Advisory Opinions
I just saw this advice for incoming law students (HT: EV), as well as Prof. Kerr's essay on "How to Read a Judicial Opinion" (as opposed to my upcoming essay on "How to Read a Blogger's Bloviation"). First I want to pass them on to any incoming Boalties who have already started pawning themselves off as law students. Second, there need to be some caveats that go with both.
Advice for Incoming
All three are very important and very good advice. For example, I definitely treated law school like work. I had crappy attendance, I felt uninspired, and I never got anything done until really I had no choice. (I'm not exaggerating when I say that I began outlining well after I'd enjoyed many a turkeys and sweet potatoes).
Likewise, exercising keeps your mind clear and your body in optimal shape for the rigors ahead. I routinely walked down to Strada to get a large mocha bianca with an extra shot and enough sugar to satisfy 3/4 of the ant colonies in the Amazon for 6 weeks. Your exercise routine might vary slightly, but there are plenty of opportunities around Boalt and Berkeley to keep your legs pumping (those sources don't make their own way back to the journal offices from the undergrad libraries...hit the bike 1L). If you're not the cardio type, and just wanted concentrate on building upper body strength, then I highly recommend utilizing the Alameda County Transit...you pay for it, afterall. Unless you drive down to Oakland (or the Marina) to catch the 51, YOU WILL NOT GET A SEAT. This means you have to hang on for dear life from the handlebars...that is...if you get a spot with handlebars. Oh, you thought all parts of a bus have handlebars? Not so with VanHool buses. About 1/3 of the bus towards the rear has no place for you to grab onto. This means you have to squeeze into the remaining 2/3 and hang on tightly enough to avoid giving the freshman with the oversized backpack a concussion. If you are in the front, just try to avoid crashing into the windshield. Some people can do it. I wouldn't recommend this workout unless you've had beginning courses at other mass transit districts...only then will you be ready for the big leagues of reckless and inertia defying driving that is the AC Transit.
Outside interests...TV, surfing the net during class, youtube during class, aim during class...etc.
How to Read a Judicial Opinion
Carefully! By the second semester the answer changes to..."Gilbertly." No but seriously, the essay is great and it's a perfect indication of how a law professor EXPECTS you to read an opinion. No one does. Or no one admits they do. Anonymously they might even claim they translate the opinions to Senegalese to get a more perfect understanding.
Advice for Incoming
All three are very important and very good advice. For example, I definitely treated law school like work. I had crappy attendance, I felt uninspired, and I never got anything done until really I had no choice. (I'm not exaggerating when I say that I began outlining well after I'd enjoyed many a turkeys and sweet potatoes).
Likewise, exercising keeps your mind clear and your body in optimal shape for the rigors ahead. I routinely walked down to Strada to get a large mocha bianca with an extra shot and enough sugar to satisfy 3/4 of the ant colonies in the Amazon for 6 weeks. Your exercise routine might vary slightly, but there are plenty of opportunities around Boalt and Berkeley to keep your legs pumping (those sources don't make their own way back to the journal offices from the undergrad libraries...hit the bike 1L). If you're not the cardio type, and just wanted concentrate on building upper body strength, then I highly recommend utilizing the Alameda County Transit...you pay for it, afterall. Unless you drive down to Oakland (or the Marina) to catch the 51, YOU WILL NOT GET A SEAT. This means you have to hang on for dear life from the handlebars...that is...if you get a spot with handlebars. Oh, you thought all parts of a bus have handlebars? Not so with VanHool buses. About 1/3 of the bus towards the rear has no place for you to grab onto. This means you have to squeeze into the remaining 2/3 and hang on tightly enough to avoid giving the freshman with the oversized backpack a concussion. If you are in the front, just try to avoid crashing into the windshield. Some people can do it. I wouldn't recommend this workout unless you've had beginning courses at other mass transit districts...only then will you be ready for the big leagues of reckless and inertia defying driving that is the AC Transit.
Outside interests...TV, surfing the net during class, youtube during class, aim during class...etc.
How to Read a Judicial Opinion
Carefully! By the second semester the answer changes to..."Gilbertly." No but seriously, the essay is great and it's a perfect indication of how a law professor EXPECTS you to read an opinion. No one does. Or no one admits they do. Anonymously they might even claim they translate the opinions to Senegalese to get a more perfect understanding.
Labels: 0L/1L Advice
posted by Armen Adzhemyan at 10:08 AM
2 Comments:
Good blog post on Socratic method from UT-Austin law prof:
http://leiterreports.typepad.com/blog/2003/10/the_socratic_me.html
well shoot, That explains the reaction of those thai llm's when i invited them over to my apartment to watch "Crocodile Dundee."
(*snare bass cymbal*)
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