I got straight A’s.
I followed all the rules.
And I never got into any trouble.

“The last of the sweet and innocent,”
the high-school yearbook dubbed me.

That was in 7th grade, but by 9th, my goody two shoes fell out of vogue.

My best friends started resenting me.

Step away and write the table of contents (TOC).

I swear this saved me in so many briefs.

It’s very common to get lost in the weeds of the details of the cases; you can spin yourself round and round.

You need to step back.
You need to consult the map.
You need to get away to see the big picture.

“But Amanda,” you say, “many lawyers—even judges—use ‘find’ generically all the time to describe the actions courts take.”

 —I know. You are right about that. But that does not make using “find” right.

🔹 An appellate court doesn’t “find” anything. It renders conclusions of law, not fact.

Greta.

23.

Just released her first single on Spotify.

“Baby Fat”

I have chills.

I’ve listened to 1,000 times on repeat,

I’ve spent the last five years entrenched in this subject, and I’m convinced our current system is not working.

I’d start with law schools, but I have ideas for law firms, too.

For law schools:

🔹 Align writing with doctrine. Legal writing should reinforce doctrinal learning, not compete with it.

triple-stressing ❗️

It’s way harder than planned, too, prompting:

—what’s wrong with me?
—why’s it taking me so long?
—is anything I’ve done right?
—does this mean I don’t belong?

So far, they've all called about their sons.

They’re starting law school in the fall.

And they’re “really smart.”

But they “can’t write.”

“It’s their schools’ fault.
They didn’t train him well.”

🔸 “I forgot how ‘green’ they are.”

This is something more senior layers say after working with summers and first-year associates. “Green” means “inexperienced.”

“10-6-2023: Total failure.
There are too many law school books already.
Some winners. Most losers. And I have no desire to add my book to the losers’ list.”

Today, that book has officially crossed 2,000 copies sold on Amazon.

My heart races.
My stomach sinks.
My breath hastens, and SNAP:

I suddenly become drenched, head to toe.

My genes are 99% Irish, too.

So a surge of adrenaline makes the the blood pump up into my face and turn me into the most conspicuously nervous-looking red tomato 🍅.

And it’s from someone I’d never even heard of before (Brittany S. Stevens, an author of a series on law school success).

She gave 📕 Dear 1L 📕 this 5-star review on Amazon!

My favorite parts:

👉 “This is not a book you read once and shelve. It’s a trusted supplement students can return to throughout 1L and beyond.”

Just as you’re starting to hit your stride—thinking you might actually “get” how to do this whole law school thing—

WHAM ❗️—the brief smacks you in the face and you feel totally inadequate again.

Please know: it is not just you.

Writing a legal brief for the very first time is enough to bring even an experienced legal analyst to their knees.

Dear Pre-L:

If you start law school in the fall, please don’t get blindsided by early recruiting. Do these 4 things:

🔷 1: Invest time in deep soul-searching about what you want to do with your JD.

Research the types of jobs lawyers do;
find out how different lawyers actually spend their time;

I haven’t seen this before.

Apparently, too, several schools had some type of OCI (on-campus recruiting) program last week, and students now have call backs coming up soon.

So I pulled together my best interview tips from “Dear 1L” ch 15 and added a few more.

“Evergreen” is a term you might recognize from the plant world:
—it refers to trees that remain green through winter.

But “evergreen” writing means writing that surpasses its immediate purpose and audience, keeping its usefulness over time.