Laurinda, 3L

Hi everyone,

This winter I am working with Judge Young and his clerks at the Moakley Courthouse in Boston. I've already been put on a legal research project and told that I will be writing bench memoranda at least once every two weeks. In addition, I will get to sit in on trials, motions, etc. However, some of my friends on the other rotation warned me that the excitement of sitting through a trial wears away fairly quickly. Note: Pinching oneself does not work and leaves bruises.

Still I am taking this experience as a chance to see litigation in process. I'm fairly sure I want to do transactional work in the future, but I think a lot of that is that I haven't seen what litigation has to offer. I've never done debate and NUSL does not have Moot Court or Mock trial except for those competitions offered by the affinity groups and different organizations (APALSA made it to the Vegas Nationals).

I do think that the opportunity to do a judicial internship is one of NUSL's advantages. Of course, students from other schools do judicial internships, but the other schools don't have a long list of judges as co-op employers.

Misc. note about my alma mater - Heroic Computer Dies to Save World from Master's Thesis

The article is hysterical.

Hi all,

It's utterly freezing in my office/conference room where I work. I am a huge advocate of the work shawl.

That is the one thing you should take into account when coming to Boston, especially if you prefer warmer climates. Boston gets frigid and then no one goes out in the evenings ... well sensible people, at least.

Otherwise, work is going well. I love the clerks I am working with. I don't have much interaction with the judge but I have seen Judge Young in action in the court.

Working for Judge Young means that there is a lot of work to do. I am writing an ERISA memo and doing research on recent federal cases that are or at least seem to me, pretty pinnacle. I most likely will have at least one memo due every two weeks!

This week the 1st Cir. Court of Appeals is sitting. One of the arguments was for a recent case in the news regarding a Lexington school teacher who read King and King to her 1st grade class room.

The arguments are very interesting. One attorney certainly fit the saying, "if you have the law pound the law, if you have the facts pound the facts, and if you don't have either pound the table."

Still, you can never tell with these cases.

The second case I saw argued was about peremptory challenges regarding religion and whether Batson covers religion. The trial counsel actually started with a joke! I can't wait to see the results although it may take a very long time.

The commute to the courthouse is very difficult. Sometimes I wish I lived closer but I don't think I can sacrifice the free food, rent, or TV. My morning commute consists of local bus, orange line to red line, then silver line. My evening commute is a bit better because there is a bus that will drop off at the orange line.

The only problem is the squishing and absolute jam packedness.

Hope all is well on the other end!

Hi all,

So there isn't much in my life besides work right now ... and dreading the need to do holiday shopping ... so I will be discussing the former.

A judicial co-op, I've found, is harder and easier than my other co-ops.

The last two weeks were hectic because I was writing a bench memo for yesterday's motions hearing. Bench memos are important because you are in a way summarizing both party's position and picking a winner.

It's very difficult to pick winners because both sides (at least in the case I was given) had excellent briefs and very good arguments. As the Judge said, "there is only an up or a down. If X wins, then Y loses. If Y wins, then X loses."

This week and the next should be a bit easier because the Judge is handling a patent case trial, so I will be working on another project that is as equally important but not as stressful as picking a winner.

Also, today there is going to be a holiday office party. Office parties are always interesting. I take this as a chance to put names to faces of old clerks mentioned and SOs always fondly spoken of.

On other news, there is supposed to be a Nor'easter on Sunday ... so keep bundled!

This week there has been a patent trial going on. I think its very interesting how the lawyers and the experts are able to break down very complicated technical pieces into understandable morsels for the jury, the judge, and me (most of whom do not have a technical background).

What I really have enjoyed about watching the trial is observing the different lawyering styles of the plaintiff's and defendant's attorneys. It is very much like watching a play at the theatre and I have been wondering, along with the other clerks, if they "put on" a certain type of personality to perform for the jury. And if they do, how much does that affect the jury's decision.

I asked the Judge this and he said that he's seen a lot of jury trials (ofc) and he feels that they do decide on the merits and not the lawyer's character/personality giving the example of a very incompetent lawyer and the jury still deciding his way.

In other amusing news:

One of the other law clerks is from Australia. So a tidbit Australia-Xmas is one (and maybe only) Carol: 6 White Bloomers (re: Kangaroos and Santa's sleigh)

I've found the lyrics (not sure they are entirely accurate) but here it goes:

Early on one Christmas Day, a Joey Kanga-roo
Was far from home and lost in a great big zoo
Mummy, where's my mummy, they've taken her a-way
We'll help you find your mummy son, hop on the sleigh

[Verse:]
Up beside the bag of toys, little Joey hopped
But they hadn't gone far when Santa stopped
Un-harnessed all the reindeer and Joey wondered why
Then he heard a far off booming in the sky

[Chorus:]
Six white boomers, snow white boomers
Racing Santa Claus through the blazing sun
Six white boomers, snow white boomers
.. On his Aus-tra-lian run

Pretty soon old Santa began to feel the heat
Took his fur-lined boots off to cool his feet
Into one popped Joey, feeling quite OK
While those old man kangaroos kept pulling on the sleigh

Joey said to Santa, Santa, what about the toys
Aren't you giving some to these girls and boys
They've all got their presents son, we were here last night
This trip is an extra trip, Joey's special flight

Soon the sleigh was flashing past, right over Marble Bar
Slow down there, cried Santa, it can't be far
Come up on my lap son, and have a look around

There she is, that's mummy, bounding up and down
Well that's the bestest Christmas treat that Joey
ever had
Curled up in mother's pouch all snug and glad
The last they saw was Santa headed northward
from the sun
The only year the boomers worked a double run

Sadly today did not reach the 60s as it did yesterday. Massachusetts weather is a fickle fickle creature teasing us with warm breezes and actual sunshine. Usually we in MA are content with 30 degrees (because that is so much better than 10 below), but to tempt us with a few days of spring-like weather only to snatch it away again ... Still as the saying goes: the cold weather builds character.

