The news is out

I posted the Family Christmas Letter yesterday, so by now the news is out that I've been accepted. My mother asked me if I was busy enough yet. I told her I still had a few hours left in my day, so I still had time for a few more things....LOL!

Part of me is wishing I'd made the decision to start with the January cohort. The other part is glad that I made the decision to start in April, since I'm being a slacker with my pre-start homework.

Sent in my student membership application for the National Association of Women Lawyers. I was all set to subscribe to The American Lawyer, until I saw the subscription price. Ouch! And I thought that 75.00 for a Forbes subscription was expensive! You can get a discounted price if you're a member of the ABA, but because my law school isn't ABA approved, I can't get a student membership, which means that I have to get an affiliate membership, which is waaaaay more than I'm willing to pay for at this point! I'm just hoping that you don't have to be an ABA member to participate in the inter-state moot court competition. The rules didn't say anything about needing to be an ABA-approved school for student participation. However, they might very well require you to be a student member to participate. Oh well. That's a 2L/3L event-usually. Sometimes an exceptional 1L might be invited to join a team, but it isn't the norm.

Tonite I'm taking the kids Christmas shopping. We have gifts for grandparents and cousins to buy. Also gifts for daddy. Christmas can't be 10 days away. NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! (But at least MOST of the shopping is done!)

JM

December

December - One month until '07. Five months until Law School starts. Five months of relative freedom before my nose is back at the grindstone. Is it a bad sign when the grindstone is looking better than the relative freedom?

This week I'm learning how to read cases and write briefs in my orientation class. The writing part I've figured out. It's figuring out the rule that is being discussed that is kicking my bum right now. Facts, easy. Problem/Complaint, check. Rule/Legal Theory--uhhhhhh.....I'm going to phone a friend??!!..Oh well, at least I have a lot of them that I can phone.

The good sign is that I am starting to be able to spot things I've read about in my Orientation class when I read the Law newswire that I get every other day or so. Today's had a discussion about privacy and ethics in medical research and the application of the "reasonable expectation" rule. It's at the appellate stage right now, so it will be interesting to follow up and find out what the California Circut ruled on and defined in terms of "reasonable expectation" here. I'm starting to keep a list of cases and rules that I can use to refer back to when I start classes in April. Yes, its a bit compulsive of me, but I've learned from previous grad school experience that this is the type of behavior that keeps you sane and out of trouble when you find yourself in the deep end of Academia.

Back to the Blog

I've been on a hiatus due to work. We finally got through fall conference with only minor snags - one of them being me twisting my foot going up and down stairs. Work Comp had a field day with that one. Sheesh. Glad that's over! No damage done really, just a bad sprain - probably a reinjury of my old volleyball/skiing accidents during academy/college. They act up now and again. The most frustrating was being on crutches for several days and trying to do set up for a medical lab practicum.

So now I'm back. A Time to Kill is sitting in my homework folder. The latest installment of my intro class "Law School at the Movies." My husband asked me "so when does the work part of your homework start?" Ha Ha Ha. I've seen the textbooks and supplementary hornbooks that will be heading this direction come March. Don't worry honey, the work will be on its way soon enough!!

I received my first Bar Association newletter in the mail on Tuesday. I will probably put it in my scrapbook. I don't often save stuff, but this rates a spot in the book. I'll probably put a copy of my first State Bar newsletter as well. I'll start getting those in May. I can't register for State Bar until I'm formally enrolled in school.

So for now, I'm enjoying my last few days of [limited] freedom. J and I are going to go see "Off the Grid" [Warren Miller] on Sat. night, while kids have a night with GranC and Grandpa. This is as close to the slopes as I'm going to get this season (grrrrr)so I'm determined to enjoy it!

Other than that, nothing new to report. Countdown to class continues. T-5 months: 2 weeks and counting.

Happy Friday everyone!

BAR CARD

Today I registered with the San Bernardino County Bar as a student member. I feel like I'm now officially a law student.

I finally got through A Civil Action. While the first part of the movie was interesting, the ending was a bit disappointing. The syllabus for the Law Fundamentals warned that some of us might find the ending disappointing and frustrating. I guess that was what the advisor meant by "law in the real world."

So after that, I decided I needed to do something that pointed me back in a positive direction. So I went out to the County Bar website and filled out the online application. If I send in a picture, I will even get an official bar ID card with my law school and expected graduation date printed on it. Coool! My membership was almost automatically approved (it would have taken longer if I'd actually had to pay dues. Lucky for me - students get to join for free, as we have not passed the bar and are not eligible to vote.)

So now I'm off to the calendar to see what meetings and events are happening in November.

Happy Friday!

First Assignment

The past few days I've been working with S in the legal counsel office regarding a grant contract with one of our surgical supply companies. It has been really enlightening and (surprisingly enough!) very interesting. It really changed my view of contract law and contract practice. I was dreading my class on contracts, but now I'm thinking it might not actually be that bad. Who'd have thought!?!

