Degree Requirements
4. Attendance in residence for six academic semesters in the Full-Time Division or eight academic semesters in the Part-Time Division (Fall and Spring Semesters). A minimum number of units must be taken for credit in each of those semesters to receive full residency credit for the semester in the Division in which the student is enrolled (Full-Time Division minimum, 12 units; Part-Time Division minimum, 8 units). Information regarding residency requirements upon a change of program from one Division to another or for a Part-Time Division accelerated program may be obtained from the Dean of Students' office.
A student who sits for a bar examination prior to completion of all degree requirements is ineligible to receive a J.D. degree under regulations of the University of the Pacific.
Pacific McGeorge may require a leave upon specified terms, terminate a student's enrollment, or decline to award a degree if the Administration determines that this is in the best interests of the law school or that a student is not qualified for admission to the legal profession because of factors other than academic standing. Determinations about academic standing are made in accordance with the Grading and Advancement Committee Rules, Regulations, and Procedures. Determinations about the occurrence of conduct described in the Code of Student Responsibility are made in accordance with the procedures of that Code. Copies of both documents are distributed to all students at the beginning of the academic year and are available at the Dean of Students' office.
Your program is 88 hours. You average 16 hours per semester over 5 semesters and that is 80 hours. 4 hours over two summers and you're done in 5 semesters. McGeorge seems to forbid doing this. Likewise, many people will be close to graduating after five semesters and have only 4 or so hours left and in some states can sit for the February Bar Exam and graduate in May, and become licensed upon graduation instead of later that summer. McGeorge doesn't allow this. I read the above to mean that you must carry 12 hours even if they are not needed.
Taking the bar early happens when sometimes you just want this thing over and done with. You start out at that job a lot earlier. You're a licensed attorney while your classmates are clerking until November or December. It was an advantage at the firm I went to as they allowed me not be lock-stepped with the folks coming after me.
"Kill it first year + . . . . . ." solid advice. Not what you asked though. I'd agree that the race is run after the first year. There's not going to be shitloads of movement in class rank after the first year. Sure, 1 - 15 might change spots because it's hundredths of a point. But nobody goes from the bottom quarter to the top quarter. You're dealing with classmates who are just as good as you. There's really not a whole lot of difference between 99% of the students. Most professors will admit that maybe one or two students per class will just lock in and knock it out of the park and maybe one or two really just won't get it. Everybody else is kind of bunched together.
Anyway. Things like law review --if grades are a factor will be decided the first year. More importantly, things like fall interviews for clerking positions are determined by your 1L grades. After the fall of your 2L year, the opportunities for on campus interviews will drop dramatically at a place like McGeorge. Not so at a place like California Berkeley or LA. First job opportunities at the big names will always be more abundant.
I have no idea how you can prepare to kill it the first year. Some people "get it" right away. Others take a while. Everybody who finishes usually has figured it out at some point. Once you do "get it" law school isn't that big of a deal. Some of my classmates spent 10-12 hours a day pouring over assignments over and again as if doing it a 15th time will somehow unlock the magic to clarify the stuff. It just comes on one day. The best thing I can tell you for a first year strategy (and later as well) is not to make things too complicated. You're going to have information thrown at you fast and furious to the point that you think you're drinking water from a fire hose. Don't get caught up in proving you have to show you know everything. That's not what it's about. It's about shifting through everything and giving the right answers. The right answer is almost always "It depends on. . . . ." Too many people got caught up on arguing both sides, but if one side doesn't really have a position, don't go there. I'm not saying to ignore issues, but rather don't pigeon hole stuff in that doesn't belong. Example: A question on the NM Bar I took gave a long convoluted fact pattern and ended up asking if the lawsuit could be filed in federal court. The answer was short and sweet as there was no federal question or diversity jurisdiction, the answer was no. Afterwards over some beers a bunch of us were talking about that question and it appeared to be hard and some people spend an over amount of time trying to answer that. There was no argument for federal jurisdiction and the question didn't ask us to decide the case in state court. My peers though I was nuts that I wrote a 2 sentence answer to that question. But we all know who got the high score on that bar exam.
Another thing to keep in mind. All of the above only is worth a shit for getting your first job. I'm having a hard time believing that right now some firm is really going to be worried about my grades in Federal Income Tax or Criminal Procedure. After a while it will only be about how good is your work and then what clients do you have.