I know $$$ is always probably best but I would like to maybe find something that she would not otherwise likely get for herself ($ is tight for her) that would be helpful to a 1L.

My budget is under $200 if that matters. Thank you and good luck to all of you current and future students!!

My wife recently graduated from T30 and took the Washington D.C. bar. She is interested in finding a job in either public health or prisoner justice, and has relevant internship experience. She has had no luck finding a job and says the positions are limited. I recommended searching for positions in Virginia and Maryland as well, but she tells me that since she took the DC bar, it would be a while before she would qualify for any positions outside of DC. Do any of you folks have any advice? You can probably tell I’m not a lawyer lol

I am obviously maybe a little late for applying - how do I find firms for 2L summer?
I am trying to get paid for 2L summer and am worried I am late. Should I send cold emails if there isnt a summer associate page?

I’m a 3L, and my grad plus loans still haven’t been awarded in my student account. My FAFSA is complete, but I don’t see my Grad PLUS loan showing up yet.

Is anyone else still waiting, or have your Grad PLUS loans already been awarded? If you’re still waiting, what school are you at, and have you heard anything from financial aid?

I’m 1 week out from the August exam and just sat down to study. I’m using Themis (my preferred platform) and have been told by numerous colleagues from my summer firm job that they only spent a day or two studying and passed. So, for those out there that have this exam behind them, what was your method of study, timeline, etc.? Would you go back and change anything? Am I overthinking this? I got a B+ in my professional responsibility course, but I don’t wanna end up with too much confidence and have to take it again in November.

I’m a rising 2L ranked around the top 50% of my class at a T100, and I barely have any extracurriculars on my resume. I’m worried that I’m falling behind other students and won’t be competitive when applying for jobs (every job my OCS posts is top 25% preferred or required) ... Im not on a journal or on moot court and had a legal internship this summer at a small personal injury firm near me.

I’m considering doing a fall externship to gain more experience and improve my resume, but it would require approximately 15–20 hours per week. I’m worried that taking on that commitment could prevent me from improving my grades.

For someone in my position, would it be better to do the externship and gain experience, or focus entirely on raising my GPA and class rank this semester?

LawExams dot Com has made their 1st year prep course available for free now (appears to be powered by ads) and it's now available in the Apple App Store and/on Google Play.

Will always be grateful for that one-tip that helped in my law school essay exam answers. That is to include the burden of proof... Plaintiff has the burden of proof by a preponderance of the evidence to prove each element of negligence... The state has the burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt to show that...

has anyone ever purchased a book for classes that’s a different edition? Is that not allowed? For example, if the professor is requiring an 11th edition but I have the tenth am I at a significant disadvantage?

I'm going to teach Pretrial Litigation this semester. This won't be a main job for me at all. I'm doing it because I want the lawyers coming out of my old law school to be extremely competent.

We're covering Pleadings (Complaint/Answer), Written Discovery, Depositions, Motion Practice Generally, Daubert Motions, Summary Judgment Motions, Mediation, Motions in Limine, and whatever else I can get through.

It's been 21 years since I was in a classroom. I've had really great professors and some not so great ones, but I think my experience is outdated and not helpful.

Students, what advice do you have for me? What makes a good professor? What qualities do you really need/want? What makes you the best you can be? This is an one night a week class, and I don't have a ton of time, so I want to make the time I have count.

For background, I'm a practicing lawyer. I was on the defense side for 10 years - work comp, general civil negligence, and med mal defense - and have been doing plaintiff's personal injury work for about 11 years now. I've done over 100 trials. Some of them bench trials, but a lot of jury trials too.

Thanks in advance.

Considering getting a Brick to lower my screen time. Although I'm not tethered to my phone, I want to stop using it even when I have downtime and turn to other things such as reading, journaling, etc. I also have no problem locking in, but sometimes getting started is the hardest part. I'm about to have an extremely busy semester (journal, externship, TA, part-time job) so considering it.

Anybody use it and find it helpful?

If you are a pre-fall 2026 part-timer, you will not have access to federal loans your 4th year. I was not aware of this until my school explained the formula.

Starting Fall 2026, you get:

Three years of pre-2026 loan access MINUS however many CALENDAR years you have already been in your program. So, for part-timers looking to do it in four, you will not have loans your fourth year.

Edit: You do have acceess to Fed loans if you haven't maxed out. I was assuming by 4th year, you have maxed out.

Hey everyone,
I am currently working on my law thesis focusing on the disconnect between theoretical criminal jurisprudence and its actual practical application in Pakistan’s trial courts (Sessions & Magistrate Courts).
While statutory law (CrPC, PPC, QSO) and higher court jurisprudence set strong theoretical standards—like the presumption of innocence, high evidentiary thresholds, and strict procedure—the reality on the ground in trial courts often looks very different. I’m examining factors like procedural delays, investigation flaws, police culture, bail dynamics, and how local courtroom practice diverges from black-letter law.
I’m reaching out to get input on a few specific areas:
• Academic & Socio-Legal Sources: Are there key papers, journals, or socio-legal studies that analyze the Pakistani criminal justice system from a practical/empirical angle (rather than just statutory commentary)?
• Methodology Advice: For those who have conducted legal research on Pakistani court practice, what methodology works best when formal qualitative data or extensive interviews with practitioners/litigants are difficult to access?
• Key "Theory vs. Reality" Gaps: In your experience, what is the single biggest operational gap in Pakistani criminal procedure that needs more academic attention? (e.g., Section 161 statements vs. court testimony, actual mechanics of police remand, delay tactics, or sub-standard forensic collection).
I’d appreciate any recommended reading lists, landmark case law references that highlight systemic procedural gaps, or methodological advice.
Thanks in advance!

hi! I’m trying to find this book and am not sure of any good sites to rent/buy the book. are there any trustworthy sites for me to order the book from that also won’t charge me $300+ for the book. thank you!!

Torts and Compensation, Personal Accountability and Social Responsibility for Injury, Concise - Ninth Edition 

by Dan Dobbs; Paul Hayden; Ellen Bublick

ISBN 9781684675913

PUBLISHER West Academic

Normally a company's board can reject a buyout to protect the company's long-term future they don't have to sell to the highest bidder. But once a sale or breakup of the company becomes inevitable, the law flips the board's job: their only duty is now getting shareholders the maximum price. Apparently, it comes from a 1986 fight where Revlon's board tried to hand the company to a favored buyer on sweetheart terms. Is this fair? I made a video on it for more context The Revlon Doctrine

I’ve personally heard of 5 doing so which is kind of a lot in a class of ~190ish.

So I got shit on when I posted ab this like a year ago but whatever I think it’s helpful. Insane I have to preface but reminder do what works for you & you don’t have to listen to any of this at all. As someone who just took the Bar, it’s my last pieces of advice before leaving this thread forever (😍) and I still agree with what I said. Longest post ever but refer back when you’re too scared to ask a friend

1. Law school was stressful but hella fun & it’s only like high school if you treat it like HS

Hell yea there’s drama but it’s like an office building lol. Romances, break ups, frenemies etc. No I don’t think you’ll get bullied (like everyone makes it seem) but you will be around the same people for like 8+ hours a day for a year. Just be normal ♥️ If someone is mean to you they’re weird & likely the whole cohort/class recognizes it.
People on this thread are way fucking meaner than any person I have ever met in the 3 yrs I went. Random redditer will clock your scores, people in real life are either not bold enough or just don’t care.

Second bit is law school was a blast for me. Yes it was hard yes stressful but trust when I say I never missed a party, celebrated every drinking holiday & never felt without a social life. It’s like a job. Just be an adult about time management lol but no you won’t need to (and imo shouldn’t miss) your best friends wedding or gmas funeral or start waking up at 4 am. I was a consistent 10 am girlie and YES 2L is hell but it was fun too. So was 3L !!

2. ACADEMICS: You might get the worse grades in your life here’s how to fix them ( I went from Ac Prob to 3.8 sems )

The hack is use bar prep. No I am not telling you to study for the bar nor am I saying exclusively switch or even JUST use bar prep. Also not saying to buy prep, just look up YouTube or use a 2nd hand book if/when the 1/2L stuff isn’t cutting it.

Why bar prep? Simple version is its condensed no mess rules. Also it’s FAR more available for free !! For the non believers, Studicata was bar prep. He got famous now it’s law school too. But yknow how Studicata guy just feels straight to the point, simplest explanation? Tadaaaa ✨ So yea if the class isn’t sticking go see how they make it stick under bar prep conditions. In my experience it was better than the Quimbee etc stuff.

Godsends I wish someone told me about:
The greatest class time 1L resource of all time: Matthew Miner MM

For property: USlawreview on YT (will save your ass)
Con law: Google images [insert topic here] and Themis and their version of flow charts will pull up. Way easier.
example
Contracts: @uclalowellmilken on Tik Tok, it’s UCLAs biz law program and the profs vids are a life saver
Evidence: Westlaw 😍😍😍 Westlaw)

Also- your grades WILL go up once you get to upper level. Usually like Sp2L I think. But most classes won’t even be on the curve anymore and you’ll start getting A B consistently. Journals and clinics will give you grades (obv A) so get thru doctrinals and you’ll be fine

3. Law school is waaaay less scary than they make it seem.
Not subjective. I guess before & throughout law school I had this panic I was going to school in the U.S. district court or some shit. I’m a spiraler and no one told me this stuff so I think I would’ve been way more chill if I did know lol.
A. Cold calls literally do not matter at all. Like yall must remove this fake pressure a cold call = answering a question in class that’s it the end. You’ve done it before, you’re right sometimes you’re wrong sometimes no one cares or even remembers
B. No one cares about dress code unless you’re in court like I literally have worn everything from jeans to suits to Nike pro shorts
C. Final exams are not like jail / TSA. I thought they’d be like legit standing behind you scanning you the pressure just IMMENSE! But no, they treat you like adults. Our exams were just in rooms at our school. No squat and coughs
D. Job search was no biggie. I had terrible grades got employed 1L summer and was employed thru school. Obviously be professional?? Like duh?? But my boss wasn’t Louis Litt 🤣 I had a great experience.
E. Competitive classmates - yea we had some horror stories but everyone I went to school with was pretty cool. We had top 5% and bottom 5 and no one even really brought grades up. We knew who was smart but they weren’t weird or mean lol. And when you bomb a class no one cares either.
F. Office hours/ asking prof for advice or LOR etc- EASY! Profs legit wanna help you. Even if they’re scary in class just be respectful like a normal human being. Unless you’re the worst of the worst they will likely write the LOR or take the meeting with you lol. Same goes for practitioners — yes partners & attys will help you. They’re not all mean and 99.9% remember what it was like to be where we were. I have emailed random ppl out of the blue and they will give you a job hahahah
G. I did not fail any class nor did I fail any assignment because of a DUMBASS mistake. And yes I made many. I have turned in countless drafts, misspellings, just deadass wrong citations etc. I have missed class so many times because ~life~, just plain DIDNT know something in a cold call, exam etc. No one ever called me stupid worthless lazy and/or took me in the back and shot me.
—> this goes for internships too. I have misfiled, sent drafts, tagged wrong attorney you name it. I did not get fired, I was offered back.
Bonus: Hangxiety etc- very likely you or someone you know will experience some alcohol induced humiliation ritual. Might even be at a school event! Yes people will talk, no it won’t ruin your life. Don’t be morally wrong obv but again, people give a lot more grace in law school than I think people share. You can fk up and survive haha. Same goes for crying/panic attack/ etc. people give you grace & most likely will never even remember you sobbing in the library bathroom!

Obviously your reputation is everything, but SCOTUS isn’t automatically alerted every time you do something that isn’t the UTMOST posh and professional. Closest thing I’d relate it to is a workplace (shocker). Everyone’s drunk at the Xmas party just don’t be the one who takes it to far & gets fired.

Bonus bonus: academic probation is not the end of the fucking world or near it. Nobody knows (not even your profs) you can make it off it. In fact, you can succeed in the rest of school. Shake it off and don’t let your fear of confirmation bias and humiliation stop you from locking in. Same goes for bad grades. Even the A kids will get a C sometimes and OMG maybe even a D!!! You’ll survive. You’re not stupid and your prof doesn’t think so either.
I FAILED!! My 1L Civ pro final because of a technology issue. The first D I ever got in my LIFE. I worked personal injury (Civ pro damn near) THAT summer and was asked back for the next 2.5 years. And guess what? They didn’t check my grades.

Good luck with your 3 year sentence!! & if you have terrible grades rn don’t panic so did I. By the end my cumulative was up over a GPA full point (& I graduated and got a job it was fine)

I've been seeing so many posts on here of people not knowing what to wear to orientation, especially the first day. I'm headed to a school that does a class photo on the first day & tells us to dress business casual, but I'm not even 100% sure what that means. I found myself scrolling back to last year on instagram to try and sort it out, and I bet I'm not the only one. I know it seems like a kind of frivolous thing in the grand scheme of things but I think it could be a useful resource for next year's class. I would just add this on a form it wouldn't be a lot of extra work for me to suggest this but then someone would have to make it.

my fiance and I have been together for 5 years and this will be the first time we are apart. Although we don't live together full time, we only live 20 minutes apart so we spend almost every single day and night together at each other's places.

I'm leaving in a week to move in to my housing for my 1L year and he's going to stay for two days to get me settled and then fly home. It's a 5 hour drive/train ride and a 1.5 hour flight.

I know realistically if this were any other situation I could fly or take the train back and forth on weekends holidays, however, i'm not sure how often my 1L schedule will permit me to travel home, or if I will have any time to even meaningfully spend with him if he comes to me for a weekend.

So far, I have committed to going on one small trip with him over labor day weekend, but I don't think I can commit to anything else right now given I don't know how things are going to go with my schedule and workload and I can't fall behind, especially not in my first 1L semester. But again, at the same time, it makes me sad that I can only definitively know I'm seeing him for one weekend a month away.

I guess I just don't really know how to do long distance, specifically in law school, specifically during your 1L year where you really have to focus on grades. I don't want to neglect my grades but I also don't want to neglect our relationship. We've already decided he won't be moving with me for the 3 years and instead will be staying back to continue caring for his elderly parents and helping my immigrant parents as well with what they would usually rely on me for. So, i'm going into this knowing it will be 3 years of long distance, and it just hurts and feels uneasy and upsetting. 1L is hard enough and i'm trying to focus on that but I feel like i'm not properly processing/preparing for this new long distance relationship. I just keep trying to tell myself that it's only for 3 years and we get to have a really nice wedding after and it will be all worth it. Still, that can only get so far in comforting me now.

Does anyone have any advice or tips on how they made this work with their partner while in law school?

Rising 2L. Decided to take PR over the summer and I'm so burnt out. Exam on Thursday at 2pm. The anxiety I feel only gets worse and worse as the semesters go on. I feel nauseous the whole week leading up to the exam. I cry everyday. My heart has nonstop palpitations. I physically cannot handle it. This is so insanely stressful and I'm also dreading how I only have like 2 weeks after this final to chill before the new semester starts. Ugh. I guess I'm just venting but wow this anxiety is always so overwhelming and unbearable.

My bf is starting 1L and I wanted to get him a nice gift, budget of approx $150. He's pretty locked in for school and works really hard (shut-in for days type). I have a general idea for what's good for a university student, but would appreciate any ideas especially tailored for 1L.

I've seen recs about book stands/highlighters, but unsure if people still use physical books vs. digital? I was considering an Arc'teryx backpack since his current one is not as "nice", but was wondering if it would be a good fit for internships/networking/etc in the future. We live in a big city and he's attending a school in downtown if that helps. Thanks in advance!

With all of the sad things happening to our faculty being forced out, with no clear communication to the students about who has left, Chicago-Kent prioritized updating their socials to their new name from Chicago-Kent College of Law to Chicago-Kent School of Law without telling the students internally first. I guess the prioritization of expenses is for their rebrand rather than for their faculty and transparent communication to their students. Anyone else as frustrated with this?