The Shark

bad blogger, good law student

[julie anne]

I've been a bad blogger. There, I said it.

In addition to The Shark, I write - or am supposed to write - for my personal blog on a regular basis, but, like the hefty price tag of my student loans, I had put them out of my mind in favor of reading case books, briefing cases and writing my first Legal Research and Writing memo.

Turns out that what people say about the first year of law school being a major time suck really is true.

Where I've been a bad blogger, however, I've been a "good" law student - I've gone to every class and have read the material - and an OK everything else, i.e. girlfriend, daughter, martial arts student, regular gym goer, regular dish and clothing washer, etc.

And I've done so without a single "FML" Facebook status update.

I've heard some people say that they are able to handle their day-to-day activities without scheduling them. But I honestly think I would not have been able to get through these first months of law school, and keep my sanity and my relationships, without doing so.

I've been finding it helpful to schedule all the "events" I have coming up for the following week - both law school-related and personal - in a personal planner that breaks down the days by the hour. Depending on how much time is needed, I group events in blocks of anywhere from one -and-a-half to three hours.

In pen, I block out my law school classes, my gym schedule and my weekend karate class.

In pencil, I block out the reading that must be done so I can adjust the time accordingly if I need to spend more time on any given subject, and any errands or chores that must be done

You'll notice that I haven't mentioned blogging. And I've done that to, um, illustrate a point. If I don't write something in and just think about doing something, I never get to it.

For some reason, a to-do list seems more daunting when it's floating around in your head, than when it's fixed onto paper. As such, that floaty to-do list never gets done.

Rather than drive me crazy with what could be seen as micro managing my days, the schedule actually gives me some relief when I see that, yes, there is time to sleep, spend time with The Boyfriend, and indulge in a show or movie from Hulu or Netflix.

And, yes, write a blog post.

If you're a 1L, what are you doing to keep your sanity? If you are an older student, or have graduated from law school, what did you do?

the professors' fallacy: making a case against the science of bar exam failure.

[patrick]

A UCLA School of Law researcher recently found that people who fail the bar-exam fare more poorly than even college graduates in the first five years after graduation but spring back in the later half of their careers.  By "spring back" the researcher refers to these numbers:

Broken down by age group, the median salary of law grads who never passed the bar was $32,000 before they reached the age of 30 (compared to $48,000 for lawyers and $35,600 for college grads), $48,000 from the ages of 30 to 39 (compared to $64,000 for lawyers and $42,000 for college grads), $54,000 between the ages of 40 and 49 (compared to $83,600 for lawyers and $46,250 for college grads), and $62,849 between the ages of 50 and 59 (compared to $86,400 for lawyers and $48,416 for college grads).

The article goes on to conclude that:

"Despite the resilience of the law grads who never passed the bar . . . their law school experience wasn’t worth the cost."

Wait, what?  But it gets better.  Law schools should take heed, because: 

“Legal education may be a disservice for the significant group of students that never pass a bar exam—a group whose composition can be predicted fairly accurately before they’ve even begun law school,” she says. “At the very least, law schools owe it to their prospective students to provide candid information about the risks of attending law school.”

The data is interesting, but the article frames it as what I've started calling the Professors' Fallacy; it makes a generalized observation about a whole, then it proceeds to the conclusion that concrete advice should be given in particular cases.  In this case, it suggests that "because people who share some similar traits to you fail the bar exam, you weren't cut out for law school."  

My objections to this are legion.  

but wait, how do i study? eight tips for 1Ls.

[patrick]

A friend recently emailed to tell me that he was starting law school, and to ask if I had any advice or suggestions for staying abreast of his first year. I did, and I do. 

