1️⃣ MISTAKE 1:
You post with a FIREWALL. 👺

You post an article you’ve written,
but you give us no info about it.
And the full article’s behind a firewall. ❌

So we can’t read it, so we don’t like it or comment on it, and we definitely don’t save it. We just scroll on.

I thought I’d share this here, too.

1️⃣ Dear 1L (this one’s by me & is written directly to a 1L, so if you only get one book, it should be this one)—Read before law school and then use as a supplement throughout the year.

You should set up your essays that way.

To illustrate:

Imagine Negligence as a big corporation, “Negligence, Inc.,” that has a clear corporate hierarchy.

At the top sits the President, “Negligence” herself.

I’ve been saying those things for 4 years.

I’ve put up maximum resistance to anyone and everyone who’s tried to get me to venture outside the LinkedIn pool.

The truth is, I’ve been too scared.

And I’m still scared.

But:

Dear 1L, I don’t give out model cover letters for a reason.

A “model” is the antithesis of what a cover letter should be.

Instead, your cover letter should scream:

“I'm different; I’m better; you want me; you want only me!”

So while I have networking tips for you below, I am mostly writing to tell you I am thinking about you.

I don’t think this fall-2025-recruiting gambit is either good or fair, and I really wish you didn’t have to be its guinea pig.

But adjust, we must.

Some firms are already interviewing 1Ls.
Others open Dec 15.
This is for 2L summer jobs.
Sound nuts? It is.

Stunned is how I felt coming out of Monday’s BigLaw recruiting panel (four major firms, hosted by Summer Associate Hub—thank you, Albert Tawil, for doing this!).

✔️ Defendants ask the Court to reconsider.
❌ Defendants request the Court to rule in their favor.
❌ Defendants move the Court to grant summary judgment.

You may “ask” the court “to” do something.
But you should NEVER “request” or “move” the court “to” do anything.

I’m sending all my 1Ls so much positive energy during this, THE hardest month of law school. 💌

Brandon Farrow

J.D. Candidate at University of Baltimore School of Law I B.A. in Political ScienceJ.D. Candidate at University of Baltimore School of Law I B.A. in Political Science

So I’ve written him this ditty—a show of loving support.
May this rhyme bring him luck, for his big day in court.

He’s got not one case to argue, but back-to-back: TWO.
And that is a feat that he’s long yearned to do.

Replace her rule with this new, refined rule for legal writing, and get your words right in your memo:

🔷 1: Do NOT vary the substantive words of your case.

Here’s a checklist of common errors I see in memos every year (so you can avoid them).

Save + put on your wall!

Please save this checklist—and share to help more 1Ls ♻️

(—even though I said I’d never do this again.)

Dear 1L, If I were savvy at sales, I’d make you give me an email address to get this attachment. But you have no time for that, so here it is, no strings.

—She doesn’t know any of the facts in the hypothetical.
—He doesn’t know any of the cases you’ve found in your research.
—They don’t know any of the legal principles you’ve found for your analysis.

NOTHING.

My task was to analyze whether a mother could bring a claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress.

She wanted to sue the coroner who’d autopsied the wrong body (that of her nine‑year‑old daughter), where no autopsy was needed or authorized.