Still here

I'm still here. Still nothing much going on law school-wise. This week is the five-week mark from the time that exams started, so grades should start to trickle in. I've talked to some people who have several grades already, but I only have one and it's from an independent writing project so basically I was the only person in that 'class.' Believe it or not, although I want them to get the damn grades in quicker, I'm not really even complaining about how long it takes. It takes forever. That's how it goes at this school. I guess I've accepted it. So that's good, I guess...

Not a post about law school

I have to admit that I'm not big on art museums. (I know you don't visit this blog for the art criticism and I promise not to bore you to tears with everything I think this summer, but there just isn't much going on at law school to write about) I mean I'd like to consider myself, um, you know, worldly, and I appreciate quality things, but I couldn't tell you the difference between a Rembrandt and a Breughel or the difference between post-Modernism and Cubism. Anyway, the tropical garden in town just had a six-month exhibit of works by Chihuly that was amazing. The entire garden was basically his showroom and he had some incredible stuff. Since, as I said, I'm not much on art, I don't have the words to describe what I love about his art, but well, it's unbelieavable. I wish I had millions of dollars to spare so I could buy a few of his pieces. The man is a genius. I hesitate to say he's under-appreciated because I don't know how the art world views him, but this is only the second time I've seen his work exhibited and I know I'd love to see more of it. My lousy pictures don't do it justice...

Should I go to law school?

What's law school really like? Should I go to law school? Why are you asking me?

A bunch of people have asked me what law school is really like and I was thinking of writing a blog post about it, but instead, I'm going to point you to other people who have written about whether you should go to law school. I think billions of words have been written about the subject and frankly, only two things are universally true: (1) law school is not for everyone and (2) your expectations of law school and the reality usually will not match up.

So without further ado, here are some brilliant blog entries I've come across that all prospective law school students should read, whether you're entering law school this fall or only considering taking the LSAT. None of these posts actually answer the question whether you should go to law school, but they give you an insight into what life in law school is really about.

*The guys at Barely Legal Blog, who used to be funny but are now just bitter law school graduates, offer a two-part series on how to succeed in law school: As I see it, their best two commandments for surviving law school are to (1) figure out whether you prefer an exam or paper and choose classes accordingly and (2) get TiVo.

*Over at "There's No Competition In Law School," you'll find not one, but two 'diaries of a 1L' which encompass the entire range of emotions and experiences starting from before you enter law school through the end of finals. It's funny stuff. Probably their best piece of advice is to find a group of people you want to spend time with.

*And finally, on a more serious note, Prof. Froomking, a professor at this law school, offers this advice: Take statistics as an undergrad. If you've already graduated from college and don't want to go back and take stats, read a newspaper. A good one.

So, so close

It costs 20,400 Westlaw points to get a 30GB video ipod. I have 20,365 points and it looks like you can't accumulate points during the summer. So close. At this rate I should have my ipod after two or three days of classes next semester. So that's good. Unless they raise the price (or amount of points necessary) to get the ipod.

The good news is that you can keep earning Lexis points over the summer, although those points are tougher to accumulate.

I know you're thrilled about this because it shows what a nerd I am, racking up so many points. Hey, what can I say? I like getting free stuff, although I realize it's not free since I paid tuition. No, but seriously -- I did a lot of research for class and other obligations and every time (and I mean every single time) they sent out an e-mail that says to click this or that and earn 300 points, I did it. And I took all the online "seminars," too. Maybe in another life I was a librarian...

driving traffic

I'm not sure how to get more people to read this blog if I don't have anything interesting to say this summer, but so far nothing much is going on. I started my summer job. It's a job. ... Still waiting to hear from Summer Job II, which I think I have but technically they need to give me the official green light so I don't actually have yet. ... After the rain stopped, the weather has been nice the past few days. ... I posted an ad on craigslist to give away this hideous concrete outdoor table that the previous owners left at our house when we moved in and 13 people responded in just half a day, so I took it down. ... I know, I know, blah blah blah. I know you don't care. ... If you have anything you want me to write about, let me know. Maybe I'll write about people who are deciding to go to law school because I got a few e-mails about that late last semester.

not so much

Not much happening. If you fled Miami after exams left last week, you missed something: rain. Yes, it rained here. In fact, it rained for three straight days, but it's finally over. Rain felt strange considering we had about two hours of rain since March 1.
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The library is packed with people I've never seen before. I assume they are 3Ls studying for the bar. (That looks like a blast. I can't wait until I get to do it next year. Maybe I won't worry about it until next spring). Apparently lots of people from other law schools take BarBri courses here and study here instead of at their own schools. I'm not sure why but I guess it doesnt' matter much. Today I was talking to the research librarian and a woman went behind the librarian's desk and sat down at the computer next to the librarian to try and use the computer. The librarian kicked her out. That was kind of funny. Just a little though...

the waiting

I said I wouldn't check if grades were in until at least June 1. I checked today. Hey, it's better than a guy I know who said he checked three times last Friday.

Nothing

Yesterday, I did nothing productive. Nothing at all. It was great. I saw a movie in the middle of the day. (I saw Lucky Number Slevin. It was the only non-G rated movie at the multiplex. How did I like it? Let's just say I wish I could get that hour and 49 minutes of my life back).

