Surviving my first semester of law school

[twodownzero]

I'm still here. I might want to hide from my grades, but it sure was fun and I can't wait for the next 5 semesters.

[ima45dv8]

Congratulations.

When you get to where you have a sense of humor about it, I know some great lawyer jokes.

[SiG Lady]

I'm doing some legal studies online this season and it's fun and challenging. There are moments I want to hide from a test question I missed (not unlike blowing a shot badly on a target), but I've been able to actually challenge a couple of them and be given credit. I'll just shut up and be grateful for that. But I get excited about every new lesson that comes up and can relate to the excitement of the experience.

Good luck in your studies! (Do you have any particular area of law in mind yet?)

[SiG Lady]

I've been in legal office settings long enough to regard it all with amusement.

You can dump some lawyer jokes on me anytime, for sure.

[twodownzero]

I don't mind the lawyer jokes too much. I'm too blue collar to get most of them anyway.

Considering that I paid over $20k in tuition for a single semester, it's hard not to have a sense of humor about it when you realize that everyone else in your class is smart, too...so you can't let the competition go to your head. I even got to shoot about 4-5 matches this semester.

Much of the anxiety in the first year of law school, on which books and movies have been written, comes from inside people's heads. I enjoy it. People just let it bother them too much, I think.

There's a lot of areas of law that I'd like to practice, but I'm really looking forward to finding a job than any particular fact pattern, really. Legal analysis is fun for me, and the facts really don't matter so much as the process, so it's hard to marry myself to a single type of law.

I am an econ nerd so I like economics related sorts of legal things (labor and employment, contracts, property, etc.).

But who knows where life will take me. That's part of the fun. This is my 2nd career, so it's all new to me. Before this I was a mechanic in a factory.

[SiG Lady]

"Considering that I paid over $20k in tuition for a single semester..."

Hmmm... Let me do the math on those NEXT five semesters.....!

[Aglifter]

Shakes head... You LIKE law? You're doing it wrong - all lawyers are supposed to end up terminally despondent alcoholics... (Although I did learn to prefer my coffee mixed w. bourbon in law school... Haven't drank that in ages...) Remember, the best thing about law school, is when your prof is being a complete idiot, you get to call him that in class.

[SiG Lady]

Hey, coffee-with-bourbon is one of my favorites!

Besides, it's a great WINTER beverage.

[Alan550]

There are only 2 lawyer jokes anyway.............................all the rest are TRUE!

[Sarge]

There's a lot of areas of law that I'd like to practice, but I'm really looking forward to finding a job than any particular fact pattern, really. Legal analysis is fun for me, and the facts really don't matter so much as the process, so it's hard to marry myself to a single type of law.

From the few times I've talked to you I would say you should be a range lawyer!

[GrumpyOne]

Hey, coffee-with-bourbon is one of my favorites!

Besides, it's a great WINTER beverage.

When I was younger, I drank enough bourbon to float a battleship. Now, try some Jameson's or Tullamore Dew in your coffee.....

[GrumpyOne]

What do you call 1,000 lawyers on the bottom of the ocean with a weight tied around their ankles?

Edit to add: I forgot...Congrats!

Edited December 18, 2010 by GrumpyOne

[speculatorking]

Twodownzero, check this out. My girl has just one more semester.

Edited December 18, 2010 by speculatorking

[SiG Lady]

Ad litem, alibi, bona fide, causa, cavear, codex, consensus, coram nobis, corpus delicti, corpus juris, de facto, de jure, de novo, duces tecum, ergo, errata, et alia, et nunc et semper, exampli gratia, ex more, ex officio, ex parte, ex post facto, habeaus corpus, hic et nunc, hoc loco, ididem, id est, in absential, in camera, incipit, indicia, in extenso, in extremis, in flagrante delicto, infra, in limine, in loco parentis, in perpetuum, in re, in se, in situ, inter alia, inter alios, inter nos, inter paras, inter se, inter vivos, in toto, intra vires, ipse dixit, ipso facto, lex loci, lex talionis, licet, lis pendens, loco citato, locum tenens, locus delicti, locus in quo, loquitor, mala fide, mala in se, malo animo, mandamus, mau propria, mea culpa, me iudice, modus opeerandi, multum in parvo, nolo contendere, non obstante, non sequitur, obiter dictum, onus probandi, pendente lite, per annum, per capita, percontra, per diem, per incuriam, per interim, per se, per stirpes, persona grata, posse comitatus, post mortem, prima facie, pro bono, pro forma, pro rata, pro tempore, punctatum, quarere verum, quasi, quid pro quo, quo iure, quondam, res ipsa loquitur, respondeat superior, scripsit, seriatum, sic, sine die, sine dubio, sine loco et anno, sine mora, sine prole, sine qua non, sponte sua, stare decisis, status, status quo, stet, sub iudice, subpeona, sub rosa, sufficit, suo tempore, supra, ultima ration, ultra vires, vertias, versus, via, vice versa, vincit veritas.

