Beyond the Books: How Sections Shape the HLS Experience

Building Your Law School Community

The summer before law school is filled with many things—excitement, anticipation, pre-law school bucket list items, and most importantly, your section assignment. Coming into Harvard Law School (HLS), you may think that you have an idea what your section assignment means, but no story, or blog post, can prepare you for what your section will offer you.

Think of a section as being similar to your elementary school class. A law school section is a stable group of people who join you day in and day out, five days a week for classes. These 80 people meet you on day one, sit with you during the start of orientation, and embark on their law school journeys right beside you. They are with you through the 8 a.m. Civil Procedure classes, the messed-up cold calls, every joke, every assignment, and every exam your first semester. You commiserate together on the hard days and celebrate on the good ones.

At first, it is hard to imagine that you will be able to remember the names of 80 strangers from across the world. Soon enough, you can recite those 80 names in a heartbeat and effortlessly share an endless deluge of memories. No matter where your assigned seat is, you will find yourself connecting to each person in some way.

Sections are the cornerstone of your 1L experience. The section and section leader offer students advising opportunities, a balanced class size, intellectual activities, and social events. Even beyond your first year, the section provides an intergenerational community that looks out for each other.

Section 6: A Community Like No Other

Your section is your home at HLS, and no home is better than Section 6. While each section has its own personality and strengths, Section 6, my section, is by far the best. Led by our Torts professor, Section 6 has garnered a reputation as a tight-knit group every year. It is the section that brings HLS the Torty Awards, a film festival, award, and talent show all wrapped into one; it is the section that wins the 1L Cup every year (we are the winner no matter what the biased refs say); and the section that named itself the “Tort Authority,” an identifier no other section can claim. In my short time at HLS, I have become part of a community that has no comparison.

Harvard Law will provide you with ample opportunities to make connections and find your people. But whether you join the Law Review, Student Government Association, the Tenant Advocacy Project, or any of the 85+ student orgs HLS has to offer, your first home is always going to be your section.