In other news, the Court of Appeals for the First Circuit is sitting again this week. The Judge is also presiding over a new trial. Contrary to popular opinion, I have not tired of sitting in on trials and appeal sessions. However, I just don't have the time do so!

I have a lot of research and writing going on right now and in addition, tomorrow is the deadline for the January co-op mailing for the summer. I am definitely trying to fulfill my public interest requirement for the summer. However, I really wanted to work in London for Fidelity, but I am not even sure if they are going to be hiring for the summer. That is one of the downfalls of the co-op program because if I do lock in now, I can't try later for something that might only be an opportunity later. It's very much a game of strategy.

Still despite this I still went to see 2/3 of the arguments in front of the First Circuit.

The first case was very interesting and has been in the news.

Kufner v. Kufner - basically American couple in Germany divorces and wife finds pictures of her 8 and 9 year old sons nude. She takes them back to the US in contravention of a German court order. It's very hard to tell but I think that the case will go against the mother just because of the line of questioning ... or at least what I can guess.

Judge Selya was presiding and he is such a hoot. He is a very interesting judge to watch.

The second case was the Facebook case. This presented another interesting legal corporation question turning on the Delaware LLC laws. I couldn't really tell how this one will fall out but I guess we shall see.

On yet another sidebar: there is a Japanese judge observing the courts this winter and he is only 28 and has been a judge for 5 years!!

One of the clerks I work with described me as a commuting lifer.

This is probably why I have numerous pet peeves about the people who use and run the T. I can only compare Boston commuting to Manhattan commuting (I volunteered at the GMHC for my senior year spring break in college). I feel that the Manhattan way was much more efficient and if you are coming from a place with efficient commuters, my pet peeves will certainly become yours.

Pet Peeve #1
The escalators. I fully believe that there should be a sign that indicates people should walk on the left and stand on the right. I have to admit that I am one of those annoying people who walk up on the escalators. I think it's faster and being faster means that I will catch the bus faster. Especially during rush hour. It could be argued that the time spent stuck behind someone who stood on the left is no time at all. But! If your bus leaves promptly and those 30 seconds means bounding down icy stairs in hopes of catching a bus that won't come for another half-hour ... then walking on the left and standing on the right could make all the difference.

Pet Peeve #2
People who stop on the stairwells to answer their cell phone and then stop to talk while STILL on the stairwell. This causes a bottleneck and is just plain rude.

Pet Peeve #3
People who saunter in the middle of the aisle of the train during rush hour while everyone is trying to board or disembark. There is no way to walk around him/her because the person is not a little person. This actually happened to me while I was trying to get on the outbound train at Downtown Crossing. This prevents people from boarding because the person is preventing people from filling in the middle of the car. Then the doors will close abruptly and if you aren't on the train, well you'll need to wait for the next.

Pet Peeve #4
People who try to push onto the car when it is absolutely clear that one more sardine in this tin may cause a spontaneous combustion of the car. However, I understand the dilemma as this brings me to ...

Pet Peeve #5
Because the conductor always yells "there is a train right behind this one." This is invariably a lie because there usually is no train right behind the one the commuter is trying to shove himself on unless you can see it. In fact, it may be better to try to squish in even if you do see the train/bus because the one right behind may be defective and cause even more lateness. Or because it was right behind it will be slow because the train in front is slow.

And those are the top five horrors of commuting in Boston. I did not include the general rudeness of people because I assumed that was a given.

HOWEVER, taking the T is still better than the alternative. Traffic is usually atrocious during rush hour. There is practically no street parking. Parking in a garage or lot is expensive. You aren't guaranteed a spot where you really want to be.

AND usually in one commute, only one or two of the pet peeves will occur. An IPod also makes the entire commute much less painful. If you actually get to sit, there is always a free Metro or BostonNow to read.

Have a pleasant and short work week!
Have a pleasant weekend!

If you are reading this in one of the 24 states that have their primaries -- Go Vote!

On Co-op news:

I certainly will vote as soon as work is over. Although I am worried that I am not correctly registered in my hometown. I am fairly sure I changed the address last year, but we shall see.

In other news, the trial ended today on directed verdict. This is especially rare because the Judge firmly believes in the jury system.

And after (currently) working for the Judge, I can see why. The jurors take time out of their normal day (although they don't have a choice if they are selected from the pool) and they take notes and definitely pay attention. They even ask questions during the process.

2 interesting quotes/phrases from the trial:

"The suspenders of policy on the pants of language"

and

"Hatching the dragon that I need to seek to slay later"

In Academic news:

Classes start the first week in March. I am registered for Professional Responsibility, Admin, Secured Transactions and am still between International Business and Modern Real Estate Development.

