Updates!

Again, too long since my last post! This was supposed to be at least a weekly thing, but it hasn't quite worked out that way...

So, what's been going on with me?

I was offered and accepted a part-time research assistant position with a professor at another law school. I will be doing research on the social, legal and ethical implications of nanotechnology. It's very interesting and timely stuff.

I know what you're thinking, "Are you NUTS??? Don't you already work full-time and go to law school?"

Why, yes... I am still working at the lab and going to school, but I really wanted to get some experience doing legal related research and more analysis intensive writing.

I'm not sure what the correct term is, but non-scientific writing is a weakness for me. I am very self-conscious about my writing. I haven't had much of a chance to do non-scientific writing since I was in college. While I've taken two classes in law school that focus on legal writing, I just still don't feel very confident about my abilities. It's one of the primary reasons I took the RA position. Nanotechnology is also a very timely, up-and-coming topic and I feel this will give me an opportunity to get some writing experience.

Otherwise, I've been swamped with school and work. I will be even more swamped, but at least I will be paid and I'll get some really good experience and contacts. The group I'm working with, the Institute on Biotechnology and the Human Future, is based at Kent School of Law. The group is studying emerging technologies and looking at the ethical, legal and social implications. It's very interesting stuff. If you want more info, go here.

I just started, so I'm still working out exactly what I'll be doing. If you'd like info on nano (which I'll try to talk about some more as I explore the topic), you can go here or you for info on the national initiative, go here.

Oops...

I just realized I haven't posted in an age and a half.

Since then:

1) Katrina destroyed the Gulf Coast.

2) Rehnquist died.

3) Roberts is nominated.

4) School started.

5) Kenny Chesney and Renee Zellwegger break up.

6) Britney has a baby.

It's kinda sad that I remember the last two things but not other things of significance. I'd say more about the above stuff, but there's just far, far too much to say. *sigh*

Anyway, hope everyone is doing well. Good luck to the people of Texas and Louisiana. I hope Rita weakens or doesn't devestate the area too much.

Interesting...

So, there are some debate about the 3rd year of law school and whether it's necessary or not. Here's a link to a Yahoo article on the subject:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050809/ap_on_re_us/law_school_third_year

Here's how it usually works, in your second year, you start interviewing heavily for summer associate and post graduate jobs. By the end of your second year, if you're looking for a medium to large firm job, you should have one nearly locked up. Thus, by your third year, you don't have to worry about a thing. All the stress of first and second year should be done with.

That is, unless you are bottom 2/3 of your class. In that case, from what I can tell, you're pretty much screwed.

I won't say where I am, but let's just say I am starting to seriously worry about the job thing. I am starting to rethink my options and plan for contingencies. Not that my grades are bad, they're decent... but they're not spectacular either.

Any advice from those who have finished???

Thoughts on Roberts

Been too busy to post!!! Exam next week in Evidence. We'll see how it goes...

What do I think about Roberts? I don't know. He's got plenty of experience in practive before the Supreme Court. He's a thorough advocate and a great number of people in Washington seem to like him.

He says that he will follow the stated law of the land but let's read between the lines... Laws can be changed and he will be on the body that can ultimately decide what is and is not the law of the land based on the COnstitution. I think the court may wind up overturning Roe v. Wade if the "right" case came along. Or at the very least limiting abortion rights...

Roberts seems like a fine candidate. I see no real reason for anyone to make an objection to him or prevent him being appointed. Democrats are certainly trying to dig up something on him, but I have a feeling that they really won't come up with anything. This won't be anything like Bork or even remotely close to Thomas! I guess my only thing about him is that he seems almost TOO perfect.

This was an utterly brilliant move by Bush. Ugh...

Procrastination....

Ahh... I am avoiding work of all kinds now.

I SHOULD be... reading for class... but I'm NOT.

I SHOULD be... doing my dishes... but I'm NOT.

I SHOULD be.... vacuuming my floor... but I'm NOT.

I SHOULD be... cleaning my bathroom... but I'm NOT.

I SHOULD be... doing my outline for Evidence... but I'm NOT.

I SHOULD be... researching for interviews... but I'm NOT.

What am I doing instead?? Telling anyone who's bored enough to read this what I SHOULD be doing but that I'm NOT doing.

Procrastination is a lovely thing....

Lawyer jokes....

Heh... Lawyer jokes... As a law student, I sort of cringe anytime I hear lawyer jokes on TV or elsewhere. It reminds me that my future profession is not one that is regarded very fondly. In a way, I can't blame people. After all, there are the guys out there who totally smear the profession with their conduct.

And then there are the politicians... heh... Let's not go there.

I do have to say though that we live in a system where we are granted certain rights and privileges. And if those privileges are violated, whether by ourselves or by others, we have a right to defend those privileges or be punished for violating them. Therefore, as much as people dislike it, lawyers are a necessity. After all, you need someone to defend your rights. As an adversarial system, this means that you need someone who's going to "put up the dukes" for you. Sometimes this means that you have to enter areas of gray.

