Law Memos

Well, I managed to complete the memo due at 5pm. I finished around 10:30, so really I had hours and hours to spare. I'm not sure how good it is, but it's definitely done.

I found it very hard to organize the information in a coherent manner. They want us to use the IRAC method, which makes sense, but I still have a hard time bringing everything together. The statement of facts and the question(s) presented are clear enough; it's the discussion section that's difficult. I remember having a hard time with the organization of a paper when I was in undergrad, too; it's like I can't write unless I have a clear road map of where I'm going to go, but in the case of the memo, I just can't figure out where I want to go.

The bigger probably is that I'm so fixated on the organization that I'm fairly sure my analysis is somewhat lacking. I am certain that there are a few big jumps that I made between the facts and the conclusion.

We are going to have meetings with our "Senior Partner" and hopefully, if she can clarify some of the organization issues for me, I can do a better job on the analysis next time. Of course, starting the paper before Saturday would have been a better idea. They gave us over 3 weeks to do it, and I managed to procrastinate until the final weekend. I'm not sure that it really would have been much better if I'd spent more time, but if I don't gotten cracking on it early, I could have met with either the Senior or Junior Partner with my draft, which probably would have been helpful.

The bright side is that the next memo is a group endeavour and I won't want to let down the others in my group, so I'm almost certain to get an earlier start on it.

Things I Really Need

1. To start getting more than 6 hours of sleep per night.
2. To not catch the swine flu that is supposedly sweeping through the law school.
3. To find my motivation for the memo due on Monday.
4. To spend some quality time with the puppy tonight (this will probably take precedence over #3).
5. To have a few hours of mind-numbing entertainment.

Update:
1. I did manage to get more than 6 hours of sleep on the weekend; part of this stemmed from having no exciting weekend plans, but I'll take what I can get.
2. Still swine flu free.
3. Managed to procrastinate for a long time, but still got it done.
4. Lots of quality puppy time (this also goes back to having a relatively dull weekend).
5. Watched Sunshine Cleaning, which was only okay; also went out for pizza Friday night, but it was only for an hour or so.

In other, more exciting weekend news, I did get a new book on grilling and then bought lots of delicious meat at the grocery store. T-bones and short ribs and pork chops, oh my! Also a lamb chop!

Motivation

There are a lot of things I really like about law school. The readings are (for the most part) really interesting, the classes are engaging, and the people (again, for the most part) seem pretty cool.

This week, however, I've really started to notice a different degree of anxiety amongst a good portion of the 1Ls, or at least the 1Ls I know. Our first memo is due this week and people seem to be freaking out over it a bit. They told us only to spend 10 hours on it and I know there are a lot of people who are spending way more than that. It's not due until Monday at 5pm and people are on like their third drafts.

I, on the other hand, have a rough outline done. I just am not getting worked up into a frenzy over it. The first memo we did went pretty well for me, and while this one is certainly more complicated and is about twice as long, I see no reason to get stressed out over it. The class is pass/fail and the memo is graded on a scale of 1 to 5 and we're expected to get 3s.

This isn't to say I don't want to do a good job, but both this week and last week in our legal research class, we were getting tips on how to organize and analyze our memos and some people already have them written. I'm glad I don't have it written yet, because I think I got a lot out of our class discussions.

Yet, I find myself second-guessing. What if I'm not motivated enough? Why am I not worried? Taking a few years off from hard-core academia certainly mellowed me from my undergraduate ways. I don't want to be too lax, but with just reading assignments (with the exceptions of this memo), it's hard to get yourself worked up over the assignments. As long as I've read and am ready for class discussions in case my name is called, I don't worry at all.

I've heard that after fall break, things will start to get even more frantic. I do hope to start outlining over that long weekend, but I just don't feel any anxiety yet. Maybe I really have calmed down in the years since I was a stressed out mess. Or maybe I'm deluding myself. Only time will tell.

Boys and Cardigans.

As you might imagine, library school is much more female-populated than a lot of graduate programs. I mean, you hear librarian and you think a chick with glasses and a cardigan, right? (Complete side note: I love cardigans....so, so much.) Well, at law school, there is a much more even mix. There are guys everywhere.

I don't think I've exactly gone guy-crazy, but there seem to be an awful lot of cute guys around all the time. Maybe it's because I know they're all (at least semi-) intelligent -- and let's face it, intelligence is sexy -- but it's a very interesting dynamic to be around so many males all the time. I feel like I'm back in high school -- that was the last time I remember being surrounded by guys, since my undergrad also had a very uneven female to male ratio. I think this might be why there are so many Dress Girls -- they want to look nice b/c there are so many guys.

Even I succumb to this. I think I've only worn a hoodie once. Or twice.

But I've worn a cardigan nearly every day. Something don't change.

Client Interview

Today marked my first client interview. Basically, a mock client (who is actually a 3L student) comes as a client and we interview them.

I thought it went pretty well; the trickiest part was balancing the question-asking between my self and my co-counsel. I was constantly trying to think what my next question would be and so I wasn't really listening to what the other person was saying. This resulted in our questioning being a bit convoluted. It's also difficult to make sure you're not talking over the other person when you have two people asking the questions. Our "senior partner" (aka our professor) told us that in the real world, we would hardly ever have two people asking questions -- it would either be just you, or the senior partner would do the question-asking while the junior person watched. So our biggest problem is something we won't have to deal with much in the real world.

