Blog Entry 77

June 22nd, 2010
I hope you all have been enjoying the summer weather!

I certainly have been enjoying all of my free time (and even my not so free time…) this summer. Since I last updated, I took a trip to Florida with my family, did a lot of work around the house, spent time with friends, and started my externship at the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office.

Right now, I know the biggest stressor for all of us “rising 2Ls” is the fact that we’re still waiting on the rest of our first year grades. So far, we know how we did in ALTA, Civil Procedure, and Property…and this week we should be getting our grades for Contracts and Core Concepts. Those two classes were the biggest wild cards for me, so the waiting is causing a great deal of anxiety for me. It’s been about eight weeks since we completed those two classes…even the LSAT only made me wait two and a half weeks for my score! (Also, students who went out for law review and moot court won’t find out if they made it until sometime after grades are released…so perhaps this anxiety will be around for awhile…)

Now, as anxious as I am about my grades, I’m sure many of you are starting to get those butterflies in the pit of your stomach, nervous about starting law school. Tonight I saw the best movie that caused me to forget about grades and law school, even if only for two hours…Toy Story 3. Please forgive my blatant endorsement for this movie, but it really was phenomenal. For all of you who were fans when the original came out (15 years ago!), this really is a must see. It basically tells the story of what happens to toys when their child grows up, a really hilarious and sweet coming of age sort of movie. (And it comes
in 3D!)

So now that I’ve given you a movie recommendation, I’m sure you are all probably curious about how my externship is going. (And if not, then you’re going to find out anyway…) It’s kind of been a slow moving sort of thing; it’s taken awhile for me to build up relationships with the people in my division and to really get interesting projects. In the meantime, I’ve had the opportunity to do a lot of observation, so although I haven’t gotten the chance to do a lot of big kid lawyer projects yet, I’ve already learned an awful lot. In just the past three weeks, I’ve gotten to watch attorneys question witnesses in a jury trial, take a tour of a jail, watch a hearing to determine the admissibility of a defendant’s confession, and write up subpoenas. Professor Krisciunas is the director of the externship program, and he works tirelessly to help students find the right placements. As part of the requirements for the externship class (we’re getting course credit for our work…), we write weekly journals about our observations, and then Prof. Krisciunas compiles weekly e-mails with some of the comments from our journals. It has been a really good experience to take the time to reflect on things that I’ve been doing and learning (hmm…maybe this is why I like blogging so much?), and so interesting to see how my classmates have been spending their summers.

Only about two months remain until orientation begins…I hope you are getting excited! (And if you’re a little terrified, that’s okay too!) In the meantime, the absolute best advice I can give you is to make
sure to spend time with your family and friends, and to make time for yourself. Take this opportunity to read for pleasure, enjoy the great outdoors, sleep in, and pursue your hobbies and pastimes. I’m not saying these things are absolute no-no’s in law school…but once your classes start, your priorities will change, and you will have wished you spent more time playing this summer, and less time worrying (although I know that’s easier said than done). Remember, if there are  any questions or concerns I can address, I am happy to do so…especially as the little things start to come up (computers, books, school supplies, parking, scheduling…).