#it'll be fine! you'll have fun and be tired and grow as a person and learn so much!

[morethanonepage]

hi, i don't want to be a bother but i just found out i got into law school (somehow) and i don't really know what to do?? so if you have any tips or something i would be really grateful tbh

OMG friend that’s so great! Congratulations and no worries, I love answering questions about this!

Okay first off enjoy your summer because it’s probably the last free(ish) one you’re going to have for a while – hang out with your friends, go out, relax, get into a headspace where you’re sure you want to do this and you’re sure what your giving up time wise for the next couple of years (potentially). Also, try and come up with a good elevator pitch (like, one or two sentences) answer for “why did you decide to come to law school?” Because ISTG you will be answering that question for the rest of your life: I’m two years out and my dentist literally asked me it last Friday. It’s also going to be the primary ice breaker for any like seminar/legal writing class you’re mandated to take (like, “Say your name, where you’re from, and why you decided to come to law school” round robin stuff), so it’s good to have at least An Answer beyond ‘idk I’m an English major but I couldn’t get work just with that degree’, even if it’s not the answer you stick with the rest of your law school career. 

The culture of all law schools is different (mine was super liberal loosey-goosey without class ranking and minimal competition) but it’s good to get a sense of it before you even start, just so you’re prepared: if you can get in contact with a student who’s already been through a few years (I’d suggest a 2 or 3L over someone who’s just completed one year, b/c they’ll have a little more perspective at that point) and ask just like…how competitive are people with each other? are there class rankings? are grades curved? (this can be positive or negative depending on where you fall on the curve lmao). 

Older students are also really good at giving you the dish on professors (but always take stuff with a grain of salt: I had professors that I just personally didn’t click with that everyone else loved and vice versa. Like everything else sometimes it is genuinely down to chemistry (also some professors are GREAT in small 20 people seminars but if you get them for a big foundational class like Contracts they are….less so.) But at least you’ll get a sense of what expectations are and what Hot Tips people might have (like, whether they’re particular sticklers for attendance or whatever – some law school professors dgaf because they assume you’re adults and if you’re missing class that’s your problem, but since it is your problem they’re not going to be super helpful later on if you have like questions for the exam that would’ve been answered if you’d gone to class).

Get to know your Student Affairs Office: they have a vested interest in helping you out and they’re never as busy as they want to be. Like it’s not out of the goodness of their hearts (well, sometimes), they want you to get through law school and graduate and get a good job, because that helps with rankings and looks good on brochures and stuff. Use the fact that law school applications are down right now: people in the administration want the school to look good and the classes to look good, they don’t want crazy attrition rates, they want to help you out as much as they can. Different schools provide different levels of support but use as much as you can: get the email address for Student Affairs and ask them to put you in contact with older students, if there’s some sort of mentorship program at least try it out once and see how you feel about it, if there’s a writing center try to take at least one paper to them to see if you get anything out of it. It’s never too soon to start thinking about your summer internships so go in to the Career Service Center and see what they suggest. 

A major law school downside for me was that, no matter what people told you about how you could do ~almost anything~ with a law degree,  and that you can figure things out as you go along, for most career paths you really have to get a super early start and practically certain of what you want to do right away. Or at least, it’s a lot easier if you do: I didn’t. I came in with the vague idea of I Want To Help People (And This Seems The Way To Do It) but I had no idea what path to take and it took some floundering and a lot of classes that ended up being not super helpful to my future plans to at least get a real sense of my strengths, and after that I just kind of bumbled into things. Eventually I was lucky enough to get a job, but it took almost two years from graduating, and my friends who came in knowing and who started building their skill set for that specific goal from year one were way more successful right away. So if you know you want to be a certain type of lawyer – like, you KNOW you want to do family law, or corporate law, or whatever – then start planing both your electives (this won’t really be a thing till 2L but at least have them in mind) and, in some ways more importantly, your summer internships. That’s where stuff really happens: law school teaches you a lot of things but an internship helps you make professional and personal connections in the job market that are invaluable once you graduate, and it’s best to start that early. 

