In less than one week I will be back in class. It has been so much fun to chat about being a 2L. This weekend many of my classmates returned “home,” and we had a wonderful get-together Saturday night. It was so good to see those friendly faces. We spent several hours around a dinner table just reminiscing our last year and making predictions about the humiliations we will suffer this year as well.
Our class has so much personality. We have young and old. We have geniuses (literally) . . . and then the rest of us. We have the loud, the quiet, the flamboyant, and reserved. We know that the 3Ls envy our camaraderie. For whatever reason, their class just hasn’t meshed like ours. We are all one even though we are each unique.
And now that the new semester is only a few days away, my schedule is already starting to spin itself out of control. There are still books to buy. Last year’s files need to be put in storage to make way for the 2L files that will occupy their space. There are still books to sell from last year. My desk is a mess; I think it’s symbolic of all that’s going on in my head right now. I have a list of “things to do” that covers the front and back of a page. Not to mention that it’s recruiting season for 2Ls.
The recruiting season has my stomach in knots. I know that a lot is riding on the 2L recruiting season. In a perfect world, my 2L summer internship will be sealed by Christmas, it will be in the perfect geographic location, and it will be a perfect fit for my interests and talents (whatever they might be). But Christmas is 20 weeks away, and there is much work to do just to get some firm, government office, or nonprofit to take a look at me. This is the cause of so much stress, and there’s little I can do to relieve it at this time, other than target the right employers, pray and be patient.
Then there’s law review. As I continue to work on the first cite checking assignment, and as the deadline is looming for my work to be done, I can already see what a tremendous commitment this is going to take. I’m even finding it difficult to find time to read the Law Review Handbook, which is 137 pages. Not to mention the hundreds of pages that I still need to read for the CASA work that I have volunteered to perform. Hmmm….I wonder if I’ve over-committed….again? This reminds me of the classic definition of “insanity,” i.e., doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.
So, it’s four in the morning, one week before class, and I am already stressed. There are so many concerns. A lot is riding on this semester. I need to work diligently on lining up a summer internship. I must prove myself to the editors and senior staff of law review, which means cite checking articles of others, and then researching and writing an article of my own for publication. I must also maintain my GPA; I cannot slip in my class ranking if I intend to get a decent internship.
Oh, the irony: Classes haven’t even started, and I am already stressed. There are so many things that are out of my control. There are so many dark shadows and unknowns. There’s a definite need for a greater measure of faith and peace. There are no easy answers; there is no simple solution. Rather, it’s going to be a daily commitment to give everything I have, to hand over everything that I am. It is a 24/7 commitment of 16 weeks. And then, should I fail, it will not be from lack of effort.
Does this help me? Or ease the stress? Will it allow me to finally get some rest? Unfortunately--even at four in the morning--the answer is no. The entire conversation that I have posted here just continues to replay in my head. In less than one week I will be back in class . . . my schedule is spinning out of control . . . recruiting season has my stomach in knots . . . then there’s law review . . . and it’s four in the morning . . .
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
The Big News!
The big news of late is that I have been invited to join law review. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this legal jargon, first, you should consider that a blessing. But, just for the record, law review is a journal containing scholarly articles, essays, and other commentary on legal topics by professors, judges, law students, and practitioners.
Law reviews are usually published at law schools and edited by law students. The legal profession is the only one of its kind where the students actually publish the scholarly work. For instance, medical journals are published by health care professionals, not med school students. But, most of the time, the research conducted by these health care professionals could not have been possible without the assistance of an army of students; and, without the research, the article would never reach publication.
Most law schools publish their law review volumes several times a year. It is our chief editor’s goal to publish three times this year. This, and other fun details, were included in the 130+ page handbook that we received with our invitation to join law review. We are expected to review the handbook before we return to classes, and use it as a reference tool throughout the semester.
