This may surprise no one except me, but it turns out that my posts have been getting themselves categorized (look to the left and below this post). This is a neat trick, indeed! In fact, I am currently procrastinating from doing my homework for tomorrow so I can figure out a way to feed my class notes through whatever magical process makes this happen and have an outline come out the other end. I also couldn’t help but notice that my last mini-rant about being recalled form vacation for LSSC work and the fact that New Jersey ate my windshield was classified as diversity, which seemed strange until I realized that this was actually a gift. This leaves me with only two categories that I have not written about before I run the proverbial table.

The first is co-op. NUSL requires all its students to work four 11-week sessions during the course of their three years here. This concept was actually familiar to me, because my undergraduate institution had a co-op program as well. Besides providing a way to gain invaluable experience in the legal profession while still in school, the presence of this program and the connections the university has made with employers all over the country also helps lessen the impact of being at a school without letter-grades or class-rank and competing with students from schools that have both. In a way it allows us to have the best of both worlds: a more collaborative education while retaining the ability to compete for the top jobs.

The second is public interest. NU has a public interest requirement, and I am told that this can be accomplished either via co-op or through a clinical class. An important thing to keep in mind is that you do not have to have a deep-rooted interest in helping the public to come here (I certainly did not have one). Nor do you have to leave here and go work at a public defender’s office in order to be considered a "good person." Loans, career goals, interests (or lack thereof) and other factors may keep you from ever accepting a job that directly helps those less fortunate. However, with the benefit of an NU legal education you will have taken some of that public interest mentality with you wherever you go – and this will make you a better lawyer, regardless of who you work for and represent, and dare I say a better person.

So, that’s that – now the magic happens, and the categories get all filled-in and then there is much rejoicing -- an excellent way to start semester two of year one.

Oh, and: Go Pats!

In the words of Ron Burgundy, "milk was a poor choice." Well, actually, any other beverage would have been a poor choice as a companion to my mandatory ethics training video as well. While discussing special, infrequent occasions when it is acceptable to give your supervisor a gift, the man in the video suggested the supervisor's wedding qualifies, though he quipped "unless you work for Elizabeth Taylor." Had I been drinking anything, it would have shot out of my nose. The line itself is not particularly funny, I admit, but put in the proper context, it is downright hilarious. My daily ritual now involves pass-codes and keycards, bullet-proof glass and metal detectors. Working for lawyers one expects little humor, working for the federal government -- one expects none.

This was but one of many surprises that greeted be in my first week of co-op. While I cannot discuss the specifics of what I do (for obvious reasons), I can say that I am glad writing and research are a part of the first-year curriculum. I can also say that of all the jobs I've ever had, this has the fastest turnaround on feedback. A memo I write for my boss today is likely to be incorporated into something he will use tomorrow. I will know the results of his argument by the end of the week.

I spent a part of this morning observing some sentencing proceedings. These are open to the public, and I encourage any future lawyers in the crowd (as well as anyone else with time to kill) to sit in on a few. One learns much more about our legal system from observing it in action than from reading all the textbooks in the world. The proceedings today included a lesson in civics, stare decisis, the Supreme Court's relationship with the District Courts and, last but certainly not least, examples of both very good and very bad oral arguments.

And thus starts the first of my first four co-ops, and technically my second year of law school.