While I realize the following eight suggestions may be controversial, I'm going to throw them out there anyway. The've worked for me and although each may be subject to qualifications and exceptions (isn't everything in law school that way?) I stick by what I wrote to my friend: 

1. Use the Examples & Explanations series (published by Aspen). Unlike casebooks or professors' lectures, the series covers the basic concepts and then provides examples for you to respond to, followed by explanations of how your answer should have looked. They're no substitute for your casebook, but they'll go a long way to helping it make sense. You can likely get your hands on one for each of your classes, and it's money well spent.  
2. Avoid using another student's outlines. First, nobody is perfect and you don't need to compound your own mistakes (which everyone makes) by building off of someone else's. Second, outlining a course is where the real learning takes place and there isn't any viable substitution for it - with outlines, it's the process and not the finished product that counts.
3. Do brief cases separately on your computer, at least for a while. The exercise is good because it is important to learn how to distinguish the "holding" in the case from the "reasoning" and so forth, but as time goes on two things will happen: First, you'll start to see that the distinctions are sort of artificial - e.g., the so-called "reasoning" is often intertwined with the so-called "holding" or the so-called "rule," such that the categories overlap. Second, you'll start to find that you can separate out the various elements of an opinion without actually having to type anything up. When that begins to happen for you, you'll know the case briefing exercise has lost (or perhaps realized?) its utility. At that point, you can trust yourself to take reliable notes in the margins of your book, and you can forgo the briefing exercise. 
4. Do read and reread each case until you understand it. You are after the rule at issue, and how it applied to the facts - don't stop until it makes sense, and I mean REALLY makes sense. This might take more than one reading at first because law has its own language, but it'll come faster with time. I promise. 
5. Do not worry about minutiae. Minutiae includes memorizing case names, judge names, the name of the court in which was heard, the state in which the court sat, and so forth. Some professor may or may not bust your chops over this in class some day, but I promise - PROMISE - you it will not be relevant to the exam. The exam will test your facility with the rules and your ability to apply them to the facts. It will not ask for nor will it reward trivial details that do not bear on the core rules and principles the cases for which you read stand.
6. Do not worry about what your peers are up to. There are probably people with crazy highlighter schemes and freakish coding or index card systems for rote memorization. These are likely the same people who talk about staying up all night, and who later in the semester will talk about how long their outline is, or whatever. What they are expressing is insecurity, not some kind of insider knowledge you don't have. Ignore them as best you can. 
7. Do not study with others. And if you can't take that advice, do not study with more than one other person. I know that sounds coarse, but as a 1L I fell a time or two for the "study group" thing and I swear it's the blind leading the blind. If you don't understand an issue, try to frame it as a clear and precise question, then go look it up yourself. You'll have the answer in front of you instead of the word of someone who is just as new to the law as you. If looking it up doesn't work, and it sometimes doesn't, go ask your professor in person. You'll have an expert answer from your evaluator, instead of a lay answer from someone in your shoes. 
8. Do not underestimate your ability to succeed. Law school is all about work, not brains. True, you have to meet some threshold level of intelligence to get by, but that bar is set disappointingly low. The most successful students are not the brilliant ones. The successful students are those who take the time to think everything through, to understand what is happing in a case, why the judge decided it they did, and what the case "stands for" now. Admittedly, there is a lot of information to sort through. But that's a blessing in disguise, because the volume of information makes it so that the people who apply themselves will succeed where the lax do not. And whether you apply yourself is entirely within your control.

Note that none of this addresses how to stay a cool person. Frankly, if you need tips or advice on that, you're already a gonner.  Do, however, try to remember:  it's only school.

first year humiliation: a rite of passage, always.

[julie anne]

From standing in line at the university business office next to 2Ls and 3Ls, from passing by more experienced students in the hallways in my first full week of school, and from being laughed at by the 2L boyfriend for my primeval 1L law school student ways, I have learned there are certain things that just scream "1L law school noob".

Are you channeling Quasimodo by having a ginormous backpack filled to the brim with ginormous casebooks, and cluttered with a rainbow of pens and highlighters? You just might be a 1L law school noob.

Upon entering the law school library, do you gracelessly struggle to get out your ID, attempting to balance your casebooks and coffee mug, while 2Ls and 3Ls brush on past (which happened to me this morning)? You just might be a 1L law school noob.