Anyway, still haven't finished A Civil Action. It probably won't happen until the weekend, if I had to guess. I'm waaaaay behind on the housework (as usual), and I still need to order my pre-start books and get my bum in gear on the rest of the pre-start modules.

BLEAH! Glad the weekend's on its way!

The Pre-start Homework

I finally joined Netflix, as I searched all our movie channels for A Civil Action and I didn't find it anywhere. I then looked at Wal-Mart, and still didn't find it. J suggested Suncoast, but I didn't want to pay full-price for a DVD I might only watch once. So off to Netflix for a trial membership, which will probably turn into a full membership once the freebie ends, as I have no idea if I will need to watch more movies for future classes.

I'm halfway through the movie. So far it's interesting. It is a dramatization of a real-life injury case involving Beatrice Foods and a tanning company. This is supposed to be a more "real life" look at what day to day legal practice is like. Personally, from some of the lawyers I've talked to (like the ones in our legal office here), it would be far more realistic to show lawyers pushing paper, doing computer research, and writing memos and letters. However, I'm not sure Hollywood could sell that, and the legal profession already has something of an image problem. I'll probably finish up the other half tonight or tomorrow morning. I was tempted to bring it to work with me and finish it here, but J is watching it with me, and he is interested in the courtroom stuff. He also wants to see how it ends now that we've started it, so I've promised him that I won't watch it without him.

I also need to get off my bum and order my pre-start books. I've been avoiding it because the last thing I really want to do is bring more books into the house. The office bookshelves are already filled with textbooks from my Poly. Sci. classes and J's psych/social work classes, and it isn't going to get any better because we're both starting school again. (Yeah, don't go there. I know it's a bad idea. He'd promised me law school then said 'Oh, by the way, I'm planning on applying and getting my PhD while I'm here - this was after the 'no, honey, I'm now finished with my license, it's your turn.') Just where he thinks we're going to find the time for this and take care of the kids is beyond me!

Sigh!

Please excuse the mess....

If you've visited my blog before, you probably notice that I am "remodeling." I realized that my site was not very low-vision friendly, and I working on correcting that.

In the meantime.....

I am trudging my way through the pre-start and orientation. Trudging because I am having to buy books and software piecemeal rather than in one chunk. $$$$$$$ I just dropped a hefty [by my budget, not by what other law-schools require!] downpayment on my first year, which left the bank account closer to the zero-mark than I like. Fortunately, I don't have to make my next payment until March, so I have some time to put money away between now and then. I also just received my finance paperwork, so I know I'm in.

Happy Friday everyone.

I'M IN !!!!!!!!!!

I just received my acceptance via email with a certified letter on its way in the mail!

YES!

Now I know how all those accepted incoming medical students feel!

EEEEEEEKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!

I just emailed my admissions advisor. He asked me please to let him know when I found something out, as they don't often hear until well after the decision is made.

Okay, I'm heading off to enjoy this before the terror of reality sets in.........

How many lawyers does it take to change a lightbulb?

Ok,

In my previous post, I promised a few of my favorite links. Here are some of my favorites for jokes - particularly lawyer jokes and lightbulb jokes.

A few samples:

How many lawyers does it take to change a lightbulb?

None - lawyers don't change bulbs

3 - One to do it and 2 to sue him for malpractice

How many lawyers can you afford?

Another one:

How many divorce lawyers does it take to change a lightbulb?
3 - one to argue for the rights of the old lightbulb, one to argue for the rights of the new lightbulb, and one to represent the rights of the light socket.

Again, just a sample. You can find plenty more at:

www.ahajokes.com
www.extremelysmart.com/lightbulb.php

Or you can just Google "lightbulb jokes" or "lawyer jokes."

Still waiting on a decision from the Concord admissions board. Nothing new to report.

Three-day weekend coming up. Yaaay!

Why do sharks never bite lawyers?....

.....professional courtesy

It's now been 2.5 weeks since my file was fowarded to LA. I could hear as soon as ten days from now, or it could be another 3 -4 weeks. . I spoke with my friend Gina this morning. She's had computer drama, so my newsy update about applying to law school got lost somewhere in the black-hole of cyberspace. We're going to get together sometime soon--after the kids are back in school and I'm back to work full time.

I've been surfing blogspot and found some other blogs of law students at various points in their education. I will probably post links to my favorites in another post.

T-minus

I heard from Trudy, the records coordinator, last Wednesday - exactly one week ago. My file has been forwarded to California for review by the Admissions Board. She warned me that it would take at least 3 - 4 weeks and possibly as long as 6 weeks before I would hear anything regarding my file.

So now I'm waiting......and waiting........

I have started calling some of the legal offices around where I work to find out about shadowing opportunities. I am waiting to hear back from them. I am hoping that a shadowing opportunity now might turn into a clerking opportunity once I have started.

But for now...just waiting.

Starting Countdown

I got a message from Concord on my cell phone yesterday. They needed me to refax my authorization so they can charge my account. Apparently, they are ready to start processing my file. They won't finish until they have my transcripts, but they are starting.

