Willing to answer questions

[Byzantine]

Just finished my 1L at Allard. If any incoming students have questions about their first year feel free to ask me and I'll answer to the best of my ability. Learned a lot from posters on this forum so very willing to give back if I can be of any help. 

[abouttime]

1. How did you day-to-day schedule look like on weekdays? How many hours did you spend studying?

2. What advice do you wish you were given before you started 1L?

3. How did you balance studying, networking and extracurricular activities? 

4. How much time do you spend on other tasks (commuting, cooking, grocery shopping)? 

5. What strategies do you recommend for handling the volume of reading?

6. What are some employment opportunities after completing 1L?

Edited June 4, 2022 by abouttime

[Byzantine]

1 hour ago, abouttime said:

1. How did you day-to-day schedule look like on weekdays? How many hours did you spend studying?

2. What advice do you wish you were given before you started 1L?

3. How did you balance studying, networking and extracurricular activities? 

4. How much time do you spend on other tasks (commuting, cooking, grocery shopping)? 

5. What strategies do you recommend for handling the volume of reading?

6. What are some employment opportunities after completing 1L?

1) Class time is about 14-15 hours a week, you can find an example of the schedule here. In terms of time spent reading/studying outside class time it definitely varied. In the spring term I tracked it more and I think I usually spent around 35-40 hours a week on school work (which included classes + reading + preparing CANs). 

2) I've always struggled with procrastinating and it definitely made things more stressful than things had to be during exam time. Law school evaluation is generally focused on one big deliverable per class, either an essay or exam. Anything you can do to work on these throughout the year, instead of cramming it in the last few weeks, will be very helpful for your mental health and how you do. I wish I spent a bit more time each week working on my outlines/CANs to bring into the exams and my essays. 

Working on your CAN, essays, or doing practice tests is generally going to be the most efficent use of your time as far as marks are concerned. Spending hours making notes on your readings / briefing cases can eat up a lot of time but I don't think it's the most effective. 

3) I mostly did the Law Students' Legal Advice Program (LSLAP) as my main extracurricular, but there's always interesting lunch time events/talks going on so I tried to attend the ones I found interesting as well. My advice would be to try not to get overcommited into too many extracurriculars, but focus on one/a few that you can commit some time to, do well at, and get good experience. I didn't do much networking. 

4) Definitely ended up eating out a lot more than I intended, going to try and cut down on that next year. Commute was about 45 min and getting a seat on the bus to do readings is awesome if you can swing it. 

5) Honestly most classes weren't too bad. Each term I had one class with way too many readings to handle so in those situations I just did what I can and prioritized readings in areas that would help my marks. For example, in term 1 you'll do Indigenous-Settler Legal Relations and in less they change things up the reading load is unmanagable IMO. I tried to do the readings I could for this class especially focusing on the ones that were relevant to the essay topic I was going to do. 

In the first month I briefed cases to get some practice at it. After that though I just did the readings before class without taking any notes. Then I would attend class and take notes. I'd use the notes from class + upper year CANs to create the CAN/outline I would take into the exam. In both term 1 and 2 it got to the point during the last month or so where I didn't have time to do most the readings anymore so would just do what I could. 

6) It seems like there are quite a few 1L law job opportunites this year which I've heard is unusual. You'll get access to allard job board where you'll see some postings come up. Some example 1L law related jobs would be working for a firm, non-profit, worksafe BC, LSLAP paid position.  

 

Anyways hope that's helpful. That's just my experience so if anyone else wants to jump in that would probably be useful as well. Feel free to ask further questions or PM if I can help further. 

Edited June 4, 2022 by Byzantine

[Patient0L]

So the Indigenous/Settler course is an essay rather than an exam? 
 

Also, do you feel like the legal writing research course prepared you enough for the type of researching/writing that you need to do prior to actually needing to do it? Or us it a crash course situation…

 

Thanks!

[Byzantine]

51 minutes ago, Patient0L said:

So the Indigenous/Settler course is an essay rather than an exam? 
 

Also, do you feel like the legal writing research course prepared you enough for the type of researching/writing that you need to do prior to actually needing to do it? Or us it a crash course situation…

 

Thanks!

Ya ISLR for us was an essay, although it was an exam for the year before us. So who knows if they’ll change things up for next year. 
 

