The Law School Life

This is the End

2005-08-14T19:47:00.000-04:00

I am over writing on this thing. hope everyone has a wonderful life. Later.

Seattle

2005-08-09T12:16:00.000-04:00

If you haven't guessed it, my transfer school is Seattle U. I am actually here in Seattle right now. The city is cool, a quasi-big city, with awesome food. Yet, I have still to hear from the dream law school. I spoke on the phone yesterday with the head of admissions, she informed me that they have yet to make a decision on my application. No big deal, school only starts two weeks from yesterday, and I do have to be enrolled in these things called classes. In order to leave myself open to the offer, if it ever came from the dream school, I have held off on signing a lease in Seattle. My odds of getting into the dream school are extremely slim. As a pesimist, I much rather just assume Seattle be my surogate home for the next two years, but my girlfriend would prefer otherwise. Not only would it be nice to be closer to her and my family, but the dream school would likely offer a better job search upon graduation.

Regardless of the decision from the dream school, I will be happy. The tour of the law building at Seattle was amazing, blows my previous school away. Also the school, being that it is a jesuit school, offers a chapel just north of the law building. Lord knows we all need a little support throughout law school, and that chapel will recieve many a visit from me. School starts soon, and so does two years worth of new experiences, I can't wait.

See You Later Alligator

2005-08-04T23:24:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow is the last day at the firm (sigh). The job is a dream for me, especially since I thought I had been passed over, only to find the senior partner lost my resume and contact information. There really isn't anything bad to say regarding the firm, it is a shame that I have to go back to school and leave the people there. Some people have negative experiences, but luckily I have had a wonderful experience. For those of you thinking that people at the firm read this blawg, and that that is why I am writing this suck-up post, you are sadly mistaken.

At the same time, all of my life is packed up in boxes, and my journey to my transfer school begins saturday morning at 4:30 a.m.. The future has never seen so bright, and I am really (seriously really) looking forward to writing in on law review. It will be nice to spend many tireless nights in the law library.

Nothing

2005-08-03T20:36:00.000-04:00

That is what I have recieved so far from my dream law schools, but I am not counting on an acceptance anyway. Plus, I am quite stoked on my transfer school, so this whole waiting game has lost its pain and suffering.

Even better is that my girl (who is an elementary school teacher) started her months break from teaching today. Therefore, she is happy which in turn makes me happy. You have to love year-round school, she gets three and a half months off throughout the year sparatically. If I could only make the money I will make as an attorney practicing teaching, I would so be there.

Pack Your Bags

2005-08-02T18:53:00.000-04:00

Today it begins, I start packing up my possessions and shoving them into boxes. Usually this is pretty easy, simply keep enough clothes for a day or two out and you are set. But not this time, with my crazy august ahead of me, I have to leave out enough clothes for a wedding, trip to transfer school, and trip to hawaii. Man life is rough.

Depositions

2005-08-01T17:39:00.000-04:00

The future seems so bright. One day I might pass the bar exam and then maybe get hired at a firm where I will work 30 out of 31 days a month. While the whole time getting paid nicely, whereby I can funnel my paychecks to a loan consolidation company. Only to sit in my office with a view and spend numerous hours reading through and summarizing depositions.

I have seen the crap work that junior associates get at my firm, most because they pawn it off on me while I am there. The future doesn't seem that bright when you focus on the negative, but it has just been one of those days.

One Week Left

2005-07-29T18:03:00.000-04:00

One week from today I will be packing to start my month of madness. August is crazy for me, let me descirbe:

Leave one week from today to drive to transfer school, chill there for a couple days.
Fly home, leaving my car at transfer school, and leave home the next day hoping on another flight to head to my best friends wedding.
Then staying in nor cal at the wedding for a couple days, only to fly home, stay home for a day, then fly to Maui for a couple days.
Stay in Maui for a couple days, then fly home, stay at home for a day, then fly to my transfer school (where my car will be at).
That leaves me one day to figure out which school I will be attending the day before school starts. To either move in the next day, of head back to so cal that night and drive without sleep (if I get into a local school).

August is likely the busiest month of the year for me, and I am so looking forward to it. I enjoy being busy, so I relish the craziness. Let the fun begin.

The Firm

2005-07-29T01:17:00.000-04:00

You had to figure that a reality-television show based on lawyering would suck. Guess they knew it would suck so NBC just embraced it, what a waste of an hour of my life.

If You Were Wondering

2005-07-28T22:31:00.000-04:00

On my blog there is a link hidden which will reveal to you the one law school I have recieved and acceptance to thus far. And sorry no hints.

Beggers Can Be Choosers

2005-07-28T17:54:00.000-04:00

So I got into an awesome school as a transfer, but I want more. Why can't I get into one of my four dream law schools, specifically two of the four. It would only make sense that the best schools I have applied to have yet to provide me with an answer regarding my status. Personally, I believe they just threw away my application because my grades suck and I am not good enough for their schools. Trust me, I am not be negative, this belief is grounded in truth.

Enough already, I am sick of stewing in transfer juices, my buddy got into his dream law school, why can't I? Or at least give me the denial, at this point either would work, then I could just move into an apartment at the one transfer school that has accepted me so far. Funny thing is that, the one acceptance was to the third highest ranked school I applied too (tier 1 schools rock).

Rejected

2005-07-27T18:59:00.000-04:00

From hands down the crapiest school I applied to as a transfer. As you can tell, it is a real bummer, Boo Hoo. I was actually told by one of the professors who wrote a letter of recommendation for me that this san diego school is one that Cooley can look down upon. The fact that I was denied was a welcome denial, I didn't even care if they gave me any response, since I wasn't going to go there even if they provided me an offer.

It is weird that all of my tier 3 & 4 schools I applied to have gotten back to me with denials, and the only tier 1 school I applied to gave me an acceptance. That makes 7 denials, 1 acceptance, and 7 schools still to hear from. At least there is plenty of time until school starts, you know about 26 days. This whole waiting for the good schools thing is really cramping my style. It has forced me to postpone my signing a lease at the school that provided me an acceptance until literally the day before school starts. That sunday should be quite a day.

Bling Bling, Money Ain't A Thing

2005-07-26T19:41:00.000-04:00

Apparently, money isn't a thing, considering how much money I took out today for student loans. I am looking forward to living the high life in the Pacific Northwest, showering with evian, having my butler cook meals, and most importantly buying a dog. None of these are likely realities, but damn I wish I had a dog. It seems that everywhere in southern california people are roaming around with dogs. Why is my life so scattered and poor that I can't afford a dog. Damn you law school, damn you.

Cost of Living

2005-07-25T19:01:00.000-04:00

Well, the verdict is in. I am going to pull out 1oK more in fin. aid than I took out last semester. The cost of living, as well as tuition are higher at the transfer school. The problem arises in that I can't apply for fin. aid yet because I am not for sure which school I will transfer to. It will be so exciting to graduate, take the bar, and then start practicing, only to know that all of my paychecks for a couple of years will go to financial aid.

Half Days

2005-07-21T18:03:00.000-04:00

So I am done with my public job for this summer, I served my 10 weeks and have bid that job farewell. That is, until next year (I was given an awesome offer), but we will have to wait and see. Hence, my working career consists of 7 -12:30 at the private firm. Let me just say, it is awesome, it almost provides me with a summer, like I am back in undergrad and I am taking one class over summer. The best part is because I am able to work a little extra at the private firm I have been getting positive recognition for my work.

Life is nice right now, minus the extreme heat we are facing in southern california right now. And of course the fact that I am not sure which school I am transferring to since I have yet to hear from all of them. I have a couple friends who are transferring, and pretty much all of them are still waiting to hear from their ideal law school. It is almost like it is another law school right of passage. Like, hey you want to transfer, well then you will just have to sweat it out until a week before school starts to find out.

This Sucks

2005-07-20T19:06:00.000-04:00

I just called the law schools I have yet to hear from, they said they could notify me of my acceptance within a week before the start of the new school year. This is crazy, I might have already signed a 9 month lease for an apartment in the pacific northwest by that time. How the heck am I going to get out of that one.

I know contract law, but unconscionability doesn't sound like a good excuse.

It Only Costs 37 Cents

2005-07-20T18:20:00.000-04:00

That is the cost of sending my denial or acceptance to either of the four law schools I have still yet to hear from. All happen to be the best law schools I applied to as a transfer. I figured that I would hear from all four first being that they are the most prestiguous and highest ranked schools I choose to apply too. Yet, here I sit, 4 weeks until school starts in the fall, without the knowledge of what school I will attend in the fall for sure. One sure thing is that I have left Lansing, Michigan behind. Cooley will never again be a party to my education. Another sure thing is that I will be attending law school on the west coast. The question being, how far away from my girl and family I will be is up in the air.

To be honest, I would be happy with either the accpetance or rejection at this point. Just some kind of feedback would be nice. I mean, this is cutting it pretty short; I still have to apply for financial aid, and pick classes at a would be transfer school.

Sadly, I heard from a senior associate at the firm that she heard from NYU two weeks before class started that she had been accepted as a transfer. That would suck, it would mean I would need to move all of my stuff back from Seattle, somehow figure out how to get out of my lease in my apartment there. Bottom line is it would be a giant mess. It doesn't really help that I have the craziest august in record. From trips to seattle (transfer), san fran (best buds wedding), to maui (vacation with the girl), I am booked.

