The first week is over. The end of sanity draws nigh!
Today the 1Ls took two final exams for the Intro to Legal Skills course. The exams were not that difficult. Of course, I might have been over prepared. Over prepared is better than under prepared! The legal analysis exam was one hour; unfortunately, we were not allowed to use a computer to type the answer. I hate hand writing exams!
I broke my right thumb in 1994. Writing for long periods of time - anything over ten minutes - really cramps my thumb. My handwriting suffers also. My writing will look decent and then quickly turn to muck. As I progressed through today's exam, the number of errors exponentially rose for each subsequent page. The first two pages had zero errors. The last page had, at minimum, nine errors. I hope to never write another essay exam by hand, ever!
The material presented during the Intro class was not a total rehash of skills learned during the Summer Enrichment Program. There were new skills, modified skills, and some same skills. For example, during Summer Enrichment, we learned how to brief a case. The method taught during the Intro course is called "logging." Some elements are the same between briefs and logs; other elements are totally different. I prefer briefs, but, I will add some elements of logging to my briefs.
I am glad I attended the Summer Enrichment Course. I do believe that if I had not attended, the Intro to Legal Skills would've helped me but not as much as Enrichment. Did I mention I am glad I attended Enrichment?
One goal I had set for me during this week was to establish a good routine for law school. Every day I arrived one hour prior to class start time. This gave me an opportunity to review the material from the day before and to review the material for the current day. I additionally would begin to work on the reading assignment for the next day.
The Intro schedule allows a two hour lunch. I took one hour every day. I ate lunch followed by a short walk. I then returned to the school and worked ahead on the assignments. At the end of the day, I stayed in the library from one and half to two hours before leaving for dinner. After dinner, I worked until bedtime.
Like I said earlier, I over-studied. But it was for a purpose. I needed to establish a good routine for law school. Some of my classmates were not as diligent with work as me. Every day I saw classmates working on the assignment due for the very next class. I am not going to chide them because maybe that's the best way for them. I just know I needed to do what I did. Establishing a good routine for law school is a must for everyone. Not everyone's routine will be the same. All that matters is the routine works so each of us 1Ls are successful.
Well, the weekend beckons. My first class is Monday at 9:25. This weekend I will do the assignment for that class. A second class is at 12:15 but the Professor hasn't posted the assignment yet. I hope this doesn't mean we'll get the assignment on Monday!
The end of freedom as I know it draws nigh. The last weekend before the real law school begins....
Friday, August 27, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
Orientation and Food
One of the first things I noticed about Cal Western is they like to feed the students. Scholar day, Preview day, during Summer Enrichment, 1L Welcome Picnic, and Orientation day are all examples of where the school provided a meal or two for the students. Guess they feel they can win us over with food! Not a bad plan.
I was afraid Orientation was going to be a rehash of things learned during other visits to the school. I am glad the school proved me wrong. Even if a topic was being repeated during the orientation, the speakers provided different and new information. This definitely aided in orientation being worthwhile and not a waste of time or exceedingly boring.
Professor Lynch, as usual, was very entertaining. He related a story from his JAG days in 1975. He was a Captain (O-6) with several officers below him. He and some of his underlings were studying for the California bar. Every time he felt anxiety or fear about the possibility of failing the Bar while his underlings passed, he thought of Seymour. Now Seymour (not his real name) was stupid, had bad hygiene, and had other nefarious traits which made him slightly undesirable. Well, Seymour passed the California Bar Exam. Prof Lynch kept reminding himself of that fact. "If Seymour can pass, so can I." He then advised us to find our own Seymour! While the prospect of a Seymour in the class is tempting, I actually hope my class is filled with Prof Lynch's instead. Of course, we'll see how this turns out during my tenure in law school.
After lunch, we played "Human Bingo." I have never played this game before. This game is definitely an ice-breaker to get people to introduce themelves to each other. The game was fun and helped to overcome any shyness I might have felt.
The only bad thing, if you want to call it that, is that in my class, specifically in my section, are the two girls from Summer Enrichment I was hoping would not be in my section. Nothing against these two girls, but they are of foreign descent. And both have accents I have difficulty understanding! I hope by the end of my first year, I will develop an ear for understanding every word they speak!
