Law Students

Update on my "getting pushy" post

Posted on November 20, 2009
As you might remember, I emailed a potential employer (who I had interviewed with before) a couple weeks ago.  The idea was that I wanted to find out if I had a chance to work at that org, in a town that's much closer to friends and family, before I took the job in the middle of nowhere...

Sorry for my absence

Posted on November 19, 2009
I know I haven't posted in a while, but I have been pretty busy.  Lately, I have been "Twittering Professionally" which means I post tweets about news in my field, and of things that are interesting to me as a lawyer.  So, Twitter is taking up a lot of time...

I got a job offer!

Posted on November 06, 2009
So, I guess my email was not necessary.  Got home today and there was a job offer in the mail.  I haven't accepted yet, so all I will say is that it is a legal services organization in a non-major city.  The position itself is absolutely ideal...

Risky Business

Posted on November 05, 2009
So, I have finally done something that I had avoided in my job search so far - I got pushy. Why?I had interviewed for a job at a public interest org in July, and didn't get the job.  And they recently posted another job for that same location...

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Things that are more important than money

Posted on October 26, 2009
Here is a great post on "The Simple Dollar" about 15 things the author found are more important than money.The short list:ExperiencesWisdomMarriageFriendshipsPhysical healthMental healthPersonal passionsCommunicationSelf-relianceSecurityHelping othersPersonal growthThankfulnessHobbiesSpirituality At a time in my life when I have less money than I ever have, (seriously - this includes when I was 16 years old!) I can truthfully say that all of the above have become really vitally important to me...

Networking FAIL

Posted on October 22, 2009
Tonight, I went with my friend L, a biglaw attorney, to a pro bono event in town.  The event was billed as a "celebration" of pro bono efforts by local attorneys, but it really was just a "hey, you should do pro bono work" push from local legal services orgs...

Ways to keep busy during unemployment

Posted on October 17, 2009
As my period of unemployment goes on (and on) I have gotten a little better at finding things to do that are more fulfilling (and slightly more productive) than the hand wringing and hoping that had been occupying me in the past 4 months.  What have I been up to?Twitter: I have started more carefully following the legal (ish) things that interest me and tweeting about them...

Job interview on Monday went well

Posted on October 14, 2009
I had a job interview on Monday in the middle of the state to work at a legal services non-profit.  As usual, the interviewers tended to focus on the one area that I am lacking, rather than the many areas where I have a good amount of experience...

I am not funemployed!

Posted on October 06, 2009
I was reading an article about 20 somethings who are "funemployed" and the blogger who is taking credit for coining that term.  And I got mad.  The funemployed are young professionals who were laid off and are using their savings and unemployment compensation to do things they "always" (how long can that be when you are 26?) wanted to...

Happy Birthday Grandma!

Posted on October 04, 2009
Yesterday was my Grandma's 85th Surprise birthday party.  She is an amazing woman, raising 4 kids by herself and supporting them with only a 9th grade education after my grandfather died just a few years after he returned from fighting in World War II...

Phone interview went well

Posted on October 01, 2009
So, I had my phone interview today, and it went pretty well.  I still got hammered on the "why here?" question.  I answered by saying that I want to stay in-state, and would love to start my career in MediumTown, where I would be centrally located in the middle of the state...

Online job hunting

Posted on September 29, 2009
Did my semi-weekly sweep of the government job sites.  Nearby cities, counties, the state job board, even the usajobs.gov site.  Nada.  Couldn't find a thing that I am remotely qualified for. The one thing I have learned through all this job hunting is not to waste my time applying for government jobs unless I meet at least some of the qualifications...

Phone interview next week!

Posted on September 26, 2009
I have a phone interview with another legal services organization.  This one isn't very familiar to me, because it's in the middle of the state, in a city I have visited only a couple times in my life.   Since I know that housing law is part of the position, I am going to spend tomorrow re-reading those statutes, in the hope I might be able to talk more intelligently at the interview on this topic...

Forecast: continued unemployment

Posted on September 24, 2009
The worst thing about the legal profession is that you can go on the state bar's website and see who got the jobs that you unsuccessfully interviewed for.  I really wish that this wasn't possible.  I would rather believe that the person who got the job I coveted was a superwoman (or man) who practically invented public interest law...