Lets hope the mail provides some feedback sometime sooner than later.

Biznillables

2005-07-19T21:49:00.000-04:00

By the end of this month, I will likely have doubled the number of billable hours I logged last month. This is pretty insane; I find myself working longer hours at the same pay. But I must admit, I enjoy what I do, and the money is great.

With school on the horizon, I am more motivated to work hard and make a lasting impression. Lord knows I would love to be back at the firm next summer, and with a little luck and some more hard work I will likely achieve my goal.

On a sad note, the young guy who is (was) friends with my girlfriend who was dying of cancer, contracted an infection, and has since died. He was 24 years old.

One Lucky Guy

2005-07-17T22:10:00.000-04:00

On an topic unrelated to law, my girlfriend yesterday said something that made me love her more, if that is even possible. As well, I found out today that one of her friends from high school has lymphoma cancer, he is 24.

Life is about perspective, there are always those better off, and those worse. This seems to be something (at least for me) that law students forget about. No matter where you go to school, or how hectic life gets during school, you are lucky. You are blessed to be in the position you are. Imagine if you were borne into a life where such oppurtunity did not exist, you would know no better.

The bottom line being, I am one lucky guy. Sure I have problems, who doesn't? But, I also have gifts, glorious gifts bestowed upon me by god the almighty. Blessed with a family including amazing parents and grandparents, to a woman who I was born to love, I am one lucky guy.

p.s. To my buddy slander, I will catch up with you soon enough, don't give up the posting.

The Best Movie This Year Is ....

2005-07-15T19:29:00.000-04:00

The March of the Penguins

Represent

2005-07-14T17:41:00.000-04:00

The opposition to the SMJ pleading is out the door at my prestigious private firm tonight. I did the cite checking today and found some errors. It is damn hard to write a 45 page brief without a couple errors. More interesting was the fact that some of my personal writings were cut-and-pasted into the brief. Makes me feel good, like my research and time was not in vain. Although I could totally understand why I would not be given the task of assembling the brief on my own.

This summer has provided me with a good understand of how a mid-sized firm functions, and I dig it. It is this tier system, where everyone relies on the each other to achieve their goals. I will be eager to hear what the result of the motion is, and will likely be back at my transfer school when the judge makes his decision. Though this is unfortunate, what is fortunate are my experiences this summer and the experiences I am looking forward to at the new transfer school over the next two years.

I already have my apartment, classes, and travel schedule set up to get myself situated. My enjoyment of planning should be evident, since I recieved notice of my admission earlier this week and have already taken care of all of the details surrounding my attendence.

The real monkey wrench that could go into the works would be if I was accepted to one of the 4 schools which I have yet to hear from, which are ranked higher than my transfer school. This is highly unlikely, so I am not holding my breath.

Why Can't Law School Be Free?

2005-07-13T23:06:00.000-04:00

These student loans are killing me.

The Smile Persists

2005-07-12T17:59:00.000-04:00

Today, after yesterdays news, the smile on my face continues. My classes for my new school are scheduled and I am looking forward to my move to the pacific-northwest in the fall. A doubtful mood has been prevalent in my life since I began this transfer process. My grades were good, but not great. My extras were solid, but not exceptional.

I feel blessed, and I am more excited to hear that the school I am going to attend is a catholic school. And I as a catholic will have a local parish to attend sunday mass.

At work today, trying to hide the smile, I told some co-workers at the firm, and did my best not to look like a little kid on christmas. But, if you were looking at me, I am sure you could have seen the happiness on my face. Although I am leaving Cooley, I will never forget Lansing. That is certainly not to say that I will ever voluntarily return to visit Lansing. But, I will email my professors who wrote me letters of rec and provide them with the outcome. Hope all is well for everyone, because all is well currently for me.

Yeah I'm Back. What Are You Going To Do About It?

2005-07-11T20:25:00.000-04:00

I have been accepted. After almost an entire summer of denials, the transfer acceptance came in. I am attending law school in the fall on the west coast, at a tier one school, with one of the top legal writing programs in the country. And I still have 7 more schools to hear from.

Today was a good day, the school that accepted me has accepted a couple other Cooley kids from what I hear, and I know about two guys. Just to be back on the west coast, going to school with people I know who are cool and smart, man I am lucky. Not to mention I am a short plane flight away from my girlie.

Tonight is dinner and drinks. And to all you tier 1 kids at work I say, "what now?" I will never forget my roots, my Cooley roots. The only school to give me a chance from the start.

It Has Been Fun While It Lasted

2005-06-30T22:05:00.000-04:00

I am signing off for the summer. I have been discovered by co-workers at one of my places of employment. Given my recent loss of anonymity, I have decided to end the summer posts. I will resume when I return to Cooley in the fall. To all the haters out there I say, "beat it jerks." Spicoli Out!

Grammar Nazi

2005-06-30T19:24:00.000-04:00

For those of you who didn't have the oppurtunity to read a post that I recently deleted, I recieved some negative commentary from mr. anonymous. His/her critique was of a word which was improperly used, I do appreciate the grammar lesson, but citing my 147 score lsat was just cold. Clearly mr. anonymous is a tad bit snobby and probably got a higher lsat. Let me be the first to say congratulations on doing so well on your lsat mr. anonymous, and for going to a prestigous law school. That automatically makes you a success. Well at least until that bar exam comes around, and then that whole job thing.

You see I can take constructive criticism, but understand that I don't sit down and spell check my posts, I just write and if it sounds dumb to others, so be it. I write this blawg for me and not for you, so if you are perturbed by my grammar or word usage then my suggestion would be to click somewhere else. And if you think your better than everyone because you go to some prestiguous law school, or you got some great lsat score then maybe you are. But odds are you are not, and one day when you are in court and you lose a case (probably sooner than later) you can't whine to the judge and say but judge, I went to such and such law school or but judge I scored high on my lsat. The bottom line is once you are out of school I will see you in court and hand you a kleenex to wipe the tears from your eyes when you lose a case to me. So here is to 2004, the year I started law school, because that was the last time someone cared about my lsat score, and probably yours.

Closing Down Shop

2005-06-29T20:30:00.000-04:00

For those of you who don't read this blawg often, I work in downtown LA. So it is important that the streets of downtown remain open so I can get to my various offices of employment. Today I was informed that for the next two days I should expect some serious traffic. The reasons being that an officer of the LAPD was gunned down this weekend in cold blood and the swearing in of the new mayor elect. Therefore, there is a three hour procession with 180 police officers going through downtown on thursday. I dig the cause, but I don't dig the accompanying traffic. That is the reason for the traffic on thursday, but friday is supposed to be even worse. The reason being a couple months ago a new mayor of Los Angeles was elected, Antonio Villarigosa. He is being sworn in on friday and I just happen to work in city hall, where the mayor's office is. Great, friday should be a freaking zoo. Al Gore, Arnold Schwartzeneger, and various other dignitaries are supposed to be there. And even more streets are scheduled to be closed down.

Usually all of this madness would be something that didn't present to much hastle for me because my life at the city attorney's office where I work is very slow and I can take my time getting to work. But on friday I am in front of a judge at 8:30 for her to hear my ex parte motion, then when she grants that I am going to personally serve opposing counsel with my summary adjudication motion. Since all of this needs to be done early, I need to allow myself at least 1.5 hours to get to work on friday, which means I leave my house at around 6. Bottom line is my private firm job won't really be affected because it is in south-west downtown, but when I manage to make it up the hill towards my city attorney's office and city hall life will become quite hectic.

I know there are bigger problems in the world, so I am not complaining, just a bit puzzled that the most important appearance I have yet to make at the city attorney falls on the day of the swearing in of the new mayor of LA. At least it is a four day weekend right.

The Simpsons

2005-06-12T23:54:00.000-04:00

Adds some nice commentary to end a great weekend, what a trooper that Marge is, I now understand the plight of my girlfriend.

Muchas Gracias Senior Cooley

2005-06-10T20:08:00.000-04:00

Hardly my sentiment at this time. So duh, I applied to transfer schools this summer, in order to be back closer to home come the fall. I got a call from one of my schools today and they said they hadn't recieved my second semester transcripts, and current class rank. That was no big deal, I got a notice from the LSAC stating they had my transcripts they just aren't up on the system yet. So I thought to myself, everything is cool, and mentioned that to the woman on the phone. She said, "no problem, when the LSAC post the transcript they send us a copy, so we will be notifying you about your transfer status." That made me happy, that is until she left a end-note with me about the letter from the dean stating that I am in good standing. The letter from Cooley is standard, all law schools ask it of there transfer students. The admissions woman at this school I want to transfer says that the letter is filled with incomplete sentences, and ends with a statement like XXX student is in good standing as of .... The date is missing, it just isn't there she said.

How does this reflect on me, I asked. She said not at all, she understood that I was not responsible for writing the letter, but she did note that it does affect the way the school is viewed by that law school.

So my question and anger go to this question. Why? I know it sounds simple, why. Why not take the extra 60 seconds to write a good letter, why not double-check it to make sure it makes sense and has all the pertinent information. I just don't know, since Cooley is seeking to gain respect in academia, surely this is not the way that it is done.