Otherwise, I have no other news to report so ending as I began -- Yay Voting

Hi all,

Classes have started again! Yesterday I had my first class, International Business Regulation with Prof. Dan Danielsen. It seems like it will be a really interesting class and there is an option to write an extended paper on the subject which may count for the Rigorous Writing requirement that the school has. I was an economics major and International and Global Studies Minor at Brandeis so I think I may write the long paper. Although I still need to talk to the professor about it and 3Ls have preference.

The exciting thing about being a 3L is that some limited enrollment and writing classes give them a preference. Although I haven't had to suffer the woes of being on the waitlist (none of my classes are LE), several of my friends have been in a scheduling headache because of it. The problem is that some of the specialized upper level courses are LE and are often very popular. For example, last Fall quarter International Criminal Law was LE and this quarter estate planning, advanced legal writing and research, and other assorted courses are LE. Usually the class is limited to 15 to 20 students. My basic strategy is to wait until next year because as a 3L, I will be given a preference. Still a lot of other people probably have that strategy and I may lose.

Otherwise, March actually feels spring-like. How long this will last is anyone's guess, but I foresee more snow.

Have a great week!

Boston is one of the fortunate cities that has a Restaurant Week. [Twice a year! Once during the Winter (aka March) and once during the Summer (appropriately August).] This spring, I made reservations for Mooo (the basis of this entry) and Ruth Chris Steakhouse for this Friday's lunch.

Restaurant Week is an opportunity for those who love to indulge in good food, but can't really afford it aka the poor college/law student. Lunches are $20.08 and Dinners are $33.08. The restaurant patron can choose an appetizer, entree, and dessert from a prixe fixe menu.

I really liked Mooo. The atmosphere is extremely nice. The service was exceptional. At certain places, especially those restaurants where they typically charge an arm and a leg, servers tend to rush you out there. Not at Mooo. I was given all the time I wanted and needed to eat and talk and just enjoy being there. The decorations were also very appropriate. There were pictures of cows in black and white on the wall behind me.

I ordered the beef carpaccio, the NY sirloin, and the brownie mousse cake. The sirloin was done perfectly. I like my sirloins/steaks medium well. It was perfectly tender and moist. Often times when you order steak medium/medium rare, the meat is still oozing blood and ruins the sauce. Definitely not in this case. The sirloin was perfection. The carpaccio, however, was doused in maraschino cherry sauce and that was all you could taste. The dessert was unexceptional. I thought that it should be mousse or brownie, certainly not both. It wasn't a good choice to cap a meal with because it is too heavy. Otherwise ...

All in all, I highly recommend Mooo. I give it 4/5 stars (although readers may not rate my opinion as important as the Phantom Gourmet or Zagats). Let's hope Ruth Chris is just as tasty.

In two words, "Background Investigation."

I preface all statements by saying that I am thrilled to be working for the SEC. I am super excited about being part of an administrative agency that is actively protecting the interests of investors. I am the one in the family who fills out all the stock litigation papers. You know, the ones that say, there is a class action, do you want a cut when they settle?

Still, the information that the federal government needs from you after you have been hired is extremely extensive. Remember when I told you about applying to the SEC and how long it took. Yep, the background check takes longer. If you are applying to the federal government and expect to be hired, here is what you should expect.

Round One: Fingerprints. Thankfully, I will be working for the SEC which has a relationship with a fingerprinting place down in Post Office Square. This means I don't have to pay the $40 that comes with needing to be fingerprinted.

Round Two: Forms Forms Forms. This covers that you are going to be working for the SEC, the direct deposit sheet, your tax forms, etc. Actually this is pretty quick, it can also be that the extensiveness of Round Three has erased this time period from my mind.

Round Three: Background Investigation. Be prepared to list every job you've had since you turned sixteen years old, have a verifier (my mom) for your time of unemployment, multiple references, and if your parents are citizens by naturalization (as mine are) their certificates of naturalization.

Round 4: More fingerprints.

Still if you think about it, that's actually the information you need for when you apply for the Bar. So having federal employment now is a VERY good thing because I certainly was having trouble remembering my old high school jobs, supervisors, and even summer classes I took during college. Especially the when. I can't even imagine how much more I would have forgotten in a year.

Otherwise, I've finally finished the background check and it's as good as I can remember. I'm only thankful now that my parents did not allow me to travel abroad because that would have certainly added another 3 hours to fill out the form.

On an off-topic note, I went to Ruth Chris Steakhouse (Boston) on Friday for lunch. I ordered the Louisiana gumbo, the 8 oz. Petit Filet, and the Chocolate Mousse cheesecake. The gumbo was fairly average, but the petit filet (w/ mashed potatoes) was SO good. I completely throw a plug out there for Ruth Chris even though they are so famous they really don't need one.

One of the different things about this quarter is that 3 of 4 of my classes involve group projects. I don't mind group projects, but its a very difficult thing to do at this level. Unlike in college or high school where everyone is on the same schedule, law students may share just this one class where the group project is assigned. In addition, law students tend to be older and some have families (meaning that evenings / weekends are out so that they can see their family at some point).

In Admin, we had to write a regulation for a hypothetical boxing statute. Never having written a regulation before or taught how, a group was great to bounce ideas off and polish some of my own ideas. The only issue is that the only time we had available was from 5-8 on two weekdays. This group only had 4 people compared to my international business class where there is 8.

If 4 people was hard to co-ordinate, 8 was just impossible. We had to decide early that consensus was the only way to get things done and stringent use of email because no matter what time / day was chosen, one or two people could not meet.

However, as my admin professor tells us, in real life, lawyers work as a team.

