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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 six months apart.

Dunames Lopez was considered by many to be the primary author of the series because she was responsible for putting the book into terms that were understandable by the average pre-law student. It was published by the University of Chicago Press. (Star Trek: False Vacuum: "Scrap Yard Vegas")

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 or, in Dunames' case, was set to attend.

It was released on January 1, 2416.

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 could not receive their law degrees without passing the bar.

As with tome 3, Dunames Lopez contributed nearly all the content related to the relationship between prestige and employability, such as the prestige sensitivity by legal practice area in common prestige-sensitive jurisdictions. It depended not only on the area of practice but also on the prestige of the firm.

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

Prestige sensitivity[]

According to Dunames Lopez, the prestige sensitivity of a jurisdiction was on a continuum based on the area of practice, as well as the type of law firm and how much, in general, prestige was a factor in hiring for jobs requiring university degrees outside of legal jobs. In general, a jurisdiction was said to be "prestige-sensitive" or "prestige-insensitive", whether a jurisdiction actually was prestige-sensitive or not depended on how many areas and/or types of practice were prestige-sensitive. Often corporate, M&A law seemed to be more prestige-sensitive than family, criminal law, and also the larger law firms seemed to be more prestige-sensitive.

Prestige-sensitive jurisdictions often had their own rankings, which ranked schools in that particular jurisdiction, like Above the Law in the United States of America of the 25th century. In such prestige-sensitive jurisdictions, the more prestigious the law school, the more difficult it is to enter that law school, and also the less cutthroat was life once in law school. (Star Trek: False Vacuum: "Pledge of the Protester")

Outside of legal literature[]

It was the battle cry of False Vacuum Squadron, one of the first next-generation Prime Teams, designed to confuse enemy pilots that could intercept communications. But, as FV Sqn's battle cry, it only lasted eight months, before being used as the battle cry of Quantum Transport Squadron over four years later. (Star Trek: False Vacuum: "Scrap Yard Vegas")

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