What I’ve Learned

Some things I’ve learned in my first quarter of law school:

• Your notes from your first five weeks of law school are probably not going to do you any good in exam preparation.
• It’s possible to go to a great school and have a lot of fun
• CivPro is all about the rules.
• Elements is all about Levi, Dworkin, and weird heuristics
• It’s possible to prepare well for a CivPro exam.
• It is not possible to prepare well for an Elements exam.
• The best way to get firms to respond to you, if you’re 1L looking for a firm summer job, is to take a final. I’ve gotten three interview requests during my two finals, and none at any other times. Almost makes me wish I had more finals. Almost.
• Chicago’s curve makes no sense to anybody, anyway, so that lack of preparation for your Elements final may or may not mean anything, even if you get a not-stellar grade (nobody knows what the heck a 173 is, anyway).

EDIT: One more thing: you know all that hype that firms don’t really read cover letters and that you should closely adhere to instructions like, “Don’t apply until 12/15?” Don’t buy any of it.