In other news, Beijing is out as a study abroad option next fall. In my excitement, I had forgotten that I wanted to apply for clerkships for post-graduate employment. This means I need to be state-side in case I get interviews (which isn't a guarantee since clerkships are ultra competitive). I'm very disappointed and sad because the CUFE program looked so interesting and I had never studied or been abroad before.

Still I am planning a trip to Taiwan for after finals so I will still be visiting Asia, just for not as long as I had hoped.

Have a great week! It looks like Spring might finally be here!!

I've just returned from a 9 day trip to Taiwan!

Top Five things to know about before visiting Taiwan
1. It is more expensive than you think. Even through 30TWD=1USD, the prices are all fairly equivalent to American prices for goods like clothing and shoes. The exception being food. Also if you plan on visiting, bring the latest US currency to exchange (meaning the numbers on the bills should start with F) because otherwise there is a 30TWD surcharge each for old bills. Although if you exchange all that you have at the airport (and you should do it there because it's cheaper), there is a flat fee of 30TWD.

2. There are crazy scooter drivers who use the traffic laws as a reference. Even the dogs here know to look both ways before they cross the street.

3. The heat is already unbearable in May. Especially if you are from MA where it is only really hot in July and August. The heat is humid and I felt sticky and dirty all day.

4. If you visit the national parks, wear sneakers, bring long sleeves and pants, and lots of bug spray. LOTS of bug spray. The bugs are huge and venomous. For example, my sister and I visited Taroko National Park where a giant bee the size of a dime hovered. The guide said "don’t make sudden movements or that huge bear bee will bite you and you will die because its bite is venomous." My initial reaction was to freeze, my sister's was to jump behind me.

5. The sun is very strong. Our suntan lotion had been confiscated in customs (it was larger than 3.5 oz) and we didn't buy suntan lotion (which is expensive) until much too late. I went straight to burn so if you go to Taiwan, buy lots of 3.5 oz bottles, and go Asian and buy a parasol/wear a hat everywhere.

Five places I visited that I recommend
1. National Parks( I cheated a bit here) Taroko National Park, Kenting National Park and Yeliou National Park (It is right by the water and is famous for its odd stone formations. Also they don't yell at you if you cross the red line warning not to cross. Of course, none of the tour groups followed that mandate because the prettier picture was across the red line.)

2. Chiang Kai Shek Memorial - Great for pictures and inside remember to go downstairs where there are galleries.

3. National Palace Museum - Although I didn't get a chance, I've heard the gardens are absolutely splendid and admission for students (even foreign ones) are half! So remember your student IDs!l

4. Suao - which is famous for its cold (as opposed to hot) springs. The water has healing properties! Also there is only one other cold spring which is in Venice, Italy.

5. 101 Taipei which is the tallest building and in one of the informational panels it lists the Boston Big Dig as one of the top 5 construction wonders (bwhahahah)

Top Five Things about Taiwan that makes it an amazing place to visit

1. The transportation system – Completely electronic, much better than New York or Boston in terms of efficiency, cleaniliness, and so easy to understand. Everyone there actually queues!

2. The people - they are so friendly, helpful, and polite. Such a contrast to New York and Boston. When you enter a store, they instantly welcome you. Although I think Americans may find it a bit intrusive when they ask you if you need anything every few minutes you are there.

3. The natural beauty - Taiwan is the land that natural beauty blessed. The mountains, sky, coastline, and water are just so wonderful. I wished I was a better photographer because everything I saw just couldn't be captured on film.

4. The food - No one here has to cook because there are food stalls everywhere and the food here is good, filling, and cheap!

5. The fruit - There are so many varieties - I had guava, sweet melon, dragonfruit, cranberries, pineapple, these pink fruits that are shaped like pears, papaya and everything is fresh off a branch!

I'm so tired though! It took me a total of about 26 hours to travel (including layovers). I had actually brought a book with me but I never even opened it because I discovered that I have the amazing ability to sleep for 16 hours straight, only awaking for the food breaks.

I hope to recover from my jet lag soon because I start work tomorrow!

This isn't a comment on race issues (although I think it works just as well) but one of the little nuggets to think about in working in the summer is summer work clothes. As I shop for summer appropriate work tops, I notice that all around me women are wearing yellow: yellow shirts, skirts, and shoes.Yellow is everywhere. I have not yet given into this fad but if I found a good top on sale, maybe.

On other less shallow and sartorial topics, I am currently writing this at home and watching Battlestar because all the movie tickets were sold out. I went to dinner, did a little shopping, and was sadly disappointed to find that I would not be seeing the Incredible Hulk. It ruins my plans to watch all the Marvel movies in a row. I saw Iron man last week, and I definitely agree with the majority; that was an excellent movie.

On other work related matters, I just finished my second week at work. I love working for the SEC. I can't really talk about my work, but I can tell you that the work is constant and interesting. I've written two memos and already am on a third assignment. It's also incredibly easy to get to work, so much easier than school.

Hope everyone enjoys their weekend!

I am really enjoying my summer co-op with the SEC. There are a total of four legal interns (three from Northeastern) and an indeterminate number of college interns. I've been busy since my first day! The work is mostly securities regulation (no surprise there). Since everything we work on is top secret, I can't talk about what I am doing. I can say that I've done tons of research and writing, doc review, and some other prep stuff.

But what is nice about working and not being at school is having weekends free. So far I've been going to the movies every week (matinees because I am still a poor law student).

