Source
r/LawSchool•
sumerit

Hardest 1L class?

I'm sure this varies a lot by school and professor, but I'm curious to see if there's a particular class that edges out as being generally harder for 1Ls.

Personally, I'm finding Civil Procedure to be the hardest. First, the amount of work (number of cases to brief) exceeds my other classes by quite a bit. Secondly, we're studying cases that have really meaty substance, but we have to ignore that and focus on the procedural aspects.

What, to you, is the hardest class of 1L?

Posted Aug 30, 2011, 12:55 AM UTC

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[deleted]•

Legal writing was mine. But nothing in law school has been significantly harder than any engineering or upper-level mathematics class I had in college...

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sumeritOP•

Legal writing does look like a lot of work, but at the same it doesn't seem quite as mentally challenging as other classes to me.

I got a degree in Philosophy, and I will agree that so far things are not as hard as some of the upper-level classes I took. This doesn't even approach Kant. Things may feel different closer to exams though.

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ajenius620•

Legal writing was easiest for me as a 1L.. easy A's in both semesters with a ton of procrastinating.. and I thought it was my Philosophy degree that helped me the most in that

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matt45Esq.•

Definitely varies between professors (or your classmates), but Legal Writing is typically the one that is most worth putting in extra effort. A good Legal Writing grade is worth a lot for job searches. It's a vital skill in every practice area. Plus, it provides you with your first writing sample.

Civil Procedure is definitely something that'd be tough as a first semester class. It's very dense with legalese. My school had it second semester, so that was a bit easier.

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sjmdiablo•

It really just depends on your professor.

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sibeal777•

Civ pro was just so fucking boring...it was so damn hard to keep myself awake reading those cases. also i think the topic is too complicated to take during your first semester. maybe they should push it to 2L.

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courtiebabe420Esq.•

This is the other reason Civ Pro was awful. Boring, boring, boring. The material is so dry, and whatever interest you have in the cases is completely obliterated because you only focus on the procedure.

I agree that it's not something 1L's should take - you learn about summary judgment, appeals, etc. (on a basic level) in your other classes, and don't really need the procedural aspect for your first year classes, anyway.

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[deleted]•

[deleted]

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wyboo1•

Torts was the hardest for me but I think it all depends upon the professor. I think contracts has a reputation in general but I think that largely is a result of The Paper Chase.

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holierthanmaoEsq.•

I was advised to watch the Paper Chase, but not until I had already begun school. Good advice. I think I got some good insight, but at the same time, I avoided scaring myself shitless before the first day of class.

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wyboo1•

I never watched it until right before my first semester 1L exams. I think TBS knew that it was time for law school exams because they played The Firm and the Pelican Brief, and the Rain Maker back to back. It was literally a week before exams and I just could not get motivated to do anything. I watched all three and then Paper Chase came on. I watched it too. Literally, the second the credits rolled I stood up, walked into the other room, and started studying. Ended up making dean's list that semester. Thanks Paper Chase!!

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courtiebabe420Esq.•

I've got to go with Civ Pro, as well.

We took it both semesters my 1L year, and it was awful. My professor was smart and knowledgeable, but he talked to my class like we were in a CLE class, rather than law school. It was really difficult, in terms of both caseload and material. It's hard to understand some of civil procedure when you've had relatively little experience with case law and law school. And when you are so far removed from the actual practice of law, it's just not a topic you particularly care about at the time.

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JuffyJD•

Property, but mostly because my professor spent most of the year on future interests (which are evil).

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coelomate•

Most people find Torts and Criminal Law closer to intuitive than the other big 4. Con Law can get really wishy washy, Civ Pro can get really technical, Property can get really 16th century, and Contract Law was designed to be dense and confusing as far as I can tell.

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[deleted]•

[deleted]

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stardrummerEsq.•

I think it really depends on the professor. For me, it was torts.

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Honestly_Adjunct Professor•

This is a good way to look at it. Torts was my easiest class partly because I genuinely seemed to "get it", but also because the professor was great.

I'd say, for similar reasons on both accounts, my worst 1L class was Contracts.

Civ Pro was in between: awful professor but I seemed to get the subject matter. Property was the opposite yet: awesome professor but bundle of zzzz...

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atthedrive-by1L•

I don't know about hardest... but legislation and regulation is the most boring that's for sure.

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cutofyourgibberish3L•

There aren't too many schools that offer a 1L LegReg, Pitt Law?

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atthedrive-by1L•

Nope. I'm assuming you're taking or have taken it?

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orangejuliusEsq.•

He's not a law student.

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cutofyourgibberish3L•

Yes I am

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cutofyourgibberish3L•

Yeah, I am taking LegReg currently. It's a pretty droll affair.

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atthedrive-by1L•

It's painfully boring. My professor doesn't help.

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megamanz7777•

I would say like 95% of it depends on your professor. For me the hardest was Con Law probably.

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orangejuliusEsq.•

None of them were particularly harder than the others. Civ Pro I did really well in but I think it's because it seemed pretty formulaic and I had one of those fire and brimstone professors make the class too terrifying to be boring. It was less of a socratic questioning and more of a socratic inquisition.

Torts I struggled in because every single rule outside of the intentional torts seemed really vague especially Palsgraf. Some people understood it instantly - I was not one of them.

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AssociatesMindJD•

Depends on the professor. For me it was probably Civ Pro as well. Boring material and a not very engaged professor. It was more tedious than difficult.

Definitely want to echo the recommendation to do well in legal writing. Most lawyers think they write well, but are wrong, wrong, wrong. Having excellent legal writing skills will be beneficial in all your classes and when you are a lawyer.

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staplegunsarefunJD•

They were all graded on the same curve and taken with the same group of students. Since everyone seemed to have difficulty with the same concepts the curve evened things out. Civ Pro was by far the least entertaining (partially because of the content and partially because of the professor). I also found the Civ Pro material most difficult to master (possibly because I found it so boring). But as far as exams went, I ended up in the same place.

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scobra122Esq.•

Criminal Law

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