JD Law Students Blog

7 May 2008: the quintessential Vermont spring day

It is finished.

In searching for words to mark this momentous occasion, my well runs dry. Perhaps that is appropriate. I have given so much to this process already–so much time and so very many words. I have given so much of myself that was not mine to give. To make it through three years of law school I borrowed of myself from my supremely patient wife and my beautiful children. It is to them I owe the greatest debt. The educational lenders can have my money – my time is again my family’s.

Whether it has been worth the run remains to be seen. I think it has. I have obtained an understanding of the foundations of this country’s legal system that I believe is critical to political and social advocacy. I know I’ve honed my aptitude for critical thinking. And my appetite for endless argument over inane detail has most certainly been whetted. But I don’t expect this investment to pay for itself without a little more effort on my part, so check back in a few years. I should know for sure by then.

So thank you, Sarah, for being so forgiving of your husband’s ludicrous tendency to overload his schedule, among other things. Thank you, Ingrid and Malcolm, for your unconditional love. Thanks also to you, Mom, Dad, Gladys & Chris, for all your support.

And with that, good night and good luck.

I actually think I like finals.

It’s weird, but there’s something exhilarating about seeing all the work you’ve done this semester come together. Like when you read 1000 pages or so throughout the semester, then turn it into a 99 page outline, which you then boil down to a 25 page outline, which you then somehow magically turn in to a final. It’s exciting.

And I like being in the library busting through. Everyone has a sense of seriousness about them. I guess people’s work ethic is at its peek, and there’s something in the air.

I know I’m crazy for saying this. Actually, when I was in Boston this last weekend (which was AMAZING), I told everyone that I liked law school, and they were all shocked. I guess I never really thought anything about it until now, but yeah, I’m enjoying it. Weird? I guess, but true.

In baseball, the strike zone

is defined as that area over homeplate the upper limit of which is a horizontal line at the midpoint between the top of the shoulders and the top of the uniform pants, and the lower level is a line at the hollow beneath the kneecap. The Strike Zone shall be determined from the batter’s stance as the batter is prepared to swing at a pitched ball.

Major League Baseball, Rule 2.00.

Baseball’s strike zone illustrates the tension between objective and subjective standards of evaluation. This tension is also common to the legal concept of the “reasonable person.”

The “reasonable person” is a recurring legal concept—an important yardstick for assessing human behavior. A person is “negligent” if they exert less care than a reasonable person in the circumstances would have. The standard is not precise. Behavior is evaluated objectively. Some conduct falls below the standard of a reasonable person no matter. In baseball, a pitch off the edge of the plate as always a ball. But behavior is also evaluated subjectively. The circumstances of a person may inform whether or not they behaved reasonably. Likewise, a shoulder-high ball for one batter is a chest-high strike for another.

Complicating the situation is the presence of a third-party tasked with applying the standard. Conduct is not fed into a computer, evaluated on a range of data points, and decreed absolutely reasonable or unreasonable. The strike zone is not enforced by robots. A jury evaluates conduct in the courtroom, and the umpire evaluates pitches in the ballpark. Different umpires might call a pitch a strike in one at bat, and a ball in the next. One jury might find conduct unreasonable today, but the same conduct might be reasonable sometime in the future.

Maybe this inconsistency is a weakness in baseball, and in our legal system. Or maybe the unpredictable boundaries of the strike zone and the reasonable person provide the flexibility necessary for the system to survive. Total objectivity is unduly harsh, total subjectivity too forgiving. Tension between the two drives baseball, and the law.

The job I had right before I left for law school was the best job I have ever had.  I managed about 300 rental units at two neighboring properties for the largest owner/operator of rental properties in my home state.  They were awesome to us.  I got a $600 allowance to purchase snappy suits from JC Penney’s, they flew me to Seattle for orientation, paid for a private hotel room, meals, a rental car, and about three months into work, paid for private rooms at Alyeska Ski Resort, our meals, and tuition for for a three-day ”Successful Life Course” taught by Ed Foreman and Earlene Vining of Executive Development Systems. 

My god. 

I’ve heard inspirational speakers before… but I’d call Ed a motivational speaker, which I consider to be a little different.  What was nice was that the conference was not how to be a better manager, or employee, or sales person, but just about how to have a terrific day, every day.  It was, intuitively, simply about how to have a successful life.  I really think that, while the company got its benefits from having its employees attend the course, it was a really gracious, kind, and superb gesture for the company to tell us that they simply wanted the best for us - that they wanted us to have a good day, every day, no matter WHAT we did…

I left the company after only 7 months.  I had been applying to law schools on a whim - not even caring too much.  After all, I had a great job doing something I enjoyed.  I was moving up quickly, being trusted with a budget of over a million dollars while allowing me to be responsible for coordinating multiple properties bringing in almost $3.5 million each year in revenue.  I was saving money every month, and I had free rent, a brand new marriage, and a baby on the way.   I was having a great time!

