Limited-Liability Partnership

Cocky Bastard

2008-03-27T09:19:00.000-07:00

Occasionally we get e-mails from our career services office about students from other schools moving to our town to clerk for the summer. This was the lastest.

I'm a male, 1L Duke Law School student looking to sublet an apartment or a bedroom in an apartment/house for the upcoming summer. My dates are flexible, but I would like something from roughly May 9 until August 16. I graduated from Princeton University in 2005 and went on to play minor league baseball before enrolling at Duke this fall. I'm moving to YOUR TOWN for the summer to work for GREAT FIRM #1 and GREAT FIRM #2 and because I have a girlfriend who works at LOCAL COMPANY. If you have a bedroom or an apartment that you're interested in subletting for the summer, please contact me at i'macockyshithead@gmail.com Thanks for your time,
-Cocky Shithead

I mean honestly, is all of this information really necessary? We're all really proud that you've been so successful and really appreciate the update on your life. Humility. Get some.

Pat

1L year

2008-02-09T17:45:00.001-08:00

this about sums it up:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=N8ABhatAfsA

It's been a while...

2008-02-07T12:13:00.001-08:00

I've decided to make a return to the blog. Cue applause.
After browsing around last night, I came across a great post on a different law school blog:

http://snsllp.blogspot.com/2007/03/i-turned-this-into-federal-judge.html

I couldn't agree more with this guy, and I wanted to pass this on so the two or three of you who read this would have the opportunity to read that post.

As an update, we're all in our second semester of our second year, and are all pretty busy. We all (somehow) were able to get jobs this past summer, get some experience, and maintain the mental health necessary to not go crazy (yet). As of tomorrow, we will all have part-time legal employment while we're full time in school. That is all for now, but remember to take a look at that link.

um...what?

2008-01-23T17:06:00.000-08:00

so how in the world did one of the most annoying little girls, who happens to be in our class book this class? let me explain...

for those wondering...or not wondering...booking a class means you made the highest grade.

So in one of my classes, the attendence policy was you could not miss. No skipping, no abscences. every class was important and if you missed, it meant a grade reduction. The class was "that important."

So someone explain how an annoying little girl who missed 3 times, books this class? was it to keep her in the top 20%? was it because she knew the prof that well and could manage to get an A? why is my grade lower than hers, when i never missed? perplexing...

i'm not saying i'm smarter or dumber than her. I just don't know how she managed to ace the course. the world of law school is a perplexing place.

The Grind

2008-01-22T18:57:00.001-08:00

Now that i'm well into my second year, the grind of law school is starting to take it's toll. Motivation is almost non-existent. The constant dissapointment in looking for a job...

i didn't think it possible for those annoying "go-gettas" during first year to get more annoying, but it is. The once frat-boy/soristitutes in undergrad, riding their daddy's coattails to an associate-partner position in some mega-firm. Or the 35-50 year old going back to start a second career...constantly reading and prepping, meeting with the profs all the time, over-eager, always looking to impress.

btw, all these people gain some new type of evilness since first year. The myths of cut-throat competition come true your second year. vicious...

So is the grind...but we still have the weekends

to all 1st years

2007-09-15T15:16:00.000-07:00

a friendly suggestion:

it really isn't necessary to brief every single case you read.

it isn't required to ask questions in class so your prof. knows you pay attention. Your professor doesn't care who are.

you can enjoy an hour lunch, no need to suck down your lunch in 10 minutes so you can get back to reading. feel free to enjoy this hour lunch with others, i'd recommend having a nice conversation during your lunch.

and the biggest one of all: try to relax, i know it is probably hard for you, but at least try.

second year

2007-09-04T21:50:00.000-07:00

to update everyone, we are now in our second year of law school. second year is a little different. the feeling of being overwhelmed fades away and that sense of urgency to get your work done falls to the way side. second year is both extremely busy (because of the loads of work) and boring (cause you really don't want to do any of the work.)

the extremely annoying people that you learned to hate beyond all imagination your first year somehow manage to become more annoying over the summer. Usually it starts with some comment from one of them, "Oh, i worked at 'superhuge law firm' this summer clerking, and it was awesome, and i made thousands of dollars being part of their litigation team." which really means that they were a bitch all summer getting some jackass coffee everyday and probably learned nothing about practical law practice.

at least for the fall i have: golf, college football, and fantasy football to pass the time.

p.s. also posting on the blog to vent frustration

it's been awhile

2007-06-21T17:10:00.000-07:00

first off, we apologize for our lack of posting lately. sorry.

to update everyone:
we finished our first year.
none of us failed out, we're now 2L's
pat is working this summer
connor is working and will study abroad
john is taking summer classes

be looking for some new posts, and more frequently.