The usual format for law school classes (in the first year anyway) is: you do a ton of reading, you take a lot of notes, you go to class and get called on and have to answer questions with at least some indication you did the reading, and then what you’re mostly graded on is two exams: the midterm and the final. There’s almost no other assignments, so you really have to be prepared for the midterms and the finals. Some professors care more about participation than others and give you a few points on that – I know the temptation to just shut up & not participate until they call on you is significant (because what if you get something wrong! everyone will hear and mock you!) but for the most part if you answer a question earnestly and honestly wrong (as opposed to, because you didn’t bother to do the reading) you won’t get yelled at. They might be a little condescending about why you’re wrong but – you’re in the legal profession now, you’ve basically signed up to be condescended to (sometimes more kindly than others) for the rest of your life. It’s one of those things you’ve got to get used to.

There’s this weird culture in law school that kind of shames people for answering questions voluntarily and like, going up to the professor after class to ask questions? People get called gunners or podium rushers like – how dare they try hard? Anyway, it’s bullshit: you’re not showing people up, you’re doing the work and learning the way you learn. Don’t let people shame your process, whatever it is. And professors like it when people answer and ask questions – it shows you’re engaged with the material. Like, in my 2L year I raised my hand to answer a question on the first day of a huge (like, 100+ person) lecture hall class and the next class the professor came up to me to ask my name and I became like the go-to person to answer questions in that class. And like two years, I got the job I got (the amazing, perfect job I love and which fills my actual skill set and interests to a t) because that professor took an interest in me. You never know when things are going to pan out but it’s better to have a professor in your corner than be in the ~cool group~ in law school. Like dudes, its law school, you’re all fucking dorks, get over yourselves.

In general law students (and from my limited experience, lawyers) can be really cliquey and catty: partly it’s just stress (we’re all there all the time and personalities are amplified and everyone’s mad or anxious or both) but for whatever reason: there can be a lot of interpersonal drama. It’s easy to say ‘just rise above it’ and obviously a lot harder to do but: just don’t take it too seriously. You’re there to learn & make connections. Try to be friendly with everyone but if there’s people you don’t like or who are always starting shit for no reason, it makes sense to avoid them.

People not in law school don’t know shit about law school. Your non-law school friends & family will ask you dumb questions (‘what are you majoring in??’ is the most common) and won’t 100% understand the time constraints & pressure you’re under. It’s best to accept that early and not expect them to get it – accept also that you will be kind of insufferable about ALL the WORK you’re doing and HOW much STRESS you’re under – like, it’ll be true, but that’s also not super interesting to your friends, who haven’t seen you in weeks, and just want to talk to you about stuff you have in common.

This is why, btw, you make friends in law school with people you would otherwise have nothing in common with: you suddenly DO have something in common, and it’s all the work you’re doing and how tired you are and how you don’t even know if you want to be a lawyer anymore. Everyone feels that in law school at some point – it passes and it’s good to have comrades in arms to talk to about it & feel it with. Making friends is hard for me (I’m not very open) but I’ve never made friends more easily than in law school. So it’s important, even despite all the work you’re doing, to take the time and do social events – at my school the law review had a happy hour every start of the semester, other clubs did fundraisers and stuff. With the time constraints it can be tough but it’s important to at least consider joining those things – not because it’ll look good on your resume (though it will) but also they’re good places to find like-minded people to build connections with.

Okay, the time constraints: yeah, law school is hard. It’s a lot of work. The adage goes something like, in 1L they scare you to death, 2L the work you to death, 3L they bore you to death. But I promise you, you will have time for a life: I read all of Les Mis and Lord of the Rings my 1L year. I participated in fandom. I spent too much time on tumblr. I went out to bars with friends (drinking culture is strong among the legal profession & addiction rates are high so be careful, but you can definitely still enjoy yourself if you do drink – and if you don’t people DO tend to accept that. Like, it’s law school – we’re adults, we know people can have problems with drinking, it’s fine). It’s important to live and build connections and friendships in spite of the course load – it makes the course load bearable. Law school is tough and you don’t want to do it alone.