Tomorrow is Day 1. I completed the first assignment about a half-hour ago. The exercises from "Plain English for Lawyers" are crushing me. I've read the assigned reading twice now. I wish I had taken more English for my undergrad.....
I was afraid Orientation was going to be a rehash of things learned during other visits to the school. I am glad the school proved me wrong. Even if a topic was being repeated during the orientation, the speakers provided different and new information. This definitely aided in orientation being worthwhile and not a waste of time or exceedingly boring.
Professor Lynch, as usual, was very entertaining. He related a story from his JAG days in 1975. He was a Captain (O-6) with several officers below him. He and some of his underlings were studying for the California bar. Every time he felt anxiety or fear about the possibility of failing the Bar while his underlings passed, he thought of Seymour. Now Seymour (not his real name) was stupid, had bad hygiene, and had other nefarious traits which made him slightly undesirable. Well, Seymour passed the California Bar Exam. Prof Lynch kept reminding himself of that fact. "If Seymour can pass, so can I." He then advised us to find our own Seymour! While the prospect of a Seymour in the class is tempting, I actually hope my class is filled with Prof Lynch's instead. Of course, we'll see how this turns out during my tenure in law school.
After lunch, we played "Human Bingo." I have never played this game before. This game is definitely an ice-breaker to get people to introduce themelves to each other. The game was fun and helped to overcome any shyness I might have felt.
The only bad thing, if you want to call it that, is that in my class, specifically in my section, are the two girls from Summer Enrichment I was hoping would not be in my section. Nothing against these two girls, but they are of foreign descent. And both have accents I have difficulty understanding! I hope by the end of my first year, I will develop an ear for understanding every word they speak!
Tomorrow is Day 1. I completed the first assignment about a half-hour ago. The exercises from "Plain English for Lawyers" are crushing me. I've read the assigned reading twice now. I wish I had taken more English for my undergrad.....
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Introduction
Tomorrow begins my journey from an every day citizen to a lawyer. At least that is the goal of attending law school. Many people undertake this journey every year but not all of them finish the journey. For one reason or another, some fail out or drop out of law school. I do not desire to be one of those people; instead, I want to complete the journey. This blog will document my journey along with observations of what law school, especially California Western School of Law, is all about.
This blog has a couple of goals:
1. To share my experience with current and future law students along with anyone else curious about the experiences of law school.
2. To aid in maintaining some sanity throughout what is supposed to be one of the most stressful times in my life.
This week all 1L students begin classwork with "Introduction to Legal Skills." First-year law students begin class one week earlier than second- and third-year students. The purpose behind the class is obvious in the title - to introduce students to legal skills, especially those beginning skills the students will need for their classes. One of the assignments for the first day is for the students to write down short, intermediate, and long range goals for law school.
Along with writing down our goals, we are also supposed to write down our concerns and doubts with attainment of our goals. Throughout my Naval career, I had to set and attain many goals, so writing down goals for law school was old hat for me. However, writing down my reservations for goal attainment is not a task I normally undertook during my Naval career, so this aspect was a little daunting for me. (Realize, I always look for external obstacles to goal attainment; looking inward to internal goal obstacles is not routine and is how I looked at this assignment.)
My number one concern for surviving law school is my educational background. I did not attend an undergrad university like most law students. Now my degree was conferred by an accredited institution otherwise, this blog would not exist. However, my degree in Applied Science and Technology was obtained via five different universities over a span of twenty years. I obtained credit from just about every manner in which you can obtain college credit: I have credit for classes taken in a classroom, I have credit for classes taken on-line, I have credit from DANTE examinations, I have credit from CLEP examinations, I have credit from attendance of Naval schools, and I have credit from courses which were self-paced without an actual instructor because these courses were taken underway on a submarine.
The manner in which I obtained my degree gives me concern because I feel I may not have the study acumen necessary for law school. Of course, hearing stories of the parties and tomfoolery of some colleges soothes that concern somewhat but not enough to rid my subconscious of the doubt. I am positive though, I will adapt and establish the study routine necessary for law school success. I just hope those habits are developed sooner than later!
Another reservation I have about attending law school is my age. I will be one of the oldest students in my class. This fact shines the spotlight on several concerns.
