A day in the life of a law student.

There is not much for me to write about law school lately, as I have been out of school due to some holidays that have closed my school down for various days these last two weeks.  One is called Yom Kippur, which has just begun!  I looked it up and got to know about it a bit, as I think it's important to stay abreast of these things.  So, to all my Jewish readers, Happy Yom! 

Now, onto business. I decided I would post an average day of mine in law school.  Many 0Ls read this blog and are curious as to what a person in law school does.  Well, law school is not much different than undergrad, except you work a LOT harder and you have to be ready at all times to get called on, lest thee make a fool of yourself in class.

So, here is my schedule for what I do in law school.

8:00 - 9:00 AM: Arrive to school.  I usually start my day with a nice bowel movement at the far stall in the restroom.  Afterwards I go from my locker to the library and study for my first class.

9:00 - 12:00: I have classes during this time.  Depending on the day, the times and classes are different. 

12:00 - 1:00 PM:  This is where I go out and have my break.  Sometimes I go eat lunch outside (on warm days) or I study in the library if it's cold.  I usually bring a lunch from home, as I don't like to spend a lot of money to eat every day. 

1:00 - 5:00 PM: Depending on the day, I have classes during this time as well.  I sometimes find myself battling the urge to skip class.  During this period of the day I find myself getting tired and cranky.

Sometimes I have a night class, and if so, I really battle the urge to skip. 

In other news, I am moving to Manhattan soon, and I am really excited for that.  The rent is cheaper, but the place is much smaller (that's fine with me, this apartment is huge and I find myself overwhelmed in it sometimes). 

I wrote him a letter!

A couple of days ago I posted about a dude who wanted a person to blog for him.  Well, I have been thinking about this critter for a while now so I figured I might as well apply for the job.  "What?" you are asking.  Well, you heard me.  I thought I would send him a little letter and ask him for the job.

Here's what I said:

Dear Gerald Oginski,

I saw your ad on Craigslist and I thought I would like to learn more about the position you are offering.  I run a blog at http://lawschoolfail.blogspot.com and I would like to use my superb blogging skills to help you improve your blog.  When I went to it I saw a lot of youtube videos, but there was nothing that made me even remotely interested in even watching them.  I find that youtube videos are often more enticing if they start out with a picture of a cat doing something funny.  While I do not have a cat at this time, I figure that if I was to work for you I would not mind getting one.  However, I would have to charge you for this and may need permission from my landlord.  He may require an extra security deposit, so I would also bill you for this. 

Second, you mention that you want the prospective applicant to first send you a blog entry.  Well, if you are interested in my excellent writing skills you may look at my blog, http://lawschoolfail.blogspot.com and get an idea who your next writer may be.  I am wary of sending my writing out without compensation as I have no clue if my labor will be used without full and complete compensation. 

You mentioned that I will be competing with other law students and only two will be selected.  Since I already know that I am one of the two to be selected, I thought that it would only be proper for me to choose who I would be working with.  Therefore, you will forward me all resumes you receive and I will take it from there.  Do not worry, I will choose someone sufficient to both of our liking.

I will give you a call later on to discuss my start date.  Also, we can discuss you sending me money for the cat so I can get started helping you edit those Youtube videos of yours.  Of course, I am going to charge a small fee for that.

Speaking of fees, I would like to be paid $225 a week, as I think that three quality articles will take longer than 40 minutes to whip out.  This may be why your blog is in such poor shape.  A real quality article, including full research, takes at least an hour and a half to get ready for publishing.  You should be glad that I am here to tell you this, as you are not going to find many people who will give you quality articles AND accept a pittance of $150 a week.  $225 a week is already a low amount of money, but we can start with that and perhaps renegotiate in a couple of months once you see my work is far more superb than anything that my competitors have proposed.

Thank you for taking the time to view my offer.  If you are interested in hiring me, please get back to me promptly.  I am already contemplating other offers of employment and time is of the essence.

Thank you,

<Name>

Looking for Law Students who can Write!

This was another ad that I came across on Craigslist.  It was an ad for a law student who could blog.  I thought to myself, "I blog," but then I read the ad.  Sadly to say, this guy sounds like a real card.