Networking

Posted on September 23, 2009
As a 3L, I was a project assistant for the law school's pro bono program.  The program is just getting off the ground, and having some growing pains.  The program is supposed to match attorneys with students to work on a pro bono case together, but generally there either are not enough cases or not enough attorneys to match up all the students...

Taking a Paralegal Job to Ride out the Recession?

Posted on September 22, 2009
I have been sending out resumes and networking my ass off lately..  Today, I got a call from a headhunter, asking about whether I would take a position as a paralegal working on a short term document processing project.  The pay is almost as much as our local Legal Aid group pays...

Using Social Media in a Nonprofit Job Search

Posted on September 22, 2009
Leveraging Social Media in a Nonprofit Job SearchShared via AddThis

Google Webmaster is hilarious

Posted on September 18, 2009
So I tried out the Google Webmaster gadget that is part of the Blogger Dashboard and found some interesting stuff.  Like the most searched term to get to this blog is "Burger King Secret Menu."  I thought I was known for my honest take on law school and life afterward, but my real claim to fame is knowing that you can order "off menu" at fast food restaurants...

Best Value Law Schools

Posted on September 17, 2009
OMG - the National Jurist ranked my law school in the top 25 for best value.  Well, so far it hasn't exactly paid off.  Maybe in a normal (non-recession) economy it would, but not right now.  What's interesting about the list of the top 50 is that the school with the highest US News ranking is Texas (followed by Minnesota), but most of the schools listed as great values are those ranked in Tiers 3 and 4 by US News...

Consumer law: getting out of your cell phone contract

Posted on September 17, 2009
Most recently law school graduates, and those just beginning law school have probably moved recently.  And, if you are like me, you desperately want an IPhone, instead of whatever you are using now.  That usually means switching cell phone networks...

I got offered a job

Posted on September 16, 2009
My friend is a lawyer, and he needs a legal assistant.  In Colorado. If this job pays more than $40,000, I would seriously consider moving there and taking it.  I have no interviews coming up, and only 2 outstanding applications.This state isn't doing it for me, and I absolutely loved Colorado when I stayed there for a week in 2007...

Major case of the blahs

Posted on September 12, 2009
I seem to be suffering from a major case of the blahs this week.  Or maybe it's just boredom. Part of it may be that I got rejected from 4 different jobs this week.  I also have been spending way to much time by myself.  I thought when I moved back to my home city, that friends who live here would want to do stuff all the time, and that my social calendar would go back to being full, like it was when I lived here BLS (Before Law School)...

Public interest law blog

Posted on September 08, 2009
If you are a wanna be public interest lawyer, you should check out the Equal Justice Works blog. One of the contributors, Heather Jarvis, is an expert on student debt and its impact on public interest careers. I had the opportunity to meet with Heather last year, and she was very informative...

What does Facebook know about you?

Posted on September 05, 2009
If you're like me, you don't read most of the privacy notices that are attached to the applications you include in your profile on Facebook. All those quizzes you take also include a caveat that the developers will be accessing your profile, which, in most cases contains a lot of private information...

Law schools and judicial clerkships

Posted on September 05, 2009
This handy chart from the always questionable US News shows the rankings for law schools placing students in judicial clerkships after they graduate. My law school is doing a poor job, placing less than 10% of students. Meanwhile, the University of North Dakota is kicking ass, placing right behind Yale with 28% of students in clerkships...

Ouch!

Posted on September 04, 2009
I feel like I am becoming a prime example of why we need health care reform in this country. I lost my health insurance (the one that cost me about $150 a month from the university) in mid-August. Now I have noticed that when I jog or go for a long (over a half hour) walk, pain radiates around my right foot...

Hello....Hello Hello is there anybody out there?

Posted on September 04, 2009
Sometimes, I use my blog like a diary, then remember that other people can and sometimes do read this thing. It's difficult to worry about what I write when I am not even sure anyone is reading it. I sometimes wish that I had a whole bunch of readers so that I would be inspired to actually carefully consider what I write, and maybe even edit stuff before I post it...

Going too far

Posted on September 03, 2009
Yep, I am totally desperate for a job. But I have to keep reminding myself that I went to law school for a reason, and that reason didn't include doing icky things like insurance defense. I just can't and I won't. I applied for a job that a friend of a friend recommended, and it turns out that the guy doesn't want someone to do "some family law and contracts work...