Do you highlight every single sentence in your casebooks because, dude, everything is important? Does the sight of your professor riffling through the class roster or even anything slightly resembling that (i.e. your date flipping through a menu, your dog digging in the backyard, etc.) make you break out into a cold sweat? Do you dream, as I did, about the horror of your casebriefs suddenly being deleted and being replaced with tons of photos containing Photo-Crashing Squirrel? 

And do you write a blog post during a cancelled class when you should really be reading ahead and briefing more cases? Then you definitely are a law school noob.

Calling all 2Ls, 3Ls, law school survivors and professors. What things do us 1Ls do that are a dead giveaway that we are 1Ls? Feel free to comment below!

1L playbook: a grain of salt.

[dennis]

Last year during my 1L orientation, two female law review members came into my section’s room for a Q&A session.  

One of the girls was a blonde who wore a starched button-down, pencil skirt, and pumps. The other girl was a redhead who wore a school T-shirt, jeans, and flipflops. They looked like catalog models for Express and the school bookstore.

I don’t know if it was staged, but the two girls started sparring during the Q&A session.

Redhead: “I love, love, love Microsoft OneNote. I have amazing categories for all of my notes and can show y’all how to make custom functions!”
Blonde: “I don’t even bring my laptop to school. I hand-write all my notes.”
Redhead: “OneNote is really useful for your outlines. I make these sprawling outlines with multicolored tabbies!”
Blonde: “I don’t outline. I’m all about flash cards.”

They were tit-for-tat for the entire Q&A session: if the blonde did things one way, the redhead did the complete opposite.

Both girls were successful students and had completely different habits and personalities. The exchange really illustrated the cliché: “Do what works for you.”

Many of you 1Ls will find out that law students love to give advice. The motives for the advice givers are mixed (cue the Eurythmics). Some upperclassmen are condescending or just want to see how long it will take to make you cry, but I suspect that most students genuinely want to be helpful.

Just remember to take all advice with a grain of salt. There is no universal magic method or secret. Other law students can tell you what works for them, but ultimately you have to figure out what works for you.

1L playbook: when to outline.

Ed. note:  I'm very pleased (thrilled, even) to introduce our newest blogger, Dennis Jansen. Dennis hails from the University of Minnesota, where he is a 2L. You can read more of Dennis's writing at his site, No634. I think you'll find him to be quite hilarious.

[dennis]

Last year, during my 1L orientation, Professor Doe came up to the podium of the lecture hall and said: “You should have already started your outlines. If you have not done so, start immediately.”

There was a visible wave of shock in the room, and I suspect that everyone was too busy panicking to listen to the rest of the speech.

After the speech, our orientation leaders herded us back to our home room and immediately did damage control. “Doe is a great professor but don’t listen to him,” they said, “that was bad advice.”

For the rest of the day, student presenters would come in and say, “I heard you guys got crazy advice from Professor Doe! Did he actually tell you to start outlining already?! Isn’t that crazy-talk?”

Professor Doe’s advice did seem like crazy-talk until about two weeks before fall finals when I realized that I had barely started outlining. 

I still think outlining on the first day of school is unworkable for most law students. Most 1Ls cannot produce any meaningful outlines (or even class notes) during the first few weeks of school, but I don’t recommend waiting until the last minute either. It’s not good for your heart. Trust me.

I also do not recommend stalking upperclassmen for their old outlines.

The purpose of outlining is the process, not the product. When you make your own outline you have to synthesize the material and figure out if there are any gaps in your notes. Some people call this process “studying.”

If you are completely lost in a course, remember to use the syllabus as your basic outline structure. You can supplement any gaps in your notes with a nutshell or the course outlines available on LexisNexis.

Be careful not to rely too heavily on outlines made for other professor's classes, because what Professor Doe will probably emphasize different things than Professor Smith.

