Making Friends in Law School

Friend—“One attached to another by affection or esteem; a favored companion.”

-Merriam Webster’s Dictionary

Oh wow, the past four weeks have gone by insanely quickly and I can’t believe it’s been this long since I’ve written a post!  However, in those couple weeks, I’ve become intimately familiar with this topic.  I’ve never really had a problem making friends.  I’ve had the same best friend since kindergarten and in high school, I had the same friends from grade school.  In college, I became friends with my college best friend the first day of orientation.  So not having a good group of friends in law school was a new thing for me.

What Type of Law Do You Do? Part Three

Health Law—“A statute, ordinance, or code that prescribes sanitary standards and regulations for the purpose of promoting and preserving the community’s health.”

-Black’s Law Dictionary

 

My last required round table was about health law and the different opportunities available to those interested in such matters.  But fear not!  This does not mean this will be my last post about different legal career paths.  You guys have shown your love for these posts so I’ll try to find out about more careers and give you a look into what a lawyer does in that type of job.

What Type of Law Do You Do? Part Two

Corporate Law--"Collectively, the statutes, rules, regulations, and legal doctrines relating to the ways in which corporations operate.”

-Black’s Law Dictionary

The second of the practice area round tables I attended was about corporate law.  Just to let you know, the practice areas I’ll be focusing are all on areas of law that I’m interested in but if you have interest in any other areas, let me know and I’ll see what I can do.

What Type of Law Do You Do? Part One

Intellectual Property--"A category of intangible rights protecting commercially valuable products of the human intellect.  This category comprises primarily trademark, copyright, and patent rights, but also includes trade-secret rights, publicity rights, moral rights, and rights against unfair competition.”

-Black’s Law Dictionary

 

Today was a very eventful day.  I got cold-called on in my Civ Pro class for the first time, tabled for Barbri, and attended a practice area roundtable.  At my school, all 1Ls are required to attend three of these round tables to see what practitioners in that particular field do for their jobs. For these sessions, I’ll talk a little bit about what the attorneys discussed when it came to their jobs and give you some insight into what a career in that field is like!  Today was the first of the ones I’m attending and focused on Intellectual Property.

How to Bluebook

Bluebook--"The citation guide that is generally considered the authoritative reference for America legal citations.”

-Black’s Law Dictionary

Last week, my TA for Legal Writing hosted a session introducing us to the Bluebook.  Over the past eight years, I’ve used about five other citation styles so it was a little annoying to have to learn another one.  Though, hopefully, this will be the only one I’ll have to use again!

One Week Done!

Opinion--"a court’s written statement explaining its decision in a given case, usually including the statement of facts, points of law, rationale, and dicta.”

-Black’s Law Dictionary



Ahh so sorry I’ve been absent for so long!  Law school really throws you right into the swing of things.  One week down and I’ve already read well over a couple hundred pages. 

Orientation Day Three

Curriculum--"the set of studies for a particular period, appointed by a university.”

-Black’s Law Dictionary

Day Three!  The official last day of orientation programming.  Tomorrow is an optional service project, helping to clean up a park in the city.  I’m planning on attending, which means less time to do my first day assignments but I already have a good start so fingers crossed.

Orientation Day Two

Professional--"Regarding or relating to a profession. May also refer to a person who is a practitioner of a profession.”

-Black’s Law Dictionary

Yesterday was my second day of being a law student.  The orientation sessions yesterday focused mainly on professionalism and what that means both in the context of law school and in our future careers.  We also had a mock class and session about legal writing and research thrown in as well.

Orientation Day One

Preparation--"In anticipation of a future event, helps to make something ready to be utilized.”

-Merriam-Webster Dictionary

I moved into my new apartment on Monday and today marks the first day of orientation.  I’m now officially a law school student!!  Yayy!  That’s probably one of the most exciting things that happened today; everything else was the run of the mill orientation sessions.

The Final Countdown

Relaxation--"A way to relax and enjoy yourself; something that you do to feel less nervous, worried, etc..”

-Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Between packing and reading orientation assignments, the past week has also been a great time to take a deep breath and relax because once school starts, it will be non-stop until Christmas.  So, here’s a few ideas to help the stress of making a big change:

Official Orientation Schedule

Orientation--"Initial induction of new employees into organizations.  Objectives include developing employee commitment, easing anxiety, promoting organizational expectations and explaining what the employee can gain from working with the organization.”

-Black's Law Dictionary

 

 

 

 

The past few days have been extremely exciting!  Saturday was my last day of work for the summer (see you in October, Banana Republic!) and things started to come together for law school.  I received my parking permit, scheduled the delivery for my brand new couch, and the admissions office finally sent out the schedule and readings for orientation!  They also provided some information about buying textbooks and our fall schedules but we won’t have our final section assignments until the first day of orientation.

What I'm Reading to Prep for Law School

Fact-finding--"The process of taking evidence to determine the truth about a disputed point.”

-Black's Law Dictionary

As I have been impatiently awaiting the orientation schedule of events and my own class schedule for the semester (I have no idea how I’m going to last the three months to hear back about my bar results!), I have been binge reading.  I’ve always been a big reader, starting way back when I used to beg my mom to read me another bedtime story.  My love of reading still prevails; however, during college, I never had time to just read for myself.  So while I’ve been reading a lot of books just for fun, I’ve also been reading various law school preparation books.  They all say they’re the go-to source to learn about how to do law school.  Here’s my take on these law school prep books.

My Journey to Law School

Opening statement-"At the outset of a trial, an advocate's statement giving the fact-finder  preview of the case and of the evidence to be presented."

-Black's Law Dictionary

In three short weeks, I begin a new chapter of my life:  law school!  Since I graduated from college two months ago, I’ve been trying to prepare myself the best I can for this journey.  Part of that included debating whether or not to start a blog to document my experience and to share my thoughts and beliefs about law school.  But I finally decided that blogging my three years could add another different take on law school that someone else may find helpful.