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- From: Internet Esquire <netesq@dcn.davis.ca.us>
- Organization: Internet Esquire(SM)
- Newsgroups: ucd.king-hall,news.answers
- Subject: King Hall Law School USENET FAQ Part 3 of 9
- Followup-To: poster
- Summary: This article is Part Three of a Multipart compilation of
- information on subjects of interest to the readers of the
- ucd.king-hall USENET newsgroup and other members and would-be
- members of the King Hall Law School community.
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-
- The King Hall Law School USENET FAQ Part 3 of 9
- Frequently Asked Questions at and about King Hall
- (c) Copyright 1995 & 1996
-
- by
-
- David F. Prenatt, Jr.
- King Hall, 1995 Alumnus
- U.C. Davis School of Law
- University of California
- Davis, CA 95616-5210
-
- <mailto:NetEsq@dcn.davis.ca.us >
-
-
- The King Hall Law School USENET FAQ (King Hall USENET FAQ) may be comprised
- of more than one part. If it is, please see the TABLE OF CONTENTS in Part
- One for a complete list of the questions that have attempted to answer and
- for other important legal information. Caveat emptor: I assume no
- obligation to anyone through the publication of the King Hall USENET FAQ.
- Furthermore, all versions of the King Hall USENET FAQ are my personal
- property and are protected by applicable copyright laws. All rights are
- reserved except as follows: I hereby give my permission to anyone who has
- access to this version of the King Hall USENET FAQ to reproduce the
- information contained herein for non-profit purposes, provided that proper
- credit is given to me as the author of this FAQ and that I am promptly
- notified of any use other than personal use. I may revoke permission to
- reproduce any version of this FAQ at any time.
-
- - - - - -
- The King Hall Law School USENET FAQ Part 3 of 9
- Frequently Asked Questions at and about King Hall
- (c) Copyright 1995 & 1996 by David F. Prenatt, Jr.
-
-
- 4) LIFE AS A LAW STUDENT AT KING HALL.
-
- 4.1) THE FIRST YEAR OF LAW SCHOOL AT KING HALL.
-
- Shortly after the August 13, 1995 publication of this FAQ, a first
- year law student (One L) at King Hall asserted in a a post on the
- ucd.king-hall USENET newsgroup (<news:ucd.king-hall >) that this FAQ
- was "not terribly accurate." I inquired via e-mail for some
- specifics, but none were forthcoming. A second year law student (Two
- L) then criticized this FAQ as "unnecessary," and another Two L jumped
- on the bandwagon, telling One Ls to ignore this FAQ because first year
- law school experiences are personal ones (adding a gratuitous slam
- against me as an alumnus who continues to post on the ucd.king-hall
- newsgroup). I reluctantly address these unfair characterizations at
- the request of the people who have offered their support to me via e-
- mail and in person.
- While I have been given permission to quote the students, staff,
- and faculty who have offered their personal endorsement of this FAQ, I
- respectfully decline to do so. The merits of this FAQ will speak for
- themselves, and any inaccuracies in this FAQ will be addressed and/or
- corrected if they are brought to my attention as the FAQ maintainer
- (which was not done by the One L critic whom I mentioned above).
- However, the opinions that I express typically do *NOT* reflect
- traditional wisdom. Rather, they reflect the truth as I see it.
- In presenting the truth as I see it, I discuss many topics in
- this FAQ that are not covered anywhere else by anyone else. Indeed, I
- discuss topics that cannot be discussed by official spokespersons of
- King Hall and/or U.C. Davis, and many people tell me that they find
- these candid discussions useful and helpful. Therefore, the nebulous
- assertion that this FAQ is unnecessary is difficult, maybe impossible,
- to support, and such an assertion (however sincere) does not deserve a
- substantial reply.
- The comment regarding first year law school experiences has very
- little to do with the topics covered in this FAQ, as any Two L would
- be able to tell with a casual glance at the TABLE OF CONTENTS. Your
- first year law school experiences, as well as those from the rest of
- your life, will be your own. No one can take that from you, not me
- and certainly not a territorial Two L who has nothing relevant to say
- yet purports to impeach the merits of this FAQ with petty character
- attacks against me.
-
- 4.1.1) Where should I live during my first year at King Hall?
-
- Your best bet is to live somewhere in Davis close to the law school.
- See Section 6.1 for more information; see also the Davis USENET FAQ
- (information on how to obtain the Davis USENET FAQ is contained in
- Section 1.5).
