Off on vacation for winter break! I shall return in January with even more things about my life you wish you didn't know. I'm thinking about talking about cooking, too, because I feel like I should eat healthier.
Ooooh, how about a list of resolutions/goals for the new year? That sounds fun.
1) Eat better! Less frozen foods and more fresh foods!
2) Regular workout schedule! None of this "too busy" or "too lazy" crap.
3) Take better notes! That shouldn't be so bad now that I've sorta figured this law school thing out a bit.
4) More order! This ties in with 2- gotta be orderly with life so that I can be more efficient and effective with time.
5) Do fun things more :) At least once a week, take a few hours and do something fun. Or, hey, more than once a week!
6) Experiment with cooking! Ties in with 1.
7) Talk with friends and family more! Catch up with folks at least once or twice a week?
I guess that's good for now. Back and at 'em in January!
Friday, December 17, 2010
Saturday, December 11, 2010
1 To Go
Just one exam left until sweet sweet winter break freedom.
I took a take-home exam the other day. It was a very interesting 24 hours. The exam instructions suggested/implored that we continue to eat, sleep, etc so I did. In talking with some fellow exam-takers though, it would seem that a number of them spent the entire 24ish hours on it. I've heard from some if not most upperclassmen and all of the professors that spending all of your time on it is a poor decision. I'm ambivalent. I chose to sleep for 6 hours and I certainly didn't work on it for the other 18 or so hours.
I think that for some people, pulling all-nighters isn't a big deal. I certainly have pulled a lot of them in undergrad and my feeling is, well, the results are fine, so what's the big deal? Some people think they can handle it and do so just fine. I only got an hour or two of sleep before my turning in most of my college papers and those turned okay (The same can't be said for my memo, but that's a different story)
Sure, proofreading your exam is not going to be effective with little sleep, but hey, to each his own. A 2L I know took the same exam, pulled an all-nighter, and did well. Don't change your study habits unless you find them ineffective eh?
I took a take-home exam the other day. It was a very interesting 24 hours. The exam instructions suggested/implored that we continue to eat, sleep, etc so I did. In talking with some fellow exam-takers though, it would seem that a number of them spent the entire 24ish hours on it. I've heard from some if not most upperclassmen and all of the professors that spending all of your time on it is a poor decision. I'm ambivalent. I chose to sleep for 6 hours and I certainly didn't work on it for the other 18 or so hours.
I think that for some people, pulling all-nighters isn't a big deal. I certainly have pulled a lot of them in undergrad and my feeling is, well, the results are fine, so what's the big deal? Some people think they can handle it and do so just fine. I only got an hour or two of sleep before my turning in most of my college papers and those turned okay (The same can't be said for my memo, but that's a different story)
Sure, proofreading your exam is not going to be effective with little sleep, but hey, to each his own. A 2L I know took the same exam, pulled an all-nighter, and did well. Don't change your study habits unless you find them ineffective eh?
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Lies they told me about Law School
A few observations in what may become multi-part series
1) "we're not as competitive as (insert peer schools, better ranked schools, lesser ranked schools, other law schools in general)"
Ha. Haha! Ok, maybe this was true when the job market was better? I don't know, I wasn't there. This whole "no competition" thing is BULLSHIT. Well, I know for a fact it's bullshit here, I don't know how bad it is at other schools but I'm willing to venture a guess that it's bullshit there to.
Ok, so no one (at least... not here) is going to be tearing pages out of the library books (come to think of it, I haven't uh, needed any library books. Everything is on Westlaw/Lexis)
People, I'm sure, will help you out if you miss a day of class and need notes or if your computer crashes and you lose your outlines etc etc. That's not what I'm talking about. There's no overtly cutthroat shit.
But, there's this vibe of competition because, well, there's got to be half the class below the median and half the class above the media (I suppose some people have to be at the median, but I'm trying to make this easy). The people below the median are going to, generally speaking, have a harder time finding jobs than those at the top. Furthermore, those at or close to the very top will have an even easier time.
Most people have invested a lot of time and money into going to law school They may have moved their families, their significant others, etc with them. People are going to be serious about this stuff. It's not like undergrad AT ALL. Please don't let the admissions people fool you. It will be competitive whether you choose to compete or not. Not officially ranking you isn't going to change that at all.
2) A law degree is really versatile
Yeah, for being a lawyer. You can do a lot of different kinds of law! For other things, well, you don't exactly need the law degree, but it'd probably be useful for showing them that you're an idiot who went to law school and then didn't do anything law related. I'm sure there's exceptions to this, but, come on, what kind of job is there that doesn't require a JD where you'd think to yourself, "Gosh, I could get this job without a JD, but I really want to drop 150k on a superfluous degree to make myself more qualified...?"
Psh.
1) "we're not as competitive as (insert peer schools, better ranked schools, lesser ranked schools, other law schools in general)"
Ha. Haha! Ok, maybe this was true when the job market was better? I don't know, I wasn't there. This whole "no competition" thing is BULLSHIT. Well, I know for a fact it's bullshit here, I don't know how bad it is at other schools but I'm willing to venture a guess that it's bullshit there to.
Ok, so no one (at least... not here) is going to be tearing pages out of the library books (come to think of it, I haven't uh, needed any library books. Everything is on Westlaw/Lexis)
People, I'm sure, will help you out if you miss a day of class and need notes or if your computer crashes and you lose your outlines etc etc. That's not what I'm talking about. There's no overtly cutthroat shit.
But, there's this vibe of competition because, well, there's got to be half the class below the median and half the class above the media (I suppose some people have to be at the median, but I'm trying to make this easy). The people below the median are going to, generally speaking, have a harder time finding jobs than those at the top. Furthermore, those at or close to the very top will have an even easier time.