Awesome site for goofing around online

Posted on August 31, 2009
Mensa has a great site filled with "brain teaser" games. I had no idea! These games are keeping me company while I waste a beautiful day fretting about the mail.Check out the games by clicking here. I really liked the "hangman" type game called "Wordsense" and the awesome trivia game.

Waiting for rejection letters to arrive

Posted on August 31, 2009
I had 4 different jobs that were supposed to "let me know" by the end of the month. Today is the end of the month. I have not received telephone calls from these potential employers, which obviously means that they hired someone else.But, since my mail has been held up for a month now, I was still holding out a tiny bit of hope...

Need some advice?

Posted on August 28, 2009
The coolest/most annoying thing about having a law degree has to be that everyone seems to want free information about legal stuff. In the past week, I have given out a lot of information:1) Explaining the ins and outs of lawyers' trust accounts to a law school buddy...

Officially giving myself permission to freak out

Posted on August 28, 2009
I have had an issue with the post office not forwarding my mail since I moved in with my sister almost a month ago. First they said that there was a processing error, and they noted the date to start forwarding the mail incorrectly. That was last Thursday...

Had a life this weekend

Posted on August 24, 2009
This weekend, I splurged and actually left the house and spent a little of my dwindling cash supply. On Friday night, the fiance' and I went to play board games at a friends house. Cost = $0On Saturday, we were treated to a Packer game to celebrate the future father-in-law's retirement...

Jobs jobs and more jobs

Posted on August 17, 2009
I just got an email that a non-profit I know is hiring in the town where I went to law school. The position is about 50% volunteer management and recruiting. This is the same thing I did with both my project assistant job in law school and in my volunteer work...

There's no place like home and I don't have one

Posted on August 15, 2009
I moved in with my sister on August 1. Into her basement to be exact. Beforehand, I idealized what this would be like, imagining taking my little nephew to the zoo and museum and parks to play. I thought my sister and I would have heart-to-heart talks over tea in the morning...

Keeping my head held high

Posted on July 21, 2009
I have been kicked in the teeth more than a few times this past couple weeks. Sometimes, it's hard to hold your head high when you feel like there is a 20 pound weight dangling from a rope around your neck. To mitigate my lack of income, I am moving into my sister's house next week...

Food stamps

Posted on July 16, 2009
The joy of food stamps. Who knew I would be getting them after law school and feel so little shame about it. Just kinda sucks that it has to be this way, but until I get a job, I need to eat. The amount of cash in my household is very very low. Looking forward to cashing in our "piggy bank" this week...

Hey, you aren't baby spinach

Posted on June 15, 2009
Dear readers:As a public service, I must tell you about an imposter in our midst. Recently, I was at the farmer's market and bought some "baby spinach." (Quotes intentional) I got it home and started cooking it to add to my already delicious pasta dish for dinner...

Still jobless

Posted on June 07, 2009
So, I didn't get that terrific job. They called after the second interview and said that they decided to hire a transfer applicant from one of their other offices. Even worse is that our career services lady mentioned in an offhand way when I saw her the next day that she knew they were going to hire the transfer person...

Interview today

Posted on May 20, 2009
I have a second interview today, at a place in my hometown, where I would really like to work. It is a place where I could really make a difference. According to the lawyers working there who attended my first interview, there is a ton of work to be done, and there will be a TON of court time...

Graduation

Posted on May 15, 2009
What else can I say right now. I had such a hectic last couple weeks:getting the public interest award from the bar,job application due dates,finally get the OK to get admitted to the bar,an interview,an exam, then a paper due the next day, then a mock hearing yesterday,And now...

LMAO

Posted on May 09, 2009
Yep, I have been feeling a little bad about not having a job, but I found this blog, which makes me feel like a million bucks in comparison to some poor saps out there.My favorite of course, is the infamous naked wizard gets tazed video, for obvious reasons.

Hilarious Celebrity Apprentice Quote

Posted on May 05, 2009
In the board room:Ivanka Trump: "These are the things that most project managers wouldn't forgo the opportunity to be a part of."Brady (former Playmate) "I didn't "forgoo" anything." Wow. This woman is an idiot. LOL!

