The Shark

the psychology of class schedule selection.

[justin gosling]

I thought everyone registered for their fall schedule a while ago, but it looks like Berkeley Law kids have their second round of class selection today. In honor of selecting a class schedule I've compiled a list of possible schedules, and what each one says about that particular student. While I realize that some classes fill quickly and it's not always possible to cash in on your ideal schedule, everyone enters the registration fray with a schedule in mind. Schedule breakdowns go a little like this:

The Front-Week Load (FWL): The FWL is a dedicated student that has an eye on their weekend plans. They don't want a pesky one hour Friday seminar to come in the way of their kayaking trip; Friday must be free for travel to the nearest patch of wilderness. The FWL focuses mainly on extracurricular (and granola) activities.

The Back-Week Load (BWL): The BWL is a lot like the FWL, except their goals are 180 degrees apart. Where the FWL focuses on travel, the BWL is a massive party animal. While it may seem counter-intuitive to pack all your classes in the end of the school week, and possibly impact drinking on Friday, the BWL knows that they have a full weekend of drinking ahead of them and need Monday (and maybe Tuesday) to recover from the unavoidable debauchery.

The Free Evenings: Mr./Ms. Free Evening takes whatever smattering of morning and midday classes available so that they are able to spend their evenings free from the law school world. While you might think that free evenings translate to free evenings of fun and adventure, it's more likely that they are just matching their schedule with small screen entertainment. Yep, this is your reality TV junkie that will not miss American Idol, What Not To Wear, or one of the several hundred Law & Order spin offs under any circumstances.

The Early Morning Only: The Early Morning Only schedule is your gunner. Their one dying wish is to schedule classes even earlier in the morning so that deadbeat (read: normal) law school students won't bring down the level of conversation. The Early Morning Only student didn't drink a triple vanilla soy latte to gloss over every possible outcome in a rule against perpetuity hypo—they want rigor and nuance.

The "Time Between Classes:" The "Time Between Classes" schedule is the dark horse of the potential law school schedules. This student might be the smartest around because they don't pack classes back-to-back. This allows them time to prepare for the upcoming lecture, which means they won't be caught off guard in Socratic purgatory.

The Whatever My Love For Environmental/Tax/Immigration/Etc. Law Will Allow: Ahh, the dedicated student. This student is so focused on their one concentration of the legal world that they really don't care when a course is offered. While their dedication to one area of law is admirable, the potential for a chaotic schedule to take its toll at the end of the semester is huge. Beware of this student around the middle of October.

The Night Owl:  One word: lazy.

berkeley law doesn't use examsoft - it uses microsoft word. hastings is jealous.

[justin gosling]

Many law schools require that students use a secure exam-taking program, such as Examsoft's SofTest.  But I can't shake the feeling that there is a better solution.

At first, I just accepted Examsoft as the one and only solution because, well, that's what my school told me to download. But recently UC Hastings sent out an email seeking feedback on Examsoft because they wanted to gauge student interest in the possibility of using a different program for test-taking. I've had a few issues with Examsoft, so I am open to the idea of other programs.  But get this: when I talked to a a friend at Berkeley Law, I found out that they used a Microsoft Word for their exams.

What gives? While I experienced technical difficulties, they saved a document to their desktop and then emailed it out. I couldn't believe it.

So, does the benefit of being "secure" outweigh technical headaches and trust issues?

linx: everything and more, from finals to commencement and on through clerkships

[abony holmes & cynthia foster]

In honor of final exams, we bring you some grades/exam-related linx:

• Why Are Grades Private? (PrawfsBlawg)
• What Happens When a Professor Writes a Predictable Exam? (PrawfsBlawg)
• Problems With the A in "IRAC" (law_students.livejournal.com)

And for those who have a little hope for the future left, on commencement:

• A Law School Graduation Gift That Really Rocks (PRWeb)
• At Law School Commencement, Grads Urged to Chart Own Paths (Stanford Report)
• O'Connor Urges Law Grads to Protect Judicial Independence (William & Mary News)
• Newsom to Speak at U.C. Davis Law School Graduation (San Francisco Business Times)

