Monday, October 30, 2006

Nothing too important

I don’t have a job lined up for next year. Should I be worried? I’m not. Seriously. I don’t know if this is good or bad.

**
Finally the weather turned nice. In my first year of law school, it was so damn hot and humid every day, then one day I realized all the humidity was gone and it was beautiful out every day. I had no idea this had happened; I was so consumed with law school that I didn’t even know the weather had changed. Compare that with this year, when I’ve been anxiously awaiting this weather shift for the past month because this is the time of year it’s great to be living in Miami.

**
Most of my classes are sooooooooooooooooooooo boring. I wanted to bang my head against my laptop like in that online cartoon where the guy's head and hands disintegrate. The technology lecture in Lit Skills was painful to listen to. I wonder if the lawyer giving the lecture realized that because of technology (wireless) no one was paying any attention to his lecture on how to use technology in litigation. That’s ironic, I guess.

Friday, October 27, 2006

Discrimination

I thought my employment discrimination class would be my favorite class. I was wrong. I have had Prof. Employment before and I like his teaching style. Not only that, but I think he’s one of the few professors I’ve had who actually cares that his students learn the material. And I did some employment discrimination work in the last few jobs I had, so I was excited about it. Instead, it’s one of the most boring classes I’ve ever had. It’s almost as boring as Civ Pro I. I’m hoping this is a classic example of how the things you learn in law school have almost no relevance to what goes on in the real world and that employment law is actually what I thought it was. Like I said, I can’t blame the professor for the fact that I don’t like the class and that it’s painfully dull. I don’t know what this means. I’m way down on this class right now. Only three weeks left until the semester is over…

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Give me something

I thought I should tell you that I'm still alive but nothing interesting is happening here. Lit Skills morning classes are almost over. We had Judge D-Bob again yesterday. The Lit Skills final trial is going to be a major pain in the ass. ... I think I have only one in-class final but I have three papers due. So that's good. ... Sorry, I've got nothing else for you.

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

strange things

So I recently learned a bizarre fact about one of our teachers.

In our lit skills class (in which - for those non-law school readers - we pretend to be lawyers and do a cross examination one week, direct the next, opening statement the next, etc.), they bring in judges and lawyers instead of professors. We've so far had two federal judges. One, I'm sure is a great federal judge, but is so serious that I have never seen him even crack so much as a slight smile. Far be it from me to say something bad about a federal judge, but if he's this serious when he's teaching, he's probably an absolute terror on the bench. He's a no-nonsense kind of guy, to be sure.

Anyway, the second federal judge, who we've only had in class once, was the exact opposite. He was really goofy and had little interest in actually watching our directs. Instead, he made some jokes, asked us about ourselves and told funny stories. Not what you'd expect from a federal judge, right?

Well, I learned today that this federal judge is the Jon Favreau character from the movie Rudy. I am not making this up. (How or why could I possibly make something like this up?). Remember Rudy's chubby friend who tutors Rudy so he can get into Notre Dame and one day is all excited because he got into the University of Miami for law school, but Rudy doesn't care because coach Ara Parseghian quit and Ara had promised Rudy that he would suit up for one game for the Irish next season to prove to his dad, brother and all the other doubters that he really was on the team? Then he comes back the next year for Rudy's game with his fiance in a limo... (Yeah, ok, I've seen parts of this movie too many times...it's only on TV three times a week, right?). Anyway, this federal judge was that character. His name in the movie is D-Bob but I'm not telling you who he is in real life...

Monday, October 16, 2006

Another reason to be proud to be a Hurricane

To the University Community:

Saturday's on-field melee has no place at the University of Miami.

What happened Saturday night at the Orange Bowl was outrageous.

Regardless of who started it, this was an embarrassing display of unsportsmanlike behavior. Fortunately there were no injuries. FIU President Mitch Maidique and I talked by phone shortly after the incident on Saturday night. We both expressed deep disappointment and apologized to each other on behalf of our institutions.

What was envisioned as an opportunity for two hometown teams to provide an evening of athletic competition resulted in a brawl that brought embarrassment to the teams, our universities, and our community.

The University of Miami simply will not tolerate or condone this type of behavior. Period. We expect the best from our students. Indeed we hold all of them to a high standard of personal conduct.

The one bright light is that the thousands of students from both institutions who attended the game behaved in exemplary fashion and kept their seats and their heads.

On Sunday the Atlantic Coast Conference conducted an independent review of the incident. As a result of that review, last night the ACC and the University of Miami announced that 13 student-athletes have been suspended for the game this coming weekend.

