Boalt 1Ls taking questions Forum

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180kickflip

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Re: Boalt 1Ls taking questions

Post by 180kickflip » Sun May 15, 2016 1:45 am

patentlitigatrix wrote:
middleastpeace wrote:
patentlitigatrix wrote:
middleastpeace wrote:Anyone commute from outside of Berkeley their 1L year? I.e a 30+ min driving commute. Did you ever get late bc of traffic? I'm debating whether or not I should commute from my parents' house and save money on rent.
Where are you coming from? I didn't live in Berkeley any of my years there.

As of right now, North Richmond (near point pinole), but my parents and I might move this summer. We would move to an area that still adds up to a 30+ min commute for me. Did you have trouble finding parking in Berkeley? I heard the underhill parking lot fills up quick.
I commuted from SF. I rented a space from someone on Craigslist about 2 blocks from the law school because it was about the same price and a guaranteed space.

how bad is the commute from sf to boalt? My fiancee is probably going to be working in sf while im there, and if the commute to the school wont be too bad, that could be an option we look at. Also, any suggestions about areas of sf that are the quickest to the school would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

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orangered

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Re: Boalt 1Ls taking questions

Post by orangered » Sun May 15, 2016 9:22 am

180kickflip wrote: how bad is the commute from sf to boalt? My fiancee is probably going to be working in sf while im there, and if the commute to the school wont be too bad, that could be an option we look at. Also, any suggestions about areas of sf that are the quickest to the school would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
Depends where in SF. If you live near the Embarcadero BART, it's maybe 40 minutes door to door (20 minutes on BART and 20 walking). But if you live in the Richmond District or Sunset, it could be two hours via public transit. Driving can work, but you have to adjust your schedule based on the traffic on the Bay Bridge (which can be intense in both directions).

The main issue with living in SF is that it's more expensive than the East Bay, so most people do the opposite; live in East Bay and commute into the city.

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Re: Boalt 1Ls taking questions

Post by Jordan Catalano » Mon May 16, 2016 12:37 pm

RationalHeretic23 wrote:
Jordan Catalano wrote:Why are all the outlines available online so old? They are all from 1998-2003. Does this matter? Does anyone have newer outlines for civ pro, contracts, torts, crim law, property, etc?
Where online are you finding these particular outlines?
On a student-run webpage > http://www.boalt.org/outlines/

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Re: Boalt 1Ls taking questions

Post by patentlitigatrix » Mon May 16, 2016 3:31 pm

180kickflip wrote:
patentlitigatrix wrote:
middleastpeace wrote:
patentlitigatrix wrote:
middleastpeace wrote:Anyone commute from outside of Berkeley their 1L year? I.e a 30+ min driving commute. Did you ever get late bc of traffic? I'm debating whether or not I should commute from my parents' house and save money on rent.
Where are you coming from? I didn't live in Berkeley any of my years there.

As of right now, North Richmond (near point pinole), but my parents and I might move this summer. We would move to an area that still adds up to a 30+ min commute for me. Did you have trouble finding parking in Berkeley? I heard the underhill parking lot fills up quick.
I commuted from SF. I rented a space from someone on Craigslist about 2 blocks from the law school because it was about the same price and a guaranteed space.

how bad is the commute from sf to boalt? My fiancee is probably going to be working in sf while im there, and if the commute to the school wont be too bad, that could be an option we look at. Also, any suggestions about areas of sf that are the quickest to the school would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
We lived in SF because my husband worked in SF while I was in law school.

Some people do take BART. I found it really inconvenient. It isn't that likely you'll be near a BART station in the city, and then getting from the BART station in Berkeley to the law school is a pain. Doable, but will take about 45min-1 hour or more door to door.

If you can go during non-commuting hours, it is a fast drive. I've lived in Pac Heights and SoMa (25 and 15-20 min drives respectively), and strongly strongly preferred Pac Heights even though it was a longer drive.

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180kickflip

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Re: Boalt 1Ls taking questions

Post by 180kickflip » Mon May 16, 2016 6:12 pm

patentlitigatrix wrote:
180kickflip wrote:
patentlitigatrix wrote:
middleastpeace wrote:
patentlitigatrix wrote:
middleastpeace wrote:Anyone commute from outside of Berkeley their 1L year? I.e a 30+ min driving commute. Did you ever get late bc of traffic? I'm debating whether or not I should commute from my parents' house and save money on rent.
Where are you coming from? I didn't live in Berkeley any of my years there.

