December 2009
34 posts
1 tag
Law Student Vocab: Racehorse Finals
tiffanyjam:
“Racehorse” finals a.k.a. finals in which the professor knows very well 95% (not a scientific calculation) of students will not finish. Who was the first person who thought these were an excellent idea?
Time pressure is when maybe 25% of the class won’t quite finish and maybe 5-10% is going to miss out on a lot. When more than half the students won’t finish,...
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“I will be putting my crayons and coloring book in my bookbag tomorrow, along...”
– This is not in the slightest bit ridiculous (HATE is easy…love takes COURAGE)
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Photographic Memory
Somebody shake me, please:
But of all the students I have polled who are in the top 5% - they all claim to have a photographic memory. Maybe they do not actually have photographic memories; perhaps their claim is only a sign of their inflated egos and over-confidence, and thus their belief that they possess everything. Who knows.
I don’t buy it. A photographic memory is a nice theory, but...
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“the point is that some people have real problems, and no, sorry, law school...”
– Jansen on Law school finals.
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“I was darn sure about what I wrote before I wrote it.”
– Great advice whether you’re using keyboard and screen or pencil and paper. (Laura Bergus writing for Lawyerist)
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“The market simply is not going to tolerate the inefficiency that was embedded in...”
– To the extent that law schools were built on capitalizing on that inefficiency, law schools will have to change as well. (WSJ)
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Two down, one to go.
chrisdwoo:
I guess I’m contractually obligated to take my contracts exam…
I think it’s more that taking the exam is a condition precedent to not failing.
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“4. Other students are liars. They didn’t study the way they said, they...”
– Truer words about law school are rarely spoken (My Legal Fiction: Encouragement to 1L’s and to those who feel like 1L’s)
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“1. You will never be more prepared than you are right now.”
– Thanks, But No Thanks.: On the eve of your first law school exam…
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On Crushing Your First-Year Exams: Advice From... →
How law review students got through exams. Great read.
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Study Group At Columbia Requires A Transcript -... →
Law school douchebaggery reaches epic new heights. I rarely say this, but Columbia 1L, please leave. Law school does not need you.
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“A four hour exam sounds long, but it wasn’t really all that bad. My stamina [the...”
– This is one of the more important reasons you do all that studying all semester long, so thinking for that long in an exam is second nature. (HATE is easy…love takes COURAGE)
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My Legal Fiction: Lawyer vs. Bartender →
On how being a bartender is better, the same as, or worse than being a lawyer.
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“Don’t ever, I repeat EVER, try to encourage me by using the word ‘fine’ in any...”
– Mrs.Espo: How to Date a FIRST YEAR Law Student.
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DLA Piper: Bringing the Curve to Biglaw - Above... →
1) The point of a business is to make money. If people are doing a good job, they are making money and contributing. If everyone is making money and contributing, everyone should get rewarded. 10% should not be expected to fail.
2) This is a great way to kill off work/life balance. Pit associates against each other in a death match where only the top 20% get any real reward and we get rid of the...
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On Demanding Cock
merlin:
How ever long things like this exist, and whether or not they have a giant impact on humanity, I really believe it’s only bootstrap projects like Favrd that can reliably keep the web interesting. I truly do. Hacer: make and do.
This is equally applicable to law school. Running on the treadmill, following the herd, and thinking that it’s the tool or the place that defines you...
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What Makes a Good Exam Answer?
Just take all the advice and write a deeply rigorous poem that answers the question in an evaluative manner while getting to maybe and going beyond telling what the law is but also never forget to remain honest and perceptive.
Solid gold.
What Makes a Good Law School Exam Answer? Law Profs Weigh In - Law Blog - WSJ
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“Within this first trimester, I’ve questioned so much about my career choice, why...”
– making moves.: In less than a week,
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“I, for one, am NOT in law school and have a totally normal, stress-free sex...”
– I have absolutely nothing to add here (The Life of a {Law School} Wife)
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Bar Exam Pass Rates Dip at 9 New York Law Schools:... →
Taking the bar is expensive, but studying for it even more so. And if you’re already working, right now would have been the worst time to take time off for the bar.
And I thought New York was supposed to be a tough place to pass. 88-90% is a lot higher than I would have expected.
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Casey McGinnis, RIP
Missing Michigan 1L Took His... →
Rest in peace indeed. Remember to watch out for yourselfs, watch out for your classmates, and get the help you need.
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Law school BPP accused of exploiting demand to... →
Some shady going ons at a British law school, taking advantage of the recession to grab every tuition dollar possible.
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“If I am feeling the way that finals inevitably make me feel, I am bound to...”
– If you can’t beat finals, you might as well enjoy them. (via Thanks, But No Thanks)
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Harvard Law and Georgetown Law Make Grading Easier... →
Wishful thinking: maybe this is the first step in getting rid of grades as a major factor in hiring altogether.
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Pls Hndle Thx: Pass/Fail or EPIC FAIL? - Above the... →
Point/counterpoint on the virtues of taking bar classes pass/fail. Word to the wise: if Law and Literature isn’t a writing course, stay away.
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Sí se puede – or – A [theoretical] Guide to... →
Any finals post that includes Fight Club rules is my kind of finals post.
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GULC Dean Trades T-10 Refugees for Refugees in... →
Big news from Georgetown. While lots of schools are missing their deans, it’s not every day that a top-10 school is looking for a new leader, especially during challenge times like these.
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The Harvard Law Financial Aid Situation (With... →
I don’t share quite the dire predictions of ATL on the employment prospects of Harvard Law Students. I think the popularity of the Public Service Initiative is due to two things: 1) law students genuinely seeing an opportunity to get into public service and 2) law students who think their employment prospects are dire and taking what seems to be the sure thing.
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Report Examines Increasing Popularity of LL.M.... →
Unless we see radical changes, how close is the J.D. coming to being like a Master of Arts degree: more schooling but ultimately leading toward another terminal degree like a Ph.D?
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What’s Your Old Year’s Resolution — Fearfully... →
From the big blog, I managed to bring back content from one year ago: the Old Year’s Resolution. Try it for just a month.
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What Happens if a Law Professor Loses Your Exam? -... →
Luke’s post is an extension of a couple quotes from ATL’s exam post I linked to above, focusing on a story about how Bill Clinton lost an entire Con Law class’s exams.
Luke is right though: if you write on a laptop, the exam software generates and distributes so many copies that it would take a 2012-level natural disaster to destroy all of them. At that point, I hope you still...
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All You Ever Wanted To Know About Law School Exams... →
Required reading for law students. Great tips and even better insight to the mind of law professors as they craft and grade exams. Bottom line: professors are not out to screw you, even though people like me tried to sell themselves that lie as motivation.