Looking for Law Students Who Can Write ( New York)

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Date: 2012-09-14, 4:03PM EDT
6wk25-3272026431@job.craigslist.org ^{[Errors when replying to ads?]}

---

I am looking for law students who can write well.

I am looking for law students to write blog posts that will help market my law firm. I'm a very good marketing student and law students who are selected to join me will, over time, learn how to market a law firm while still in school.

Here's the deal:
I need three blog posts per day, five days per week. Each blog post requires finding an article on a topic involving medical malpractice or personal injury in New York. The blog post consists of 300-400 words together with a link back to the original article. Learning how to blog will be one of the best ways for you to learn how to communicate with your ideal consumer or client.

It should take you no more than 30-40 minutes to crank out three blog posts each day. Reading these articles and summarizing them will make you smarter, more educated and have a better concept of information that people want and need.

Blogging can be done from your apartment, your dorm, the law school library or anywhere. You'll be compensated $150 per week. If you are a superstar, you will receive a letter of recommendation from me when you head out into the real world and look for a job.

Here are the instructions you must follow.
Failure to follow these instructions will immediately result in your reply being discarded:

1. Find me an article in today's news about medical malpractice or personal injury in New York. Summarize it as if you are writing a blog post for your ideal consumer, which in this case is an injured victim looking for information. Do not talk about you or me or how many years I have been in practice. Focus the blog post on the reader and include the link to the original article.

2. Then SEND me the blog post together with ONE paragraph about why you believe you're the right law student for me.

3. Do NOT send me your resume. I don't care where you worked before. Nor do I need to know your extracurricular activities or what your grades were from middle school.

4. In your reply, make sure your headline reads "I am a law student who wants to write for you." Failure to include this in your e-mail means I will automatically discard your reply.

5. You will be competing with many other law students. Only two will be selected.

Good luck.

Law Office of Gerald Oginski
25 Great Neck Rd., Ste. 4
Great Neck, NY 11021
(Don't even think of calling)
E-mail reply only.
____________________

Part of me wanted to call this guy up and ask for the job.  I thought it would be funny.  I mean, really?  "Don't even think of calling?"  Is he serious.  Maybe I read too much into these ads, but I could not believe how uppity that person seems.

Also: He wants people to send him blog posts right now.  He is basically getting free labor.  Who knows if he will ever choose someone and instead just let the blog posts flow in.  Again, maybe I read too much into these things, but I honestly think it is going to take more than 30-40 minutes to find three articles, research the articles, then write 300-400 words on the article.  $150 a week ($600 a month) is not a horrible salary for a law student who may not be working, however, it seems that he is asking for a lot more work than he thinks he is. 

I realize Craigslist is not the place to look for work.  Why is that?  Well, the SAME GUY posted a similar ad on 8/29, a MONTH ago looking for people to do the same thing!  I think he may be collecting articles:

Really Smart Law Students Needed (New York)

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Date: 2012-08-29, 4:51PM EDT
q4rmp-3237859172@job.craigslist.org ^{[Errors when replying to ads?]}

---

If you haven't realized it yet, online marketing is so important for attorneys. If you learn how to do it before you graduate, you will be way ahead of your competitors when you go into practice. If you want to earn money while spending time learning the law and learning how to market YOURSELF, this could be the best job you've ever had.



I am a solo practitioner who ranks in the #1 organic search position on Google for very competitive search terms. I have multiple blogs and websites about New York medical malpractice and personal injury law. I am looking for law students to blog multiple times a week about medical malpractice and personal injury; it need not be about New York law.



I am looking for law students to blog about newsworthy topics on medical malpractice and personal injury and importantly, how that information could be helpful to injured victims and their families.



If you like to educate and help people understand the importance of current legislation; news items on a local level; victims' rights and similar topics, then this job is for you. What is really cool about this position is that you can do it from your dorm; your apartment; your basement, or the law library during a break between Con law and torts.



This is a great job for someone who is internet savvy, hardworking, diligent, on-time for appointments and trustworthy. (If you are the type of person who needs to be prodded or cajoled to finish a project, then I don't want you.)