As of monday at 8 a.m est, 5 a.m. pst, I will be on hold dialing extensions until I get a hold of someone at the registrar, and they I can shoot the lighting out of my mouth. Until then I must sit and stew, how frustrating. Not to mention I recieved notice of this at like 3 pst, which meant that Cooley was already closed.

I would like to know that I didn't get in as a transfer student based on my personal records, and not the incompetence of my law school. Lets hope I don't have to worry about which reason it was, but in either case, frustration has set in.

Do You Have Any Grey Pupoun?

2005-06-09T23:06:00.000-04:00

For those law students who think they are better than others because they go to a so-called "better" school, I say "No, I don't have any Grey Pupoun." Unfortunately I only have the yellow mustard, the run-of-the-mill kind of condiment. And personally I like my mustard that way. You see, it tastes good, and I really don't have the acquired taste for that gritty kind of mustard anyway. But Mr. Loyola (who works that the city attorney), my advice as a future attorney might be that with your 1.9 G.P.A., you might be better off saving your money and buying the regular mustard.

Terms and Connectors

2005-06-08T20:25:00.000-04:00

Darn /p, /s, !'s. These symbols which are supposed to narrow searches down for search topics on law search engines like west and lexis didn't supply me much help today. So I did it, after an hour and a half of searching with various terms I called up the help-desk at westlaw searching for some help. Turns out I was doing a good job, the attorney who helped me search said that she couldn't find anything either and advised me that I should build my legal argument as I please because this topic hasn't been litigated before in the country. That is always pleasing to know that you are not going crazy and that you are not incompetent.

Another first for today was a drive-through starbucks pick-up this morning. I was nice, but I have decided to fall back on my constant from law school, red bull. I am headed to costco in a couple minutes to pick-up a 24 pack, it makes the day that much easier to get its start. I need that little bit of caffeine in the morning to get my brain going.

Also, at my firm job, I got some serious billable hours adding up, I do enjoy when I arrive in the morning and there is an assignment ready for me, it just makes the ackwardness of knocking on the door of a partner and asking for work much less probable.

After Yesterday, Today Didn't Compare

2005-06-07T21:38:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was a good day, and so was today, but today was much longer. I am quite tired from staying up to download the new Coldplay album. By the way, it rocks. So I was assigned this 385 page depo today at the city attorney. My job is to compare and contrast this depo given for workers comp to the depo provided to the city for this civil action. Needless to say it was rough. I enjoy reading, but the same story twice, looking for small variances in the language is not funny.

As far as the private office goes, I spent the morning researching, I found some awesome binding precedent, tomorrow I will provide it to a partner, hopefully he will be stoked. I am too tired to type right now, hasta manana.

Being Busy

2005-06-06T22:04:00.000-04:00

There is something to be said for having something to do. I feel almost lost at either job this summer without a workload in front of me. Happily today, I was blessed with an oppurtunity to research a topic for this case going to the 9th circuit court of appeals (for the private firm), and a very interesting dangerous condition case (for the public office). Life is good, I enjoy working on material that is interesting and fulfilling at the same time.

I spent the day working hard, it is the start of my actual work day this summer. Beginning with a 7:30 arrival at the firm until my 6:00 departure at the office. It is cool, I feel like a real attorney (minus the large salary, and the bar #). I had an excellent weekend with family and friends, it seems like all of my girls family and friends graduated this weekend, too many graduation parties to count. And I got to hang with my uncle who was down from oregon, as well as my grandparents and parents. Needless to say it was a good weekend, and a good monday.

To top it off, one of my favorite bands, Coldplay, has an album coming out tonight at 12 a.m, e.s.t, so I will wait up and sync it too my ipod. This weekend, I actually bought tickets to their show in irvine in august. My buddy Paul (who is currently in spain), and I were big fans from back in the day. We knew about Coldplay before it got popular, and we totally dug the melancholy tunes. Some people might not like the blokes, so you are entitled to your opinion, but your opinion can't get me down on this great monday.

Lets just hope that Detroit knocks out Miami tonight, and this monday will go down in the books as the best.

Cram It

2005-06-02T20:13:00.000-04:00

All into one day. Getting to the private firm in the morning, chalking up some billable hours, then finishing the day off with a demurrer submitted to Los Angeles Superior Court at the public city job. Man I am wiped. My girl's little sister graduates from high school tomorrow, it makes me feel old since I graduated from high school in the late 90's.

This week seems really short, not having work on monday was just weird and I feel like I am short-changing my jobs since I will only work about 20 hours in each this week, but such is life. For all of those out in Michigan, the weather out here in SoCal is probably the same as it is there. It is overcast and like 70, gotta love june gloom.

Lesson Coutesy of Donald Trump

2005-06-01T20:49:00.000-04:00

Today was the first day of the private firm associateship, it was awesome. I can see how my buddy A (aka 2 Cents and Change) enjoys his job so much. I was surrounded by the brightest minds, and I wondered how me, Mr. Cooley ended up there. Clearly a mix of connections and grades put me there. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks, I am a mix of street smarts and book smarts, smack dab in the middle, with a pretty good GPA, and pretty good connections. I was saddened at first realizing that I probably wouldn't get a job at this firm when I graduated because of my background, but then I began thinking, here I am sitting in my office (yes, I have an office), with a window view of the Staples Center and downtown Los Angeles, courtesy of the 19th floor, I stand a chance. You see, I am an enigma, I am pretty smart, but not brilliant, I am pretty savvy, but not slick. Needless to say I am feeling good.

The first case I am working on for the private firm is a 55 million dollar case, beats the hell out of my 350K case for the city attorney, but they are both good in their different ways. I got taken to lunch today with some of the partners and they are all ivy league, summa, magna people, and here I am with neither. But, they knew I knew my law, I was just as knowledgable if not more, than the other intern I am splitting my time with at the firm, and he goes to a top 50 school. The bottom line is that Cooley really does teach you, and that it deserves more respect. If I do return, you bet your ass I will respect it more, and make sure that when I get out I represent Cooley well, because people just under estimate Cooleyites.

Enough Self Loathing

2005-05-31T19:13:00.000-04:00

So my class rank sucks and I probably won't be able to transfer, at least I can continue law school and probably land a spot on law review at Cooley when I return. I just hope that people I went to class with are still there when I get back in the fall, and that all of them haven't transfered. I guess I will just have to wait and see.

By the Grace of God

2005-05-31T15:07:00.000-04:00

This is pretty much the only hope I have of transfering to another law school. Today I found out my class rank, and although my GPA stayed the exact same, my class rank went down. Oddley enough, since my class rank is based upon the number of units, since I am in the 30-44 unit range there are less people still in law school. Those darn drop outs are killing my class rank, and given my class rank went from top 25% to now, top 30%, I am screwed.

Unless God graces me with some friendly admissions board I don't stand a chance, and I will be back in Lansing in the fall. Although it could be worse, I have taken this quite hard. I am suprised that Cooley event wants me back in the fall. Seriously, 115/399 sucks, there were 430 people in my class rank last semester. Argh.

I formally apologize to anyone who reads my blog, be forewarned that you are reading the words of an idiot.

Memorial Day

2005-05-30T13:31:00.000-04:00

Today we remember those who have provided us with freedom, through their thoughts and efforts we live the life we hold today. Thank You.

Better than sitting through Class

2005-05-27T19:51:00.000-04:00

Guess who finished his motion, I did, I did. It is twenty-two pages of cites, quotes, and precedent. I have to say that Prof. Clement, my research and writing professor last semester was good. My skills for legal writing have gone from non-existent to pretty darn good. Oddly enough she didn't even give out an A in our class. She gave 2 A-'s, and 8 B's, and plenty of grades below those. I happened to be in the 8 B's, which I consider pretty good. You see I am a finance major, and I am certainly not known for my writing, at least I wasn't.

With memorial day weekend here I plan to spend all of my time outside enjoying the sun and throwing back some beers. There is a festival in hermosa beach this weekend, and my girl and her family are going, hence, I am going. I will be fun, I am also looking forward to seeing my folks next weekend for my grandpa's b-day. Being back here just rocks, southern california is where my heart is, and if I have to go back to michigan to finish out school so be it, but I will practice in socal.

The Life of a Volunteer

2005-05-26T15:34:00.000-04:00

So this morning, I decided to sleep in and forgo a day at the office. You know, as a volunteer I am not really held to when I need to work, but if my boss reads this feel comfortable in knowing that I am doing a little research at home today. My decision to take the day off was based on my trouble getting through to the registrar at my law school.

You see, as a possible transfer student I need to get info sent out to schools, and do so across the county it is a royal pain in the butt. Needless to say, I have done what I needed to do. I also found out in my journey through the internet today that I am 2 points away from an A- in property II. Just another reason why my retarded law school should give pluses since they give minuses.

For those who are not familiar with Cooley's grading scale, they don't give pluses, they only give minuses and straight grades. I know, you are probably thinking like I am, what is the freaking point. Oh well, lets hope my class rank is good.

Diverse Snobery

2005-05-25T19:37:00.000-04:00

Yesterday it was a UCLA girl, today a Loyola Marymount guy. The guy had the nerve to say that he was suprised to find that people who went to law schools that were ranked lower than his are intelligent. Seriously, come on now, Loyola is in the top 50, but seriously. For me, getting into law school was a blessing, Cooley was the only school to provide me the oppurtunity. I had partied my butt of in undergrad, and gotten an alright LSAT score to accompany my more than average GPA. But, give me some credit, I am smart (If you knew me you would know that I am smart, as are the majority of my friends who attended SDSU with me.) I consider myself smarter than those snobby southern California private school kids anyway. I paid $666 a semester for all my classes, where his dumb ass was paying 25K. Well maybe he wasn't paying, found out that his parents are supporting him, what a wimp.