I added a few blogs to my blogroll. Let me know if there are any others that I should be reading or if you want your blog to be on there.

I promise to try to come up with more interesting posts so that every post for the entire summer is not about how I have nothing to say.

Stick a fork in it

I had my final final today, so that means I'm done with my second year of law school. Although this was by far the easiest semester and the easiest set of exams I've had, easy is only a relative concept when it comes to law school. It's not easy at all. That's like the urban legend in which everyone calls white collar prison the equivalent of a country club. Compared with medium- or maximum security prison, it's a country club. Compared with not being in prison, it's probably pretty miserable.

I don't know. Maybe that's a bad analogy. The point is that it's not easy and I'm glad I'm two-thirds done with law school. I'm tired. I need a long nap. I have exactly a week until I start my summer job...

Work is fun!

So who says you can't get a cool job as a law student?

I thought it was cool when Jacuzzi was hiring through OCI a couple of months ago (free hot tub, anyone?), but this latest listing might be the greatest job of all: Penthouse Media Group's in-house legal department needs a law clerk. Among the qualifications: "Must be comfortable w/adult entertainment content (i.e., nudity and explicit language."

I wonder if you took the job if you could submit a copy of Penthouse as a writing sample later when you apply for a judicial clerkship or something...

Your Help Not Wanted

To: Big Law Firm where current Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts used to work
From: Some Guy
Re: Leave me alone

Listen, fellas, I get it already.

I applied for a job with you during OCI back in September. That was eight months ago. I never heard from you, so I used my keen powers of deduction and deduced that I didn’t get an interview. And if I didn’t get an interview, I figured I didn’t get the job. If law school has taught me anything, it’s honed my reasoning skills.

Don’t you think I figured it out? If so, then why did I received four letters from you this week telling me that you don’t have a position for me? That’s right – four letters. Four. Is there any particular reason you wrote me four letters? I realize spending $1.56 on postage means nothing to a big law firm, but maybe you could have spent it on, I don’t know, a box of paper clips?

In any case, I don’t really care about the money and I know you don’t either. I just don’t want you to keep sending me letters. I get it. I’m not working there. I don’t need to be reminded of this fact every single day for the rest of my life. Four letters was enough. In fact, one would’ve been just fine. Are you trying to rub it in my face?

Frankly, I had totally forgotten that I even applied to you. Through OCI or other ways, I’ve probably sent out more than 100 resumes and I doubt I could list more than 20 of the places I applied to.

Oh, and that survey you asked me to fill out and return (using my own stamp and envelope), the one in which I have to tell you my race and what position I applied for so you can fulfill some government contractors requirement? Um, no, I’m not sending that back to you.

For your reading pleasure

I've got nothing interesting to say other than that I only have one more exam to go (professional responsibility on Tuesday), so check out these blogs:

This is a really funny post by LawDawg about the cover of E&E study guides. I guess in two years of law school I never stopped to consider why in the world the study guides have such inane illustrations on their covers.

Harriet the Spy, a student here, is a huge Jai-Alai fan. Unless Jai-Alai is a euphemism for something else...

"Student," also a student at this law school, offers an increasingly bizarre analogy of exams-as-war. I like the use of imagery there, but the storyline is getting odder by the day.

Lately, I've been reading this blog, which is a gossip rag about criminal defense lawyers, judges and prosecutors who work in this city. Ninety-five percent of the time I have no idea who or what they are talking about, but sometimes I recognize names from when I worked downtown last summer. I figure if I'm going to work in the community I might as well read up on the gossip, even though it's just gossip. It's a well-read blog though, with about 500 readers a day.

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Not a proud day for an alumni of this law school. Wow. Nice salary, though...

the strike is over

The strike is finally over. So, that’s good. Prof. Froomkin has a terrific summary of the events of the past couple of months. The disturbing thing is that whether you agree or disagree with the strikers, the administration’s tactics were way out of proportion and at times, ridiculous and essentially counter to all that we would expect in an academic environment. I’m not sure she’d care if she happened to be reading this blog, but I definitely lost any respect I had for our president and whoever the lackies are who run the show here. The stuff about the lies in the full-page ads is amazing.

On the other hand, I can’t say I’m surprised about any of the things the administration did. It just goes to show that nothing, but nothing, is more important than money, whether you’re in academia, business or the law. It’s all about money. A depressing commentary on our society, but it’s reality, I guess, and we have to adjust. Hey, I guess I have learned something in law school!

Prof. Froomkin also writes that “Between the spring strike and the fall hurricanes, this has been the worst academic year I can recall at UM. People are ground down. Ending (most of) this conflict now makes it possible to hope that the summer will allow some healing. Here's hoping.”

Well, you already know my feelings about this year. I can’t wait to see what next year brings us…

Checking in

I’m still here. Been busy studying, although not too busy. This is by far the easiest finals season I've had, although that doesn't really mean it's easy and nor does it mean I don't have to work hard.

I have nothing much to say and I’m not going to bore you with details of my personal life. Maybe I need to go back and look at more from the archives so I can post old stuff.

The Sub Crim final was incredible. Was he drunk when he came up with those questions?

I noticed they started the new wireless printing system today. Has anyone tried it? I'll worry about it after finals.

Only eight more days until the semester is over…