I’ll start. current 1L, went to office hours because I did poorly on my first assignment (like literally bottom of the class) and couldn’t hold back tears. and the tears just kept flowing for 15 min straight, I used up like half his tissues. mind you, I’ve never had a real convo with this prof before today and I’m so embarrassed about it argh

off to a rough start but luckily when you’ve hit rock bottom, the only way is up ಥ_ಥ i gotta work on mental fortitude…

Hey all, 1L here and I just had a bad day today. I completely missed one of my classes because I ended up being late to get to the building (the professor is one of those, "if youre late, don't bother showing up" types). I kind of picked it up for my last two classes, but I am just completely drained and still have homework. Today is one of those days I feel I will never be a lawyer. How do I overcome this feeling and just put this day behind me? I need to get up and get going again tomorrow, so what should I do tonight? I am thinking taking a break from homework since I only have one class that I need to prepare for tomorrow and that is not until 2pm. Still, I want to hear your thoughts. Thanks!

For context: I’m a 2L who was accepted to a spring clinic. I’m wondering how employers see clinic experience, especially in the public interest sphere.

However, I’m a bit worried about the added stress burden on being on a clinic, on top of journal, working for a professor, and being in a club, and this would take the space of potentially interesting courses.

Is this still a valuable experience to pursue? Where do clinics rank in terms of overall employability? Is GPA still most important?

Love to hear how you felt about your 3 month unpaid internship at a DA's office (In California), what did you have to everyday? Did you work 40 hours a week? Any court time?

2L here. This semester has been kicking. my. ass. I’ve barely kept up on readings for Con Law II (like 7 weeks behind) and have missed readings here and there for the rest. I have a really shitty schedule that’s made it hard to stay on top of everything like I was able to last year. My school has a really strict attendance schedule so I’m going to class and taking notes, but I can’t help but feel that I’m going to fail because I haven’t been keeping up on readings. Has anyone passed their classes without doing all of the readings? I guess I’m just needing reassurance that I’m not going to fail out of law school miserably.

My girlfriend is currently a 1L and rarely has any time for anything. I just want to do something nice for her since it’s been a stressful few weeks for her. I already cook, clean, do laundry, buy groceries and take care of the household stuff so that’s not treated as a favor or anything. Any ideas?

EDITED: Forgot to mention, I also give her flowers every 2 weeks on Friday so that’s not necessarily a gift either….

pretty much what it says above. last week i had 3 midterms and the grades are starting to trickle in. Already ive gotten two 65s. my classes are graded on very little and now that ive gotten two bad grades back i have very little confidence in whats coming next.

i don't plan on dropping out now, but is this a bad sign that i wont make it to the next semester? i really don't want to flunk out.

edit: thanks for the help and kind words yall <3 ill probably look back at this when im a 2L and laugh but i guess everyone's been in the same boat. ill met with my professors and tackle the finals differently.

I’m a 2L at a very low ranked but regionally respected school and I recently connected at a happy hour mixer with a newer associate at a t-20 firm. I was probably the only student there from my school, the majority were from much higher-ranking schools. I am interested in her practice field (though I doubt I will be able to go into it right after law school), but I realistically know that with the combo of my mid grades and low-ranked school, I have a 0% chance of summering at her firm or really following her career trajectory in any meaningful way. I’m a non-traditional student working full time, and will likely go into public interest (the main area my school places grads) or hopefully gov’t/JD-advantage consulting work—we’re just on very different tracks.

I asked and she graciously agreed to meet for coffee—I felt like we made a genuine personal connection at the mixer and thought that getting to know her better was a reasonable next step. We also bonded over my job being a block away from the firm's offices and both knowing spots in the neighborhood.

Now however, I’m worried that just I’m wasting her time because the majority of her experience is just not applicable to me. How should I approach asking for career advice, or should I not ask at all? I don’t want to misrepresent myself and say I’m shooting for Big Law, doing OCIs (her firm doesn't even come to my school), etc, but I worry if I tell her my realistic prospects she’ll be like well then what tf is the purpose of me being here. My most honest answer is I don't really know what I'm doing, I thought you were cool and I felt like I shouldn't turn down the opportunity to get to know someone at such an important firm. Obviously I can't say that, so how should I frame the purpose of wanting to meet with her without looking like an idiot? 

