The "E" word

Today was the last day of week 6 of law school. Now is about the time when students become more hardcore about their work. For the first few weeks, law school was still new to everyone, and people generally had a good time, went to bar review, went out, etc. It didn't matter that much since the pace of class went very slow. But classes have begun to pick up, and the over-achieving, type A personalities that we law students are, have become more paranoid about studying, and about the all important E word. At UCLAW, second and third year students who did the best in each individual class lead something called GAT sessions that teach study skills, and these sessions are very well-attended. I guess law school has become less of a game, and the severity of the whole situation has forced all but the most lackadaisical students to pick up the pace of studying.

I wouldn't say that I'm lackadaisical in so much as I view law school as a game and treat it as such. To me, law school involves lots of busy work trying to distract students from the E word. We're like mice that are placed in a trap and worry too much about getting around the next corner and stop focusing on the cheese at the end of the tunnel. Some students type like madmen everything that is said in class by all parties; I shut off my brain whenever I hear a student start speaking (irrelevant--no one cares what students have to say). Some students discuss whether judges got a holding right; I simply memorize the holding and could care less about how the judge got there. I work on my outline, I do hypos, and I do practice exams. That's it. The law school professor criticism to my method is that I'm not learning to think like a lawyer. My response to it all: a) this isn't Yale and b) if you want me to think like a lawyer, then test like it--don't give me this theory and morals all semester but the give classic issue spotter exams at the end. I'll learn all the grey when you stop making the law black and white.

P.S. To the person who got to my blog through a search of "law school hookup": I don't know if I should be honored or reviled that your search led you to my blog.