You are currently browsing the category archive for the 'class' category.
Our section (section B) is playing in a charity softball tournament on Saturday. I think it will be a good time to get to know my classmates better. So far everybody has been nice and nobody is cut throat for grades. Of course, finals season is coming soon, so the attitude may change.
Our team name is great though: Huge Subpoenas.
It is the beginning of October. The problem with law school, and only having ONE test at the end to determine your grade for the entire semester, is that I have no feedback about how I’m doing. I don’t know if I’m really getting it, or if it is some illusion. I need to start outlining in Torts and Contracts. Preparing for class is great, but putting it all together afterwards seems to be more important.
Arts & Entertainment
We have several musicians, including the lead guitarist in a touring band
and the principal cellist in a symphony orchestra.
One of you has written a screenplay that’s been produced as a feature film.
One of you has performed at Carnegie Hall.
This class also includes an independent film producer.
Sports
A former member of the US National Karate Team
A former professional softball player
A former NFL football player
A championship-winning amateur boxer
A former competitive figure skater
At least three Division I athletes
A world championship-winning Country & Western dancer
Military
All branches of the military are represented.
At least 3 of you have served in Iraq.
This class also includes at least three commissioned officers, an attack helicopter pilot, and a naval aviator.
Academic
More than ten of you are members of the prestigious honor society, Phi Beta Kappa.
In addition to beginning your legal education, at least two of you are also enrolled in medical school.
Over fifteen languages are spoken, including Spanish, Hindi, Japanese, Romanian,German, Russian, Urdu, Turkish, and Mandarin Chinese.
Community Service
This class is also very community-oriented:
Many Habitat for Humanity volunteers
Several Eagle Scouts
At least two Teach for America educators
At least one Americorps volunteer
Miscellaneous
At least 2 entrepreneurs who manage their own businesses
A winner of the Miss Texas American Coed Scholarship Pageant
I’ve sort of started to outline. We’ve finished chapters in both CivPro and Torts so I thought it would be a good time to get the basics down and see what I have learned. CivPro was interesting today. Our professor, Crump, did a little guitar playing and sang a review song. Normally he’s kind of uptight and tough on us, but he really does want us to learn. He says he’s tough cause he wants the best out of us. I really believe it, but tough is tough and you can’t really like him too much, at least until you get to look back on the class. Otherwise not much has changed. I still don’t enjoy the large amount of reading and how I am clueless on if I am on track or not.
It is week 2 and I’m already tired of reading torts. Torts seems to have an abundance of cases with only partial important content. At the same time the professor is soft spoken and does not put the fear in me like my Civil Procedure professor does. Contracts for me right now seems the best. He uses a casefile method. We are given a main case followed by some related cases. We read the related cases to help argue the main case. I find this to be the most interesting. Civil Procedure seems to be more concerned with the rule. I am however enjoying some random free lunches from assorted organizations that hold lunch meetings. We don’t get lunch everyday, but I’ve gotten 3 meals so far.
I’m still trying to get my highlighting down correct. Everybody seems to do their own thing. I tend to read and highlight first. Then because I can’t remember anything, I take down my short brief into a text file to view and take notes in during class. I’m not sure you can call what I write a brief, it is more like reminder notes so I can join in the discussion in classes.
Day one wasn’t all that exciting. By now people have told you all about law school and the new method of teaching. My Contracts teacher Chandler seemed a little more laid back and though he did question us, he did it in a normal talkative manner. My Civil Procedures teacher, Crump, was totally the evil law school teacher people talk about. I don’t mean he’s an evil person, but he is the type of person who makes people nervous. A student able to answer a question in Contracts may be too startled to answer a question in Civil Procedure. CivPro also has us sitting in alphabetical order. It isn’t too bad and he goes in a certain order so you know when you are about to be called upon. I spent the time in between my classes and just eating a sandwich for lunch. I got a lot done during my break and I even spent a little time after classes to stay on campus and read some more. Traffic isn’t too bad going either way. The normal delays occur where the traffic merges or splits onto different highways. It’s slow, but I still get to and from school in about fifteen minutes. Parking wasn’t an issue for me when I got there and when I left there were still plenty of spots around were I park. I hope day 2 goes as well. I have the same classes tomorrow plus my legal writing and research class.
Contracts:
Title: Drafting and Analyzing Contracts
Author: Scott J. Burnham
Publisher: LexisNexis
Year: 2003
Edition: 3rd
ISBN: 0820557889
Title: Global Issues in Contract Law
Author: Spanogle, Malloy, Del Duca, Rowley, and Bjorklund
Publisher: Thomson West
Year: 2007
Edition: 1st
ISBN: 978-0314167552
Procedure:
Title: Cases and Materials on Civil Procedure
Author: Crump, Dorsaneo & Perschbacher
Publisher: LexisNexis
Year: 2001
Edition: 4th
ISBN: 0820550604
Comments: Also obtain from the Law Copy Center: Photocopied materials, plus a book titled “The Story of a Civil suit: Dominguez v. Scott’s Food Stores”.
Title: Supplement to Cases and Materials on Civil Procedure
Author: Crump, Dorsaneo & Perschbacher
Publisher: LexiNexis
Year: 2007
Torts:
Title: Torts
Author: Prosser, Wade and Schwartz
Publisher: Foundation
Year: 2005
Edition: 11th or latest
ISBN: 1-58778-874-8
Legal Analysis, Research, and Communication
Title: Interactive Citation Workbook for the Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation
Author: Tracy L. McGaugh and Christine Hurt
Year: 2007
ISBN: 1422411702
Title: The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation
Edition: 18th
Title: Writing and Analysis in the Law
Author: Helene S. Shapo, Marilyn R. Walter, & Elizabeth Fajans
Year: 2003
Edition: 4th
ISBN: 1587785412
Title: Supplemental Materials Packet
Photocopied: Yes
Comments: Packets available in the Law Copy Center
Title: Basic Legal Research Workbook
Author: Amy E. Sloan
Publisher: Aspen
Year: 2007
Edition: 3rd
ISBN: 073556955X
