What a busy week; it's only the first week of the quarter!

I am doing some really cool things, but the coolest has to be teaching the Constitution. I may have miswritten earlier, but I am teaching 11th graders (not 12th) the Constitution. I am co-teaching with another law student and today was our first day. It was AWESOME!!!!!

The kids are a bit rowdy and they are very eager to learn more about the law and their rights! Today we told them that their semester culminates with a moot court competition and though we didn't give them all the details, it was exciting to see their little eyes light up when we told them that they were going to "play court."

Another exciting thing I did today was give my first tour to a group of prospective students. It was really fun to think back to my own experience of choosing a law school and provide that information to students who may apply to join our community here. One of the coolest things at NUSL (in my opinion) is our access to the undergraduate facilities. We have the Marino Center across the street from the law school. It is a world-class state of the art workout facility. Over the past year, I have lost thirty pounds by going over there on a regular basis (and eating right of course). It's a shame because when I go home, the access to fitness equipment is nowhere near the ease of getting in shape here. I never thought about that perk of NUSL until I gave the tour, but it has really been a blessing to have here! The prospective students that were in my tour definitely did their homework about NUSL because they didn't have a whole lot of questions. At least, I hope that was the reason they were so quiet. It was nice to see a group of well informed people coming to learn more about the "feel" of our world.

Finally, I told you all that I was taking Federal Courts last week (I think). From what I have experienced so far, I believe that this will be my most challenging course I have taken in law school thus far. You know what, I am excited about that. So often, we stay in our comfort zones and do things that we're familiar with. I have done that myself. After the first class on Tuesday, I felt exhausted and overwhelmed, but instead of dropping the course, I have decided that my last quarter of law school should be the most challenging. As I prepare for the bar (it seems to be the only thing I talk to my husband about lately), I want to be in that mindset that things that make you sweat are things that require more time and effort (and have the biggest payout). So, my feeling, well, my hope really, is that federal courts, accomplishes this goal. I hope I'm not crazy.

Posted by Aisha at 10:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hi there everyone,

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope that your holiday is filled with good food and great fellowship with your family and friends! My husband and I planned on spending this holiday with my sister in Pennsylvania, but unfortunately, my car sprung a gas leak!!! So, we are still in Atlanta and my car is fixed, but we won't head back to Boston until Friday morning. Thank goodness for the small breaks we have between coop and classes. :-)

Anyway, I will keep this entry short because I really don't have much to discuss about school. I am really looking forward to my ***last*** academic quarter. One of the things that I am most looking forward to is teaching the Constitution to 12th grade high school students. It's a part of NUSL's Marshall Brennan Scholars program. I am also taking Federal Courts, Advanced Legal Research and Criminal Trial Practice. So I will hopefully have a lot to share about these classes when I return to class next week.

So again, enjoy your holiday and I'll write again soon.

Aisha

Posted by Aisha at 7:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As I mentioned last week, bar preparation and job search stuff is getting the best of me. I worked on the bar background application for nine hours today... yes, NINE hours! Though this seems incredible, there is one reason why it took so much time. The bar wants to know where I've worked in the past TEN years. Well, I graduated from college seven years before I came to law school. This meant that my college jobs and the other four jobs I had before coming to law school needed to be on my application. I spent most of my day tracking down the names and numbers of people who I needed to put on my application. Though it took me a long time, it was fun catching up with people I haven't spoken to in some years.

On another note, this week was a great week on the job search front. As I told you all a few weeks ago, I am applying to become a law clerk for either a state court or superior court judge after graduation. I heard from FIVE judges this week, and it's only Wednesday! One judge was particularly impressed with NUSL's evaluation system and told me that in 30 years, he hasn't seen an application that is so professional and thorough. This judge has hired a clerk already but said he would "love" to hear from me next summer after I take the bar. Another judge scheduled an interview with me in March. She doesn't have any time until then to meet me and was more than willing to be flexible with my Boston-Atlanta-Boston-Atlanta schedule. This was good news for me. The other three informed me that they either did not hire law clerks or that they have already hired someone for next fall.

So though I wasn't necessarily early in sending my materials to judges, I was still early enough to get some "bites" from my applications which is good news! Hopefully I'll have more good news to share with you next week! Take care!

Posted by Aisha at 12:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So this week will wrap up my final week of working at the DA's office. Unfortunately, the entire office has a retreat next week so I will come in for a celebratory lunch next Thursday and then my coop is complete. It's so bittersweet because I am in the middle of working on some really interesting cases and since they don't go to trial until January, I will miss the pinacle of my efforts. My time here has been so rewarding and if all goes well, I will be in another unit for my next coop (keep your fingers crossed for me)!

So since I have a few days to myself, I figured I would go ahead and get started with bar stuff. I know - I don't take the bar until July of 2008 but you can never be too early in preparing. In Georgia, we have to submit a background application before we can apply to sit for the bar - this is due December 5! Let me tell you, this application is 30 pages long and asks you anything and everything about where you've lived, where you've worked, what lines of credit you've had and the list goes on and on. Also, since I am hoping to work for a judge immediately after graduation, I need to follow up with all the application packets I've sent out.

So, I will let you know how that goes next week, but man, being a third year is exciting and demanding at the same time. Now that I'm getting close to graduation, the responsibilities keep mounting and hopefully, all this early work will pay off. Again, wish me luck! :-)

Posted by Aisha at 9:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)