Good-bye 1L, hello sunshine

May 8th marked my last official day as a 1L and it feels great. The hardest part of the whole year has been learning the language of law. It really is like a foreign language where nothing makes sense until at least three months of struggling. Motivation was also a struggle because a 1L can get burned out really easily. Overall though, after the first semester is over, life in law school becomes easier.

You can “relax” more, meaning that you know what to expect and can plan your studies accordingly. Finals are not scary and reading cases becomes second nature, and the whole IRAC method is replaced with side notes.

That said, the second semester is much busier than the first because of the appellate brief, oral arguments and job applications. Whatever. It’s done and I don’t have to re-live it again.

Lay Down the Law.

So Long, Farewell

Contracts went okay, although one of the essay questions was wicked confusing. I got my graded appellate brief back, and my final research assignment will be returned in a week. Summer classes begin in 2 weeks.

Last night, I took stock of myself in the mirror. I was looking for delight or relief or exhaustion in my eyes. I checked my head to see if there were any new gray hairs. My legs were pale, chapped, screaming for some time outside in shorts. My belly had grown from sitting in the library and then eating ice cream to take the stress away. And my beard was rough, scraggly, and starting to itch. I took out my shaving cream and a disposable razor and began to shave, slowly, deliberately. With each stroke, I began to see a little bit of myself from 9 months ago. And when I was done, there I was, lost and found again.

Congratulations to my esteemed colleague, and congratulations to me. Hello 2L.

Power to the people.

You have the right to remain silent

And that’s exactly what I’ll do. I finished the Criminal Procedures exam today, but I can’t talk about it because some people were not able to take the exam. Something about being “sick” and “family emergency.”

If I said anything about the exam, I would be breaking the Honor Code, and that is not how I want to start off my legal career (or lack thereof).

Just know, it is done, and I have one more to go.

Lay Down the Law.

Match This

Yesterday was our Property Final:

1. True / False: This was the easiest part of the exam; 10 questions, 50/50 chance of getting it right.

2. Common Law / Oregon Revised Statutes: If the statement was a common law rule, you circled it. Then, if the common law rule was replaced by statute, you put an "X" next to it. If the statement wasn't a common law rule, you did nothing.

3. Matching: A fill-in-the-blank exercise except there were about 25 questions and the possible terms that could be used to fill in the blank numbered about 45. In addition, all of the terms could be used more than once and some of the terms were never used.

4. Best possible answer based on a map of neighboring properties: Fortunately, there were only 5 questions and it was really all about easements.

5. Essay question hypo about deeds, conveyancing, recording, adverse possession, and damages: I don't remember what I wrote but I wrote something.

The exam was exactly what Professor Property indirectly promised - 3 hours of pain. But hey, Property is done - mark it down on the big board. Two finals to go...then 2L has arrived.

Power to the people.

The Halves and Halves Not

I took the Contracts II exam this morning. Can’t say I feel particularly confident about it, but I’ve learned not to gauge the outcome of an exam based on my feelings.

Two down, two to go.

Lay Down the Law

Exam vomit

Property final is over. I must say how much I love when professors spend a considerable amount of time on certain topics in class, and then you spend half your time studying those topics to understand their complicated intricacies, only to find that they will not be on the exam. Instead, you’re presented with questions that are completely worthless because you were already tested on those topics in Torts last semester.

The good thing, though, is that most people felt the same way. This was my first experience of exam vomit, meaning there was no coherent structure to our answers because the questions were so broad and most of the time, poorly written, we all just had to vomit out words and phrases and somehow connect them to the question.

I’m just glad it’s over.

Now, excuse me while I clean up my mess.

Lay Down the Law.

Sui Juris

Today brought the Con Law final, rising in the morning sky at 8:30am like a delayed, fiery sun. The exam consisted of two essay questions. #1 was about the Mass. Transportation Authority giving toll road discounts to state residents based on a 25-mile radius from work or home. #2 was about federal legislation aimed at enforcing a national standard for K-12 graduation certification.

Whatever. Con Law I is done.

I'm still looking around for a summer gig, something to do starting in July after summer classes end. Maybe I'll try out for Britain's Got Talent. Of course, I would have to move to Britain first. Then I would have to figure out my talent. I would love to do a dance routine like this.

Power to the people.