It makes me sick to see these people, like if you go to a low ranked law school you aren't smart, f*ck y*u as*ho*e. Oddly enough, by the end of the day he is shooting questions at my like I am his illegitimate father. Man, I have said it, and I will say it again. See you in court bitch, and I feel for your client, he is the real sucker for hiring your ass.

Law School Snobs

2005-05-24T20:40:00.000-04:00

So I have met most of the new clerks at the city attorney's office. They think they are so great. One girl asked where I went to school and I told her Cooley, she made a face like she just bit into a lemon. I mean come on now, so you go to UCLA, you are a female persian, I am sure it might have been a little easier for you to get in being an ultra minority.

And anyways, my school is just as good as yours, we are learning the same thing, and she didn't even know how to use lexis or westlaw because her school didn't believe it in. These law school snobs think they are so smart, I know they are no smarter than I, and I managed to party my butt off in undergrad when they were in the library studying.

At Least I Am Consistent

2005-05-23T22:43:00.000-04:00

So all of my grades are in, and I got the exact same grades I got last semester. I mean exactly, the same marks, just different classes, therefore the same GPA. I don't really know how that will affect my transfer prospects, but maybe the schools will be impressed that I am consistent.

Yesterday I got back from my first bachelor party, it was a blast. Hopefully, I have plenty more to attend down the line. I am not a big drinker needless to say, but I held my own. I was one of the few people to hold down their alcohol, and I drink about 12 beers a years. Surely someone out there is thinking I am soft, but I did my fair share of drinking and partying at San Diego State University.

Speaking of undergrad, at my clerkship today a bunch of newbies in the law library. I spoke with a couple of them, they go to Southwestern, Loyola, and USC. I mentioned that I go to Cooley, it really gathered their respect (sh..yeahright). Truth of the matter is that I seem to know more law off the cuff then they do, hopefully law firms understand that when I pass the CA bar. Maybe I will even be a transfer student to one of their so-called prestigous law schools. For anyone who doubts Cooley, beware it will come back to bite you in the ass.

FRCP Rule 11

2005-05-18T20:20:00.000-04:00

Done with my motion for summary adjudication, my demurrer, and now I am creating a motion for sanctions against plaintiff's attorney. If he only knew that there was some law clerk sitting in the law library all day building bulletproof legal arguments to knock his entire case out of court. I feel so bad for him, unless he has some law clerk at his office, I can't imagine anyone having as much time on one client as I have put in, something just short of 70 hours.

Even better, I am done with work for the week. Tomorrow I head out to the colorado river to share some time with my best friends. My buddy G is getting married in a couple months and his bachelor party is at the river. I am golfing on friday morning, that should be interesting (because I suck at golf). This weekend should be awesome, but I will miss my chickie. I am so whipped, she is my best friend and I love her, not to mention I spend every waking moment by her side. 3 days being apart is going to be hard, but I will do my best to get home soon.

So Civ Pro Applies to Real Life

2005-05-18T01:07:00.000-04:00

I know, it sounds like a stupid statement, but since I am working on this demurrer for the city attorney, I find it crazy how much federal civil procedure is mimicked in California Civil Procedure. You see, this demurrer is similar to a motion for summary judgment, so I am making legal arguments for each cause of action trying to kill each one. I think I have it, but I wasn't aware of the time period I needed to get it done. Of course, if I learned anything in MacDonald's class last semester it is that an answer to an amended complaint is due 30 days after it has been recieved.

I actually have my first fellow law clerk at my office now, this guy who goes to Southwestern which is just outside downtown LA, it is a good school, and I am actually trying to transfer there. He is a chill kid, and together we rag on the UCLA, USC, Loyola people who think they are the *hit around different specialities in the civil attorneys office. You see the two of us are in civil litigation, and most of those 1st tier students are in public interest like environment or transient support. Hopefully one day I can kick their butts in court.

I Can't Wait to Start Working for Money

2005-05-17T01:37:00.000-04:00

This firm job can't be starting any sooner, with the leave to the bachelor party this weekend, to all the fun things I want to do, money is a necessity.

It Finally Makes Sense

2005-05-16T19:20:00.000-04:00

I spent the beginning of the day in a cloud of confusion. I am writing a demurrer to get this case involving four causes of action dismissed. You would think it wouldn't be that hard, but the attorney for the plaintiff is an ass. I felt this feeling of wanting to jump through the amended complaint and beat his butt.

You see, there was a motion for summary judgment and the plaintiff was given the oppurtunity to amend. So given that oppurtunity, he did, and he made his clients complaint ridiculous, so filled with legalease and jargon that frustration set in for me. I find myself more familiar with blacks law dictionary then I did in law school. But, needless to say, I made it through the clouds and found the ground, so I am back on track.

Also, I have my first fellow clerk at the city attorney's office, it is a guy who goes to Southwestern in downtown LA. I told him that I was too dumb to get in originally and I am attempting to transfer into the school. He wished me the best of luck and we shared 1L stories. It was mellow, and I felt like the wiley veteran since I now know my way around the office and are familiar with the duties of a clerk.

Typical

2005-05-15T22:34:00.000-04:00

Today was 75-80 out all day, the bike ride on the strand at the beach was nice. And the girl enjoyed the shopping in Manhattan Beach while I sat idley by. Back to the volunteer grind tomorrow, but I mailed in the offer letter with signature and tax info to the firm job. I am looking forward to getting paid for my work, but still also enjoying the volunteering work.

Oh yeah, and one of my best buds has his bachelor party this up-coming weekend, it is my first, and I am excited about spending some quality time with friends. When it comes to partying I am a wuss, back in college I was crazy, but now, after a year of law school I am a wuss, hopefully I can keep it all down.

Slacker

2005-05-13T14:18:00.000-04:00

So I worked 30 hours this week volunteering, it was very cool. I finished my motion for summary adjudication and a statement of undisputed facts. The Plaintiff suing the City for which I work has already lost his claim of general damages and he doesn't even know it. So yesterday I got a new assignment and started work on it, I am writing a demurrer for three causes of action for the same plaintiff. I plan on blowing all three of his actions out of the water with some preemption and maybe a dash of legal argument.

Needless to say all is well, so when the alarm went off this morning at 6:20, I felt what would be better than to take the day off. So here I sit, sunscreened up, getting ready to head to the beach and read on the sand. The only downside would be that I sent away my ipod on tuesday to get a replacement battery put in. The damn thing is 3 years old and the battery just goes over time. But other than that, it is supposed to be 80 out today and I have this awesome con law book to finish. So for all you suckers who are working, I say, I am jealous, but not that jealous.

On a lighter side, I recieved my official offer from the private firm I will be spliting my time with this summer, the one that pays. It is friday and I love it. Hope everyone has as good a friday as I am having.

Life is Rough

2005-05-12T20:28:00.000-04:00

Yeah, unfortunately after work today I am meeting up with my girl and we are going for a bike ride on the strand, it is like 75 out right now and I need to get outside. Man, being back in southern california is that much nicer than being in michigan, but with the one grade I have, odds are I will be back in michigan before I know it. I am keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that is not the case.

Downtown LA

2005-05-11T19:10:00.000-04:00

Its scary sometimes the type of people you run into downtown. Take my parking, I pulled into a spot this morning and was bombarded by two homeless people. Now, don't get me wrong, I have nothing against homeless people and don't usually feel threatened. But, these guys almost jumped on my windshield and started washing it, saying "You can pay us now, $5 should be fine." I quickly explained to them that I didn't have any money and that I didn't ask to have my winshield cleaned. The men understood, but were not happy. So then insisted on asking me for a cigarette, I mentioned to them that I don't smoke anymore, I gave it up, and that it would be good if they didn't smoke since it costs money and presumably since they are begging for money it would save them money.

Clearly this is a lawyer remark, I mean these guys are homeless in LA so who am I to preach to them about quitting smoking. The look they gave me was that of some person who was going to get it, and that kind of scared me.

To top it off, I wasn't feeling awesome after getting my torts II exam grade back yesterday and finding out that I am average. Average, come on now, I felt pretty darn good about the test, but I knew the teacher graded hard, but not even above average, who is this teacher? Oh well, I am still in law school, but my chances of transfer seem to be on the downslope. Although I still need 4 more grades, so the future is wide open.

Man, I have a Good Lady

2005-05-10T00:02:00.000-04:00

Today, I woke up feeling great. This seems to be a pattern back in southern CA. When I open my eyes I see this angel of a girl who is sweet as can be. I would put her picture up on the blawg, but I am sure it would embarass her, but I sure do love her. Three years together and you would think I would be either getting over it, or really getting into it. I am the later, she is the best, and she makes life that much better.

Sorry about the gushy stuff, but today just rocked. Chalk it up as another bitchin day in southern CA. I am also pumped because I have my best buddies bachelor party in like two weeks and it is the first bachelor party I will have attended.

