Last year I slogged through several classes that I hated from the first day but I stayed in due to a belief that I was supposed to take them. These horrors of 2L year include secured transactions, antitrust, and admin. By spring quarter I managed to suppress any lingering compulsion to take classes I didn't actually want to be in and I enjoyed that quarter more than any other in law school. I realized that even if those subjects come up on the bar exam, anything I learned in those classes was forgotten the minute I took the final. And judging from the grades I received, I didn't have much to forget.
And yet this year I again found myself considering classes in that "I feel like I should take it, but I really don't want to" group. Luckily Above the Law had a post that knocked me back to my senses. It cites a study that unequivocally found that there was no relationship between law school courseloads and a student's passage rate. And then the post closes with this little nugget of truth that all law students should take to heart: "So taking Secured Transactions really has no redeeming qualities after all."
I agree with you. My husband and I have had arguments about this. He took those classes you're supposed to take and swears that it made the Barzam easier to study for. I just don't believe it. I think it helped him mentally b/c he likes to be beyond over prepared.
ReplyDeleteDamn - I'm taking secured credit right now :-( Maybe one day it'll help me on a corporate deal, maybe...
ReplyDeleteAs though law school actually prepares you for the bar exam anyway! That's what the Bar/Bri bar review is for. Law school is just three years of "how to learn law." Not to mention three years of "torture the law students." :P
ReplyDeleteSecured Transactions was my favorite class in law school, maybe because it was so small and participant friendly, or because the professor was just really, really good.
ReplyDeleteIt did not show up on my bar exam this summer, though - but I still don't regret taking it. :)
I really think most really smart people could pass the bar without even going to law school. Bar/Bri takes care of it.
ReplyDeleteI seriously regret taking corporations, for exactly those reasons. But I have to say, you're totally wrong about Admin. it's the best thing ever.
ReplyDeleteHanah: Corporations was my favorite class! I think a lot of it has to do with the professor- my admin prof was a disaster and my corporations prof became my favorite teacher in law school.
ReplyDeleteThe main point of this post was to tell people to take the classes you're really interested in- not the ones that you hear you're supposed to.
i avoided any and all classes with the word "transaction" with them and took an unheard of three seminars in my final year. While secured transactions on my bar exam was a bit of a challenge, i don't think it was any easier for those who have taken it, because they learned all about case law on situations that are way too complex to ask about on a short-answer/multiple-choice exam. Same with "must-do" courses like admin - never came up on our bar. But then I'm a nut, and I like admin.
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