Overall, I feel like it went pretty well. Now we just have to wait to hear back before we move on. Before then, we have our first big memo due, so as far as our legal writing/practice class goes, that's where all my energy will be focused for the next little while.

In other news, just a little bit of reading to do, since we're behind in Civ Pro (resulting in smaller readings this week -- and I managed to get mine done between classes; now that we're out of Personal Jurisdiction, the reading isn't nearly as bad, anyway) and Torts (meaning we have NO reading tonight!! WOOT!). So just a little bit of Crim Law to do -- which I might have even read earlier in the week. I can't remember right now.

Also, 1L Representatives for the SBA are being voted for today. I live in fear that the Fuhrer will be elected -- but I'm guessing the odds of that are small.

Girl Drama

I'd forgotten how much drama there can be in college. Why is it that girls find so many things to be petty about? I found in my time in libraries and at library school that drama needn't exist in one's life.

That's right. I think I might have my first law school frienemy. I thought this girl and I were cool; we hang out all the time, along with this guy. I think of the guy as my closest friend at law school -- but in a very little brother kind of way. I'm about three years older, but with my immature sense of humor and the fact that he really gets my sarcasm, I find that we click. In a totally non-romantic, non-sexual way. Now the guy, he likes this other girl -- big time. Which I thought was fine, because she seems like a pretty cool chick.

I found out today that she told him I said that his notes were sucky. This all came out because she missed class on Monday morning and I was kind enough to offer my notes to her. I jokingly said that she wouldn't want to borrow his, since he plays minesweeper and freecell during class. I really don't see any way that it didn't come across that way. We both smiled and laughed.
But apparently, I "don't think much" of his notes.

I know that my sarcasm can sometimes be misconstrued, but seriously, folks? Seriously? I can't figure out now whether she just doesn't like me (which is fine -- not everybody does, but if she doesn't she shouldn't bother with being all friendly at other times), whether she thinks I'm after this guy (who she had got to know likes her -- and maybe she has a thing for him, too), or what. But I've been nothing but nice to her and I really don't need people talking about me behind my back.

Anyway, I'm trying not to let myself get too upset about it. It's not really worth getting upset over, but I thought I'd made this new circle of friends. I've made the mistake in the past where I became friends with the wrong people before, but I thought after my time in library school that I'd started having better judgment. I guess I'll just have to keep my cards a little closer to my chest for the next little while.

That's all for now, I have to go finish getting ready for a barbecue -- and yes, both of the aforementioned are coming over. I'm just going to try to stay my usual self, can't change for other people.

Characters, Part 2

While I'm busy mocking people, I should probably mention that after freezing in class two out of the three times I was called on last week (it was like they'd all agreed to torment me last week), I'm probably considered the dumb kid. It's okay with me. If I'm perceived as dumb, they won't think I'm a threat and I can skate through school, studying hard and perhaps being one of those kids that people are surprised at when they get good grades. This is all dependent upon me starting to study a bit more and actually doing well on exams, but I'm optimistic enough at this point to see that happening.

Okay, back to mocking others. It's more fun.

Ah, the Dress Girls. In my mind, I often think of them as future Stepford Wives. DGs wear ribbons in their hair and always look as though they've spent three hours in the morning getting ready (including one at the salon getting their hair done). They often wear dresses (hence the moniker). The unofficial uniform of the DGs is anything from J. Crew. In fact, one of the DGs likes to spend most of Civil Procedure looking at the J. Crew website. It would, after all, be a catastrophe if she were to miss the newest piece of prepster wear. That said, I am kind of impressed that she feels like she understands the reading well enough that she can't pay attention in class; even knowing that my name won't be called there again any time soon, I still live in fear of missing some important point. You know, except for when I'm daydreaming and checking out what kind of online shopping is being done by the DGs.

P.S. I am totally aware that I am just jealous that I can't look that put together in the morning. But I would never give up time exercising or playing with the puppy just to make sure every hair was in place. And let's face it, even if I did take the time, it would still probably be an epic fail.

Characters

I remember reading through some law school blogs when I was getting ready for law school. Different websites had different names for some of the schools, but they all had the gunner. My classes certainly have some, but they're not as bad here as they have been depicted on some blogs. One kid just always seems to have something to say, another seems the feel the need to bring her personal life into her responses, but my favorite by far is "The Fuhrer."

"The Fuhrer" raises his hand into the air at a direct 90 degree angle, as though he is saluting another Fuhrer. "The Fuhrer" raises his hand with such intensity that it seems that he will wet his pants waiting to be called on. I am fairly sure "The Fuhrer" is already being ignored by our Torts professor; if there is anyone, anyone, else to call on, she'll do it. His response to this is usually to groan and throw his hand into the air with even more determination. But one day, he ignored her a little too long.

"The Fuhrer" will not be ignored. He just decides to speak without being called on. He begins, "I was just going to say...." blah blah blah. I can't continue with his undoubtedly brilliant thought, because I was hiding behind my monitor laughing as quietly as possible. The people I sit with in class could barely contain ourselves, since we'd watched him go from excitement at having something to say, to his insistence on being called on, to his frustration at not being called on, to bursting and just having to say something.

I have to say I laugh a lot at law school. Not always when I should be.