# Lawyers: how busy was your first year of a JD? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 25, 2011, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyers-how-busy-was-your-first-year-of-a-jd/579617 "2011-04-25T03:30:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2011, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyers-how-busy-was-your-first-year-of-a-jd/579617/21 "2011-04-26T02:23:46Z")
> [@antonio107](#): > > … I’ve had two different law school grad friends, twenty years apart, tell me that Lord Devlin is apparently the model of how everything I write should look like. Perhaps, but you will find [Lord Denning](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Denning) far more entertaining: > [@](#): > > So there was Mr. Jarvis, in the second week, in this hotel with no house party at all, and no one could speak English, except himself. He was very disappointed, too, with the skiing. […] There were no ordinary length skis. There were only mini-skis about 3 ft. long. So he did not get his skiing as he wanted to. […] He did not have the nice Swiss cakes which he was hoping for. The only cakes for tea were potato crisps and little dry nut cakes. The yodler evening consisted of one man from the locality who came in his working clothes for a little while, and sang four or five songs very quickly. […] Mr. Jarvis has only a fortnight’s holiday in the year. He books it far ahead, and looks forward to it all that time. He ought to be compensated for the loss of it. > > _Jarvis v. Swans Tours Ltd_. [1973] Q.B. 233 (C.A.). Thanks, **Muffin**! Yes, **antonio107** , the KISS rule should be learned by all legal writers. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2011, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyers-how-busy-was-your-first-year-of-a-jd/579617/22 "2011-04-26T02:43:47Z")
Cardozo, has some great days on the bench. In _Murphy v. Steeplechase Amusements_, he dismisses (roundly dismisses) a case of negligence against an amusement park on account of it’s ride, known as “The Flopper.” Upon which, it may be said, the plaintiff flopped. \* The antics of the clown are not the paces of the cloistered cleric. The rough and boisterous joke, the horseplay of the crowd, evokes its own guffaws, but they are not the pleasures of tranquillity. The plaintiff was not seeking a retreat for meditation. Visitors were tumbling about the belt to the merriment of onlookers when he made his choice to join them. He took the chance of a like fate, with whatever damage to his body might ensue from such a fall. The timorous may stay at home.\* I’ve always regarded “The timorous may stay at home” as rather good advice for law school, as well. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![antonio107](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ea924/32.png) [@antonio107](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antonio107)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2011, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyers-how-busy-was-your-first-year-of-a-jd/579617/23 "2011-04-26T02:46:18Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > Perhaps, but you will find [Lord Denning](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Denning) far more entertaining: > > Thanks, **Muffin**! Yes, **antonio107** , the KISS rule should be learned by all legal writers. :smack: I think he’s the one I meant. I need to brush up on my memory skills, as well… ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2011, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyers-how-busy-was-your-first-year-of-a-jd/579617/24 "2011-04-26T02:56:51Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > Cardozo, has some great days on the bench. You’ve also gotta love [Alex Kozinsk](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judge_Kozinski)i, Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit: > [@](#): > > If this were a sci-fi melodrama, it might be called Speech-Zilla meets Trademark Kong. > > \ > > The parties are advised to chill. > \* > Mattel, Inc. v. MCA Records, Inc\*., 296 F.3d 894. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2011, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyers-how-busy-was-your-first-year-of-a-jd/579617/25 "2011-04-26T13:20:30Z")
My two cents are that no matter how you prioritize everything you wanna do, you really should do your reading before each class. I know right now you’re probably thinking “well of course I’ll do that, come on!” but best-laid plans and all that. But Canadian law should be easy–it’s all just about pelt trading and snow rights, innit? ---
**Author:** ![antonio107](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ea924/32.png) [@antonio107](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antonio107)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2011, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyers-how-busy-was-your-first-year-of-a-jd/579617/26 "2011-04-26T13:29:49Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > My two cents are that no matter how you prioritize everything you wanna do, you really should do your reading before each class. I know right now you’re probably thinking “well of course I’ll do that, come on!” but best-laid plans and all that. > > But Canadian law should be easy–it’s all just about pelt trading and snow rights, innit? Plus the NHL’s collective bargaining agreement. Priorities, damnit! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2011, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyers-how-busy-was-your-first-year-of-a-jd/579617/27 "2011-04-26T17:28:41Z")
> [@antonio107](#): > > Plus the NHL’s collective bargaining agreement. Priorities, damnit! 😃 Typical NHL player contracts are remarkably simple. You’d think that they would be complex, but in fact, it’s quite the opposite. Who’d a thunk it? ---
