer. So read the whole thing.
6. For Contracts, the book with a ship on the cover by Chirelstein (Concepts and Case Analysis in the Law of Contracts).  My contracts professor nearly read passages from the book for some of his lectures.
7. Get a reasonably reliable outline book (or borrow one from the library) for each of the major first year subjects and at least familiarize yourself with the black letter law. What little I knew before I started turned out to be so valuable, and I wish I had known more.

No movies, no novels, and I'm not recommending any television shows either. If you're going to a school that emphasizes theory over practical knowledge, and you know if you are, then the more practical knowledge you start with the better able you will be to understand the theory. Also, the more time you'll have during the school year to do nifty things like look up law review articles your professors have written, or read their books, or maybe (crazy idea) get a few extra hours of sleep here and there, when you most need it.

I'm bucking the trend with this list of recommendations, I know. But those of you who truly want to be prepared, and are afraid of jumping into the deep end of the pool without a life preserver, an oxygen tank, and several life guards on duty -- these books will help.

And please, get them used*** if you can stand it! I've generally had excellent luck ordering used books from Amazon, and the one time the book didn't come Amazon was great about refunding my money.

Conflicting Advice On Preparing For Law School

Don't read anything.

Work through every E&E Aspen ever published.

Watch "Legally Blonde."

Read the Constitution and everything written by the Founding Fathers.

I looked at advice about preparing for law school before I went, of course. This would be me, the borderline (I'm not saying which side of the border) OCD preparation girl. Yes, my outlines were color coordinated. Moving on...

I just spent a few minutes browsing through blogs offering 0L or 1L advice. Mostly it divides into two categories: don't do a thing, or do way too much. But I suspect, after my experience this year and reading about other people's experiences, that the value of preparation, and the type of preparation most useful, might vary widely from one school to another.

So before I share with all y'all my brilliant insights into preparing for law school, I'd like to ask you: what was your experience like? Was your school heavy into policy, or was it all about Black Letter Law? Did you follow casebooks, or did your professors assign readings from outer space? Did you try to prepare, or not so much? If you choose to comment, it might be helpful if you gave some indication of the type of school you attend -- at least "local," or "national," or "back-of-the-cereal-box diploma offer."

Because I have a theory or five, but I'd like to do some "research" first.

And speaking of research, I have to clean up my act and go to work.

Oh, and the writing competition? I, uh, I know what the topic is. How's that for progress?