Something, however, told me that there was more - that I could achieve more, that I could achieve whatever I could envision.  That person was Ed Foreman, g-d bless him.  He believes in everyone who comes through his course and only asks that you consider what you might do, to capture that vision, and to imagine yourself doing it.  One day, you will wake up and you will be there…

Well, here it is, that day!

I’ve finished my first years worth of classes at law school.  Not only that, but I’ve finished my first year of classes at a law school whose Environmental Law Program has been ranked either #1 or #2 since U.S. News & World Report started ranking schools in that category.  I did it.  I made it.  I’m proud of myself, even though we still have exams.  Exams?  I’m stoked about exams!  I can’t wait.  I can smoke those things too.  With my eyes closed. 

And the best part… I get to go live in Alaska and in San Diego this summer because, although I started late, I snagged two… that’s right, two… prime legal internships this summer.  I get to see what it is like to be a part of the Navy JAG Corps and I found an government agency in Alaska that is known for its environmental work that was willing to offer me, as a first year law student, a paying internship doing legal work under attorney supervision. 

I not only faced down the challenges of having my own family to worry about, but I faced the challenges of close family developing potentially life-threatening illness.  I faced multiple slides into ditches, a flipped car, living on top of a mountain, hour plus drives to Starbucks and Costco, gas stations that close at 9pm, family visits during spring break, cancelled vacations, tons of snow, financial challenges, and a host of other brutal inevitabilities of life…. and I made it - not a problem.  And everyone else here, they made it too. 

I am d-mn proud of all of us.  We did it.  And I’ll be back next year, and the year after - so long as G-d/fate be willing.

< Since I mentioned Ed’s program, I feel compelled to issue a disclaimer that ALL the opinions and views expressed herein are mine and do not represent those of Vermont Law.  Though this is a VLS Blog, the views I express are mine.  I have not the standing to express views here other than my own. >

So I’ve been up past midnight for five straight days.  Its starting to get tough, but I’m going to get some sleep tonight.  I’m excited.  I have a paper due tomorrow, but I’m sure that I won’t be pulling an all-nighter to get it to a finished state.  I might even go to my classes tomorrow.  I’m proud that this time I didn’t procrastinate… even though I am taking a small break right now. 

My wife traded her broken car for my not quite broken one so that I can keep an eye on it until it goes to the shop.  After the most recent repairs, costing another 13 C-notes, the shop failed to warn us to recheck the lugnuts for tightness after the next tank of gas.  Note to all: whenever your tire is ever removed, you should always recheck the lugnuts for tightness at your next tank of gas.  My wife heard a vibrating noise yesterday, but felt nothing in the car, so we wrote it off as a plastic piece flapping in the wind.  Today, the vibration turned into the car shaking when she drove it.  I tested it out and then looked at the front tire.  There I spotted a lug nut had snapped off along with its stud.  Of the 4 remaining lugnuts, 3 were extremely loose to the touch, and when I went to tighten the 4th one, it had siezed to the stud and it sheared off.  Almost all of the lug nuts on the car were loose, especially on the right side, where another lug nut sheared off as I tried to tighten it. 

My wife works 12 hour shifts and the friend she is staying with this summer has graciously allowed her to stay with her, so that in this last crazy week, I am not stuck watching our daughter until the end of her shift.  But that means that I will have no car while this one is at the shop.  Once again, the community at VLS comes through and a friend who just got his truck back from the shop offered to loan it to me until I get mine.  I guess its better than having me crash in his living room…

Enough procrastination… keep it real.  Law school is like Kinkos… you can do it, we can help.  At least at VLS.

I’m cracking down for a crazy month.  Finals, of course, are my primary concern right now, but that’s certainly not the end of it.

Thursday is our last day of classes!  Yay! However, I’m trying to finish all my outlines by Thursday afternoon.  Now for many people that wouldn’t be that difficult to accomplish, as they have updated their outlines consistently throughout the semester.  Since my work ethic has been broken for most of the past few months, I have a lot of work to do.  I spent 10 hours studying Saturday, 7 hours Sunday, and will be spending about 10 today.  The next 4 days will be loooooong.

Come Thursday, the urge to celebrate will kick in full force.  However, I must practice moderation because I’m leaving on Friday to go down to Boston to say goodbye to my sister.  She’s going to be working in Guatemala with the PeaceCorps for the next two years.  We haven’t exactly gotten along for the past, oh, 10 years or so, but I really hope to make things right this time.  I’m really excited because she lived in Boston for 2 years and we’re going to have an amazing time!