2007-03-11T20:29:00.000-07:00

For those that might have forgotten, our law school is tucked away in a small to medium size university in a large city. Like most universities, there are several different colleges and grad schools.

This past week, the undergrads went through mid-terms. (Law students don't get midterms, just finals). Here are some important facts: 1. the law school has a law library. 2. the undergrads have an undergrad library (bigger than the law library). 3. undergrads and law students do not get along. 4. the law library is a place for serious work and study 5. Undergrads like rice crispys and coke.

you can already see the conflict arising. it's unavoidable.

here our a couple of conversations i had while in the law library (after the undergrad invasion of the law library)

setting: i'm sitting in a study carroll, ear phones in, doing some serious reading:
random undergrad: excuse me
John: (taking ear phones out) yeah?
random undergrad: can you tell me where the vending machines in this building are?
John: (clearly annoyed & baffled) there are no vending machines in the Law library
random undergrad: (puzzled) oh, well where are the closest machines?
John: (still annoyed) well, there is no eating or drinking in the law library, but...(then I gave the most confusing directions i could possible give).

Yet another conversation in the law library:

setting: Pat, Connor, and John are sitting at a table getting some work done
(long day and we are pissed off as usual) the table behind us, 4 undergrads are studying biology, eating their treats out of tupperware containers. You can understand our displeasure.

Connor: damn, they are loud
John: (ear phones in, but not helping) yes, they are
Pat: (walking up and taking a seat) what the hell is this?
John: midterms, the undergrads are here

just a note: we are speaking loud enough for the undergrads to hear us

Pat: who? them? (pointing to the undergrads)
John: yeah
Pat: well, they need to show some ____ing respect
John: yup

As long as I have a soapbox, I might as well use it…

2007-02-13T19:43:00.000-08:00

There are a few things that have been weighing heavily on my mind as of late. I finally decided to write a post for a few of reasons: (1) they’ve incubated in my mind long enough to finally be (somewhat) coherent; (2) sheer determination not to do any other constructive school work; and (3), to see (which I posit is likely) if there are others out there who are mulling over any of the same issues/problems.

This past weekend I had a lot of free time to just sit and think, which has proven dangerous in the past, but this time only yielded more questions than I had hoped for. Our workload was light the previous week for the beginning of the 1L Trial Competition and a couple of my section’s classes were cancelled. To top off what would have been a great weekend camping, I came down with a nasty cold, and my weekend in the wild quickly turned into a few days of me sitting at home alone in a bean bag chair (www.sumolounge.com) watching late night TV and eating cheetos (but not naked…sorry Ron).

Sitting as I was, I began to wonder what I really expected to get out of this whole law school “experience.” I contemplated the work that I have done, the work I am currently doing, and the work that is yet to be done, weighing it all against what the theoretical end result is—passing the bar and getting a decent job (I’m much to pessimistic at this point in my life to believe in a dream job anymore). Obviously, such jobs aren’t out there simply waiting. We have to work hard for them and prove ourselves worthy. This is done through our routine class work, preparation, and our performance on the ever-dreaded finals. Success in these categories inevitably leads to success in other areas. A student gets a summer job, then another summer job, and eventually an offer for permanent employment. But what happens to those who go through the routine, who prepare to the best of their abilities, and for some reason still come up short on the finals? It was not for any lack of trying or even a lack of intelligence. There are plenty of my classmates who I know are smarter than I am, yet who did more poorly on their finals. There is just some cosmic glitch were the grades just don’t come. There is a flip side to this coin too. There are the people who do the routine class work, but are rarely prepared or seem to have any clue what is going on, yet by some miracle, perform well on exams. Doors open, champagne falls from the heavens, and these idiot savants march their merry ways in to interview after interview while the people who actually deserve the jobs—the people who will make good attorneys—are left behind. Both sides of this coin concern me greatly.

