Cornell 1L taking questions Forum

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Strangeland

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Re: Cornell 1L taking questions

Post by Strangeland » Tue Aug 01, 2017 8:19 pm

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Last edited by Strangeland on Fri Oct 27, 2017 10:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Lavitz

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Re: Cornell 1L taking questions

Post by Lavitz » Tue Aug 01, 2017 8:48 pm

Strangeland wrote:Another 1L here, hi!
Search for Gardner (civil procedure) showed nothing, so if anyone knows anything about this prof, would appreciate it!

Also if you have time - any advice for Property with Alexander, Criminal law with Ohlin, Lawyering with Kelley-Widmer?
Lol, how is Alexander still teaching? This is like the third time he pretended to retire and then came back. Anyway, get Understanding Property by Sprankling, sit back, and enjoy the fun.

Susurrus

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Re: Cornell 1L taking questions

Post by Susurrus » Tue Aug 01, 2017 10:34 pm

Lavitz wrote:
Strangeland wrote:Another 1L here, hi!
Search for Gardner (civil procedure) showed nothing, so if anyone knows anything about this prof, would appreciate it!

Also if you have time - any advice for Property with Alexander, Criminal law with Ohlin, Lawyering with Kelley-Widmer?
Lol, how is Alexander still teaching? This is like the third time he pretended to retire and then came back. Anyway, get Understanding Property by Sprankling, sit back, and enjoy the fun.
I have him too and was confused when I searched him up on here and there were posts about him retiring. I also have Whelan, which I understand to be a good draw, as well has Dagan for contracts, Clopton for civil procedure, and Margulies for criminal law. I think the last three might be newer professors since they haven't left an imprint on tls according to my search.

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Lavitz

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Re: Cornell 1L taking questions

Post by Lavitz » Tue Aug 01, 2017 10:57 pm

Susurrus wrote:
Lavitz wrote:Lol, how is Alexander still teaching? This is like the third time he pretended to retire and then came back. Anyway, get Understanding Property by Sprankling, sit back, and enjoy the fun.
I have him too and was confused when I searched him up on here and there were posts about him retiring. I also have Whelan, which I understand to be a good draw, as well has Dagan for contracts, Clopton for civil procedure, and Margulies for criminal law. I think the last three might be newer professors since they haven't left an imprint on tls according to my search.
Clopton and Marguiles are relatively new but have been at Cornell for a couple of years. Some 2Ls and 3Ls should have had Clopton for CivPro. I'm not sure if Marguiles taught CrimLaw before this year.

Also, in theory, you can read professor reviews here: https://cls.campusbolt.com/login/?r=%2F But apparently I am the only person trying to keep it alive, so there are no reviews for any of the profs you listed.

I think there's somewhere else you can read the official course evaluations now, but I never saw the point of that, considering people fill those out before they take the exam, which is the most important part of the class. And iirc the questions aren't designed to solicit advice for future students taking the class.

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cantexplaingottago

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Re: Cornell 1L taking questions

Post by cantexplaingottago » Tue Aug 01, 2017 11:11 pm

Susurrus wrote: I have him too and was confused when I searched him up on here and there were posts about him retiring. I also have Whelan, which I understand to be a good draw, as well has Dagan for contracts, Clopton for civil procedure, and Margulies for criminal law. I think the last three might be newer professors since they haven't left an imprint on tls according to my search.
Clopton is the shit, hands down my favorite professor from 1L. He's young, dryly funny, and soft-spoken, but so, so good at what he does. He is basically a living civ pro hornbook. Exam was half multiple choice, half essay, and fair. I wish I'd had him for both semesters.

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eshnunna

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Re: Cornell 1L taking questions

Post by eshnunna » Tue Aug 01, 2017 11:40 pm

Susurrus wrote:
Lavitz wrote:
Strangeland wrote:Another 1L here, hi!
Search for Gardner (civil procedure) showed nothing, so if anyone knows anything about this prof, would appreciate it!

Also if you have time - any advice for Property with Alexander, Criminal law with Ohlin, Lawyering with Kelley-Widmer?
Lol, how is Alexander still teaching? This is like the third time he pretended to retire and then came back. Anyway, get Understanding Property by Sprankling, sit back, and enjoy the fun.
I have him too and was confused when I searched him up on here and there were posts about him retiring. I also have Whelan, which I understand to be a good draw, as well has Dagan for contracts, Clopton for civil procedure, and Margulies for criminal law. I think the last three might be newer professors since they haven't left an imprint on tls according to my search.
I had clopton for first semester. He's definitely a walking hornbook. Exam was 4 essay qs, 3 issue spotters and one policy q (which was really just explain how Erie became Erie). Was very fair and not a time crunch.