1L is basic law stuff that’s foundational for everything else: Contracts (usually two semesters), Criminal, Torts, Constitutional, and Civil Procedure. 2L you have a little more freedom and can pick a few more electives; 3L you basically pick up what you want/think will help with your career path, and you can do a clinic. YOU SHOULD DO A CLINIC. Both for the experience (getting used to helping clients one on one but in a controlled environment and usually only one or two per semester) and to be able to ~give back. Law school is a privilege not everyone is afforded and I don’t believe every lawyer who doesn’t go into public interest is a dick it anything, but if you don’t at least try and give a little back while you can, then I am a little judgey. Also during 3L, you’ve got the joy of bar prep, where my advice is: START EARLY. Do as many practice questions as you can. Do as many practice essays as you can. The Bar Exam is terrifying and exhausting (I failed it the first time) but it’s doable. Even if you do fail the first time it’ll be okay -- you can take it again, you can still get a job after, people won’t care.

They tell you not to work in 1L year and I am going to say that’s accurate: i had a friend who did work part time and managed it, and I know financial constraints are an issue. But if you can get away with not working (student loans, etc) then do it. I know it’s stressful to incur that debt but you want to give yourself your best chance since you’re paying the money anyway and that is the best chance: give yourself the time to work and concentrate and learn. 2L and 3L year you can maybe give a part time job a try, though ideally you can find a paying internship and go from there.

A general note on studying: learn how to do it right. There’s people who get into law school because they’re hard workers and did All The Right Things in undergrad and they already know what works best for them when they need to study. And then there’s the people who are smart enough to have managed to BS their way through undergrad and still do well enough on LSATs and other tests because of innate ability. It’s a lot harder to BS your way through law school – not going to say impossible because some people are that smart but GENERALLY: you need to know to best retain information for your own use later, you need to learn to take notes, you need to learn how to read case law. They’ll usually do some sort of seminar first year to help you out on stuff like legal writing and research and how to ~brief a case~ (like, knowing the participants, the holding, the facts of the case, etc, etc). Those seminars feel like a joke and sometimes they can be but try and get the most out of them: everyone learns differently but usually you get some good pointers on how to do law school that are specific to the school and the classes you’re taking and that can help a lot. Other tips that I think are universally applicable: 

PRACTICE EXAMS. If the professor is giving you old exam questions to study from, do them. If the professor isn’t giving you old exam questions, ask for them. The more practice on the format you’re actually going to be presented with you can do, the better. It took me SO LONG to learn how valuable that was but the truth is there’s only so many ways you can be tested on certain topics, and there’s no better feeling than walking into an exam and being like ‘oh yeah! That’s just like that question I did a week ago while studying!’ 

READING. Do it. I know it’s a lot. At one point you’ll learn to skim and keep an eye out for the Important Stuff. And there’s always websites that’ll summarize the holdings for you. But remember: your professors know that too. They want you to do the reading for a reason and it’s not just so you can read the headnotes. Professors also love asking things about footnotes, especially on exams -- sometimes they’re just more citations to other cases but SOMETIMES they’re like interesting historical or policy notes that are actually important to better understanding of the law, so. DO THE READING. 

WRITING. If you were a liberal arts major, you’re at a disadvantage when it comes to law school writing -- it’s an entirely different skill. English majors are supposed to have opinions on things and bring their own take to a text: in law school, it’s not about you or your #HotTake. It’s about what’s in the law and what you can do with it based on 200+ years of precedent. But at least at first you’re stealing borrowing theories and analysis from other legal scholars or established attorneys -- no one wants to hear your opinion unless you can back it up with three sources. So, it’s hard to adjust but the quicker you learn to stop fighting it the better. There’ll be time to be creative later in your career: 1L year is not the time nor the place. 

OUTLINES are a classic Law School Thing: condensing a semester’s worth of doctrine into one or two pages is difficult and they sell ones for major topics like Contracts, but honestly the best ones are ones you make yourself. Some people like to do study groups -- I didn’t trust other people enough to make it worth it for me (I mean, I believe in being part of the social circles for emotional support but academically I’m still and always going to be loner) but if you do work well with groups, try that as well: you can divide up sections of the course to outline just like they do in Legally Blonde! It’s very cool stuff.