**Author:** ![antonio107](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ea924/32.png) [@antonio107](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antonio107)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2011, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyers-how-busy-was-your-first-year-of-a-jd/579617/28 "2011-04-26T18:20:46Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > Typical NHL player contracts are remarkably simple. You’d think that they would be complex, but in fact, it’s quite the opposite. Who’d a thunk it? I don’t know, that explains how Mike Milbury had a job as GM, for sure. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![A.Selene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3ec8ea/32.png) [@A.Selene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A.Selene)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2011, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyers-how-busy-was-your-first-year-of-a-jd/579617/29 "2011-04-26T18:40:12Z")
Timely and interesting thread! I’ll be heading to law school this fall as well. Sort of hijack: To those who survived, any other words of advice? Any other texts you would recommend picking up in the months before classes begin to begin to acclimate to the experience? Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyers-how-busy-was-your-first-year-of-a-jd/579617/30 "2011-04-27T09:47:35Z")
If you think law school is busy, wait until you get into practice. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyers-how-busy-was-your-first-year-of-a-jd/579617/31 "2011-04-27T09:49:46Z")
> [@A.Selene](#): > > Timely and interesting thread! I’ll be heading to law school this fall as well. > > Sort of hijack: To those who survived, any other words of advice? Any other texts you would recommend picking up in the months before classes begin to begin to acclimate to the experience? > > Thanks! Ask ten lawyers and you will get 35 answers. Law School is about picking up skills more then simple academics. So my advice is to learn them quickly, especially readings and analytical skills. The best way to do that? Actually do it. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyers-how-busy-was-your-first-year-of-a-jd/579617/32 "2011-04-27T15:04:42Z")
The first year was the worst. So were the second and third. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyers-how-busy-was-your-first-year-of-a-jd/579617/33 "2011-04-27T15:24:00Z")
> [@A.Selene](#): > > Sort of hijack: To those who survived, any other words of advice? Any other texts you would recommend picking up in the months before classes begin to begin to acclimate to the experience? Honestly, I wouldn’t bother. You won’t know if you’re covering the right material for your classes, and you probably won’t get much out of what you read. Instead spend this summer visiting those out-of-state friends you’ve been meaning to see, reading those books you been meaning to read, and going to those places you’ve been meaning to go. There will be few (not none, but few) chances to do that sort of thing once you start. Tidy up your house, streamline your chores (if you have the ability to send out laundry, or get groceries delivered for a reasonable price, DO IT), if you have pets or kids establish backups for your backup caregivers now. The key to law school is that its a marathon, not a sprint. It’s one damn thing after another, and it never lets up. Arrive rested and focused for the journey. If you are in the US, I favor the “Crunchtime” review book series for basics, and the “Examples and Explanations” series if you have to teach yourself an entire subject because your professor sucks. I also like the “Law in a Flash” flash card series, but you can usually borrow them from your law library so don’t run out and buy them. (Sorry I don’t know what the comparable review materials are in Canada). ---
**Author:** ![anu-la1979](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/47e85d/32.png) [@anu-la1979](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anu-la1979)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyers-how-busy-was-your-first-year-of-a-jd/579617/34 "2011-04-27T16:18:16Z")
> [@A.Selene](#): > > Timely and interesting thread! I’ll be heading to law school this fall as well. > > Sort of hijack: To those who survived, any other words of advice? Any other texts you would recommend picking up in the months before classes begin to begin to acclimate to the experience? > > Thanks! Examples and Explanations for any subject. Some are better than others, but they’re all pretty good. Practice writing and interpreting the facts more than obsessively memorizing Getting to Maybe might be a good guide to read before school (assuming you’re going in the US). This is partially why my grades are high. Finally, I read Law School Confidential and it kind of scared me, but also taught me the timesaving technique of color coding my cases rather than briefing them out or whatever they called it (sorry, it’s coming on 9 years since 1L…and holy shit to that). Word of caution: many lawyers are miserable and negative and if you’re set on this path you may want to limit your interaction/networking till you develop a thicker skin, because they’re likely to tell you that you will die penniless in a ditch. At the same time, be aware of the job situation and plan accordingly. Also want to note one last thing about “pre-work”-every one of my classmates who successfully transferred out of my law school (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to UCLA, UChicago and Northwestern) all did that expensive-ass summer course before they got to school. If you have some vague inkling of a ranking-climbing transfer, consider it. But also note that classmates who went surfing all summer or sat on their ass and did nothing also did well. My memories of to-transfer-or-not was that it seemed time-consuming and unnecessary since I was okay with my school’s ranking overall. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyers-how-busy-was-your-first-year-of-a-jd/579617/35 "2011-04-27T18:30:06Z")
