JD Law Students Blog

No, its not as pretty as Carrie’s collection of pumps, kitten heels and mary janes but its got me in a tizzy. My first legal job after two years of intense study and social disengagement is now two days old.

Natural Resources Defense Council is “the Earth’s best defense” against itself or rather the self destructive tendencies of a certain species.  This summer I have the distinct pleasure of working as a legal intern for the Urban Program at the New York Headquarters.  (Insert  images of jubilation here) I am working directly with two attorneys and with a team of other groups on issues which affect my homestate. (Feel free to high five me now)

So far I’ve received three assignments and managed to stick my nose into another.  The work is interesting. The view from my office window reminds me that the city keeps going whether I partake or not. However, I must admit that I’ve got a wee bit of longing for the sights and lack of sound of the SoRo Village. Alas, that’s the human condition. Although in this case the grass is literally greener in VT. 

In any event the brand on my New York soul was starting to wear thin in SoRo, so I’ve come home just in time for a much needed respite.  I’ve returned with a list of things to do:

• Eat late ( because I can)
• Eat out (because I can)
• Catch the subway (despite the $2.00 fare)
• Search the concrete jungle in search of a mister softee truck ( If you don’t know, don’t ask me)
• Visit a randomly assembled street fair and eat dodgy items off a questionable food cart.
• Ride the Cyclone at Coney Island.
• Avoid the 34th street Tourist trap
• Walk everywhere
• Check out the new-old neighborhood in Brooklyn (gentrification… yikes)
• Visit MOMA, Museum of Natural History, The Brooklyn Museum, Hayden Planetarium
• Hit the Beach, but stay out of the water
• Catch Shakespeare in the Park
• See a concert by no one special for free and enjoy it nonetheless

I’ll let you know  when I get it all done!

TDT

This semester, exams were tough.  Actually, upon taking them, they seemed fine, but the studying part was simply brutal.  My wife and baby both caught some horrible infectious virus which they attempted to pass to me.  I felt horrible throughout exam week and reading week… up until I completed my final in-class exam.  After that, I felt like a million bucks. Apparently I was under a great deal of stress which made me ill to the point of dry-heaves and resorting to Pepto, soup, and saltine crackers to survive.  It was incredibly weird. 

I decided that I would stick to my first choice internship this summer in order to maximize my financial well-being, which means I am here in Alaska now, instead of sunny San Diego.  It seems as if the summer will go well.  I have a ton of responsibility and trust being given to me.  Its exciting. 

This semester’s grade made me feel as though a professor or two had forgotten that the curve is now set to a B, not a B-… but thanks to that change, my GPA still went up. 

The most challenging thing about returning from law school is that no matter how much you have stayed the same, someone will assume that some problem they have with you stems from your recent stint at law school.  I got the “you’ve changed… and it must be because of law school” talk from a relative the other day.  Of course, it couldn’t possibly be because they’ve never hung out with me without my wife before,… of course not.

Anyhow, we made it.  We’re 2Ls now.  Whew. Woo. blah.

Classes have ended. Semester four of year two, marks the end of the wildest, wooliest and otherwise superlative filled year of my academic career to date. I have some sad news to impart, second year is harder than the first. It’s harder for many reasons which relate to security, capacity building, and seemingly endless tasks which fill fleeting hours.

First, your security blanket is ripped from you.  The cadre of folks you depend on for a chat, a joke and a smile have been mixed and sorted by the classes they chose. You are no longer in a section of students slated to take most classes together. Last year, you created bonds with section mates which seem further aloft as each day passes into second year because you finally get a choice of when, where, and whether you sit for one course as opposed to another.

Second, your classes are no longer foundational and are now geared to applied analysis and a practitioner’s skill sets. Fast forward from Appellate Advocacy into Estates, Evidence, Administrative Law, Intellectual Property, International Business Transactions, Family Law, and it looks like you’ve made some choices about your career path. Breathe deeply and accept that you asked for this mixed blessing and that the curve, and onslaught of upper class men and women are surely our of your control.

Finals are still an issue of torture but on the plus side you now choose the implements. The take home paper is just as likely as the sit down, sweat and forget classroom examination. Relax, you’ve done it at least three times already so it is not exactly a choice between hot oil or the rack.

In between time is the twenty or so days in between the end of second year and the start of your shiny new second summer job. You are two parts nerves and one part brass because you’ve been successful but have yet to apply it. You drink a little, sleep a lot more and generally try to figure out how you you managed to fill your days before law school created a flurry of discrete tasks and hierarchies. Its been a discipline to make time outside the library and suddenly you are confronted with it, choice. Your apartment looks like something a set designer created for a made for television movie on earthquakes, and your dishes are ruefully painted with meals you don’t even remember cooking.

In between time is an awakening from the sleep walk of neglect and selfishness. It’s time to read a paper for enjoyment or a book on a topic wholly unrelated to anything of use. It’s time for time, for reflective abandon.

I’ve gotta get back to it, work starts on 27 May 08.

TDT

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.