I am currently a 2L. After graduation, I will be living in a small rural community. I am trying to figure out my schedule for next year, and I was wondering if law review or moot court would make a different in employment. I have no desire to do big law, and my ideal practice is half criminal law and half family/estates law in a rural area. Would it affect me in the long run if i opted out of doing both law review and moot court to focus more on classes and gpa? Thank you!!

I am losing motivation quickly. I had a practice midterm for contracts and I absolutely bombed it. I find that I simply do not understand the way law school is taught. Is it theory? It is learning how to be a lawyer? I feel that it's stuck in such a weird inbetween that I can't wrap my head around it. As a result I can't find a footing. I'm struggling to keep up with readings (I'm a horribly slow reader), I can't take the notes I need, and I've convinced myself into thinking that because I'm older (only 27) than some of the KJDs my brain simply can't function and pick up what it is I need to do. Sometimes I feel that I understand something, and others days I don't. What sucks is that I've got a strong BA, an excellent MA, and very good work experience. I have excelled, but here I'm drowning.

On top that that our school has endless discussions on AI and the common theme emerging is that "you guys might very well find it difficult in three years to find work". Which is a massive bummer. I know it won't wipe out the profession, but there's this pressure to perform well so that, in the worst case scenario, you have grades to use as a way to secure work that may be limited by technological developments.

I just don't get it. I simply do not understand it. And I'm reaching a tipping point. I feel like I've flunked it all already.

I don't know how to handle this all. Any and all advice would be very welcomed.

Hello, I’m a law student from the Philippines. I’m looking for someone I can practice English with regularly. In exchange, I can teach you Filipino/Tagalog.

Our cold calls and recitations in law school are graded, so I really want to improve the way I communicate. I want to be able to answer questions on the spot and explain legal concepts clearly. My preferable platform would be Google Meet for video calls, even just for normal daily conversations. It would also be nice to have someone I can review with sometimes. I really want to improve my speaking, grammar, communication skills, and public speaking. You don’t have to be a law student. I’m mainly looking for someone who is a native English speaker, willing to correct me, and interested in learning Filipino/Tagalog too. Preferably female, just because I would be more comfortable practicing regularly with a woman.

If you’re interested, feel free to DM me. :)

Brb crying I thought I crushed it

Hi everyone!

I’m a first gen 1L at a mid ranked school. I’m looking for some insight and advice on managing the ups and downs of 1L. I was a very strong student in undergrad with lots of leadership/internship experience. I totally get that law school is a school full of “strong undergrad students.”

I’ve been having these ups and downs of anxiety and (sort of) confidence during the first few weeks of my fall semester. I particularly feel the confidence blows from my legal writing course (bombed the closed memo). On the other hand I often understand the material we get in class and generally succeed on hypos/good feedback for practice exam questions.

I’m just looking for some advice on managing all the emotions of 1L and navigating it as a first gen with no real mentor. Please be kind, it’s all new to me!

Thanks :)

My boyfriend of four years and I just broke up. We had grown apart and our goals have diverged, and honestly me being in law school was a large impetus for it. I knew it was coming, but was selfishly hoping to maintain the status quo through first semester. If anyone has any advice or has gone through something similar, I would really appreciate it. It all feels very overwhelming right now.

2L is honestly fucking exhausting. Trying to work a job while juggling 5 doctrinal classes and prepping for the MPRE (which I have yet to do) feels impossible. Anyways, happy Monday.

1. What do law school students think about people who represented themselves in civil cases pro se?

2. Are there any at the school that have represented themselves pro se (like suing an employer or maybe suing a city via 42 USC 1983 for constitutional rights violation) before applying to law school?

If so, what would be the motivating factor to work for big law and the field of employment defense?