Not long after accepting the invitation to join law review, I received an e-mail referencing my first “cite-checking” assignment. Cite-checking is the grunt work of law review; and, thus, it is delegated to the new candidates (like me). I would not say this out loud, but I actually enjoy the cite checking process. For instance, the article that I am working on has been written by a professor. He has included 365 footnote references. Each of these references must be verified. The law review staff divides the work and assigns a portion of the footnotes to each staff member. It is my task to (1) find the source, (2) verify the source, and (3) make a copy of the source material before the article can be published.
Other than cite-checking articles, the other major project that I will be assigned this year will be the composition of an article for the law review, which is called a Note. A Note is a comprehensive analysis of a recent significant case, statute, or administrative regulation. Most Notes include a historical examination of the legal issues involved, an examination of the court’s holding and its legal significance, and the writer’s analysis or proposed solution. The Note must be a minimum of 20 pages and include at least 100 footnotes. It is estimated that a Note takes approximately 150 hours to write.
During my second year on law review (and I hope that there is a second year) I will be required to write a Comment. A Comment focuses on a specific legal issue and analyzes the pertinent cases, statutes, law review commentary, and other materials. Comments conclude with an alternative approach to the problem, such as a model statute. Traditionally, Comments are less descriptive and more analytical than Notes. Through a Comment, a writer seeks to resolve a conflict in the law, such as a circuit split. The Comment must be a minimum of 30 pages.
If it sounds like a lot of work, then I have done a good job of conveying that point. Law review is a tremendous amount of work. But, it makes you a better law student, and it makes you very marketable as a young attorney. For instance, some firms will only grant interviews to those who have served on law review. This is a tremendous responsibility, but I am very excited to have this opportunity. All too soon we will find out how many hours of sleep this "big news" is going to cost me.
Law reviews are usually published at law schools and edited by law students. The legal profession is the only one of its kind where the students actually publish the scholarly work. For instance, medical journals are published by health care professionals, not med school students. But, most of the time, the research conducted by these health care professionals could not have been possible without the assistance of an army of students; and, without the research, the article would never reach publication.
Most law schools publish their law review volumes several times a year. It is our chief editor’s goal to publish three times this year. This, and other fun details, were included in the 130+ page handbook that we received with our invitation to join law review. We are expected to review the handbook before we return to classes, and use it as a reference tool throughout the semester.
Not long after accepting the invitation to join law review, I received an e-mail referencing my first “cite-checking” assignment. Cite-checking is the grunt work of law review; and, thus, it is delegated to the new candidates (like me). I would not say this out loud, but I actually enjoy the cite checking process. For instance, the article that I am working on has been written by a professor. He has included 365 footnote references. Each of these references must be verified. The law review staff divides the work and assigns a portion of the footnotes to each staff member. It is my task to (1) find the source, (2) verify the source, and (3) make a copy of the source material before the article can be published.
Other than cite-checking articles, the other major project that I will be assigned this year will be the composition of an article for the law review, which is called a Note. A Note is a comprehensive analysis of a recent significant case, statute, or administrative regulation. Most Notes include a historical examination of the legal issues involved, an examination of the court’s holding and its legal significance, and the writer’s analysis or proposed solution. The Note must be a minimum of 20 pages and include at least 100 footnotes. It is estimated that a Note takes approximately 150 hours to write.
During my second year on law review (and I hope that there is a second year) I will be required to write a Comment. A Comment focuses on a specific legal issue and analyzes the pertinent cases, statutes, law review commentary, and other materials. Comments conclude with an alternative approach to the problem, such as a model statute. Traditionally, Comments are less descriptive and more analytical than Notes. Through a Comment, a writer seeks to resolve a conflict in the law, such as a circuit split. The Comment must be a minimum of 30 pages.
If it sounds like a lot of work, then I have done a good job of conveying that point. Law review is a tremendous amount of work. But, it makes you a better law student, and it makes you very marketable as a young attorney. For instance, some firms will only grant interviews to those who have served on law review. This is a tremendous responsibility, but I am very excited to have this opportunity. All too soon we will find out how many hours of sleep this "big news" is going to cost me.
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