Summer starters end their first year of law school after the winter quarter. Winter exams ended February 8. We got final grades in all of our classes (finally) on Tuesday.
First year grades are key in getting clerkships, which are key to getting job offers. While I will have spring and summer quarters on my transcript before fall OCI (on campus interviews), my GPA has enough inertia now that it's all but guaranteed I won't be interviewing with the big, prestigious firms that make a big deal about only hiring from the top 10% of the class.
First year grades also determine who makes law review. The announcement of who the top 15% are in my quarter should be coming soon. Odds are I won't be posting about it when it comes out. I am not going to be on that list either.
I worked as hard as I ever have my first quarter, without really knowing what to expect. After the first round of finals, I made a list of all the things I wished I had done all semester long, and my second semester I did them. I doubled my efforts, and my reward was a lower cumulative GPA by 0.03. I slacked off my third quarter by comparison and my GPA improved by 0.01.
Rumor has it that 2L's and 3L's at other law schools play golf instead of go to class or study. I had always considered that dumb, but if their reward to effort curve looks like mine, they're better off on the golf course.
Baylor Law seems to hire its former academic superstars back to teach. I've taken classes by Professors Counseller, Fuselier, Ryan, and Salzman, each a Baylor Law grad among the top of their class. It reminds me of a story I once heard where the President of Harvard was giving advice to the President of the University of Ohio. In it he said, "Be kind to your 'A' students, because someday one of them will return and be a great professor. And be kind to your 'C' students, because someday one of them will return and build you a $2 million science lab." If there is some truth to the tendency of 'A' students, there may be some to the tendency of 'C' students too. I might yet have some more achievement in me (and I don't want to teach anyway).
Yesterday I reviewed the criminal procedure exam with Professor Serr. The reason this is newsworthy where others weren't is because his final was a blend of multiple choice and essay, so I can compare the two within the same subject. I did well on the multiple choice, which indicates I know the material. I didn't do as well on the essay, which indicates my big problem is in selecting the issues to talk about. That theory seems consistent with the results of my other exams.
Based on the points I got in the amount I wrote, going down irrelevant paths isn't my problem. In a few places, I just plain dropped the ball and didn't know it well enough. But the big pattern I saw was a tendency to answer the question with the strongest argument and move on without considering every issue. I cut myself out of so many points on stuff I know...
Professor Bates said the best piece of exam advice he ever got was, "to answer the question." Professor Counseller sold me on the idea of being a "methodical problem killer." I'd blame them for causing me to focus to narrowly, but I really just didn't fully understand what they were talking about.
Which is not to claim that I will be suddenly making A's on every test now. I've always worked right up to the time limit even when skipping all those issues. Rumor has it that tests your second year are different from those your first, so it may be that none of this insight is useful after I've gone to the effort of discovering it. And it's entirely possible I'm generalizing from too little data or otherwise just deceiving myself. But I have a plan to improve that seems more likely to work than playing golf, which is more than I had two days ago.
28 March 2008
27 March 2008
The 3Q Picnic
The picnic last week was dominated by 3Q's. I was the only 4Q. It reminded me of the time I was the only upper quarter who went to hang out with them when they were new 1Q's. The other members of my quarter called me a traitor (although eggs benedict is not my favorite, as one of them supposed).
There's an interesting ongoing dynamic between the quarters. When a new class enters, they are all smart, and they know they are smart, but they don't know anything about the law yet. You can try to help them out by telling them the supreme court is the trial court in New York, but they don't believe you or just don't get it for a while for some reason. Thrown into a new environment, they have to establish their position in the pecking order, but they don't yet understand what they're competing at.
It's all amusing to watch unless you're in the quarter directly above. In that case you're too close. For one thing, you are actually in some classes with them, and it wears after a while. Also, you just spent a quarter working through the same process and it's painful to be reminded. So despite going around all of your first quarter insisting that when you are upper quarter students you're not going to treat the 1Q's like the upper quarters treated you, you come back for your second quarter, experience the new 1Q's, change your mind, and forget that you ever thought anything else.
At the other end of the experience is Practice Court. To everyone in the school not enrolled in it, it is a mysterious ordeal, usually slightly feared. There is a lot of work, but the rest of the school doesn't really know what it's like. The timing of the quarters is a bit shuffled by the time you enter PC, but when you get there you bond with the other PC students regardless of earlier annoyances with those in other quarters. The rest of the school just doesn't get it.
Anyway, I learned my lesson. This time, nobody called me a traitor. I didn't tell anyone in my quarter I went.
