law school study group

[jefhatfield]

now that i have been accepted into law school, i want to establish a routine because i plan to do night law school at that school or another i also plan to apply to (which is also another night law school)

either way, i have earmarked 6:30 pm-bedtime (pst) as my study hours and besides meeting with other students on weekday or weekend nights i also want to start an online rapport with law students here on this thread for questions and comments

hopefully we can have some real time discussions...monday thru thursday nights is legal research and writing, friday through sunday are contracts, torts, and constitutional law but i am willing to learn about anything on any night :)

i work from 9-5 monday thru friday and sometimes on saturday and sunday, too during the day

:)...if all goes well, i can ditch my pc techie business (which i have had for six years, and that's six years too many) and become a lawyer who uses macs

[Xtremehkr]

Maybe in three years when I get to graduate school it will be well established. Good luck everyone, my ex-girlfriend in currently a law student at UC Davis and she tells me they are asking for 12 hours a day. No doubt she is doing about 90% of that but, wow, what a number.

[QCassidy352]

still applying to law schools myself... maybe after I get in we can do this! :)

[jasylonian]

jefhatfield, you are astonishingly on top of things. congratulations. you are my new hero.

i'm still waiting. if i end up going to law school, i would love to participate. good luck to all those anticipating thick envelopes.

[ravenvii]

I'd love to participate...

... in two years. Because that's when I'll be in law school.

Good luck guys.

[jefhatfield]

jefhatfield, you are astonishingly on top of things. congratulations. you are my new hero.

i'm still waiting. if i end up going to law school, i would love to participate. good luck to all those anticipating thick envelopes.

thank you very much...but i am only just old and i just want to make this mid career change, at 41, to work...otherwise if i fail, i guess i will be shackled to my pc repair business, which incidentally pays more per hour than being an employment lawyer, but for me, at this stage, it's not about money, it's about helping people...mainly downtrodden and exploited employees

i am flattered that this obscure subject of a thread has gotten such a positive response :)

[jefhatfield]

i am so excited that i start my first class in legal research...regarding legal protocols and basic legal filing for a 1L or L1 on monday...perfect for a first year law student clerkship taking the baby steps to learning the trade of law

of course, it won't be until next year when i get to actually write out some of that cryptic legalese verbage ;)

has anyone here had any first year clerkships?

[jefhatfield]

so what does martin luther king represent to you?

has he "greatly" changed america and how she feels about race?

has it affected any laws in your area?

[iBook]

I'm taking the LSAT on 12 February. Hope to begin classes in Fall 2005.

A study group would be great. :)

Congrats, btw, on getting accepted. I'm still in the midst of applying, rounding up letters of recommendation, and, of course, studying for the dreaded LSAT. :eek:

[wdlove]

I think that you will complete your studies with flying colors. At 41 you are making a midlife change early. A study should be of great help.

[jefhatfield]

I think that you will complete your studies with flying colors. At 41 you are making a midlife change early. A study should be of great help.

i am flattered that you think i am making a career change early ;)

[iBook]

i am flattered that you think i am making a career change early ;)

As long as there's time remaining, it's early. And in the business of living, 'tis best to do good while you may.

WRT law school, I'm 38 -- will be 41 when I graduate. Friend of mine wants to know why I want to make my life harder. Doing what I'm doing now is hard. Doing what I want to do -- the law -- is living. :cool:

Best of luck to you.

[wdlove]

i am flattered that you think i am making a career change early ;)

I admire your ability to be able to attend law school. It always makes me feel good when someone replies to a post of mine also, thank you. You definitely show a lot of discipline and dedication. At 41, I still consider you to be young. ;)

[jefhatfield]

when i started reading my first book about constitutional law, i found it very interesting that the usa based many of its ideals on england of the 17th century (freedom, equality, god viewing life as precious, etc)

when england started treating the colonies in an unfair way..taxes, prohibitions, etc, it seemed to stoke the fires of the colonists to unite against the crown

is it just me and the way i interpret this book or could something like a powerful and greedy empire make the colonies revolt in such a way? what would it take for you, in your country, to feel a need for a revolt?

[jefhatfield]

marbury, a possibly illegally appointed judge by the 2nd president (federalist john adams) vs. madison (secretary of state) of incoming democrat's jefferson administration (3rd president)

as it appears to me, it seems like john adams wanted to stack the courts* with his federalist friendly judges right before he had to vacate his office to his arch nemesis, democrat thomas jefferson

does it seem like our current system allows sitting presidents to stack the supreme court or does the confirming process alleviate that type of judicial monopolistic activity?

* - in addition to stacking the courts, adams attempted to water down the judicial branch of government by diluting the powers of the supreme court by sharing the power with lesser judges, many of whom john adams appointed right before the end of his term...adams partially did this with the power of his office and a federalist friendly congress

in the end secretary of state madison (and president jefferson) won when the supreme court deemed a decision of the federalist controlled congress unconstitutional thus making the judicial branch have as much clout as the president and the congress

[jefhatfield]

home law study is not easy to keep with, but ever since i have decided to do it, i have only not looked at law books two different nights...i know it's not about cramming at this level, but incorporating law study/graduate study into everyday life...like brushing one's teeth

well, right now, i am reading "The Federalist" by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison and their rational pleas for a national constitution...also in that book, with liner notes, is the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution

i am still courting two online law schools and if i want to make it all the way, i will have to pass (in California) a baby bar at the end of my first year of study but many do not make it past that point

it's kind of like american idol...the first round of eliminations of online law schools come from sometimes very hard, bar-like entrance exams, then the california mandated first year baby-bar, and then the fourth year california bar and it seems like at the end of it, the majority of students who embarked on a law career fall by the wayside

i have to admit, slogging through the first pages of 18th century verbage almost made me go nuts ;)

so has anybody out there found constitutional law easy or enjoyable?