I have heard good things about Margulies from upperclassmen but those were for upperclassmen courses. My understanding is he dislikes doctrine and prefers the pragmatic approach?

Susurrus

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Re: Cornell 1L taking questions

Post by Susurrus » Thu Aug 03, 2017 12:06 am

Thanks. Feeling pretty good about these professors.

lowlands

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Re: Cornell 1L taking questions

Post by lowlands » Thu Aug 03, 2017 10:16 am

I need to drop a class from my fall schedule, which is either going to be Biz Orgs w/ Hockett (and take it in the spring w/Rachlinski), or Admin Law with Stiglitz, and possibly just not take it, based on what I've read in this thread. Any suggestions either way?

I'm interested in litigation after school so I'm not super excited about either class, but I guess I'm just wondering if Admin is even necessary to take at all.

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hopefuljumbo23

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Re: Cornell 1L taking questions

Post by hopefuljumbo23 » Thu Aug 03, 2017 10:20 am

lowlands wrote:I need to drop a class from my fall schedule, which is either going to be Biz Orgs w/ Hockett (and take it in the spring w/Rachlinski), or Admin Law with Stiglitz, and possibly just not take it, based on what I've read in this thread. Any suggestions either way?

I'm interested in litigation after school so I'm not super excited about either class, but I guess I'm just wondering if Admin is even necessary to take at all.
One of my friends, a rising 3L, said admin law with Stiglitz was absolute hell and to avoid it at all costs. I'm a rising 2L, so I can't give personal input, but just wanted to relay the info.

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lowlands

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Re: Cornell 1L taking questions

Post by lowlands » Thu Aug 03, 2017 10:21 am

hopefuljumbo23 wrote:
lowlands wrote:I need to drop a class from my fall schedule, which is either going to be Biz Orgs w/ Hockett (and take it in the spring w/Rachlinski), or Admin Law with Stiglitz, and possibly just not take it, based on what I've read in this thread. Any suggestions either way?

I'm interested in litigation after school so I'm not super excited about either class, but I guess I'm just wondering if Admin is even necessary to take at all.
One of my friends, a rising 3L, said admin law with Stiglitz was absolute hell and to avoid it at all costs. I'm a rising 2L, so I can't give personal input, but just wanted to relay the info.

Appreciate it, thanks

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Lavitz

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Re: Cornell 1L taking questions

Post by Lavitz » Thu Aug 03, 2017 10:32 am

lowlands wrote:I'm interested in litigation after school so I'm not super excited about either class, but I guess I'm just wondering if Admin is even necessary to take at all.
It's not.

lowlands

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Re: Cornell 1L taking questions

Post by lowlands » Thu Aug 03, 2017 10:33 am

Lavitz wrote:
lowlands wrote:I'm interested in litigation after school so I'm not super excited about either class, but I guess I'm just wondering if Admin is even necessary to take at all.
It's not.

Well that's an easy decision then. Thanks Lavitz and hopefuljumbo.

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hopefuljumbo23

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Re: Cornell 1L taking questions

Post by hopefuljumbo23 » Thu Aug 03, 2017 10:47 am

lowlands wrote:
Lavitz wrote:
lowlands wrote:I'm interested in litigation after school so I'm not super excited about either class, but I guess I'm just wondering if Admin is even necessary to take at all.
It's not.
Well that's an easy decision then. Thanks Lavitz and hopefuljumbo.
No prob. Happy to help.

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freekick

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Re: Cornell 1L taking questions

Post by freekick » Mon Aug 07, 2017 1:00 pm

Rising 2Ls, I am looking to buy used books (even heavily used is fine if it further reduces price) for the following:
- Contracts (Hillman)
- CivPro (Clermont)
- ConLaw (Chafetz)
- CrimLaw (Garvey)

Please PM me if you would like to sell. Thank you in advance!
Last edited by freekick on Fri Aug 11, 2017 3:25 pm, edited 2 times in total.

ReadyToStart

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Re: Cornell 1L taking questions

Post by ReadyToStart » Mon Aug 07, 2017 5:05 pm

A basic search of this forum indicated that when buying CivPro books, go for the newest edition. Does that same idea hold true for Contracts (with Hillman), and Property (with Alexander)?