I know how law students think (I was one myself) and how cool it would be to earn extra money while learning how to market yourself online which is a great education you simply don't get in any law school today.



I need three (3) fresh new blog posts a day. Each blog post will be approximately 350-400 words. You will learn how to focus on the reader, not you as a lawyer, and importantly how you can help your reader learn more about an issue or problem. There are only 2 positions available. Those selected for the initial try-out period will be required to write 2 blog posts and the two finalists will be chosen based upon what they have written.



To see some of my stuff, check out http://www.oginski-law.com, http://www.oginski-law.com/blog/ and my blog http://nymedicalmalpracticeblog.com.



To apply, email me (make sure you can spell and write English properly, and that doesn't mean relying on Word or Pages to point out your spelling mistakes or improper grammar) a blog post on medical malpractice or personal injury. (One last thing; don't even think about plagarizing or copying entire sections of news articles, because if you're contemplating doing that, I don't want you.)



The subject line must read: Law Student Wants To Blog



In your email tell me that you are willing to write and learn how to market yourself online.



Be forewarned- I will check you out online, and if your life revolves around you getting trashed and having pictures of you acting inappropriately, don't even bother applying.



Emails only. No resumes. I am ready to hire right now.



Gerry



The Law Office of Gerald Oginski, LLC

25 Great Neck Rd., Ste. 4

Great Neck, NY 11021

____

So, again, I say: this guy seems like a real "card".  And yes, I think he's collecting students work for free.  Thanks for reading.

This is disgusting!

http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/lgl/3271908732.html

LEGAL ASSISTANT - PART-TIME (Manhattan)

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Date: 2012-09-14, 3:16PM EDT
krmhz-3271908732@job.craigslist.org ^{[Errors when replying to ads?]}

---

Park Avenue based attorney seeks part-time legal assistant for business litigation and commercial practice. Job includes word processing of legal documents, filing and overall coordination of practice. Applicant must be highly intelligent and well organized. Top schools and grades are required. This will be checked. This is a real job with real responsibilities and is not an internship. If you are seeking an internship, please do not apply. Applicant must be able to work 15-20 hours a week for 2-3 days per week on a flexible schedule. No weekends or evening work. This must be your only position--------it is, therefore, perfect for a graduate student or someone with other interests that does not wish to work full-time. Do not, however, apply if you are seeking a full-time job, or are seeking to supplement another part-time job with this part-time job. In order to be considered, the applicant must submit a resume AND a "non-form" cover letter that explains why the applicant seeks part-time, as opposed to full-time, work. Applicants that submit form cover letters or submit cover letters that do not address that very specific question will not be considered.

• Location: Manhattan
• This is a part-time job.
• Principals only. Recruiters, please don't contact this job poster.
• Please, no phone calls about this job!
• Please do not contact job poster about other services, products or commercial interests.

PostingID: 3271908732 __________________________________________________________________________________

I saw this ad this morning when I was looking through Craigslist to find a part time job.  I could not believe what I saw.

First, this guy expects you to have graduated from a TOP SCHOOL with TOP GRADES.  Further, he expects you to work for him 15-20 hours a week for 2-3 days and NOT HOLD DOWN ANOTHER JOB, nor does he want you to even SEARCH for another job.  In other words, you have to be stuck in part time job limbo AND be amongst the best of the best.  This person doesn't seem to realize that many students are going to have debt and are going to need money to pay off their debt AND live their lives. 

I can't help but wonder how many people will apply to this.  I picture him expecting kids from top schools like NYU, Columbia and maybe even Fordham, Cardozo or Brooklyn Law.  I can imagine the poor soul who ends up with this job secretly trying to apply for other jobs and getting some extra hours only to find himself caught by his boss who takes him to the back room, grabs a whip and starts to spank him furiously. 

Colorful Law School Notes

This is how I used to take my notes during 1L.  Part of me thinks that is why I did so good.  Do you notice how I used many different colors?  During my second year of law school I did not use hardly any colors. 

I would like to say that my textbooks often looked like my notes, and since I rented textbooks during 2L year, I could not make them colorful like this.  So, since I could not make my textbooks colorful I kind of felt lethargic with my notebooks.

