1 1/2 L

I have almost finished the first half of my 1L year. Technically, if you look at the progress chart, I have finished more than 1/2 of the year, but it doesn't count until after mids. Midterms are Friday, Nov. 30, and my CU-35 class is feeling the heat.

I'm out here blogging and ignoring the reading and reviewing I have been doing. I'll go back to reviewing rules and elements after the kids are in bed, but right now I'm goofing around. I've been really bad about keeping my blog up to date, so I'm catching it up.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

JM

October

Ok - I apologize to anyone who occasionally drops by to check out what is going on. Yes, it has been MONTHS since I posted. I could blame it on law school (but that wouldn't be true), I could blame it on work (more accurate, but also not true). I must be honest.....

I've been abducted by MySpace and Facebook. Aaaahhhhhhhh!!!!!

So - I'm not blogging as much as I used to, because now I either "write on the wall" or "post a comment." (It is *really* sad when email isn't fast enough anymore!)

Quick update ~

Law school is still kicking butt - but now I'm giving at least as good as I am getting!

My family hasn't threatened to disown me.....yet (Although, if I quote the rules of condition subsequent and condition precedent again, I think my 5 yr. old will quote the rule of formation back to me.....LOL)

My friends have mixed opinions on the subject - its probably a good thing, maybe, we hope so, you're not going to become one of those lawyers are you??

Mids are next month. Don't expect anything between now and then.

B < PL

Since when did law school include Algebra? Our prof kept calling it "Calculus." I refrained from mentioning that it was technically stats because the equation deals with probability and not measurement of a parabola or asymptote.... aggh. And then it really messed me up because if it was a true stat, then P would technically be less than 1, which would decrease the size of L, and that's no good because as L decreases then it loses it's utility as a measurement of overall harm of injury, which in turn lessens the amount of burden required in order to establish responsibility of duty, and.....I need to stop now. I truly need to stop now because this is not heading any where useful.

Right now in Tort's we're focusing on Negligence. This week's series of assignments covered the concepts of "duty" and "standard of care." Duty is nicely (or not so nicely depending) summarized in the title of this post.

For those of you fellow Concord 1L's in the April cohort can you name the pieces of the equation, who developed it, how it has been amended by modern courts to make it more equitable, and the landmark case it was developed from?

For the non-1L's the answers are below.....

The Hand formula - developed by Judge Learned Hand

B = Burden of injury prevention; P = Probability of injury occurring; L = Injury (which is difficult to quantify)

It has been amended/interpreted by modern courts to look more like this:
BUPL = no duty exists. Where U is the benefit that is gained by the activity as opposed to the magnitude of an injury (L) if an injury were to occur.

Landmark case: United States v. Carroll Towing Company.

That pretty much summarizes this last week. Next week we're covering Res Ipsa Loquitur. I hope I understand it better than I pronounce it! (LOL)

Essay Score

I got back my first essay for Torts - 65 (650). It was the upper end of average, and I had "left points on the table" because I forgot to include a couple of important pieces (ooops! Although, in my defense, I didn't know I needed to include them because the instructions didn't mention including them, and in all of my practice essays, it mentioned all the elements that they wanted to have included. DOH!)

So - of course - I began to panic (I had a certain amount of help.....its finals week here at work and anxiety is HIGH) and thinking that I just could not do this essay stuff - then went out and joined the FLYSX group, and heard a rumbling of the same feeling of "how am I ever going to get this"..... so I think it is a feeling that is rampant among 1L's, regardless of how they are doing overall. So back to the positive thinking, mental programming approach (I know I can...I know I can...I KNOW I can....)

So, I am keeping on with it. I finally have a mentor, which is really helping. She has been through all this before and she has passed the "baby bar" so it is doable. Dean Bracci is doing the intensive review this weekend, and we are all welcome to join for live chat/discussion of the grading method and the "deconstruction" of the questions. I'm debating if I'm going to join. On the one hand, I really value Saturday (Sabbath) because it is the one day that I don't feel at all guilty for not studying. On the other hand, this would be such a help....(sigh). Oh well, I will think about it and then make the right choice for me.

Have a good weekend everyone!

First Essay

I did my first essay over the weekend. Torts. It was a full 4 pages. This morning I got a "congratulatory" email in my inbox from Dean Vidt telling me how pleased she was that I had completed an essay within the alloted time period and that I was well on my way to conquering the Essay requirement for Legal Writing. I got another email this afternoon stating that the essay had been forwarded to my professor along with a tracking number for it so that I can find out where it is in the grading process - should I ever want to know. At this point, I'm following the "you've submitted it, now forggid about it" portion of the advice. I figure I'll get the score along about the time I need to submit my second one, so that will tell me what I need to know. I'm aiming for 650. 500 is a low pass, 650 is average, 700 or better is high pass. I'm aiming for 650. The profs have warned us that the first essay score is a "shocker" so don't be too worried about it. Yeah, ok, tell the type A 1Ls not to worry about their first essay. Not happening.