Granted, this is all from the perspective of a (pessimistic) 1L who is part way through his second semester. I am told time after time that things will change—that there will be some sense of justice yet, but quite frankly, from my point of view, that just doesn’t seem very likely at the moment. Assuming that the grades do level out, the lucky streaks end, and the deserving get what they deserve; there is still the issue of what happens now, in the present, until those things do happen. There are still the undeserving and incompetent who will snatch up the first summer’s worth of jobs with the help of the ever-so-delightful career services office. That place is a joke in and of itself. The office might as well change its name to the Tippy-Top Tree-house and hang rope ladders from the ceiling. The only people that they seem to even be remotely concerned with comprise the upper echelon of the class—the very students who don’t really need any help finding a job. However, these students get the upper hand on subsequent jobs. Even if grades do balance out, there remains the fact that these people have still already had the experience and benefit of a summer job. Who would you rather hire, a student with a 3.4 GPA, or a student with a 3.2 GPA who has also had experience in the exact line of work you will be putting him/her into?

I think the main problem comes in the decimating nature of law school and the need for a glimmer of some semblance of success. Success for the law student is an associateship with X, Y, and Z, LLP, and to see that possibility snatched from our grasp when we were so close makes the experience that much more bitter. It becomes hard to find the redeeming value when you receive little to no positive reinforcement what so ever for three years on end. One easily beings to ask oneself why go through three years of hell without any intermediate reward?

Of course there are all the sappy clichés, such as without the bitter, life wouldn’t be as sweet, but those only carry one so far. Law school for the average student I think is most akin to a hideously painful endurance test. How much pain and suffering are you willing to go through before you come out on the other side? After first semester grades came out, I seriously considered not coming back. I asked myself what was the point of spending so much money—money I could otherwise be using to start my life, buy a home, settle down—to just be average at something? I still haven’t really answered that question all the way, but I think the beginning of the answer is that this isn’t just something. Law school, I am told, is an education in power. To truly understand and appreciate power, one has to be completely deprived of it. One has to learn to both fear, and revere it. Law school does just that. It deprives you, humiliates you, turns your sense of reality upside down, and if you make it through to graduation, you will have mastered something that some will not even begin to comprehend or understand. That is the most basic summary I can come up with at the moment—the most plain rationale. Sure there are exceptions—that’s why this answer is incomplete, but for the moment, at this time in my life, that is my answer.

So here I sit, tired, dejected, humiliated, disheartened, ready to go back for one more day, and ready to take one day at a time.

the suck ups

2007-02-13T07:28:00.000-08:00

I hate all the suck ups in law school. Why after at least 22 years of life, do people still think they have to kiss so much ass in order to be on the good side of professors? Do these people really think they are going to make better grades because they kiss ass?

For example, there is a dude, (was once a fratty back in undergrad and still is) who makes a point to speak with every professor after class for at least 10 minutes and speaks to every guest speaker that ever comes to talk to 1L’s. Earlier this semester, we had some people that were from some substance abuse organization telling us not to become addicts. Once the program was over, this guy makes a point to go down and share his life stories with the two guest speakers. Really!? Why? what's the point? What is this guy gaining?

I guess I just don’t understand the mindset behind suck ups and ass kissers. What are ya’ll earning? What do ya’ll know that I don’t? Are ya'll really getting ahead in life? If I start kissing ass, will my social status immediately start getting better?

I’m not willing to sacrifice the little bit of dignity and self worth that has survived the first semester of law school in order to kiss ass.

Motivation...

2007-02-12T13:40:00.000-08:00

Well… we haven’t put many posts up recently, but I figured this would be a good topic to pick things back up again. Motivation. In order to do well in law school you need several things:

1 The need for absolutely no social life
2 A brown nose (post forthcoming)
3 Motivation

Motivation is possibly the hardest of these three elements to achieve. Especially in your second semester! I, like nearly 85% of my classmates (anyone not in top 15) was unhappy with my first semester grades. I really feel that I worked hard, and deserved higher grades than I received. That has made this semester that much more difficult.
First semester, it was easy to get motivated. You were fascinated, you were inspired (at times), you dreamed of all of the money you would make someday, and mainly, you didn’t know better. Now, after having completed a semester, I have found it harder than ever to get motivated. There are several reasons why:

1 Disappointment from first semester grades
2 Unwillingness to work that hard again for mediocre grades
3 Many people in a similar situation who also don’t feel like starting all over
4 All of the A-holes talking about how well they did and the great jobs they’re interviewing for
5 Increased workload (impossible right? No.)