Madre's Dia

2005-05-08T23:18:00.000-04:00

Today was pretty cool. I headed down to the OC and hung out with my parents which is always cool. I got to see my grandparents as well. Tomorrow I head off to complete my motion and know that it is awesome that after this summer I can put two legal jobs on my resume. Life is good, lets hope it keeps up.

Today is a Good Day

2005-05-06T20:13:00.000-04:00

I feel like I have the Ice Cube song playing in my head. I got to meet with the family friend of my girl who is a partner at this large firm in downtown LA. He offered me an associateship, I was like hell yeah. The kicker is that I was going to have to dump my clerkship with the City Attorney, but instead, he offered me only a part-time associateship. This works out perfect, when the summer is finished I will have two jobs to put on my resume, and the associateship is paid. That is the ultimate kicker, this private firm is quite prestigous, which was obvious when I entered the building it is located in downtown, Bling Bling. So I am sitting there with this ultra cool partner at this huge firm, in a corner office on the 19th floor of this buidling downtown. It was crazy, so he offered me the position, then he explained that it was paid. I was more than happy to hear that, he followed by saying you will be making $XX,XXX.XX. I tried not to smile from ear to ear, but I would be making more money over 10 weeks than I used to make in my finance job in a years time. Seriously, I want to disclose how much, I really do, but I can't, it would be an ass move, but lets just say it is enough to buy a fully loaded E series mercedes brand new. But, the crazyiest thing is that since I am working part-time at the firm there is a 2L that worked there last year that is working the other part time. He just so happens to be spliting his time between the firm and the city attorney's office I work in. It is just too funny, except he works in environment law and I work in civil litigation.

Today is a good day.

Say What?

2005-05-05T20:47:00.000-04:00

So after another cool day in the law library at my clerkship (where I work for free) and I get this call from my girl. I call her back and she mentions that her mom got a call from her family friend who is an attorney. Can you guess what the call is about? Well, when it rains it pours. This spring I contacted this family friend of my girl and he never got back to me, so I figured he was just blowing smoke up my butt when I met him over Christmas and he volunteered to hire me for money.

So today, after I am finally getting comfortable, about half-way through the draft of my motion I learn about this job. I would be crazy not to take the job, the firm is the best known litigation firm in the country. I would never have landed the job without my girl, she is a blessing in so many ways. I didn't get a chance to call today, plus it probably looks better for me to wait until tomorrow (so I don't look desperate). But to know that I am going to be working for this awesome firm under and incredible attorney, I am pumped up right now. Even better that there is a double of the OC tonight. Like I said, when it rains it pours. And to my buddy A from Cooley, I will be joining you in the private sector soon. The public sector in really interesting, but doesn't pay anything.

Summary Adjudication on the Issue

2005-05-04T20:38:00.000-04:00

Yeah, that's me. I spent the past two days on this case for the city attorney's office and I am drafting a summary judgment motion. It is crazy, civ. pro applied. Putting together my own motion as well as a legal memo including all relevant sources and cases. Hands down the gnarliest work I have ever done, and I love it. My motion will be at the Superior Court of Los Angeles in about a week and that is soo cool.

Getting adjusted to working is pretty cool. I am not all that familiar with downtown LA, so I have spent the last two days exploring and have found my comfort zone. As a civil litigation clerk I don't have a desk or office, I have a file in a cabinet and I spend my entire day in the law library, everyday. But it is not bad, in fact I feel like I have accomplished more than I did in the first 8 weeks of my first semester.

I was handed this case on a platter, the interrogatories, depositions, motions have all been done. So I got to mull through this folder with about 1000 pages worth of information. From the photo exhibits to the background of the plaintiff, it is all so interesting, it is like this story you are painting with all of this outside information. Practical experience rocks, I can't wait to get out in the real world.

Yeah I read legal text for fun! What are you going to do about it?

2005-05-02T19:51:00.000-04:00

I am currently reading this cool book on past Supreme Court decisions that are big in the establishment of current constitutional law. I would find it darn near impossible to find any law student who is not intrigued by con law, if only you could sit through the class and talk about it rather than mull through these long, verbose opinions by judges. But this book is really interesting because it covers cases from the stand point of publishing the oral argument for these landmark cases before the courts, and the judges opinions and questions to the petitioner/respondent. Clearly, I can see the dorkiness in being fascinated by such a book, but it is truly awesome. A couple of the cases I have read, and surely if I would have taken con law II last semester instead of opting out to take research and writing, then I would have read them all. What is really fun about it though, is as a future litigator/mediator, the oral arguments and the responses from the justices are provide some serious insight.

The joys of reading when it is not required, makes me sigh with comfort. Actually, a good friend of mine starts his 2nd year of law school today at Cooley. He is seeking to graduate from Cooley in two years and he is only 21 starting his second year of law school. I comend him, I sure needed this break and some practical legal experience, but damn it would be nice to be done with school sooner than later.

The Man now Owns Me

2005-04-30T13:22:00.000-04:00

Yesterday it became official, I passed the background check (duh, I am not some bad guy). So on tuesday I start working in my first legal job. Beats the hell out of selling financial instruments that is for darn sure. Although I must admit, it is nice making that green stuff they call money. But working for free is a worthy sacrafice, since placing this job on my resume will finally add some legal cred to my resume as well as it is a prestigious clerkship.

It feels good to know that I will be working next week. Sure, it was nice to have a week off, but I felt lost. I did some reading and did some bike riding, but it left a lot of free time and I was bored. Looking forward to it.

Also, hoping that grades come up next week. Going to a Dodgers game tonight with my girl, man it would be nice to know that I could aford living in LA, but until I start getting student aid again I am severely poor. It doesn't pay to be a law student.

Waiting Game

2005-04-29T13:42:00.000-04:00

So its friday, and I find myself sitting, wishing, and waiting for my internship to get its official, "it's on." The HR dept at where I am seeking a summer clerkship does a crazy background check, and a week ago yesterday I had to go in and get fingerprinted. So today I should hear whether or not I am a valid candidate. I can't imagine I wouldn't be, the only thing that caused extra attention was the fact that I was asked to leave from my job before attending law school. It was a financial sales job which was not really my forte, so if you have ever been let go from a job it requires a more thurough background check. So lets keep our fingers crossed. I mean it is kind of weird that I am stressing a job that I am not even going to be paid to do, but such is life these days. My life is so simple at this point regarding what I worry about that the smallest things take on the largest proportions.

Also interesting is that grades are slowly being added to the site for my law school. Some of my buddies at school already have one of their classes up, which is quite cool, because I am likely to be waiting another 5 weeks for grades from some of my classes. It is sad, but I wish I had homework or something to do right now so that I would stop worrying about this job, and my focus could be on something else.

Tomorrow will be rough

2005-04-26T23:36:00.000-04:00

Well since I no longer have class looming over my head I am able to enjoy life. Today I went for a twenty mile bike ride. I rode from Redondo Beach on the strand to Marina Del Ray. Let me first say I didn't think it was possible, I thought the boardwalk would stop before I would be allowed to complete such a feat, but it was done. And trust me, I am paying for it now. When I got home I was already aching and currently I can feel the pain. Man I am out of shape. Sure when I was in better shape I would have still been sore, but not like I am now. I was walking to my car and my leg buckled. Life is rough, I have a nice tan on my face from riding today, I wish I was retired.

What is really nice is that I am going to try and work out the lactic acid tomorrow and do the same ride. For those of you who are not familiar with los angeles, redondo beach is right above orange county and marina del ray is just south of santa monica.

I am still checking my grades everyday and they are still not up. I even had to fill out my fafsa for next years financial aid. I feel like I got more done today than I ever got done in lansing, lets hope I never have to return. But if I do, there will be no love lost, it is a great school.

Isn't it Nice

2005-04-25T19:36:00.000-04:00

Waking up and only having to run erands, reading a book that is not required, and relaxing in the sun in the afternoon. I hope all is well in the world, southern california is awfully nice. Currently I am re-painting a beach cruiser for my girl so on the weekends we can spend the time riding up and down the boardwalk.

I already miss the people I met at school, but I know that some time down the line we will all cross pathes. I keep checking grades daily, but of course they are not up, they aren't supposed to be up for some time. I will continue to check daily though.

The Past Comes Back to Bite

2005-04-22T00:53:00.000-04:00

I went into my clerkship this summer to get fingerprinted and what not, and came to find out that since I was let go at my last job, they were going to have to contact that employer before they could provide me with a confirmation on my employment. Crazy, but what can you do. I didn't meet my quotas at the financial services institution I used to work at, oh well.

I am extremely happy because I am currently vegging out with my girlfriend in southern california and life couldn't be better. To all of those that are still awaiting finals, or friends that I attended class with this past year who have dispersed across the country I hope all is well.

And to my buddy Paul, I had tapas when I stopped in Chicago, they were alright.

Changes About

2005-04-21T00:31:00.000-04:00

I am sort of confused about what to entitle my blawg. Since, I am now finished with my first year of law school. See I have finished two semesters, moved back to CA, and I meet with the Los Angeles City Attorney tomorrow about my clerkship that starts in a week. So, do I now change the title to the clerkship life?

The last three days have been nuts made it from michigan to california in three days, that is 22oo miles, the car seat has worn a hole wear my butt goes. But, I hope all is well for those that read this blawg and for those who still have finals to take. Life is good in california and I went for a ride on the boardwalk in redondo beach this afternoon with my girlfriend, life is good.