-
- 4.1.1.1) Should I move into the graduate dorms at U.C. Davis, Lysle Leach
- Hall?
-
- No, but that's just my personal opinion. I lived at Leach Hall during
- my first year of law school, and it was the worst experience of my
- life. However, some law students actually enjoy the camaraderie that
- they experience when they live with other law students at Leach Hall
- and/or the convenience of living on campus. IMHO, Leach Hall was too
- small, too expensive, and a host of petty rules were enforced
- arbitrarily by the Resident Director (RD) whether or not anyone was
- actually breaking the rules. Most of the people whom I know who have
- lived at Leach Hall feel the same way. However, the RD (a King Hall
- reject) who was the major source of grief for the residents at Leach
- Hall has since gone on to bigger and better bureaucratic pursuits and
- has been replaced by more mature and capable personnel.
-
- 4.1.1.2) Where else can I live during my first year at King Hall?
-
- You can live in one of the other on campus housing facilities for
- graduate and professional students, somewhere else in Davis, in one of
- the small communities near Davis, in the Greater Sacramento Area, in
- the San Francisco Bay Area, or anywhere else in Northern California.
- See the sections in this FAQ and other FAQs that deal with life in
- those regions; see also Section 6.4.2 for information on shuttle
- services for commuters.
-
- 4.1.1.3) Is there any place to live on campus other than Leach Hall?
-
- Yes. There are a number of on campus housing facilities for graduate
- and professional students that are well worth your money, but they go
- very fast and there is usually a long waiting list for them. For more
- information about on campus housing at U.C. Davis, contact the Student
- Housing Office (<mailto:housing@ucdavis.edu >) at (916)752-2033.
-
- 4.1.2) FIRST YEAR COURSES AT KING HALL.
-
- For a complete and current list of first year courses, readers with a
- web browser may visit the King Hall First Year Courses Page on the
- World Wide Web (<http://kinghall.ucdavis.edu/pages/first.htm >)
-
- 4.1.2.1) What courses are offered during the first year of law school at
- King Hall?
-
- One Ls at King Hall start classes a week earlier than second and third
- year law students (Two Ls and Three Ls). During this first week
- (Intro Week), King Hall offers a required credit/no credit course
- called Introduction to Law (1 unit). No one who has taken the final
- exam in this course has ever failed (and no, you won't be the first).
- By the end of Intro Week, you will be assigned to a small class
- section for the remainder of your first year. Your small section will
- have one class together and you will be grouped with one or two other
- small sections into one of two large sections for all of your other
- classes (the total enrollment will be approximately 165 One L
- students).
- With a few minor changes, the courses that One Ls take remain the
- same from year to year: Contracts, Civil Procedure, Constitutional
- Law I, Criminal Law, Legal Research, Legal Writing, Real Property, and
- Torts. Check the law school course catalog for more information on
- these courses; see also the ucd.class.law202 USENET newsgroup
- (<news:ucd.class.law202 >) for information on Contracts. Some of the
- courses offered during the first semester are over at the semester
- break. However, most courses offered during the first semester are
- year long courses, and you will not receive final grades for these
- courses until after the second semester. For this reason, your
- first semester grades are not a good indicator of your class
- standing. Your class standing will be determined at the end of the
- second semester of your first year, and it will not change very much
- after that.
-
- 4.1.2.2) How should I prepare for my classes?
-
- Even though law school courses are pretty standardized, the best way
- for you to prepare for your classes depends upon who your instructor
- is for a particular course. If your instructor for a course has
- taught that course before, find someone who has taken that course with
- that particular instructor. These people will usually be willing to
- provide you with a course outline that they prepared and be able to
- tell you what to expect.
-
- 4.1.2.3) Should I brief my cases to prepare for my classes?
-
- As a rule, no. But please note that my opinion on this subject flies
- in the face of traditional wisdom. Briefing cases is an important
- skill that you must learn and be able to demonstrate as a lawyer, but
- it is tedious and time consuming and it will seldom help you
- understand the law or improve your grades. However, this is a
- personal decision. Some people brief all of their cases in all of
- their classes during law school and do very well. As one e-mail
- commentator noted, "practice makes perfect," so practice briefing your
- cases and find out what works best for you.
-
- 4.1.2.4) Should I use commercial outlines and canned briefs?
-
- As a rule, yes. Since most law school courses are standardized, this
- will save you quite a bit of time and trouble. However, it is best to
- use an outline prepared by a student who has taken the same course
- from the same instructor you are taking since each instructor
- emphasizes different things. If you do use a commercial outline or
- canned brief to prepare for class, review it beforehand to make sure
- that it's not wrong in some critical point. This happens all of the
- time to students who rely upon commercial outlines and canned briefs,
- and it is very embarrassing for everyone.
