JD Law Students Blog

I’m not sure who posted the Law School musical link but they are my new hero.  Anyone who thinks they want to go to law school should watch the video first.  A chilling vision.

While last week was exhausting (my brain is filled to capacity), at least Vermont Law School isn’t as cut-throat competitive as some law schools.  It’s nice to have friends who aren’t also your rivals.  But I’m not going to focus on school work.  Instead, I’m going to list some of the interesting and different events that went on last week.

First, one Tuesday, we had our oral debates in Constitutional Law.  Of course, out of 35 people on our side of the debate, Professor Hanna pulled my name out the proverbial hat.  Luckily, our group was very well-prepared and the oral argument was exhilarating.  Ten other people were chosen to act as judges.  They constantly interrupted our well-planned argument with challenging questions.  We only got through a few of our most important points.  It was a good lesson on how arguments work in real courtrooms.

Also on Tuesday, a woman who was recently released from prison came to talk about women and incarceration.  Apparently, she used to be in violent ultra-liberal group and she was involved in a botched robbery that resulted in several police officers being killed.  I actually didn’t get to go to the event, but people who did said that her story was powerful and “intense.”

On Wednesday there were two interesting events.  One was a panel of judges from a developing country who spoke, through translators, about the challenges facing justice and women’s right in their country.  Hearing these women’s stories was another powerful experience, and they took questions from the students afterwards.

Later on Wednesday was a Canadian movie about global warming narrated by Keanu Reeves and Alannis Morrisette.  It was called “The Great Warming.”  It had some interesting parts, including a section about building-sized “synthetic trees” that would scrub CO2 out of the air.  But it was also from a very western prospective.  It seemed to put more blame on Chinese families buying their first cars than on American families who own two or three cars.

There are a bunch of events coming up next week, including a talk by an ex-Californian senator who will be talking about “suing the president.”   I think it’s great that VLS can get so many interesting speakers and create such relevant, vibrant programming.  These events are a great compliment to reading otherwise dry cases.

This thing is so funny that its frightening.  I know I can relate.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=N8ABhatAfsA

So this is the week when it starts to get serious.  Midterms, in the classes that have them, are only a week or two away, Fall break is coming up, people are starting their course outlines, and I am sweating final exams - already.

I know its serious, because I have not consulted my ESPN fantasy football league yet this week.  I really have got to get on that. 

No seriously, this week - what is it, week 5, now? - is when you realize that you have expended your slacker quotient for the semester.  The first week I was paranoid - I briefed every case, spent hours I didn’t have working on assignments, and knew all the answers (or thought I did).  Week 2, I attempted to brief cases, spent some hours I should have spent on homework catching up on sleep, and I realized that since I was called on the first week, that I didn’t have to know anything.  Week 3, my briefs were more brief, spent time reading the cases, and more time on … fixing my cars… and realized that all I needed to do in class was listen.  Week 4, I briefed my cases in class, I read most of my cases, and if I knew what we were talking about, I multitasked during class.

So week 5… I’m starting to realize that there is a balance that’s needed.  I hope that I’ll find it.

Law school is tough.  Tough because you have no idea what to expect.  There’s a midterm, if you are lucky, and a final exam.  One test. 

I suppose this means that I should stop blogging and start paying attention to my contracts class.

Recent research suggests that overloading your schedule with bar courses gets you absolutely nothing (except maybe a one-way ticket to Boredomtown). You should be developing your analytical and writing skills, instead; you really can’t complain about bar passage rates if you remain semi-literate after 3 years of law school.

That said, if you want to take a bar course because it interests you - go for it. But the conclusions of a recent study are apparently unequivocal: “[N]o relationship existed between law school courseloads and the passage rate of students ranked in the first, second or fourth quarters of their law school class, while only a weak relationship existed for students who ranked in the third quarter.”

What does all this mean? Follow your interests and take courses that capture your imagination. It’s not what you take in law school that gets you over the bar, but how you develop your ability to learn the law and apply legal reasoning (something you should be refining in any course). Procedure triumphs over substance? Follow commentary here and here for more and decide for yourself.

The leaves have started to take on some color here in South Royalton, although I haven’t noticed any out-of-town travelers coming to gawk at the scenery just yet. This is the beginning of what looks to be a beautiful time in Vermont — when I first decided to visit the state, I was surprised to find that some hotels even charge premium ‘foliage rates’ at peak leaf season. Although it might not sound like the most exciting aspect of life and the universe, it certainly gives the law school a serene and peaceful backdrop.

This weekend marked my first major ‘provisions run’ down into New Hampshire to stock up on various supplies. Having always lived in commercialized areas, it felt a bit like driving back to the more familiar America. The shopping opportunities are endless there, with chain stores abutting strip malls one after the other. Cruising in and out of the big-name stores and the congested highways, I felt at home.