Anyway, I thought this was something I should share with my readers.  This semester my notes are looking somewhat like 2L, but I am using colors in my textbooks (as they are mine, all mine!) and I might bring some of those colors back onto my law notes.

Let me know what you think in the comments.

Week Five

It just hit me that I am going on week five of my first semester of my third, yes, THIRD year of law school.  I have gotten somewhat good at doing law school.  I feel that I have a lot of time on my hands to do other things, other than the rigamarow of studying and all that.  For example, I was able to log onto one of my mages on the video game World of Warcraft.  I am also working through the entire series of the X Files and Star Trek Voyager.  Further, I have rolled through 2 seasons of Lockdown, a show about the inner working of the prison system.  I watched half a season of Prison Wives as well.  It's just insane what these women put up with!

Other than watching television I am trying to keep myself sane as this hot weather comes to an end.  This weekend I went to a wildlife refuge in Far Rockaway.  That was very nice.  I miss getting out in nature sometimes and being able to walk through the preserve and see the wildlife helped me forget about my woes. 

I have started a law school clinic which is quite interesting and have taken some time to reconnect with my mentor.  She has given me some interesting advice for getting the *job of my dreams*.  I will play it day by day though as I figure out exactly what the job of my dreams is.

To be honest, I am looking forward to working a real job.  I am sick of being a student sometimes.  I hate having to find an apartment as a student (most people want you to have a job and make 40 times the rent.  I don't make that with my loans, nor would I want to have that much debt).  That being said, I am going to be meeting with a broker so I can find my dream apartment in Harlem this weekend.  I really want to live in Manhattan, and I am starting to think that Harlem looks really sweet. 

Conventional Wisdom has Failed Me

Conventional wisdom is wrong.  You know, the whole "listen to the weatherman before going out" or "buying a home is better than renting," "watching the television news is important," "to be successful you have to earn a lot of money." 

Conventional wisdom is the body of ideas or explanations generally accepted as true by the public or by experts in a field. Such ideas or explanations, though widely held, are unexamined.

All of that is wrong and in my opinion (a very strong opinion) just stupid.  I have never been the conventional type of person.  I have always thought quite differently from my peers.  I have often suspected people judging me based on my lifestyle.  For example, I don't give into the material temptations that many of my peers do.  I do allow myself to be hooked to a cell phone (while I own one, I don't take it outside of the house -- I hate having to be "connected" at all times.  One of my friends writes a blog about Facebook and (a)social networking as he calls it and I must say, I agree with him there as well.  I gave mine up.  All that stuff is senseless.  Conventional wisdom is senseless.

People are upset when they try to live a life that they don't necessarily want to live.  People think that they need a big house and a certain lifestyle to go with it.  They think they need to earn a certain amount of money and do certain things in life.  They think that if their life is not the "television life" or the life in the magazine ads, than they have failed as people.  I think this is a silly way to look at the world.  There are many types of lives one can live.  I would not want the life that is toted as the "great life" in magazines or on television.  Those lives are empty, dare I say "Godless" lives.  Materialism is not the center of existence, nor should it be.  There has to be something more than just trying to get something bigger materially.  What does it benefit a person if he dies with all the material possessions in the world? 

It's not that I am against having money.  I am against conventional wisdom that says you have to live a certain life.  Why should one buy into a lifestyle that they would not want?  I wonder how many people who spend their lives obtaining that lifestyle actually find happiness.  I tend to think that people give something up a lot of times to live a life that "conventional wisdom" says they should live.

Conventional wisdom has failed me, and I am glad I am understanding that while I am still young.

I do not like night classes.

Night classes.  What can I say?  I don't like 'em. 

Tonight I ride the subway on an hour long commute to partake in one of these "night classes".  Sadly, it is not my only night class.  I also have a class on Monday.  I was put in this class due to my low class rank (had no choice in the matter).  It's a class that reteaches me the fundamentals of the law profession.  In this course I will hopefully be prepared to take the bar.  It's not that the class is not interesting (learning the law all over again is insightful).  It's not that the class is poorly taught.  It's that the class is at night, and I do not like having my only class of the day in the evening hours.

