Success!

I got a job. Really. A full-time job with a salary. I'll actually be a lawyer and someone will pay me to do lawyer stuff. (assuming, of course, that I pass the bar). I start Sept. 4.

If you know me I'll be happy to tell you where I'm working.

If you don't, I'll just tell you it's a mid-size firm in this state. It's a bad idea to blog about work, as some friends of mine have learned.

wtf?

This e-mail from the dean is incredible. Is it possible that the faculty actually wants to talk with the students? I guess since we're not registering for anything for next semester we can't complain but I'm sorely tempted to ask this lady why this has never been done before. It could have been helpful, although I somehow doubt it. Faculty lunches to talk about registration?

Am I too cynical if I suspect that the reason the school is doing this this week is because the ABA is here looking into re-accreditation? Just like the painting and sandblasting and cleaning and gardening was in full swing the past two weeks, this stinks of pandering. That's not to say these things won't be helpful to people who actually attend...

(And is anyone surprised that Professor Contract's office hours are being held on the bricks? Yeah.)

Dear Students,

As I announced on Monday, the Course Schedules for Summer, 2007 and Fall, 2007 are now available for review. They can be picked up in the Student Lounge Today. They are also available online at

Many faculty members have agreed to hold extra office hours in the next week to assist you in course selection. I am attaching a list of Faculty and their office hours for your convenience. We will publish an updated list as we hear of additional availability. If you have a question about the faculty and their areas of background or expertise, I encourage you to visit their web pages at

We have also scheduled lunch meetings for Monday, April 2 and Tuesday, April 3, 12:30-2pm in the Student Lounge where faculty members will be available to discuss the course schedule and perspectives on course selection.

Finally, we have scheduled an Online Chat for Wednesday, April 4 from 5:00pm-6:30pm. For information on joining the CHAT, please visit the Dean of Students Website at: Please remember that the Dean of Students office is also available for individual appointments throughout the next week.

Faculty Office Hours:

Wednesday, March 28:

5:45 – 8:00p.m. Abraham

Thursday, March 29:

9:30 – 11:30a.m. Bradley

10:00 – 12:00p.m. Vladeck

12:30 – 2:30p.m. Robinson

1:00 – 2:00p.m. Fenton

2:00 – 4:00p.m. Iglesias

4:00 – 5:00p.m. Valdes

4:00 – 6:00p.m. Hill

5:45 – 8:00p.m. Abraham

Friday, March 30:

8:00 – 10:00a.m. T. Anderson

10:00 – 11:00a.m. Widen (at the bricks)

10:30 – 12:30p.m. Casebeer

2:00 – 3:00p.m. Coombs

2:00 – 4:00 Vladeck

Monday, April 2:

10:00 – 11:00a.m. Froomkin

10:00 – 12:00p.m. Gudridge

10:00 – 12:00p.m. Calli

11:00 – 12:00p.m. Schnably

12:00 – 2:00p.m. Massey

1:00 – 3:00p.m. S. Wise

3:00 – 3:30p.m. Coker

3:30 – 5:30p.m. Freshman

4:00 – 5:00p.m. Lynch

Tuesday. April 3:

9:30am – 10:30a.m. Froomkin

10:00 – 11:00a.m. Diamond

11:00 – 12:00p.m. Schnably

12:00 – 2:00p.m. Langbein

1:00 – 3:00p.m. Alfieri

2:00 – 2:30p.m. Coker

2:00 – 4:00p.m. Barnes

3:30 – 5:30p.m. R. Rosen

4:00 – 5:00p.m. Coombs

Wednesday, April 4:

10:00 – 11:00a.m. Widen (at the bricks)

2:00 – 5:00p.m. Fajer

3:00 – 5:00p.m. Winick

4:00 – 5:00p.m. Coombs

Thursday, April 5:

9:00 – 11:00a.m. Doyle

1:00 – 2:00p.m. Fenton

4:00 – 5:00p.m. Valdes

4:00 – 5:00p.m. Drew

5:45 – 8:00p.m. Abraham

Friday, April 6:

10:00 – 11:00a.m. Widen (at the bricks)

10:30 – 12:30p.m. Casebeer

4:00 – 5:00p.m. Drew

yada yada yada

Hey, have you noticed how much easier it is to park this semester than in past semesters? I don’t always get here first thing in the morning like I used to do and I’ve still never had to take the shuttle. I wonder why…

**

Did you see the e-mail about an online chat with the faculty for 1Ls and 2Ls so they can ask questions about registration? Extended office hours by professors? Huh? Since when? Why didn’t they have this for my class in any of the past five semesters we registered for?

**

Why is it that not a single professor in this law school is capable of setting up the laptop projector or DVD/VCR player? Any time a laptop projector or DVD/VCR is shown it takes an army of people from the AV center to set it up. It’s amazing that the technology at this school is so primitive.

**

I signed up for PMBR in addition to Bar-Bri. The six-day PMBR class starts May 14. Graduation is May 13. Awesome. I can’t wait for this summer!

**

I got talked into going to Barrister’s. Well, my wife got talked into it, which means I’ll be there.

**

What's the difference between spam and a job posting?

So did you catch this job posting on our school's web site a week or two ago? Does anything seem a little out of the ordinary?

Seeking an Attorney of record, with 4-6 years of Attorney experience. To work in the Traffic and Boating Citations Industry in the State of Florida. Experience in this field is not required; however you will be responsible to learn while on the job. While attending Traffic Court, where you will receive a vast knowledge of civil traffic / Boating Citations as well as, Criminal Citations. This will be a learning curve in which you will learn very quickly the various ‘Statutes’ and how to defend on cases as they come into this business. If hired for this Position you would be responsible for twelve – twenty Counties in the State of Florida. Looking for an Attorney with a flair for creativity and legal expertise. At least 4 years post JD, their own Business, or currently working for Attorneys. All Attorneys interested are encouraged to apply. You will be able to comprehend this Industry receiving a quick introduction, through attending Traffic Court. This learning curve should not take longer than 8 weeks (while still working.)

First of all, it was written by someone who is functionally illiterate. Or in third grade. The bizarre use of capitalization and quotes (I know not all lawyers are experts at punctuation and grammar but when you want someone to learn 'Statutes' as opposed to Statutes, I'm suspicious) is the first red flag for me. It also reads as though a child write it (At least 4 years post JD, their own Business, or currently working for Attorneys. What does this sentence even mean? Seriously. While attending Traffic Court, where you will receive a vast knowledge of civil traffic / Boating Citations as well as, Criminal Citations. What's wrong with this sentence? It's missing a clause somewhere.) It says it's for a company called Metro Marketing Group, but when you look it up on line, it seems to be a company with offices in New Jersey and Hong Kong that has nothing whatsoever to do with the "Traffic and Boating Citations Industry" and in fact has a web site that touts its ability to "assist, recommend and participate in the product development, product sourcing, supply chain development and marketing plan development to bring product and ideas to market."

So here's my best guess: someone at the Career Placement Center is incapable of discerning the difference between an actual job announcement and spam. Awesome. What's next? A posting for a barrister position with a Nigerian investment bank?

At least that listing is better than the next one for a clinical professor at the University of Florida College of Pharmacy. Yes, pharmacy. OK, granted, it says you should have a J.D., but are these people serious?

open the book

I haven't read anything in my Admin Law book since the second week of classes. Do you think this will be a problem about six weeks from now? I'm taking the class pass/fail and the exam is open book but I'm actually worried that I might fail. If I'm not mistaken I think anything below a C is considered failing, right? I think the secret will be to leave my laptop at home for the next class because I'm now incapable of paying attention to an professor when I have a laptop in front of me. It's like a sickness. And it's worse in Admin because the class is almost three hours long. This is a relatively new thing for me; it's developed over the past year and a half. As a 1L I never went online during class. Ok, almost never -- I did in Public Interest, but even then, I felt guilty about it. (By the way, I think that's one of the reasons being a 1L is so stressful - it requires so much mental energy). As a 2L I went online but only in the less important classes. Never in Evidence, that's for damn sure. Now I can barely focus on the professor for more than five consecutive minutes.