Finally - my paralegal experience pays off

Posted on May 05, 2009
Throughout law school, I have been shocked and sometimes upset with how easily my fellow law students and potential employers have dismissed my years of paralegal experience. I worked hard at that job. I helped build a firm from the ground up. I happened to have worked for someone who trusted me and who gave me a long rope (which I sometimes attempted to wrap around my own neck out of frustration...

Still jobless. Have company.

Posted on May 04, 2009
So, update is that I am still job hunting. The good news is that:a) I am by far not the only one. Some of my smartest, most competent friends and family are still looking too, so I don't feel too inadequate because of my unemployment.2) I have an interview in my hometown for a job on Wednesday...

My own ecomonic crisis

Posted on April 25, 2009
So, I am running out of money. Fast. I knew when I started law school that my savings would be out by the middle of this school year, and that I would have to rely 100% on student loans. Then my significant other lost his job. And it has been rough...

Who knew?

Posted on March 03, 2009

The most amazing room in the Student Union

Posted on February 17, 2009
My friend is doing a panel at the law school today. And her bus lets her off at the Student Union. So I decided to study here for a while. I went upstairs and found this amazing room. Very quiet, with windows overlooking the lake, but not so many windows that its distracting...

Wide world of Apathy

Posted on January 29, 2009
Reading this blog, you might think that nothing has happened in the past 30 days, but lots of stuff has...I have just been too busy, lazy and apathetic to blog about it. I think it might be good that I am spending enough time living life that I don't have energy left to write about it...

Well well well, who do we have here

Posted on December 31, 2008
It's me! Sorry for the really really long absence, but I just got really really busy! While we were on hiatus, the following happened:The boyfriend's sister had a beautiful baby girl.I finished the semester.I took my Real Estate exam. It went OK.I took my Tax exam...

I keep getting teary-eyed about Obama's win

Posted on November 05, 2008
So, I kinda knew I would cry when Obama won the election. Actually, while I hoped he would win, I was still skeptical that we could pull it off. I think that I was a little burned out after 2 terms with the Moron. I also think that's how I kept getting dragged into phone banking and GOTV calls for him and HeadCount...

Obama's grandma passed away

Posted on November 03, 2008
Sometimes, life just isn't fair. After sacrificing for and encouraging Obama so much, his grandma died last night/early this morning.I can't imagine the terrible and strange mix of grief and anticipation for tomorrow that Barack and family must be feeling...

Justice for workers = exciting for lawyers!

Posted on October 29, 2008
Some deliverymen in New York City were getting ripped off by their employer. The guys were working tons of hours and only getting $520 per month from their employer, the Saigon Grill. Turns out that they only made about $2 an hour. They sued with the help of a public interest law organization and won a multi million dollar verdict...

So close, yet so far away!

Posted on October 20, 2008
Graduation is less than 6 months away now, but I still have a ton to do.Found out recently that I might be able to do some updating to my law review article and get it published in a different journal or even the newsletter for an organization I am in...

Going to the Motor City

Posted on October 15, 2008
So, I am going to a conference this weekend in Detroit. In a Toyota Corolla. I don't care what the motor city thinks about my foreign car. It gets damn good gas mileage.I have to laugh about how a momentary decrease in gas prices makes everyone forget that last month, that stuff was $4 a gallon or more...

New school year, new jobs, new hope?

Posted on September 23, 2008
So, I am finally quitting my legal research job to work as a project assistant for the school's volunteer lawyer/law student partnership project. I am excited for the new opportunity and because this job enables me to do something other than staple printouts...

Back on the voter registration bandwagon

Posted on September 19, 2008
So, I am getting back on the horse so to speak, and registering voters again tonight at a show here in town. I said that it was time for me to direct my energies elsewhere, but the org really needed help, and I couldn't say no.However, I am not sure how I am going to feel watching someone else do the job that I used to have...

Can I please just shut the hell up?

Posted on September 15, 2008
If I am not the one in charge, and the one in charge isn't doing a splendid job, why can't I just shut the hell up? I have no idea, but I really wish I could. It's not my fault that things might be a little screwed up, and I don't have to make sure that every damn thing I am involved in is just exactly perfect...

I am getting published!