And my fave, "voir dire."

[twodownzero]

There's a lot of areas of law that I'd like to practice, but I'm really looking forward to finding a job than any particular fact pattern, really. Legal analysis is fun for me, and the facts really don't matter so much as the process, so it's hard to marry myself to a single type of law.

From the few times I've talked to you I would say you should be a range lawyer!

:roflol: Now there's a guy with a sense of humor.

[gohuskers]

I really enjoyed law school - although I'll admit that the first semester was the worst. All the professors want to scare you into believing that your first semester grades will be a preview of your entire law school duration. Nonsense. Do the best you can and get thru it. If you keep up with the case studies the grades will fall into place. Besides, after the first year it's clear sailing...pretty much all electives of your choosing from that point on.

[BrianH]

Good job! Your grades will probably just go up from here now that you "know how to do law school". If you're still this pumped after your first term (and you survived civ/pro) then keep at it. If you're REALLY not sure this is the right thing for you then don't be afraid to bail now. If you love it then it's worth sticking with it.

[gohuskers]

Good job! Your grades will probably just go up from here now that you "know how to do law school". If you're still this pumped after your first term (and you survived civ/pro) then keep at it. If you're REALLY not sure this is the right thing for you then don't be afraid to bail now. If you love it then it's worth sticking with it.

big +1 to this, except the civ-pro part - that class was okay. Secured transactions is absolutely horrific as is commercial paper, which means both will be on the bar exam so take them!

[twodownzero]

Well my grades were way better than I might have thought. Now I just need to finish the hard part of finding a job for next summer.

Oh and I didn't survive civ pro yet. I had Property, Torts, and Contracts.

Next semester: Con law I, Civ Pro, Crim law, and evidence.

[gohuskers]

Con law is good, civ pro bearable, with crim law and evidence just being awesome! (prosecutor speaking here so you understand my bias). Continued luck with everything!

[mdschappell]

Ad litem, alibi, bona fide, causa, cavear, codex, consensus, coram nobis, corpus delicti, corpus juris, de facto, de jure, de novo, duces tecum, ergo, errata, et alia, et nunc et semper, exampli gratia, ex more, ex officio, ex parte, ex post facto, habeaus corpus, hic et nunc, hoc loco, ididem, id est, in absential, in camera, incipit, indicia, in extenso, in extremis, in flagrante delicto, infra, in limine, in loco parentis, in perpetuum, in re, in se, in situ, inter alia, inter alios, inter nos, inter paras, inter se, inter vivos, in toto, intra vires, ipse dixit, ipso facto, lex loci, lex talionis, licet, lis pendens, loco citato, locum tenens, locus delicti, locus in quo, loquitor, mala fide, mala in se, malo animo, mandamus, mau propria, mea culpa, me iudice, modus opeerandi, multum in parvo, nolo contendere, non obstante, non sequitur, obiter dictum, onus probandi, pendente lite, per annum, per capita, percontra, per diem, per incuriam, per interim, per se, per stirpes, persona grata, posse comitatus, post mortem, prima facie, pro bono, pro forma, pro rata, pro tempore, punctatum, quarere verum, quasi, quid pro quo, quo iure, quondam, res ipsa loquitur, respondeat superior, scripsit, seriatum, sic, sine die, sine dubio, sine loco et anno, sine mora, sine prole, sine qua non, sponte sua, stare decisis, status, status quo, stet, sub iudice, subpeona, sub rosa, sufficit, suo tempore, supra, ultima ration, ultra vires, vertias, versus, via, vice versa, vincit veritas.

And my fave, "voir dire."

I just had jury duty, and voir dire wasn't my fave......

[Jonathan Taliani]

Congrats! Your grades should smoothly bounce back after your first semester. Plus, a lot of the time, the ones you feel the worst about turn out to be your best grades. It is a steep learning curve for pretty much everyone. The good news is that it's all down hill after your first year and you're half way there.

[twodownzero]

You guys are so encouraging.

Thanks, all.

Edited December 25, 2010 by twodownzero

[paraman1]

My brother is almost finished with Law school and this is his description of it .

First year, they scare you to death. Second year, they work you to death. Third year, they bore you to death.

He is well versed in the drinking aspect and sounds like he already hates Law .

[AR Gunner]

The only mistake I made in law school was marrying my first wife.