- 7:00 - 8:00: I woke up and got ready for the day. For my International Human Rights class, my partner and I are going to be doing a mock deposition which required me to wear my suit and tie. I much prefer my normal ensemble of jeans and a T-Shirt.
- 8:00 - 9:00: Drove to school and there wasn't any traffic. Not surprised. I get a kick out of watching the early morning news and their coverage of Dayton's traffic. They show live shots of the freeways and say "yep, traffic is still moving nicely." It doesn't matter whether it's 5am or 5pm, the freeways are always empty! I don't know why they think they need to remind you every ten minutes that there's no traffic.
I have a 9:30 class that I'm (supposed to be) reading for right now. It's one of those rare classes where the professor doesn't call on anyone in class which makes it so easy not do any all of the reading. She just lectures and then will periodically ask "what do you think about this situation?" I'm heading into class now. In law school if you show up ten minutes early you're on time and if you show up 5 minutes before class starts you're five minutes late. I better hurry so I won't be late.
- 9:30: Professors are a bit like comedians, once they come up with some good material they just stick with it. They have you read the same cases, they make the same comments, and of course, tell the same jokes. So you can get notes from friends who have previously taken the class and read right along with the professor. I have a friend who took this class last semester and she is a superb note taker. She literally typed everything the professor said. It makes it so much easier because now I don't have to take notes, I can just add comments as the professor lectures. Here's a good tip for you: go to Outline Depot, have about 40,000 outlines on their site. You can download the outlines for free. All they ask from you is to give them one of your outlines. You can look up the outlines based off of the school, professor, class, textbook. Some of the outlines are unbelievably good. Print off a copy and then read what you're going to cover before each class.
- 11:00: Reading for my evidence class. This is one of my all-time favorite classes. I like that there are some concrete rules you can "hang your hat on". I also really like this professor because he really knows his stuff. He litigated for many years and is now a judge. He sat "first seat" in 20 homicide trials. He's one guy I would NEVER want to have to go up against in a case. But back to my reading, I'm trying to understand the rules for assertions and how they relate to the hearsay rule. The book says, "...the court did not pursue its inquiry beyond the point of concluding that evidence of an 'implied' assertion must necessarily be excluded wherever evidence of an 'express' assertion would be inadmissible." It goes on to say that "no oral or written expression was to be considered as hearsay, unless it was an 'assertion' concerning the matter sought to be proved and that no nonverbal conduct should be considered as hearsay, unless it was intended to be an 'assertion' concerning said matter." I'll understand this concept as soon as I figure out what the following words mean: hearsay, implied assertion, express assertion, assertion, statement, and non assertive verbal conduct. Wish me luck.
- 12:00: I ran down to the lunch room, which is called "The Jury Box", to grab a quick bite and then get back to reading for my afternoon classes. I was going to make it real quick but then I got invited to the to the Christian Legal Society Luncheon. I wasn't all that excited about going but I didn't want to be rude so I took my lunch with me and listened to the speaker. Unfortunately, we don't have a J. Reuben Clark Law Society chapter here. We are at an all-time high right now with four LDS law students. I really wish I did go to a school with a chapter because I think it would be a lot of fun.
- 1:30: Went to my Professional Responsibilities class. The professor does a good job of making it 'real life' and allowing students to truthfully answer that they may bend the rules in certain circumstances without lecturing them and telling them they're wrong. There can be a lot of really complex moral issues that get raised and some of them can be difficult to resolve. For instance, if a client of yours tells you that they murdered someone and at the same time an innocent person is being prosecuted for that same crime under the Professional Rules of Conduct. You would be breaching client-confidentiality by telling anyone that the person being charged with the crime is really innocent.
- 2:30: Evidence: The professor called on a student to tell us about a complex case we had been assigned to read. After a few minutes it became apparent that the student hadn't read the case very closely. The professor then asked if anyone would like to volunteer as "co-counsel". No one in class raised their hand and so after a minute I volunteered. I felt like I knew the case when I raised my hand but after a few minutes of being drilled with questions I wasn't sure what was going on and fumbled my way through the case. Oh well, I guess if you're going to look stupid when telling the class about a case it might as well be a hard one!
- 3:30: I am taking a Law Practice Management class this semester. We have had to create a mock law firm and figure out the logistics as if you were starting your own firm. Next Monday my law firm and I have a business plan due. I'm responsible for covering the technological aspects for our firm". I've researched all the hardware and software a law firm would need to operate catering to 5 attorneys. The overall costs are staggering. On the hardware side we'll be purchasing computers, printers, copiers, scanners, postage meter, television, video camcorder, server, switches, shredder, Blackberry's etc. On the software side we'll be purchasing TimeMatters, LogMeIn Pro, QuickBooks, Adobe Pro 9, Base Case Solutions, HotDocs, Windows 7 Pro, Lexis Nexus access. The list goes on and on.
- 4:30: Still working on the business plan. I'm describing the costs and purpose behind each of the tools of technology we will be purchasing. It's a tedious process but I'm almost done. I just keep reminding myself that there is no final in this class!
- 5:30: Deposition time! (I'm writing this after the fact. I don't think anyone would have liked me sitting there with my laptop typing away). The law school does a great job of making these type scenarios as real as possible. In the basement of the law school there is an area with offices and a large conference room set aside for mock interviews, depositions, and arbitrations. Attending the deposition was myself, my partner, the professor, the plaintiff's two attorneys (two of my classmates), the plaintiff (a paid actor), a real stenographer, and a camera guy. So, it was a little nerve racking to ask the right questions with so many people listening to everything you say. But I didn't say anything to stupid and we got through it. It was good practice, it's nice to get to do it when it doesn't matter so that when I do it and it does matter I'll have some experiences to fall back on.
- 6:30: I'm hungry and I don't have any food left at school. So I walk back out to my car, get in, turn the key and nothing happened. The car was completely dead! I then looked and saw that I had left the head lights on all day. How stupid can I be? I swear I've never done that before and of course I don't have jumper cables. Who would keep jumper cables in their car? After phoning in a favor I got my car started back up and was on my way home. And guess what? There was no traffic!
- 7:30: I finally get back home. I make me some French toast. Doesn't taste too bad but at this point I'd eat just about anything.
- 8:30: I'm done eating and have had a minute to read emails and return phone calls.
- 9:30: I've got a ton of school work that needs to get done but I'm not feeling real motivated and the Biggest Loser is on. Plus why do today what you can put off until tomorrow?
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