Posted on August 30, 2008
An article I co-wrote on debt management is going to appear in my state bar's monthly magazine. I am pretty excited about this development. However, there have been recent changes in the law (the prez recently signed HR 4137 which gives debt relief in exchange for 3 year commitments for prosecutors and public defenders) that aren't covered in the article...

Dear summer....why did you leave me?

Posted on August 25, 2008
Apparently, summer is packing its bags and is on its way out the door. Why oh why does it have to leave so soon? I was just getting the hang of grilling my meals outside instead of cooking them on a stove. I had just gotten used to spending more time outside my apartment than inside...

Fame!

Posted on August 21, 2008
Actually, Hall of Fame. Or "Halls of Fame" as the case may be. I am going on a road trip next week to see the Rock and Roll and Football Halls of Fame. I am totally psyched. I think this will be a great pre-school road trip and the perfect start to my 3L year!If you have been to either one, or are from Ohio, please leave info/advice/warnings/etc in the comments...

Book sale!!!!!!!

Posted on August 21, 2008
Oh yes, it's that wonderful time of year again, when I unload a whole bunch of books that I don't need anymore. My readers were very kind last year, and helped take a bunch of these off my hands.Buying used books is environmentally friendly, as you are helping me "recycle...

Job market looking bleak for "firmies"

Posted on August 11, 2008
For my classmates who are looking to work in big firms after graduation, things aren't looking so good this year. Only one or two local firms were on the 3L OCI list. That means that these people might actually have to use their brains, and come up with a list of firms and addresses to send *gasp* snail mail resumes and cover letters to...

Questions about UW Law

Posted on August 03, 2008
I have had a couple inquiries via email and one in the comments about UW Law in general and my situation specifically. I can tell you that the one thing I have learned in law school is that you just never know.I have gotten interviewed for jobs where I didn't meet their criteria at all...

Are you gonna vote?

Posted on July 26, 2008
So, I am going to be adding a "Register to Vote" button for HeadCount to my blog. As some of you may know, I started working for HeadCount in 2004 when the org first started, registering people to vote at music concerts and festivals all over the midwest...

This is outrageous [attempt to go green content]

Posted on July 09, 2008
My boyfriend and I are trying our best to recycle everything and to stop using so much stuff. So, we are now trying really hard not to buy bottled water. We got a Brita filter for Christmas and have been refilling water bottles or using Nalgene bottles for our daily intake of H2O...

Time to start working soon

Posted on May 30, 2008
So, I start working on Monday. Many of my friends at school started over a week ago. My employer for the summer wanted me to wait (vacations or something for my supervisor). So I have had some time on my hands. I went camping for a few days. I went to the Chocolate Festival in Burlington...

Hillary for....Supreme Court?

Posted on May 23, 2008
This article in the ABA Journal intrigues me. It discusses the possibility of Barack Obama cutting a deal to get Hillary Clinton out of the race by promising to make her his nominee for the Supreme Court. This would be more exciting for me personally than her being President...

Bo-battiness

Posted on May 11, 2008
I found today that I have gained 25 pounds since I quit smoking. Add that to the few that I gained in the first part of 1L just from eating crap, and that makes me about 30 pounds heavier than when I started law school. And, I was already heavy.I am now at the "Fatty Bobatty" stage...

Time limits and law school exams

Posted on May 07, 2008
For the second time this semester, I took an exam that I could have used at least another half hour to complete. Professors write exams where most students write until the very second time is called. As a result, I usually submit answers that are formatted poorly, and that include either too much information, or not enough...

Panic at the library!

Posted on May 02, 2008
No, it's not a hip new band, it is a plague upon my law school. It's happy fun finals time, and I made the mistake of staying in the law school to study because I didn't want to get rained on.Then people started rolling in here at about 10am. My 2 hours of beautiful quiet and solitude with Trusts and Estates were destroyed in a matter of minutes by the palpable anxiety of my fellow students...

Semester, quit ending so fast!

Posted on April 29, 2008
Dear Mother Time (I am a feminist - get over it!),I am not ready for exams. I am however, ready for spring (that means no frickin' snow). I am totally ready to work, but I am not ready to finish school. What I am asking here is that you either slow down, or grant me that additional hour or so that I desperately need...