The ACC maintains rigorous behavioral and academic standards for student-athletes. We are satisfied with their decision.

Sincerely,

Donna E. Shalala
President

Friday, October 13, 2006

Not much to it

Sorry, but I just don't have much for you.

  • I have a cold. It sucks. But I'll live
  • They're closing four rows of the parking lot on Monday. That'll be great! Can't wait! You'd think the idiots who run the parking shuttle would try and get more shuttles going that day, but I guarantee you that there will be 10 or more idle shuttles sitting in the parking lot under the metrorail as usual. And it'll still take half an hour from the time you pull into the Ponce garage to get to the law school. You know, parking wouldn't be so bad here if the shuttle system actually was as efficient as they claim it is. My favorite part is when there is a huge crowd of people at the garage shuttle stop and the shuttle is just sitting there 50 yards away while the driver goes on her break.
  • More free printing for some people. Less e-mail storage. Sure. Whatever.
  • I heard that if you pay the PMBR deposit by December you can take the class in December and again in May for free. I guess that makes sense in theory but I'll be damned if I'm giving up a week of my last long vacation so I can spend a week studying for the bar exam which isn't for seven more months. Does anyone know anyone who took the weeklong PMBR twice and thinks it's a good idea?
  • I told you I didn't have much for you.

Monday, October 09, 2006

Third Dumbest Idea Ever

I've always thought the practice exams that our school makes 1Ls take were stupid. Then I talked to someone who is a 1L at Nova and she told me that not only do they take a practice exam, they also are required to turn in an outline with their midterm. An outline of one of their classes! That's crazy. Why do they make things even more stressful for 1Ls?

**
Thanks for the comments to the last post. It's made me think really stop and think about things...

Third Dumbest Idea Ever

I've always thought the practice exams that our school makes 1Ls take were stupid. Then I talked to someone who is a 1L at Nova and she told me that not only do they take a practice exam, they also are required to turn in an outline with their midterm. An outline of one of their classes! That's crazy. Why do they make things even more stressful for 1Ls?

**
Thanks for the comments to the last post. It's made me think really stop and think about things...

Friday, October 06, 2006

All quiet on the law school front

I’ve found that as a 3L, my level of motivation for law school is approaching dangerously low levels. I never thought I’d be That Guy, but I’m dragging. I’m not saying I hate law school or that I’m not doing any work. I’m doing the necessary work for classes and I’m also working 16 hours a week at a law firm (which makes for especially long days on Tuesdays when I have lit skills class at 7 a.m. and then a full day of work). For the most part, the workload this year is very manageable with occasional weeks where I have a project for my other law school obligation. This is the first time since law school started that I can honestly say this.

But with the exception of occasionally interesting days in lit skills, I feel like I’m just going through the motions of being a law student. I can’t quite put a finger on the problem because the more time I spend at work – and it’s a decent job where people are extremely nice and professional, unlike in some other law offices where I’ve worked – the more I realize that I should take the time to enjoy my last year of law school. I’ll be 34 years old when I graduate and my three-year hiatus from the real world will be over. Permanently. I don’t think I’ll be taking another break from reality to go back to school.

The more I think about this, the more I think maybe there isn’t a problem after all. What I mean is that if life is good, despite the lack of interest in law school, then I should continue enjoying my last year before re-entering the workforce. I’ve already done things I never did during the first two years (nothing crazy, but two years ago I would never have dreamed of skipping a class to go to a Marlins game). On the other hand, am I really taking advantage of my last year of law school? I don’t know how to answer that question because I don’t know what that means. I guess I need to be doing the things that appeal to me about being a law student and that I won’t be able to do next year…

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

You said what?

So I got this e-mail yesterday. Read it and tell me if anything's missing:

Dear Applicant:

I am in receipt of your letter requesting consideration for the above-referenced clerkship. It is always difficult to choose amongst the many qualified applicants. From my brief review of your resume, I am confident that you will have no difficulty in securing a challenging legal position. I wish you every success in the practice of law.

Thank you again for considering my chambers.

Sincerely,

XXXXXX
United States District Judge

***
It doesn't say anything about being rejected. I guess I'm suppposed to use my stellar legal analysis to make that inference, but most job rejection letters have a line saying something like "We were unable to make you an offer" or something similar. But there's nothing like that here. Eh. I get the picture; I'm just saying. (and I've got nothing else to write about but I'm trying to purge the memory of the guest blogger...)