Further, as winter (an awful season) pokes it's horrible head around the bend I will find myself exiting the class after dark.  I will find myself in the dark and cold, on my way home, to find myself going straight to bed and ready to awake early in the morning for my morning classes.  I like morning classes.  I do not like night classes.

Lately I have not been posting much on this blog as much as I would like.  I blame the night classes in part.  They take away a lot of my precious time.  Earlier I posted about my apartment and budget.  I am going to try to get a cheaper place this semester.  I am not looking forward to looking for a place while in school.  But it needs to be done.

Becoming a Foreign Services Officer and Budgeting

I am thinking that it would be interesting to become a foreign services officer.  It seems like a challenging job, but I think that it would be good for someone with a law degree to go after.  I don't know much about it, but am thinking about researching the position.

As many of my readers know, I have considered military as well and I think (hope) that my law experience may help me out here. 

Now, on to "life". 

I should probably state that I am going to be starting an internship on Monday.  I am a bit nervous, but here is to hoping that I do well.  I realize that this is my last year now and I really got to buckle down and try to get all the experience I can get.  Further, I have heard others talk about this internship, which is part of a clinical thing at my school, pretty positively.  One person said she knew enough from it to open her own firm!  Can you imagine that?  Well, it must be at least pretty good if she is confident enough to hang up a shingle from just a semester's work in a clinic! 

Either way, this is one of my last chances to get some much needed experience while in law school.  I am also considering working for actual money next semester, in law or out of law.  I am somewhat scared of what to do after law school.  I am also excited though.  I want to be making some actual money.  I have lived off of student loans and student debt for far too long!  Now it's time to actually start earning some money from a real full time job!

I should probably state that I am currently living off around $11,000 a semester, and paying $1300 a month rent, so it's kind of tight.  Add to that a bus pass to get to school and back each month ($105) and food.  Actually, I am going to show you all my budget right now, just to show everyone how tight it is.

Six Months..... $11000
Rent (6 months)....$7800
Utilities.... varies
Bus pass (6 months) $630
Food.... ($150/month, guessing $5/day)...$900ish
Total... $9330 (not including utilities or non-food necessities)

As you can see, after all that I don't have a lot of money left for "fun".  I don't do much other than study and do free things (not really fond of spending a lot of money) and I am thinking about getting a cheaper place (this place has become too pricy, I thought I could do a roommate but that isn't going to work here I have found out). 

So, I figure that working and getting $ome $ide money will help me out a bit. 

I should state that last semester I was able to save about $1000 to invest/put in savings, so that was pretty good.  As you can see, I'm not a big spender outside of the "needed" stuff.  I am really crossing my fingers that I can get a place in Harlem or something that's cheaper ($950ish a month would be hella kosher). 

Now it's time to go look up some information about becoming a FSO! 

1L continued, Part III: Law School Love Notes

Do love letters have a place in law school?

Sometimes I used to think of getting together with Little (gorgeous) Darcy "Hookhands" as she is known here.  I wrote about her before on my blog.  Anyway, I never was good at approaching women and many Torts classes were spent with me looking over at her.  When she would raise her cute little hook into the air, I would always stare at her.  Sometimes she would catch me and I would blush.  But I don't know if she thought I found her attractive or if I was just gawking at her custom made high grade stainless steel hooks. 

I still remember where her locker was.  While mine was on the first floor of the school, hers was on the second floor.  Locker 212, close to the end (for easy access).  Why do I remember her locker number?  Well, you see, I was going to write her a love note and slip it in.  I wanted her to "be my woman."

Anyway, I remember I was briefing the case Hook v. Hook and I just could not keep my mind off her.  I ripped a sheet of paper out of my notebook and began to write her a letter.  I remember trying my hardest to make sure my handwriting looked good.  Further, I didn't know if I should put my name on it or 'secret admirer' as sometimes things get around law school fast.  Well, I figured I'd decide later, and I began to write...