First, will my memory be able to handle the stress and knowledge overload? Some say, you can't teach an old dog new tricks. Of course, that saying is not necessarily based on the fact the dog can't learn new tricks. The dog might just not have a desire to learn those new tricks. Second, will I be able to connect with my fellow students even though I could be the father of some of them? I did connect with a few students during the Summer Enrichment Program, so this fear might not really be a valid fear. Third, will my body be able to handle the stress such that I don't get sick and fall behind? This might actually be my biggest fear. I've planned out my days to ensure I work out three times a week. I feel exercise will be a key factor in minimizing sick days and injuries. The next step will be plan execution.
This first assignment was a good exercise for me. Acknowledging reservations and concerns is the first step in planning to overcome those doubts or, maybe, even avoiding turning the fears into reality altogether. A realization of possible faults can aid in developing the resolve to defeat those faults which might hold you back from your dreams.
My plan for this blog is, at a minimum, one entry per week. I will not make guarantees. Guarantees can only be made when you have a beyond-a-shadow-of-a-doubt the guarantee will in fact happen. Or guarantees can be made when your confidence is sufficient enough that the likelihood of failure is slim. I can do neither when it comes to this blog.
Feel free to comment. Your feedback will be appreciated.
This blog has a couple of goals:
1. To share my experience with current and future law students along with anyone else curious about the experiences of law school.
2. To aid in maintaining some sanity throughout what is supposed to be one of the most stressful times in my life.
This week all 1L students begin classwork with "Introduction to Legal Skills." First-year law students begin class one week earlier than second- and third-year students. The purpose behind the class is obvious in the title - to introduce students to legal skills, especially those beginning skills the students will need for their classes. One of the assignments for the first day is for the students to write down short, intermediate, and long range goals for law school.
Along with writing down our goals, we are also supposed to write down our concerns and doubts with attainment of our goals. Throughout my Naval career, I had to set and attain many goals, so writing down goals for law school was old hat for me. However, writing down my reservations for goal attainment is not a task I normally undertook during my Naval career, so this aspect was a little daunting for me. (Realize, I always look for external obstacles to goal attainment; looking inward to internal goal obstacles is not routine and is how I looked at this assignment.)
My number one concern for surviving law school is my educational background. I did not attend an undergrad university like most law students. Now my degree was conferred by an accredited institution otherwise, this blog would not exist. However, my degree in Applied Science and Technology was obtained via five different universities over a span of twenty years. I obtained credit from just about every manner in which you can obtain college credit: I have credit for classes taken in a classroom, I have credit for classes taken on-line, I have credit from DANTE examinations, I have credit from CLEP examinations, I have credit from attendance of Naval schools, and I have credit from courses which were self-paced without an actual instructor because these courses were taken underway on a submarine.
The manner in which I obtained my degree gives me concern because I feel I may not have the study acumen necessary for law school. Of course, hearing stories of the parties and tomfoolery of some colleges soothes that concern somewhat but not enough to rid my subconscious of the doubt. I am positive though, I will adapt and establish the study routine necessary for law school success. I just hope those habits are developed sooner than later!
Another reservation I have about attending law school is my age. I will be one of the oldest students in my class. This fact shines the spotlight on several concerns.
First, will my memory be able to handle the stress and knowledge overload? Some say, you can't teach an old dog new tricks. Of course, that saying is not necessarily based on the fact the dog can't learn new tricks. The dog might just not have a desire to learn those new tricks. Second, will I be able to connect with my fellow students even though I could be the father of some of them? I did connect with a few students during the Summer Enrichment Program, so this fear might not really be a valid fear. Third, will my body be able to handle the stress such that I don't get sick and fall behind? This might actually be my biggest fear. I've planned out my days to ensure I work out three times a week. I feel exercise will be a key factor in minimizing sick days and injuries. The next step will be plan execution.
This first assignment was a good exercise for me. Acknowledging reservations and concerns is the first step in planning to overcome those doubts or, maybe, even avoiding turning the fears into reality altogether. A realization of possible faults can aid in developing the resolve to defeat those faults which might hold you back from your dreams.
My plan for this blog is, at a minimum, one entry per week. I will not make guarantees. Guarantees can only be made when you have a beyond-a-shadow-of-a-doubt the guarantee will in fact happen. Or guarantees can be made when your confidence is sufficient enough that the likelihood of failure is slim. I can do neither when it comes to this blog.
Feel free to comment. Your feedback will be appreciated.
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