Not that I think this is right. I wonder sometimes how I'm going to do in the profession. After all, am I willing to do all I can for my client? What if that "all" means that I have to do something that goes against my beliefs?

If you've looked at my previous post about my personality, you'll know one of my characteristics is that I have strong ethical beliefs and will uphold them.

Anyway, enough of the seriousness and the soap box rant... Here's a joke a law school friend sent me:

The United Way realized that it had never received a donation from the city's most successful lawyer.

So a United Way volunteer paid the lawyer a visit in his lavish office.

The volunteer opened the meeting by saying, "Our research shows that even though your annual income is over two million dollars, you don't give a penny to charity. Wouldn't you like to give something back to your community through the United Way?"

The lawyer thinks for a minute and says, "First, did your research also show you that my mother is dying after a long, painful illness and she has huge medical bills that are far beyond her ability to pay?"

Embarrassed, the United Way rep mumbles, "Uh... no, I didn't know that."

"Secondly," says the lawyer, "my brother, a disabled veteran, is blind and confined to a wheelchair and is unable to support his wife and six children."

The stricken United Way rep begins to stammer an apology, but is cut off again.

"Thirdly, did your research also show you that my sister's husband died in a dreadful car accident, leaving her penniless with a mortgage and three children one of whom is disabled and another has learning disabilities requiring an array of private tutors?! "

The humiliated United Way rep, completely beaten, says, "I'm sorry, I had no idea."

And the lawyer says, So... if I didn't give any money to them, what in the hell makes you think I'd ever give any to you?"

Ha ha... =)

Feel free to post some favorite lawyer jokes in the comments box. It'll remind me to keep myself humble at the very least.

Just when things are going your way...

I feel for London.

A mere 24 hours ago, they were the victorious bid for the 2012 Olympics, beating out longtime city rival, Paris. And then this morning, they get hit by some of the worst terrorist attacks since Spain last year.

With the various underground lines out, I'm sure this attack will have effects weeks from now.

A former co-worker e-mailed and said that thanks to her tardy decorator, she avoided one of the mishaps. By the time she went to catch the underground to get to work, they had closed all of the lines.

Happy 4th! (Even the fireworks are PC...)

Hope everyone had a nice 4th of July!

I was watching the Macy's 4th of July fireworks and it was quite a lovely show. Excellent music and a gorgeous 30 minute fireworks show that totally outshined the show last night here in Chicago.

I couldn't help but notice though that the audience make-up was VERY carefully thought out. The camera panned over the audience and you could see that there was quite an even-handed mix of people. Some Asians, some African Americans, a couple of people of obvious Middle Eastern descent, the requisite military personnel (from all of the branches of course.) It was almost too perfect a mix actually. The camera made a point of stoppine on each "group" of people. I missed the first part of the show, so I wasn't sure if maybe this was planned and if the makeup of the audience was specified or not.

Ah, well... despite that, or maybe because of it, it was a lovely patriotic display to celebrate the birth of our nation!

Happy Birthday to the USA!

O'Connor retires... A blow to justice for all...

Okay, that's a bit melodramatic, but it really could be a dark day for the Supreme Court.

I hadn't expected Justice O'Connor to retire now actually. I'd heard rumors that she was planning to stay on to see if she could get named as the first female Chief Justice. Not that it was her sole motivation, but I thought she'd planned on staying on a while longer. I had instead expected to hear that Rehnquist was retiring.

O'Connor's opinions are consistently some of the most well written of any of the justices on the Court currently. I've for the most part agreed with her stands on various issues. I very much admire the fact that she seemed to take a very moderate stance on most issues. I know that many fear that women's issues have been dealt a severe blow. They forget about Ginsburg though. However, Ginsburg is also getting on in years and her health isn't so good. There's a possibility she will be leaving in the near future as well.

I think history will view the current Court as one of the most powerful in the history of jurisprudence. This Court has almost singlehandedly revived the notion of favoring states' rights over a centralized federal government control.

We'll have to see who Bush nominates. I don't have a good feeling about this though. Then again, you never know with the Supreme Court. Past nominees haven't exactly fallen in with what political affiliations might indicate. Justice Kennedy is a prime example of this. He was nominated and appointed by Regan in the belief that he would help swing the Court right. Ironically enough, he's voted very liberally. Republicans have talked pointedly about avoiding having another Kennedy appointed.

I'm #1!!!

Just kidding... I'm not, but a friend recently sent me a cute little test to try with your birthday dates. The way it works is that you take the numbers of your birthday (including the full year) and you add the numbers up until you come up with a single digit.

Turned out I was a #1, which was described as follows:
#1 - The Originator

1's are originals. Coming up with new ideas and executing them is natural.

Having things their own way is another trait that gets them as being
stubborn and arrogant. 1's are extremely honest and do well to learn
diplomacy skills.
They like to take the initiative and are often leaders or bosses, as they
like to be the best. Being self-employed is definitely helpful for them.
Lesson to learn: Other's ideas might be just as good or better and to stay
open minded.
Famous 1's are Tom Hanks, Robert Redford, Hulk Hogan, Carol Burnett,
Wynonna Judd, Nancy Reagan, Raquel Welch.

