LLM Students: The Gift That Keeps On Giving
It seems that LLM students are an endless source of stories — and not just those continually squabbling Harvard LLMs. In advance of our upcoming visit to Columbia Law School, here’s an amusing little anecdote about LLMs at CLS:
I was amused to learn last semester that Columbia Law Professor John Coffee is a rock-star to LLMs. Last fall Coffee held a review session before his Securities Law final. The review session was your basic, bland review of the material covered. The session ended and the class did the customary applause. I stood up to leave, when I saw a few “LLM gunners” approach Professor Coffee. I assumed they were just going to ask him questions, but then I saw him pull out a pen and began signing their casebooks.
I practically fell to the floor laughing. I know Coffee is a Corporate God, but come on. Do you really get your Con Law book signed by Larry Tribe or your Admin book signed by Tom Merrill? Besides, how could you worship someone that turned to teaching only after he failed in becoming a partner at Cravath?
[Ed. note: That last sentence is merely the speculative opinion of our tipster. Another CLS source tells us, “There are some who claim that, but I don’t believe there is any real basis for it.”]
Coffee is an extremely colorful professor. You really should do a small piece on him and you’ll get some interesting stories.
If you have anything funny or interesting to share about Professor Coffee, please feel free to email us (subject line: “John Coffee”). Thanks.
(13) Comments
Comments
Coffee failed to become a partner at Cravath? please -- more likely decided he could make a good living as an academic, and work 15 hrs/week instead of 80.
As I heard the Coffee / Cravath story, he demanded to be made a partner one year earlier than the standard track, was rebuffed, and left. I don't know whether that's true, but it's consistent with other comments that he was a rock star while there.
Eh, this just sounds like the typical "I'm more cool than you are" nonsense that runs rampant at CLS. Who cares if the LLMs think Coffee is a rock star? It's kind of cute.
If Cravath did turn him down, they are or should be very sorry. He's a bit scary in class, but I'm glad I've taken classes from him. He's probably more successful all around having become an academic than becoming a partner at Cravath anyway.
All-time Coffee highlight - a final exam in crim law involving Martha Stewart raping a mentally handicapped "little person" from the Howard Stern show who was so traumautzied he killed himself. Exam predated by a matter of days Coffee's first appearance on CNBC discussing Stewart's potentially improper stock sales.
3:38, that's really creepy. That was actually his exam question?
There is a certain ugliness and arrogance that bubbles under the surface of a lot of the comments and stories about LLMs and international folk generally - probably coming from those of us who don't have a passport. As far as I understand it, these are generally lawyers who graduated at the top of their class in their local law schools and done pretty amazing things and who have competed with people from all over the world to get into their LLM program - not a bad achievement. No wonder we as a nation are hated and despised around the world.
Anaonymous @ 4:24 pm
Get over yourself. Your deductive reasoning is pretty weak. And drawing that kind of generalization about LLMs is pretty silly. Yes, some LLMs have graduated at the top of their class and done amazing things. Many LLMs, however, have graduated at the top of their class and then simply worked at a law firm in their local country, and now want a US law license so they can get better pay in the US or at a US or UK-based firm in their home country. There's nothing especially amazing (or wrong) about that. But it doesn't necessarily merit the adoration that you seem to be calling for. Sounds to me like you're just enamored with their cute accents.
Some intl LLMs I encountered were brilliant. Some of them were annoying dipsticks. And some were inconsequential wallflowers. Really no different from the rest of the law school population.
Sounds like you're jealous of their accents and the success they have with the ladies 'Let the Eagle Soar' lol!
Oh trust me, it ain't the accents he has to be jealous of (though they certainly are an advantage), its the size of their .... "members" (so to speak) .... particularly in my experience of the Aussies and New Zealanders, that would truly intimidate Mr let the eagle soar. what do they put in the water down under!!!!
4:24 is right. We are a nation of immigrants and should welcome top-ranked lawyers from all over the world. Working beside such great people -- who dream to wind up in biglaw with average joes like us -- is truly an honor.
I don't get it. What's so funny about asking your prof to sign his book? We plain vanilla American students do it and no one laughs.
4:05 - yes it was