OK, so, we're back. The spring semester started about three weeks ago, after a nice, long winter break, and I thought probably it's about time I catch everyone up.
So first of all: I passed my fall classes. I don't think anyone but me had any doubt this would happen, but it's a relief.
As for the spring, Torts and Civil Procedure have been replaced by Contracts and Criminal Law. (That Lawyering Process class is two semesters long, so it's still going.) I hope to do some summary posts for both courses soon, but here are my basic impressions to date:
Contracts is . . . hit or miss. There's a lot of conceptual stuff that I enjoy, like how a contract is formed (there's hardly ever any paper involved, percentage-wise), what effects breach of contract can have, what duties an injured party has to mitigate his damages, etc. And I appreciate the fact that it all has one pretty unambiguous purpose: to keep the free market economy running smoothly. Not to punish wrongdoers, or even to make injured parties "whole" (though that's a big part of it), but to allow the market to function the way it's "supposed to." I'm not saying anything about whether that's a good or bad thing, but it is nice to have some grasp on the underlying principle to assist me in fitting together all the pieces. So that I like. But then there's the Uniform Commercial Code. We're told it's the envy of the world, that it's way better than any of those other uniform codes you'll read, that it's a model of clarity and common sense. And that may be, but codes are codes, and boy, there's nothing like reading the UCC to make me forget about all that neat conceptual stuff and feel a sudden irresistible impulse to nap. I'm trying to be optimistic, though. I hated the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure at first, too, but when they all started to fit together for me, I started to appreciate their beauty. Maybe that will happen with the UCC. I just hope it happens soon.
Criminal Law, on the other hand, is unequivocally fascinating. I love it. We're still largely talking Big Picture (rather than learning how to define murder, etc.), so the future of the course may be very different, but for now, I can't get enough. We've talked about the pros and cons of juries, how we justify punishment, how plea agreements affect the justice system, how we decide what counts as a "voluntary" act, and more. The professor is extremely engaged with the material (he makes me wish I'd had him as a philosophy professor -- and in fact he got his BA in philosophy), and really pushes the class to get to the heart of it -- much like my Civ Pro professor last semester. So Crim Law, at least so far, is awesome.
In other news, for Lawyering Process (LP) we're working with partners to write an appellate brief -- basically a legal document presented to a court of appeals to explain why a lower court's decision should be overturned (or, depending on whose side you're on, affirmed). I like it better than the "objective" writing we did last semester, but our first assignment is on a rather condensed schedule, so it's a little stressful. But it's due on Wednesday, so that pressure will at least be off soon.
I also took my first real (baby) step in the direction of eventual employment, by applying for an internship with the U.S. Attorney's office. I didn't even get an interview, but I figured it was a long shot. In any case, it forced me to start working on the requisite materials -- resume, writing sample, cover letter, etc. -- so I'll be more prepared next time. Meanwhile, I'll probably pay a visit to our Career Development office to see what pointers they can offer on making myself more attractive to potential employers. Every little bit helps, right?
I believe that's all for now. I'll try to get back in the habit of at least biweekly updates, but I'm not making any promises. Till next time.
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