**
I keep going on job interviews but not getting jobs. At least none of the places have officially sent a rejection but they also haven't given any offers either. More interviews lined up for next week, so that's good.

this and that

It's spring break. So that's nice. No more spring breaks after this year. Ever.

**
Yeah, law students: catty. The problem, though, is that you can't necessarily make the link from anonymous nasty postings about this woman and her lack of job offers. Maybe she just doesn't interview well? Also, wouldn't you think that the people doing the Google searches can tell the difference between someone's myspace page and anonymous postings about a person, but not by that person?

**
I got nothing else for you. After spring break there are six weeks left in the semester. Six weeks left in law school. Yeah. I'm going to be busy - so far I have plans to go to at least five baseball games, maybe more - but I guess I should eventually do some work.

**
Did anyone else get that e-mail from the CPC today about the upcoming meeting in April about clerkships? Um, yeah. Right. I'll be telling people about how useful it is to go to her meeting. Without the meeting, you won't get a clerkship! Well, actually, you won't get a clerkship even if you don't go to the meeting!

Is this a joke? Is he f--ing kidding?

Dear Students:

I am writing to let you know that the Board of Trustees has set Law School tuition for next year at $34,136 (a 5.5% increase). Fees will be $516 (not including the health insurance fee for those who do not opt out).

As a private law school, we depend far more heavily on tuition than do public universities, which receive considerable state support. We face the same sharply rising costs that most private law schools around the country are dealing with. The increases in our costs exceed the tuition increase we are announcing for the coming year. Our tuition for next year will remain somewhat below that of most other comparable private law schools around the country.

We are making every effort to ensure that we spend your tuition dollars wisely and efficiently. Equally important, I am working hard to increase the scholarship resources available to our students, including not only incoming students but also rising second- and third-year students. With the support of a highly professional Financial Aid Office, along with a dedicated alumni body and other generous friends of the Law School, We are committed to ensuring that all our students have the resources to finance their legal education.

While I regret the necessity of any increase in tuition, I have no doubt that the value of a UM education more than justifies the tuition costs our students incur. There is no better preparation for the practice of law -- a fascinating, important, and honorable profession that plays a critical role in the welfare of our society -- than the legal education you receive here at the University of Miami.

With best wishes for a successful semester,

Dennis O. Lynch
Dean

Is anyone home?

So what's the deal with this e-mail we got from the Career Placement Center about Supreme Court summer internships that said "FYI-great opportunity!"? I know it was for 1Ls and 2Ls so it's not like I was considering applying (since I'm a 3L), but do the people at the CPC have a grasp on reality?

These are some of the qualifications. You tell me if law students should be applying for these jobs:

Successful completion of at least one year of college education.

Team-oriented, to work in printing and e-publishing. Web data formatting, data conversion, and customer service skills a plus. Shift flexibility.

Detail oriented with an interest in Accounting or Budget and Human Resources (benefits); clerical and computer skills appreciated.

Hands-on experience and interest in computer applications, particularly hardware/software set-up and installation.

--

Do the people at the CPC suggest we try to fool potential employers about our work experience. I can just imagine the interview for a full-time job or a clerkship or something:

Interviewer: "Wow, I see on your resume that you worked at the Supreme Court last summer. That must have been a great experience. Tell me about that"

Law Student: "I installed software. Once I removed a virus from Justice Ginsburg's laptop."

Interviewer: "Oh. Well, you'd be perfect if we needed an IT guy. But we're trying to hire a lawyer.