FLASHCARDS don’t work for everyone intuitively but so much bar prep material comes in that format that I think it makes sense to at least give them a try for basic doctrinal stuff. I used this app called Studyblue during bar prep, which I wish I’d discovered sooner: it’s all digital, you can cut and paste parts of your outline/notes, you can sort them by classes and topics, you can download them to your phone and practice on the subway or whatever, it creates multiple choice quizzes for you. AND what’s super cool (for me) is that if you put in your school name, you can see previous flashcards from other students who’ve used the app and sometimes you can use their cards too (and vice versa obviously).

GO OVER YOUR EXAMS. This was especially brutal for me because I hate acknowledging my mistakes (as we all do) BUT I swear to god this is one of the most useful tools for law school success. Once you take a test (quiz, exam, whatever) go over the professor’s comments on it -- even if it’s a final, email your professor and ask to come in and go over it with them. Figure out what you did wrong and why -- did you not understand the doctrine, did you run out of time, did you freak out because of the pressure, whatever. It makes it easier to prepare against those problems in the future. Also professors love it when you do this crap: like they write stuff on all exams and most students never bother to find out what they got wrong, so I think a lot of them feel it was a waste of time. SHOW THEM THEY’RE NOT WASTING THEIR TIME. 

Law school isn’t for everybody. I know this is a dumb thing to throw out at the very end of ALL THIS STUFF I wrote but -- it really isn’t. This is why I discourage people who aren’t at least 95% sure they want to go to law school from going: there were times in school where I was utterly miserable and sick of it and I wanted to be there, like really really wanted to. Being a lawyer can be a great thing but even if you finish law school, it might not be for you. But there’s no, like, point of no return: if you get through the year and you decide you don’t like it, you can leave. If you fail out the first year, it probably wasn’t meant to be. There is absolutely no shame in that. It can be a terrible, stressful, competitive atmosphere but you can learn a lot and meet great people and you come out of it with a post grad degree and an amazing set of skills. 

Like, I know this is a lot, but I had a really hard time in law school and I don’t want other people to have to go through that. I’m one of those people who mostly BS’d my way through undergrad on charm and certain innate abilities. I have an anxiety disorder -- I had to leave school for a couple of weeks because of severe panic attacks. I failed the bar the first time I took it, I didn’t make like amazing grades, I thought for the longest time that I wouldn’t be able to do anything as a lawyer if I couldn’t even take care of myself in law school without having a breakdown. But with the help of professors and friends and family and my own certainty that I wanted to do this and be there, I got through it. And honestly, I swear to god, If i can, anyone can. And if you have any questions once you start, let me know! I’ll try to keep it down to five points at most next time, lmao.

Oh also people suggested I read One L when I was starting out so I supposed I should pass that recommendation on to you, if for nothing else than to see how much has changed about being a law student (and how much hasn’t).

[noviceaoiryusei]

Pia Movie Special 2020 Winter Close Up Feature : Suezawa Seiya

Entertainment interview

SUEZAWA SEIYA

"I want myself to grow as Franz"

From Kansai Johnny's Jr. unit Ae! group, Suezawa Seiya challenged roudugeki (reading theater) in his first solo starring.

While spreading an active place, even he, himself is most likely to be one of the audiences.

Leader of the group cut the challenge to his first solo stage

Formed in February 2019 which already has their own solo tour is a 6-man popular unit of Kansai Johnny's Jr. called Ae! group; it's Ae! group's member Suezawa Seiya. The stage performance "Bokura no Ae! group tte imasunen" which had a stage debut in Tokyo.

First of all, he was starring in the stage alone. The stage to be commemorated is the leading theather entitled "Kiosk". At first, "I was surprised, I thought it's a prank" it's surprisingly what I said. I heard about the work on stage from the manager but from there, I haven't heard anymore after that. I had no choice but to wonder what is it about. I was surprised because it was a starring (role).

First, I talked with my parents then, I talked about work with (Hamanaka) Bunichi-kun. When I called him and reported it, he said "really? that's great! do your best!". When I told it with the members, they said "congratulations!". Masakado (Yoshinori) jokingly said "lead role?" I've heard about it. Since it's really a lead role he said, "isn't it the opposite?". (laughs) (Fukumoto) Taisei said "I felt like crying", because of you, I have a reason to cry. (laughs) Richa (Kusama Richard Keita) was also pleased after a long time. Me and everyone was in high spirits, I'm really happy.