How does one combat these issues? Certainly there’s nothing you can do about disappointment, brown-nosers, and increased workload, but how can you get motivated to just tolerate them? That’s what I need to know. Leave a comment...

recent IM conversation during class

2007-02-01T08:21:00.000-08:00

JOHN: our prof. looks like a walking sinus infection
JOHN: that is the ugliest yellow sweater ever
PAT: agreed
PAT: agreed on both counts
PAT: no objections your honor
JOHN: ha
JOHN: did you do any of the reading for this class?
JOHN: for today?
PAT: nope
JOHN: haha
PAT: you?
JOHN: not a bit
PAT: slacker
JOHN: i don't want to give that prospect a tour today
JOHN: i might just say, "you don't want to go to law school"
PAT: yeah that sucks
PAT: you'll be half drunk though
PAT: so it'll be cool
JOHN: true
PAT: do it
PAT: "save your money, asshole"
JOHN: yeah, that's a good line
PAT: check out prof.'s pants
JOHN: yeah, clown pants
PAT: straight caddyshack
JOHN: yup
PAT: longest 28 minutes of my life
JOHN: no shit
JOHN: why is dip shit (a.k.a. fratty) talkin?
PAT: he's important, dummy
JOHN: oh yeah, i forget

Effing people...

2007-01-10T15:56:00.000-08:00

Semester #1 of law school is complete. Christmas break is over. Spring semester has started. I am miserable.

While there are plenty of people I really like at school, the ones I don't really drive me crazy. This is a conversation I overheard this morning:

Person: Oh no, I have an aluminum can, and the recycling bin isn't out yet.
Other Person: I know, I've put in a request for it to be put back immediately.

Seriously?!? Where do these people come from? Don't you have anything better to do (like waste time writing a blog that noone will ever read)? I need a drink.

Its here

2007-01-01T13:33:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone!

Christmas Break

2006-12-18T20:46:00.000-08:00

so who is finally glad that finals are over and Christmas is here? finally a break from the drama and BS of law school (however brief it may be). I'm going huntin. what are ya'll doin for the break?

Cold beer anyone?

2006-12-06T20:19:00.000-08:00

I prefer Newcastle. and you?

I Second...

2006-12-03T21:13:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I agree with Pat. Furthermore, I would like to apologize about saying that my story was to be continued, and not continuing it. Rest assured (as if you actually care) that my story will indeed be continued at some point in the near future--or maybe even replaced by an even better story!

NEWSFLASH

2006-12-02T13:27:00.000-08:00

STUDYING AND FINALS SUCK!

More later...

A partner you can count on

2006-11-14T09:18:00.000-08:00

This past week, all the 1L's participated in settlement negotiations. Each class had a client and was going against another class and their client. Students in the class paired off and went against a pair from their oppossing class in order to try to settle whatever case they had.

So one class our prof. wanted us to pick partners. So most people scrambled trying to get a cool partner or partner with their buddy. I was lazy that day and didn't attempt to beg someone to be my partner. So I got stuck with whoever was left over. Let me introduce my co-counsel, Fratty McFrat D-bag, attorney at law and professional slacker.

I didn't really see this as a big problem, I can generally work with anyone. However, it is hard to work with a partner that doesn't show up. My opposition are these two girls, one is a very nice, shy young lady, very non-aggressive. The other is the exact opposite, a complete biatch, daddy has bought everything for her, and she owns the world.

So settlement negotiations get started. I'm sitting on my side of the table, next to an empty seat. The negotiations went well. We settled the case and I came out on top as far as monetary value. Next, we have to draft a settlement agreement and everyone has to sign it. It is due a week after the negotiations.

The next day, McFratty finds me and gives me a half-ass apology. I accepted his apology (I figure everyone deserves a second chance). Then he asks me what he needs to do to get his name on the settlement agreement. I went to go speak with our Professor about what to do. He said I needed to include him in drafting our settlement agreement. Ok, cool, i can do that.

Fastforward one more week. The group, including McFratty, decides to get together and write out agreement out. Guess who doesn't show up? McFrat. The guy is a total slacker. I'm not about to give him a 3rd chance to redeem himself. The girls and i finish writing our agreement without McFrat's input. I went to talk to our Prof about what to do, letting him know i was very frustrated in having to pull the weight of me and him. So he cut him out of the entire assignment, giving him a big zero.

