UVA Law Students Taking Questions Forum

[5ky]

Any tips on how to perform better for the write on competition?

Accept the fact that you aren't going to write on to law review and thus shouldn't spend too much time on the essay. My journal only looked at the bluebooking part.

Also realize that nearly everybody gets on a journal whether initially or in part 2

Seems like a positive attitude

It's best not to take these things too seriously. It's really easy to get lost in the hubbub of it all for these sorts of things, but it's really not terribly life shattering

[albanach]

Also, be aware that there is law review, and there are other journals.

Some other journals consider themselves to be more prestigious, but I have seen little sign of that from employers. Others may have had a different experience.

Secondary journals do, however, vary widely in the work load they expect you to undertake over the next two years.

[5ky]

Also, be aware that there is law review, and there are other journals.

Some other journals consider themselves to be more prestigious, but I have seen little sign of that from employers. Others may have had a different experience.

Secondary journals do, however, vary widely in the work load they expect you to undertake over the next two years.

Yes. If you consult the W&L journal rankings to help you make your decision, you are doing it incorrectly. (note: I did this)

i have my own thoughts on picking a secondary journal. Most will say that which one you pick completely doesn't matter, aside from workload. I think this is mostly true, but if you are a K-JD and know for sure you want to do corporate work, it might be marginally, marginally helpful to pick the Law & Business journal or whatever it is, simply for presenting a coherent 'package' at OGI.

I had more than a few people open with 'boy it really looks like your choices are all over the place, yuk yuk yuk. do you have any idea what you want to practice??'

[plenipotentiary]

Also, be aware that there is law review, and there are other journals.

Some other journals consider themselves to be more prestigious, but I have seen little sign of that from employers. Others may have had a different experience.

Secondary journals do, however, vary widely in the work load they expect you to undertake over the next two years.

Yes. If you consult the W&L journal rankings to help you make your decision, you are doing it incorrectly. (note: I did this)

i have my own thoughts on picking a secondary journal. Most will say that which one you pick completely doesn't matter, aside from workload. I think this is mostly true, but if you are a K-JD and know for sure you want to do corporate work, it might be marginally, marginally helpful to pick the Law & Business journal or whatever it is, simply for presenting a coherent 'package' at OGI.

I had more than a few people open with 'boy it really looks like your choices are all over the place, yuk yuk yuk. do you have any idea what you want to practice??'

I second this advice. I picked my journal based on my undergrad/"intellectual" interests rather than my professional interests, and I regretted it during OGI (even though it all worked out). Your journal is mostly about signaling to employers. Unless you're on the board, you won't spend much time on journal work, and you won't be reading entire articles during cite checks so the subject doesn't matter. Law & Biz is the way to go.

[jacksonmead]

If someone has a Verdier Banking Regulation outline and wants to PM me I'll be in your virtual debt. The ones on the outline bank are not so sweet.

[UVAIce]

I chuckle at that last post because we are in class and I can understand why you just want an outline for all this. So I second the above motion.

[Otunga]

Hello guys. Are there a reasonable amount of students pursuing crim defense? Obviously t14s are going to be heavily clerkship and biglaw focused, and UVA fits that mold. If one is trying for a job in crim defense, I would think that there isn't going to be a whole lot of direct competition at the school. However, the relevant clinics look great, and the course offerings and so on.

[5ky]

I chuckle at that last post because we are in class and I can understand why you just want an outline for all this. So I second the above motion.

That class is a train-wreck all the way around

[albanach]

Hello guys. Are there a reasonable amount of students pursuing crim defense? Obviously t14s are going to be heavily clerkship and biglaw focused, and UVA fits that mold. If one is trying for a job in crim defense, I would think that there isn't going to be a whole lot of direct competition at the school. However, the relevant clinics look great, and the course offerings and so on.

Do you mean public defender? Or white color criminal defense in some litigation firm?

The law and public interest program is quite popular, but obviously it's a mix of poverty law, environmental law, criminal defense and prosecution.

The criminal defense clinic is full, and has sixteen students. I think it runs each semester, so it may have 30ish students per year.

[sprezz]

the focus on direct competition is a little weird. there are several different ways to pursue criminal defense: biglaw white collar group is one of them, and prestigious clerkship --> (white collar) boutique is another. so the additional options available at a t14 might reduce 'direct competition' to the extent that a lot of people interested in criminal defense won't be doing the public defender or small local crim defense office thing like they'd probably have to lower down the totem pole. plus everyone's relatively scattered geographically. but there's still a good chunk of people interested in criminal defense here, if what you're after is people that share your interest.

i've taken a few criminal classes and talked to friends taking others and they are pretty incredible. you're tapping into a good group of people to learn from between coughlin, bowers, braga etc. no experience with the clinic though.

[Otunga]

Thanks for the responses.