Most people have invested a lot of time and money into going to law school They may have moved their families, their significant others, etc with them. People are going to be serious about this stuff. It's not like undergrad AT ALL. Please don't let the admissions people fool you. It will be competitive whether you choose to compete or not. Not officially ranking you isn't going to change that at all.
2) A law degree is really versatile
Yeah, for being a lawyer. You can do a lot of different kinds of law! For other things, well, you don't exactly need the law degree, but it'd probably be useful for showing them that you're an idiot who went to law school and then didn't do anything law related. I'm sure there's exceptions to this, but, come on, what kind of job is there that doesn't require a JD where you'd think to yourself, "Gosh, I could get this job without a JD, but I really want to drop 150k on a superfluous degree to make myself more qualified...?"
Psh.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Final #1- RECAP
Sooo, the long awaited day finally came. First final! An early morning one, wooo. I tried to get to bed at a reasonable hour because, y'know, cramming at that point probably isn't gonna change much and being able to think rationally and coherently is probably more important than a few hours of extra studying. Unfortunately, whether it was due to anxiety or what, I tossed and turned for quite some time before falling asleep. I woke up early too, so the end result was probably around 5 hours of sleep. I felt REALLY alert though, the adrenaline was pumping before I even woke up.
So I get ready with all my little snacks and drinks (Chocolate! Mwahahahaha) and eventually end up in a room with part of my class. It's a 4 hour exam.
Right away I make the mistake of tackling the biggest problem first. I was thinking to myself, "Self, what you don't want to do is do the small ones first and then run out of time on the big question worth the most points and have to rush that"
POOR MOVE SELF
Ok, well, that might be a good idea for some people, but my brain wasn't really wanting to be smart and think analytically and all quite yet, so it was probably a huge mistake to tackle the most complicated and intricate problem first that was worth like, half the exam. Ooooooops? It would have been a better idea to tackle one of the smaller problems first just to get the whole noggin warmed up (kinda cold today).
Nevertheless, I did the 50% problem first. I remember starting to read the fact pattern and making notes to myself and then starting to outline my answer. By the time I was done with all that I looked at the time and WHAT?!??! 30 MINUTES WERE GONE.
I started to panic a little bit. I drank a lot of water and tried to connect the facts and whatnot to the legal concepts we had learned. I don't want to go into details that much, but let's just say...
1) Could have prepared more
2) could have prepared better
3) could have done better
But, it's over now, so no use regretting it. Like I said yesterday, this semester has definitely been a lot of help in determining what the heck I should be doing to properly prepare for class and finals. More on that later.
I pounded that thing out and hit the word limit about an hour and a half into the exam (word limit = in the middle 2000's, so doing that in about an hour = wait... is that even possible am I not remembering? Oh well, don't care) I tried to finesse with it a bit and then moved on to another problem. It was a much smaller, less complex, yet still hard as hell problem, which took about 50 minutes. If you're keeping track I have like 1:30 left at this point. I tackle a more complicated problem which eats up about another hour. With the remaining 30 minutes, I go over the last problem because the world limit is... WAY INSUFFICIENT. Holy cow, I was like 150 words over! And the world limit was in the middle 1000's, so that was a sizeable chunk. I had all this time I could have spent on both of the complicated essays, but I ran out of space. Clearly I had a lot of superfluous fluff in there. Oye.
Anyways, I think what I learned from this is to uh, start earlier and know the elements of legal principles better. I could picture that stuff on my outline, I just blanked on a few things. I think a big problem with closed book is that if you tell me a case name it usually jogs my memory enough for me to recall the facts and holding, but without that little prompt it's wayy harder for me to pull it out of thin air. Anyways, thank goodness that's over with.
So I get ready with all my little snacks and drinks (Chocolate! Mwahahahaha) and eventually end up in a room with part of my class. It's a 4 hour exam.
Right away I make the mistake of tackling the biggest problem first. I was thinking to myself, "Self, what you don't want to do is do the small ones first and then run out of time on the big question worth the most points and have to rush that"
POOR MOVE SELF
Ok, well, that might be a good idea for some people, but my brain wasn't really wanting to be smart and think analytically and all quite yet, so it was probably a huge mistake to tackle the most complicated and intricate problem first that was worth like, half the exam. Ooooooops? It would have been a better idea to tackle one of the smaller problems first just to get the whole noggin warmed up (kinda cold today).
Nevertheless, I did the 50% problem first. I remember starting to read the fact pattern and making notes to myself and then starting to outline my answer. By the time I was done with all that I looked at the time and WHAT?!??! 30 MINUTES WERE GONE.
I started to panic a little bit. I drank a lot of water and tried to connect the facts and whatnot to the legal concepts we had learned. I don't want to go into details that much, but let's just say...
1) Could have prepared more
2) could have prepared better
3) could have done better
But, it's over now, so no use regretting it. Like I said yesterday, this semester has definitely been a lot of help in determining what the heck I should be doing to properly prepare for class and finals. More on that later.
I pounded that thing out and hit the word limit about an hour and a half into the exam (word limit = in the middle 2000's, so doing that in about an hour = wait... is that even possible am I not remembering? Oh well, don't care) I tried to finesse with it a bit and then moved on to another problem. It was a much smaller, less complex, yet still hard as hell problem, which took about 50 minutes. If you're keeping track I have like 1:30 left at this point. I tackle a more complicated problem which eats up about another hour. With the remaining 30 minutes, I go over the last problem because the world limit is... WAY INSUFFICIENT. Holy cow, I was like 150 words over! And the world limit was in the middle 1000's, so that was a sizeable chunk. I had all this time I could have spent on both of the complicated essays, but I ran out of space. Clearly I had a lot of superfluous fluff in there. Oye.
Anyways, I think what I learned from this is to uh, start earlier and know the elements of legal principles better. I could picture that stuff on my outline, I just blanked on a few things. I think a big problem with closed book is that if you tell me a case name it usually jogs my memory enough for me to recall the facts and holding, but without that little prompt it's wayy harder for me to pull it out of thin air. Anyways, thank goodness that's over with.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Less than 12 Hours!
Aight, so, less than 12 hours to my first final! Egads, what am I doing?
I found a rather interesting and really uh, well made outline for my class online. I think it's kind of a rare thing to find such a helpful outline because most people online have professors that don't teach the way your professor teaches. However, my prof taught pretty much the book, and this outline is of the book, essentially, so it's super helpful.
Thought for next semester- I should obtain the most useful outline for a course and supplement it as the course goes on so I don't waste time at the end making the outline. Yes yes, they say the making of the outline is a big part of learning the material, but if you weren't lost for most of the semester (like I was) perhaps it wouldn't be so hard to learn it to begin with? Food for thought, I guess we'll see how it goessss.
I found a rather interesting and really uh, well made outline for my class online. I think it's kind of a rare thing to find such a helpful outline because most people online have professors that don't teach the way your professor teaches. However, my prof taught pretty much the book, and this outline is of the book, essentially, so it's super helpful.
Thought for next semester- I should obtain the most useful outline for a course and supplement it as the course goes on so I don't waste time at the end making the outline. Yes yes, they say the making of the outline is a big part of learning the material, but if you weren't lost for most of the semester (like I was) perhaps it wouldn't be so hard to learn it to begin with? Food for thought, I guess we'll see how it goessss.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Oye
So there are scant few days until finals and I am WAY underprepared. I wish I could be like everyone else and be like "Oh yeah, I've got this and that outline done" but uh, I really don't. My only hope is for my procrastinating ass to kick it in gear and get this stuff done!
I have 1 take-home exam this semester and the rest are shorter in-class ones. Thank god for that take-home one, because my brain is so frazzled, there's no way I'd be able to remember everything if all of my exams were take-home.
Woah, what the hell am I doing writing a (very short) blog post? I need to friggin outline this crap. Folks, life really sucks right now if you're a law student.
I have 1 take-home exam this semester and the rest are shorter in-class ones. Thank god for that take-home one, because my brain is so frazzled, there's no way I'd be able to remember everything if all of my exams were take-home.
Woah, what the hell am I doing writing a (very short) blog post? I need to friggin outline this crap. Folks, life really sucks right now if you're a law student.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Study Habits
I'm alive, just uber busy
I know I said I wanted to maintain my same study habits for at least a semester to see how it served me in law school. Well, I did do this, except my study habits suck. It's near the end of the semester and I think I've finally worked out a better method for preparing for class and perhaps for preparing for the finals. The whole "briefing cases" thing was a pain and wasn't really useful in all of my classes. I did have one class where the professor would run through the facts of the case in great detail, but it seems like in most classes, at least for the final, you'd be better off just analyzing a bit of the court's "big picture" reasoning/rationale, and then taking note of the holding.
So a typical note for a brief would be like XYZ v ABC - Court decided *whatever* because of *this and that*. That way my notes for most cases are just one or two paragraphs long.
I uh, haven't had any exams yet, so we'll see how this goes. I think next semester I'll try mostly doing this, depending on the format of the class, and see how that serves me. It seems like our finals are mostly going to be about analyzing fact patterns and for that, I feel like I only need the holdings and some of the rationale from cases to back up my various assertions.
I know I said I wanted to maintain my same study habits for at least a semester to see how it served me in law school. Well, I did do this, except my study habits suck. It's near the end of the semester and I think I've finally worked out a better method for preparing for class and perhaps for preparing for the finals. The whole "briefing cases" thing was a pain and wasn't really useful in all of my classes. I did have one class where the professor would run through the facts of the case in great detail, but it seems like in most classes, at least for the final, you'd be better off just analyzing a bit of the court's "big picture" reasoning/rationale, and then taking note of the holding.
So a typical note for a brief would be like XYZ v ABC - Court decided *whatever* because of *this and that*. That way my notes for most cases are just one or two paragraphs long.
I uh, haven't had any exams yet, so we'll see how this goes. I think next semester I'll try mostly doing this, depending on the format of the class, and see how that serves me. It seems like our finals are mostly going to be about analyzing fact patterns and for that, I feel like I only need the holdings and some of the rationale from cases to back up my various assertions.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Interlude
Ahhh, it's time to study for finals already?! What the heck?!
I've been getting all sorts of advice about when to start outlining ranging from 2 months ago, to Nov 1, to Thanksgiving. I'm sort of a slow starter so I'm leaning more towards Turkey Break :)
Soooo, I was going to make a long post/rant about the flak the legal industry/legal education sector is taking from some critics right now... namely "Above the Law". But, then someone up and went and did it. I might still do one, but it's certainly not a priority anymore. This guy pretty much said it best.
In fairness to blogs like Above the Law, they could very well be right. But the thought of these nice administrative folks at top law schools (I visited a bunch of law schools last feb/march/april during their admitted student days/weekends/etc) are lying through their teeth and scamming us out of oodles of cash. If someone like our Dean who is in charge of our, well, wellbeing can be lying to us under a facade of empathy and fake concern for all of us law students, it makes me very sad about humanity's capacity for... evil.
Convoluted, yes. I'm not really a very optimistic person, but I think I'm a bit less cynical/pessimistic about the intentions of legal educators... at least the ones at the more renown law schools. As for Cooley school of law or whatever? Yeah, maybe they're after money.
Here's the link-
http://worldwidewhit.wordpress.com/2010/10/19/dear-legal-community-enough-with-the-cynicism/
Hm, that just inspired me to maybe write more about this one day.
I've been getting all sorts of advice about when to start outlining ranging from 2 months ago, to Nov 1, to Thanksgiving. I'm sort of a slow starter so I'm leaning more towards Turkey Break :)
Soooo, I was going to make a long post/rant about the flak the legal industry/legal education sector is taking from some critics right now... namely "Above the Law". But, then someone up and went and did it. I might still do one, but it's certainly not a priority anymore. This guy pretty much said it best.
In fairness to blogs like Above the Law, they could very well be right. But the thought of these nice administrative folks at top law schools (I visited a bunch of law schools last feb/march/april during their admitted student days/weekends/etc) are lying through their teeth and scamming us out of oodles of cash. If someone like our Dean who is in charge of our, well, wellbeing can be lying to us under a facade of empathy and fake concern for all of us law students, it makes me very sad about humanity's capacity for... evil.
Convoluted, yes. I'm not really a very optimistic person, but I think I'm a bit less cynical/pessimistic about the intentions of legal educators... at least the ones at the more renown law schools. As for Cooley school of law or whatever? Yeah, maybe they're after money.
Here's the link-
http://worldwidewhit.wordpress.com/2010/10/19/dear-legal-community-enough-with-the-cynicism/
Hm, that just inspired me to maybe write more about this one day.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Above The Law? (Introduction)
Before I came to law school, I did not read Above the Law other than a few random occassions where certain articles were referred to me. I can't even remember what those articles were, but I never read it on a daily basis.
Lately, however, I have been reading it more and more. It offers some interesting and though-provoking links every so often. And, on far more rarer occasions, it offers some interesting insight or analysis about law, politics, or law school.
But really, the main reason I'm reading it on a semi-regular basis at the moment is my fascination with their seeming abhorrence of law school and the legal field itself. Perhaps this is directed more towards the man who I presume is the lead writer, Elie Mystal, but it seems like all if not most of the contributors to ATL can agree on 2 things- 1) They're all for LGBT issues (which is cool) and 2) Law school's are evil and anyone who wants to be a lawyer that doesn't go to HYS is a fool.
I kinda take issue to that being one of those foolish 1L's who did not go to HYS (Harvard Yale Stanford) and even more foolishly, thinks they can obtain this "job" thing and maybe one day not be in debt due to my massive student loans. I know, it's ATL blasphemy.
So, due to my fascination, curiosity, and being well, a bit offended at ATL's stance on the legal market and law school itself, I'm hoping to write more extensively about this subject in a subsequent post or posts.
I suppose this is what you'd call a teaser.
Lately, however, I have been reading it more and more. It offers some interesting and though-provoking links every so often. And, on far more rarer occasions, it offers some interesting insight or analysis about law, politics, or law school.
But really, the main reason I'm reading it on a semi-regular basis at the moment is my fascination with their seeming abhorrence of law school and the legal field itself. Perhaps this is directed more towards the man who I presume is the lead writer, Elie Mystal, but it seems like all if not most of the contributors to ATL can agree on 2 things- 1) They're all for LGBT issues (which is cool) and 2) Law school's are evil and anyone who wants to be a lawyer that doesn't go to HYS is a fool.
I kinda take issue to that being one of those foolish 1L's who did not go to HYS (Harvard Yale Stanford) and even more foolishly, thinks they can obtain this "job" thing and maybe one day not be in debt due to my massive student loans. I know, it's ATL blasphemy.
So, due to my fascination, curiosity, and being well, a bit offended at ATL's stance on the legal market and law school itself, I'm hoping to write more extensively about this subject in a subsequent post or posts.
I suppose this is what you'd call a teaser.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
The Open Memo
So we had a closed memo for "practice" awhile back, and now we have been assigned an open memo. That and regular law school work and other life things have been sucking up my time as of late.
The open memo. Blah. So much confusion and unease. Half the people I talk to (or more) seem to be pretty confident about what they're doing. The other half or so are playing their cards close to the chest. The closed memo didn't go particularly well for me. Writing isn't really my thing (Law school may have been a poor choice!).
So, uh, advice. Definitely start working on your open memos as soon as possible so that you can really take advantage of your TA's and your writing professor. I would suspect that they are much more willing to give you awesome advice if you show the gumption to get a draft done pretty early, or at least have your research and outline done early.
Considering that I decided to change the answer of my memo not long before it was due, I am definitely not a role model for any prospective law student. I can only hope future 1L's learn from my futility!
The open memo. Blah. So much confusion and unease. Half the people I talk to (or more) seem to be pretty confident about what they're doing. The other half or so are playing their cards close to the chest. The closed memo didn't go particularly well for me. Writing isn't really my thing (Law school may have been a poor choice!).
So, uh, advice. Definitely start working on your open memos as soon as possible so that you can really take advantage of your TA's and your writing professor. I would suspect that they are much more willing to give you awesome advice if you show the gumption to get a draft done pretty early, or at least have your research and outline done early.
Considering that I decided to change the answer of my memo not long before it was due, I am definitely not a role model for any prospective law student. I can only hope future 1L's learn from my futility!
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
On Briefs (or boxers!)
No, no. This isn't a post about underwear (although maybe that'd be a good idea? Nahhh). This is about briefs, or rather, my um, lack of briefing.
Soooooo, I really thought I'd be a diligent student in law school for a semester. Ha! I was not a very diligent student in undergrad so I guess the thought that law school would make me suddenly shape up was a bit of a stretch. I think I'll have to do pretty poorly one semester to shake myself out of my academic slumber.