And the general knowledge portion of the exam:

• Top 10 Law Student Books of the Moment (Law Vibe)
• Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Dildo? (Feminist Law Professors)
• Estimated 2009 "Yes-Points" for Law School Applicants (Prelawadvisor.com)
• Harvard Law Faculty Articles to be Free Online (Legal Technology via law.com)
• Federal Appellate Judicial Clerks 2009 (lawclerkaddict2009)
• Loyola Law School Launches Weekly Legal Podcasts (L.A. Legal Pad)

there are no shortcuts in law school

[justin gosling]

This week brings the first round of spring exams at Hastings, and I think a lot of us are feeling the pressure to perform. Spring exams are a little different than fall exams because there is a sense of relief in the air — in two weeks we'll be finished as 1Ls, and can officially look down on next year's incoming 1L class. That's right, we're not at the bottom of the food chain for much longer. Still, we must actually take (and pass) the exams to get out 2L letterman jackets.  This isn't exactly an enjoyable endeavor. 

Rather than study on my own and prepare for exams, I took it upon myself to see how the rest of the student body is coping with finals.

I conducted an unscientific survey where I asked a smattering of students what the minimum grade is that they'd accept, in all of their classes, for the privilege of not having to take any finals.

It's a win-win situation, right?  All of your stress goes away, and all you have to do is settle for a predetermined grade.

The results were interesting, and most people said they would gladly take grades just below the median rather than sit through two weeks of study overdrive. A few people said they would take anything that gave them a JD at the end of three years, while one of our section's better students said he'd settle for A minus. It was a pretty classic bell curve.

Then there were those that wouldn't take the bait. They said that it would be better to do the work and see what happens because it's only two more weeks of stress and you don't give up the chance at stellar grades. What go-getters.

Even if you were (not that you will be) presented with the opportunity to skip exams and settle for passing, remember: there are no shortcuts in law school.  That is why your rolling backpack is so full.

outlining, multimedia-style. it makes sense, doesn't it?

[justin gosling]

Outlining is one of those ubiquitous law school chores that just plain sucks.

I've spent the past few weeks dancing around the inevitable and this weekend I finally gave in... now I'm neck-deep in commercial outlines and a semester's worth of half-assed class notes. Fantastic.

The worst part of outlining is that the process is downright tedious, but you can't skimp on preparation because creating the outline is a refresher course in the particular subject you are studying. That said, I'm always looking to cut corners and I can't shake the feeling that there is a more efficient way to compile an outline.

Here is a thought: why don't publishers distribute digital copies of law school casebooks and commercial outlines along with their physical counterparts?

Sometimes the summary tables or tests in casebooks and commercial outlines simply need to be copied verbatim, but I really hate spending time duplicating the stupid information when it would be extremely easy to just copy and paste the sucker from the casebook into my outline. We've already posted that purely digital legal wares probably won't work for law students, but what about giving us access to both the digital and physical versions? That might actually work. Most law school students want the physical copy so they can scribble notes in the margins, but I think they would also like the access to the same text in a more convenient medium. Not only could they supplement their outlines without worrying about transcription errors, but they could synthesize the text into spoken word or do any number of things in addition to reading the physical book.

Publishers will probably roll out the usual infringement mantra and say if they provide freely copyable digital versions of selected works, then file sharing and other evils will make their profits disappear. Somehow I'm not sure future lawyers are eager to sacrifice a few hundred grand for taking a thirty dollar commercial outline.  We're too worried about passing the character and fitness portion of the bar. So come on publishers, give us access to a digital version of the product I've already purchased.

it's ok to buy your outlines on the internet

[abony holmes]

Eric Johnson over at Prawfsblaw made some valid criticisms against law professors who shun commercial outlines.  According to him, commercial outlines have some disadvantages (e.g. incomplete information) but they have many benefits, namely:

• The give students a basic understanding of the black letter law.
• Students don't have to waste time and “separate the doctrine from the chaff” while reading cases.
• They allow students to read cases “at higher intellectual level, casting a critical eye on the court, questioning the motives of the parties, and learning how the blackletter doctrine works, or doesn’t work, in the real world.”