"Dear Darcy,

I just want you to know I am always impressed by your intelligence in each of our classes.  You have a unique gift and I know you are going to have amazing grades/class rank at the end of the year [it was hard for me to not say something about her looks here].  I also want you to know that I would welcome the prospect of going steady with you.  I have always, ever since I first saw you at the orientation picnic, thought you were something of an amazing girl [I highlighted amazing with my purple marker].  I have never written a note like this to anyone, and I was wondering if you could make sure that if you don't want to be with me, by chance, that you do not let anyone else know about this note.  If you are interested in being with me, please initial below and slip this note back into my locker, 125, and I will take that as valuable consideration to date you. 

Sincerely,

Your secret admirer"

I remember chuckling to myself, thinking that if Darcy slipped the note in my locker, but later played coy or backed out, that maybe I could get specific enforcement of our little "contract" to date.

I guess I could have got a card saying "I'm hooked to you" instead.

Sadly, I never sent the note on to Darcy.  I was always too shy that someone would find out and the whole school would think I was a creeper or something.  Plus, I am sure that Darcy had a lot of people tease her throughout the years about those hooks.  I wish I would have took the time to just talk to her and maybe go about being with her the regular way.  But I am not that kind of guy, I guess.  I guess that the truth is it's hard to be confident when you are dealing with a beautiful woman who has hooks for hands.  Either way, I have tried to look her up and sometimes I think of e-mailing her and asking about her life (she dropped out after 1L).  Then again, maybe she wants to put law school and everything and everyone it entailed behind her.

My first year of law school!!!! (continued)

This is a continuation of my story of my first year of law school.  Again, I want to state that I applied to a lot of really high ranked schools at first, as I did not know about the stupid ranking system that the US News and World Report had on law schools.  Of course, it seems that now a days everything is ranked and for what reason really?  Is University of Oregon really x spots better than University of Toledo, and is that school really 7 spots better than whatever school is below it?

However, I want to continue my story.  Mainly, I want to talk about the orientation and maybe dive into some of my first classes.  Orientation, as I said before, was where I, along with a group of other students, by a 3L student who claimed she was upset to not have gotten on law review, was told, "even if you graduate in the very bottom of your class, you will still be called esquire."  Of course, we were not told what I was later told by my Contracts professor, "the school makes me flunk out at least one student."  So, the reality of the situation was that you may not graduate.  You may be flunked out and out over $30,000!  Of course, this would not apply to me, but I did find myself sometimes terrified of getting a low grade in one of my courses.

I remember sitting in my classrooms on the first day and having the teacher introduce themselves.  They stated that, unlike undergrad, we would not be let out of class early.  One of these classes was Criminal Law.  I remember the professor well.  She was a big boisterous lady with a pounding voice and eyes that seemed to literally gaze into your soul.  She told us that she did not care how much work we had in our other classes, that all that mattered to her was that we read the material for this course.  Further, she dove in to the case State v. Utter, in which a man fell asleep drunk in his pickup truck and the police were trying to get him on drunk driving.  Immediately she called on a helpless victim, squeezing everything she could out of this poor individual.

I was so thrilled that it was not me who was called on, but I knew that it would eventually be me.  You can imagine how terrifying it was, knowing that no matter what answer I would say, I would be wrong.  Further, some of the students in this class were the kind of people who think they know everything.  Of course I would probably be wrong and look like a fool.  Although she told the class that we could get up to 3 points for participation, I never took advantage of that, as I was too scared that I would be wrong.

1L was the most "colorful" year of my law school education.  You should have seen the highlighter collection I had!  Deep purple, azure blue, deep sun yellow, legendary orange, and greed-inducing green.  I had a system for my law notes that I was proud of. 

Yellow = important
Blue = key term
Pink = hella important
Orange = similar case mentioned
Green = Rule

I wish this was my criminal law text.  How fun!

I also wrote all over my case book.  You should have seen it!  Some of my books looked like something out of Reading Rainbow!  There was a friggin' rainbow ejaculating from the page!  It was amazing! 

Many of my classmates would look at my notes and books and I think, even though I can not be sure, they were jealous.  I had an arsenal!  One girl who sat next to me would often compare pens and such with me.  She was an art major in college and was just as excited as I was about having a colorful arsenal of weapons at her disposal. 

