Sowande, 2L

Try saying THAT bad boy three times fast. Or coming across that phrase at the beginning of a case. Thank goodness for dictionaries. Thank goodness for the law library! Thank you Lexis!

Anyway, tomorrow I get fingerprinted for my Co-op. Thank goodness for the Campus Police Department! This will be, what... the third time I've been fingerprinted--all for jobs, all for jobs--not what you're thinking. The other two were for employment at the Superior Court.

There's something funny about someone else holding your finger and rolling it across the fingerprint cards. I mean, what do you say? "Oh yeah, had this finger for quite some time now... Works purdy guud."

Aside from a deluge of bankruptcy lawyering ethics and strategy in Bankruptcy today, we learned that the Central District of California (where I will be working) has a massive, massive, HUGE bankruptcy filing in comparison to Massachusetts. The Central District may have the most filings in the nation. My curiosity besting my apprehension, I took a look at the filing statistics for the last few years... I'm going to be very busy this fall, which is nothing BUT good.

I remember days when we had five hearings, and I ended up working in the Evidence Vault. "The State moves for admission of Exhibit P-1; IT IS ORDERED entering Exhibit P-1." Yeah, P-1 was alleged victim's skin!!!

[Okay, so I didn't actually "clerk" that trial back in Kingman, but I did have to handle some pretty dodgy stuff. Can't say what, but if you wanna know, come to law school and get a Co-op with a Superior Court judge. It's not two years of being a Courtroom Clerk, but if you are "lucky" you may come across some pretty gnarly junk.]

Posted by Sowande at 11:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

As of the date of exams, the Fall/Spring 2Ls will have been in school for a full calendar year. I just bought my plane ticket for Las Vegas this morning, and I couldn't be happier.

We are getting busier here at the law school, now that the attention has shifted from securing Co-ops for fall to preparation for exams. Summer in Boston is still relaxing, but I will say that there are a LOT of people in the city right now. I don't seem to remember it being so busy last year, but I didn't arrive until August 1, 2008.

* * *

Alright, I was leaning toward not including thoughts on this topic when I thinking about what to write about for this week, but the Prof. Henry Louis Gates Jr. media blitz has been weighing very, very heavily on my mind this week. I am not going to say anything about it, other than to offer a fantastic link I received from a fabulous classmate. I really like it because it presents varied perspectives, and thoughtful insights.

Read here...

Oh, and CNN aired the second segment of "Black In America" last night, and though I only got to watch about 30 minutes of the presentation, it was FASCINATING! We may have a Black Law Student Association viewing.

Posted by Sowande at 2:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I've been lagging on the "bLAWg" so I'm entitled to a two-fer... at least that is what I'll tell anyone who asks.

Two things:

(1) just got an offer from the Co-op in Santa Barbara, so Bankruptcy Court, here I come;

(2) I don't know if you remember the Legal Skills in Social Context (LSSC) project my law office did [Restorative Justice Youth Court Diversionary Program for the Office of Mass. State Senator Karen Spilka see here], but it looks like it is being taken to the next level; that is to say, possible enactment.

I know, don't choke on your popcorn with excitement like I just did. [syke]. Really though, each law office put a lot of hard work into their projects, and I wouldn't be surprised if I hear about more of them being set into motion--either through legislation (like ours), or future case law, or...

Why am I eating popcorn at 12:30 a.m.? Slightly inappropriate budgeting--a $4.00 sausage (and $4.00 fried dough) at the tall ships thing, but what was I supposed to do? Pack a lunch? [Answer: yes]

Posted by Sowande at 12:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I had two Co-op interviews last week. One was over the phone with a bankruptcy court in California and the other was in-person with a local bankruptcy attorney. The only difficult thing about in-person interviewing was having to pick up a suit. I am a pretty casual person, and so having to wear a suit was a bit of a stretch. Despite all of that, I got an excellent navy blue double breasted number. They didn't have any three-piece suits that I liked. One does what one can.

The bankruptcy court was an "apply on my own" meaning that it is not a Co-op employer that has an existing relationship with our Co-op office. I'd written to several bankruptcy judges and this particular court was interested in interviewing me. I think that getting back to California for a few months of Co-op would be nice, particularly because I will be able to visit the friends I grew up with--on the other hand, the local opportunity would be great because the attorney has quite an innovative practice and has some really interesting projects coming up. I am really excited about both.

Now that the first year is over, I have had a chance to meet and hang out with other law school students, beyond my law office. Who knew the "Harry Potter" movies could bring so much joy. A small group of us went to see the "tall ships" at Sail Boston '09. The people watching was... entertaining.

Posted by Sowande at 12:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)