The legal research course does teach you about how to research and write in the first couple months. Then the final is a week long assignment to create a memo. It’s definitely a useful course, but I still want to work on my research skills in the coming years. Planning to try and find a research assistant position or do a directed reading course to continue to improve. 
 

Other than the research course you don’t really need to research much for your 1L coursework. For your essay courses (ISLR and transnational law) you only need to refer to sources covered in class. 

[Patient0L]

3 hours ago, Byzantine said:

Ya ISLR for us was an essay, although it was an exam for the year before us. So who knows if they’ll change things up for next year. 
 

The legal research course does teach you about how to research and write in the first couple months. Then the final is a week long assignment to create a memo. It’s definitely a useful course, but I still want to work on my research skills in the coming years. Planning to try and find a research assistant position or do a directed reading course to continue to improve. 
 

Other than the research course you don’t really need to research much for your 1L coursework. For your essay courses (ISLR and transnational law) you only need to refer to sources covered in class. 

I might PM you for more Qs, but I am curious, with your study methods/hours spent, do you feel good about your grades? 😀 

[Byzantine]

2 hours ago, Patient0L said:

I might PM you for more Qs, but I am curious, with your study methods/hours spent, do you feel good about your grades? 😀 

Ya I'm happy with my grades. I think study method / time spent is going to be different for everyone though. Good thing is you'll get lots of advice from upper years and be able to look at different CANs and try to figure out what works best for you. First term (Sept-Dec) is a lot about figuring this out and seeing if it all comes together in December or if you need to change things up for the spring term. 

Feel free to PM me more questions if any come up 

[abouttime]

23 hours ago, Byzantine said:

1) Class time is about 14-15 hours a week, you can find an example of the schedule here. In terms of time spent reading/studying outside class time it definitely varied. In the spring term I tracked it more and I think I usually spent around 35-40 hours a week on school work (which included classes + reading + preparing CANs). 

2) I've always struggled with procrastinating and it definitely made things more stressful than things had to be during exam time. Law school evaluation is generally focused on one big deliverable per class, either an essay or exam. Anything you can do to work on these throughout the year, instead of cramming it in the last few weeks, will be very helpful for your mental health and how you do. I wish I spent a bit more time each week working on my outlines/CANs to bring into the exams and my essays. 

Working on your CAN, essays, or doing practice tests is generally going to be the most efficent use of your time as far as marks are concerned. Spending hours making notes on your readings / briefing cases can eat up a lot of time but I don't think it's the most effective. 

3) I mostly did the Law Students' Legal Advice Program (LSLAP) as my main extracurricular, but there's always interesting lunch time events/talks going on so I tried to attend the ones I found interesting as well. My advice would be to try not to get overcommited into too many extracurriculars, but focus on one/a few that you can commit some time to, do well at, and get good experience. I didn't do much networking. 

4) Definitely ended up eating out a lot more than I intended, going to try and cut down on that next year. Commute was about 45 min and getting a seat on the bus to do readings is awesome if you can swing it. 

5) Honestly most classes weren't too bad. Each term I had one class with way too many readings to handle so in those situations I just did what I can and prioritized readings in areas that would help my marks. For example, in term 1 you'll do Indigenous-Settler Legal Relations and in less they change things up the reading load is unmanagable IMO. I tried to do the readings I could for this class especially focusing on the ones that were relevant to the essay topic I was going to do. 

In the first month I briefed cases to get some practice at it. After that though I just did the readings before class without taking any notes. Then I would attend class and take notes. I'd use the notes from class + upper year CANs to create the CAN/outline I would take into the exam. In both term 1 and 2 it got to the point during the last month or so where I didn't have time to do most the readings anymore so would just do what I could. 

6) It seems like there are quite a few 1L law job opportunites this year which I've heard is unusual. You'll get access to allard job board where you'll see some postings come up. Some example 1L law related jobs would be working for a firm, non-profit, worksafe BC, LSLAP paid position.  

 

Anyways hope that's helpful. That's just my experience so if anyone else wants to jump in that would probably be useful as well. Feel free to ask further questions or PM if I can help further. 

Did you find your commute manageable? I know a lot of people try to move closer to campus but I am wondering if a daily 1 hour commute (30-35 min each way driving) could be manageable? 

[Lilbb19]

26 minutes ago, abouttime said:

Did you find your commute manageable? I know a lot of people try to move closer to campus but I am wondering if a daily 1 hour commute (30-35 min each way driving) could be manageable? 

