Ask a 1L — 2018 Edition

[harveyspecter993 828]

On 2/25/2018 at 2:00 PM, BlockedQuebecois said:

 

Note that a lot of them are very competitive, and some care a lot about your grades. There were a lot of sour grapes when acceptances came out this year. 

Another stupid question, but do you only have to submit 1st semester Osgoode grades or your undergrad transcript as well? Thanks.

Edited March 6, 2018 by harveyspecter993

[LeoandCharlie 257]

1 hour ago, Nabbo said:

Does Osgoode have its own bookstore or is it just 1 large bookstore for all of York? Also, where can I get some apparel? 

I'm not a 1L but I can answer this question. There is a bookstore in the basement level of the school. It's fairly small in size but has a wide selection of apparel for sale as well. There are two matters worth noting with regards to the store. The first matter is that there is much more apparel variety in the actual store than what is published online. 

Edit: Winter sale has ended. 

Edited March 6, 2018 by LeoandCharlie

[BlockedQuebecois 4837]

5 minutes ago, LeoandCharlie said:

1 hour ago, Nabbo said:

 

I'm not a 1L but I can answer this question. There is a bookstore in the basement level of the school. It's fairly small in size but has a wide selection of apparel for sale as well. There are two matters worth noting with regards to the store. The first matter is that there is much more apparel variety in the actual store than what is published online. Secondly, there is currently a Winter sale going on for some sweatshirts and other apparel. 

 

[Emphasis added]

The unbolded is correct; the winter sale has ended. 

Edited March 6, 2018 by BlockedQuebecois

[LeoandCharlie 257]

1 minute ago, BlockedQuebecois said:

[Emphasis added]

The unbolded is correct; the winter sale has ended. 

Thank you for clarifying that. 

[BlockedQuebecois 4837]

42 minutes ago, harveyspecter993 said:

Another stupid question, but do you only have to submit 1st semester Osgoode grades or your undergrad transcript as well? Thanks.

I think it was just first semester grades. Some clinics said they would accept undergraduate grades, but I didn't provide mine. I was accepted to all the clinics I applied to, so make of that what you will. 

[harveyspecter993 828]

2 minutes ago, BlockedQuebecois said:

I think it was just first semester grades. Some clinics said they would accept undergraduate grades, but I didn't provide mine. I was accepted to all the clinics I applied to, so make of that what you will. 

Thanks.

[Nabbo 176]

15 minutes ago, LeoandCharlie said:

I'm not a 1L but I can answer this question. There is a bookstore in the basement level of the school. It's fairly small in size but has a wide selection of apparel for sale as well. There are two matters worth noting with regards to the store. The first matter is that there is much more apparel variety in the actual store than what is published online. 

Edit: Winter sale has ended. 

Ahh okay. Cuz I checked the bookstore website and all it shows is a mug and a beanie!

[Lawstudent50004 2]

Can you give insight on what the ethical lawyering and legal processes classes are like? What are the evaluations?

I am planning a vacation during christmas break however I think it runs into the first week of January. If I miss one or two days of the ethical lawyering class would this be really bad? Thanks! 

[harveyspecter993 828]

31 minutes ago, Lawstudent50004 said:

Can you give insight on what the ethical lawyering and legal processes classes are like? What are the evaluations?

I am planning a vacation during christmas break however I think it runs into the first week of January. If I miss one or two days of the ethical lawyering class would this be really bad? Thanks! 

You plan your holidays really far in advance.

[BlockedQuebecois 4837]

On 3/12/2018 at 5:50 PM, Lawstudent50004 said:

Can you give insight on what the ethical lawyering and legal processes classes are like? What are the evaluations?

I am planning a vacation during christmas break however I think it runs into the first week of January. If I miss one or two days of the ethical lawyering class would this be really bad? Thanks! 

Attendance is taken in ELGC, because they know most students will skip it if it's not. I wouldn't recommend missing it for this reason. 

Ethical lawyering is an intensive, so it's all you do for the weeks it runs (one week in the fall, two in the winter). You generally have about 3 hours of class each day.

You can see the fall schedule here: https://ozdomapp1.osgoode.yorku.ca/myosgoode.nsf/0/92E8BF741A9931FE85257D74006E6A10/$FILE/EthicalLawyeringLegalProcess_Fall_2017_Final.pdf

And the winter one here: https://ozdomapp1.osgoode.yorku.ca/myosgoode.nsf/0/908B07979436473285257D74006E6A11/$FILE/Winter 2018 - ELGC Schedule - Final.pdf

Ethical lawyering has two papers due, one in the fall and one in the winter, with the bulk of the grade going to the winter paper. There is also a "moot" (really more of an oral presentation), and participation marks.

Legal process (the non-civ pro) part runs year round, with class for 2 hours on Fridays in the fall and 1 hour on Fridays in the winter. You'll also have a 1-hour tutorial every week throughout the year. About half of the friday classes are online (through pre-recorded video). 

Legal process is evaluated by approximately 800 short writing assignments, all of which are a waste of time and worth a microscopic portion of your final grade. Despite this, you will spend hours on each one. There is also a moot. You will feel like this is an exciting opportunity to learn skills that may aid you in your legal career — you will be wrong.

 

[Lawstudent50004 2]

Thanks for the info! What are the participation marks like in ELGC? Is it more about speaking and asking questions during lectures? Also what is a moot like? Do you work with a group, or is it individual based? 

Did you take the legal theory seminar, or opt for the perspective seminars? If so, what was your experience? Sorry for all the questions... thanks again! 

[p1230 11]

Hey! 