I reckon there is a little justice in an injust law school culture.

bad week

2006-11-10T09:24:00.000-08:00

I’ve had the worst week. I’ll list the events that have happened since last Friday up until this Friday:

Friday- I had a wreck (my first wreck ever since I started driving) on a very busy 6 lane highway. I struck a forerunner and a service van. My car is totaled.
My memo is due soon, the wreck put me behind schedule by 3 days (police, insurance, doctor visits, etc.)
Tuesday- I get called on in contracts. It was rough.
Thursday- I have a conference with my Professor to go over what I have done on my memo so far. To sum up what he said, “This is crap, you have tons of work to do.”
Thursday evening- leaving the library to go get a quick bite to eat, I’m driving my dad’s car, (mine is totaled, remember.) I rear ended an Indian, or Pakistani woman. She can barely speak English. To describe how this happened, we’re on an on ramp, yielding to 5 o’clock rush hour traffic. She is first in line, I’m right behind her. The lane becomes clear, she let’s off her brake and hits her gas to go. I turn my head to look to yield, it is still clear. I tap the gas, turn back, guess who is still sitting there in the lane? That’s right, this foreign woman. She is driving a Toyato Corolla which crumples like paper. I luckily have no damage. 2 wrecks in 6 days.
I’m still behind on my memo that is due Monday. (It will be a long weekend of work)
Friday- because our Tort’s professor chooses to romp around the country interviewing future law professors, he cancels class. So to meet ABA requirements, we have to make up for 2 classes today. So I sit in Torts for 2 ½ hours rotting away. (still behind on my memo)

So any encouraging words would be appreciated. I’m still working hard on this memo due Monday and prepping for finals that are fast approaching. No time to feel sorry for myself.

What a nice suit you have, you must be successful!

2006-11-06T12:23:00.000-08:00

So I’m out at a new bar Friday night checking things out with some friends. It had been a long week, and a few drinks were long overdue. The bar was crowded and loud. The crowd consisted of mainly “young professionals” hovering around the age of 24-30. The females are dressed nicely, but were fairly consistently the self-absorbed, loud, pretentious type… Not my cup of tea, but fun to watch, and make fun of from afar.

The guys at the bar were the type that I love to hate. Maybe my number one pet-peeve in life is guys in their 20s out at bars at 11pm that are still wearing their coat and tie from the “office”, or whatever traveling salesman job they might have. I don’t know what is more pathetic, that these guys came straight from work to the bar (some 6 hours prior), or that they actually think it is helping them open the door with the ladies. Here is conversation I overheard between one of these guys to one of these girls:

Cool Guy: Where are you from, little lady?
Girl: Oh, I’m from Anytown, USA
Cool Guy: I love Anytown! I’ve made a lot of money in Anytown. Hey bartender, put her next drink on my tab.
Girl (obviously impressed with the suit): Oh really? What do you do?
Cool Guy: I sell commercial roofing. I did all of the roofing for the Anytown school system.
Girl: …….. <--- Girl walking away with her free drink

Even more pathetic are the 40 or 50-something DUI-attorney, used car salesman looking guys that are still wearing their full suit at 11pm in a bar that is clearly 20-30 years younger than they are. This can be either a pair of old men or one guy all by himself. He generally stands in the corner watching the girls with a creepy grin on his face. Who are these people, and where did they come from?

The point is, I’m obviously jealous that these people have jobs and get to wear suits. If you ever need any commercial roofing, I know a guy…

soooo....TMI anyone?

2006-11-03T06:50:00.000-08:00

I threw up in my mouth a little bit this morning. Not because of bad milk on my cereal or funky coffee, but because of the stupidity of some of my classmates. I got to class early, and was sitting in the room trying to prepare for my pending doom. Concentration went out the window, then the acid started...finally, I just had to leave. So much for getting to class early.

Adrift in a sea of douche-baggery...

2006-10-27T10:14:00.000-07:00

[After discussing this with the others, we decided that this post would be better spread over two or three sections, instead of one giant post. So, enjoy part one now, and look for part(s) 2 (and three) in the near future]

A brief disclaimer:
I’ll go ahead and say it—I’m pretty much a complete asshole. A lot of the things I think about people are solely attributable to the fact that I am pessimistic and mean. Now on with the show…

I am in awe of the plethora of complete and total idiots in this supposed institution of higher learning. Furthermore, this is no mere undergraduate collegiate assembly we are part of. This is Law School, which is purported to house the smartest of the smart students. If the above is true, then in reality, I must be in a mental institution strapped to a bed and heavily medicated for psychotic delusions in an unsuccessful attempt to dissuade this horrible alternate reality. Truly, I would almost rather this all be in my head, because then the pain I feel every time some of these people speak would be imaginary as well, and maybe the drugs will work some day… Alas, this is not the case and my reality is indeed the reality.