Ohhhh ya 30-35 each way is nothin

[abouttime]

2 hours ago, Lilbb19 said:

Ohhhh ya 30-35 each way is nothin

I guess I've been making it a bigger deal given that I've keep hearing how hectic the 1L schedule is!

[Patient0L]

4 minutes ago, abouttime said:

I guess I've been making it a bigger deal given that I've keep hearing how hectic the 1L schedule is!

The key is only needing to take one bus (unless you are driving.) Anything that requires you transfer will suck, but sitting on the bus and zoning out / reading is NBD. I live in Mount Pleasant off the B-line and getting to UBC is quite easy.

[law11111111111111111111111]

How was your personal experience in the 50 person section?

[Byzantine]

4 hours ago, Peshmerga said:

How was your personal experience in the 50 person section?

Very positive! It’s nice taking all your classes with the same people as you get to know them. I’d heard before coming to Allard that people were very competitive, but that wasn’t my experience at all. 

7 hours ago, abouttime said:

Did you find your commute manageable? I know a lot of people try to move closer to campus but I am wondering if a daily 1 hour commute (30-35 min each way driving) could be manageable? 

Ya that will be no problem! A good chunk of the class will have a similar commute time or longer. Some of my classmates took the skytrain from as far away as Surrey. 

[abouttime]

11 hours ago, Byzantine said:

Very positive! It’s nice taking all your classes with the same people as you get to know them. I’d heard before coming to Allard that people were very competitive, but that wasn’t my experience at all. 

Ya that will be no problem! A good chunk of the class will have a similar commute time or longer. Some of my classmates took the skytrain from as far away as Surrey. 

Your response truly reduced my stress about commuting. Thank you!

Edited June 6, 2022 by abouttime

[informalexpert]

I am a mature student coming back to school after more than a decade since graduating from my masters. Many things have changed and I am really curious about what technology you found useful. I imagine a laptop is pretty necessary/standard for note taking in class. But I was considering in addition to this an iPad for readings and marking up readings that are available in digital format.

How do 1L students go about finding CANs? I keep hearing these are an essential if not necessary element to success at law school. 

The time and care you're taking to answer the questions in this forum is very generous and appreciated! I love to see this kind of community. 

[PlatoandSocrates]

2 hours ago, informalexpert said:

I am a mature student coming back to school after more than a decade since graduating from my masters. Many things have changed and I am really curious about what technology you found useful. I imagine a laptop is pretty necessary/standard for note taking in class. But I was considering in addition to this an iPad for readings and marking up readings that are available in digital format.

How do 1L students go about finding CANs? I keep hearing these are an essential if not necessary element to success at law school. 

The time and care you're taking to answer the questions in this forum is very generous and appreciated! I love to see this kind of community. 

I thought about getting an iPad or second monitor, but ended up just going with the single laptop. Going into 3L in September and haven't had any issues yet. Others swear by them though, so if you think it'd be good for you definitely look into it. I try to read on paper as much as possible, so I may not be best qualified for this one. 

 

There's a data-bank for CANs here: https://allardlss.com/cans-2. I have found it massively useful. Try to use them more for formatting and templates than as an exclusive study tool, especially at first. You can also ask around for CANs, but I imagine you'll find about everything you need on the website.

[PlatoandSocrates]

On 6/6/2022 at 10:39 AM, abouttime said:

Your response truly reduced my stress about commuting. Thank you!

Adding on to the pile here, but in my experience it was more common to have a 30+ minute commute than to not. Some people lived on campus or in West Point Grey or whatever, but nearly everyone I know was all over the place, from downtown to east van to Burnaby to Surrey to Richmond. I had (and will have) a 50 minute each way commute and it was pretty par for the course (though a bit of a drag sometimes)

[AllRise]

15 hours ago, informalexpert said:

I am a mature student coming back to school after more than a decade since graduating from my masters. Many things have changed and I am really curious about what technology you found useful. I imagine a laptop is pretty necessary/standard for note taking in class. But I was considering in addition to this an iPad for readings and marking up readings that are available in digital format.

How do 1L students go about finding CANs? I keep hearing these are an essential if not necessary element to success at law school. 

The time and care you're taking to answer the questions in this forum is very generous and appreciated! I love to see this kind of community. 

Hi! Welcome back to academia. I too am a mature student who is now attending law school (albeit in Ontario) after time in the working world. 