Back Home

2005-04-20T20:12:00.000-04:00

I am back home, and my girl and I are happy to be done with driving. I will post tomorrow a little more, but so-cal rocks.

The best part of waking up is anxiety in your gut!

2005-04-11T08:14:00.000-04:00

Thought I would steal a catch phrase from folgers there. I am sitting here at my desk, I have been up for about 3 hours now on the morning before my second final (yes, I had a final this weekend, research and writing, but it really wasn't a final). The anxiety mounts, I feel prepared, but I get nervous thinking about how much there is to do on this exam. 40 M/C questions, and 5 essays, I mean come on now. Thank the lord I am able to write my essays on my lap-top or my hand would fall off. And who put the call of the question in an essay, especially when there are 5 which states "discuss and decide." Give me some love, that kind of call of the question is more frustrating that most. In contracts II, you can go after just about anything and make the promises/conditions argument, or a PER argument, so give me a little direction here. The final is 2.45 hours away and I am looking forward to getting it done. My girlfriend comes out tomorrow to help pack me up and do the drive back to CA with me. I am stoked, but it will be the first time she will have been around me during finals. Probably won't be a big deal since I don't study at my house, but at my friends, so she can just pack up all my stuff for me. Which is awesome because I don't have time to do much other than study. Gook luck to all in the world of finals.

No time to get sentimental

2005-04-09T09:59:00.000-04:00

This is it, I am done with my first year classes, all that remains if some gruesome finals. My final trip to the library was highlighted by an open table on the second floor, luck is on my side today. Lets hope that luck parlays into my performance on my first exam today. Odds are I should do pretty well, I have probably put in more time studying the material than most of my classmates. The material is grammar (which I am terrible at) and research information. Both of these topics need to be constantly brushed up in my mind in order for me to achieve the sought after A, A-, or B in research and writing.

Now that I will no longer be walking to the library in Lansing, that is if some school grants me a transfer. I would like to pose a question to those east coasters who might read this blawg. What is the origins of th steam (or whatever it is) that comes out of the sewers that is visible whether the weather is cold or warm? I have always wondered since of course we have sewers in southern CA as well, but they lack a constant fog of stale air protruding from them. Oh, the joys of the east coast, is it any wonder that I am so eager to get out of here (hopefully permanently).

Eye Boogers

2005-04-08T20:22:00.000-04:00

It is 8 and my find is a flury with civil procedure flow charts. Procedure is what seperates the men from the boys in law school. I am so tired after such core studying it is hard to think, my eyes are droppy and I found myself dozing off a second ago. Tomorrow is my first final, it is different than the other four finals though. You see my other four finals are worth 100% of my grade, but my research and writing final is only worth 10% of my grade. It is also based on research methods and materials and puncuation. I am looking forward to having one class down. I will let everyone know how it goes. As of right now, I will finish my beer, eat a sandwich, and hit the hay. Cheers mate.

It's the Final Countdown

2005-04-07T10:36:00.000-04:00

As I sit at my desk in my apartment dreading the day full of studying, I rock out to the hit song by the super-group Europe. I would try and type out the chorus, but it is just too damn hard. My first and most likely most challenging final is looming, it is just over 80 hours away. Once I have one under my belt they seem to fly by, but until them I will contemplate taking up smoking again. But rather, I will choose to take the nerves and thrive on them. They push me to go all night and past what I might feel would be adequate studying. It is crazy to think in two weeks from today I will be at my new clerkship, and that I will be working on the cheap. I have never volunteered as a job before and I really hope that I can deduct my gas from taxes. To be home in southern CA will be incredible, I already have a plan of attack of bring my surfboard up to my girlfriends house and surfing at least once a day, every day, for the first week I am back. I am also going to buy a beach crusier because there is no better way than to spend the day rocking out to your ipod and covering 15 miles on a bike up and down the coast of southern CA. It makes me smile just thinking about it. Finals here I come.

Quite the Quandry

2005-04-06T19:43:00.000-04:00

Since I have one semester of law school under my belt, and soon to be a year, I feel as if I know more than I did before law school. Makes sense right? Sure it does, so it would only make sense that I would have learned from my experiences last semester about what type of preparation works best for me for finals this semester. Understanding that, I began preparing earlier and better this semester, and I find myself in an odd position. I know the rules for most of my classes, and I am missing some of the jurisdicitonal splits and minorities, but for the most part I have the material down.

Given that understanding you would be lead to believe that I should be comfortable with my position. But that thought couldn't be further from the truth. It makes me feel more nervous knowing that I better understand the material and comprehend it earlier than last semester. It is almost like I feel as if I shouldn't feel this confident a week before finals even begin.

What can you do I guess, other than spend your life in nose deep in FINZ questions, Flashcards, and Outlines. I need to get home for good, and I hope I am ready.

Okay, whats the deal?

2005-04-05T21:18:00.000-04:00

I find my self in an odd position. I feel as if I am actually prepared for one of my hardest finals, and the final isn't even until monday. This preparing early thing really pays off.

On another note not so positive, I had a good friend yesterday inform me of a suicide that occurred at my law school last week. It was hard to hear, and shows me how out of the gossip loop I am. It saddens me to believe that someone could consider law school so serious that they would take their life. Now I am speaking as if I know that is what the foundation of the act was based on, but I clearly don't. But given that is all I have to go off of, I will discuss.

This is freaking law school, it is not the end of the world if you don't get a good grade, or even pass a class, or even fail out. Life means more than your occupation, it means hugs from your parents, it means smiles from friends, and kisses from your girlfriend/boyfriend. I will never define myself by my occupation, and if I ever find myself falling into that pattern I have already informed my girlfriend, one day wife, to slap some sense into me. Life is the most precious gift god has given us, and as one of my friends put it, taking your life is the most selfish act one could undertake. My prayers are with the persons family and friends, as well as his/her soul.

I Love Life, and Living.

Here I am...

2005-04-04T09:58:00.000-04:00

Since today is most likely the last day I will spend at the Cooley library (at least this semester), I am going to out myself and allow people if they choose to know my superhero identity. You see, I am driving home to CA in two weeks from today, and I will be studying with two people I always study with from class up until and through finals. So essentially this is my last day at the library. Hopefully, I am able to transfer to school on the west coast, or else I will be back to cooley in the fall, just gotta keep the fingers crossed, and the grades high. But, in the chance that I do not return, if you were curious who writes this drivle, they I am here for all eyes to see, sitting at the window on the eighth floor with a batman mask on, and red tights. You really can't miss me, I have stationed myself underneath a table.

Come one now, like I would destroy my anonimity. I quite enjoy being able to write without fear of recourse. Seriously though, this is probably the last day I will spend in the library (hopefully) and it is sad, on the walk over from the apt. I shed a tear. Although I am vacating Cooley to head back home for my internship this summer, and I don't really want to come back. It is certainly not b/c of Cooley, this school is great, it was the only one to give me a chance, and for that I am forever greatful. The only real reason I want to transfer is my girl and my family, without those ties I would probably not leave lansing for two years and do the two year program. So if any cooley faculty read this, keep up the good work. Provide those who are not the a-typical law student with the oppurtunity to attend law school, and you will be presently suprised.

Memorization Day

2005-04-03T07:59:00.000-04:00

Today will be fun, it will show me how many times over it will require me until I have my outlines for my classes memorized. I have laid the ground work over the past couple of weeks, now I just need to memorize. Then, this week I will work on the application of anything I am fuzzy on. What a crazy feeling that 1 week from today I will be cramming contracts in my head for my final the following day. Rock on!

It's Saturday Morning...

2005-04-02T10:39:00.000-05:00

And I have quite a day. I will spend 6 hours of my day in SBA (Student-Bar Association) sponsored tutorials for my finals. I did not attend them last year, and after my first one yesterday I don't see some overwhelming benefit. But, it is great to sit there and re-hash the entire class and come to the realization that you know the material better than you thought. So with one session down and three to go, I feel it is worth the time. I have 9 days until my finals start and the pressure is mounting. I am ready, and I will make sure that I am prepared properly for finals. This semester I know my weaknesses and I plan on curing those weaknesses. Damn multiple choice questions are what needs work. Oddly enough last semester I got an A on every essay I wrote, yet I only managed to do so-so on the multiple choice, so I will spend more time on the m/c this semester. For all those law students who share with me the approaching of finals I wish you good luck, and god speed. As a good catholic man, my prayers are with the Pope in these trying times.

Bzzz

2005-03-31T20:51:00.000-05:00

That is the sound in my head right now from all the talk of eminent domain and judicial land use controls. I must be brief since my eyes hurt again, just like they have the past couple of nights. It is sad to think that in 18 days I will be 25, that is like a quarter of a century. I feel like and old man already, I always said as a young guy that I wanted to be established by 25, clearly that is not the case. Anyways, the hair is starting to turn grey and my civ pro prof shared with the class today that he still has nightmares about waking up late for exams. So on that note, I must duck my head into bed and pray for happy dreams. Enough babbling, good night to all.

Too Busy to Post

2005-03-30T20:26:00.000-05:00

If there is anyone, and I doubt there is that misses my daily posts I must apologize. I will be extremely busy since finals are in two weeks, therefore the daily posts will be sparce. I hope anyone who cares understands. I am so tired right now it hurts to look at my computer screen. I just finished 11 straight hours of contracts II, frickin' ridiculous. Almost done with the first year, woo hoo!