Anyways, since I'm not the diligent student I had hoped I would be, the first few weeks were I was a diligent note taker, a diligent listener, and a diligent case briefer has given way to furtive glances at facebook/ESPN in class, day dreaming, and uh, googling for case briefs.
Buuuut, I mean, is it that bad? I see it like this
On the one hand, I could write my own briefs but it would take a long time and the ones online can save a lot of time. But, on the other hand, the ones online aren't really that great sometimes (seriously, if all you're doing is reading online case briefs... yikes. Some of them are pret-ty bad). I figure as long as I read the case, copy pasting an online case brief and then tweaking it isn't that bad. Right? But not writing your own case briefs, I definitely have noticed that you don't retain the material as well, which is kinda the point. I guess that means more cramming when exams roll around. I honestly cannot just recall some of the earlier cases we covered in class whereas some people can pull case names and holdings out of thin air to support their arguments.
....Guess we'll see how this goes after finals in December. More on this later.
Soooooo, I really thought I'd be a diligent student in law school for a semester. Ha! I was not a very diligent student in undergrad so I guess the thought that law school would make me suddenly shape up was a bit of a stretch. I think I'll have to do pretty poorly one semester to shake myself out of my academic slumber.
Anyways, since I'm not the diligent student I had hoped I would be, the first few weeks were I was a diligent note taker, a diligent listener, and a diligent case briefer has given way to furtive glances at facebook/ESPN in class, day dreaming, and uh, googling for case briefs.
Buuuut, I mean, is it that bad? I see it like this
On the one hand, I could write my own briefs but it would take a long time and the ones online can save a lot of time. But, on the other hand, the ones online aren't really that great sometimes (seriously, if all you're doing is reading online case briefs... yikes. Some of them are pret-ty bad). I figure as long as I read the case, copy pasting an online case brief and then tweaking it isn't that bad. Right? But not writing your own case briefs, I definitely have noticed that you don't retain the material as well, which is kinda the point. I guess that means more cramming when exams roll around. I honestly cannot just recall some of the earlier cases we covered in class whereas some people can pull case names and holdings out of thin air to support their arguments.
....Guess we'll see how this goes after finals in December. More on this later.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Soooo bussyyyy
Holy cow! I keep meaning to write substantive posts here but by the time I get the important things in life done (eating, sleeping, law school events, law school club activities, personal hygiene, playing sports, watching sports, attempting to have a social life (fail), catching up on tv, catching up on current events, catching up with college/high school friends.... and oh yeah, school work, there's not much time to bang out blog posts.
Every time I think of something I'd like to write a post about I try to remember to write it down (inevitably I forget half the time). It's.... a long list. We have a major memo assignment due in the next few weeks ish and when late October and early November rolls around, the Finals panic will begin.
Uhhhh, maybe I can spend my winter break writing substantive posts about law school? Haha.
On a side note, I was chatting with this undergrad here at the University today and they were really interested in law school. It felt good to give some advice out instead of being confused all the time during classes. :)
Every time I think of something I'd like to write a post about I try to remember to write it down (inevitably I forget half the time). It's.... a long list. We have a major memo assignment due in the next few weeks ish and when late October and early November rolls around, the Finals panic will begin.
Uhhhh, maybe I can spend my winter break writing substantive posts about law school? Haha.
On a side note, I was chatting with this undergrad here at the University today and they were really interested in law school. It felt good to give some advice out instead of being confused all the time during classes. :)
Thursday, September 30, 2010
My Mentor...
Just a quick update. After knowing my mentor for about a month, I must say that they're extremely useless for academic, social, sports, etc advice. In fact, the only shred of good advice they've given me is what to wear to our semi-formal, or rather, what not to wear.
In spite of all of that, I think they're incredibly amusing. Quite a character. I was genuinely very pleased that they received an offer from their top choice for their 2L summer job. I think that says good things about the quality/character/likeability (not a word I know) of the students here, and that makes me happy as well.
Of course, this could all change. They have yet to lavish me with expensive gifts. =P
In spite of all of that, I think they're incredibly amusing. Quite a character. I was genuinely very pleased that they received an offer from their top choice for their 2L summer job. I think that says good things about the quality/character/likeability (not a word I know) of the students here, and that makes me happy as well.
Of course, this could all change. They have yet to lavish me with expensive gifts. =P
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Legal Market- Justifiable Optimism?
Whew. I've been meaning to update this thing regularly, as in at least once or twice a week. I've got a number of topics that I'd like to write/vent/blabber about, and so little time to do so. Well, I guess the whole time thing is kind of my fault since I overloaded myself with some arguably useless intramurals and clubs and am attempting to keep up with my TV shows and still venture out once or twice a week to "socialize"...
Anywho, the point is not to whine about my life. Well, this post's point isn't to do that. Maybe the next one. I'm not sure how that one will go. Maybe something like "I waste my time with silly things and now I don't have time to do the important things... wahhhhhh"
I digress, terribly. The point of this post is the legal economy! Woo! Now, folks, I realize I'm just a lil fresh 1L here with my training wheels still screwed ever so tightly on, but I try to be somewhat observant and whatnot of the upperclassmen. I try to learn things from them. Sorta. And so when the 2L's and 3L's were moaning and complaining about the state of the legal market, I was understandably somewhat concerned (to put it mildly) I mean, I'm only going to have like 150k of debt. No, probably more than that. Who cares about employment?
I heard the horror stories of last year's class and how a number of them could not find jobs. I heard that this year's 3L class had also struggled. And the 2L's this year had a general mood of doom and gloom heading into their OCI's.
And now? Well, the 3L's still got a bit shafted. BUT, the 2L's seem to be doing much better. Granted, I only know a few of them, but it's not like the ones I know are standout students or anything. Far from it, really. And I recently heard from most of them that they had numerous callbacks. And now I'm hearing that they have job offers! Woohoo! Some of them even have multiple offers, which is always a nice sign.
