Posts Tagged ‘class’

The first week is over and done with. A few things come to mind:

First, gone are the days where the first few class sessions would be spent handing out syllabi, introducing the broad themes of a particular class, etc. Things that would usually require a nominal amount of attention and note taking and would allow a student, such as myself, to get re-acclimated to life in school with all its demands and burdens. Instead, not only do we hit the ground running with case analysis, identifying and determining legal principles and doctrines as they develop and evolve through time, and outlining, BUT this process begins even before the first class. Yes, as I am sure is the case in almost every other law school in the country, we have reading assignments to be completed by the first class. In any event, the workload came on suddenly.

Another note on the workload: the weight. Outside of the few hours of class everyday (maybe between 2.5 to 4 hours) I spend another good 4 hours or so just reading through the assigned readings. I haven’t even begun to think about taking on any other kind of work. For example, reading through some E&Es as a supplement or perhaps some treatises, picking up and reading the hornbooks, not to mention beginning outlining for finals. However, U of C is somewhat unique in that our first round of finals consists of only 2 tests. So I think I might be stressing out a little too early in the game for my own good, especially given that multiple people have advised me that the dense reading gets easier and less time consuming with more practice.

However, today is Monday and everything seems drearier and hopeless on Mondays so the tedium of reading cases and trying to extract the significant principles each one teaches is getting to me. I can see how 1Ls could get burnt out so for now I’ll try to just be conscious of this tendency and maybe when I feel particularly spent, take a few minutes to listen to my favorite music or find someone to throw a football with.

The classes are, for the most part, interesting. I don’t think I would be the first person to say that although Criminal Law isn’t necessarily my favorite class, it certainly is the one that can be best understood through conventional morals, making a bit easier to comprehend. Whereas in, for example, Civil Procedure or something, one must learn the rules first and then see how uses or misuses of the rules result in particular consequences, for the most part, the general public knows what is morally wrong and knows that certain actions will be punished criminally. So at least for the time being, Criminal Law is acting as my “comprehension crutch.”

That is not to say that Civil Procedure is boring or anything. It fascinates me that cases can be won or lost on the ways in which attorneys might be able to manipulate filings or try to select where the case is heard jurisdictionally. Although the reading can be . . . dry, the applications of the rules are indeed compelling.

Sorry to sound like a nerd or whatever. But I suppose that’s what the first week of law school does to you.

More from the front next time!

Classes are well and thoroughly underway here. I’ve been through every class several times, and it’s been… fun? In an odd sort of way. Law really is fascinating, and my professors are absolutely incredible.

Observations:

-Civil Procedure is horrifically complicated and nuanced, and my professor’s approach is not helping (LOTS of material every day)

-Torts is going to be hilarious if only because of the crazy tangets the discussions can get on

-Contracts has barely even started, and I’m not sure we’ll be getting much direction in that course

-Criminal Law is extremely ‘heady’ – the syllabus makes it look like we’ll talk about our first actual crime sometime in November, and our second (and final) crime shortly thereafter.

The professors in these classes are some of the most intensely credentialed people I’ve ever encountered. Most are from top 3 law schools, several have clerked for Supreme Court justices… but each one still seems very down to earth and approachable. I get a strong sense that Virginia attracts students and professors who have an interest in maintaining a very social, positive environment.  The other students I’ve met are uniformly awesome – down to earth, intelligent, optimistic. No obvious crazy gunner behavior, most questions in class have been very reasonable… it’s actually kind of refreshing compared to the stereotypes I was expecting to encounter.

If there’s a ‘this economy’ cloud hanging over the school it has yet to touch the 1Ls. And the weekly keg was flowing today, softball is starting soon, and life is in general looking good – so far. We’ll see what week 2 brings!