Dear incoming 1Ls,
Let me be the 35th person to be the first to welcome you to GW Law!!! (Wait, sorry, even that has probably been said to you already a few times!) As I am now a part of that mysterious upperclassmen group that you will be sure holds the secrets to the universe, or at least Civil Procedure, I thought that I would pass along a few thoughts and experiences from my 1L year. Probably many of you had much more of an idea what to expect than I did- perhaps your parents are lawyers. But for those of you who, like me, had no idea what to expect, perhaps this will help you to be (un)afraid, be very (un)afraid…
First, do the competitions. As someone who was very skeptical of the importance of these events that all your friends seem to think hold the secret to success, I was dragged into participating anyway. And I am so glad that I did. Not because I did well. No, in fact I made neither Mock Trial nor Moot Court. However, I both lived to tell about it AND was further convinced that I might not want to be a trial attorney! But, even though I had an idea of this before, I feel that it was a very valuable learning experience in what I don’t want to do- which is potentially as important as learning what you DO want to do. Plus, you won’t really know how important these are until you get to the point that your 2L friends like me are at right now- applying for Summer Associate positions, most of which say “Moot Court or Mock Trial Preferred.” So, just do it- you never know, you may be great at it, and if not, you may just find you are able to further narrow down what you want to do with your law degree
Secondly, in regard to the ever important learning what you DO want to do: Don’t expect it to come out of the first year, at least not in any of the classes. And you probably won’t have too much time for anything else. So, if you are sitting there in week 6 of criminal law and wondering why you should care this much about mens rea- well, unless you are going to be one of the very, very few students who goes on to a criminal law career- you shouldn’t except for the purposes of getting through law school. Better ways to structure a first year of legal education have been much debated, but rest assured- almost all first years at any law school are like this.
Third–and everyone will tell you this–the Socratic Method is terrible and yet no big deal. Terrible because you will be in terror of being called on (especially in civil procedure–the mysteries of that class still eluded me after an entire year), every single class period, all year. No big deal because it doesn’t really matter. Everyone will screw up at times, even those people who you will come to admire as the “really smart” kids. And, no one, except you, will recall just how idiotic you sounded while fumbling through a “Um….12(b)(6)???” response.
Lastly, and here many will disagree, it is possible to have a life during your first year (just don’t expect second semester to be better than first- it will in reality probably be more busy). While most of my friends thought I was completely insane, during second semester I moved into a new condo the weekend before finals week started (which I closed on during the day between two finals- DC has some AMAZING first time homebuyer programs you should really look into before you get a job and make too much money to qualify- it’s a buyer’s market, baby!), and then got married just 9 days after my last final of my 1L year. Was it difficult? Yes. Were there many sleepless nights? Yes. Was I suffering from temporary insanity? For sure. But was it worth it? Yes! Probably you won’t be quite so illogical in deciding what you would like to do with your free time (suggestion: NOT planning a wedding or buying a condo), but it should serve as proof that yes, you can have a life outside law school.
I know that personally, last year at this time I was quite nervous about starting school having no idea what to expect. Hopefully this post will make you just a little less afraid, but don’t forget: most of what you hear about law school (it’s really hard, a ton of work, very dense, intense professors) is true. But, everyone else, all 500, are going through the exact same mixed emotions- so embrace them, and get ready for the ride!
-Katie
So, if you are sitting there in week 6 of criminal law and wondering why you should care this much about mens rea- well, unless you are going to be one of the very, very few students who goes on to a criminal law career- you shouldn’t except for the purposes of getting through law school.
Katie, are you trying to make me cry?
haha, well, actually, criminal law was one of my favorite classes (I’m not just saying that- Criminal Law, Contracts, and Property have very special places in my heart)- it’s always much more entertaining to consider what would happen if Orin Kerr takes a drink of what he thinks is a coke but is actually an LSD laced beverage and then decides to kill everyone with a golf club than what happens if someone dodges a notice of service of process inside an air terminal (seriously!), but I don’t expect that I will be practicing criminal law. But you never know I guess!
However, Criminal Law could be useful in some crazy real-life situation. Especially if you have some crazy cousins or something who tend to get themselves into wacky situations
All good advice Katie. I’m going to throw my penny in too. Have fun. This is, likely, the only time you’re going to go through 1L year. Enjoy the experience every bit of it. Don’t get me wrong; you have to work hard too. But, don’t let the “importance” of everything get to you. A lot of stuff that will seem like a big deal at the time, that Socratic method stuff or the red ink covering your first LRW assignment, just doesn’t add up to much.
You’re going to have wonderful teachers, especially if you have the crew section 12 had last year, and you’re going to learn a lot. Everyone will be fine if they put in the needed effort and relax. I had loads of fun last year and think law school can be done without the hand wringing.
Good luck 1L’s!
Have fun!
BTW GW’s cool enough that our Crim Law professor checks out the student blog at 10:30 at night. Beat that other schools!
I too will chip in my two cents, since I was just checking the Blog to see if a wise 2L had decided to post something for the incoming 1Ls. Here are my thoughts, most of which jive with what Katie said (though we disagree on one point).
First, its okay to be afraid because almost everyone else is, even if they don’t look like it. Like Katie said, its not as bad as it seems, particularly the Socratic method. Getting called on is a learning experience. A couple of things to remember when you do get called on. Your answer will not affect your grade one smidge (unless you repeatedly don’t do the reading and get called on). So relax and answer to the best of your ability. Talking in front of 100 people is hard for everyone, not just you. It may be easier for some, but it gives everyone butterflies at first. Finally, its a character building experience–maybe you’ll love it and want to pursue more public speaking roles, maybe you’ll hate it but want to improve, or maybe you won’t care. Some teachers are nice, some are well, not nice, but just remember that it doesn’t matter for your grade so use it as a learning experience.
Competitions are where I disagree with Katie, and I think it’s important to hear the other side on that one. Only do competitions that you are interested in. Alternate Dispute Resolution–doesn’t interest me a bit, so I didn’t do it and I’m not sorry. Mock Trial? Came at a hectic time in the semester for me where my focus was on other things so I skipped it. I’m not sorry about either of these decisions. Moot Court? Was practically obsessed with it and put all my effort into it because it was important to me. This is YOUR first year so you should do the things–and only those things–that interest you or you think will help you on a career path. I was talking to a couple of 3Ls the other night who were not on journals and they said they chose their spring break over the journal competition and haven’t regretted it for a moment. They had no interest in writing or note or blue-booking other people’s articles. If you have good grades and don’t intend on clerking or becoming an academic, a journal may not be the best way to spend your time. Perhaps you want to get involved in the SBA , lead a student organization, or do lots of pro bono work. There is no one right way to go through law school, and its up to you to figure out how you’d like to do it.
So, try your best to ignore the stress that will consume your classmates. Sometimes it will consume you too, but keep a level head about you and remember what your personal goals are for your career. There are many people in this school who are on no skills Boards, no journals, and have won no competitions who get exactly the job they want. So remember who you are and remember to have some fun too!
Good Luck!
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