We were not the only people in 1L who had colors.  Steve, the gunner in the back rocked a nice array of highlighters.  Chelsey, a girl who was a proud lesbian (and member of OUTLAW) sported an array of colors that would make a gay pride flag blush.  Sadly, Darcy Hookhands was without colors.

Some other students were content to do their notes on OneNote, a program that was advertised fiercely during orientation.   I had no want or desire to use a computer to do my notes.  Why would have I when I had such nice highlighters?  And my notebooks, oh don't even start!  One day I may scan some of my old notebook pages here.  I am sure you would be impressed!  In fact, I will make it a point to do that.

As the year went on, my highlighters seemed to lose their ink.  I sometimes found myself mixing colors as I was too lazy to buy a new set.  Well, one day I just had to buckle down and make my way to the law school store and get a set.  Oh me oh my you should have seen the look on my face when I saw the amount of cool and awesome essentials that were ON SALE!!!!  I must have spent nearly a Jackson on markers, note cards, note books and other materials that would guarantee my success in law school. 

When I got my midterm grades back it was proven to me that the more colors one has the better grades one gets.  My Contracts exam, which counted for 20% of my grade pulled in a 95, which was tied for 2nd highest score.  My Property exam, which counted for the same amount, thrust me into a world of eliteness with a 96%.   Torts and Criminal Law, both semester long courses, gave me high grades as well.  My Torts exam was an open book, and my book was, I guarantee you, the MOST COLORFUL of all books in my section.  I was proud.

Of course, law school was and is a lot more than fancy colors and expensive highlighters.  In my second year, for instance, I barely used a highlighter as I rented my books (HUGE MISTAKE).  I ended that semester with a VERY LOW GPA.  I won't say it was the highlighter alone that got me top grades.  But, it was funny that with varied inks I got top grades and with no highlighting and very little pencil marks in my books I ended up with bottom of the class grades.  Now, when I fill out a survey that asks race, I have a hard time not marking myself as a person of color. 

I have so many more stories and tales of 1L.  It was a big year for me.  Perhaps the most intense year I had lived.  I was moving along through life and I was not only the first in my massive family to graduate college, but I was slammin' and jammin' my way through law school.  You can rest assured that this will be continued.  I have so much more to say.

A look back at 1L (Part I)

Disclaimer: I am not going to Universitas Suffolkiensis (hell, I've never even heard of it).

Now that I am a mighty 3L I thought it would be a good time for me to go back and look back at my first year of law school.  It was only two short years ago, and honestly, I feel so much has happened.  To be honest, I never tried so hard in undergrad as I have in law school.  If I would have put in the kind of work I did in my undergrad courses that I now do in my law school courses, well, I would have been better off at least.  And at most, I might have got in 2 years earlier. 

Shall we dive into my dark past? 

Now, 1L was scary for me.  I moved across the United States in order to begin my legal education.  I spent a couple of years trying to get into law school, failing miserably with a low (150-155) LSAT score and a mediocre GPA (3.0-3.5).  However, I figured I would keep trying, and each year applied to lower ranked law schools than the year before.  The first year I applied to schools like Stanford, Harvard, Columbia, UC Berkeley, UCLA, Boston University, Georgetown and Fordham.  Not knowing anything about the law school application process, I was dinged at each one.  I was stunned that no law school would take me.  At this time I knew nothing of first, second, third and forth tier schools.  In fact, every school I applied to my first year was a top school or a first tier school.  However, I had a fee waiver, so it was not like I paid anything out of pocket.

The second year applying I lowered my expectations somewhat.  I applied to schools like St. Johns, UC Hastings, University of Washington, New York Law School, Brooklyn Law School, Cardozo and the like.  I was wait-listed at one but dinged (a third tier school).  Now, if you notice right, I did not apply to any forth tier schools.  In fact, I was shocked to find out that I did not get into any of these schools, which I felt were not as 'leet' as the schools I applied for the first time.  I started to wonder if I wanted to go to any law school at all.