There's an interesting ongoing dynamic between the quarters. When a new class enters, they are all smart, and they know they are smart, but they don't know anything about the law yet. You can try to help them out by telling them the supreme court is the trial court in New York, but they don't believe you or just don't get it for a while for some reason. Thrown into a new environment, they have to establish their position in the pecking order, but they don't yet understand what they're competing at.
It's all amusing to watch unless you're in the quarter directly above. In that case you're too close. For one thing, you are actually in some classes with them, and it wears after a while. Also, you just spent a quarter working through the same process and it's painful to be reminded. So despite going around all of your first quarter insisting that when you are upper quarter students you're not going to treat the 1Q's like the upper quarters treated you, you come back for your second quarter, experience the new 1Q's, change your mind, and forget that you ever thought anything else.
At the other end of the experience is Practice Court. To everyone in the school not enrolled in it, it is a mysterious ordeal, usually slightly feared. There is a lot of work, but the rest of the school doesn't really know what it's like. The timing of the quarters is a bit shuffled by the time you enter PC, but when you get there you bond with the other PC students regardless of earlier annoyances with those in other quarters. The rest of the school just doesn't get it.
Anyway, I learned my lesson. This time, nobody called me a traitor. I didn't tell anyone in my quarter I went.
19 March 2008
I Am Elected President
This afternoon, the members of the Baylor Law Federalist Society elected me president of the group. With this one victory, I now have a perfect record in my attempts to seek office in law school, when I am not barred from running.
The last Federalist Society event was during the first half of the winter quarter, in which Professors Serr and Osler debated the death penalty. I recall it being much better attended than the presentation by Roger Pilon of the Cato Institute the quarter before, where I was one of the seven people in attendance.
We'll see what the new executive board can put together.
The last Federalist Society event was during the first half of the winter quarter, in which Professors Serr and Osler debated the death penalty. I recall it being much better attended than the presentation by Roger Pilon of the Cato Institute the quarter before, where I was one of the seven people in attendance.
We'll see what the new executive board can put together.
07 March 2008
JD/MBA: My Final Answer
This week there was another informational meeting about the dual JD/MBA program.
The idea keeps tempting me, but after long, careful contemplation, I am not going to go for it. The first time I considered it I decided not to because my debt from law school at Baylor and undergraduate at TCU is too great to justify spending any more on credentials before I get some income. But when I get new information, I reconsider my position. I learned that with my GMAT scores, I would very likely get a full ride. The dual degree program would save me from spending tuition for 12 hours at the law school rate, saving me some real money.
It wasn't enough to make it irresistible, though. There's the opportunity cost of the 15 months it would take me to do the program. In the long run, I probably make up for that time because of the extra credential. In the short term, however, the MBA isn't considered as valuable in the practice of law as the JD is in business. I want to practice law.
Despite my continuing interest in business subjects since high school, and good scores when I took the GMAT, law school was still my first choice. An MBA wasn't my second choice either; I set my sights on a masters in finance program at a top school, even though I'd have to pick up a couple more math classes before I'd be eligible to apply. MBA programs followed those options.
If the value is knowing the material, I want intellectual rigor in the instruction. I am not sure that MBA programs have enough of it. Law does (or at least Baylor's program does). A masters in finance program does too, because of the emphasis on accounting and finance. An MBA, though, is less accounting and finance and more marketing and management. I find those subjects interesting and consider them important, but they aren't rigorous.
If the value is knowing the material, I can learn it myself. I have access to the internet, to the local public library, and to the research libraries of Baylor University. I'm the kind of guy who has been known to read economics textbooks for fun.
The value of an MBA isn't knowing the material, though. The value is in the connections with the other students. At Wharton the connections are generally going to be higher placed than those at Hankamer. At some point I'll have the work experience that when combined with my test scores would make me a competitive applicant at any top school (granted my scores will expire before then, but I can do as well again). From that perspective, if I care to get an MBA, I ought to wait and go to a top school.
Maybe I will go after an MBA at some point. But the JD/MBA is a no.
The idea keeps tempting me, but after long, careful contemplation, I am not going to go for it. The first time I considered it I decided not to because my debt from law school at Baylor and undergraduate at TCU is too great to justify spending any more on credentials before I get some income. But when I get new information, I reconsider my position. I learned that with my GMAT scores, I would very likely get a full ride. The dual degree program would save me from spending tuition for 12 hours at the law school rate, saving me some real money.