Please find attached a list of general complaints regarding the asinine comments and general stupidity of aforementioned classmates:

There is one guy who always has to comment on the class discussion, but who is never right, and only in two particular classes. He will one day be the world’s be defense attorney (in his mind). In reality, he will be the world’s be used car salesman. What baffles me is that in two of our classes, you simply cannot get him to shut up. He will talk over and continually interrupt people who are presenting assigned work. Again—he is never right. If called on in the other two classes, however, he is completely lost, blatantly looking at his neighbor’s computers trying to find the answer. They offer him no help. He is always at least 5 minutes late to class—every class—but that will be discussed in another post. His views are often based on misreadings of the text and complete misapplication of law, but he will do whatever it takes to get you in this car today.

Another person whose physical proximity and classroom contributions metaphorically chap me in unfortunate areas is, as another student politely put it, “a pompous asshole.” I have recently relaxed my intense dislike for this person as I have come to find that his ridiculous comments in class and general absurd nature are attributable to a complete lack of any sort of social awareness or understanding whatsoever. Where I once found disdain I now find comic relief. I have his hand-raise perfected to the highest art of imitation. I am (as he would certainly tell you) a better person for knowing him, but will never be able to achieve his greatness. I thank God every night before I go to bed that he gifted this classmate his incredible knowledge which he imparts to me on a daily basis. Were it not for this student, I would most certainly fail out of Law School—he is the one thing keeping me answering correctly.

[To be continued]

The Queen Doth Speaketh

2006-10-21T21:22:00.000-07:00

So a couple of weeks ago, the four of us were at a law school party held by one of our buddies at his house across town. The crowd grew quickly and consisted of a pretty diverse group of 1L’s, 2L’s and 3L’s. The four of us were standing around nursing our foamy beers next to the keg when the aforementioned 2L “Queen of the Law School” ventures over in our direction from the “upperclassmen” beer-pong table holding an empty pitcher. She is dressed in her normal whorish garb (previously discussed by John) and has a very condescending tone in her voice when she barks: “Fill this up and bring it back to the beer-pong table”

This was not a polite request to four people that she had never met before, this was a rude demand to four 1L’s whom she felt to be her subordinate. We of course laughed at this “request” only to fill up the pitcher to then fill our own beers. We left it lying on one of the lawn chairs filled with only foam and our resent. Fifteen minutes or so later, the Queen charged in our direction demanding to know what had happened to the pitcher and why her demand had gone unfulfilled. We just smiled and pointed to the empty pitcher on the lawn chair. By her reaction, this is the first time in her life that her demands had gone unmet. She stormed off handing the pitcher to one of her minions, who immediately obliged.

We stood around contemplating the motives behind her actions for the rest of the night coming up with two distinct possibilities:
(1) She felt that she could tell us what to do because we were lowly 1L’s. She (being a 2L) is superior to us because of her successful (I assume successful) completion of her first year of law school, which gives her the authority to be a complete bitch.
(2) She felt that she could tell us what to do because she thought we were pathetic enough to succumb to her slutty disposition. Despite her admitted nice body, all attractiveness is gone when you hear this girl talk.

One positive comes from this experience… I learned that once you’ve completed your first year of law school, you are a badass and can boss around anyone who hasn’t. I’m currently counting down the days until I can be a complete asshole.

Descriptions cont'd

2006-10-21T21:13:00.000-07:00

11. Prima Donna- this is that upperclassman chick who reigns as the law school queen. She was probably a high school cheerleader or captain of the dance team. She is good looking up until the moment she opens her mouth. She is obnoxiously loud. Her wardrobe is questionable and revealing. Every other student is just a subject to the queen of the law school. If you choose to go against her, you will be made into the queen's court fool. Even though it probably isn’t fair, she will probably do well in life. Not because she is smart or skilled (at law), but she’ll get hired by a big time firm and sleep her way to the top.

