2 days

On Tuesday we had a fun ice-breaker activity that followed up lecture. Some students were picked to argue/ defend a case. We had the normal lecture followed by pizza and then the fake examination of a witness activity. It was pretty hilarious (no one know what they're doing). Occasionally the professors would object (your honor, this line of questioning is COMPLETELY irrelevant!). It was fun.

The socratic method is a bit scary and I don't think it really drives anything home other than to keep up on your reading. It is very possible to be called on and asked a question that you might not remember from the reading that we've been doing.

I turned in my brief yesterday for a T.A. to go over it. It was really terrible. We went over it in class on Tuesday and I turned it in revised on Wednesday. Today I have a very large case to brief before class. It has to do with the military, civilian courts and the vagueness doctrine.

I really need to pick up a copy of Black's Law Dictionary and just make a vocabulary bank to memorize.

Tuesday: 6 hours

Wednesday: 6.5 hours

(I'm including class time in these figures for the 10,000 hours to test the 10,000 hours to become and expert hypothesis in case anyone was wondering)

1st Day!

Yesterday was the first day of the enrichment course and some meet and greet activities. I met a few faculty members who were all really nice. I had the chance to meet and talk with the dean for a bit (I didn't realize he was the dean at the time, woops). He is a really nice guy and very enthusiastic about what he does. The food was good too!

The class is a mix of (mostly) California Western 1Ls, UCSD undergraduates, and a few people taking the course as a preparation for whatever law school they are planning to attend in the fall. I like the professor I have a lot. He seems like a very clear and concise lecturer. We went over the reading and some brief writing strategies and our assignment is to brief a case. We also have an additional assignment of coming prepared to interview a plaintiff/defendant tonight. Class is going to run an extra hour for this activity and pizza will be served. :)

yesterday: 4 hours.

Introduction

I am just beginning law school at California Western School of Law in San Diego. I plan on keeping a running blog of the experience and what I'm working on through the first year of law school. If you have any questions feel free to post in the comments. I also plan on keeping a running tally of how many hours I study. I've heard that it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert at something. I'll let you know how close I feel to that goal at the end of the year. :)

A little about me:

I'm 24 years old and I'm from the east coast. I just got settled in an apartment two miles from the school a few days ago and I have no furniture other than a bed (woohoo!). I have two bikes. I plan on commuting on an older single speed road bike that I got through craigslist. California Western has a bike rack outside one of their buildings and I have a u-lock to prevent my bike from getting stolen.

Tomorrow is the first day of the summer enrichment course. There was already a reading assignment. The first part came from the book The Bramble Bush. Its a book written by a law professor. It has some useful advice regarding the 1L experience and what material is important.

The second reading tied into the first two chapters of the Bramble Bush regarding cases and how to approach them. I think what the most important thing I gleaned from the second reading revolves around what a case brief should contain:

1) Citation

2) Statement of the Case

3) Procedure

4) Statement of Facts

5) Issue

6) Result on Appeal

7) Holding

8) Reason

9) Additional Points.

My B.S. is in Public Policy. It was neat to see that policy reasons are incorporated into brief writing.

Hopefully tomorrow goes smoothly. I'm excited. :)

4 hours.