the devil that was

Now that Elements is a distant blip in the rear view mirror and a whole new crop of 1Ls is experiencing the misery, it is clearer than ever to me that 2Ls and 3Ls here have perfected the art of terrifying 1Ls so much so that it’s become a sport (notice the 2nd comment!). A sport that’s not much fun for those on the receiving end of the ‘wisdom’ imparted by the 2Ls and 3Ls. I guess this was evident to me last year, too, but it was difficult to see the forest for the trees when I was in the middle of Elements.

It’s funny because most 2Ls and 3Ls (and I include myself in here) were just as miserable or terrified of Elements when they were 1Ls. And they heard from their elders the horror stories about how nothing in class was on the exam, about how no amount of studying can possibly prepare you for class each day or for the final, or how it’s a process and not to worry about it but to just try and slog through it every day and not let it get you too down. Most people I know craved some nugget of truth, some hard facts, something to grasp on to in Elements, if only to ease the frustration (the other three classes were hard enough, but at least we understood the general point of Torts, Contracts or Property and Civ Pro). It just seemed impossible to wrap yor arms around what you were supposed to be learning.

You hear mixed results from alumni, too. I’ve met some that had professor Elements (the one who taught section A last year) and curse him to this day. Others say it took them a few years of practice but suddenly it hit them one day that they were living what they once learned in Elements. Others loved the Elements professors but said years later they still didn’t have a clue what was happening in that class. People from other law schools – students or alumni – just give you a blank look when you try to explain the concept of Elements. Whenever I tried I just told them the title of the book—as if The Theory and Craft of American Law means anything to anyone…

Still, it doesn’t make me feel better to torment 1Ls with stories about Elements. Just dealing with it three times a week is hard enough. I have no grand conclusions here. If it makes you feel better to tell 1Ls about how awful Elements turned out to be, then so be it. It doesn't make my life any better to bitch to them about how much it sucked and how horrible it was but how wonderful I must be for surviving it. I guess the only piece of advice I can offer a 1L is to look around – there are 800-some 2Ls and 3Ls here. They all survived Elements. If they did the reading and gave a legitimate effort in and out of class, they probably got a decent grade. So will you…