And so, another semester of law school has started. My classes this semester include returning favorites (Constitutional Process, Contracts, and Legal Writing and Analysis) as well as 2 new classes (Criminal Law and Property). Already, I have noticed a seismic shift in the way the professors conduct classes. We are now being called on by our first names rather than the traditional “Mr.” and “Miss” titles of the previous semester. The professors are also much less uptight. I can only attribute this perceived “more relaxed” atmosphere to the lackAlready of the need to scare us straight. Having already endured the rigors of the first semester, law school is now “old hat” to all of us 1Ls. My schedule is also (I think) a little more forgiving. My earliest class is at 11 AM. On Tuesday, I have 3 classes (11-12:15, 1:30-2:45, and 3-4:45), and it is by far my most tiring day. The upside of having a heavy Tuesday is that on Thursday and Friday, I only have one class. This has been extremely beneficial with regard to planning out my reading assignments and figuring out how busy my weekends will be. Many of you will remember my extreme level of stress last semester, but this has given way to more routine. I am sure that there will be moments of stress (i.e., when writing assignments are due or around exam time), but the normal stress of keeping up with the reading is not so bad. For example, we have 3 cases assigned for Criminal Law for Tuesday, 100 total pages of reading. Last semester, I would have panicked. That amount of reading would have taken me the better part of the afternoon. Today, I completed all of the cases in 2 hours. Somewhere along the way, I have learned to identify the relevant portions of the opinion while tossing aside the dicta. Breaking down cases is SO MUCH easier than it was last year. I now understand why many people say that the first semester of law school is one of the hardest things to get through.
I also have followed the advice given to me by my Uncle Ravi. He mentioned that when he was studying for his master’s degree, he would get up early on the weekends and get his work done. This left the rest of the weekend free. I tried it this weekend, and I was completely done with the days work by 11 AM on both days. Of course, this meant getting up at 7, but I had 4 solid hours of work and the rest of Saturday and Sunday was mine! If any of you have work that needs to be done over the weekend, I highly recommend this. In addition to enjoying my time, I didn’t have something hanging over my head during the day. I had a nice long workout, went grocery shopping, and relaxed. I even have time to update my blog!
So, what is my favorite class this semester? This would have to be Criminal Law. No, I am not looking into becoming a prosecutor or defense attorney, but the class itself is intriguing. Professor Decker is a dynamic speaker, and the class discussions address more than what is in the cases. People are less reticent about chiming into discussions, and this had made for a very entertaining class. I look forward to Criminal Law. That is not to say that I don’t like Contracts still. We have started with how contracts are policed (looking at contracts made under duress or where there was fraudulent concealment, etc). Professor Taylor is still great, and now that we have the Contracts basics out of the way, we are learning how to apply what we learned to different situations.
The rest of my life is going pretty well. I have figured out a balance for working out, going to school, and sleeping. I just needed to figure out when I could update my blog. I still look forward to hearing from all of you from time to time. Please let me know if you want to read about more cases. I enjoyed writing about Semtek last semester and I might throw an interesting case into the discussion every now and then. Funny thing: if you Google the case name (Semtek International v. Lockheed Martin), my blog entry on the topic pops up at #20 out of 551!).
That’s all for now. Welcome back to another exciting semester of law school!
Sunday, January 29, 2006
Sunday, January 08, 2006
Vacation time...
Well, the spring semester is just about ready to start. I have had a great respite from the rigors of law school, and I feel refreshed enough to venture once more into the abyss of reading and classwork. I only hope that I will have a better handle on how to prepare for my classes. Last semester, the learning process was exceedingly steep, as I had to get re-acclimated to school after a 10 year absence. I also had to learn how to prepare for law school classes. My classes for the spring semester include second semesters of Contracts and Constitutional Process and 2 new classes: Criminal Law and Property.
The rest of my exams went off without a hitch. I have no idea how I did, but I was fairly comfortable with the answers I provided. There were some things that I could have added if I had more time, but overall I feel pretty good. The Monday after exams, I flew to Virginia to visit my parents for a week. I had not been to Virginia in 5 months and I had not left Chicago in 4 months. I had a pretty relaxing time at home. I was nice talking to Mom and Dad for an extended period of time. My return trip too Chicago was smooth, and as we were touching down in Chicago, I had an overwhelming sense of relief that I was home. This was a strange sensation for me because somewhere along the way, without me realizing it, Chicago had become home. I love Chicago and the surrounding areas. I spent my second week in Chicago just taking care of some business around the apartment. I spent most of the time straightening out the mess that was my room (remnants of the mad days leading up to exams) and bringing out a wardrobe that did NOT consist of my study sweats. It was a very restful week. During my third week, I spent a few days with my friends Aaron and Julie in Cleveland. They had just moved into their new place, and it was a lot of fun hanging out with them during the week. The last couple of days have been spent sitting on my sofa watching the NFL playoffs, cooking, and working out. Yes, I finally have the chance to cook again! My project last week was to perfect Thai red curry, and I hit upon a recipe that really seemed to work well. This week, I will be taking care of loose ends before school starts on Monday the 16th.
The rest of my exams went off without a hitch. I have no idea how I did, but I was fairly comfortable with the answers I provided. There were some things that I could have added if I had more time, but overall I feel pretty good. The Monday after exams, I flew to Virginia to visit my parents for a week. I had not been to Virginia in 5 months and I had not left Chicago in 4 months. I had a pretty relaxing time at home. I was nice talking to Mom and Dad for an extended period of time. My return trip too Chicago was smooth, and as we were touching down in Chicago, I had an overwhelming sense of relief that I was home. This was a strange sensation for me because somewhere along the way, without me realizing it, Chicago had become home. I love Chicago and the surrounding areas. I spent my second week in Chicago just taking care of some business around the apartment. I spent most of the time straightening out the mess that was my room (remnants of the mad days leading up to exams) and bringing out a wardrobe that did NOT consist of my study sweats. It was a very restful week. During my third week, I spent a few days with my friends Aaron and Julie in Cleveland. They had just moved into their new place, and it was a lot of fun hanging out with them during the week. The last couple of days have been spent sitting on my sofa watching the NFL playoffs, cooking, and working out. Yes, I finally have the chance to cook again! My project last week was to perfect Thai red curry, and I hit upon a recipe that really seemed to work well. This week, I will be taking care of loose ends before school starts on Monday the 16th.
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