12. the drama queens- Sadly enough, this can be either a guy or a girl. They loved high school and especially the high school drama. Since law school is exactly like high school, these people are in their element. Common phrases from the drama queens, "did you hear who hooked up with who?" or they might come up to you and say, "you'll never guess what so n' so said about you." If there is no drama, they'll make some. For future law students, avoid these people, and don't turn into one.

13. 'MRS.' J.D.'s- This one is pretty self explanatory. These are the girls that failed to get their MRS degree in undergrad. So they decided to spend $1,000's more of daddy's hard earned money to find themselves the next big lawyer/husband in law school. They usually lack any ambition to actually graduate from law school.

14. the coolest 3L ever- Congrats to you Mr. cool guy. After being made fun for the past 2 years by your classmates because you are a total lame ass, you have decided to adopt all the new 1L's and take them under your wing. You enjoy talking about how cool you are, how you are going to work for your daddy's firm in nowhere, Mississippi once you pass the bar. You constantly are hitting on the 1L girls, yet making no progress. If only we could all be as cool as you are. I guess we all can't be winners. Here’s to you…Mr. coolest 3L ever.

and to end on a positive note...

15. Mr. Cool- This is that 3L who is cool as shit. Women love him, men want to be him. He is known by all, but has enough humbleness to not be an arrogant a-hole. Professors and administrators love him. He is the perfect student recruiter. If you have the chance to get to know and be buddies with Mr. Cool and if you don't, you're an idiot. He is buddies with everyone. He is being recruited by all the big firms, but isn’t throwing it in everyone else’s face. He is cool.

random IM conversation

2006-10-20T08:16:00.000-07:00

An exert from an IM conversation during an early Friday morning class.

John: i'm really starting to hate our class
Pat: it's friday
Pat: might need to get legitimately drunk tonight
John: i agree

(10 minute lapse)

John: some of these people are really grating on my nerves
(in reference to 'know it alls' who keep raising their hands to volunteer useless info)
Pat: geez... i thought this was one of the easier cases... he's getting very detailed
(in reference to the prof shortly after being asked abunch of stupid questions by the know it alls)
John: i'm drifting in and out

What’s in a name?

2006-10-17T10:07:00.000-07:00

Now for some more background on a different subject. Our name, though it may seem, was not haphazardly chosen. The phrase means pretty much what it sounds like—there’s no great secret meaning—but I thought it would be a good idea to explain the reasoning behind it. At risk of disclosing the degree of my dork-hood, Black’s Law Dictionary defines a Limited-Liability Partnership as “a partnership in which a partner is not liable for a negligent act committed by another partner…” and a partnership as “a voluntary association of two or more persons who jointly own and carry out a business for profit." The limited-liability part just seemed like a good idea given that we are different people and have different ideas—you wouldn’t claim someone else’s idea as your own, why should you reap the results thereof? Partnership is also fairly obvious, but there is an addition in the legal definition that some people don’t always consider—a business for the purposes of gaining profit. We aren’t a business per se, but we do gain a profit from our publication and the sharing of our ideas. Our posting is its own reward—as mentioned, we pretty much just venting anyway…

Who the hell are we and why should you care??

2006-10-17T09:14:00.000-07:00

To give you a little background information, we are four first year law students at a medium sized law school in a medium sized city. We are pretty normal guys and have pretty common reasons for coming to law school. We all went to undergrad together and are pretty good friends, and sarcastic smartasses.

We have changed our names and will change the names of any people we talk about so as not to offend anyone. We are looking at this as a way to vent about the stressful rat-race of law school.... nothing more, nothing less

Why should you care? Well, you probably shouldn't. But if you do end up reading along, let us know. If you're going through LS and have good stories to tell, send them our way and we'll put them on the blog. From what we gather, LS pretty much sucks for everyone, everywhere, so let's at least try and tolerate it.

Descriptions of 1L's

2006-10-17T09:13:00.000-07:00

In my first few months of law school, I've noticed that there are general molds of the types of law students. Below is a list of what I have observed and their description.

1. the story tellers- this is that student that has had the worst life ever imaginable, and has to tell you ever sob story that has happened to them. Or this is that student that has to relate, (even if it doesn't relate) to everything a professor says. "medical malpractice, oh i used to work in a hospital before law school, and one time blah blah etc." Most people go to all costs to avoid conversation with a story teller. Sometimes a hybrid of the story teller will emerge, the false story teller. This person will make up anything just to sound cool or fit in.