I'd do a 25 minute commute in a second, but google maps is saying 50 minutes from pacific heights to boalt right now =\

As of right now, North Richmond (near point pinole), but my parents and I might move this summer. We would move to an area that still adds up to a 30+ min commute for me. Did you have trouble finding parking in Berkeley? I heard the underhill parking lot fills up quick.
I commuted from SF. I rented a space from someone on Craigslist about 2 blocks from the law school because it was about the same price and a guaranteed space.

how bad is the commute from sf to boalt? My fiancee is probably going to be working in sf while im there, and if the commute to the school wont be too bad, that could be an option we look at. Also, any suggestions about areas of sf that are the quickest to the school would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
We lived in SF because my husband worked in SF while I was in law school.

Some people do take BART. I found it really inconvenient. It isn't that likely you'll be near a BART station in the city, and then getting from the BART station in Berkeley to the law school is a pain. Doable, but will take about 45min-1 hour or more door to door.

If you can go during non-commuting hours, it is a fast drive. I've lived in Pac Heights and SoMa (25 and 15-20 min drives respectively), and strongly strongly preferred Pac Heights even though it was a longer drive.

I'm just worried because Google maps said it was a 50 minute commute from pacific heights the last time I checked =\
Last edited by 180kickflip on Tue May 17, 2016 8:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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pterodactyls

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Re: Boalt 1Ls taking questions

Post by pterodactyls » Mon May 16, 2016 6:32 pm

Any thoughts on the best time to look for apartments for August?

Mid-June? Early July? Is the weekend of July 4 a bad time to search, because landlords will be out of town?

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Re: Boalt 1Ls taking questions

Post by jtle624 » Tue May 24, 2016 8:07 pm

pterodactyls wrote:Any thoughts on the best time to look for apartments for August?

Mid-June? Early July? Is the weekend of July 4 a bad time to search, because landlords will be out of town?

Mid-June might be a little early if you're looking to move in at the beginning of August, you'll have to check and see what the move in date for the particular apartment you're looking at is. I'd say it's more likely that if you start searching mid-June you're going to find listings trying to get people in at the start of July, so probably the best time to start is at the beginning of July. It wouldn't hurt looking during June and contacting landlords to see if they'd be willing to hold a place until August or keep you in mind if they don't find someone they like, but with how competitive housing is in the Bay area that isn't too likely...

I don't think the weekend of July 4 is necessarily a bad time to apartment hunt, but I would not bank on finding something in just one weekend. I've been living in SF for 7 years now and lived in three different apartments, it's typically taken me a couple weeks of applying to apartments before I actually got one. The East Bay rental market isn't as brutal as in the city but it's still pretty brutal.

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Re: Boalt 1Ls taking questions

Post by arose928 » Thu Jun 09, 2016 12:08 am

Jordan Catalano wrote:Why are all the outlines available online so old? They are all from 1998-2003. Does this matter? Does anyone have newer outlines for civ pro, contracts, torts, crim law, property, etc?
You're kind of jumping the gun a bit, but most orgs/journals have outline banks that you get access to if you join, with more current outlines.

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Jordan Catalano

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Re: Boalt 1Ls taking questions

Post by Jordan Catalano » Thu Jun 09, 2016 12:46 pm

Edit: double post
Last edited by Jordan Catalano on Thu Jun 09, 2016 12:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Jordan Catalano

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Re: Boalt 1Ls taking questions

Post by Jordan Catalano » Thu Jun 09, 2016 12:47 pm

arose928 wrote:
Jordan Catalano wrote:Why are all the outlines available online so old? They are all from 1998-2003. Does this matter? Does anyone have newer outlines for civ pro, contracts, torts, crim law, property, etc?
You're kind of jumping the gun a bit, but most orgs/journals have outline banks that you get access to if you join, with more current outlines.
I know it is too soon, but I'm terribly bored this summer (no work, no school, no money to travel) so reading outlines became something to do.

Speaking of reading, I've read One L and Getting To Maybe if anyone has other book suggestions, let me know!

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Re: Boalt 1Ls taking questions

Post by worldtraveler » Thu Jun 09, 2016 6:53 pm

Jordan Catalano wrote:
arose928 wrote:
Jordan Catalano wrote:Why are all the outlines available online so old? They are all from 1998-2003. Does this matter? Does anyone have newer outlines for civ pro, contracts, torts, crim law, property, etc?
You're kind of jumping the gun a bit, but most orgs/journals have outline banks that you get access to if you join, with more current outlines.
I know it is too soon, but I'm terribly bored this summer (no work, no school, no money to travel) so reading outlines became something to do.

