Regalia

My graduation regalia has arrived. I'm renting, so I only get to keep the cap. You can tell a juris doctorate is a prestigious degree because the regalia is very, very silly.

I tried on a sample before I placed my order, but somehow I got a cap that is much too small. I hope my sewing skills are such that I can fix it, because I don't want to deal with ordering a replacement.

Health Services

Three years as a UALR student, and I never had occasion to use the student clinic until this week. I had heard bad things about the health services department, but my experience was perfect. I was just there for a tetanus booster (dog bite, kind of a long story), and they took care of me in under ten minutes. Best of all, it was free (well, free in the sense that I prepaid for it with my student activity fees). Incidentally, if you are a UALR student and plan to step on a rusty nail in the next few years, now is the time to get that tetanus shot. Starting in fall 2011, they're going to cost $25.

Because the law school is across town from UALR's main campus, I think some students don't realize that their student ID gets them all the same perks the undergraduates enjoy. My favorite is the free admission to school sporting events. I'm going to miss that next year.

The First of Many Lasts

Yesterday I attended my last law school class. Ever. The professor knew he had a room full of graduating 3Ls, so he gave us a lovely pep talk about passing the bar and being a force for good in society.
I like school a lot, and I'm a little sorry I won't be back in the fall. Hopefully I'll be doing something else at least as interesting.

The Never-Ending Semester

The clock is slowing down as the closing bell approaches. Another week of classes? That doesn't seem right.

How I Plan to Pass the Bar

There seems to be a presumption on the part of the school administration that every graduate is going to take a commercial bar exam prep course. I don't know what percentage of my classmates have signed up for one of these, but it certainly isn't in the cards for me. Rather than spend $1200-2000 on a full-on course, I bought these gently used books on eBay for $160. I think they'll be more than enough to get me across the finish line if I can maintain the discipline to study them thoroughly.

Brush With Greatness

Justice Stephen Breyer spoke at the law school today. Breyer was the first Supreme Court justice to visit Bowen in my three years there, and he was great. He spoke effortlessly without notes and had engaging, expansive answers to all the audience questions (even a couple that I thought were dopey or ill-considered).

Coincidentally, yesterday I found myself in line at the DMV behind Jermain "Bad Intentions" Taylor. Time will tell which of these brushes with greatness will make for a more popular anecdote.

David and Goliath

It's good to be Goliath. I am one of two law clerks working on a particular case. Today I Googled the opposing attorney and learned that he's a solo practitioner who graduated from law school in 2008. Tough break for that guy. He probably doesn't have an army of clerks to deflect the storm of paper we're blowing his way.