I was finally able to retrieve my password. But on to the post:
I've been thinking a lot about law school lately. Mainly I've been thinking about how lazy, unmotivated, and apathetic I am when it comes to school. For the most part, I like and respect my professors, so my lack of genuine engagement makes me feel guilty. But law school has made me realize something, and that thing is I am not an academic. My grades, for the most part, have been pretty decent. It's not that I'm stupid. It's just that "learning the law," or whatever it is we do here at the law school, bores me to tears. (And, I mean, we're really not "learning the law" when I have to shell out almost $2300 for a Bar refresher course.)
I don't get the thrill that some people get from law school. I like my job. I like the practical application of the law. But I'm skating by in school. I'm doing, very consciously, as little as possible just to get by and graduate. It's the bare minimum. And again, this makes me feel guilty, because, let's face it, being a slacker isn't a desirable thing to be.
However, part of me thinks that this detachment is fairly healthy. I'm not going to get an ulcer. I have no fears for my mental health. Law school is a pressure cooker? It's not for me.
I saw this article that said that Washington & Lee, a law school in Virginia, is going to make its entire third year an on-the-job year. I think this is smart for so many reasons. I wish CU would look at something like that. Probably won't happen, but I wish they'd consider it. There's such a disconnect between law school and practicing law. The people who teach law school are mostly academic types. But law school is a "professional" school. Sometimes I think the two don't mix. I place more emphasis on my job than I do on school, and I really get the feeling that this is frowned upon at CU. But why? Law school, at least for me, is a means to an end-- a job as a practicing lawyer. The best training I've had for that is my job as a law clerk.
Now, I have friends who probably will end up in academia. They think law school's intellectually stimulating. I respect them and their enthusiasm. I just think they're in the minority.
Anyway, what do you guys think?
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24 comments:
This is a great post. I agree to almost every point. By the time the 3L year rolls around, it is easy to tire of hypotheticals and more fluff cases. I would rather do more practical, hands-on work. But I guess this all goes back to the age-old debate about whether law school should be 2 years, 3 years, or 2 plus a 1 year apprenticeship.
Yeah, I'm not exactly breaking new ground with this post. Mostly I'm whining and trying to justify my non-existent work ethic as it relates to school.
BBB, it's nice to have you back. Personally, I wish that I could have spent a significant part of my third year working on a dissertation that could be published in a mainline journal, instead of figuring out how to become a professional suck-up.
Instead, I had to wait until I became assistant dean before I could lean on the editor-in-chief of the law review to publish my crappy articles.
It's good to be a dean.
Not to change the subject, but has anyone looked at the bar application yet? Is it just me, or are the reference requirements a bit ridiculous? Three people from every place we've lived for more than 1 month? Are they serious, or is the Supreme Court just engaging in a bit of CYA?
It's totally ridiculous. I've lived in four states. What a pain.
Apparently they call all of the references you list. I have a friend who lived in 9 states, and they called all 27 of his reference. So don't put down your crack dealer, unless he is really easy to contact.
God, I'm sick of school. I hope I can make it the less than sixty days to graduation.
I don't know a single attorney in one state where I lived.
You only need 3 attorneys total. Ask 3 professors. They are all (presumably) attorneys. Your references from other states can be anyone as long as they are not related to you. Attorneys are merely a preference.
Please click on my name to see how I feel about this post. Doesn't this discussion happen every year?
This is BBB. I admitted that I wasn't breaking new ground, so maybe *you're* the one beating the dead horse-- or double beating it with your double posts. :)
I'm whining. End of story. Sorry if we've all been through this before. BUT the W&L thing is an extra twist.
I like the "beating a dead horse" graphic. Well played. Maybe we can add that as the picture for any post discussing anonymous posting?
I really liked all of my externships. Unfortunately, I had to promise DM my first born child to get an extra externship hour.
My guess is you're pretty lucky to get an extra externship hour (or maybe you have a silver tongue). DM has a reputation of being a stickler to the rules and not giving an inch.
Externships are a great break from "school work."
Yeah... it's almost spring break. Law school is killing me. When will this be done??
Does anyone else have a ton of papers this semester? Are they making a conscious effort to assign more papers? I've had more this semester than the rest of law school combined and I'm only in one seminar.
Think of it this way.
Wouldn't you rather get the work out of the way now with a few papers, rather than be miserable the last month of law school studying for exams?
I'm going camping while others are studying for and taking exams. YeeHaw!
I wish I could think of it that way, but all of a sudden they're assigning papers and having a final. It's madness.
Well once you're done with all that, you'll definitely feel as though you earned it.
And by "it" I mean an ice cold beer.
What class is all of a sudden assigning papers? I ask because I haven't been to school since october of '06, and I don't want to be caught unawares like in that bananas in pajamas song.
Motions, Family Law (2), Employment Discrimination (optional). Of course Ethics always has a paper requirement.
Does anyone out there have [or know someone who does] the PMBR MBE materials that they want to sell?
philliaj@colorado.edu
law school blows!
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