Contracts tonight. Marlin Delicatessen v. Schumacher (need to review the issue for this one, as I don't remember the case - bad sign!) Carlill v. Carbolic Smoke Ball (breach of contract - unilateral public offer with material elements enclosed in the advertisement constituting an "open contract" [my words]), Petterson v. Pattiburg (at what point in a unilateral contract is revocation no longer an option? How much work has to be completed before it is considered "substantial...." If Z1 > X1 + X2 and Z1 < Y2 does that constitute a substantial amount, or just prep work?)

SBA summer business meeting this coming Sunday.

Stay tuned.....

Luv my school !

If it wasn't obvious before now, yes I do love being in law school. The associate dean of students just put out a recipe call (yes, you read that right - recipe) for the next edition of the IRAC cookbook.

Issue - appetizer
Rule -soup/salad
Analysis - entree
Conclusion - dessert

There is also a standardized format for submission. I think I will submit my microwave enchiladas and my pasta salad recipe. Yum Yum. The idea is for it to be something easy to prepare while still being healthy. Yes, it is true....law students do subsist on coffee and fast food.

We may not socialize much in person, but we make up for it in the virtual world.

Must go - more tort cases to brief.

Contracts - Outlining !

Contracts is kicking my bum -
definitions, exceptions to the definitions, exceptions to the exceptions, unilateral, bilateral, unilateral morphing [my word] to a bilateral, offer, intent, subjective, objective, acceptance, intent of offer, intent of acceptance.....and the agreement to not enter into a binding contract is a legally binding agreement....does anyone have any asprin??

And our 1L adviser sent us a reminder to keep practicing our outlining because that is the ONLY way we are going to really get to the heart of the concepts and remember them. This is especially true for me because after going out to the commercial outline sites and wandering through the material, I have definitely decided that Dr. H was right and my brain is "wired weird," because none of them made any real sense to me, but then I went back and looked at what I outlined and it was just fine.

**sigh**

So there will be no shortcuts for this 1L because in the end it will just end up being harder and more complicated to do the shortcut rather than knuckle down and do the outlining and briefing to start with.

The good news is that I have passed all my quizzes, and my outlining and briefing looks like it is on target. I am waiting for my 1L facilitator to get back to me on the sample essay I sent to him. I asked him to "critique liberally" but so far have not received a response. I don't know if this is a good sign or a bad sign. I have an essay quiz coming up at the end of the week, so I am really hoping for an answer before then so that I can write a few more practice drafts before the real thing happens.

Happy Monday everyone.

JM - CU35

1st Quiz

I survived and passed (!) my first quiz. I am very pleased. We (my cohort) really struggled with it. The concepts were difficult, and many of us are feeling like we are barely keeping our noses above water. But, I'm continuing on.

Today I gave myself a brain break. J and I took the kids to a Dan Zane's concert at UCLA and rocked out. Lots of fun. I was planning on studying when we got home, but we're all exhausted, so I'm giving myself an evening off. Back to the books tomorrow.

I'm hoping that the rest of my cohort is feeling better. Many of them were discouraged, and our alumni mentor was trying to get us feeling better by reminding us that it was our first quiz, that the first one won't count if it is your lowest quiz, etc.

....And yes...."swot" does perfectly describe the mind numbing, repetitive, hang in there by your fingernails type of studying that contracts requires. (in case you were curious....)

First Week

Waaaay back when I was first accepted, I mentioned that I had started to feel how incoming Freshman medical students might have felt. A combination of excitement, anticipation, and outright terror.

Now I believe I might understand how they feel after their first week - "What alien being took over my brain and made me think this was a good idea in the first place??!!"

I never understood my dad's story about after his first week in medical school he called his dad and said "I'm quitting!" I understand it a lot better now! And while I don't plan to quit, the thought has been there more than once!

I also don't think it's an accident that every introductory lecture I've listened to so far has started with "Welcome, we're glad you're here," and "Don't worry if you don't understand just yet."

The CALI lecture I listened to last night mentioned that the time to start thinking about panicking (not actually panicking, just considering it) would be about the middle of the first semester. So, for us CLS people in the April cohort - that would be about mid-September, I think. (Seeing as how we are on the year-long system, and not a semester system.) That gives me some hope.

So far, I have completed all my first module assignments in Torts and Legal Writing. I need to finish briefing my contract cases, and finish my assignments in Criminal. It's doable. I have to remember that it is a marathon, not a sprint. .

It will get better. I felt this way my first week in Arms Control Policy as well, and I got through that.

Have a good week everyone!

BOOKS !