Last week when I went to see the Happening (which is NOT a recommend) I saw Chris Rock at the Loews Theatre in Boston. He was originally going to see the Incredible Hulk but missed the previews and was going to see the Happening. He was with two others. I thought he looked and talked a lot like Chris Rock but then I thought, why would he be here in Boston and without entourage.

It was only after the movie when my friend told me that the ushers were saying how it was Chris Rock!

Since I didn't (clearly) get an autograph for myself, no one else gets them either ...

Still there is my celebrity sighting for the week. Let's hope that this becomes a tradition and that Hollywood has come to Boston.

Happy 4th of July everyone!

This week has been a slow week at the office, but I am excited to say that I finished another memo. All law schools have a writing requirement. Starting next year for the incoming class, people can fulfill the writing requirement with a portfolio of pieces, from co-op or classes. This would have worked so well for me on this co-op since I've already written three memos, each more than ten pages. Sadly, this requirement does not apply to me. Also it is incredibly difficult to get a memo approved to be released from the SEC.

In other news, my work friends and I have started going across the street to Elephant and Castle on Tuesday nights to play trivia. Sadly, we didn't make it into the championship to win Red Sox tickets. We did place, not thanks to a team that cheated! I know, so terrible. You may wonder how I knew they cheated. The announcer said "We've already had a complaint, don't do it again or your team will be disqualified." I understand why they don't get the automatic DQ because the pub is a business and want those people to come back and not feel embarrassed.

But I'm bitter.Why would you cheat at bar trivia! The point of bar trivia is to show that you have a whole bunch of useless knowledge in your brain like knowing that the ancient Romans called Scotland Caldonia or that owls have asymmetrical ears. (Both questions no one in my team knew). Obviously it's easy to know those facts if you google it on your PDA/Blackberry. I'm slightly bitter because of the injustice that cheaters do prosper. They won the $50 that comes with first place and a chance to participate in the trivia championship with Red Sox tickets as a prize.

I like competitions and I like to win. But really, if one team cheats that's just not fair. Now if all of us had a chance to cheat, that would be a test of who has the fastest fingers on a blackberry and would be more fair. But that's just not the point.

In other news, I plan on seeing Wall-E sometime soon. The NYT gave it the best review! Maybe tomorrow.

Otherwise, I hope everyone enjoys this slightly chilly 4th!

There is so much to do! On my to-do list, is setting up my materials to apply for judicial clerkships and job fairs and studying for the MPRE. I can't believe that the summer is half way done and that I am a 3L. Just this morning I registered for fall classes. I really want to get into one of the seminar classes, so my schedule will completely depend on whether I can get into one of the three limited enrollment classes I signed up for.

Those three are 1. Advanced legal writing 2. Constitutional litigation and 3. Balancing Security and Liberty. All my other classes will depend on which, or any, of the limited enrollment classes I will be able to get into because the seminars conflict with other classes I want to take. I definitely will be able to Animal Law because that class does not conflict with anything I want/need to take: Intellectual Property conflicts with ALW, Basic Income Tax conflicts with Constitutional litigation, and I don't even remember what First Amendment conflicts with.

Selecting a schedule is always difficult, but for some it can work out perfectly. I have a friend where none of her classes conflict!

Otherwise, I just read the unauthorized biography of Martha Stewart by Chris Bryan. I thought it was very well-written and an interesting view of how Martha created an multimedia empire based on the (allegedly) suppressed domestic impulses that working women have.

This weekend was filled with things to do! On Saturday, my friends and I caught a Dark Knight matinee at AMC Boston Common. Even though the movie has been out for a week, the theatre was packed. I hope everyone goes to see it because Heath Ledger was definitely the best Joker ever seen. As one of my friends best put it, "Ledger was a Clockwork Orange Joker." It's sad that Ledger died, but as a viewer it's tragic that we won't get to see his acting ability evolve because Joker was amazing.

After Dark Knight, I met with another friend to study for the MPRE. We went over one of the outline packets. It was hard to study in such a nice Saturday afternoon. Especially since it was so hot and she didn't have air conditioning.

She did, however, have Wii Fit. I really want a Wii now. We only took a short break in between studying, but in that time Wii was able to determine that my center of gravity is slightly to the left and that I am unbalanced.

After studying, we met up with my other friends to watch Shakespeare on the Common. If you aren't from Boston, one of the perks is free Shakespeare! This summer they are doing As You Like It. Orlando is played by Marshall (real name Frederick Weller) from the USA TV show In Plain Sight!!! It was an excellent show. I must admit: I've read As You Like It before for fun and didn't fully understand it. But seeing it acted out just made it click.

Today was a 4 hour MPRE class, but enough said on that.

Have a great week everyone!

For me, restaurant week is my favorite time of year. It ranks high up there with Christmas and birthdays. Much like Christmas and birthdays, I get to dress up, be with friends and family for a prolonged meal, and lots of money gets spent.

This summer restaurant week I made a futile attempt to get reservations at L'Espalier. They were apparently booked the first day that the dates of restaurant week were announced. I have learned my lesson and that is what I also will do the next time. Otherwise, my summer was not deprived of restauranty goodness.

I went to Ruth Chris again. The menu never changes, but it's so good that it makes sense not to disturb a good thing. I also went to Aquitaine and Haru. The menus weren't bad. In both cases, I had the chilean sea bass. While Aquitaine and Haru were okay, I wouldn't really consider them good choices for Restaurant Week since the quality wasn't amazing and the menu itself wasn't inspiring or overly expensive.

