Good, better

I am getting used to life in the evil legal enterprise. The hours are good (at least for us summers) and the lifestyle is as well. Set aside the fact that I'm working for the devil, life is actually pretty good.

But you know what would be even better?

If professors actually graded the exams and turned in our grades. It's been only like what? Over 3 weeks. I'm supposed to get 4 grades this semester. So far I have 0.

Our profession

At one of the many meet and greets recently for the summer newbies at the evil legal enterprise--I'm taking to a 5th year about random things for a couple of minutes, and he happens to have a girl with him, a girlfriend or spouse I presumed.

The next day...
Me: That girl you were with last night at the reception seemed really nice.
Him: Thanks. She is. Do you want her number and her rates?

Now, I was completely at a loss for words (a rare occasion). I couldn't give the usual excuse of being a poor law student. Or say something slightly smart that might not be looked too favorably upon by people I'm supposed to be impressing. So, I was left with only one thing to say.

Me: Right now, no. I have a girlfriend.

So, what does this say about the profession I am entering?

A brave new world

Lawyer Search Spurred by M&A Sends Manhattan's Best to Brooklyn

Interesting story about how "elite" law firms are recruiting at schools they traditionally scorned because of the demand for associates due to increased work quantity as well as competition from the private business side.

The more wealth that is spread around, the better for all. While I do think there is a slight correlation between the quality of lawyer one becomes and the quality of law school attended, I don't think the correlation is absolute (as people on autoadmit do), and it is nice to see firms expand their reach out of necessity. And I actually wouldn't be surprised if many from lower-tier schools outperform their peers from higher schools, given that they've had to be scrappy and fight for everything more often than students from the top schools who have either coasted or had things handed to them on a silver platter.

The increased demand for young lawyers and law students is probably also the reason I start at the evil legal enterprise next week.

Sweet summer

So, I've basically recovered enough from the massive amounts of alcohol I consumed during the past three days to type a coherent post. But the feeling is still as good today as it was on Monday--that I'm no longer a 1L. I think that this feeling is among the top three feelings a law student can experience (along with graduation and finding a permanent job).

Some of you have asked--what am I doing this summer? Unfortunately, it will not be blogging as much. I will be working for a nice evil legal enterprise. The nice evil legal enterprise, as a condition in the contract, specifically warns against blogging. A line from my employment contract: "Summer associate agrees that he will not engage in posts on electronic message boards or contribute to any online journal ("blog")," regarding the evil legal enterprise. Despite harsh warnings, this is not why I will be writing less. I could care less about what the contract says (you see, I'm already learning to flout the rules as any good lawyer does), since as long as I don't post on company computer and servers, I'll be fine. No, the real reason is because I don't really think I'll have much to add, since the work assignments will be very boring and after work, evil legal enterprise will be having lots of repetitive social events. Hopefully, I will restart regularly once 2L and job hunting starts. I'm sure my readers are more interested in that than in wild stories from a summer associate.

Even though I won't be as frequent, I'll still be around, so check back regularly during the summer.

Congratulations

Congratulations to:
1. The UCLA women's water polo team, for adding to the school's record number of championship by earning the school its 100th NCAA team championships, the first school in history to do so. All the more impressive, considering the relative youth of the school and considering that it won its first championship only in 1950 (averaging 2 per year since then).


2. To the UCLAW class of 2009 (as well as 1Ls around the country), for finishing 1L year. Let the drinking commence.

3 down, 1 to go

For all intents and purposes, I am done with my exams. I still have a lawyering skills exam worth less than 25% of my grade on Monday, but it feels good to be done. Walking out of my exam on Thursday was probably one of the best feelings of my life, second only to the way I felt after drinking myself silly Thursday night. Two more days, and I will no longer be a 1L. A new crop of newbies, including SB, will be replacing us come August, as we mature into wise 2Ls.

What is really funny is how we've all become in many ways a defeated version of our old selves. For most of us, we got the best grades in high school. And we went on to college where we did pretty well. Then we scored in the 90th percentile on the LSAT and came to a pretty good law school. But law school has transformed many of us into people who are now content to be average. Going through this finals period, I cannot count how many times formerly proud people have said, "I'll do anything just to get a B" or "As long as I don't get a C, I'll be a happy camper." Oh, how the mighty have fallen as a result of this thing called law school.

One of the wise and learned classmates here recently said it best: "The secret to life is to have low expectations--in school, in friends, and in girls. That way, you never get disappointed and sometimes get pleasantly surprised."

2 down

Con law kicked my butt today. 2 down, 2 to go.

How do people get to my blog via these searches?

But at least I'm not this guy:


Cheer up, old chap. It's very hard to fail out of law school. You'll just get a C.

Dinero

Another round in the bidding war has been launched for 25 year-old newly minted associates to do mind-dumbing document review. Apparently, West Coast firms have decided to match the recent $160K New York raises. And since New York firms need to pay more to compensate for the higher cost of living and the poorer standard of life in NY, expect to see a round of NY raises in the near future, probably to $175K.

More Calif. Firms Follow Orrick's Move to $160K Associate Pay

the things we do during finals.

1 final down, three more to go.

-----------------------------
Someone forwarded this to me, and I found it pretty funny (note, I'm laughing at the poster, not with him). Here's some helpful advice buddy on why you're not getting some--it's exactly because you post on casual encounters, since we know only cool guys who can meet any girl he wants will resort to craigslist personals. [I've edited some words to keep this a family-friendly law school blog and took out his reply email to save him the trouble of random people emailing him. Other than that everything else appears verbatim.]


los angeles craigslist > central LA > casual encounters > ISO discreet hookup at my law school - stress relief for finals - m4w

ISO discreet hookup at my law school - stress relief for finals - m4w - 28

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Reply to: pers-xxxxxxxxxx@craigslist.org
Date: 2007-05-01, 3:00PM PDT

hello,
I am a law student at a los angeles law school, and of course i am being very general about which school. Finals are here and i have been studying in the library furtively glancing at the delectable female law students scurrying about. i think they look yummy, and i would like to find out. i have looked at craigslist casual encounters and have come to the conclusion that the women that post (if there are any actual women that post) are not the type of woman i would want to be involved with, even for a quickie. as a law student myself, i know that i am clean, together and am able to take confidentiality very seriously. there are just some moments when steam needs to be released, and i am certain that fellow law students feel the same way, only...in the library it seems a little rude to approach a friendly looking woman and ask for a b------, or just let me l--- your p---- (a task at which i excel). anyway, email me back with the answers to the following quiz, (just to weed out the fakes, i will not respond to any emails without answers.) very basic stuff.

1) authors of the majority and dissent in palsgraf.
2) complete the name of the following civ pro chestnut: international ____.
3) name the first cheif justice.

good luck!

Location: los angeles area
it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests