It's been a while

Wow. It has been more than a month (1 month and 1 day) since I've posted. Sorry dear readers (reader?). Five classes, two jobs, two writing projects, and snowocalypse has kept me very occupied. I have time now because I just submitted another project and have time to kill before Civ Pro.

So what have I been up to?

Well, for one thing, a lot of my time was spent trying to find a job for the summer. Just when I thought law school was hard, the whole damn thing got harder. I should preface this with saying that I've never really had to bend over backwards to find a good job. With a good transcript coupled with a good degree, a great economy, and sheer luck, it was just never that hard to find anything. I listened to my boyfriend when he was going through his job search, and it sounded painful. (He was doing this a year later, when the economy tanked). Lucky me, I got to live through the pain. This year was painful. I submitted what feels like hundreds of applications. I was keeping track in a OneNote notebook before I just gave up trying. I was committing sins left and right too. I think after a while I subconsciously stopped caring.

I went to the career fair, which was a waste of time (or so I thought). If you ever want to really feel bad, go to a career fair and then get told 40 times "You can submit online." Why go if you can't hand them a resume and spent 30 seconds telling them about how great you are?

I finally applied for clinic, interviewed at 11PM. If the interview was any longer than 2 minutes and 5 questions, I probably would have bombed that.

So, pessimism aside, my Career Fair experience was not all useless. I will post my helpful hints soon. Funny, I only call them helpful now because I saw some result.

Speaking of careers, I finally started an internship. This was a result of the online networking post. Pretty bad assed. Must say, I freaking love it there. Real law experience is nothing like law school.

In academia work, I've been doing pretty well. I didn't fail last semester, but there is definitely room for improvement. That is my goal. I have been doing well on the improvement too. I've already noticed that I am doing better on my writing projects.

I've also realized how I learn. I am not a "read a week ahead" sort of person. I got a week ahead during the snow storm and that burned me, badly. I got called on in CivPro and completely bombed it. I fumbled my way through the answer because I was trying to recall the rule that I read a week ago. I can say that after that slow motion train wreck, I improved my study habits and learned the damn rules (of Civil Procedure).

This semester I've thrown out E&E and brought in Hornbooks. Why? Well, Hornbooks are E&Es, without the cutsey names in the examples. It is straight black letter law.

Traditional outlining has been traded out too (with the exception of crim law- something I still don't know how to deal with). Civ Pro requires more of a mapping out process. How do the rules relate to each other? What step comes next in a law suit? Why do it this way? When should you do it that way? I've adjusted accordingly. Also, on my contracts exam I did pretty well with my "how to" guides. Especially on the "issue spotter" tests, these things are awesome.

Next week (in three hours after my make up class), starts my spring break. I am excited to share the that library is open. I am also disgusted that the library being open is exciting. Well, hopefully I will get my ass in line and get some good outlining done.

New Semester Resolution

So with the new semester starting today, I started reviewing some resolutions in my mind. Even though I felt like I did good my first semester, I am definitely willing to try a change. Also, I really am down for the whole self improvement sort of deal (ok, I am like a self help addict half the time).

I divided my resolutions into different categories. Each resolution highlights what I want to improve the most.

Academic Resolutions
1. Read smarter. Last semester I got really good at reading. And by good, I mean I am able to read ridiculously fast. I always used to read fast though, so It was only a matter of time before I got good at reading the boring crap. Now I want to be able to question what I am reading as I read it, and make connections that I may have over looked by only reading.
2. Be more confident. Not a gunner (although if you ever raise your hand, ever, or even just nod your head, you risk being branded a gunner, so take the term as you will), but I want to be certain of myself when I speak and when I prep for exams.
3. Review my notes and semi outline after class. I actually did that today. It was a fun fusion of book, lecture, and my thoughts on the issue. I think it should help prepare for finals.
Enter into a writing competition. I am not sure if this is in the right section. It does sound cool though.

Professional Development
1. Have interactions with lawyers in the field I want to go in. So I was assigned a mentor. I wrote to him and I am waiting to hear back. Ummm… It doesn’t hurt to have more interactions though.
2. Get a summer internship. For the awesome experience. Paid would be preferable. (A broke law student has got to eat!)
3. Be up on my current events in the field I want to go into. Sadly, I've been sort of in the dark about those, and about most other things. Unless it happened in the library, there is a good chance that I am unaware about it. But, I did know about the bird that flew in here in November.

Personal (along the law school variety)
1. Be nice to everyone. Pretty straight forward there. This also includes the "don’t talk shit behind people's backs" clause. They always find out. Also, bad karma.
2. Bring my own lunch and make it tasty. I brought peanut butter sandwiches almost every day last semester. At the end I rebelled. In order to save my cash, I will cook extra at dinner and pack it in a tupperware to eat for lunch.
3. Don't dress like a damn slob. Harking back to my post about keeping law school classy, I plan on dressing like I want to be a damn lawyer, or at least like I am worth the five minutes talking to.

Torts: My History

So tonight is my torts exam. I am in the library right now trying to figure out how I can cram more torts into my brain as my day time colleges are sitting down to a test, which from what I can gather, may actually come to life and murder a few 1Ls. While they are all fearing for their futures, I am contemplating my past.

Torts was a class that I had a love hate relationship with. From my very first law school faux paux of getting a hypo wrong to last night where I confidently explained theories of alternative liability, I was on the torts roller coaster.

I started confident, then quickly lost it. The feeling that I was that girl was overwhelming. At one point I was reduced to tears and resolved to never speak in class again. I went for a while with that idea. Almost a month, I was silent in class. At first, I was so nervous that I couldn't raise my hand, as if my nerves decided that the muscle won't work. Then after a while, I started to understand what my professor was asking. That is a tricky thing, because it is a task that requires a student to really get into the prof's head and think like them. Almost like some serious Vulcan mind melding.

I was still resolute in not answering anything. To stop myself, I started wearing a rubber band around my wrist. I snapped it every time I wanted to raise my hand. Turns out, I was more ambitious than I thought I was. Dear God, my wrist hurt. Finally, I couldn't handle it anymore. My wrist was red, swollen, and I was afraid I would snap a tendon in my wrist. More importantly though, I knew I knew the answer. I knew that I could make the strongest argument and just nail it (it also helps that the week before I had a major confidence boost by being on call in contracts for an hour and nailing the questions my professor threw at me.)

Medical malpractice standards: what are the arguments against the average practitioner standard? I nailed that answer. I used my professor's words to tell him exactly what he was thinking, and the look on his face was priceless. He looked at me in my dead-center-off-the-room seat, smiled and said "Exactly!"**

From that point, it wasn't exactly an easy road, but it got significantly better. I finally started to understand why things were the way they were. I actually started to understand torts.

So that brings me here, at my table of knowledge (a term I stole from an undergrad friend) in the library six hours before my exam. I am reading my outline one last time. How do I feel? The same what I always feel before an exam, nervous as hell. Still, the fact that I made it to this point, is a victory.

So here I go, into the depths of a torts exam. Hopefully I will see you on the other side.


**BTW, I intentionally left out my answer for the arguments against the average practitioner standard. I don't want to ruin the fun of figuring it out.

Almost time for finals

So first I'll address the "Make Law School Classy" Campaign:
I will call it a success. I started by posting to my Facebook feed and telling everyone what I was doing. It got a fair amount of attention from my friends and I even got a follower. The campaign lasted a week, then Thanksgiving week struck and finals preparation got fully underway. Apparently I am able to dress decently until stress hits.

Are finals stressful though? They are and they aren't. I have 3 exams this semester- contracts, torts, and econ. How do I feel? I don't know. Maybe that is a good thing because I am not wasting my energy on stress, instead I'll be ready for exams. Maybe it is a bad thing because I am not realizing what I do and don't know. That is the problem, I just don't know, and I won't know until exams come back in January.

I have been preparing though. I've done CALI lessons (an online law school quiz site) for torts. I've been going through my contracts book and doing the "Problems" tucked away in the notes sections of my contracts book. I've been doing econ questions at the end of each chapter and the questions on my professor's blog (yes, my econ teacher has a class blog. It took me a while to get used to, but I dig it now.) Also, I am feeding the superstitious side of me by getting my karma fix and counting all the goods and bads that've been happening lately. Really, what it all comes down to is karma, right?

Course Supplements

When I was just beginning law school (as in last month), all I heard people talk about were which supplements they bought or which ones the upperclassmen recommended. So my thoughts at first were "maybe I should get some" then it because "hell, I understand this, I'm fine" which then reverted back to "well, I should get supplements or else I am going to horribly fail." I've since calmed down (a little), but still I've gone through some supplements and here are a few reviews:

• Gilbert's Contracts CDs- I've checked these out from the library, ripped them to my computer, and listen to them as I walk to and from school everyday (ok, sometimes I just listen to music too). It is an extremely basic overview, but it is great because Epstein (the lecturer from SMU) will say "you are likely to see a fact pattern such as ... ." This is definitely something to allow you to become familiar with terms.
• Examples and Explanations- I've used both the torts and the contracts one. Contracts works great. I love it. Because of this I now understand the mailbox rule. Torts had to grow on me, especially since the first thing I looked for wasn't even in there (conversion). Still, I've heard from people who have taken my professor that this is a good supplement to read.
• Hornbooks- even though they are old as sin, I think they're extremely worthwhile in getting a quick overview on a topic.

Also, I don't recommend buy supplements. They are expensive and can probably be found at your library. Our library has a few behind the reserve desk, so I've never had a problem getting one.

Writing Project Update

So after all that proof-reading until I was numb, I submitted my writing project and got a grade back. I scored just about the median (not like I am about to broadcast my exact grade to everyone). It wasn't as well as I had wanted to do, but it definitely gives room for improvement. I'll admit, I am disappointed. Writing is supposed to be "my thing." I was a writing minor in undergrad, I should know this stuff, right? Still it is a bit of a humbling experience (all of law school is, I don't know why I thought this class would be any different). Now I take the experience and turn it into something that I can improve upon in my next set of projects. In the meanwhile, here are some hilarious tid-bits my professor sent out regarding the importance of proper legal writing in the professional world.

http://www.abajournal.com/weekly/judge_labels_lawyers_motion_nearly_incomprehensible_marks_up_errors
http://www.abajournal.com/uploads/Glasser1.pdf
http://abovethelaw.com/2009/09/21/Nault%20v%20Evangelical%20Lutheran%20Full.pdf

The Pros and Cons of Being a Night Student

...while not having a job and any decent reason to be a night student.

I've been thinking about this for a little bit lately, as I am currently a night student without a job, and therefore no reason to be a night student beyond, I had a job. For a while I have bounced between "this sucks" and "this is great!" Here are some of my thoughts on the matter:

Cons:

• Class until 8 or 9PM every night of the week, including Fridays.
• Club meetings are scheduled during class time.
• Happy hours are scheduled during class, and even if they are still running after class, all the drink tickets are gone.

Pros:

• One less (4 credit) class to worry about.
• Can spend a virtually uninterrupted period of time studying.
• A greater appreciation for a free Friday evening is developed (probably the weakest pro).

Thoughts about the pros and cons? I am especially interested to hear a day student's take on it.

Proof read again, and again...

and again!

So Monday my first graded (meaning, non Pass/ Fail) writing assignment is due. It has been building on the same thing we've been working on in our past two assignments, but due to my performance in that previous assignment (I passed, but have been saying, I've barely passed) I am really trying to up my game. Here is a list of what I did for this assignment:

1. Created a draft fixing what I thought I did wrong on the last assignment and incorporating the new stuff.
2. Proof read that draft.
3. Proof read it again.
4. Got back my last assignment.
5. Incorporated the changes based on what my writing fellow (the person who grades my assignments) pointed out.
6. Proof read that, looking for multiple occurrences of mistakes.
7. Reread the guidelines for submissions.
8. Proof read based on that.

I have proof read four times and I am going to do it at least once more. I am not sure whether I am freaking out about this or this is how I am supposed to attack my assignments (or both, if so, this is going to be a very redundant three years).

On a different note, we had our student org. fair yesterday, complete with buffet. I still content that the best part of law school is the free food. It was really fun though, and I got to see what sort of organizations are out there and what opportunities there are. I'll let you know more about how my foray into student organizations goes.

Why you should go to Law School Events

But first....
OMG I got a Hypo(thetical question) wrong! I know how can you do that? Well, it is possible and I did. I was in Torts. The dead center of Torts. Center seat, center row. The two seats around me were unoccupied. The teacher asked his hypo. A short pause. I timidly raise my hand. I don't know why. Not like me answering a question will help my grade. It won't, unless I raise some sort of genius point, which I am not likely to ever do. So, do I say "yes" or "no?" I said "Yes!" Such conviction! I am so damn sure of myself. The answer- "No." Damnit!

Every emotion of embarrassment rushes around me. I felt like I fell into the black ole in the center of the room. What if the teacher thinks I am a hack? An admission's mistake? What if I am a hack? What do my classmates think of me? Will I ever be able to join a study group? Am I that girl?

I slink back into my chair and count the minutes until class ends.

I walk upstairs to my locker (yes, in law school, there are lockers, and thank God, the books weigh a ton) and down trodden as a girl could look. My classmate asks what's wrong. What's wrong? Hah! What isn't? But not to sound like an ass, I say "I got a hypo wrong." Her response "Oh, I didn't notice." Then it hit my. You can answer questions wrong. No one remembers. No one cares. And if they do, they're still stuck in undergrad mentality (and eventually that person will be found out for the ass that they are).


BUT... The main (and shorter) point of this post. Going to law school events helps with two things

1. They disseminate information about important things- jobs, study skills, etc etc
2. Free Food

Who would ever turn down free food?

My First Class

So last night at 6PM I had my first class, Contracts. My only impression of any contracts class before last night what from "The Paper Chase." Much to my dismay, my proffesor was not named "Kingsfield," she didn't speak with a mildly British accent, and most importantly, she didn't publicly embarrass anyone. In fact, she was quite nice and even gave some tips on how to conduct yourself in law school, and how to study for the exam. I am getting the distinct feeling that *gasp* my professors want us to do well.

In honor of my teacher showing us how to do well I will pass on some gems:

• Be professional in dealing with your professors and fellow students. We're all colleagues now (wow, so strange to think that).
• If the teacher says open book exam, make notations and cross references in your book in pencil (so you can erase and sell them back).
• Adjust your reading habits to fit the class discussion. If your teacher is really big on reading footnotes, make sure you can say something meaningful about it. If the teacher doesn't focus on the footnotes, no need (my Contracts professor advised us that it wouldnt be nessecary.)