Northwestern 1L/2L/3L/Grads Taking Questions and Challenges

[FloridaCoastalorbust]

Pretty sure I'm going to take BA, so would love to hear opinions on which prof to take/if I should avoid taking it in the spring due to a tougher curve.

Also debating between local government and law firm management. I like Shoked a lot, but I'd prefer an easier class for 1L.

focus on your grades. the new elective curve is 3.6 with professor discretion to adjust up/down .05. so your best chance of getting an A is taking the class with the most kids in it. so take the BA class with the most kids in it. The other class should def be a seminar. E.g., constitutional design w/ delaney.

[Dondraper88]

What can you tell me about law firm management and economics with Lutz?

[carsondalywashere]

Pretty sure I'm going to take BA, so would love to hear opinions on which prof to take/if I should avoid taking it in the spring due to a tougher curve.

Also debating between local government and law firm management. I like Shoked a lot, but I'd prefer an easier class for 1L.

focus on your grades. the new elective curve is 3.6 with professor discretion to adjust up/down .05. so your best chance of getting an A is taking the class with the most kids in it. so take the BA class with the most kids in it. The other class should def be a seminar. E.g., constitutional design w/ delaney.

I've heard it's bad to take BA in the spring because the JD/MBA students are in it. Any truth to that?

1Ls can't take constitutional design Also, I think the curve is in play for seminar classes too now

[carsondalywashere]

One of my professors told us to not every worry about taking uncurved classes, as it's unlikely as 1Ls we'll be able to get them anyways.

Last spam post about class selection lol. Think I'm going to gun for legislation, and then take either local gov or law firm management.

i took legislation and thought it was super interesting content-wise. I had it with Jacobi, but she's not teaching this semester FWIW. Shoked is great so local gov is a good choice, and i think its an open book final too (unlike his property class). He didn't teach it last year, so be wary of how many bid points you need to spend. it might go high-his history of economic regulation class went for a like over 1000 points or something.

Well, I only have 900 points so....haha. Maybe I'll get a chance to take that later.

[yyyuppp]

just to clarify, i don't know if state and local government is going to go for a ton of points.just his other class does, and the info that you get from the registrar regarding how much it went for in the past might be skewed cuz he didn't teach it last year. if you wanna bid it then bid it. you have 1000 points for two classes, so you can blow a lot of bid points on it if you want.

also, no class is curved if the grade is not primarily determined by a final. so seminars, which i think almost always involve some kind of writing assignment/s, aren't curved according to the school policy.

no idea about JD/MBAs taking BA in spring or whatever (i guess maybe the 1Ls do it cuz they are in evanston the next year), but i don't know why thats a concern. They're not necessarily better law students than you.

[Mullens]

What can you tell me about law firm management and economics with Lutz?

If you’re a 1L, you’ll learn a lot about law firms that will be helpful as you go through OCI. The grading last year seemed pretty random based on anecdotes friends.

[carsondalywashere]

just to clarify, i don't know if state and local government is going to go for a ton of points.just his other class does, and the info that you get from the registrar regarding how much it went for in the past might be skewed cuz he didn't teach it last year. if you wanna bid it then bid it. you have 1000 points for two classes, so you can blow a lot of bid points on it if you want.

also, no class is curved if the grade is not primarily determined by a final. so seminars, which i think almost always involve some kind of writing assignment/s, aren't curved according to the school policy.

no idea about JD/MBAs taking BA in spring or whatever (i guess maybe the 1Ls do it cuz they are in evanston the next year), but i don't know why thats a concern. They're not necessarily better law students than you.

Two thumbs up, thanks for the helpful response!

[Dondraper88]

Should i take Business associations with Silver or Sanga? Im a 1L

[daisrt]

Pretty sure I'm going to take BA, so would love to hear opinions on which prof to take/if I should avoid taking it in the spring due to a tougher curve.