Otherwise, Haru has Haru Hour where certain sushi rolls are cheaper than regular. It may become my new Shino's since Shino has increased their prices.

In more restaurant news, I also went to Masa in the South End for their Tapas. During Masa happy hour, you can order the combo platter of ten tapas for $5! This is an amazing steal! In addition, the day that my friends and I went to Masa, Chronicle was filming and filmed us!

So I passed my MPRE! The MPRE is one of those required exams that a student must take before he or she can become a lawyer. It is a professional ethics exam consisting of 60 questions and 10 of them are experimental.

In Massachusetts, a student must pass the MPRE before taking the bar exam. After taking the exam, like most curious law students, they asked me how it was. Unlike certain commentators on Above the Law, I didn't think the exam was a complete cakewalk as suggested. People fail all the time.

The exam is both easy and hard. It isn't like the LSATs or the bar exam where you spend months in advance preparing. I took a week and read the study guide BarBri gives you, took a few practice exams, and went to the 4 hour Sunday lecture. The subject matter itself isn't difficult.

Basically, ethics may be summed up from lessons learned in kindergarten: Don't Lie, Don't Steal, and Don't Cheat. Still like any good law exam, there are twists and turns and 2 multiple choice answers that seem to be right. For those reading who are getting ready for law school, you don't have to worry about the exam right now. It's just good to know that there is an exam called the MPRE and some states require you to have a passing score before taking the bar exam. Which means you have 3 years to worry about it and there are more immediate things to worry about.

A quarter is a really short amount of time. This week our final exam schedule was posted. Although it's only the beginning of October, it is important to start thinking about final exams and outlining. That's why while it is a school holiday, I am already at school. Today I will force myself to learn everything about Bankruptcy that I haven't understood so far. I've already, sort of, done that for Tax because we had a "midterm" quiz on Tuesday that covered the first fifteen classes. I can't believe that we've already had 15 classes!

Although, I must admit studying is not the only reason that I am the only student in the building today. One of the things about co-op is that you are constantly applying. Usually with co-op mailing season, the first mailing is the big one. You get a list of over 200 employers and all 2Ls and 3Ls on summer/winter rotation choose ten. One may be surprised to learn that even with those numbers, often people apply to the same ten. When that happens, there are supplemental mailings. With these you can apply to as many places on that list.

But whether you do the big mailing or the supplemental, when a student gets an interview it would be best to prepare. That's the other reason why I am at school. I have an interview tomorrow that I need to prep for. This usually involves looking up the interviewers, the company, and just pondering what may happen.

Tomorrow is not only busy because of the interview (which will take more than 2 hours!) but I suddenly appear to have a social life. . . shocking, I know. I am going out with some college friends that I haven't seen in oh about 2 months, then right after there is an inter-APALSA mixer at Lucky Strike, and then right after that my law school friend is hosting a wine party. Does anyone know of any good under$15 Shirazes?

Hey everyone,

This is going to be a bit info-mercial-ly, so please bear with me.

Today is the beginning of the 40th anniversary celebrations at NUSL. 40 years ago, Northeastern Law re-opened after being closed for about ten years.

So today the celebrations begin! Here is a schedule of the events if anyone wants to attend:

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Law, Culture and Difference/Legal Skills in Social Context 10-Year Reunion Reception
Celebrating a decade of social justice projects and program development.
5:30 - 7:30 p.m., Dockser Hall Commons/Lower Level

Friday, October 17, 2008

The NU Law Forum presents: 40 Years of Activism at NUSL
Moderator: Professor Margaret Woo (I had her for Civ Pro)
2:00 - 3:30 p.m., Dockser Hall, Room 240

Video Premiere: Celebrating Our 40th
4:00 - 4:10 p.m., Room 240
No charge

Address by Dean Emily Spieler: The State of the Law School
4:10 - 5:15 p.m., Dockser Hall, Room 240

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Panel Discussion: US Agenda for the Next Four Years
9:30 - 11:00 a.m., Dockser Hall, Room 160
No charge, some space still available

And Saturday night! (The part which I am actually going to go to)

Capstone Reception at the John J. Moakley US Courthouse
Keynote Speaker: Anthony Lewis, Two-time Pulitzer Prize Winner (anyone read Gideon's Trumpet?)
6:00 - 10:00 p.m.

Typically the price for tickets for the reception would be $85! But there was a special for the first fifty students, special meaning free. It's a dress-up reception and I may actually know almost all / am friends with the 50 students who are going so it will be a lot of fun.

I am really excited and tell you all about it next week!

No this isn't an entry about a Flogging Molly song, but about the traditional Black Friday shopping spree most Americans participate in after Thanksgiving. It's a tradition I have avidly followed. Although my family no longer does the insane waking up at 5/6 AM to do the sales, I did spend all Friday shopping. I like to think of it as doing part in injecting needed liquidity in the consumer market.

I was watching the news the day before and they had been saying that consumer shopping was down by 1% and how Black Friday was important to the stores. Therefore, I was really hoping for awesome sales and disappointed not to find them.

I still consider the day a success. I have a new outfit for Chinese New Years. (Note on Chinese New Years, a person should always have something new.)

On Saturday, I decided to take my teenaged sister to lunch and then the Museum of Science.

