Finished the First Week

I survived the first week of law school. (Well, the first real one anyway.) I think it's quite an accomplishment, as it is true what they say. Law schools do not ease you in, they just shove you in face-first. So far, I am deeply impressed with the quality of the staff and faculty. In my day I've encountered a fair share of bad teachers. There are those who hate their jobs, those who are bored, those who are on a power trip, those who are passionate but inarticulate, and my favorite, the lechers.

I haven't seen any of that, yet. Professor K scared the crap out of me on the first day. He came in two minutes late and immediately said, Mr. Smith, list the facts in Case v. Case. Luckily the student was prepared and began explaining the case. Professor K kept it coming, tossing it out and slamming it back. My first impression of him when he walked in was dead wrong. I think most people have the same first impression and his teaching style compensates. He's very impressive and deadly smart. I left feeling sick to my stomach.

That night, I prepared better for the class. Had I been Mr. Smith, I would have failed utterly. The next day, I felt much better and quite enjoyed the class. The day after that, I gave an argument the professor said he enjoyed and gave me a "Well done."

Torts was scary too. I can see how contracts and torts require a very strong teacher. They're heavy subjects and do not lend themselves well to lecture-style teaching. Socratic seems to work great for them. That said, I am glad they are the only Socratic style courses I have.

Every upperclassman I spoke with told me I was "lucky" to have Professor T for torts. People really like him. Visiting speakers and attorneys throughout the valley will ask you when they hear you're a law student, "Hey, how is Professor T doing?"

And yet people told me he was scary. And he is. I also really like him and now I get how people can both like and fear a professor. He's brutal. He tells you when you're wrong. Interrupts you when in the first two words out of your mouth he knows you're off track (and HE KNOWS) and moves on to the next person. But once he sees you're squirming and miserable he will cut you a break.

He reassured us by telling us if we fuck up royally we lose no points. If we do awesome, we gain points. He encouraged us to guess, to make stuff up, to try. We have nothing to lose and he could care less if we don't get it right.

Apparently his exams are crazy. He will list a sentence from the casebook with two blanks and you are expected to fill them in. Harsh, man.

I'm not sure how I feel about CivPro. I know a lot of people hate the subject. My professor is really good though. I felt sort of lost the first couple of days because she stays so true to the textbook. It's sort of rare for a professor to do that. I wasn't sure how to study, it wasn't like I could just keep reading the textbook. I think I'm getting a handle on it now but only time will tell.

After advice from friends I've edited this post. I don't want to upset any classmates. I'm still going to make amusing comments about classmates, but I'm going be a little more non-specific. I'm keeping the nicknames, but I will probably use them for multiple people. Gigi will be code for girl gunner, and JoJo will be code for boy gunner. We'll see how that goes.

Sex on Toast (S.O.T) is way too hilarious to edit out. I hope no guy in the class suspects it's him, but if he does, hey it is a pretty flattering nickname.