I have to agree with those points, and I’d like to add a few of my own:

• They give structure to a course that may lack structure.
• They present a simplified version of the big picture — ideal for those moments where the minutiae of every case you read overwhelms you.
• They give you a place to double-check your understanding of the lecture and the casebook without having to wait in line for office hours or waste class time with simple questions.

I also agree with this piece of Johnson’s advice: “start with an outline in hand, and then spend the rest of the semester learning what’s wrong with it.”

no time to stop and take a breath

[abony holmes & cynthia foster]

In the second installment of our interview series, Abony discusses whether or not grades are the end-all be-all with David, a 1L at Boalt.

Relatable alert: David admits to re-adjusting his expectations of himself immediately after the end of his first semester.

Installment #1

performance anxiety

[justin gosling]

I've checked my school's website a lot over the past week to see if grades have posted. The sad thing is that I have continued the ritual even though I know they won't show up until the first week of January (at the earliest). A watched pot never boils, right? Maybe I can postpone grades forever. Or, maybe I'm really hoping the record's office will mess up and post 'em early.

There are few things worse than taking an exam and then waiting for several weeks before knowing how you performed. Heck, I had several multiple choice exams and they could easily run each answer sheet through the Scantron machine on the way out of class. Although, cringing at the buzzsaw sound indicating someone missed every question might not be the best way to enter winter vacation.

It's odd not knowing where you stand when compared to your classmates (especially because class standing weighs so heavily on many future events). I realize we are all in the same place we started at the beginning of the year, but now that finals are over I want immediate gratification. I can't even approximate relative performance because many of those I talked with after the last final said they can see themselves equally receiving incredibly high or low marks. Very frustrating.

I thought I would enjoy a carefree, grade-free vacation, but I think I'd rather know my GPA just so I stop speculating and enjoy the free time before Spring '08.

a junkie speaks out

[justin gosling]

Hi, my name is Justin, and I am an addict. Phew, feels good to get that off my chest. Apparently I built up a huge tolerance for caffeine over the semester, and my body didn't react well when I pulled the java IV after exams were over. Healthandgoodness.com says "[t]he mental and emotional crash from stimulants is nothing to take lightly. Abruptly stopping stimulants of any kind can lead to depression, nervousness, irritability and even suicidal thinking." I'm not so sure I was suicidal, but I was certainly irritable and mildly depressed for the last five days. What I thought was postpartum depression from not having any school work was just my body adjusting to life without Joe.

I wasn't returning phone calls and literally sat on the couch playing video games until I decided to sleep. The most telling post-caffeine story: I drove my wife to Sacramento for a holiday lunch where I planned on visiting friends or hitting up the driving range while she was hobnobbing. The result? I went to the movies and fell dead asleep in the car for several hours while waiting for the "pick me up" call. Keep in mind that this was on a prominent downtown Sacramento street. At three in the afternoon. Just terrible. The good news is now I can now claim to be the subject of an unscientific human study on the effects of caffeine withdrawal (you feel like poo for about a week, but there are no lasting side effects).

The funny thing is that I know I will revisit the coffee gods next semester because I like to burn the midnight oil and the academic dean hasn't returned my phone calls about the "no classes before noon" idea. Next semester I'll just have to ween myself off the black stuff rather than go cold turkey.

an emotional attachment to paper

[abony holmes]

I finished my final final a few hours ago. Immediately upon leaving the exam room, my fellow classmates were doing shots in the quad. But I had other things on my mind. Hundreds of pages of notes, handouts, practice tests and problems, photocopies of commercial outlines I refused to buy at the bookstore—all of it in my locker and backpack, itching for this very moment…

But I hesitated. Some of those papers took hours of hard work to create. They cost me my freedom, my peace of mind, my ability to watch SpongeBob reruns all day Saturday morning. In undergrad, I had no qualms about recycling every last paper and selling every book when my classes ended. Now, it seems wrong.

So all of my stuff is still in my locker. I didn’t want to drag it to the after exam festivities, but I couldn’t let it all go. Maybe when I return from break, I’ll have some idea of what I want to do with it.