My books arrived Thursday night. I waited until the kids were in bed, then pounced. Ahhhh - fresh ink. The smell of newly minted, newly shipped pages.

My husband joked "ok, well that's the last I see of you until April '011" I told him "try August - the bar's in July." He looked slightly horrified.

So...I'm reading ahead. I'm sure I'm not the only one. And, as I surmised, contracts is going to kick my butt. The English slang for study - "swot" - describes exactly what its going to be like to study for this class.

Criminal - not hard. A lot of detail. A lot of vocab. But definitely not hard. Torts - again, a lot of vocab, and a lot of picking apart detail. A lot of analysis and classification. Big deal - been there done that, for 3 years of grad school. Contracts - a lot of specific, nit-picky detail. A lot of exceptions to the generalizations. A lot of tiny, important details. Yep, its definitely going to require a lot of extra time and work.

Agh! But at least it's here. I'm ready for it. Bring it on. T-minus 2 weeks.

~ Two Weeks

In about 2 weeks I will be a 1L.

AGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Ok, I'm feeling better (NOT!!)

I'm still waiting for the booklist. If it doesn't post soon, I'm going to be calling Concord and letting them know that it needs to be posted soonest!!!

I'm also thinking about going out to Cafe Press and creating a t-shirt that says "Don't ask me....I'm just a 1L - Concord Class of 2011." with a really cool graphic and letting other people in my cohort know about them.

Just a thought. I'm excited about starting school - as if you couldn't tell (hah!)

T-minus 18 days 18 hours.

Privilege - 11/12

Tired. Brain still hurts.

Today was the second day of our two-day seminar on the legal aspects of basic science and clinical research. Here are some of the highlights:

Export Controls: Intellectual property can be considered an export. As can all that wonderful information rattling around inside your gray matter. Sending an email with technical information in it is no different than sending a FedEx package with technical information in it. If you send information to embargoed states, you are potentially violating the embargo depending on what you sent. If you go to an embargoed state for the purpose of disseminating information, you are potentially violating the embargo.

Good Clinical Practice: Don't do an "Enron." Don't tellthe federal investigator that you lost the records because of (pick your favorite): fire, flood, natural disaster, shredder malfunction. Basically it's the federal equivalent of "The Dog Ate My Homework" excuse. Your third grade teacher didn't buy it, and the feds don't either - and they can do a lot more than just give you an "F" on the assignment.

I'm not sure that our general counsel anticipated what was going to come up in this session. He was a bit pale when we began asking questions about Blackboard and knowledge-sharing. Not long after that he declared the session "privileged." He also looked a bit gray after the session was over. As in "what did I get myself into??" One problem with academics - if there is information to share - we generally share it first, then worry about the implications of it afterwards. Worrying about the implications of information sharing first is a bit new to many of us.

Sigh. Brave new world - especially for me. One foot in law student mode, the other firmly in educator mode. The law student wanting to chase down the implications. The educator in me wanting to go and hide under the bed and pretend it was all just a bad dream.

T-minus 2 months, 19 days, and counting.

With Intent.....

Hello Everyone~

I've been busy the last several days orienting into my new position at the School of Nursing and learning what everyone's needs are with regards to our Blackboard educational suite and their skill level when it comes to learning new software programs.

Today I sat through "Survivor: Research Island" - the first day of a two day legal seminar covering the Do's and Don't's of research - especially with regards to money. What I learned the first day - don't mess with the money. The first three presentations could easily have been retitled "False Claims 101." Gaaah ! Something can be a false claim, even when it isn't intended to be a false claim. And the fines/penalties are steep - even for just a civil settlement. There wasn't anything settled for less than 500K total, and many were multi-million claims. The biggest loser was one that settle for 38 million, and the attorney that briefed that case said that it could have been a lot worse.

Then there was the researcher who "inflated" his resume, got the go ahead to sponsor his own clinical drug trial through the University he was teaching at, falsified data on his grant application, and (if I'm remembering correctly) falsified some of the study data that he submitted to the FDA to get approval for his clinical trial. The FDA didn't even go after the University in that case. The criminally charged the researcher for falsifying data and a handful of other offenses also related to clinical trial research.

Moral of the story: Don't lie to the government. Don't mess with the money. Don't even give the appearance of messing with the money, or it will be BAD for you. Very Very BAD. Even if you had no intention of defrauding, or just made a mistake, it will still be BAD for you.

The good out of all of this is that I now have a jump on false claims tort. I have just received several hours of training from one of the big names in Federal false claims defense. For free, no less. And, I had the added benefit of not having to travel all the way to Washington DC in order to get it. Waaay cool.

They told us that today was the "scary story" day, and that tomorrow they will give us tips on how to plan and execute studies so that when we face an audit we will be ready.

Brain hurts. Going to bed now.