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hopefuljumbo23

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Re: Cornell 1L taking questions

Post by hopefuljumbo23 » Mon Aug 07, 2017 5:15 pm

ReadyToStart wrote:A basic search of this forum indicated that when buying CivPro books, go for the newest edition. Does that same idea hold true for Contracts (with Hillman), and Property (with Alexander)?
Yes, I'd say so. It's just easier - you don't have to worry about missing material.

eshnunna

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Re: Cornell 1L taking questions

Post by eshnunna » Mon Aug 07, 2017 5:27 pm

ReadyToStart wrote:A basic search of this forum indicated that when buying CivPro books, go for the newest edition. Does that same idea hold true for Contracts (with Hillman), and Property (with Alexander)?
I definitely know some people who bought older editions, and it worked for them, but they also spent a lot of time reconciling page numbers and photocopying new cases, etc. I personally went with whichever edition the prof recommended, mostly I didn't want the added stress of having to track all of these changes between editions. Of course, casebooks are really expensive; they can be significantly reduced in price if you grab them used off myronslist, but even then the overall cost of books is going to be high.

There are definitely some classes where the casebook seemed pretty useless (see: tax), but CivPro, Contract, and Property were classes where the casebook is very much a necessity.

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mjb447

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Re: Cornell 1L taking questions

Post by mjb447 » Mon Aug 07, 2017 6:25 pm

I'd say do it for all of your 1L classes, at least first semester. You don't know how well you'll make the adjustment to law school, and having to reconcile pages, cases, hypos, etc., is just more of a headache than you'll want when you're adjusting to everything else. It's more likely to be okay once you know how you'll make the transition and how heavily you tend to lean on casebooks (obv will vary somewhat by class as well).

Lawschool305

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Re: Cornell 1L taking questions

Post by Lawschool305 » Thu Aug 10, 2017 3:05 pm

Does it matter if we buy new or used books? For Ohlin's class the used criminal law book is 80 bucks cheaper but I won't get the online study materials that come with a new book. Do we need those for law school, and have people found them helpful? I'd prefer to buy the used books.

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cantexplaingottago

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Re: Cornell 1L taking questions

Post by cantexplaingottago » Thu Aug 10, 2017 6:52 pm

Lawschool305 wrote:Does it matter if we buy new or used books? For Ohlin's class the used criminal law book is 80 bucks cheaper but I won't get the online study materials that come with a new book. Do we need those for law school, and have people found them helpful? I'd prefer to buy the used books.
The only benefit of having the online supplement (for Ohlin anyway) is access to the ebook. Buy used if it's the same edition.

ReadyToStart

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Re: Cornell 1L taking questions

Post by ReadyToStart » Thu Aug 10, 2017 6:55 pm

What's the story with Optional textbooks? Should I just cough up the money on the off chance that I may need them? Are they really a helpful resource?

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freekick

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Re: Cornell 1L taking questions

Post by freekick » Fri Aug 11, 2017 3:25 pm

freekick wrote:Rising 2Ls, I am looking to buy used books (even heavily used is fine if it further reduces price) for the following:
- Contracts (Hillman)
- CivPro (Clermont)
- ConLaw (Chafetz)
- CrimLaw (Garvey)

Please PM me if you would like to sell. Thank you in advance!
Here is a more specific list of the books I am looking to buy:
- Brest, Process of Constitutional Decision Making, 6th edition, 2015
- Summers, Contract and Related Obligations; Theory Doctrine and Practice, 7th edition
- Clermont, Materials for a Basic Course in CivPro, 11th or 12th edition
- Dressler, Criminal Law, 7th edition, 2016

Please PM me!

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CR7

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Re: Cornell 1L taking questions

Post by CR7 » Fri Aug 11, 2017 3:36 pm

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Last edited by CR7 on Sat Aug 12, 2017 4:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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tyrant_flycatcher

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Re: Cornell 1L taking questions

Post by tyrant_flycatcher » Sat Aug 12, 2017 9:42 am

ReadyToStart wrote:What's the story with Optional textbooks? Should I just cough up the money on the off chance that I may need them? Are they really a helpful resource?
You can always buy them later if you feel like you are struggling and need all the material you can get. If a professor is recommending a supplement, I'd probably get it now.

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freekick

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Re: Cornell 1L taking questions

Post by freekick » Sat Aug 12, 2017 1:40 pm

How important is getting Understanding Criminal Law by Dressler (the optional book) for Garvey? Should get it or wait to see?

Seriously? What are you waiting for?

Now there's a charge.
Just kidding ... it's still FREE!


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