It wasn't enough to make it irresistible, though. There's the opportunity cost of the 15 months it would take me to do the program. In the long run, I probably make up for that time because of the extra credential. In the short term, however, the MBA isn't considered as valuable in the practice of law as the JD is in business. I want to practice law.
Despite my continuing interest in business subjects since high school, and good scores when I took the GMAT, law school was still my first choice. An MBA wasn't my second choice either; I set my sights on a masters in finance program at a top school, even though I'd have to pick up a couple more math classes before I'd be eligible to apply. MBA programs followed those options.
If the value is knowing the material, I want intellectual rigor in the instruction. I am not sure that MBA programs have enough of it. Law does (or at least Baylor's program does). A masters in finance program does too, because of the emphasis on accounting and finance. An MBA, though, is less accounting and finance and more marketing and management. I find those subjects interesting and consider them important, but they aren't rigorous.
If the value is knowing the material, I can learn it myself. I have access to the internet, to the local public library, and to the research libraries of Baylor University. I'm the kind of guy who has been known to read economics textbooks for fun.
The value of an MBA isn't knowing the material, though. The value is in the connections with the other students. At Wharton the connections are generally going to be higher placed than those at Hankamer. At some point I'll have the work experience that when combined with my test scores would make me a competitive applicant at any top school (granted my scores will expire before then, but I can do as well again). From that perspective, if I care to get an MBA, I ought to wait and go to a top school.
Maybe I will go after an MBA at some point. But the JD/MBA is a no.
06 March 2008
Defender of Democracy
The Obama Campaign asked me to help with their voter protection efforts for the Texas primary/caucus on Tuesday. I caucused Republican in Iowa and my moot court partner and I have a 20 page appellate brief due this week, but I couldn't turn down the opportunity to defend democracy. Besides, even though I'm planning on staying in Texas after I graduate, it could be quite some time before there is another contest like this one.
Because of classes I couldn't be available to watch the polls, but I did observe the caucus. The precinct I was assigned to had a few people that have been participating for decades and knew the process cold. They had a great sense of community and inclusion and were committed to making sure everyone had their say.
For some people that say was that the dual primary/caucus is a bad idea. Some people are frustrated and feel that anyone who can't make both the primary and the caucus is disenfranchised.
The dual process has some challenges. Everyone at the polling place at 7 gets to vote before the caucus starts. If there is no line, the caucus can start as early as 7:15. Ours started at about 8:30. Then you have to sign in, and if your card is not stamped, you have to be verified against the book. If you're not in the book, you get to caucus provisionally, which requires the secretary to do all the math twice. I don't know how long sign-in took. It was late before I got home.
I know at least one Republican who voted for Hillary in the open primary (it's a secret ballot, but I don't doubt his claim).
Because of classes I couldn't be available to watch the polls, but I did observe the caucus. The precinct I was assigned to had a few people that have been participating for decades and knew the process cold. They had a great sense of community and inclusion and were committed to making sure everyone had their say.
For some people that say was that the dual primary/caucus is a bad idea. Some people are frustrated and feel that anyone who can't make both the primary and the caucus is disenfranchised.
The dual process has some challenges. Everyone at the polling place at 7 gets to vote before the caucus starts. If there is no line, the caucus can start as early as 7:15. Ours started at about 8:30. Then you have to sign in, and if your card is not stamped, you have to be verified against the book. If you're not in the book, you get to caucus provisionally, which requires the secretary to do all the math twice. I don't know how long sign-in took. It was late before I got home.
I know at least one Republican who voted for Hillary in the open primary (it's a secret ballot, but I don't doubt his claim).
01 March 2008
The People's Law School
I volunteered to help with the People's Law School that Baylor Law was hosting today. Things went very smoothly, so it was largely an uneventful morning.
I attended a People's Law School in Des Moines a couple of years ago now, and I think I was the only participant under 50. Whether today is considered a success is not my call (Professor Wilson did call it a success, I think), but I liked that there was a good distribution of ages.
Afterwards, one of my classmates was confused by the logo on the shirt. "What makes us the People's Law School?" he asked. That could be some evidence a redesign is needed for next time, but it also could just be him.
I attended a People's Law School in Des Moines a couple of years ago now, and I think I was the only participant under 50. Whether today is considered a success is not my call (Professor Wilson did call it a success, I think), but I liked that there was a good distribution of ages.
Afterwards, one of my classmates was confused by the logo on the shirt. "What makes us the People's Law School?" he asked. That could be some evidence a redesign is needed for next time, but it also could just be him.
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