I have a laptop and a second monitor for home use, I would highly recommend the second monitor if you can afford it. It really makes reviewing and working on written assignments next to your research a much smoother process. 

I have an iPad I thought I would use a lot for school, but I never ended up using it because I opted to purchase physical textbooks and ended up using my laptop for everything else. If you are opting for digital textbooks I would say the iPad is a great idea. 

With regards to CANS, my opinion is don't use them unless you are short on time when preparing for a class. CANS are another individual's interpretation of a case; it is almost always going to be a more effective approach to learning when you create your own case summaries, because it will be a representation of the way that YOU understand the case. Creating these summaries yourself ensures that you put in the thought required to complete the summary, which I believe goes a long way to burning the case into your memory and developing your understanding and deeper analysis of the case. I used CANS only when I had zero time to prepare for a class and I didn't want to go into class blind. 

[Byzantine]

17 hours ago, informalexpert said:

I am a mature student coming back to school after more than a decade since graduating from my masters. Many things have changed and I am really curious about what technology you found useful. I imagine a laptop is pretty necessary/standard for note taking in class. But I was considering in addition to this an iPad for readings and marking up readings that are available in digital format.

How do 1L students go about finding CANs? I keep hearing these are an essential if not necessary element to success at law school. 

The time and care you're taking to answer the questions in this forum is very generous and appreciated! I love to see this kind of community. 

I also think a 2nd monitor at home is pretty useful. For example, if you're writing a paper or preparing a CAN it's nice to be able to split your screen between two documents (like your notes and the CAN/outline you're making). If you're doing this on a small laptop the wording can get pretty small, so nice to be able to plug your laptop into a bigger monitor. 

I did half physical textbooks and half ebooks. I did my ebook readings on my laptop and found it fine. If you want to get an Ipad for that I'm sure it would be nice to have, although not necessary. 

I agree that it's best to create your own CANs, but I found it helpful to use the ones in the database to double check my work and think about formatting. You'll want to find CANs from recent years with the same professor. 

 

[abouttime]

On 6/8/2022 at 7:08 PM, PlatoandSocrates said:

Adding on to the pile here, but in my experience it was more common to have a 30+ minute commute than to not. Some people lived on campus or in West Point Grey or whatever, but nearly everyone I know was all over the place, from downtown to east van to Burnaby to Surrey to Richmond. I had (and will have) a 50 minute each way commute and it was pretty par for the course (though a bit of a drag sometimes)

Did you do your studying on campus during the week? I would assume it would be tiring commuting back to your place and then starting studying. 

[Byzantine]

If anyone has questions not covered here yet feel free to ask! I've now done a moot and been through the OCI process (successfully) and clerkship applications (unsuccessfully) so happy to share about those as well. Can't share any info about clerkship interview questions due to confidentiality requirement, but anything else is fair game. Hopefully others can jump in as well to answer any questions that come up. 

[4545]

I'd be curious to hear about the clerkship application process if you don't mind sharing. Without going into specific interview questions, why do you think you were an unsuccessful applicant? (Do you think it was related to grades, work experience, course selections?)

Thanks for taking the time to share, it's all really helpful info. 

[Byzantine]

On 4/21/2023 at 1:19 PM, 4545 said:

I'd be curious to hear about the clerkship application process if you don't mind sharing. Without going into specific interview questions, why do you think you were an unsuccessful applicant? (Do you think it was related to grades, work experience, course selections?)

Thanks for taking the time to share, it's all really helpful info. 

I got pretty far along the process. I think in the end I didn't get a position because my interviews weren't the best. If you're at Allard check out the CSO's guide on clerkships as it's pretty accurate about the process. If you're interested in getting a clerkship the best things to do are to get good grades and get some research experience (ideally as an RA). Course selection in 2L doesn't seem to be that important, but the BC Courts have certain courses they want you to take by the end of your degree to prepare for the clerkship. For the BC Courts you need two reference letters so plan ahead for those. Ideally professors who know you well (RA, lots of class participation, moot/clinic, etc.) 

Feel free to PM if you have further questions

 

 

 

Edited April 22, 2023 by Byzantine

[user138161]

Would you be willing to share the syllabuses for your 1L classes? 

[Byzantine]

1 hour ago, user138161 said:

Would you be willing to share the syllabuses for your 1L classes? 

I’ll PM you