In the reading theater stage format which became the foothold to a full-pledged stage, since I've been working on a number of straight plays and musicals.

In the current stage performance, I haven't talked with Ishimaru-san yet. I don't know what kind of type it is so, I haven't clearly understood it. I think roudugeki (reader's theater) is the first challenge, I thought that there are many things that I need to know after I started practicing. Even if it says roudugeki (reader's theater), it is how much you use it while using your body. It's anxious and also fun, that's what I think.

The original work is by Robert Seethaler, an Austrian writer. It's a youth novel that's adapted into a film in Germany, I saw it as a reading theater (roudugeki). Suezawa plays the role of Franz who became an apprentice in a koisk when he was 17, the setting is drawn back in Vienna at 1937. He grew up surrounded by nature and came to visit Vienna. His mother's old friend is the kiosk's shopkeeper, the psychoanalysis founder, Sigmund Freud. He (Franz) fell in love with a mysterious girl.

It is a work depicting the youth during the time of Hitler's administration so, there was some feelings that comes in the end. There are lots of things that resonates the feeling, including the growth of Franz that will surely make you cry. Franz went through a lot of encounters during the time of the turmoil, learn various things from other people and becoming an adult. Franz's mother felt his growth thru their exchange of letters. I thought it's a story that is easy to get in touch with the nature while reading (it). Reading the script, I honestly felt that roudugeki (reader's theater) will be a challenge that I need to express firmly in narrating it to the audience. Vienna isn't particularly known in the image of music, from now on, I would like to know everything.

(He is) Currently 25 years old. The previous stage experience and the group's oldest (member), it's like his taste is like the youngest. It seems that the fluctuation of the 17 year old youth is delicately expressed.

Even now, there are a few roles from the actual age. (In a performance) Starring Bunichi-kun, I played a role of a 10 year old (boy). I'll try to challenge (myself) and play much younger roles as possible, I thought I need to do it well. For Franz's character, I had an impression of a simple, pure young man who came from the countryside. If you think about your own character, you need to remember that it's necessary to play it a lot purely is what I've thought. (laughs) It's not that I'm not pure but, I want to remember the feeling when I was still young. I want to improve myself with Franz.

Starring from behind his seniors

Co-starring with seniors and juniors from Johnny's office, it's the first challenge to be in a stage play without his fellow. In that sense, is there a sense of pressure and nervousness?

That's right. Because until now there's Bunichi-kun and Yara (Tomoyuki)-kun....... Of course there is pressure but, I don't think to much of it. "It's okay if you do not have to be aware that you're starring", I have received these words from my co-actor Ichiro Maki-san. It's the lead role but, of course I want to have a feeling that I can share with everyone. Ichiro-san said "I thought that I'm (your) real mother" since I've also said it (to her), I hope that I can consult with her again. From the previous experience, I wonder if each person's position as the lead character is different. Yara-kun liven up everyone with a friendly atmosphere. Bunichi-kun is a shy person so, he isn't the type who's lively but he creates the mood of the place and someone who you can be relied on. What they have in common is that they don't make others feel uneasy, I want to emulate it. Anyway, both of us don't show everyone that a lot.

I have gained a career not only in musicals but also in straight play. It says that in which you feel the charm of the stage while gaining experience is when you can say "it's a living place".

It's fun because there's no exact same performance. In every curtain call you'll feel a sense of achievement when you hear the audiences clapping. You'll absolutely don't get tired performing for each and every person. I'm still lacking in my ability. Yara-kun and Bunichi-kun have trained me and I feel that I'm changing little by little. When I went out on an external stage, I was rather negative but, both of them changed me conciousness. After I've changed my way of thinking into positive, the stress got reduced and the way I went to practice had changed.

He talks about stress "I thought it's because I can't do things". Someone said "winning is better when you're having fun".

Of course there are lots of things we can't do yet but now, having fun is much better. It became decisive. Before the first day of "Skellig", Bunichi-kun left me a phrase "it's better to throw away (that) pride". He said with a serious face "because of that, this stage play will not succeed". I might probably ashamed of myself, I think I didn't tell everything. Even from the practice you can feel Bunichi-kun's compassion. In front of everyone, he let me do something that when I'll be able to pull it out, I'll be able to go out.