First was lunch at Kashmir on Newbury Street. From 12-3 on Saturday they do a special buffet. I'm not actually sure what makes it special compared to other Indian buffets, but perhaps it was the variety of curries. They had 5 different curries, complimentary naan, and a salad and fruit bar. All for $13.00. Actually, the curries were pretty good and filling. I only have one critique. And that is the naan was more like pita, which is a pity because I love naan. (FYI - I also ordered two Mango lassis (sp?) ($4.50 each) which came with a slice of mango - very good but not, I think, worth $5).

Otherwise the service was great and we sat at the bay window so we had a great view of the Naked Santa Run..

Second, one of the corporate benefits of Raytheon is that I can go to the Museum of Science and use my ID pass to get myself and a guest in for free! I hadn't been to the MoS in a very long time. Actually I think the last time I went I was in elementary school. Anyway, I decided to take advantage of the benefit by going on Saturday with my teenaged sister. If you do decide to go to the MoS, don't take a 15 year old. They don't really like things like that, at least I found. Still, I forced her to go the Mythic Creatures exhibit with me.

I really enjoyed the set up and the odd pokemon littering the exhibits. Okay, the pokemon parts were odd, but I am a science fiction and fantasy fan, so I enjoyed it overall and probably will go again.

Otherwise, have a great week everyone!

As you know, I've been working at Raytheon. I really like my job. I know most don't find tax the most interesting thing ever, but there are a lot of different things involved in corporate tax and working at the tax department gives me a survey of all the different credits and deductions that a corporation is involved in.

Still a work week is long and I always look forward to the weekend! My favorite part of the weekend is breakfast. I have to wake up before 7AM to get work and that usually means a cold and lonely breakfast of cereal. But on the weekend I splurge with sleeping in and hot breakfast.

Still I am not a wonder with a spatula and pan and I stick to the basics. I'm going through a sunny side up phase. It was a fried egg (cooked all way through) a few months ago, omelets before that, and inevitably when my omelet making skills failed - scrambled eggs.

Otherwise, it is Chinese New Year's on Monday!

This means that this weekend is especially important because the house needs to be made ready ... meaning lots and lots of cleaning.

A lot of cleaning. Sigh.

PS Here was a very funny article on NYT: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/23/world/europe/23crapstone.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper

January 1 is the date that the world celebrates the New Year. Asian countries can be seen counting down. I was watching the Taiwan news and watched the spectacular fireworks sparking from 101 Taipei. Still, many Asians also celebrate the Lunar New Year. (Twice the fun! This year it was on Monday.

In China, the Lunar New Year is an almost three week celebration of food, festivities, and family. However, in America, most Asians who celebrate it, just have that one day. If it is a work or school day, most who celebrate still go in.

I did although it wasn't too much of a hardship since Raytheon Tax Department threw a mini Lunar New Year lunch party. Good food, good people, and riddles!

I like to say that I am making my New Year resolutions in accordance with the Lunar New Year, but really it's because I didn't actually start keeping them until this week.

Still! My New Year Resolutions are
1. Exercise more (I am joining the millions who also claim this)
2. Be more persistent in the job search (more on this later)
3. Do not get distracted (This will be nigh impossible with facebook . . . just kidding I just needed a third resolution to make this look neat and calm my need for numerical symmetry)

My fellow co-op intern (D) leases his car. One day in December he decides to go get dinner at Cheesecake at Burlington. He comes out and finds that someone dented his hood and bumper while he was parked.

He takes the car to a specialized body shop (he has a BMW) and they tell him, he'll have it back in less than two weeks. Two weeks go by and the body shop tells him that BMW sent them the wrong hood and bumper. Of course, the body shop discovers this after they've painted it and try to put it on the car. BMW had sent them the wrong part in the right box, which is of course useless.

The body shop calls BMW for the rights parts this time and another week goes by. The body shop calls D and tells him the hood arrived, but guess what, it's completely damaged and looks like someone stomped all over it. Further! there are no parts in the US and they are on back order.

At this point, the body shop offers the rental for free after the two weeks, but that doesn't really help D who is still paying his monthly lease fee and an insurance deductible.

Finally, just this week D gets his car back. Sadly it looks like the software needs a reboot. It's being dropped off Monday.

Another benefit of working at Raytheon is that Raytheon employees also get Museum of Science Omni and Planetarium tickets for free! Sadly, I only realized that this week. Therefore, I am going to take advantage. On Sunday, I am going to see the IMAX of Adrenaline Rush and the planetarium to see Sky Heroes: Myths in the Stars.

I realized that classes are starting very soon. Actually I knew all along, but kept denying it. Still March 1 is creeping very closely. This means that my weekends free of studying will soon end. This is the third to last free weekend I have. I am certainly going to enjoy the rest of them.

Next weekend I am going to New York. Megabus had a promotion where you typed in GREENBUS and you could get a bus ride free. My roundtrip ticket to New York cost $0.50. Fifty Cents is the cost of the reservation.

I plan on visiting some of my law school friends and going to museums. Let you know more when I get back!

Have a great Valentine's Day weekend!

New York is one of the most expensive places to live which is why I ultimately decided to go to law school in Massachusetts. I think by now most people have received acceptance, rejection, and wait list letters. It's the beginning (or middle) of decision time. For me, expense was one of those considerations that I took into account when making my ultimate decision.

So I promised a few weeks ago to regale you with my travels. This segment could be more appropriately entitled Travelling to New York on a Budget. Just because New York is expensive, doesn't mean that you can't make traveling there cheap.

