1L Life is Hell

1L Life is Hell was a series of non-fiction books written by the signatories of the 0L Pledge for European Law School Transparency which covered topics ranging from the admissions process for law schools in major jurisdictions to bar exams and the role of prestige vs. grades in the job market. Due to the comprehensive nature of the book, it actually had several tomes. Each tome was scheduled to be released several months apart.

It was published by the University of Chicago Press.

Tome 1: The Pledge
Tome 1 was released in the aftermath of the Live from the Lyran Frontier show that featured both Dunames Lopez and Dylan O'Connor. Chapter 1 was devoted to the historical context of the Pledge, chapter 2 was devoted to the application process to sign the Pledge, chapter 3 was devoted to the essays of the people who went on to actually sign the Pledge, grouped by their authors listed in alphabetical order, and chapter 4 was devoted to the aftermath of the Pledge. The appendix listed biographical information about the Pledges and the law school they attended.

It was released on November 1, 2415.

Tome 2: 0L Purgatory Across Known Space
The decision to choose which schools to apply to was primarily based on whether the desired practice jurisdiction was prestige-sensitive or not. The Lyran Star Empire was notorious for being a prestige-insensitive jurisdiction, whereas the Ferengi Alliance was the epitome of a prestige-sensitive jurisdiction.

Also, some jurisdictions were more holistic in law school applications than others. The Andorians and the Betazoids were reputed for their holistic legal admissions processes whereas other races were not holistic: Ferengi and Lyrans based their legal admissions on one criterion, ability to pay and passage of the CPLT respectively. Due to the Earth origins of all the authors, the book described in greater detail law school admissions on Earth.

It was slated for release on July 1, 2416.

Tome 3: Into the 1L Hell
Although the series as a whole was called 1L Life is Hell, to the eyes of many, the title of the series referred to this particular tome. It was a bit of a misnomer, because Into the 1L Hell did not focus only on 1L life, but on life throughout law school.

It was the most eagerly awaited tome in the series, with over a million advance copies ordered. It referred to the difference in the lifestyle of law students across jurisdictions but one common theme emerged: the competitiveness of entering law students was present in almost every jurisdiction except when the job market was highly favorable to graduates of a particular law school.

Dunames Lopez wrote an entire chapter on the relationship between the prestige sensitivity of a jurisdiction and the quality of life in that jurisdiction's law schools, as well as another chapter with respect to the impact of the legal job market on the quality of life in law school.

It was slated to be released on January 1, 2417, by which time the University of Chicago will supply one free copy of the book to all its law school admits, starting with the 2417 admissions cycle.

Tome 4: Beyond the 1L Hell: The Bar and Beyond
The fourth and final tome was written about the life law school graduates lived after they graduated from law school and bar exams across jurisdictions. Many Federation jurisdictions were known as administering bar exams after students received their law degrees, whereas Klingon and Lyran lawyers law degrees.

As with tome 3, Dunames Lopez contributed nearly all the content related to the relationship between prestige and employability.

It was slated to be released on July 1, 2417.