Speaking of reading, I've read One L and Getting To Maybe if anyone has other book suggestions, let me know!
Stop. Go do anything else.

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Jordan Catalano

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Re: Boalt 1Ls taking questions

Post by Jordan Catalano » Thu Jun 09, 2016 7:15 pm

worldtraveler wrote:
Jordan Catalano wrote:
arose928 wrote:
Jordan Catalano wrote:Why are all the outlines available online so old? They are all from 1998-2003. Does this matter? Does anyone have newer outlines for civ pro, contracts, torts, crim law, property, etc?
You're kind of jumping the gun a bit, but most orgs/journals have outline banks that you get access to if you join, with more current outlines.
I know it is too soon, but I'm terribly bored this summer (no work, no school, no money to travel) so reading outlines became something to do.

Speaking of reading, I've read One L and Getting To Maybe if anyone has other book suggestions, let me know!
Stop. Go do anything else.
I am currently arguing with someone about the use of contractions on another TLS thread. Really, I have reached heights of boredom perhaps no one has seen before.

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Re: Boalt 1Ls taking questions

Post by littlewing67 » Thu Sep 01, 2016 1:01 pm

Thanks for taking questions! I was wondering if anyone has participated in the Death Penalty Clinic or know of anyone who has. I'm interested in criminal defense and public interest specially regarding the death penalty and capital punishment. Would you say it is hard to get into this clinic? Thanks :D

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Re: Boalt 1Ls taking questions

Post by LifeGoals » Sat Sep 03, 2016 7:51 am

Farhang was at Boalt and is now visiting at my school. Might anyone have a civ pro outline for his class?

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Re: Boalt 1Ls taking questions

Post by arose928 » Tue Sep 27, 2016 11:37 pm

littlewing67 wrote:Thanks for taking questions! I was wondering if anyone has participated in the Death Penalty Clinic or know of anyone who has. I'm interested in criminal defense and public interest specially regarding the death penalty and capital punishment. Would you say it is hard to get into this clinic? Thanks :D
It is difficult to get into, particularly as a 2L. I know some people who have done it but I don't know how, but expect to do it your 3L year unless you are a death penalty wunderkind (i.e. have worked on this stuff before). They typically want you to have taken evidence. It's also a very big time commitment, both in that it's year-long (all other clinics are for the semester) and in the amount of hours it requires.

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Re: Boalt 1Ls taking questions

Post by littlewing67 » Wed Sep 28, 2016 12:03 am

arose928 wrote:
littlewing67 wrote:Thanks for taking questions! I was wondering if anyone has participated in the Death Penalty Clinic or know of anyone who has. I'm interested in criminal defense and public interest specially regarding the death penalty and capital punishment. Would you say it is hard to get into this clinic? Thanks :D
It is difficult to get into, particularly as a 2L. I know some people who have done it but I don't know how, but expect to do it your 3L year unless you are a death penalty wunderkind (i.e. have worked on this stuff before). They typically want you to have taken evidence. It's also a very big time commitment, both in that it's year-long (all other clinics are for the semester) and in the amount of hours it requires.
Thank you for your insight!

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Re: Boalt 1Ls taking questions

Post by dietcoke1 » Fri Feb 10, 2017 3:42 pm

can anyone give insight on subleasing? If I got a place that has a move in date in June, how difficult is it to find someone to cover June and July for a place down the street from campus?

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Re: Boalt 1Ls taking questions

Post by TheLorax » Sun Feb 12, 2017 10:25 pm

dietcoke1 wrote:can anyone give insight on subleasing? If I got a place that has a move in date in June, how difficult is it to find someone to cover June and July for a place down the street from campus?
If you are in town, probably not that hard to sublease. Most stuff on craigslist will move very fast. If you are not here at the time you want to sublease, it will probably be harder.

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Re: Boalt 1Ls taking questions

Post by studyingeveryday » Sat Feb 25, 2017 7:34 pm

Can anyone who has lived in International House message me? Thanks!

