Xeoh85 Here - Ask Me Anything Forum

[xeoh85]

Hi TLS,

It's been a long time since I have posted. For veterans who have been around long enough, you may remember me from my 1L days back in 2008. See http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... lit=xeoh85 or http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... lit=xeoh85.

I've been through quite a lot since then. Ask me anything!
- LSAT
- Law School
- Transferring
- OCI
- Callbacks
- Clerkship Applications
- Clerking
- Life as a junior / mid-level / senior associate in biglaw
- Anything else

I'll check this thread from time to time and try to answer as many questions as possible.

Cheers!

- X

[canoe]

welcome back xeoh!

so iirc, you transferred to stanford. did you maintain your strict regimen while in sls? if so, how did that work out for you in terms of your grades at sls?

in retrospect, do you still stand by your method or would you change some things if you had to start over?

did you experience any transfer stigma throughout oci/clerkship apps?

i've heard bad things about sls's grading system, even in comparison to hls's. care to elaborate?

[xael]

are you still in biglaw?

[xeoh85]

so iirc, you transferred to stanford. did you maintain your strict regimen while in sls? if so, how did that work out for you in terms of your grades at sls?

I calmed down a bit at SLS after OCI, as one with many job offers in hand might tend to do. However, even though I took it easier, I still got almost all H's and a mixture of book prizes. (I think I got one P my 2L year in corporate law, which I was rather upset about at the time.) I learned that it is much, much, MUCH easier to get an H at Stanford than it is to get an A at UCLA.

in retrospect, do you still stand by your method or would you change some things if you had to start over?

I stand by it 100%. In fact, maybe I will write a book about law school one day to lay it all out cleanly, including exam writing.

I have never once regretted working as hard as I did 1L year. Further, I have never met anyone who wished they had only worked less as a 1L. For one year of your life, there is simply too much to gain and little to lose. Lay it all out there.

did you experience any transfer stigma throughout oci/clerkship apps?

No, not at all. In fact, I think the fact that I had a 4.1 GPA in comparison to a bunch of transcripts with no GPAs gave me a significant advantage. I went on 16 callbacks in NY and LA, and I received 14 summer associate offers.

The same applied for clerkships. I had 3 very strong professor recommendations from SLS and one from UCLA. I interviewed for the Fed. Cir. and 9th Cir., got offers at both, and went with the Fed. Cir. due to my focus on patent litigation. I ended up clerking for the Fed. Cir. straight out of law school, which (at the time) was very difficult to do.

i've heard bad things about sls's grading system, even in comparison to hls's. care to elaborate?

SLS's grading system is: 1 in 15 get book prizes, top 33% get H's, the rest get P's. It's better than HLS, YLS and Berkeley, in my opinion, but not by much. I prefer UCLA's precision. That being said, as I noted above, it is significantly easier to get an H at SLS than it is to get an A at UCLA.

[xeoh85]

are you still in biglaw?

Yes, and at the same firm I started at. I don't plan to ever leave.

[jkpolk]

[souzakid]

are you still in biglaw?

Yes, and at the same firm I started at. I don't plan to ever leave.

One of the few people in recent memory that's said this on these boards. Can I ask how come? Is lit really that enjoyable for you? Is it the people you work with?

[071816]

how does it feel to be a legend on these fora?

[thesealocust]

Wow, welcome back! I read (and relied on!) your guide 1L year right around the time that you wrote it, it's really cool to hear you're still out there rocking it!

[justonemoregame]

Can you bottle up your sweat and send it to my P.O. box?

[xeoh85]

?

are you still in biglaw?

Yes, and at the same firm I started at. I don't plan to ever leave.

One of the few people in recent memory that's said this on these boards. Can I ask how come? Is lit really that enjoyable for you? Is it the people you work with?

I was fortunate that I both (a) picked a field (patent litigation) that I find very engaging, and (b) turned out to be very good at it. I was a good law student, but I am a much better patent litigator. When you do something you find engaging and kick ass at, while getting paid a lot of money to do it, what's not to like?

how does it feel to be a legend on these fora?

. . . the epitome of my life's work.

Wow, welcome back! I read (and relied on!) your guide 1L year right around the time that you wrote it, it's really cool to hear you're still out there rocking it!

Thanks. How'd 1L work out for you?

Can you bottle up your sweat and send it to my P.O. box?

Sure. Send P.O. box. But I will bill you my hourly rate for the gym hours it takes to fill the bottle.

- X

[anyriotgirl]

how many hours do you sleep a night?

[xeoh85]

how many hours do you sleep a night?

Still about an average of 4 hrs a night. Always have, always will, even if I'm not working.

[anyriotgirl]

how many hours do you sleep a night?

Still about an average of 4 hrs a night. Always have, always will, even if I'm not working.

I am so jealous of people like you

[canoe]

Thanks for the replies!

I'm a downright terrible writer and given that there's a 'talent' factor to writing ability, do you think this is something I should be extremely worried about come 1L? I've heard mixed opinions on this: some say being a talented writer helps but is insignificant in the grand scheme of things whereas some say it's pretty important when you're aiming for an 'A'.

Assuming you secured recs from sls after spending just 1 year there, what were some things (besides obviously getting good grades in the classes) that helped you secure solid recs from those profs?

and how the HECK do you function on 4 hrs of sleep? jeesuz are you doing body hacks lol

[Johann]

how many hours do you sleep a night?

Still about an average of 4 hrs a night. Always have, always will, even if I'm not working.

I am so jealous of people like you

Why would you be jealous of this? There's also an Amazon robot that wheels around the warehouse carrying things from point A to point B without any sleep at all.

Do you have a significant other? Do you get any satisfaction oR happiness outside of work? What are your hobbies?

[anyriotgirl]

Because the way he posted indicates that he functions just fine on four hours and has no need for more. I need 8-9 and I would kill to get an extra four hours every day to do whatever I want.

[Johann]

Yeah but the point is that people who can function like this train themselves and don't spend the free time having fun they do work. Their brains are hypomanic. It's more of a curse than something cool. It's also not good for your body.

[AlanShore]

Yeah but the point is that people who can function like this train themselves and don't spend the free time having fun they do work. Their brains are hypomanic. It's more of a curse than something cool. It's also not good for your body.

Depends on your definition of fun. It sounds like op really is happy and enjoys his life - that sounds pretty fun to me.

[Johann]

Yes hypomanic people have fun churning their brain constantly. They are wired that way. They like being productive. I'm just saying OP is wired differently from 99% of the population. He's doing well in big law and prolly will have a very good career. I just don't think looking to OP as a role model is realistic because most people have fun binging on Netflix or doing something else that isn't as mentally stimulating all day.

[thesealocust]

We can sleep when we're dead.

[Nekrowizard]

Do you ever, like, go to the doctor? Has he ever said anything about your 4 hours/night schedule?

[smaug]

This hypomania thing still sounds p. cool to me sign me up.

[Hikikomorist]

This hypomania thing still sounds p. cool to me sign me up.

[Nekrowizard]

This hypomania thing still sounds p. cool to me sign me up.

Sure, it sounds cool now, but one day you're 40 years old and you drop dead of an aneurysm.