Professor, quit talking so fast

Posted on April 28, 2008
I hate that at the end of the semester, when you start feeling a little worried about exams and the depth of the knowledge in the course, the professor starts talking really fast. They always try to cover material that they really don't have time for at this point in the semester and it is infuriating...

Sorry about the lack of posts

Posted on April 25, 2008
Sorry about not posting for a while. Life got in the way of blogging. I also have been a little overwhelmed lately. The end of the school year brings a lot of work with it. I have classes where I missed some reading and need to make sure I have looked at everything...

I forgot how much I like doing plays and stuff

Posted on April 07, 2008
Last night was our law school's annual "skit" show. Basically, we poke fun at law school classes, professors and culture in general. I got "excused" to get out of the law review election a little early to do the show. I played a "Gunner Phone Sex" operator (on stage) and a talking locker (Offstage)...

As the law review election turns

Posted on March 26, 2008
Never before has any event been so fraught with intrigue and drama. Never before has doing so much work been so unrewarding. Never before have I soooooo not wanted Mr. T and Mr. R to be my bosses.What am I talking about? The upcoming law review elections...

White women can jump

Posted on March 10, 2008
Sometimes, my trusts and estates instructor will jump up and down with excitement. She also refers to her husband and two dogs regularly and liberally. She should probably lay off the caffeine. While some people get really irritated with her over-enthusiasm, at least it keeps us awake! She also uses a lot of overheads, which I like...

Student (dis) Organization

Posted on March 07, 2008
I am a joiner. I love joining all kinds of groups. I am a social person. Here at law school, I have been involved in SBA, a journal and all kinds of student organizations. The one thing I have learned is that getting a group of flakey 20 somethings to make a decent effort at anything is nearly impossible...

My friend has cancer and it sucks

Posted on February 26, 2008
My friend has cancer. Prostate. He's only 41. He has a new wife and two daughters and they just had a new baby, and it just isn't fair.This isn't one of those stories where he starts treatment and the cancer retreats into oblivion, off to victimize someone else...

The Oscars

Posted on February 24, 2008
Unlike the more prolific blogger, Ms. Althouse, I don't think this show sucks. Their little montages of past Oscar telecasts have actually been a welcome relief from the poorly written, and not very funny little vignettes they normally do.I also found some of the past speeches (and the one by the girl from "Once") to be very inspiring...

My life has turned into a Hitchcock movie

Posted on February 23, 2008
I have been having sinus headaches of increasing intensity all month. On Thursday, everything really got bad. I woke up with a killer headache. I threw another fistful of ibuprophen in my mouth and went on with my day. I have gotten used to having a slight throbbing under my cheeks all day...

I am rocking the earth

Posted on February 21, 2008
Rock the Earth is a grassroots organization started by my friend Marc to respond to threats to the environment by using the legal system to create change. It raises funds and educates people about its mission by tabling at music concerts and festivals all over the country and by partnering with a variety of musicians...

The legal clinic

Posted on February 21, 2008
This semester, I am working one of our school legal clinics for 3 credits. That means 12 hours week, I have to be in the clinic working on cases. The problem right now is that I only have one case. And there is nothing to do for it right now. I have a letter to the client that is awaiting approval from my supervising attorney, but that's about it...

Forced participation

Posted on February 20, 2008
My unpopular opinion: I love it!I love the Socratic method or having members of class "on call" but I greatly prefer to "suprise" method most.I think that forcing people to participate makes the class go faster, and raises the bar as far as my own learning...

Have to vote today

Posted on February 19, 2008
So basically, my disappointment in the Obama rally means that I will probably vote for Clinton, but I am not 100% right now.I really wish that I felt more strongly about either one. I did laugh at the student who had a banner on the overpass this morning reading, "Hope doesn't pay my tuition...

Is the legal profession filled with ignorance?

Posted on February 18, 2008
I found many of the comments regarding this story at Abovethelaw.com to be terrible.The post describes a student at the University of Alabama law school having what appears to be a problem with mental illness during class. Funny that a few people use the archaic term "nervous breakdown...

I am an emotionless robot (aka: I wasn't moved by Barack Obama)

Posted on February 17, 2008
So, I went to the big Barack Obama rally here last week. After standing in a really really long line and getting to my seat, only to have to sit there for another 2 hours, I will admit that I wasn't in a great mood. I was hoping I would be inspired though...