Thanks for making this thread, super helpful  

Looking at Osgoode's website, I see that there are opportunities for exchange for second and third year students. I'm not sure how much you know about this topic, but are there any disadvantages of going on exchange for a semester during the program? Do a lot of students go? Does it get in the way of important classes/deadlines etc.?

Thanks!

[retakelsat 29]

• How competitive is volunteering for CLASP in first year? I know they take intake volunteers, but is it possible to be a caseworker in first year?
• Does Parkdale take first-year students?
  • If yes, can you volunteer for both Parkdale and CLASP in first year? Or is that a bad idea?
• What are the differences between the two (apart from the type of files)? Is one better than the other?

[harveyspecter993 828]

On 3/13/2018 at 7:28 PM, BlockedQuebecois said:

 

Legal process is evaluated by approximately 800 short writing assignments, all of which are a waste of time and worth a microscopic portion of your final grade. Despite this, you will spend hours on each one. There is also a moot. You will feel like this is an exciting opportunity to learn skills that may aid you in your legal career — you will be wrong.

 

[1234abcd 0]

Approximately how many international students does a class have? 

[healthlaw 1029]

On 2018-03-13 at 10:28 PM, BlockedQuebecois said:

Attendance is taken in ELGC, because they know most students will skip it if it's not. I wouldn't recommend missing it for this reason. 

Ethical lawyering is an intensive, so it's all you do for the weeks it runs (one week in the fall, two in the winter). You generally have about 3 hours of class each day.

You can see the fall schedule here: https://ozdomapp1.osgoode.yorku.ca/myosgoode.nsf/0/92E8BF741A9931FE85257D74006E6A10/$FILE/EthicalLawyeringLegalProcess_Fall_2017_Final.pdf

And the winter one here: https://ozdomapp1.osgoode.yorku.ca/myosgoode.nsf/0/908B07979436473285257D74006E6A11/$FILE/Winter 2018 - ELGC Schedule - Final.pdf

Ethical lawyering has two papers due, one in the fall and one in the winter, with the bulk of the grade going to the winter paper. There is also a "moot" (really more of an oral presentation), and participation marks.

Legal process (the non-civ pro) part runs year round, with class for 2 hours on Fridays in the fall and 1 hour on Fridays in the winter. You'll also have a 1-hour tutorial every week throughout the year. About half of the friday classes are online (through pre-recorded video). 

Legal process is evaluated by approximately 800 short writing assignments, all of which are a waste of time and worth a microscopic portion of your final grade. Despite this, you will spend hours on each one. There is also a moot. You will feel like this is an exciting opportunity to learn skills that may aid you in your legal career — you will be wrong.

 

To be fair, legal process was probably the most useful class you’ll have taken when you summer at a firm. It’s painful but you need those skills. Lawyers will come to you and ask you to fix their citations, whip out a memo, etc. 

My friends and I all commented on the fact that we wish we had paid more attention in LP

[ZineZ 434]

On 3/15/2018 at 12:49 AM, retakelsat said:

• How competitive is volunteering for CLASP in first year? I know they take intake volunteers, but is it possible to be a caseworker in first year?
• Does Parkdale take first-year students?
  • If yes, can you volunteer for both Parkdale and CLASP in first year? Or is that a bad idea?
• What are the differences between the two (apart from the type of files)? Is one better than the other?

1. First semester CLASP is quite competitive. It's one of the first big applications that comes up so an extremely large portion of the school applies. It's like 150+ applications IIRC. But CLASP takes on a large number of students and also picks a different batch for second semester. If you don't get the position first semester, definitely apply again in winter. Most intake volunteers are also caseworkers. You're assigned to a division leader and do work for them, but no carriage of your own files etc. The only intake volunteers who aren't caseworkers are the on-calls, who do work for division leaders as necessary.  

2. I don't remember any first year opportunities for Parkdale. 

3. They run differently. Parkdale is located at Queen West and you're away for an entire semester + the summer if you're given the option (only about half of the students are). CLASP guarantees you a summer position and keeps you on for the entire year, BUT you have to take a reduced course load on the side

[retakelsat 29]

8 hours ago, ZineZ said:

1. First semester CLASP is quite competitive. It's one of the first big applications that comes up so an extremely large portion of the school applies. It's like 150+ applications IIRC. But CLASP takes on a large number of students and also picks a different batch for second semester. If you don't get the position first semester, definitely apply again in winter. Most intake volunteers are also caseworkers. You're assigned to a division leader and do work for them, but no carriage of your own files etc. The only intake volunteers who aren't caseworkers are the on-calls, who do work for division leaders as necessary.  

2. I don't remember any first year opportunities for Parkdale. 

3. They run differently. Parkdale is located at Queen West and you're away for an entire semester + the summer if you're given the option (only about half of the students are). CLASP guarantees you a summer position and keeps you on for the entire year, BUT you have to take a reduced course load on the side

Thank you! This is really helpful.

That is a lot of applicants! How do they decide between them? Is there anything we can do now to be more competitive?

[ZineZ 434]

32 minutes ago, retakelsat said:

Thank you! This is really helpful.

That is a lot of applicants! How do they decide between them? Is there anything we can do now to be more competitive?

No, don't worry about it yet. Enjoy your summer first. 

 

To be frank, I'm not entirely sure. Your application is answering three questions, resumes are not accepted.  What worked for me was tying in my motivation for attending law school + prior work related to social justice + CLASPs mission statement/the importance of their work. 

But I've seen applications of all types, so I won't say that any particular formula will get you a caseworker position. 

[healthlaw 1029]

There are first year positions at Parkdale working for the commission clinic ( I think you help draft affidavits and what not)