For those 1Ls want some ideas on how and when to outline, here are some of the outlining schedules that I have noticed:

• The Sprinter – Don’t worry about outlining until the end of the semester when a small sense of panic sets in. This is the law school equivalent of cramming. Be careful, because the amount of cramming time that was okay for undergrad is probably inadequate for law school. This is what I did first semester, and I only recommend this method for the people who work well on adrenaline and caffeine, and those who suspect that they are, in fact, Chuck Norris.
• The Backtracker – Begin outlining during the last month of the semester. Spend a week on each class, and outline for your finals in reverse order (the first outline is for your last final). The theory is that outlining in reverse order will make the finals period easier because the information for your first final will be fresh in your mind and you will only have to review information for your subsequent finals because those outlines will already be done. This has worked for several of my classmates and works well for students who feel more comfortable with the extra review.
• The Rotator – Begin outlining about one month into the semester. Set aside a day each week to synthesize and outline the material for a single class. Focus on a different class each week and by the end of the semester your outlines will be mostly finished. This method also allows you to review material as the semester progresses, so you won’t completely forget the first month’s concepts by the end of the semester.
• By Chapter – Most professors will break down the reading assignments into units or chapters. An easy way to make progress with your outlines is to synthesize your notes for each of the course sections as you finish them. This is similar to the Rotator method, but a little less structured and more tailored to the natural stops and pauses in the semester. This is also a nice way to make sure there is no lingering confusion before you move on to the next portion of your class.

There are also plenty of students who don’t outline at all and use things like note cards and supplements. Because, as with most academic advice, you have to figure out what works best for you.

Good luck!

testmasters v. blueprint: it's all over for real.

[julie anne]

The sun has set on a four-year showdown between law school admission test preparation companies Testmasters and Blueprint Test Preparation, which I took to prepare for the December LSAT.

Here's a bit of the release from the Blueprint website:

"After over four years of litigation, a 25-day trial spanning over three months, and more alcohol imbibed by the defendants than was strictly speaking healthy, the trial between Testmasters and Blueprint is done. Finito. Gone like Donkey Kong.

On June 15, 2009, Judge William Highberger entered the statement of decision and DENIED the permanent injunction sought by Testmasters against Blueprint and UPHELD the jury's verdict."

Read the decision in full here.

If you don't feel like reading the whole thing, because, dude, it's summer, here's my understanding of what went down:

Blueprint Test Preparation was started several years ago by former Testmasters instructors, who started Blueprint four months before the end of their Testmasters teaching gigs. According to Testmasters, since Blueprint founders were disloyal to the company, they had to pay back wages earned from Testmasters during those last four months and any profit earned from Blueprint during those four months.

Testmasters representatives also implied that Blueprint materials were derived from Testmasters' materials.

A jury last year found that Blueprint and its employees were liable on some causes of action. The jury awarded damages to Testmasters, in the amount of 1% of the originally sought amount. Judge Highberger upheld the jury verdict, and further stated that Blueprint materials were distinct from Testmasters' materials.

Some of the Testmasters more PR-y tactics used during the litigation included: disseminating inflammatory fliers about Blueprint on college campuses, editing deposition videos for use on a website called "Blueprint Blues," and an endless stream of cease and desist letters.

If you're a Law 360 subscriber, you can read a story they wrote here.

perspective: the secret to law school success?

[julie anne]

As a 0L in the summer before law school, I’ve been trying to read books, blogs and articles that give me an idea of not only what to expect in law school — besides loss of sleep and the damnation of my eternal soul — but also how to succeed once a law school zombie.

I’ve read Scott Turow’s epic “One L: The Turbulent True Story of a First Year at Harvard Law School”, and various jeremiads dedicated to lost innocence and sanity.

I’ve read advice on the best ways to brief a case, on when the best time is to start looking for a summer job, and, yes, on the importance of going to class.

But some of the most sensible advice for future law students so far has come from Stephanie West Allen and Jeffrey M. Schwartz, who state in article published in 2007 that the secret to law school zombie success is, you guessed it, brains.

Rather than get into the minutiae of case briefs, summer jobs, classes and exams, Allen and Schwartz advise law students to create well-rounded lives by being conscious of how law school rewires their brains and encourage them to become active participants in the process.

Yeah, I know it sounds like happy, hippie, tree-hugging type stuff, but bear with me.