So then I come back on Sunday, perhaps hungover, likely broke, and definitely sad, to start studying for good.  I don’t have my first final until Thursday, but I would like to do quite a few practice exams.

Thursday is not only the day of my Constitutional Law final; it’s also my birthday.  24.  Big deal.  I’m not at all excited about this.  First of all, I will be typing about the First Amendment for 3 hours straight.  Also, none of my friends are going to want to do anything.  But I’m mostly not excited because when I was a kid, 24 always seemed like ‘real adult’ age.  I used to think 21-23 years was still young adulthood, but 24 was certainly full-fledged adulthood.  Woman.  Grown-up.  Adult.  Yuck!  I feel like I should at least have a serious boyfriend, let alone kids, a full career, and a house….. At least it’s one of my classmate’s birthday as well, and my little sister and I share the same day.  She’ll be turning 21, so I’m sure she’ll be having a great time!

Finals then continue until the 9th when my take-home is due.  But no, the craziness does not stop there.  I have to move into a new apartment here and close out my current apartment.  The only thing is that the old tenant for my new place will still be there, trying to get his stuff out.  It’s gonna be difficult to not get in his way.

Then I have to figure out how the heck I’m gonna get home.  I was originally going to drive out with a housemate who would then fly home from Montana, but that fell through.  I could just go by myself, but I’m sincerely worried about it.  I really don’t want to get a flat tire at 10 o’clock at night, looking for a hotel in the middle of Indiana.  I have a friend who’s going to Seattle, and we could caravan, be he doesn’t have to be there until May 27th.  I’m not sure that I can wait that long.

Once I get home, I start my summer job.  I am sooooooooo excited about it, but pretty nervous as well.  I’ll be working with a small firm back home.  It should be great.  I love summer back home.

Amidst all this, I am going to try to write on to Law Review.  They recommend putting in 80 hours.  The final paper would have to be in the mail by May 28th, so I’d be working on it heavily between finals and then.

Then, once I’ve finished finals, once I’ve moved, once Iv’e miraculously gotten home, once I’ve become comfortable in my new job, once I’ve sent in my law review packet…….

I can finally relax!!!

Let no one fool you: having a 13 month old and a spouse that works 40 hours a week (with two 12 hour days) is no picnic.  Or “picinic,” as Yogi Bear would say.  Yet Vermont Law in the little village of South Royalton is probably the ideal place for you to spread your blanket if you think you are going to be in a similar situation as I. 

Not only is the only barrier to bringing my daughter to class my own sense of responsibility to my classmates attention spans, but upon stepping outside, I had multiple offers of complete notes for that class and a classmate who had to attend another event on campus offered to watch her so that I could catch the last 15 minutes of the review session. 

I’ve made a few friends and some close acquaintenances here despite the distance I live from the law school.  These folks are always up for keeping an eye on my daughter while I run a quick errand on campus or even if I just need a break.  It’s something that I can almost take for granted here… even if all of my classmates are suffering the same anxiety and stress that I feel at this point in the semester.

I learned about my personal stress level yesterday.  I foolishly thought that I could wait at the law school with my daughter until my partner was able to pick her up after work.  I figured that even if I accomplished nothing, I could at least have the satisfaction of telling myself that I wanted to and had placed myself in a position to do that work, even if prevented by child-sitting.  By 9pm when I was relieved of kid-sitting, the frustration of being unable to complete any work during that time was so great that it was useless to remain at the school to complete any work. 

I definately would have been better off going home and writing off last night as a “break.”  The kid would have been in bed by 7:30 and I would have at least gotten my reading done that night instead of rushing through it in the morning and between classes - although I wouldn’t have gotten any outlining done.  But alas… no solace.  I had a mild headache from all the contemplation when I got home, but I went to bed, only to be awakened in the middle of the night by a skullsplitting headache uncomparable to any other in my life (law school is full of new and exciting experiences).  I was clammy and felt cold even under layers and layers of blankets.  My shoulder muscles were rock hard and it felt like there was an icepick stuck in my temple.  After disturbing my wife sufficiently, I decided a shower might help but ended up turning off the shower and passing out exhausted in the tub.  When I woke up, I dragged my then headacheless self to bed only to awake at 6:30am.   I never want to have that kind of experience again.

So I may be under a great deal of stress in law school… possibly.  And the VLS village will likely continue to aid in the raising of my baby.  I will definately say that it is an academic advantage to have no child in law school or 24/7 childcare available, especially if your kids can’t watch themselves in any degree. I just remember that this is worth it in the end and (for me, God and) the fates will work things out.

I inadvertently took a different route in terms of pacing my workload this semester:  I pretty much didn’t.