At the end of the day, though, it was time to return to the new apartment in South Royalton. It’s only a drive of about thirty miles, but the remote landscape here is a world away from the corporate storefronts to the south. Chances are that when the time comes for another excursion into strip mall America, it will still be going strong. It’s a nice place to visit, but maybe I wouldn’t want to live there. Here’s to living peacefully in Vermont (or, perhaps more aptly, Multicolormont).

This was a long week, as classes are now in high gear.  It’s hard to believe that the semester is a third over.  We’re starting to talk about midterms already.  It seems like orientation just ended.

Next week we’re doing oral arguments in Constitutional Law about the Second Amendment.  For those who aren’t familiar, it’s the controversial amendment that prevents the government from infringing on the “right to keep and bear arms.”  However, there’s also a preamble which seems to indicate that the right is only granted for use in organized militia.  Anyway, we’ll be presenting arguments in class so I need to meet with a group at the school on Sunday.  I’m also starting to create case outlines to help understand how the cases we read relate to each other, so the weekend doesn’t even feel like a break.  The weather has been great, though, so I took time out from work to go for a walk and play some wiffle ball.

The carpool has swelled to five members, which is great because we can each drive once a week.  Although it’s a little crowded some days, it’s worth it for the gas we’re saving.  It also gives me a great chance to bounce ideas off of my classmates, and get opinions from someone in a different section and a professor who has been carpooling with us.

One bad thing about commuting is that it’s harder to go to after-class events on campus.  For instance, they screened a global warming documentary called “The Planet” last Wednesday, but it wasn’t until 7pm.  Since I get done with class at 2, I could have stayed an extra five hours on campus or driven back to campus just for the 82-minute film, but I decided to simply not go.  Apparently, it was very well received.  Oh well, it was the first of a series of global warming documentaries screened on campus.  Maybe I’ll catch the next one. 

There are so many things going on around campus that some days I’ll just have to stay later.  On Friday, there was a presentation on moving towards energy sustainability and justice with a panel of two VLS professors, as well as a Canadian and an European expert.  It was interesting, if a slightly alarming.  There are some disturbing possibilities for the future, but there are a lot of people at VLS prevent those possibilities.

I’m sure this has been done a million times, but here are my insights.  Notice the differences between VLS and, say, Harvard.

*you’re in debt

*your friends and family think you’re dead but dare not call to find out

*you have to schedule in anything that may take more than 5 minutes – i.e. writing a letter to your Grandmother

*you wonder whether every transaction constitutes a contract, including that little box you click online that says “I agree to the terms and conditions.”

*you’re suddenly very interested in the political and legal crap you used to skip over

*you’ve developed a new-found love (addiction?) for caffeine

*you consider trips to West Leb “going to the city”

*your arm and shoulder muscles have become incredibly strong from carrying all your books

*your ‘pleasure reading’ still involves nonfiction

*you’re familiar with the one-lane underpass on Route 12

*you have no idea what’s going on in the real world (beyond the Supreme Court, if you have professor Hanna)

*you used to have confidence but now have no idea if you’re worth anything

*you’re competitive side comes out more often

*you’re asked if you’re going to the law school if you’re new in town and under the age of 50

*you’ve suddenly become very familiar with the outlining tool in Word

*you have to keep your fingernails short because you type so freaking often

*you find yourself saying, “It’s not as much work as I thought it was going to be,” even though you’re pulling 30-45 hours outside of class.

*you see school buses in the morning that are merely minivan with the flashing light attached to the top

*you’ve found that perfect pen/hilighter and need it in every color possible

*you’re excited about your assignment — going to dinner with your professor — because it includes a free lunch.

*your school actually holds events on Constitution Day.

I was going to write about apples today, but I will save that as it seems apropos to finally write the blog I have been thinking about regarding the Constitution.  See, it is Constitution Day, which I fully admit I had never heard of until my Con. Law professor mentioned it a few days ago.  There is a Constitution Day panel this afternoon that I am looking forward to attending even though I actually have no idea what it entails.