Also debating between local government and law firm management. I like Shoked a lot, but I'd prefer an easier class for 1L.

doctrinals are all curved now. might be hard to know what profs will do with the new curve, and in any case there isn't a ton of room for them to deviate from it. try finding an uncurved class (i.e. no final exam, paper instead) if you are concerned about that; some perspectives classes are like that. it used to be a bit of a challenge to pick spring 1L electives with an uncurved class and professor known for good grades , but i think that's that's not really a thing anymore with the curves now, or at least is far less of a concern.

One of my professors told us to not every worry about taking uncurved classes, as it's unlikely as 1Ls we'll be able to get them anyways.

Last spam post about class selection lol. Think I'm going to gun for legislation, and then take either local gov or law firm management.

I think you'll be able to find classes where the final is a paper or presentation, and those classes won't be curved. At least that's my understanding.

Also, I don't think that Lutz (LFM) is very friendly with grading for 1Ls, at least from what I've heard.

[daisrt]

Should i take Business associations with Silver or Sanga? Im a 1L

I thought I heard that Silver was not great. Sanga would be a toss-up. He's a brand new professor. Before this, he taught at Berkeley for a year. Maybe you can ask people in the Berkeley thread.

[carsondalywashere]

Pretty sure I'm going to take BA, so would love to hear opinions on which prof to take/if I should avoid taking it in the spring due to a tougher curve.

Also debating between local government and law firm management. I like Shoked a lot, but I'd prefer an easier class for 1L.

doctrinals are all curved now. might be hard to know what profs will do with the new curve, and in any case there isn't a ton of room for them to deviate from it. try finding an uncurved class (i.e. no final exam, paper instead) if you are concerned about that; some perspectives classes are like that. it used to be a bit of a challenge to pick spring 1L electives with an uncurved class and professor known for good grades , but i think that's that's not really a thing anymore with the curves now, or at least is far less of a concern.

One of my professors told us to not every worry about taking uncurved classes, as it's unlikely as 1Ls we'll be able to get them anyways.

Last spam post about class selection lol. Think I'm going to gun for legislation, and then take either local gov or law firm management.

I think you'll be able to find classes where the final is a paper or presentation, and those classes won't be curved. At least that's my understanding.

Also, I don't think that Lutz (LFM) is very friendly with grading for 1Ls, at least from what I've heard.

Is narrative structures one of those classes?

I've heard law firm management is good to have before OCI

[sneks]

Should i take Business associations with Silver or Sanga? Im a 1L

I thought I heard that Silver was not great. Sanga would be a toss-up. He's a brand new professor. Before this, he taught at Berkeley for a year. Maybe you can ask people in the Berkeley thread.

He also taught BA at NU last fall (Fall 2016), so he isn't brand new.

[daisrt]

Pretty sure I'm going to take BA, so would love to hear opinions on which prof to take/if I should avoid taking it in the spring due to a tougher curve.

Also debating between local government and law firm management. I like Shoked a lot, but I'd prefer an easier class for 1L.

doctrinals are all curved now. might be hard to know what profs will do with the new curve, and in any case there isn't a ton of room for them to deviate from it. try finding an uncurved class (i.e. no final exam, paper instead) if you are concerned about that; some perspectives classes are like that. it used to be a bit of a challenge to pick spring 1L electives with an uncurved class and professor known for good grades , but i think that's that's not really a thing anymore with the curves now, or at least is far less of a concern.

One of my professors told us to not every worry about taking uncurved classes, as it's unlikely as 1Ls we'll be able to get them anyways.

Last spam post about class selection lol. Think I'm going to gun for legislation, and then take either local gov or law firm management.

I think you'll be able to find classes where the final is a paper or presentation, and those classes won't be curved. At least that's my understanding.

Also, I don't think that Lutz (LFM) is very friendly with grading for 1Ls, at least from what I've heard.

Is narrative structures one of those classes?

I've heard law firm management is good to have before OCI

I've heard similar things about LFM but I haven't taken it myself. Maybe ask others who have taken it whether it helped. I am sure the knowledge of law firms would benefit you in an interview, but so would good grades, and probably the latter more so?

[daisrt]

Should i take Business associations with Silver or Sanga? Im a 1L

I thought I heard that Silver was not great. Sanga would be a toss-up. He's a brand new professor. Before this, he taught at Berkeley for a year. Maybe you can ask people in the Berkeley thread.

