Hurricane Catholic Law

There was a eerie calmness in the library this week. Everyone seemed to be getting through the last few days with relative ease. And then it all hit at once....like a hurricane, law school has officially arrived.

As I have mentioned previously, I thought I had a good grasp of the homework and the topics discussed. In fact I even thought that I could get all my work done before I got home. Today was a different story. Classes got harder...a lot more Socratic method and delving into the details of each case. I learned what teachers expected you to know and what they didn't. I learned that my case briefs were great...but like everyone is learning, great is not enough. I kinda am getting the feeling that even if I try my hardest to prepare for class, I will never be fully prepared...

On that note, I am going to take another look tonight over the homework I have already done, and see if there is anyway I can strengthen my case briefs and better prepare for hypotheticals that could arise in class.

Day Two of Classes [John]

Today was no different than yesterday. My professors seem very nice and the classes they teach seem very interesting. Currently I am working on a multitude of case briefs for different aspects of the law. As Eugene said, anything is better than doing briefs. But I'm getting through it...at least the cases are interesting so far. For example, in Torts, we are developing the historical content of "actions involving intent" in regards to personal injury law. We literally went back into history (back to the King's Court in 1466) and see how precedent has been developed throughout the years on this matter.

In my Lawyering Skills class, we learned that on Thursday, we have our first attempt to oral arguments. The dispute is over a monument honoring Veterans of the Vietnam War. Hopefully, I will be assigned to the right side of this issue. More details to come after class Thursday!

Currently, I am two days ahead of schedule on my homework because as I said, I have an abundance of time during the day to sit in the library and finish my homework. I know this will definitely change, but I am going to take advantage of this free time while it lasts.

Lets get this show on the road! [John]

Ok fine...I admit...I guess I feared for the worst. Fortunately, my first official day of law school was nothing near my biggest fears. The teachers were friendly, helpful, and most importantly understanding. They understood we all were a little nervous and that we all didn't know what to expect.

For me, class began at 9:10 with Civil Procedure. I got up unusually early to prepare for class since I feared for the worst. I skimmed the chapter once more, re-read my notes twice, and essentially attempted to memorize the case I had to case brief for homework. However, once class started, I realized that I was definitely over-prepared and had nothing to worry about.

Since I had only two classes today, I had an abundance of time to work on homework for other classes. As a result, I can head home now, cook up a good meal and watch the Olympics without burdening myself with an overwhelming amount of reading that would have occurred if I had not taken the time during the day to get a head start.

All in all, my first day was 10 times better than I thought it would be and it definitely eased the nervousness I was feeling last night.

Money Money Money [John]

This whole Law School thing is costing me an arm and a leg. From tuition costs to book costs, there hasnt been a day where in the last week that I haven't swiped my credit card for something law school related.

This reminded me about a teacher at AU that told us that he seriously believes that law school should only be one year maximum (i think he said 6 months exactly). He believed that everything you need to know about the law, you learn your first year. His caveat was that the next year or two should be used to develop your skills as an "apprentice" at law firms etc.

Many professors during law school have hinted towards the same thinking. They say that law firms constantly tell law schools that recent graduates are not ready for jobs at law firms. Yes, every law student can recite the rules and precedent in a specific section of the law; but their main complaint was law students were never taught every-day legal skills such as client relations, filing, legal writing, etc. Law schools in the past have lacked teaching these skills and only focused on "how to think like a lawyer." (The Socratic Method) As a result, law schools are now incorporating these skills into their classes; hence why I am taking a class called "Lawyering Skills."

However, after realizing how much money I am spending, the more appealing my AU professor's legal education method sounds appealing. Why not get the hands on skills at a law firm as a sort of "apprenticeship." It would save us a lot of money that we spend just to sit in class and saves law firms money because instead of hiring incompetent grads at a starting salary of 100,000, they could give us maybe half that for a year and teach us the "street smarts" of the legal profession.

From Iraq to IRAC... [John]

My undergrad career as a political science major delved into the policy issues of the War in Iraq. Law school has brought forth yet another IRAC. IRAC is a mnemonic device that is used to help develop legal analysis of issues considered within a law suit. The acronym stands for Issues, Rules, Application/Analysis, Conclusion.

When approached with an issue, you need to first look for authority that includes rules that will help resolve the issue at hand. Then you must analogously apply those rules to the facts of your case and then reach a conclusion that determines whether the facts satisfy the legal rule.

Of course, it is much more complicated than that, but a blog post is not the venue to delve into the intricacies of forming a legal argument. However, by sharing this with you I wanted to stress the importance of legal writing and the forming of an argument. We have not began any of our doctrinal classes yet, but rather have focused heavily on understand the basics of the law and how to correctly develop an argument. They expect us to have a good grasp on this by Monday when class officially starts. Hopefully, by Sunday night, I can report to you that I fully understand and have practiced numerous times the IRAC device of legal analysis.

23 Years Later [Eugene]

Unlike my friend John, it would be completely disingenuous for me to say that I have wanted to be a lawyer my entire life. In fact as late as last year at this time, law school was not even on my radar screen. I graduated from George Washington University in '07 (BA International Affairs) with thoughts of high paying jobs and economic self-sufficiency on the brain. It was quite a rude awakening for me when I hit the job market in DC during the summer of '07. There were plenty of opportunities, particularly in the non-profit area, but none were high paying or even offered a path to a high paying job in the future. It did not take very long working under these conditions that I realized that I had to improve my marketability. Hello, law school!!! 

For me, law school is a necessary evil. If you aren't going to go to law school and you don't have friends in high places, there is just not a lot of economic opportunity out there for humanities/social science majors. Its sad, but its true.

As I entered the admissions process and began reading about law school, my interest and desire to study the law definitely increased. After taking the Law Preview class at NYU last week, and beginning to do my initial course readings for NYLS, I am officially excited about beginning this endeavor. I have certainly come a long way in this last 6-8 months in terms of my intellectual desire to go to law school, and my conviction that I would like to practice law for my career. But unlike John, I definitely did not start here. 

From what I have heard from friends/contacts, it seems that most law schools have begun orientation and classes this week. NYL, however, does not start until next Monday, 8/18. I will have more then.     

The Journey Begins: Orientation Day 1

So today I have officially began my first day at Catholic Law. It was a day of administrative work beginning with filling in a bunch of forms and ending with me receiving my class schedule. I am Section D and taking Lawyering Skills, Civil Procedure, Contracts and Torts.

Unfortunately, none of my friends nor anyone I met today was in section D. However, our first class (Lawyering Skills) starts tomorrow; so in less than 24 hours I will meet the 35+ classmates that will be in every class I take for the next year.

The rest of the week is filled with different orientation events/classes including a class on Professionalism and a President and Dean reception at the end of the week.

As for now, I am going to make some dinner and begin my first reading assignment: "The Foundations of Legal Analysis."

22 years later...

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Ok, fine...it wasnt exactly 22 years ago that I decided that I wanted to go to law school; though my parents say I was born with the fight of a lawyer. However, for as long as I could remember, the urge to practice the law has influenced my path through life.

After graduating from American University in May 2008, I had many opportunities present themselves to me. The problem was I had my heart set on going to law school and there were no if, ands, or buts about it.

On August 11th, I begin orientation at Columbus School of Law at Catholic University. I enter my 1L year interested in intellectual property with the hope to work for the government protecting U.S. Intellectual Property Rights abroad. Hopefully, Catholic University Law's excellent location (in the heart of our Nation's Capital) will help me achieve my dream.

Many readers have asked when will I begin blogging. Well since school hasnt started, I havent had much to blog on. As of August 11th, I will begin blogging daily, so please check back then.

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.