In any case, my original Constitution blog had nothing to do with all of this.  What it had to do with was the 1st time I cracked open my Con. Law text book and started reading about, well, the Constitution.  It was an exceedingly memorably evening for me.  I was at home where I live alone.  The sun had set and I was finally ready to sit down and…study (something I haven’t really done since I left undergrad almost 10 years ago)!  I was nervous that my brain would be woefully atrophied, but I was also looking forward to getting it kickstarted again.  In any case, I lit some candles, put on some soft music, made myself a pot of tea, and got to it.  The text gave us some historical context to the creation of the Constitution and the ideals behind it.  I found the information deeply moving as it really brought to life for me how the Constitution is in fact a ‘living’ document; how it informs our daily lives as we go about doing our own living, pretty much oblivious to its constant influences.  And then, as I paused to have some of these thoughts swirl around in my head, I realized that a song had popped up (my ipod was on shuffle) from the movie “The Power of One.”  While I feel the movie lacked some of the passion and intensity of the book (and added a silly love story that did not need to be there), the underlying sensation of listening to the music, which was representational of the struggle against apartheid in S. Africa, coupled with learning about our own American struggle for independence, was simply elating.  I think humans have a base instinct to strive for ideals.  We want to do good.  We want to contribute.  We want a forum to put forward our concepts of justice and peace and freedom.  We don’t always know how.  Our struggles have consequences that sometimes bear down on the following generations.  But we try.  We all try.  And that’s what that song reminded me of, that’s what reading about the creation of our most sacred American document reminded me of, and I felt so honored that I was getting to carve out a few years of life to study this particular struggle.

On that note, Happy Constitution Day!

Some lessons you can only learn by experience - painful, agonizing experience.

During orientation week I laughed during the financial aid briefing at the jokes about eating ramen noodles.  I eat ramen, true, but because I like it - not because that’s all I can afford.  I returned about 1k of financial aid - I didn’t want to be in debt any more than necessary.  I was carefree.  This week, not so much.

 About a year ago, my wife and I came into 20k.  We’re savers too and we increased our savings to about 25k total.  Of course I was feeling secure - who wouldn’t with that kind of money sitting in the bank?  I was a little over confident though. 

We moved to Vermont from Alaska.  We shipped some stuff, rented a uhaul trailer for the rest, and sold one car, keeping my Jeep to pull the Uhaul.  The only things new we bought were food, a mattress, and a car for $5500.  I guess I thought that was my best option…but now we’re down to under 2k.  Which for us is heartbreaking, despite the fact that its only money.  We ask ourselves how we spent 23k of our savings in only 6 months.  What were we thinking?

I’ve been working this whole year except for the past 2 months - our move and these first weeks of school, so its not like we’ve lived on our savings that long…

I’d have to say that when we return to Alaska that we’ll be a lot more cautious in what we bring and what we toss.  I’m thinking that no matter how I play it out in my head, I still see myself spending a significant amount of money just to get here. 

This past week I haven’t put 100% into my law school experience.  I don’t find law school that difficult.  I wanted to try a week without briefing any of the cases I was assigned to read.  Honestly, I was tired of killing myself night after night.  I’m a chronic procrastinator - If I wait until the last minute, I immediately get the gratification that comes from completing a paper or an exam. 

 Usually, I don’t really do anything productive with that time I got from my procrastination.  But lately, I’ve had to spent time repairing our cars (another note to self - long trips are hell on old cars and new cars are full of problems).

In any case, its now 3 weeks into the first semester and I’ve spent 23k of my own and about 20k in student loans as well.  I’m thinking that this week, I’ll be putting a little more into my work.  I promise to let you know how I do, since now you know I slack off and had a moment where I said that “I don’t find law school that difficult.”

 I’m sure I’ll end up in purgatory for that remark.

-el

16 September 2007: a blue-sky Tunbridge Sunday of roasted corn, cider, and cotton candy.

As a 3L, a great sense of nostalgia wells up, reading the posts below. Such eagerness, such enthusiasm, such bewilderment! The bewilderment quickly fades after the fifth or sixth week, but I hope that unbridled enthusiasm never leaves. The law is exciting.

As you progress further into your legal education, the reciprocal relationship between life and the law becomes clearer. Humanity is the struggle between principle and practice; played out in the courts of law, as noted by Mr. Lusignan, it becomes incredibly gripping drama. This spills not only into Torts, Contracts, or Constitutional Law, but into Estates, Administrative Law, even Evidence.

At Vermont Law School, both students and professors are full of purpose. We are a politically charged body of frequently clashing beliefs, but testing one another in a forum tolerant of dissent, keenly seeking out that human drama. This is what makes for such engaging in-class experiences. Where college is the new high school, near-compulsory and prerequisite to anything resembling a decent job, individuals distinguish themselves by pursuing professional degrees; amongst our professional class, individuals distinguish themselves by challenging their own beliefs and practices, seeking out principle, then defending it with passion. This is the VLS community.

My experience here echoes the sentiments below. The camaraderie remains after two years in the trenches. I’ve only ever felt in competition with myself, never pressured to perform by my peers. I can attest that 1L energy can be sustained. As with anything, discipline is key. But to really keep your momentum, you’ve got to maintain intellectual curiosity, a certain fascination with the brutal realities of life, and challenge yourself to prove principle can guide your practice.