He also taught BA at NU last fall (Fall 2016), so he isn't brand new.

Oops, my bad

[carsondalywashere]

Pretty sure I'm going to take BA, so would love to hear opinions on which prof to take/if I should avoid taking it in the spring due to a tougher curve.

Also debating between local government and law firm management. I like Shoked a lot, but I'd prefer an easier class for 1L.

doctrinals are all curved now. might be hard to know what profs will do with the new curve, and in any case there isn't a ton of room for them to deviate from it. try finding an uncurved class (i.e. no final exam, paper instead) if you are concerned about that; some perspectives classes are like that. it used to be a bit of a challenge to pick spring 1L electives with an uncurved class and professor known for good grades , but i think that's that's not really a thing anymore with the curves now, or at least is far less of a concern.

One of my professors told us to not every worry about taking uncurved classes, as it's unlikely as 1Ls we'll be able to get them anyways.

Last spam post about class selection lol. Think I'm going to gun for legislation, and then take either local gov or law firm management.

I think you'll be able to find classes where the final is a paper or presentation, and those classes won't be curved. At least that's my understanding.

Also, I don't think that Lutz (LFM) is very friendly with grading for 1Ls, at least from what I've heard.

Is narrative structures one of those classes?

I've heard law firm management is good to have before OCI

I've heard similar things about LFM but I haven't taken it myself. Maybe ask others who have taken it whether it helped. I am sure the knowledge of law firms would benefit you in an interview, but so would good grades, and probably the latter more so?

I ended up bidding on LFM, Local Gov, and Legislation. I really have no idea what a good 1L class to take would be with the new curve policy

[daisrt]

Pretty sure I'm going to take BA, so would love to hear opinions on which prof to take/if I should avoid taking it in the spring due to a tougher curve.

Also debating between local government and law firm management. I like Shoked a lot, but I'd prefer an easier class for 1L.

doctrinals are all curved now. might be hard to know what profs will do with the new curve, and in any case there isn't a ton of room for them to deviate from it. try finding an uncurved class (i.e. no final exam, paper instead) if you are concerned about that; some perspectives classes are like that. it used to be a bit of a challenge to pick spring 1L electives with an uncurved class and professor known for good grades , but i think that's that's not really a thing anymore with the curves now, or at least is far less of a concern.

One of my professors told us to not every worry about taking uncurved classes, as it's unlikely as 1Ls we'll be able to get them anyways.

Last spam post about class selection lol. Think I'm going to gun for legislation, and then take either local gov or law firm management.

I think you'll be able to find classes where the final is a paper or presentation, and those classes won't be curved. At least that's my understanding.

Also, I don't think that Lutz (LFM) is very friendly with grading for 1Ls, at least from what I've heard.

Is narrative structures one of those classes?

I've heard law firm management is good to have before OCI

I've heard similar things about LFM but I haven't taken it myself. Maybe ask others who have taken it whether it helped. I am sure the knowledge of law firms would benefit you in an interview, but so would good grades, and probably the latter more so?

I ended up bidding on LFM, Local Gov, and Legislation. I really have no idea what a good 1L class to take would be with the new curve policy

That's a good idea. I hear the Legislation professor is very well liked (she is visiting from Georgetown.) If Legislation has a paper, then it probably won't be curved, so that'd be a good class to take. Just check the syllabus when it comes out.

[skatch]

doctrinals are all curved now. might be hard to know what profs will do with the new curve, and in any case there isn't a ton of room for them to deviate from it. try finding an uncurved class (i.e. no final exam, paper instead) if you are concerned about that; some perspectives classes are like that. it used to be a bit of a challenge to pick spring 1L electives with an uncurved class and professor known for good grades , but i think that's that's not really a thing anymore with the curves now, or at least is far less of a concern.

One of my professors told us to not every worry about taking uncurved classes, as it's unlikely as 1Ls we'll be able to get them anyways.

Last spam post about class selection lol. Think I'm going to gun for legislation, and then take either local gov or law firm management.