2. the dorks- fairly self explanatory. if you don't know what a dork is, you probably are one, and i'm not sorry if you are offended. They are everywhere and seem to be reproducing at a rapid rate.

3. the drunk - every starting class has at least one. this the guy or girl that is somehow extremely smart and resourceful but is always drinking, drunk, or hungover. This student is always rallying people to go out and drink on a random week night. He or she will stumble in every morning to class at 8 or 9 still drunk or really hungover, having no clue what the assigned reading was. Somehow or other, they always know the right answers when called on. The drunk loves to stir up high school drama, probably to pass the boredom of soberness.

4. the flipper(s)- these are those students that 'flip out' over anything. Common phrases that are heard from the flippers are, "OMG!!! our finals are in 3 1/2 months, and i have only bought 4 of the outlines the book store offers for my torts class!" or "i've been in the library till 2 am every night since orientation prepping for finals." Ofcourse, this mentality is contagious, and all of the 'flippers' friends start flipping out too. Any time a person tries to have a normal conversation with a flipper, it immediately turns into, "OMG, how far have you gotten in your contracts outline, cause i'm so far behind!!"

5. the smokers- these are the students that smoke before and after every class. They have a certain spot outside, their own smokers sanctuary. They are usually pessimistic about everything, "screw the brief, i hate school." The pessimism usually vanishes after they have smoked half a pack. If you sit next to a smoker, i'm sorry, they always smell.

6. the sorostitutes- these are those group of girls that were probably really big into their sorority back in undergrad. They really miss all the social cliques, twisters, pledge swaps, etc. This group is very tight, not many people get invited into this group. They still try to keep up the elitist image, the "i'm cooler cause i have 3 greek letters after my name." Usually during casual conversation, you'll hear phrases like, "oh, i'm dating a beta" or "i just got engaged (flashing ring in face) to John Doe, he's a Kappa Fag at the University of Awesomeness." They wear to class those t-shirts that look like beer or liquor logos but have greek letters all over them that they probably got at some frat party. They are all about social circles, excluding certain people if you don't fit the mold, and they love doing that false annoying laugh in front of 3L ex-frattys. They'll all run for some SGA or SBA or Honors Council position because their self worth depends on the approval of their peers, (winning the election). They also like to walk into the classroom on their cellphone, probably talking to a celebrity or someone important.

7. the fratty- this guy is 'that guy.' He is notoriously late all the time. He still wears his sunglasses with thick croakie around his neck. He is in desperate need of a haircut. Sear sucker shorts (that are too short), and frat/sorority formal t-shirts are his uniform. He's all about mackin on the sorositutes, but usually doesn't do very well. He is usually a loner, mainly because no other fratty shares his letters. He likes to raise his hand and volunteer in class alot, just to brown nose, although he usually doesn't make much sense. Most of the fratty's in law school have dad's that are ambulance chaser lawyers back home. So you can imagine the "i know everything" attitude they carry with them.

8. the geriatrics- not too many of these in a standard 1L class, but they are around. These are those trying to start a new carrier. They are at least 35 or older. They have worked for awhile, probably have young kids. They struggle fitting in with younger students. Most people are polite to them and they are polite back. They usually have a strong work ethic but struggle getting back into 'study' mode. They are above all the social ladders that people like the sorostitutes build. They are usually only spotted at school, never at parties or other social events. For the most part they are cool. But occassionally they can be condescending. A common syptom of theirs is to brown nose the professors.

9. I went to Undergrad here!- You can't escape this person. "i went to undergrad here, i know all there is to know about everything there is to know." This is that guy or girl who thrived in the undergrad system. They are the self declared 'cool' kid. They try to talk to everyone, even though everyone tries to avoid talking to them. They know all about the culture of the school and talk about, "when i was in undergrad here..." Very annoying kids, very immature. Most days, it is a battle to not yell at them to "shut the hell up!"

Look for part 2, coming soon.

Disclaimer...

2006-10-16T23:01:00.000-07:00

At the risk of coming across as whiny, self-absorbed, insecure little girls, we have decided to start a blog chronicalling our time and experiences during law school.

It might just be the four of us reading this, but if you stumble across it and have any questions, feel free to e-mail us at: LLPblog@gmail.com

In the interest of not offending anyone, our names have been changed as will the names of any people we mention in our posts