This time it's the reading theater, it's supposed to be a performance using a loud voice and shows the attractiveness of one's individuality at the end.

Because of a loud voice, I want to make a song with the high tone portion but I'm anxious whether this voice will be on the reading performances. (laughs) Should I drop the key (pitch) or is it good to change the setting into Franz's? I thought it'll be different in the way of how you'll express it such as irregularity and the way you'll say it. Also, everyone start after the beginning of the practice. Now it's exciting and feeling nervous, it evenly matches the (current) status in the case of musical, straight play and this time roudugeki (reading theather). I want to try different genres so this time, I want to learn a lot!

I'm touched everytime I watch my favorite musical movie

(We'll) Transfer to the topic of his favorite movie when the title "Les Miserables" (2012) was mentioned.

I really love it! I have watched it at the cinema. I even bought the DVD and watch it repeatedly and still get touched everytime (I watched it). Everyone in the cast is singing on the spot, isn't it great!? In that sense, I've watch the stage play and even the pictures emits impact, I feel overwhelmed. Hugh Jackman is also starring in "The Greatest Showman" (2017) wherein I'm also moved (in the performance) so, I think I like musicals. If there would be a chance, I want to try starring in a musical movie someday.

The leading work of Fujiwara Tatsuya is being pulled in Japanese Movies

A splendid actor can be everyone but I think it's great to be a completely different person for each work. I felt attracted that only Fujiwara-san has that kind of voice and acting. About Ninagawa Yukio-san's stage play, I read in an interview that you should learn how to speak even if your voice is muted. I still thought that it's a difficult experience. It's hard to choose what's my favorite among his works, I've read the original (work) so I couldn't forget Death Note (2006). About the image, I've read the manga and Fujiwara-san has a great impact.

As I have been active in stage plays, I'm still inexperienced when it comes to drama, movie and video but I'm interested so if I'll be offered a work I'll immediately reply "I'm eager to do it!". One of my big dreams was to work together with my admired senior, Kimura Takuya-san.

My mother has been a fan for a long time and so it became my admiration. I think I'll be greatfully devoted.

Next spring they'll broadcast "Kyojo" (CX/20) starring Kimura Takuya. Is there a jealousy with Naniwa Danshi's Nishihata Daigo......?

I immediately contacted Daigo! I said "congratulations" and he also talked about me. (laughs) Even though (he) saw Kimura-san during Johnny (Kitagawa)-san's farewell party, Daigo's sly. (laughs) He had also co-starred with his admired (senior), Ninomiya (Kazunari)-kun. I'm thinking that I'll do my best so that someday I can be his co-star. If I can be his co-star, any role would be fine! I'll be glad to be in the same work but if possible, it would be great if we'll be on the same scene together even just for a moment. He's so cool in "Grand Mason Tokyo" (TBS/2019).

For the group, I want to be active as an actor

From now on, my dream is to expand the role that I want to play.

I'm watching various works with roles that are crazy and psychopath. I want to do it for quite some time now, it looks difficult but it's interesting. It's a dark role because there isn't much dark role on myself so, I think I'm just attracted to such characters.

Nishihata Daigo is the first, from the same (group) Naniwa Danshi, Michieda Shunsuke and Nagao Kento had appeared in drama and movies. Also from Ae! group, Masakado had appeared in the drama "Koi no Yamai to Yarougumi" (BS Fuji terebi/2019) expanding the places were they're active, it seems to be a good motivation.

Takahashi Kyohei (Naniwa Danshi) had appeared in "24 Jikan Terebi" drama entitled "Kizuna no Pedal" (NTV/2019). He's good, I thought that "I won't loose". Ae! group still hasn't explored the field of drama and movies so, I want to continue further. Also, all active activities as an actor will be an opportunity (for people) to get interested in the group, I think it's important. (In) My group, Richard is strong when it comes to variety and also because every member is individualy strong. I want to increase the number of entrances for people to know about (our) group in different genres. That's for the group, I believe it will also be for our own.