October 3rd, 2011Just another manic Monday… Mondays are my longest day of the week; not a great way to kick off each week, I know. Although just as long as any other Monday I’ve had this semester, today has been anything but typical. It started with the alarm going off after a restless night of not sleeping.  There was a dumpster top slamming noise reoccurring outside all night that made for anything but an ideal night of sleep.  When...

September 15th, 20113L Year Welcome back! It is crazy that two years have already passed since I started law school. It feels like I’ve been on a rollercoaster for two years filled with ups and downs, twists and turns. It is bittersweet that this is my last year of school.  Whoever said that law school gets easier was sadly mistaken.  I thought things would ease up this year, but I am busier than ever (and I really did not think it w...

April 18th, 2011Election Season It’s a pretty crazy time of year around the law school.  It is election time for class officers in the Student Bar Association.  I could not be happier to say that I have decided to retire from the SBA. I was class president for both my 1L year and currently my 2L year.  Our current SBA executive president, Nick, has been absolutely amazing and will be greatly missed next year! He is the epitom...

April 11th, 2011Writing Across The Curriculum UDM has a great program called “writing across the curriculum” which means that every required class must have a paper assignment as part of the class.  This requirement is definitely annoying; however, very beneficial.  My writing has improved tremendously, in large part, because of how much I am required to write in my classes.  The problem is when it’s April 11th, class are ove...

March 30th, 2011Let the countdown begin! In just a short 6 weeks, I will have completed my second year of law school. This is completely INSANE! I cannot describe how fast time is flying. I officially put myself in “finals zone” today which means longer days, less sleep and essentially zero social life until the middle of May. I know it might sound crazy, but I get really excited when this time of the semester comes around. Well, let me clarify,...

March 28th, 2011What a week! Keenan Appellate Advocacy Competition All semester, my partner and I have been working on our brief and oral arguments for the Keenan Appellate Advocacy Competition which finally began on Friday, March 18th.  We competed twice on Friday and once on Saturday morning which completed the preliminary rounds.  My partner and I received 3rd place for best overall brief and advanced all the way to the finals whic...

March 21st, 2011Lawyers on Math & Ethics “You guys either need a math class or an ethics class; I can’t tell which one, but either way, this is a little scary.” – Professor Olson I would highly recommend taking Constitutional Law, or anything for that matter, with Professor Olson.  He puts a modern twist on the constitution that makes class interesting and you’re usually guaranteed to crack up laughing at least once! This quote ab...

March 17th, 2011Spring has Sprung! Today we finally got some beautiful weather that Michigan is so well known for at this time of year.  When the weather is nice, my whole mood improves. This morning I was supposed to have an appointment with one of my clients in the veterans clinic but he forgot about it, so we rescheduled for next week.  This afternoon I went to the piquette apartments for veterans with one of the clinic attorneys t...

March 13th, 2011Great Weekend! This past Thursday was my hearing with the Board of Veterans’ Appeals for one of my clients in the Veterans Law Clinic.  I think it went really well and it was definitely one of the more exciting things I’ve been able to do so far in my legal career.  Unfortunately, the Board can take up to six months to release its decision, so I don’t know the outcome yet! Friday I worked all day and then ran some...

March 8th, 2011March Madness March is completely crazy! I feel like if I can survive this month, finals will be a breeze. (Although, I’m sure come April I will be singing a different tune.)   This Thursday I get to conduct a hearing with the Board of Veterans Appeals in the Federal McNamara Building downtown for one of my clients in the Veterans Clinic. I’ve been working on this case for weeks now; I feel like I could recite the file i...