However, when I applied to law school the third year I was sure I wanted to go.  I worked at a dead end job that I hated and thought that anything was better.  Further, I talked to a girl who was going to a second tier law school who dropped out to work there.  She quit shortly after starting to go back to law school.  I was envious.  However, at this time I was reading all I could about law schools, and even went to that pile of crud website top-law-schools.  I decided I would give it another go and this time apply to the schools that might take me.  The third and forth tier schools.  I applied to a few east coast and west coast schools (I did not care to, nor do care to live in the Midwest, so skipped those places).  I was accepted at two east coast schools and one west coast school.  The west coast school was incredibly expensive and low ranked, and I was excited to go east.  I did.

So there I was, after crossing the US with a big duffel bag of goodies on a Greyhound bus.  I was thrilled to be going to law school.  Further I was seeing places I have never seen before.  I finally made it and would soon be finding my very own apartment.  Further, law school was gearing up to start in under one week!!!!!!

There I was, walking into the orientation at my law school.  I was so proud of myself.  I was smiling so big as I ate the orientation food and waited for the speakers to come out.  "Even if you graduate bottom of your class," they would state, "you will still be known as esquire."

I was now a law student...

To be continued (seriously, it will be continued probably tomorrow or the day after, no joke!)

What is a bankrupt, father?

"What is a bankrupt father?" asked Eugénie
"A bankrupt," replied her father, "is guilty of the dishonorable action that can dishonor a man."
"It must be a very great sin," said Mme Grandet, "and our brother will perhaps be eternally lost."
"There you are with your preachments," her husband retorted, shrugging his shoulders, "A bankrupt Eugénie," father continued, "is a thief whom the law takes under its protection People trusted Guillaume Grandet with their goods confiding in his character for fair dealing and honesty; he has taken all they have, and left nothing but the eyes in their heads to cry over their with. A bankrupt is worse than a highwayman; a highwayman sets upon you and you have a chance to defend yourself ; he risks his life besides, while the other -- Charles is disgraced in fact."

The words filled the poor girl's heart; they weighed upon her with all their weight; she herself was so scrupulously conscientious; no flower in the depths of a forest had grown more delicately free from spot or stain; she knew none of the maxims of worldly wisdom, and nothing of its quibbles and its sophistries.  So she accepted her father's cruel definition and sweeping statements as to bankrupts; he drew no distinction between a fraudulent bankruptcy and a failure from unavoidable causes, and how should she?

Honoré de Balzac, Eugénie Grandet 108 (1833).

It is interesting to note that a bankruptcy is not allowed for student loan debt.  If a bankrupt is so horrible, so vile, then what can be said about someone who is not even allowed to discharge their debts?

The other day I posted about how I was happy to be back in law school.  I am trying to change my outlook on the world little by little.  I am trying to enjoy the 'small' things in life.  You see, without enjoying anything, we get bogged down and depressed.  Some of us may even think of suicide.  One must enjoy their lives as much as they can or they will go slowly insane.

I am challenging myself to find joy in every part of life.  I must say that it is so far working.  I feel more energized and more alive than I did being upset about it all the time.  There are no guarantees in life, but I might as well try to think positive and enjoy my short time here on Earth.  I really do not want to turn into an angry person as I get older.  I feel that it all begins in my mind. 

Someone said I am not a true scamblogger on one of my comments.  I don't know if I am truly a 'scamblogger' or not.  I never really thought of myself as one.  Right now I am just a law student who is sometimes afraid of the future.  I never claimed to be someone with all the facts and figures at hand.  I am sorry if I have disappointed you.  I am who I am, nothing more, nothing less.  Right now I am a 3L wondering what next year will hold.  Right now I am writing my life on this blog, sharing it with all those who care to read about it.  I sometimes have ideas of things to post which I think others may find entertaining.  However, the reality is, I am working through law school with the same hopes that many of my readers had.  I like to think that my expectations of the future are more realistic than many other law students, especially the ones who think and dream of glamor and prestige all day long.  I may have, at one time, thought the law profession would give me that.  However, I have come to terms with reality that many young people dream far too big, no matter what career they go into, and some of us were lead to think that we would end up rich.  However, life is not like that, and as one grows older they realize that not everything that seems to glitter is truly gold.

So, I am going to try to enjoy my last year in law school and at least know that I went out trying.  I am borrowing a lot to do it, and I might as well know I did my darnedest.