Yes, I asked about 'direct competition' because the vibe I get is that at many non-t14s, you're probably going to get more people that are competing with you for local public defender jobs, particularly if you attend a regional in your area. Obviously as sprezz suggested, white collar stuff is largely out of the equation at non-t14s. Perhaps having more direct competition is a bright spot, as people can feed off each other and give advice. But of course, there's no real reason to think that UVA wouldn't provide a great network for someone wanting crim defense work, whether blue collar (PD) or white collar.

[sprezz]

gotcha. one note that might be relevant is charlottesville is (a) amazing and (b) small, so the truly "local" full time jobs in any practice are very hard to crack. but i think what seems to be the underlying conclusion is right, and uva (or any t14) isn't going to constrain your ability to prepare for and find a job doing crim defense.

(i don't wanna say white collar is out of the question at nonT14 or wherever you wanna draw that line; actually have a couple friends doing it from much lower ranked schools. but of course percentages drop, etc etc tls hth)

[albanach]

Yes, I certainly wouldn't bank on staying in the immediate area after graduation. If nothing else, smaller public defenders tend to hire when a position arises, but you will be looking in your 3L year (typically for PI). Bigger offices in cities can hire in advance more easily. Secondly, most PD offices will have had clinic students assigned to them, so if a vacancy arises, there's a reasonable chance one of their clinic students may apply for it offering them a known quantity.

One of the good things about UVA is the availability of school sponsored public interest fellowships. Other schools do offer these, but I imagine they become harder to get as you drop down into lower ranked schools.

[JustaQ]

How are the guest speakers and all of these colloquiums that seem to take place every week?

[Yardbird]

Does anyone have an outline for Klees/Yale's Private Equity & Hedge Funds class?

[yahootls]

FYI for anyone looking for awesome housing to begin in June: --LinkRemoved--. Great location and great price! Much better option than the Pavilion in my opinion...

[danitt]

FYI for anyone looking for awesome housing to begin in June: --LinkRemoved--. Great location and great price! Much better option than the Pavilion in my opinion...

That kitchen....

[North]

FYI for anyone looking for awesome housing to begin in June: --LinkRemoved--. Great location and great price! Much better option than the Pavilion in my opinion...

That kitchen....

"Open Concept Kitchen"

[5ky]

FYI for anyone looking for awesome housing to begin in June: --LinkRemoved--. Great location and great price! Much better option than the Pavilion in my opinion...

That kitchen....

Probably not necessary to denigrate somebody's apartment when they're trying to sublease

[envisciguy]

Does anyone have an outline for Klees/Yale's Private Equity & Hedge Funds class?

After last Friday's make-up class, I'll second this question, though I imagine we'll have a tough time finding anyone since I think this is only the second time the class has been offered.

[Br3v]

Explain how the class is

[Yardbird]

Does anyone have an outline for Klees/Yale's Private Equity & Hedge Funds class?

After last Friday's make-up class, I'll second this question, though I imagine we'll have a tough time finding anyone since I think this is only the second time the class has been offered.

That make-up was brutal. I guarantee everyone who tries to listen to the recording gives up. Thankfully today's guest speaker was super clear.

Explain how the class is

The subject matter is interesting. The lecture delivery, organization of readings and slides, and clarity in general all leave something to be desired. Also, they are literally packing as much information as possible into the class for a 3 credit course. I have more readings in PE/HFs per class day than ConLaw and Property combined on a given day.

[kingjones59]

What's the reimbursement procedure for DC callbacks? I have a callback for a 1L SA at a V100 firm on Monday (got after an interview w/a screener). The recruitment person who set me up did not mention anything about reimbursement for travel/etc. It is only a half day interview, maybe they just have their interviewees eat the 2.5hour drive? I'm taking the train though. Just curious, I'll gladly pay out of pocket for it - but if I don't have to I obviously dont want to.

[5ky]

What's the reimbursement procedure for DC callbacks? I have a callback for a 1L SA at a V100 firm on Monday (got after an interview w/a screener). The recruitment person who set me up did not mention anything about reimbursement for travel/etc. It is only a half day interview, maybe they just have their interviewees eat the 2.5hour drive? I'm taking the train though. Just curious, I'll gladly pay out of pocket for it - but if I don't have to I obviously dont want to.

I'm sure they'll pay for a train ticket, just submit it to the recruiter after you have the callback

[Yardbird]

What's the reimbursement procedure for DC callbacks? I have a callback for a 1L SA at a V100 firm on Monday (got after an interview w/a screener). The recruitment person who set me up did not mention anything about reimbursement for travel/etc. It is only a half day interview, maybe they just have their interviewees eat the 2.5hour drive? I'm taking the train though. Just curious, I'll gladly pay out of pocket for it - but if I don't have to I obviously dont want to.

For my DC callback, they didn't mention reimbursement until the end of the callback (recruiter said she'd email me the forms). I was able to get zipcar and parking expenses covered.