- A number of commercial outlines are prepared by the authors of
- your textbooks (which are not-so coincidentally your instructors at
- King Hall in some cases). In contrast, canned briefs are usually
- prepared by some unknown third party (to quote one e-mail commentator,
- "CANNED BRIEFS SUCK!"). A third option for reducing your reading is
- the "Headnotes" system that West Publishing provides. Headnotes are a
- comprehensive cross-reference system of the law that digests and
- organizes by topic the case law found in West's Reporters. I used
- Headnotes whenever I had trouble understanding the relevant holding in
- a case. As I found out during Legal Writing and later in Moot Court,
- Headnotes will usually direct you to the most important and
- controlling language in a published court decision.
- I cannot overemphasize how important it is to develop your own
- personal course outlines. While it may or may not actually have an
- impact upon your grades (depending upon the instructor), it will help
- you learn the law, which is presumably the reason that you came to law
- school in the first place. If you form a study group, exchanging and
- editing the work of others will also help you pinpoint your own
- mistaken perceptions about the law.
-
- 4.1.2.5) Should I use "Hornbooks" to prepare for class?
-
- Maybe. If your instructor is hard to comprehend, this is an excellent
- way to bridge the gap. Hornbooks are written by the same people who
- compile your casebooks, and hornbooks can help you understand the law
- when your casebooks are unclear. Many Hornbooks are found in the
- reserve section of the law library at King Hall.
-
- 4.1.2.6) Should I participate in class?
-
- Absolutely not, unless the instructor specifically requests that you
- do so. Whatever you do, don't volunteer. If you must volunteer your
- comments during class, limit your comments to once a class meeting.
- Instructors may pay lip service to class participation, but they do
- not appreciate it when it is offered too frequently. Your teacher may
- feel that you are arguing with him or her, and you will probably
- suffer the social censure of most of your colleagues.
- If you are truly inspired to offer your comments on a regular
- basis, talk to the instructor after class. You will usually find that
- many other students do the same thing. Talk to these students as
- well. No one else really cares what you have to say in class. Most
- students come to class to listen to the teacher. If you don't realize
- that, then you are probably the free spot in "Law School Bingo." And
- if you don't know about Law School Bingo is, ask one of your friends.
-
- 4.1.2.7) How important are final exams in law school?
-
- In most law school classes, final exams are your whole grade. Thus,
- you should spend most of your study time practicing essay exams from
- previous final exams that are kept on reserve in the law library. You
- do not need to know the law on a particular subject to take an essay
- exam in that subject. In fact, you'll be surprised how much you can
- learn about the law simply by taking a practice exam.
- Taking practice exams will help you find out what you already
- know and help you focus on what you still need to learn. Most
- professors have a predilection towards particular exam topics and base
- their grading system on an answer style that may or may not have
- anything to do with the way that they teach their classes. The best
- way to discover what your professor emphasizes on exams is to review
- the exams that he or she keeps on file, particularly if those exams
- include the AmJur award winner's essay (i.e., the highest grade given
- on that exam).
-
- 4.1.2.7.1) What is the format of final exams?
-
- Most final exams are a combination of essays and multiple choice:
- Some are completely essay or completely multiple choice; the emphasis
- is on essay exams, but you should also practice multiple choice
- questions such as those used for the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE).
- This will expose you to the nuances of the law that sometimes makes
- the difference between a C+ and an A.
-
- 4.1.2.7.2) Can I type my essay exams?
-
- Yes, and you should seriously consider doing so. You will be able to
- cover much more ground in the same amount of time as those who
- handwrite their exams and your typed exams will be much more legible
- than a handwritten exam.
-
- 4.1.2.7.3) How do I go about typing my essay exams?
-
- You need to get your typewriter approved each semester and fill out a
- form requesting a typing room for each essay exam that you wish to
- type. Contact Nicole Waterman (<mailto:ngwaterman@ucdavis.edu >) or
- Dian Francis (<mailto:dpfrancis@ucdavis.edu >) in the King Hall
- Registrar's Office in person or at (916)752-4299.
-
- 4.1.2.7.4) Can I use a word processor on my essay exams?
-
- No, and your typewriter cannot have memory capability. [Note: You
- CAN use a word processor on the California Bar Exam.]
