Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Senioritis

The post I wrote a couple of weeks ago about using spring break to reset my study habits was naive. Spring break is over, and I'm more ready than ever to put school behind me and start worrying about the bar exam. These days I'm feeling a lot of sympathy for the disengaged 3Ls that seemed so lazy to me this time last year.

Bar Application IN

I just got email notification that the State Board of Law Examiners has received my application to take the July bar exam. I beat the April 1 deadline by three days. This might just be the scariest deadline in all of law school. Late applications are not accepted--if you're one day late, you can take the exam in February. In possibly related news, I missed work today because of headaches and nausea. Stress? May be.

Easily the worst part of the bar application process was having to wrangle letters of recommendation. It's never fun to ask people for favors. Still, there are psychological benefits to asking your friends and acquaintances to write nice things about you. Awww, thanks, guys!

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

A is for Annoying

There is an unexpected downside to practicing law in Arkansas. Books that survey a legal topic state by state are always arranged alphabetically, so the books will never lay flat on my desk when turned to 'Arkansas.' I have encountered this problem repeatedly. Lawyers in Michigan don't know how good they have it.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

More Lumens, More Learning

The projector in classroom 305 got a new bulb yesterday, ushering in a new era of clarity and legibility. Note-taking is going to be a piece of cake for the rest of the semester.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Honored?


I hate to look a gift horse in the mouth, but one has to question the prestige of an award certificate that bears the URL of the website from which it was downloaded.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

The Lawyer-Client Disconnect

Here is the impression I get from the real, live lawsuits I have been exposed to in the past few weeks. The paper war over any given sub-issue in a lawsuit is likely to involve a couple of motions from each side, one or two written arguments from each side in support of or opposition to each motion, and possibly an in-person hearing. Researching and writing any of the legal documents involved is very time-consuming.
The upshot is that lawyers experience litigation as a constant stream of looming deadlines; their clients experience litigation as months-long (and fabulously expensive) stretches of time during which nothing gets decided. No wonder they hate us.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Need a Break

Spring break needs to hurry up and get here. My work ethic is slipping badly. Even though I have a light class schedule, lately I have been waiting until the last minute to blitz through my reading assignments. I need a week off to reset my study habits.

Friday, March 4, 2011

Supply and Demand in Action


Enjoy this map of my workplace parking options. I usually park in the $3.50 lot, but as the weather warms up the $2.25 option is getting more attractive.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Long Day

One of my classes met tonight to make up for a day we missed during last month's snow storms. That meant working from 8:30 to 5:30, then sitting in class from 7:00 to 9:00. Also, it's my birthday.
I would complain, but some part-time students might read this. For them, this is a normal schedule. For four years. Ouch.