What a Difference a Week Makes

2005-03-28T10:46:00.000-05:00

Exactly two weeks from today I will be feverishly typing away at some essay question, or maybe filling in some bubbles on the multiple-choice questions on my second semesters first exam. And exactly three weeks from today I will be on the road in the middle of Iowa on my way back to California. It is crazy to think that I am almost finished with my first year of law school. Soon I can arrive at whatever campus in which my grades and faith will me too, and look around and feel like I kind of know what I am doing. That feeling of being a freshman subsided after my finals last semester, but I am still a 1L, for at least 2.5 more weeks that is. Time to enjoy it before the finals madness sets in, up, to late, the finals madness has been prevalent since about three weeks ago. Hopefully that extra preparation will help me get better grades than last semester. But as we all know, in life, as well as law school, it is not about how hard you work, but how smart you work.

Happy Easter

2005-03-27T10:04:00.000-05:00

Indeed, the day is a good day. My final research and writing paper is due tomorrow evening, and I am that close to being done. Now all I need to do is practice a million grammar questions so that I can do well. Not exactly what I had easter pictured like last year before I had come to law school, but nonetheless a good day. On this the holiest of holy days, I would just like to be thankful for all I have been given. I attend law school with some extremely bright minds, and have an oppurtunity before me that most people dream about. I certainly woke up on the right-side of the bed this morning.

Flourescent Lighting

2005-03-26T16:37:00.000-05:00

I have become so familiar with the inside of my apartment it is sickening. I miss reading and studying under sunlight. When I went to school in San Diego that is how I studied, that is when I was studying, which didn't happen very often. It is easter weekend, and I find myself knee deep in my final research memo. I am a little scared because it sounds really good, and I know it has a lot of work, but I need to seperate myself from it to see what that work is. 3 weeks from today I will be in my car, not being able to see out my rear-view mirror because it is so loaded down with crap, on my way across this country. Being back in CA is something I actually dream about nightly, seriously, the last couple of nights I have had dreams where I find myself as a transfer student at some of the various schools I applied to.

Don't Even Stand a Chance

2005-03-25T13:06:00.000-05:00

I have been studying feverishly for finals, and plan on doing well, hopefully well enough to provide me an oppurtunity to transfer. But that raises the question, "Do I even stand a chance?" My future is in the hands of the admissions boards of 11 schools. I applied to 12, but one of the schools I probably wouldn't even go to if I got in. Anyways, my grades last semester of a 2.8 GPA, which sucks. Oddly enough I still was in the top 25% of my class since my law school is a minus scale. But, am I good enough? I have heard and read many a blog that say that of course grades and LSAT scores are very important, but also that personal statements play a vital role. My personal statement is very heart-felt and has good reasons, so I now on this good friday, pray that my future is back on the west coast, because being so far away from home is so hard.

Review Session at the End of the Next Class...

2005-03-23T12:31:00.000-05:00

In most classes, this would be a great sign, maybe the professor would ante up some information about what kind of essays might be more likely to show up on exams, or even ween you in the correct direction if you have choosen the wrong rabbit hole. Rather, these words in the context of my contracts II class are a wash. They mean virtually nothing, other than you could waste your time by sitting in on those precious minutes. The last review session this professor held, someone asked her a question and she basically said, find your own answer. I can't recall the details, but I remember the jist of that session, and it was a giant waste of time. If anything, it made you feel more inferior than when you didn't have a semester of law school under your belt.

There is a distinct difference from my research and writing professor who teaches you to conduct research on your own to answer your own problems, after she has done a thurough job of laying out the context. And a contracts II professor who does neither and essentially makes you learn the class totally on your own. I would have been better off this semester to skip my wednesday morning classes, and just head to the library and read hornbooks or commercial outlines about the subject matter. That way at least I would have gleaned a better understanding than I feel that I have now. But, supposedly this harsh teaching method is reflective in the grading by the professor. Basically the idea is, I didn't teach you anything, therefore, if you are close in your understanding that you pass. What a horrible way to teach, I didn't come to law school for grades, I came to get and understanding of the procedural and substantive aspects of law. It just means I will need to put in that much more effort when it comes to PER, Conditions, Avoidance, and TPB's when the CA bar comes around, just great to think about.

Re: It's The Final Countdown

2005-03-22T12:27:00.000-05:00

About the time I started this whole blawg last year, the theme was the same. Its the final countdown, finals are in 20 days, I can feel the adrenaline pump through my veins as I even contemplate them. I don't have the same stresses as I did last semester, like, will I be here next semester? Rather, now I have the pressure of will I provide myself with an oppurtunity to transfer? This wouldn't be an issue if I got a 4.0 last semester, but that is not the case. And seeing Mr. 4.0 as I call him (who is a really a guy in all of my classes) can get a bit frustrating. But then again, he is ugly and I am good looking. So there are trade offs, now if the guy were some chick magnet, I might feel slighted, but it is comforting to know he is not.

The messed up lesson that I have taken from law school thus far is that: Those who work hard will not always do well, rather those who can perform under the given circumstances are the ones that will do well. If law school was based on hard work I am sure more people would have higher grades, but that is just not the case, and this semester I plan to parlay that hard work along with a better understanding of the subject matter than I had last semester. This semester it is more about understanding the topics and being able to talk at length about them. Rather than last semester where it was a kind of memorization game where you sought to memorize the old tests of flows of topic to sub-topic you knew the teacher would test. I will not know if it works for another 9 weeks, but lets keep our fingers crossed.

Applications Submitted

2005-03-21T10:13:00.000-05:00

They are electronically submitted to 12 law schools in CA, hopefully one springs friutful. I am waiting to meet with a prof. right now who has a friend that is a prof. at one of the schools I am apply too. I was told by another professor that by meeting with this prof., I will be ear-marked as a good candidate for transfer. Lets hope that is true, but nothing in this world is for certain. Another full monday, meeting this morning, make-up contracts class at 12, and class this evening. Followed my a meeting with the prof. about my final office memo. Looking forward to getting to bed at 1 am tonight. The next 3 weeks are hectic needless to say, I haven't check my bracket, and I don't think I will. It would only make me want to follow basketball, and to be honest right now I don't have time to follow myself let alone basketball. 29 days until I leave lansing, I can't wait.

Strange Phenomena

2005-03-20T09:31:00.000-05:00

Lately, I have been speaking with people about my law school and my possibility of transfer. I mention the name of my institution, and those people go, "wow, that is a great school." I wonder if they have been drinking the laced cool-aid, or if maybe they are humoring me. Clearly, they didn't have a clue about how many law schools there are or how they are ranked. My take on their reaction was that they don't know anything about law school other than Harvard Law, so if you go to law school it is good. But clearly that is not the case, or else I could graduate from my current law school and easily recieve a job back home in LA, but that is not the case. Hence, my brazen attempts at transfer. My transfer applications are actually heading out the LSAC today, after about 15 drafts of my personal statement, it is now at nauseum that I attach it electronically to my applications and disseminate.

On a funny note, last night I caught myself watching my girlfriends favorite movie, legally blonde. I changed the channel on a commercial for the basketball game and I heard malum prohibidum, it perked my interest. Then as I watched I realized what I was watching. Movies like these might lead to the belief that people have about law school, that you can just apply to harvard law and get in, come on now. Or that you have all of this free time in school to undertake all these activities. Maybe I could write a screenplay this summer about the first year of law school at a low tier school, and the pressure to transfer. This would be some sort of addendum to "the paper chase." Free time, I remember that stuff, I used to have it back in undergrad.

Top of the Mornin' to ya

2005-03-19T09:27:00.000-05:00

Currently, I sit on the fifth floor of my faculty building because my duty as a baliff for the moot court was scheduled incorrectly. My presence is not requested as I was informed that it was, instead, I sit here on the couch waiting to serve as a baliff for half of the requested time required. Long story short, I woke up early for nothing. Luckily I get to leave here at 12 to quickly grab some lunch, then sit and listen to my torts II professor for two hours in the classroom building. Followed my an exciting trip to the library where I most likely will not be able to find a good seat. In which time, I will drag my ass back home and work at my desk from home. I look forward to today like I look forward to a hole in my head. First semester is over in 33 days. I thought I would never get into law school, now I find myself almost one year down with pretty good grades. Of what a tangled web we weave.

I found an umbrella

2005-03-18T16:26:00.000-05:00

I am covered, but shit is still falling from the sky. After an email grovel, I got a pass. The load of my shoulders is huge. I am a happy man.

Caught in a Shit Storm

2005-03-18T13:45:00.000-05:00

Class today was good, property II makes good sense, moot court meeting following class was a giant waste of time, as usual. Arriving home and check email, and seeing an email from professor who teaches research and writing about missed appointment, that sucks. I have the appointment on my calender scheduled for next monday, instead inadvertently I clicked today at 10, which is impossible since I have class from 8-11. I hope the teacher understands, she is a hard teacher, but mistakes like these happen, and I hope she can still meet with me. I have so many questions about my final memo, and it is worth so much it would kill me not to be able to meet with her. Plus the stare she will give me if and when I do meet with her will make me feel 1 inch tall. There are those weeks where you just feel like you are an idiot. This is one of them, and I will kill for a time machine. Where are you Michael J. Fox and the delorian when you need them. Ahh, I can feel my blood pressure raising as we speak. Say your prayers for me that the professor is cool enough to permit me a meeting.