Last semester I was very good about it.  I worked hard throughout the semester, getting everything done as required but also working ahead on outlining and consolidating.  This semester, I’ve just found it very difficult to do the regular reading, let alone thinking ahead.

I’m not sure why.  Maybe I got too comfortable here, but I don’t think so.  I’m happy with where I am, but I’d like to improve my class rank.  Maybe it’s more work this semester, but it doesn’t feel like it.  Maybe……. I don’t know.

I think I just had a hard time getting back into it the beginning of the semester, especially through the winter months after returning from Montana.  I certainly procrastinated too much until about March, and now I’m paying for it.

I’m not necessarily worried about it.  But I will be putting in a good 80 hours of work the next two weeks, especially considering that I have to go to Boston the weekend before finals to say good-bye to my sister for 2 years.

My advice: look ahead.  Start your outlines about 8 weeks in (if not earlier).  BUT if you’re not feeling up to it, don’t worry; just understand that you’ve set yourself up for a lot of work at the end of the semester.

I last wrote something for this blog halfway through my first week of law school.  Why haven’t I written since? I’ve been buried, and any “free” time has been spent avoiding all thoughts of law school.

So, now that I’m a bit older (although not necessarily wiser) I thought I would share some observations about law school.

First, it’s hard. You don’t have the same leeway you did in college. Skipping reading and classes until late in the semester, then cramming right before an exam just won’t do. I’ve been told how smart I am for a long time. I had a 3.9 GPA in college. In law school that has about as much value as a common law remainder that has a possibility of not vesting within 21 years of a life in being at the time of the conveyance.  For those of you who have yet to suffer through/enjoy first-year Property—it’s nothing.  No value.  

Second, it’s empowering. For example, our propane company tried to charge us two-and-a-half times our contract rate when we went above our estimate for the year. I got on the phone, cited some UCC sections, and they gave us 400 more gallons at the contract price (I want to write “K” for contract, and after your Contracts course you will too). I’ve turned into a bit of a bulldog. If I’m not happy with a bargain, I get my money back. You truly start to think in a different way. It’s ‘fun’ to know the law.

Third, it’s not everything. School is important, but you need other outlets. I have a wonderful girl who makes coming home something to look forward to. Spend time with your loved ones. Have fun; goof off once in awhile.  It’ll pay off in the long run. You need to laugh or you might go insane. Law school may be one of the most stressful places on Earth.

I have to throw in a plug for the Sports and Entertainment Law Society. Prospective students, it’s not just environmental law here.  

Two weeks to go. And I feel like I’ve been slacking by writing this post.

Second year student malaise has spread like wildfire, taking with it some of my best mates and colleagues. I too have found myself adrift from time to time. I know very little, but I know enough to appreciate that I can do what ever it is lawyers do. That said, I’m vaguely aware that my time is nigh. I’ve got amazing opportunities ahead of me, the summer and fall will see me back in the city that never sleeps with an adrenaline high from the palpable electricity of being home, finally.

New York feels like home in a different way than it ever has. My father passed away ten months ago and living through that, in law school has changed the air I breathe. I’m almost positive that a study of my biorhythms would reveal that I now parse oxygen from water at a different rate than that of more normal folks. I’m no authority on such things but can confidently claim the mantle of savant of the self, and I belong in a city with an underground life force of twenty four hour transit.

That said, Vermont charm has often healed and invigorated me. I have read things that made me want to run straight into the atmosphere and rage against atrocity, see the loss of habeas corpus and the redefinition of navigable waters. I have seen deer in abundance, or rather more abundance than the concrete jungle yields in a decade. I have taken picnics in the grass and learned to love dogs bigger than a purse. In short, it’s gotten in a little, and I like it, I really do like Vermont.

Second year means that I’m halfway home and halfway here. I’m straddling my future with a grimace, because I’ve just gotten the hang of the tubing phenomenon and the three season per day weather cycle. The school bit is blissful for the most part. Mondays mean Environmental Dispute Resolution and Estates with Dean Wilbanks and each put a unique spin on the rest of the world. The education on offer at VLS is as intoxicating as the views. For the most part culture clashes are interpersonal at worst and superficial best.

As an example of the culture clash lets look at blue jeans. Jeans serve different purposes in Vermont than NYC. In the city a pair of jeans cost as much as an outfit and speak louder than a city cop, as identifiers of group personality, values and style. In Vermont, jeans are pants, full stop. Hopefully, they cover your hindparts and sometimes they keep the mud off of your shins. World-view on review in a nutshell.

I’m a job seeker on August 1, 2008, a dot connector trying to present my whole self to the world with the expectation of employment if not acceptance. I will be on the edge of the overhanging place, with my urban environmentalist sentiments and a resume in tow.

See you there.

TDT