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December 16, 2004

Halfway

And then the third semester of law school was over. Evidence was 78 multiple choice questions in three hours (thanks to “Undercover Classmate” for that info ahead of time!—he/she should start a blog!). I felt like I was basically guessing on probably 60 percent of them. Not good. About three people in my testing room finished in about 1.5 hours, so I'm guessing those are the people who knew the rules cold and didn't have to consult their notes at all. I assume they got 70-78 of the questions right, or if they didn't, other people did. The curve may not be kind. But it's over. I feel great relief, though obviously nothing like last year at this time. I was just going through the motions of being a student this semester; I put very little in, and feel I got very little out of the semester. That's disappointing, and there's no good reason or excuse for it. Sure, I was busy working two part time jobs and writing a “novel,” but those were choices. I plan to make better choices next semester. I have no desire to be a gunner, but I would like to make better use of my time in law school so that I can get more out of it. The fact that doing more reading and thinking about my course topics might also make finals and grades less of a disappointment and nightmare is obviously a good thing, but I'd also just like to feel like I've learned something when the semester is over. I learned a great deal this semester, I'm sure, but I could have learned more, and I hope next semester I will. As of now, the schedule for next semester includes:
  • Federal Courts (3 hrs)
  • Criminal Procedure (3 hrs)
  • Feminist Legal Theory (2 hrs)
  • Ethics (2hrs)
  • Consumer Legal Clinic (3 hrs)
All of those are classes I picked because they focus on topics I want to learn more about, which is a good start. I'll still be working for the non-profit where I worked this semester, I'll still be posting every two weeks on that other blog (which eats up a surprising amount of time, actually), and the clinic will require some unknown amount of extra time (6-8 hours/week, I think is what they say), so I'll certainly be busy. Still, I hope to prioritize better, use my time more wisely, and balance the load a little more toward my class subjects. That's the plan at this point, anyway. Of course, now it's time for a complete break from all of that, and when I get back, my good old devil-may-care attitude may have returned. We'll see.

Posted December 16, 2004 10:59 AM | 2L


Congratulations on being half done!

I'm surprised that your Clinics are only 2 hours - ours are like 10.

Posted by: monica at December 17, 2004 08:17 AM

Congratulations on reaching the halfway point! I won't say it really gets easier -- as you might expect, that depends on what you choose to do with the rest of your time in law school. But it's still an important milestone.

On monica's comment above: I recall only getting 2 or 3 credits for the clinic I took, but it sure required a lot more work than that. They only gave us credit for classroom hours.

In other news, I'm still alive. I gave the frustrating firm a fair shot, quit in December after saving up a bit for a transition, and am looking for new work.

I upgraded to MT 3.14 and may or may not begin regular posts again. Random Googling (looking for an old cached copy of something) revealed this post of yours -- thanks, I'm touched. I hadn't expected people to notice. Though perhaps the blog title garnered a bit too much attention in the comments; maybe I should consider changing it if I resume posting?

In any event, I'm glad to find that you're still blogging and making your way through law school. I wish I had some magic advice for you to make law school easier. But then, if I had that magic advice, I wouldn't need to look for a new job; that knowledge alone would bring plenty of cash in the door.

--tph

Posted by: tph at January 6, 2005 08:57 PM

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