Student Organizations: To Join or Not to Join

Tomorrow is the Activities Fair. I will definitely stop in. It seems like a good opportunity to network, specifically with upperclassman, who may be able to offer exam outlines and/or career tips. I'll be very interested to talk with the students over at the Federalist Society table (I am assuming the school will put their table in the Men's room across the hall from the auditorium).

Law Preview advised very strongly against getting too involved in student groups during the first year. The grades are just so important, that most/all of your time must be spent studying. They also said that extracurricular activities just don't mean that much to employers (aside from Law Review of course, which is an incredibly prestigious accomplishment that will stay on your resume your entire career). They advised that if you are going to get involved in an activity, be one of those people who shows up for the free pizza/guest speaker once a month. Take on absolutely ZERO responsibilities. If you find yourself working late into the night on a Monday trying to book a speaker for your group's meeting that upcoming Friday instead of spending that time studying for Contracts, something has gone terribly wrong. 

Sounds like good advice to me. But, I can hardly resist lending my support, even if it is only moral support, to the Federalist Society. Their mere existence at a school like NYL is in itself a profile in courage. 

My only question is how many students actually belong to the NYL chapter of the Federalist Society? I am willing to take bets on this. I am going to set the over-under on the size of the group as 6 members. Any takers?      

Law School = Drugs, Alcohol, and Gay Marriage [Eugene]

Orientation is mercifully almost over. I had an interesting workshop this morning that dealt with the legal profession and substance abuse. Apparently I am about the enter a profession that has a disproportionate number of drug and alcohol abusers. Very encouraging. 

Anyways... the president of the NYC Lawyers Assistant Program (LAP) spoke to my section in great detail about his personal struggles with drugs and alcohol. Apparently he would represent drug dealers in the South Bronx, and he would subsequently get paid in product. After a while, when he was really strapped for cash and with a worsening addiction, he began stealing from his clients. Yikes! Perhaps a counter example to the lawyer = Superman analogy John brought up last week. 

In my faculty seminar section this week, we have been reading and discussing several cases dealing with engagement rings (who gets the ring in the event of no wedding?) Yesterday, the professor gave everyone a new hypothetical case to read and analyze and today we had a little mock court section. The hypothetical case changed several facts from the actual cases we read, most notably that the engagement ring was given from one woman, Cathy, to another, Tara. I know its Manhattan, and I realize this is a northeast law school, but is it so much to ask that I survive 2 days without having gay marriage thrown in my face??? Guess not.   

Day 2 of Orientation: Just waiting around [Eugene]

I made my first sacrifice for law school last night. Instead of watching my beloved NY Giants preseason game against the Browns (a game in which I later found out the Giants starters scored 30 points in the first quarter!!!), I sat quietly in my room and read.  This is likely to be the first of many sacrifices I will have to make this year. I hope the Giants can forgive me. 

Odd schedule for Day 2. I do not have to be in until 2:30 today. Honestly, I would much rather go in the morning and get out at 12:00, than have to go at 2:30 and get out at 5:30.  I have such nervous energy right now, this waiting around all day to attend events and seminars is just brutal.

Also, for my Civil Procedure class (meeting for the first time on Thursday), I have been assigned to read  A Civil Action by Jonathan Harr. It's an excellent book. I am having a lot of trouble putting it down, especially when the alternative is briefing cases. For anyone out there with some time on their hands, I highly recommend it.     

What is Law School En Banc?

Law School En Banc is a blog written by two students entering their first year of law school in August 2008. John is going to Catholic University Law in Washington, D.C. while Eugene is going to New York Law in Manhattan, NY. Since the 1L curriculum is mainly consistent among law schools nationwide, we felt it would be interesting to compare side-by-side our daily experiences: two law schools, two cities, two different perspectives. Each day we will blog about our experiences in-and-out of law school from the classes we take to the forums we attend. Politics will only be discussed when it relates to our experiences at school, so we suspect all the time.