I think you'll be able to find classes where the final is a paper or presentation, and those classes won't be curved. At least that's my understanding.

Also, I don't think that Lutz (LFM) is very friendly with grading for 1Ls, at least from what I've heard.

Is narrative structures one of those classes?

I've heard law firm management is good to have before OCI

I've heard similar things about LFM but I haven't taken it myself. Maybe ask others who have taken it whether it helped. I am sure the knowledge of law firms would benefit you in an interview, but so would good grades, and probably the latter more so?

I ended up bidding on LFM, Local Gov, and Legislation. I really have no idea what a good 1L class to take would be with the new curve policy

That's a good idea. I hear the Legislation professor is very well liked (she is visiting from Georgetown.) If Legislation has a paper, then it probably won't be curved, so that'd be a good class to take. Just check the syllabus when it comes out.

Legislation is a doctrinal class and it's listed on CAESAR as "LEC" rather than "SEM," so it will likely be curved. It's still worth taking this semester though, especially considering the professor's background and the fact she's returning to Georgetown after this year.

[taco bell breakfast]

Career Night - worthwhile? Waste of time? Something I should go to regardless of how freaked out I am about finals right now?

[RedPurpleBlue]

Career Night - worthwhile? Waste of time? Something I should go to regardless of how freaked out I am about finals right now?

Fellow 1L. I figure why not go? There's going to be some free food, and it's not like we don't have a couple of hours to spare in our schedules. Might get introduced to a practice area you hadn't previously considered or meet some contacts that might land you a job next August.

[yyyuppp]

Career Night - worthwhile? Waste of time? Something I should go to regardless of how freaked out I am about finals right now?

i did it. it can be helpful, but if you can't make it i wouldn't sweat it. for me it was useful to start learning how to talk to people who work at firms. but you will have a ton of opportunities for that starting in the winter and then forever until OCI.

[crumb cake]

on the one hand, learning how to talk at those things probably makes you a better interviewer over time.

on the other hand, most firms will hire just about anyone with great grades.

[skatch]

on the one hand, learning how to talk at those things probably makes you a better interviewer over time.

on the other hand, most firms will hire just about anyone with great grades.

That second sentence is absolutely false, and one of the worst pieces of advice you could give to a 1L. While you generally do need to hit a certain GPA threshold to have success at OCI, there were people this year who struck out with 3.7+ and also people who got offers at Kirkland/Sidley/Skadden with below 3.5. Networking and interviewing are incredibly important. If you have the chance to practice those things, you should generally take it. Realistically, you would probably waste two hours that day watching Netflix or doing something else similarly useless, so just reallocate that time to the event instead.

[crumb cake]

3.7s can strike out because as you said, grades aren’t a guarantee.

It’s rare, though.

[RedPurpleBlue]

3.7s can strike out because as you said, grades aren’t a guarantee.

It’s rare, though.

I'm a 1L.

But, based on the statistics, I feel like the only way you're striking out as a 3.7 is 1) bidding exclusively D.C. and top NYC/Chi/LA firms (e.g. QE, Latham, Cravath) and/or 2) having done almost no networking/interviewing terribly. If you have a 3.3, networked, and bid smart, you should turnout completely fine. 64% get 501+ firms (what is safely BL) and AIII clerkships, so that's a pretty good sign that median and above should posse no problems given you don't bid like an idiot and interview like a grinch.

Would you say that this characterization is accurate?

[carsondalywashere]

Career Night - worthwhile? Waste of time? Something I should go to regardless of how freaked out I am about finals right now?

Fellow 1L. I figure why not go? There's going to be some free food, and it's not like we don't have a couple of hours to spare in our schedules. Might get introduced to a practice area you hadn't previously considered or meet some contacts that might land you a job next August.

I'm not going to go. I've gone to a few of these events already, and the attorneys get swamped with kids. It can be a useful exercise, and I'll be sure to do more of them, but I think prepping for finals is more important at this point (especially since there will be more networking opportunities next semester).

Edit - to each their own though. I commented so other 1ls reading this don't feel a pressure to go to career night if they're stressed about studying for finals