-
- 4.1.2.8) How important are first year grades in law school?
-
- First year grades in law school are *very* important, both to law
- students and employers. Because of this, a dark cloud settles in over
- King Hall during when first semester grades become available to One
- Ls. Few students are spared an insult to their self-esteem. Even
- those who eventually finish at the top of their class are confronted
- with at least one mediocre grade at the semester break in a subject
- that they thought they knew very well.
- As important as grades are in the real world, grades are not a
- reliable indicator of a law student's knowledge or ability. Grades
- are simply an arbitrary (albeit consistent) method of ranking law
- students for the job market. Those who finish in the top 10% of their
- class at King Hall are courted by many employers, and virtually
- everyone else must struggle long and hard to find a good job.
- I have heard many proposals for remedying the suffering and
- hardship caused by the forced grade curve at King Hall. Some people
- have proposed changing the format and/or grading of exams or
- abolishing grades altogether. Other people have proposed limiting the
- number of resumes students may submit to firms who conduct On Campus
- Interviews (OCI). These solutions, however well-intentioned, do not
- address the crux of the issue: Our society feels compelled to rank
- people's abilities by some reified "objective standard." Since King
- Hall does not have the reputation and ranking of a Harvard or Yale,
- grades are the only way to conform with society's expectations.
- If letter grades were eliminated at King Hall, many qualified
- students would be at a distinct disadvantage when looking for work.
- And as many law firms will not consider applicants who are not in the
- top 10% of their class, many of these firms would not participate in
- OCI at King Hall. My personal solution was to play the hand that was
- dealt to me and play it close to my chest, applying for the jobs that
- interested me and giving equivocal and misleading information to all
- who asked about my grades and class ranking (not even my mother knows
- anything more than that I graduated from law school). No matter what
- your own class ranking is, you will save yourself and others a lot of
- grief if you use this strategy.
-
- 4.1.2.8.1) When will I find out what my grades are?
-
- Your grades are supposed to be available about a month after final
- exams are over, but some of the instructors are very slow to issue
- grades. This may cause you a hardship if you want to defer one of
- your first year courses based on your first semester grades or if you
- are trying to transfer to another law school at the end of your second
- semester. Otherwise, your grades are not that urgent, so just be
- patient.
-
- 4.1.2.8.2) How can I find out what my grades are?
-
- When your grades become available, you can find out what they are by
- calling RSVP at (916)752-RSVP.
-
- 4.1.2.8.3) What if I think there has been a mistake in the grades that
- were issued to me?
-
- If you think that there has been a mistake in the grade you received
- for one of your final exams (which can and does happen), you can
- review your final exams. They are kept on file for one year. Contact
- Nicole Waterman (<mailto:ngwaterman@ucdavis.edu >) or Dian Francis
- (<mailto:dpfrancis@ucdavis.edu >) in the King Hall Registrar's Office
- in person or at (916)752-4299 for an appointment.
- If your grades are lower than what you expected, this is quite
- normal. A 3.5 Grade Point Average (GPA) will probably put you in the
- top 5-10% of your class at King Hall, if not at the very top of your
- class because there of the forced curved imposed on first year courses
- by the King Hall administration. No more than 11.7% of the grades can
- be an A- or above, and your colleagues, against whom you are competing
- for these grades, are highly motivated and highly qualified students.
- Many of them have never received a grade lower than a B in their
- entire lives. Thus, an A+ effort may only earn you a C+ at King Hall.
-
- 4.1.2.8.4) What is the American Jurisprudence Award?
-
- The American Jurisprudence Award (AmJur award) is given to those law
- students who receive the highest grade in each class section for the
- various courses offered during the first year of law school at King
- Hall (except Introduction to Law, Legal Research, and Legal Writing).
- Many second and third year courses also include an AmJur award.
- Winners of the AmJur award receive a certificate suitable for framing,
- and a notation of the award is made on their transcripts.
-
- - - - - -
-
- End of document:
-
- The King Hall Law School USENET FAQ Part 3 of 9
- Frequently Asked Questions at and about King Hall
- (c) Copyright 1995 & 1996
-
- by
-
- David F. Prenatt, Jr.
- King Hall, 1995 Alumnus
- U.C. Davis School of Law
- University of California
- Davis, CA 95616-5210
-
- <mailto:NetEsq@dcn.davis.ca.us >
-
- Link to next document:
-
- <http://www.dcn.davis.ca.us/~netesq/USENET-FAQs/king-hall/part4.html >
-
- - - - - -
-
-