On My Own Again...

Husband is out of town again (this time in Po-dunk, Indiana) for the week on business so I'm on my own again. I'm getting used to him having to travel, but I still miss him like crazy when he's not home.

So have I been a good girl this week and studied while he was gone? Oh heck no! I played on Facebook (yes, I have an account, and no, I don't use it in class) and surfed the net. I also watched TV and chatted with the birds since my dog is away again visiting "Grandma".

All the while, my study materials for Evidence were two feet away, piled neatly on the coffee table. Just can't seem to get in the mood this term, but that's true of work, my blog, and a lot of other things.

Maybe if my sweet hubby didn't go away as often I would be more dedicated to what I need to do. I'm not sure how exactly its his fault, other than messing with my mojo, but I'd rather blame him than myself. :)

And if my husband is reading this, "Hi Sweetie!"

Inns of Court

Things I like about Inns of Court Meetings

The cocktail hour: co-mingling with attorneys and professors and hearing their war stories is awesome. I love pumping them for information or just getting them to talk about themselves. Besides, professors in class never tell you the low down on the profession like they do at the cocktail hour after they've tossed back a drink or four...

Just being there: Inns of Court is like a monthly job interview with a law firm, so I'm getting some practice making small talk with attorneys before I actually have to do a real interview.

The dinner: unlike other law school functions, Inns of Court dinners are not reduced to pizza and pop. They are catered events with table cloths, real silverware, real glassware, and great food.

The program itself: we had a great discussion at the last meeting about jury selection and trying a torts case. Basically, you try to select a jury that will fit with the type of case you are trying and whether or not you are a plaintiff or defendant.

For example, from what I heard in the discussion, if you are a prosecutor, you don't want professors or teachers on your jury panel - not sure why except my guess is that they might be too sympathetic to the defendant.

If you get an expert on your topic as a potential juror who may be favorable to your side, even if you know the other side will excuse the juror, there are ways to get the potential juror to talk about the topic in front of the jury panel so as to influence the remainder of the jurors who won't be excused during voir dire. I'm sure they teach you that in jury consultant school somewhere, but it was eye-opening to me.

Also, you never want a farmer on a personal injury case if you are the plaintiff, because they could easily raise up their hand with their missing fingers from a combine accident and say, "I get hurt on the farm all the time, what are you whining about?"

And last but not least, you can select the best possible jury imaginable and still lose the case - you never quite know until the verdict is read.

Things I don't like about Inns of Court Meetings

Having to wear a suit: I know, get used to it. I doubt I will ever enjoy wearing a suit again because it's been about five years since I had to wear one everyday. I didn't like it then and I don't like it now.

The other students there: there is too much competition in law school as it is, why do I want more competition in a more intimate setting?

Back from Chicago and Ready to Rumble

I am back from my long weekend in Chicago. I have to say, mini-vacations are always too short and I could easily use a few more days to rest because I'm still tired. The dog didn't mind being shipped off to "grandma's house" but the birds did not appreciate a disruption in their schedule. I'm sure they're going to make us pay for leaving them behind, even if they did have a birdie-sitter.

I'm ready to start cracking down on my studying as finals are less than a month away. Since I have no more vacations planned, I'm ready to focus on finishing the term. My husband has two more long business trips planned, so maybe I'll be bored enough while he's gone to focus more on my studies than I've been doing.

I did have to sign up for next term's classes. My scheduled registration day was while I was in Chicago, so I had to access the hotel's business center computers to do that. Mildly nerve racking waiting for some guy to finish chatting online so I could hop on the computer. I tried giving him the death glare and loitering nearby but he persisted on using the computer and made my wait agonizing.

But I'm happy to report that I was able to register for next term. I'm taking Wills, Estates, and Trusts; Business Organizations; and Secured Transactions. Sounds so exciting? NOT! I'm sure I will be bored to tears, but hey, they are required courses, so I have to take them.

Secured Transactions is at an inconvenient time and day, so I'm tempted to swap it for another class and take it a different term. But that's hard to do when I'm going into my final year. So I'll weigh the pros and cons for a week or so until the time to change has passed and I'm stuck with it.

Off to Chicago...

I'm taking a long weekend and heading to Chicago... Goodbye boring work! Goodbye boring Evidence class! Goodbye stress!

Wasting Away Evidence Class

Last night I spend approximately 170 minutes of my Evidence class doing as little as humanly possible while still trying to look awake.

I simply did not want to be there.

No, nothing major happened to me. I just had a serious case of the blahs. It was too sunny. I was feeling too lazy. I didn't want to be in class but my signature had to be on the attendance sheet. Since I sit in the second row, I'm pretty sure the professor would know if I signed and dashed (a major student honor code violation which some stupid people attempt).

I doodled. I wrote direct and cross examination questions for my ADR class. I daydreamed. I yawned. I counted the minutes. I almost paid attention once or twice for a few moments, but then drifted away again.

Impeachment evidence was completely lost on me for about 168 of those minutes (minus bathroom breaks). I'm hoping this isn't a case of senioritis, because I don't officially become a 3L until the end of the term.

If Law School Testing Were Like FEMA Testing

I drew the short straw at work and have been nominated to be the point person at work for the Emergency Operations Plan for our area in the university. As a result, I have to take training and be tested on FEMA's Incident Command System for Higher Education.

Sounds like a barrel of laughs, right?

Actually, the training consists of this: go to class, have instructor tell you the answer to the specific questions, go online for the test at FEMA, answer the specific questions while the instructor is still in the room to ask questions, get certificate.

Yep, if a Hurricane Katrina-esque catastrophy occurs on campus where I work, I will be fully trained by FEMA for a response. Are you feeling comforted yet? I wouldn't be based on that training.

If only law school testing were like FEMA testing: go to class, have law professor tell you the answer to the specific bar questions, go online to test for the bar exam, answer the specific questions while the law professor is still in the room to ask questions, get bar card / law license.

Granted, if the bar exam were representative of FEMA testing, I'd hate to see what our justice system would look like.

Depending on Your Classmates

I don't think there's anything worse than having to depend on your classmates for your grade.

In real life, you always have to depend on someone else for something. And I'm pretty sure in the practice of law, this is equally true. You have to depend on a co-worker, a secretary, a judge, a client, the opposing counsel, or what have you. And no doubt, it is equally frustrating when they don't show up, don't have their work done, or just don't care.

In one of my classes, I'm going through the same situation. We had a group project where all five of us had to contribute. The problem was, two of the students failed to show up to one class, and were a half hour late for the next, totally unprepared. And then when we had to compile our submission for class, these two didn't turn in their work until the very last minute and what they turned in kinda sucked. They must not feel any responsibility to the rest of us for their actions.

I have no control over what these two students do. I just don't have to like it.

I know, I know... get used to it. I felt no less frustrated in my former job when these types of things would happen. I don't know why I expect law school to be any different.

My advice to anyone looking at law school is this:

a) Don't take yourself too seriously. It's okay to have a little fun as long as you don't overdo it.
b) Do take your group projects seriously. It's not just your behind riding on the line. And it's good practice for when you have clients.