I am an undecided voter

Posted on February 12, 2008
For the first time in my life, I am an undecided voter. I know! It shocks me as much as it must surprise you. I try very hard not to make politics about stupid stuff - whose hair is cuter, or who can spew the most rhetoric. I try to make it about issues, but the candidates sure don't...

Give me oatmeal or give me death

Posted on January 31, 2008
I am so in love with these Quaker Oatmeal Express Cups right now. They are sweet without being too sweet, mildly nutritious (4 grams of fiber!). HOT, and filling enough so that I am not eyeing the candy machine before lunchtime.For some reason, the only place to find them is at Target...

I just wanted to ask a damn question!

Posted on January 30, 2008
Many times, as soon as the class ends, a bunch of students rush up to the professor with questions. Today, I had a question and decided to be proactive by letting the prof know (before class started) that I wanted to talk to her after class. I asked if I could avoid the crush of students and if I could "sign up" for the first slot and ask my question and get out of there...

Class at 8:50 a.m.

Posted on January 28, 2008
When I worked full time, I had to be there at 9:00 am and usually barely made it there on time. Now, I have class at 8:50, and while I get here early, I still hate waking up earlier than 7:30 am. I am not a morning person. Ick! Right now, at the beginning of the semester, everyone is here on time...

Oh, and about New Orleans

Posted on January 24, 2008
Readers who know me in 3D also know that I made a second trip to New Orleans the week before school restarted. I was working with a terrific organization called the Student Hurricane Network. As its name suggests, the org was started by a bunch of law students and has grown into a national movement of sorts...

Back to school

Posted on January 24, 2008
This semester I am taking:Trusts and Estates (3 credits)Constitutional law (3 credits)Equal Employment Law (4 credits)Bankruptcy Law (3 credits)I also haveLaw Review (2 credits)A clinic (3 credits)Doing the math, that's 18 credits. I was never even brave enough to attempt 18 credits in undergrad! Well, for someone who hasn't been in school full time since 1993, I think I am doing OK...

Despite stomach virus, I keep writing, and writing....

Posted on January 05, 2008
Somehow, the significant other and I caught some kind of stomach virus. He has been sick for 3 days, but I just started feeling icky night before last. It sucks, because I just cannot afford to be ill right now. I couldn't go to the library yesterday because I, um had to be near...

I have to write at least 25 pages in the next 4 days

Posted on January 02, 2008
Before law school, the longest paper I had to write at my undergrad (other than a sloppy 20 page independent study paper) was about 8 pages. I have to produce a 200-footnote, coherent, logical and hopefully publishable 40 page Comment by the 7th. I have made significant progress, but sometimes the fear that I won't complete it on time scares the hell out of me...

Not a creature was stirring

Posted on December 30, 2007
I swear, there are 5 people in our university's main library right now. It's incredible. I am loving the complete lack of undergrad girls running around trying to take cell phone calls in the corners. It is literally as quiet as a mouse (other than my typing, which seems unreasonably loud today)...

Take my books, please

Posted on December 28, 2007
As part of my ongoing effort to rid my house of clutter and also to procrastinate as much as possible, I spent much of today putting a bunch of books and study aids up on ebay. I should have been writing, but whatever. So, if you have $3.99 to burn and have an aching need to learn about Property or Civil Procedure, these books might be for you...

Winter break is for suckas

Posted on December 28, 2007
To some, the only real winter breakers are those of us writing a 35-50 page law review note or comment during the break. We like to act like we are doing something great and noble and that gives us some sense of intellectual superiority. We are the complainers...

The secret life of a law school hippie radical

Posted on December 15, 2007
Don't tell anyone, but I am a much more hard-core deadhead than I would ever let on to my classmates at school. And its not just the Dead. Its a lot of jambands. I have been to more than 200 concerts (it could be 300 for all I know) and at least 25 music festivals...

Further evidence I am clueless

Posted on December 15, 2007
Further evidence that I am somewhat clueless will be provided on Monday morning. I decided to put some more time into studying evidence (even though I have already studied more for this exam than for ANY 2 of my exams last semester). I still know almost nothing...

My family law "exam"

Posted on December 14, 2007
The exam is in quotes because it was more like a series of trick questions. Rather than give an essay exam about how we would advise a client who came in with a certain issue, the exam asked us to pick the best answer out of 4. We had 150 minutes to answer 40 questions...