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Re: Boalt 1Ls taking questions

Post by RationalHeretic23 » Sun Feb 26, 2017 11:50 am

studyingeveryday wrote:Can anyone who has lived in International House message me? Thanks!
I don't live in i-house but I'm a 1L here and know lots of people who live there. Let me know if you end up needing me to put you in touch with them

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Re: Boalt 1Ls taking questions

Post by NotAGolfer » Fri Mar 24, 2017 2:01 pm

Anyone have experience with CDO's clerkship support? It seemed like Eric Stern had his stuff together from what I saw at Admitted Students Weekend, but I was wondering what current students thought.

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Re: Boalt 1Ls taking questions

Post by Finch123 » Fri Mar 24, 2017 3:22 pm

NotAGolfer wrote:Anyone have experience with CDO's clerkship support? It seemed like Eric Stern had his stuff together from what I saw at Admitted Students Weekend, but I was wondering what current students thought.
Hi! 3L here. I've decided to practice for a year or two before applying to clerkships, but I've had some contact with Eric over the years and have friends who went the clerkship route. He has a GREAT reputation around school for being super available, super helpful, super POSITIVE (which can be huge sometimes), and just generally being a badass. I can't speak to other schools' clerkship support, but Eric does a great job. Note: I would not necessarily say the same thing re: the rest of the career services office, so take that for what it's worth.

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Re: Boalt 1Ls taking questions

Post by Finch123 » Fri Mar 24, 2017 3:34 pm

I (3L) am spending today and this weekend writing some papers, so I'm around to answer questions if anyone has any. Things I can speak to: my experience at Berkeley (good, mostly), my decision to come to Berkeley without much in the way of merit aid (bad, mostly), my decision to go the biglaw route rather than continuing my pre-law school public service focus (still TBD), my experience with OCI and getting a job in biglaw (good), and my experience dealing with major personal life issues (divorce) during law school (not fun; would not recommend).

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Re: Boalt 1Ls taking questions

Post by NotAGolfer » Fri Mar 24, 2017 4:02 pm

Finch123 wrote:
NotAGolfer wrote:Anyone have experience with CDO's clerkship support? It seemed like Eric Stern had his stuff together from what I saw at Admitted Students Weekend, but I was wondering what current students thought.
Hi! 3L here. I've decided to practice for a year or two before applying to clerkships, but I've had some contact with Eric over the years and have friends who went the clerkship route. He has a GREAT reputation around school for being super available, super helpful, super POSITIVE (which can be huge sometimes), and just generally being a badass. I can't speak to other schools' clerkship support, but Eric does a great job. Note: I would not necessarily say the same thing re: the rest of the career services office, so take that for what it's worth.
Thanks so much for replying! Glad to hear he's as great as he seems. Would you say the Berkeley students who want federal clerkships tend to get them if they're willing to put in the work?

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Re: Boalt 1Ls taking questions

Post by Finch123 » Fri Mar 24, 2017 5:19 pm

NotAGolfer wrote:
Finch123 wrote:
NotAGolfer wrote:Anyone have experience with CDO's clerkship support? It seemed like Eric Stern had his stuff together from what I saw at Admitted Students Weekend, but I was wondering what current students thought.
Hi! 3L here. I've decided to practice for a year or two before applying to clerkships, but I've had some contact with Eric over the years and have friends who went the clerkship route. He has a GREAT reputation around school for being super available, super helpful, super POSITIVE (which can be huge sometimes), and just generally being a badass. I can't speak to other schools' clerkship support, but Eric does a great job. Note: I would not necessarily say the same thing re: the rest of the career services office, so take that for what it's worth.
Thanks so much for replying! Glad to hear he's as great as he seems. Would you say the Berkeley students who want federal clerkships tend to get them if they're willing to put in the work?
I would say yes, based on my friends' experiences, although I would ask for clerkship data from the career services office if you want something more fact-based. However, you may have to go outside your ideal geographic area; for example, California clerkships are notoriously competitive. When I talked to Eric after my 1L year when I was considering applying for clerkships during school, I think I was ranked within the top 25%. Eric was very positive about my chances, but I was also flexible geographically so that likely played a role in his assessment. I will also say that professors here are extremely good about giving recommendations -- almost all of my 1L profs made a point of saying early in 1L that part of their job is to help us with jobs/clerkship applications so you have a great support system for that. There are also a lot of opportunities to develop your writing sample in classes so that's not something you have to be super proactive about doing on your own. Again, this might be similar to other schools but I figured I would mention it. Oh, and Eric also has crazy contacts with former clerks of various judges which can be super helpful in designing your apps and deciding where to apply so that is a plus.

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