Unfortunately, this is not too far from the truth. Heh...

Then my curiosity was peaked and I went out looking for some personality tests after talking with a friend of mine on the phone the other day. One of the tests she mentioned was the "Eneagram" test and suggested I try it. Well, I did and it turns out I'm a Type #1 personality. Here's a link to the description.

The thing was completely dead on. My friends who know me will tell anyone that this is me!!!! It's so eerie. Apparently, this test is based more on a person's psychological and emotional motivations. The origin is rather unclear. There is some mnetion of Kabbalah and Sufi mysticism but how you get a personality test out of those mystic traditions is beyond me!

If you're interested in the test, you can go here. It has a bunch of different personality tests to and a couple of intelligence tests.

The gauntlet has been thrown...

Heh... A comment on my last post has prompted me to at least post a second time within a week.

So, HA!!! I have done it!

I can spend a little time here ranting about my summer class and my fellow students. I'm taking Evidence right now and I'm enjoying it a lot. Very interesting stuff and very crucial to future practice in law. After all, evidence is the core of the legal system. Without it, you can't win cases, gain leverage in negotiations or even file a suit. It's the stuff that Law and Order is all about. Collecting evidence and finding ways of introducing it and using it to get the bad guys. None of the open and shut stuff with CSI. Don't get me wrong, CSI is awesome but jeez.... you wouldn't believe how much prosecutors HATE the show!!!! During voir dire, they actually now ask jurors to state whether they watch CSI regularly!! You just don't want a jury that's expecting forensic evidence like tracing a single flax seed found on the victim's shoe to a remote area of northern Montana. Sheesh...

Anyway, I digress. I feel for my poor professor and I'm getting very frustrated with the majority of my classmates. I don't know what their problem is, but for some reason the majority of the class chooses to sit like idiotic, drooling morons who apparently don't read the assignment. My professor winds up sitting there after asking a simple question, waiting and waiting for someone to volunteer and answer. Now, if you're wondering what happened to the Socratic method, it doesn't really exist anymore. Not in the "Paper Chase" style anyway. (Well, it might at Harvard, but I'm not at Harvard so that's my reality.) Instead, today's professors are nice enough to leave students alone and expect volunteers to fill in the time and discussion.

So me and a few of my chums in the class have taken it upon themselves to try and move the class along by relunctantly volunteering answers. If we didn't, I'd swear we'd just be sitting there the whole time waiting. Either that or my professor would give up. We look like teacher's pet overachievers to the rest of the class, I'm sure. (It doesn't help we sit in the front two rows.) Do I care?? H*** NO! I want to move the class and my learning process along, thank you very much.

It's just so frustrating sometimes!!!! I swear, I think I may wind up going postal at some time. (If you're wondering, the preceeding statement would most likely wind up as non-hearsay evidence of my state of mind if I ever did go postal. Heh....)

I know the students in my class are quite intelligent. You have to have a modicrum of intelligence to get into law school, after all. I know these people are overachievers who do the reading and know what's going on. Yet for whatever reason, everyone wants to keep their traps zipped. I've been told that some people were told that volunteering was pointless as it does nothing for your grade so why bother?? My answer to that?? Well, how are you supposed to get the material if there is no discussion to get all the pertinent points??? How can you know that you truly understand something if you don't try and explore the minutiae of the theory behind legal concepts???

Law is not black and white. It's not simple, straightforward formulas that get you to one answer. Justice is blind and in that blindness is a cold, impartial and sometimes harsh fairness. In truth, the law really rests on whether you are more persuasive than your opponent and can find ways for the law to fit what your side wants. There are very few absolutes in the law. In that sense, the more that you can debate and discuss, the more you can truly dig down and learn to be an advocate.

I don't think some of my classmates get that. Maybe it's an age factor. I happen to be much older than most of my classmates. I didn't decide to do law until well after I graduated college and went into the work force. I hate to think that way though since I know that it's unfair to judge them as an age group.

Ah, well... enough of this rant. I'm probably making a big fuss over nothing but it's driving me nuts!!!

Anyway, I'll try and post more. I'll probably mostly rant and rave about everyday stuff. Boring, really... so we'll see.

Premiere post- Woo hoo!

Not sure what I'm going to do with this blog as of yet. Probably update when I can with daily thoughts and issues I'm dealing with.

To introduce myself, I'm a second year law student at Loyola University of Chicago. I am in the part-time evening program which means I work during the day at a research lab at the Univeristy of Chicago. In the evening, I go to school. A rather tiring schedule when school is in session.

I live in downtown Chicago and enjoy everything Chicago has to offer. I'm originally from Baltimore, MD and my family is all there right now.

What else is there to say? Not much really... I have to figure out what I'm going to do with this blog. I've wanted one for a while, but now that I have it... not too sure what I'm going to do. We'll see... It'll also depend on whether I have the time to post regularly or not. As I said above, the schedule can be tiring and rather hectic depending on what's going on.

Thanks for stopping in!