Not quality time, QUANTITY time

Posted on December 06, 2007
For me, the best part of all this finals studying is doing what I am right now, hanging out in a coffee shop and outlining with a group of people who I think are pretty cool. We are mostly studying, but each of us occasionally stops to share something hilarious from the internet, or to consult about a snippet of information missed during class...

Ah Thanksgiving

Posted on November 23, 2007
Sometimes, no matter how old you are, you just want to be by your mom. My SO and I got to see both our mothers last night and it was wonderful. I am way too old to actually NEED my mom anymore. I haven't lived with her for almost 18 years. I haven't relied on her for financial support for about the same amount of time...

Law School admin slogging through red tape

Posted on November 20, 2007
So, as a state school, we suffer with a lot of regulations by various state agencies. Recently, those regulations were found to have been ignored in the area of food sales inside the law school. Today, I met with a bunch of perfectly reasonable administration officials about how to work within the rules...

My law school hates poor people

Posted on November 14, 2007
That's the only explanation I can figure for why we haven't offered the Poverty Law or Consumer Law classes listed in the school catalog I received before I started here. Seems like they listed all these great classes to get me to accept admission, but once I got here, it was only patents, trademarks and 8 sections of legal writing taught by former 7th grade teachers...

Just stop typing and listen for once!

Posted on November 13, 2007
Question #1: When did it become OK to send a text message from your cell phone while someone is in an in-person conversation with you?Answer #1: NeverQuestion #2: When did it become socially acceptable to show up at an event where someone is taking time from their busy day to give you advice and surf the net on your laptop the whole time?Answer #2: NeverIf you think that the correct answer to either of these was "sometimes or always" you should be beaten with a stick...

Time spent in law building & my own immaturity at all time high

Posted on November 08, 2007
I received an email this morning that my Professional responsibilities class was cancelled and let out a little squeal of delight. It's not that I don't like my ethics class, it's just that any reprieve from the constant onslaught of information is always welcome...

I can't believe that these students can't fund raise!

Posted on November 06, 2007
We are trying to sell coupon books to benefit the organization that is going to the Gulf Coast this winter. I was foolish enough to assume that people who planned to make their living off of getting new clients for their firms, schmoozing existing clients, and possibly making presentations at court would be outgoing enough to sell stuff...

My classmates scare me sometimes

Posted on November 01, 2007
This week, a girl in my professional responsibility class indicated that she would bill the client for time she spent SLEEPING on an out of town deposition trip. And I used to wonder why people hate lawyers? Not anymore!

See, this is exactly the kind of stuff I wanted to avoid

Posted on October 29, 2007
So, after being way too stressed out last semester, I vowed I would ease up on the involvement with a trillion different organizations and obligations and live my life more. That's not happening. Why? Because I fail to control my ridiculous need to try to get involved...

Whatever happened to the do gooders?

Posted on September 20, 2007
My friend Erlignition posted about the rise and fall of the public interest folks at our law school here.My response:...as one of the people who spent last year trying to get a better LRAP (and found that the school just really doesn't give a damn in any meaningful way), I felt fear in my heart when I realized that I was going to be very very poor upon graduation and that all my classmates were not...

A new year, a new me?

Posted on September 20, 2007
OK, that's probably not true, but it made for a great post title, didn't it? Well, in case any of you are wondering (or if any of you read this blog anymore) I did make law review. I wrote my case note while registering voters in the middle of a field in IL and partially in a hotel room in Peoria, IL and I still made it on! A miracle for certain!Now that I accomplished that feat, I have to pick a topic to write about...

I am still alive!

Posted on June 26, 2007
Sorry for the neglect of the blog. I am not certain that many read it anyway. Summer has been busy, so I simply haven't had the time for updates lately. I will try to put up stuff at least once a week, but to be honest, I would put up more if I had more to say...

Writing on

Posted on May 21, 2007
Amazon.com: Academic Legal Writing: Law Review Articles, Student Notes, Seminar Papers, and Getting on Law Review, Second Edition (University Casebook Series) (University Casebook Series): Books: Eugene VolokhSo, it's law review write-on time. That's what I will be doing until I leave to go register voters in IL this weekend...