Allen and Schwartz write that the mastery of the law is best attained by students who are self-aware, who create good habits, who learn to be cross-cultural and who learn how to cherish their ignorance.

The first two pieces of advice seemed like no-brainers to me: They basically boiled down to choosing books over beer, and studying steadily rather than sporadically.

The last two were not so straightforward, but ultimately made sense not just for law school but also for the post-law school professional world.

The cross-cultural lawyer, Allen and Schwartz state, is someone who can step outside of their law student and lawyer suits and just be regular, non-argumentative, non-aggravating people.

And by being cross-cultural, you’re able to cherish your ignorance.

What does that mean exactly?

Allen and Schwartz write: “Remember what it was like before you and all that information about the law. To use a phrase from Zen, remember your ‘beginner’s mind’. … Listen to non-lawyers and recall how you used to see things. … Someone stuck exclusively in the lawyer culture and lawyer knowledge can be very lonely.”

Everything that I’ve read up to now has been so aimed at immersing me in the law school culture, at telling me that to give myself over to the law school brain rewiring process, that it was refreshing to read Allen and Schwartz say that it’s OK to snap out of it once in a while.

Read the full article here.

reactions to barbri, courtesy of twitter.

[cynthia]

I'll admit it: I really enjoy Twitter. I've had some brushes with comedic genius on the site (others, not my own), and I am so lazy that 140 characters actually feels like a feat once written. I also particularly enjoy searching the Twitter feeds for subject matter that interests me. Snack foods, Jay-Z, shopping in Los Angeles, reactions to plane crashes. A recent search of "#barbri" (inspired by a friend on my list who is currently in BarBri) resulted in some funny/sad/otherwise empathy-inducing finds:

@errorlesss: In the first hour of #BarBri tonight, the lecturer has referenced necrophilia, showering with Sharon Stone, and insulted Louisiana.

@markadams44: thinks there must be a better way to provide legal education. But maybe not. #barbri (And I'm not bashing Barbri.)

@jakblackwood: Another day of bullshit taped #Barbri lectures.... I hope I'm paying less than the guys seeing it live.

@jakblackwood: I'd rather be outside in this #thunderstorm/ #hailstorm than sit in #barbri lectures

@jakblackwood: Studying this stuff is like eating kitty litter #barbri

(Ed. Note: This guy is particularly disenchanted with the process. Check out his Twitter page for more.)

@JessieBregant: Learning Agency and Partnership from a guy who sounds disturbingly like Homestar Runner. #barbri

@mental_drivel: Why is there a dude studying for #barbri with a headband on?

@Beer4Prez: going ape shit crazy #barbri

Good times had by all, I would say.

P.S. You can follow The Shark on Twitter (with more content than appears here on the blog).

shame on you, law school cheaters! shame on you.

[julie anne ines]

Sometimes, I imagine law students, law school and the lure of high grades akin to throwing a bunch of hungry, ugly-cute baby sharks into a small tank with a juicy piece of red meat.

Besides being fiercely competitive over-achievers, these Type-A sharkies have been told their survival in the law school tank depends on them being able to get those yummy ‘As’ and ‘Bs’.

Which is why it came as no surprise when we wrote a couple weeks ago that the Syracuse University College of Law would be taking measures to flush out cheaters who used their bathroom breaks to cheat on exams.

It is also no surprise that the National Law Journal recently reported that students are seeing more gray areas between honesty and dishonesty, and are using technology and changes in testing administration to get ahead.

What is surprising, to me at least, is that law students still see cheating as a viable option.

We’ve all been told since kindergarten that “cheaters never win, and winners never cheat,” and that “the only person you cheat when you try to cheat is yourself.” Call me square and naive, but I think both quotes are true, especially in law school exams.

Yes, law schools use exams to gauge how you fare against your classmates. But students should also take advantage of exams as an opportunity to reflect on material learned and possibly predict how well they’d do on the bar exam.

If you cheat in law school, you may be able to stay afloat and keep swimming. But when you get into the bigger ocean out there, you’ll be eaten alive if you fail to know your stuff.