"They want you to come into the lawfirms socialized into the profession," Geismer says. "They wanted you to see the world through lawyers eyes."

Current HLS professor Todd Rakoff, who also graduated from HLS in 1975, says that the tone of the school, though it was never overwhelmingly bad, has changed quite a bit since he was there.

"I had heard that it was a terrifying, mean, competitive and aggressive place," Rakoff says. "But I didn't think that the students were cutthroat and competitive. I think it was a colder place than it is now."

Institutional changes at HLS, according to students there, include a less confrontational class environment and more opportunities for one-L's to be involved in extracurriculars.

Today, Rakoff says that he sees much less of the competition among students, and much more camaraderie.

"From what I see, there is very little nasty competitive behavior in class," he says. "Almost never does someone say something just to put someone else down. They are much more likely to articulate opinions to advocate a certain point of view."

He says that the overwhelming competition between students was often distracting from classroom activity.

"When I went there, there was a little bit more of a feeling that in class you were trying to win against other students," he says.