What a Fu*king Day...

2005-03-17T12:59:00.000-05:00

Class this morning was good, I completely get the FRCP from Civ Pro. Then I get home and the gym I am trying to breach my contract with says my proof of avoidability is inadequate. What the Fu*k? The four items of proof they require are impossible for me to provide, I won't explain, but I would have to own a home to prove 3 of the 4 things they request. So I am currently trying to research how I can get this into small claims court, I will continue to pay, but I am protesting payment of the bill. I am moving back to CA in like 33 days, and finals are looming, I don't have time for anything, let alone to make an appearance at small claims court. But to breach contract with these idiots I would stand outside in the cold butt-naked. Sure, I could just forgo paying the future bills, but they they would negatively affect my credit. I would much rather pay, and have them reimburse me when I show the small claims judge I have fulfilled my duty to breach. The aggravating circumstances make it that much more unconscionable for them to hold me to this contract. The representative who signed me up led me to believe I could breach at any time with proof of change of address. I have now found that the proof of address needs to meet specific standards set forth by the gym. Contract avoidance in effect, and I have all the factual proof to show I have fulfilled my requirements, get me a court and let me take these bastards down. If anyone who reads this is from MI, and have any advice about how I can move forward with this action quickly drop a note.

Multiple Choice

2005-03-16T14:51:00.000-05:00

I hate them, they suck, and the bar is going to suck even more. But, until then I need to work on my ability interfacing with them. So, that is what I will do. Look out finals here I come, and I am taking multiple choice questions with me.

Good thing it is snowing out right now

2005-03-15T12:13:00.000-05:00

Because I might have forgotten that spring starts in a day or two. The snow falling right now is pretty heavy, but with my vast experience with Michigan weather, I would venture to guess none of it really sticks. But, damn, I mean come on now, it is really coming down. If anything this weather encourages the studying that will need to be undertaken over the next couple weeks. And it is not like I spend much time out of my apartment anyways, so it could get worse. The snow is doing this really weird thing when I look at it though, it almost seems to be falling from side to side, and not top to bottom. There is probably some wind or something, but it looks different than other days.

29 days until finals, its on...............

Legal Memo's

2005-03-14T11:17:00.000-05:00

Man, I hope I don't struggle as much with writing a memo when I am an attorney, or my job as an attorney will be short lived. This legal research and writing is tough skill to learn.

Small Town Feeling

2005-03-13T09:41:00.000-05:00

Exiting my apartment building on my way to the library I am greeted initially by an azure sky, painted with streaks of clouds. The sun shines, the air is crisp, and the snow slowly depletes. The walk begins with hard and fast steps toward my daily existence. The street before me is a blank canvas, no cars, no people, just asphalt. I turn right, left, up, down, and nothing, no one. The feeling a small town provides is comforting to some, but lonesome to others. It might be sad that I thrive on the hustle of southern california, and that the solace provided by the utter silence of lansing saddens me. This cold weather seems to isolate people and confine them to their lairs, which in turn provides me with the feeling of a shut in and individualistic society.

No need for Trial, Just grant Summary Judgment

2005-03-12T15:29:00.000-05:00

After reading 10 cases for my research and writing legal memo, I started to get tired. Go figure, so I went to the savior which I have recently grown so fond of, red bull. The law library doesn't allow soft drinks, so I had to sneak it in, I felt like a real rebel. That is about as rebellious you can get at law school without breaching the honor code. But I know it will help guide me through the next 5 to 6 hours of needed reading and writing time. The joys of caffeine, since I rarely ingest the substance it really gets my heart going. I prefer a red bull over a cup of coffee any day, I am not a big fan of warm drinks, even when it is 20 degrees out as it is right now. I guess that is just the Californian in me. Back to statutory interpretation and construction.

Here is a question I posed to my father who works in IT (internet technology) regarding my current subject matter of my research and writing paper that left him saying what... Is the use of spyware/adware software considered a common law trespass to chattels in a state which has adopted the Second Restatement of Torts viewpoint, where the damages are intrinsic and the intent of the tortfeasor needs to be inferred?

For those not in law school or lawyers, it might leave you feeling lost, then again you might understand it, but for my dad who is a very intelligent individual, it left him a little confused.

Debt Free

2005-03-12T09:30:00.000-05:00

Hallelujah. Well, actually I am debt free on my credit cards. I am not debt free from student loans on the other hand, ah the joys of law school. But this morning, on direct deposit I noticed a rather large sum of dinero in my bank account, it was a gift from Uncle Sam. So, all the credit card debt paid off with just a little money to spare. The little money I have left over is being saved for the purchase of a puppy this summer.

I am back in the biblioteca (library), it is actually less crowded today than it was weeks ago which is really weird. But I like it, it means less noise. I know if AMEX and VISA are reading my blog today they aren't happy because they don't get to charge me interest. But I am stoked, hopefully this good happening will govern my attitude as I meticulously search westlaw and lexis for cases on point for my research paper. Here's to wireless internet, without it, I would have to sit in the computer lab and do all my research.

Its Only Week 10?

2005-03-11T11:25:00.000-05:00

With the study regiment I am currently undertaking, it feels like week 13, but I am glad it isn't. I have begun reviewing outlines and doing extra reading on subjects that lack clarity. I know there is still a lot of work to be done, but I have more under my belt than I had last semester which is beneficial. I will therefore have more time to practice with essays towards finals to make sure I really have it down.

32 days until my first final, and I will make sure I am ready.

Its Raining, Its Snowing

2005-03-10T18:49:00.000-05:00

Actually it is only snowing, I am seriously getting sick of it. I say it again, Michigan Sucks!

Amazed at my rentention

2005-03-09T13:16:00.002-05:00

What is weird is that since I started law school I do believe my memory has gotten better. I started reviewing for classes yesterday and woke up this morning and remember most of the material after one thurough run through, which didn't happen last semester.

In contracts today, the material I read last week was so fresh in my memory I thought something might be wrong, but I guess I actually get the material and understand how it is applied. Lets hope this trend continues on to finals time and through finals. I think it might have something to do with my morning intake of red bull, since I started the caffeine regiment, my memory has grown stronger. Maybe my aversion to coffee has hindered my memory capacity over last semester and the beginning of this semester. Who the hell knows, but whatever I am doing I will make sure not to change a thing.

33 Days until finals..........

How to get ready in 30 seconds or less

2005-03-08T12:42:00.000-05:00

Being a guy makes it easy to get myself together to get out the door. This was never more apparent than this morning when at 7:49 my friend is buzzing my apt. from downstairs. You see I am asleep at this moment, and the buzz coming from my living room is barely apparent to me as my head rises off the pillow half asleep. A quick glance at the clock, and shit, my alarm didn't go off. Literally threw my clothes on and out the door by 7:50 for 8 A.M. class. Downed a red bull in class and recovered just fine.

With 34 days until my first final this was not the best morning. Not to mention, I get home from class and want to pop in the shower and brush my teeth, oh yeah, the water is off in my apt. building. So here I sit, stinky breath and greasy skin like a chicken working away on torts. Although, I can't really complain, I got an extra hour of sleep and feel great right now, but that could be the red bull coarsing through my veins.

In Propria Persona

2005-03-07T16:09:00.000-05:00

That is, when you represent yourself in court for an action by yourself. The judges refer to this as: "Anyone who represents himself in court has a fool for a client and an ass for an attorney."

35 Days and Counting

2005-03-07T10:46:00.000-05:00

Exactly 35 days until my first final, which is contracts. I can feel the butterflies in my stomach building already. Not to mention I have this huge research and writing paper due, as well as a test to study for in that class. For some reason, research and writing has the exam in week 13, instead of week 14 with the rest of finals. I guess it has its positives and negatives, but I can't worry about that now, I need to pound out my paper, that is the most important thing right now.

I swear, always around this time of the semester my black ink cartridges go like hot cakes, I end up printing up so many outlines, and class information they are just blowing ink, that and I have taken down a couple trees through my paper usage in law school. I am more into recylcing than ever, the amount of paper I consume is ridiculous. Waking up in lansing is just great, makes me feel like I have a purpose. That purpose is to get the hell out of here. 42 days from now I will be gone, its the final countdown.

What I left behind

2005-03-06T21:51:00.000-05:00

This is what I woke up to in the OC at my parents house. It really makes me sad to think about having to leave to come back to lansing, but finals are 5 weeks away and then I will be back in SoCal for summer. Start the countdown.

How Depressing?

2005-03-06T17:02:00.000-05:00

Very depressing. Leaving the OC this morning after being rushed around the entire weekend sucks. I got to hang out with all of my friends this weekend, stay at a house on the beach in laguna, eat delicious food, and chill with my girlfriend. It is not fair to come back to lansing from LA and OC, it just sucks. The sun is shining, but it still looks grey out, the snow on the ground, the whole lifestyle out here just sucks. As my girlfriend would say www.lansingsucks.com." Which actually exists, so clearly I am not alone in my opinion, and I didn't get any work done this weekend, which means the next couple of weeks will be hell. Here's to being back in CA in 7 weeks, I am counting down the hours.