Of course, as the 3L class last year learned, a job offer for your 2L summer doesn't necessarily translate into a post-graduation job offer, but it certainly seems like there's cause for optimism for this year's 1L class. If the 2L class is doing better than the 3L's, we will surely do better than them right? After all, the recession supposedly ended last year.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2010-09-20-recession-over_N.htm?csp=usat.me
I've heard that the legal market and the billable hour may change in the wake of all this and there might be fundamental change within the legal market, but that's all over my head. All I know now is that, from this law school at least, things are looking optimistic for once.
Anywho, the point is not to whine about my life. Well, this post's point isn't to do that. Maybe the next one. I'm not sure how that one will go. Maybe something like "I waste my time with silly things and now I don't have time to do the important things... wahhhhhh"
I digress, terribly. The point of this post is the legal economy! Woo! Now, folks, I realize I'm just a lil fresh 1L here with my training wheels still screwed ever so tightly on, but I try to be somewhat observant and whatnot of the upperclassmen. I try to learn things from them. Sorta. And so when the 2L's and 3L's were moaning and complaining about the state of the legal market, I was understandably somewhat concerned (to put it mildly) I mean, I'm only going to have like 150k of debt. No, probably more than that. Who cares about employment?
I heard the horror stories of last year's class and how a number of them could not find jobs. I heard that this year's 3L class had also struggled. And the 2L's this year had a general mood of doom and gloom heading into their OCI's.
And now? Well, the 3L's still got a bit shafted. BUT, the 2L's seem to be doing much better. Granted, I only know a few of them, but it's not like the ones I know are standout students or anything. Far from it, really. And I recently heard from most of them that they had numerous callbacks. And now I'm hearing that they have job offers! Woohoo! Some of them even have multiple offers, which is always a nice sign.
Of course, as the 3L class last year learned, a job offer for your 2L summer doesn't necessarily translate into a post-graduation job offer, but it certainly seems like there's cause for optimism for this year's 1L class. If the 2L class is doing better than the 3L's, we will surely do better than them right? After all, the recession supposedly ended last year.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2010-09-20-recession-over_N.htm?csp=usat.me
I've heard that the legal market and the billable hour may change in the wake of all this and there might be fundamental change within the legal market, but that's all over my head. All I know now is that, from this law school at least, things are looking optimistic for once.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
More Sports!
A JAG officer said today that the military looks kindly upon those students who are stay active and participate in sports in college/law school. After all, it's the military. They want physically fit people who demonstrate the ability to work cooperatively in teams!
Soooo, this means that all those intramurals I'm in are now necessary to one of my future career options! Score! I need to do more sports, not less!
I also found out that JAG hours are fairly awesome and that they, at least at this office, play team sports together. Oh, and you get to wear a uniform (to help with the ladies ;D) and qualify for Loan forgiveness (as well as loan payment assistance from my law school) What's not to love about serving your country as a lawyer?!
Soooo, this means that all those intramurals I'm in are now necessary to one of my future career options! Score! I need to do more sports, not less!
I also found out that JAG hours are fairly awesome and that they, at least at this office, play team sports together. Oh, and you get to wear a uniform (to help with the ladies ;D) and qualify for Loan forgiveness (as well as loan payment assistance from my law school) What's not to love about serving your country as a lawyer?!
Monday, September 13, 2010
Sleepwalking
I have never really been able to function well with a lack of sleep, no matter how much caffeine I consume. I've found that lately, no matter how many cans of soda or cups of tea/coffee that I consume, I will still nod off in class if the class is monotonous, even if there's coldcalling going on. I just haven't been called on much. There are days where I'm in a half-asleep daze for an entire class period.
So, clearly I need to either get more sleep or try some 5 hour energy/caffeine pills or something. I figure it's better for me to stay awake and alert in class than it is to stay up late to get briefs done, because I don't know what the heck I'm doing with briefs so it's not worth impeding class awareness for questionable returns.
Or I could try taking some naps. I've scouted out the school and found some secluded big couches that might be nap-worthy. It's really cold in the law school, so I would probably have to bring a blanket as well.
I would nod off all the time in high school and undergrad too, but those classes were easy. Here, I have no idea what's going on. Speaking of here, I found out that two of my exams are in-class closed book, no open note exams. Ack. Doomed.
So, clearly I need to either get more sleep or try some 5 hour energy/caffeine pills or something. I figure it's better for me to stay awake and alert in class than it is to stay up late to get briefs done, because I don't know what the heck I'm doing with briefs so it's not worth impeding class awareness for questionable returns.
Or I could try taking some naps. I've scouted out the school and found some secluded big couches that might be nap-worthy. It's really cold in the law school, so I would probably have to bring a blanket as well.
I would nod off all the time in high school and undergrad too, but those classes were easy. Here, I have no idea what's going on. Speaking of here, I found out that two of my exams are in-class closed book, no open note exams. Ack. Doomed.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
About Clubs (Not the Night ones)
So the feeling I've gotten so far in my scant few weeks in law school is that clubs ultimately do not matter much in terms of finding employment...
Now, allow me to add a caveat- most of the upperclassmen I've chatted with are searching for big law firm jobs, so perhaps this is different for government, public interest, etc... (but honestly, something like 90% of the kids end up doing that or a judicial clerkship here so for all intents and purposes, this is what matters here)
I had initially written a long post about this, but upon further reflection I should probably keep my mouth shut until next year when I go through OCI's and whatnot (if I decide to do that) and actually know what I'm talking about. Everything I know right now is hearsay.