> [@anu-la1979](#): > > Getting to Maybe might be a good guide to read before school (assuming you’re going in the US). _Getting to Maybe_ was also recommended to us here in Canada, so **antonio107** may wish to take note. Also, **antonio107** , a couple of overview texts that you may want to investigate before you head to a Canadian law school: – [_The Canadian Legal System_](http://www.amazon.ca/Canadian-Legal-System-Gerald-Gall/dp/0459553984), by Gerald Gall. – [_On Coming to Law: An Introduction to Law in Liberal Societies_](http://www.amazon.com/Coming-Law-Introduction-Liberal-Societies/dp/0433438312/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_2), by F.C. DeCoste. Of the two, I’d recommend beginning with Gall first. He is quite readable, and his book is often available at public libraries. Gall is a little more practical than DeCoste, and gets in to the “nuts and bolts” of the legal system; while DeCoste spends more time on the philosophical underpinnings. Regardless, each is good; and I’d suggest that you look into them before you head off to school. ---
**Author:** ![antonio107](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ea924/32.png) [@antonio107](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antonio107)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyers-how-busy-was-your-first-year-of-a-jd/579617/36 "2011-04-27T21:32:21Z")
Thank You, **Spoons**! Looks like I have some summer readings planned out for me! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyers-how-busy-was-your-first-year-of-a-jd/579617/37 "2011-04-27T23:06:10Z")
Careful there, Spoons. You just used the word Liberal. ---
**Author:** ![Gleena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b3f665/32.png) [@Gleena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gleena)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyers-how-busy-was-your-first-year-of-a-jd/579617/38 "2011-04-27T23:43:07Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > Mostly, you’re just slow in the beginning. Slow to understand what’s important, slow to read cases. I just finished my first year in Australia - my program is semi-full time (about 3/4 workload) and I work full time as well. Can’t comment on the US programs. (And I see some of you from my thread a few months ago - I PASSED CONTRACT!!) But what **Hello Again** says here is absolutely true. It took me all this year to learn to read cases, to tease out what’s important, to summarize properly, to find the ratio and seperate it from obiter. That is what takes your time the first year. For me, I sailed through my first semseter, only to find out those classes were the easiest (and therefore up first). Holy cow, did it get harder in semester 2 because it was expected you’d learned how to read law by then. I put in, over and above my actual 40 hour a week job, another 40 hours on school, easily. I take off the two weeks before exams and I stay in the library most of the 15 hours it’s open a day. I listen to lecture recordings on the train. I have no time for anything at all when I’m at uni, but it might be different if you didn’t also have a job. Good luck, law’s fun! Stressful, stressful fun. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![antonio107](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ea924/32.png) [@antonio107](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antonio107)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2011, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyers-how-busy-was-your-first-year-of-a-jd/579617/39 "2011-04-28T22:56:42Z")
> [@Gleena](#): > > I put in, over and above my actual 40 hour a week job, another 40 hours on school, easily. I take off the two weeks before exams and I stay in the library most of the 15 hours it’s open a day. I listen to lecture recordings on the train. I have no time for anything at all when I’m at uni, but it might be different if you didn’t also have a job. > > Good luck, law’s fun! Stressful, stressful fun. 😃 Yeah, if I had to work at the same time as this I’d probably cry! You have my sympathies! ---
**Author:** ![Gleena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b3f665/32.png) [@Gleena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gleena)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2011, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyers-how-busy-was-your-first-year-of-a-jd/579617/40 "2011-04-28T23:17:43Z")
> [@antonio107](#): > > Yeah, if I had to work at the same time as this I’d probably cry! You have my sympathies! LOL, thanks, but no sympathies, I’m so so so lucky to be able to be going to law school finally. 🙂 I wanted to my whole life, and now I am. I love it. It’s fun. It’s challenging. Even when I don’t love every second of it (boring cases or whatever) I still love the _idea_ of it. My goal this year is to be more active in the Young Lawyers\* association, because I really, passionately want to be a part of the profession, and I want to start _now_, I don’t want to wait until I’m done. Er…yeah, so I’m a nerd. 😉 \*I’m not Young, nor am I a Lawyer yet, but fortuately it goes on student status or years as a lawyer, not actual age. I want to work with the human rights committee there. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawyers-how-busy-was-your-first-year-of-a-jd/579617.md?page=1)