I'm feeling more calm now than I was the other day, but I don't know if it really is because I'm more calm, or if I'm just tired from a busy week. L and S are coming up this evening for gaming. I know I need to put this law school stuff away for a few hours, but its really hard not to focus on it. I'm still working on my "to do" list - at the top of which is faxing transcript release forms. I really need to get started on that before the new school year begins and the registration office is deluged by registrations for school/classes.

I'm also starting to mentally prepare. I'm going back to my yoga and meditation practice that I started during my grad school days and then took a sabbatical from when my kids were born. I now need to get back to that so that I can keep my sanity. My husband jokes that we'll all be going to law school together, and that the kids will know tort law and contracts before they can spell.

...a good start

11 am
Faxed my admissions packet off to Concord today. Now the waiting starts. I'm hoping to hear before the end of the month. August 30 is the LSAT registration deadline. I really don't want to take the LSAT. For me, taking a multiple-choice standardized test ranks right up there with having dental work done. The part of this whole JD thing I'm dreading the most is the MBE (multi-state bar exam) part I. That's the 200 multiple-choice test on legal theory. Part II is the essay exam. I emailed a friend today telling him I'd far rather take the "baby bar" (first year law exam) than the LSAT. Essay questions over the four core law subjects. I'm used to those types of exams. I took those kinds of exams all through graduate school. Bring it on! Multiple choice tests, however, are a lot more intimidating for me. The first two questions I asked my admissions counselor were: "what is your bar pass rate?" and "what does your school offer in terms of bar prep?" It turns out one of their required classes is a bar prep class.

I'm also getting used to the lawyer jokes. Those don't bother me as much. I will be the 6th or 7th person in my high school class (out of a class of 95) that has gone to law school, and probably the 15th or 20th out of my college class (a class of 120) to go to law school. I'm in good company. The only profession with a higher percentage was medicine.

4 pm

Heard back from Concord. My admissions file is done save for my transcripts. Yaaay! Now I get to wait....and wait.....and wait.

What do you call 300 lawyers at the bottom of the ocean....

From my journal 7-30-06:

I'm almost there. I don't want to jinx it, but everything is done but the final admissions board review. I heard from Ernest Westbrook (my wonderfully helpful admissions advisor. He's been great.) this morning. Cautiously optimistic is how I would describe him this morning. Very pleased with my essay. Very impressed with my application, my application exam, my application essay. Apparently the board member in charge of reviewing essays was impressed with this one. I received the admissions application package this morning.

So, I'm now sitting here in my office beginning to chronicle this weird, amazing journey to / through law school I've started. Not on a whim, but certainly not how I pictured it. I envisioned filling out my application, enduring weeks of waiting, then being told I qualified to take the exam, then hearing that I either did well enough or not enough. Not this application on fast-forward that I've been experiencing. Talked with Ernest two weeks ago Tuesday. Sent a list of questions two weeks ago Friday. Didn't hear from anyone, so sent another email to Ernest on Monday. Talked with him again on Wednesday, and made an appointment to do the pre-admissions interview on Thursday. Did the interview on Thursday. Turned in the exam Thursday evening. Submitted the essay Friday noon. Talked with him this morning. Started filling out paperwork this morning, after hearing that I had a solid recommendation from Ernest and he was hoping for good things from the admissions board.

Now I've filled out most of the paperwork, and I need to send transcript requests to the schools so that I can get transcripts sent to my file. What a day. I could very well know by the end of August, beginning of September if I'm going to law school or not...at least at Concord. There's a very big part of me that is scared to death by all of this. There is another part of me that is ready for the challenge and looking forward to it.....Then there's the finances. Ahhhhhhh!!!!! I know that I can probably get a loan to cover this - but still - its a decent chunk of change.

Now I just have to keep my nerves under control until this all sinks in. I've bookmarked the pages at the Concord bookstore with the graduation regalia and all the other commencement stuff to keep the big picture in mind. I wonder if this is how the medical school applicants feel once they've gone through their interviews and they're waiting to hear from the medical schools. The overwhelming feeling of "what was I thinking?????"

Oh well. Dr. John Kim is pulling for me. He thinks its a great idea. Dr. Paul Kim thinks its a bad idea - but along the lines of one more lawyer in the world is a bad idea. Gary is supportive. I'm sure that Pippa, Darlene, and Jen would be supportive if they knew. I should probably write Pip and let her know. It's out of my control at this point, anyway. Hugs for me.

Keep watching this spot....more updates on my law school app to come!

First Post

This is a blog so that my family and friends can keep in touch with what is going on with me. Between working full-time, taking care of two kids, and getting ready to go back to school, I have found myself not able to keep in touch with family and friends as well as I would like. So this blog is an attempt to remedy that. I got the idea from a story on NPR (www.npr.org) about how more people are using blogs to stay in touch.

Welcome to my blog.

JM