Here's the gist of what I've been told/what I've perceived:
Sign up for a lot of clubs and dabble in them to see which ones you really like, and then stick with those and drop the rest. Don't worry too much about not sticking with as many as other people, or not doing the important sounding ones, it probably doesn't matter as far as employment goes- it's just for fun and networking! And, law journals are apparently really important for firm jobs/judicial clerkships, so if that's your goal, do well on the case note in your second semester.
Now, allow me to add a caveat- most of the upperclassmen I've chatted with are searching for big law firm jobs, so perhaps this is different for government, public interest, etc... (but honestly, something like 90% of the kids end up doing that or a judicial clerkship here so for all intents and purposes, this is what matters here)
I had initially written a long post about this, but upon further reflection I should probably keep my mouth shut until next year when I go through OCI's and whatnot (if I decide to do that) and actually know what I'm talking about. Everything I know right now is hearsay.
Here's the gist of what I've been told/what I've perceived:
Sign up for a lot of clubs and dabble in them to see which ones you really like, and then stick with those and drop the rest. Don't worry too much about not sticking with as many as other people, or not doing the important sounding ones, it probably doesn't matter as far as employment goes- it's just for fun and networking! And, law journals are apparently really important for firm jobs/judicial clerkships, so if that's your goal, do well on the case note in your second semester.
Monday, September 6, 2010
Overbooked
It's not something that only airlines do. Between intramurals, clubs, schoolwork, social life, and other obligations, I feel wayyyyy overbooked. There's a lot of things I want to do so I'm going to be bummed if I'm going to have to eliminate some of them. Here's how my week looks...
Today- free after 7pm
Tuesday- in law school from 9 am until 5pm, softball in the evening until 8ish
Wednesday- in law school from 9 am until 5pm, meeting at 5:15pm, another intramural in the evening from 9pm until 11 or so.
Thursday- in school from 12 until 5. Meeting at 4:30 that I'm going to be late to (a training session) and then an intramural event until 8ish again. Bar review at 10pm. Thank god Torts is canceled in the morning.
Friday- In school from 12 until 5. Training session from 5 until 9pm.
Saturday- training session from 9 am until 1pm. tournament from 1pm until 4pm.
Also, there's homework and whatnot to worry about.
Still, I think overbooking is good. My advice to any future 1L's is to sign up for every single thing that interests you and maybe even some things you're not sure about. If you have the slightest interest in it, give it a try. There's no obligation (I sound like a TV ad) and you might find that something you thought you'd be really into really isn't as good as you thought and something you thought wouldn't be that great is in fact, fantastic. Get of your comfort zone and try as many things as possible. You can always politely remove yourself later.
Clubs that are mainly about inviting guest speakers are particularly good because your lunch hour is usually free (unless you have meetings) and there's free lunch. No work for you + free food = awesome.
Today- free after 7pm
Tuesday- in law school from 9 am until 5pm, softball in the evening until 8ish
Wednesday- in law school from 9 am until 5pm, meeting at 5:15pm, another intramural in the evening from 9pm until 11 or so.
Thursday- in school from 12 until 5. Meeting at 4:30 that I'm going to be late to (a training session) and then an intramural event until 8ish again. Bar review at 10pm. Thank god Torts is canceled in the morning.
Friday- In school from 12 until 5. Training session from 5 until 9pm.
Saturday- training session from 9 am until 1pm. tournament from 1pm until 4pm.
Also, there's homework and whatnot to worry about.
Still, I think overbooking is good. My advice to any future 1L's is to sign up for every single thing that interests you and maybe even some things you're not sure about. If you have the slightest interest in it, give it a try. There's no obligation (I sound like a TV ad) and you might find that something you thought you'd be really into really isn't as good as you thought and something you thought wouldn't be that great is in fact, fantastic. Get of your comfort zone and try as many things as possible. You can always politely remove yourself later.
Clubs that are mainly about inviting guest speakers are particularly good because your lunch hour is usually free (unless you have meetings) and there's free lunch. No work for you + free food = awesome.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Note to Future Law Students
Really check out the parking situation before committing to a school. A guaranteed parking pass is not the same thing as a guaranteed parking spot.
Not that I'm saying that the parking situation should determine where you go to school....but hey, if it's neck and neck between two schools and one has better parking than the other...!
Not that I'm saying that the parking situation should determine where you go to school....but hey, if it's neck and neck between two schools and one has better parking than the other...!
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Role Models
Perhaps I'm seeing only what I want to see, but it seems that the advice from upperclassmen here at law school has been rather lackluster. Is it because of a competitive atmosphere here? I hope not, they tried to sell us on how uncompetitive it was (a somewhat ridiculous thing you here when law schools recruit you... of course it's competitive damnit. I don't care if companies don't see your GPA/class standing until right before they interview you, you won't get a callback if you're ranked last)
Anyways, I haven't talked to too many upperclassmen yet, but it seems like the ones I have talked to haven't really figured this thing out themselves. All of them have their own study quirks and their own goals, their own different hopes about where their law school journey will take them.
I expected to maybe get some advice from them, because I don't really know what I'm doing yet or even what I want to do. I feel like a blank slate. I could see myself doing something with a big firm, or working for the government, or really, anything. I came into law school with no pre-conceived notions on what I wanted to be doing other than the hope that whatever I did would pay down my student loans in a timely fashion.
But advice is not to be had from the orientation lectures or our upperclassmen who are supposed to be advising us. The upperclassmen I've talked to have seemed just as unsure or just as lost as we are sometimes. It seemed like they were second-guessing their own career and school choice. It was as though they were seeking our approval just as much as we sought theirs for our plans and goals in law school.
I found it a bit disheartening that 2L's so far down the road of doing public interest work or in the middle of OCI's (on campus interviews) could be so unsure of their life choices. It reinforced both the speed at which the 1L's have to make their own decisions (start hunting for those 1L summer jobs in just a few months) and recent lectures the law school has made us attend.
It's all a bit overwhelming. Thank goodness it's the weekend, it's too bad I have all this reading I have to do and that I have no idea/don't understand what we did this week.
Anyways, I haven't talked to too many upperclassmen yet, but it seems like the ones I have talked to haven't really figured this thing out themselves. All of them have their own study quirks and their own goals, their own different hopes about where their law school journey will take them.
I expected to maybe get some advice from them, because I don't really know what I'm doing yet or even what I want to do. I feel like a blank slate. I could see myself doing something with a big firm, or working for the government, or really, anything. I came into law school with no pre-conceived notions on what I wanted to be doing other than the hope that whatever I did would pay down my student loans in a timely fashion.
But advice is not to be had from the orientation lectures or our upperclassmen who are supposed to be advising us. The upperclassmen I've talked to have seemed just as unsure or just as lost as we are sometimes. It seemed like they were second-guessing their own career and school choice. It was as though they were seeking our approval just as much as we sought theirs for our plans and goals in law school.
I found it a bit disheartening that 2L's so far down the road of doing public interest work or in the middle of OCI's (on campus interviews) could be so unsure of their life choices. It reinforced both the speed at which the 1L's have to make their own decisions (start hunting for those 1L summer jobs in just a few months) and recent lectures the law school has made us attend.
It's all a bit overwhelming. Thank goodness it's the weekend, it's too bad I have all this reading I have to do and that I have no idea/don't understand what we did this week.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Cold Call Roulette
Finally cold called today by a Professor. Well, it wasn't really a cold call as he rattled off some names to let us know we'd be called on to lead the discussion on the next case.
It's fairly frustrating briefing cases right now as it takes significant amounts of time, and yet when the professors go around asking questions, it seems like they're fairly useless in answering them. We'll get better at this... I hope.
On the bright side, I really don't think I'll have to pay for lunch for at least the first two weeks or so...
General interest meetings and pizza.... yum?
Let's hope I develop more substantive things to talk about soon. It's only day 3, I've got time.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
General Unease
In law school, it seems to be very easy to lose confidence in the study habits that got you into law school. When you're surrounded by people who are putting in 5, 10 hours at the library every day and color coding their notes with 5 different colors, it can be easy to question your own methods. I'm doing so even as I type this. However, I think for the most part people should try and stick with what they know works for them. I've decided to stick with my regular habits, at least for the first semester, and see how that goes.
Of course, I could look back on this in December and rue the day I chose to do this.
On a side note, free food continues to be plentiful though of a distinctly less expensive variety. I anticipate finishing this week having paid for lunch only once. Free pizza at general interest meetings and guest speaker lectures can be a godsend for those on a tight budget, but this cannot be good for my longterm health.
I saw a trolley go by earlier with Indian food or something in it. I've got to find out where good food like that is going... perhaps faculty only?
Of course, I could look back on this in December and rue the day I chose to do this.
On a side note, free food continues to be plentiful though of a distinctly less expensive variety. I anticipate finishing this week having paid for lunch only once. Free pizza at general interest meetings and guest speaker lectures can be a godsend for those on a tight budget, but this cannot be good for my longterm health.
I saw a trolley go by earlier with Indian food or something in it. I've got to find out where good food like that is going... perhaps faculty only?
Out of the Frying Pan...
I suppose if I had wanted to really chronicle my law school journey, I would have started this thing as I began to prepare to apply for law school, studied for the LSAT, created application material, etc. As is typical with me, I procrastinated. Now orientation week is over, I'm still procrastinating (from briefing cases) and this idea of chronicling what should become a rather important period in my life is finally "launched" to an audience of myself.
An audience of myself is not a bad thing, though. My memory is notoriously porous, so this blog is as much for the benefit of any prospective or current student as it is for myself, so that I can remember these years when I grow older and even more forgetful. Perhaps even law school administrative figures will find it useful as I talk to myself about my hopes, fears, thing that annoy me, and dreams!
So this is the first post, so there should probably be some sort of vision or mission statement along with some introductions.
Mission Statement:
The goal of this blog is to chronicle my journey through 3 years of law school, for the benefit for myself and all of man-kind (but mainly for myself and anyone who wants some insight into the mysterious world of law school).
Me:
I'm a 1L at a law school. I wish to remain anonymous both for my own protection and so that my observations might be read as to represent the experience of a 1L anywhere (pompous, I know!).
I enjoy sports, reading, watching tv, socializing, pretty much your typical normal every day sorta things. Perhaps a long intro or flashback/reflections on the law school process will be forthcoming one day. For now, it's back to briefing cases.
An audience of myself is not a bad thing, though. My memory is notoriously porous, so this blog is as much for the benefit of any prospective or current student as it is for myself, so that I can remember these years when I grow older and even more forgetful. Perhaps even law school administrative figures will find it useful as I talk to myself about my hopes, fears, thing that annoy me, and dreams!
So this is the first post, so there should probably be some sort of vision or mission statement along with some introductions.
Mission Statement:
The goal of this blog is to chronicle my journey through 3 years of law school, for the benefit for myself and all of man-kind (but mainly for myself and anyone who wants some insight into the mysterious world of law school).
Me:
I'm a 1L at a law school. I wish to remain anonymous both for my own protection and so that my observations might be read as to represent the experience of a 1L anywhere (pompous, I know!).
I enjoy sports, reading, watching tv, socializing, pretty much your typical normal every day sorta things. Perhaps a long intro or flashback/reflections on the law school process will be forthcoming one day. For now, it's back to briefing cases.
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