If you are on a limited budget, it would certainly behoove you to spend a few moments on line to make a itinerary. There are a ton of things you can do in New York for cheap / free. For example, the botanical gardens and the Central Park Zoo have free days or free times. It being ridiculously cold when I visited, I decided to spend my time indoors.

My first destination was the Sony Wonder Technology Lab. This is a fun place to go if you have kids. It's still fun if you are an adult. I would recommend going on weekdays when there are hopefully less kids and more adults. Also if you are in New York, they have free showing of movies in their theatre weekly.

The National Museum of the American Indian is unlike other Native American museums in that it celebrates the modern adaptation of Native Americans in the United States. It's in the Wall Street area and right across from the bull. It's a nice place to while some time away before lunch :-).

The last museum I went to was the Forbes Magazine Galleries . It's a nice place to visit and five minutes from the train station if you go the right way. Unlike other company galleries, the gallery is located in a separate area from the business and has it's own entrance. This is a good museum to visit if you want to go somewhere slightly off the beaten track and see toys from long ago.

Otherwise, have a great day!

When I was in New York, I ate in Chelsea, the financial district, west village, and soho. New York is just a great place for a food tour.

First, I had dinner with my sister at Ilili, a great Mediterranean restaurant. Since I tend to be an adventurous eater I tried the lamb brains which were very good and the kibbeh nayeh (raw beef) which was also very good. Sadly the veal sweetbreads were out.

Interestingly enough, one of my college friends who I hadn't seen the entire time I've been in law school was three tables down from us. This led to us making a lunch date in the West Village (NYU area and near the famous Arch).

We had lunch at Cucina something. One of the things that everyone always ask me is how is law school and whether or not I regret it. My friend was pre-med and her parents very much wanted her to be pre-med. She found during the first year that wasn't what she really wanted to do. I think that is the same thing with law school. It really should be something you want to do. A person shouldn't spend a lot of money if you don't really plan on following through. Better to make that decision earlier in the game.

Also I would recommend contacting students at the school to get the low down. You can always contact a current student (provided by Admissions) or if you have friends have them take you around!

This Restaurant Week I went to Smith and Wollensky with my law school friends and L'Espalier with my college friends.

At Smith and Wollensky, I selected the salad, the steak sandwich, and the chocolate cake. Let's get to the meat of the matter. The filet itself was good. However, I've certainly had better. Ruth Chris and Oak Room just did a better filet. S&W's filet just lacked the tenderness, juiciness, and moistness that the other restaurants had. Further, it was a filet sandwich so the portion is small.

However, if you are a dessert person, the chocolate cake more than makes up for the paltriness of the sandwich. The cake was magnificent with its layers of cake and mousse.

L'Espalier was just a major disappointment. The food was average and I hope that it's regular menu makes a better showing. My ultimate conclusion about L'Espalier is go there if you want to be able to say that you've gone to the most expensive restaurant in Boston, but it's not worth going there for the food.

I saw Observe and Report last week with a friend. It's a Seth Rogen movie so if you've seen any of his other movies i.e. Knocked Up and enjoyed it, then you will probably find this movie just as funny. The basic premise of this movie is that Seth Rogen's character, Ronnie is head of security at a mall and there has been a flasher and thefts.

The movie has a lot of laugh out loud moments like when Ronnie says to his twin underlings: "You two are my infantry, if I lose one, God gave me another." I warn, however, that it is rated R for a reason (nudity and violence). For example, one of my favorite scenes is golf cart inflicted violence on skateboarding slackers and my least favorite was the minute long naked man running through the mall.

Otherwise, it's a funny movie (probably not worth the $10 movie ticket price) but definitely a matinee at least.

I also went to Morton's for their power hour. I used to really like their Power (aka Happy) hour, but the quality of the food has gone done and the prices have gone up. I know that times are tough, but I don't think that is an excuse for stale bread. (I had ordered their mini cheeseburgers). The crab dip is still great, but honestly for $6 a plate, I'd rather go to M&S.

This is an actual amusing story.

On Monday, I passed in my Massachusetts Bar Application at the John Adams Courthouse. Being a law student, I was carrying every thing_ books, laptop, bag of school supplies, lunch, etc. As I am going through security, the guard asks me to take everything out of my book bag because something looked possibly sharp - it was my mini westlaw stapler located in my bag of school supplies. Of course, this was at the very bottom of my bag.

Further, I was asked to empty my tote purse - why because of my lunch. Specifically, the fork I use for lunch.

A fork is a weapon and necessitates a weapon receipt. In filling out the weapon receipt, it requested nature of weapon: fork for lunch. I then passed it into the guard's keeping.

After I passed my application, I retrieved my fork.

So today is the last day of my law school career! I wanted to wish all my readers well(if any besides my own college friends)!

If you are going to law school I leave three important pieces of advice.

1. Stay in touch with your friends (high school, college, etc.)
2. Do not leave things last minute i.e. if it is a paper class, write the paper in the first week
3. Be a Barbri/Westlaw Rep - it will make things cheaper overall.

Looking back, I can say that I am so proud of myself for finishing law school and I know that most of you (when it happens, and it will) will feel the same way. Now is a great time to go law school and actually if I could do it over, I would do it the same way.

Farewell all and as trite as it is - Good Luck in all your future endeavors (aka standard yearbook goodbye).