Reflections on 1L

It has been 10 days since I took the last final of my first year of law school. The deer-in-the-headlights feeling of overwhelm has almost completely faded away and I have mostly been able to recoup my brain facilities. However, I don’t know if I’ll ever be back to “normal”. Even one year of law school has changed the way I think and interact with the world. The jury is still out as to whether I have changed for the better *cue Wicked soundtrack here*.

            For example, I now consistently correct people, even people on TV who have no knowledge that they are being admonished, for saying that someone was “assaulted” when they have actually been victims of battery. Now that I know the technical definitions of the two crimes (assault is the intent to cause fear or apprehension of physical harm and battery is an actual harmful or offensive contact) my legal brain, which may have some relation to the proverbial lizard brain, refuses to ignore such a blatant misnomer.

Moreover, I see Torts everywhere. I have been helping Tim pull together the last minute details during Hell Week (the last week before his student’s musical Dream Girls opens) and couldn’t help closely guarding the handsaw and cans of spray paint I brought to make sets. You’d be surprised at how many things can go wrong with aerosol and goodness knows I don’t want to be held liable for negligently leaving spray paint out for teenage vandals to convert.

Aside from noticing how much more analytical and technical I have become over the last year, I have been reflecting on the whole experience of being a first year law student. All in all, despite long, tedious hours of reading, occasional stressful moments under pressure of deadlines and only two serious emotional breakdowns, I can look back proudly and say I had a positive experience and do not at all regret my decision to go to law school here.

The rumors about competitive nastiness in law school are not wholly unsubstantiated (at one point early in the year, I was excluded from a study group I asked to join and a few times I overheard some nasty gossip about high achieving students) but I found the majority of my peers to be cooperative and kind. Most are willing to share notes and outlines and tips on available jobs or internships. I imagine that some day I will be working with or even hiring some of my impressive colleagues for their legal counsel one day. And of course, some of my colleagues became my friends and I am so grateful for them. I am so blessed to have friends in law school so we can support each other through this adventure. I believe some bonds of friendship I formed will last my lifetime.

The staff and faculty at my school are incredibly supportive as well. The key to forming mentorships and getting help in law school is taking initiative. With a little effort and follow-up on my part I have gotten help editing my resume and cover letter, been given influential recommendations to two separate internships (both of which I was offered, one which I accepted as my summer job), made friends with the library staff who kindly waived a late fee when I had a book out too long during finals week, and always had friendly conversations and a positive experience with the folks at the school cafeteria.

In the supportive community, where people lift each other up, I feel like the challenges of learning how to think, write and speak like a lawyer are not insurmountable.  At times I was stretched thin, startled by my own strong emotional reactions to certain cases or subjects, frustrated by the work load and sky high expectations (both my professors’ and my own) and feeling down. But then, just when I needed it the most, I would be uplifted by a kind word from a peer, given confidence from a compliment from a professor or my own correct answer in class, and most usually, encouraged by my amazing husband. Tim’s unflagging confidence in me and willingness to sacrifice his own time and energy to make law school possible for me was my rock in the storm throughout this year.

Some people say that going through law school with a partner puts a strain on the relationship and can often lead to conflict and separation. Now, I won’t sugarcoat things and saying this year was all marital perfection and bliss. We nagged and argued at times. But we got through 1L without any scars because we worked as a team. Tim and I are true partners. We share the household responsibilities equally and when we can’t we each pick up the slack when it is needed. When I am in the midst of a project or exams, Tim kicks into superman mode, doing all the laundry, shopping, cooking, cleaning and dog care. Then when the situation calls for it, we switch. I am playing that role now while he is working with the Dream Girls cast in Hell Week.

The last thing I think helped me get through my first year of law school with relative grace and success (although what level of success is still to be determined, as I won’t get grades for another 3 weeks) was the advice that my Oma’s friends Lizbeth and Anne, whom I consider some of my fairy grandmothers, to make sure I take time to enjoy being young, married, healthy and free. Generally to, and I quote, “chill the fuck out”. CTFO became my motto this year. Because of my own high standards, when I CTFO I am still working my butt off but it helped me remember to pursue balance in life and law school. I continue to strive for balance as I look forward to a summer of new, exciting challenges.

May Days: The Heat is On

Sun Setting at the Dog Park

 April has passed us by in a blitz of birthdays and books. It was a good month for me, full of CST test prep for my students as well as a wonderful birthday bash; for Chelsea it was the winding down of her schedule as she prepared for finals. 

But now May is here and she hath come with a fury. The last two weeks it has averaged about 85-95 degrees Fahrenheit in the Sacramento area and as Chels reminds me it is just the beginning.

April sped by and early on I was finishing up Spring Break and working slowly down my “Honey Do” list. The next weekend we spent in San Francisco with some of our wonderful San Diego friends where we scavenger hunted, ate some astonishing food, and enjoyed the Big City. Our friend David, who recently moved to Chicago came in for a few days and it just so happened to line up with my birthday weekend, it was perfect and just tons of fun. I was so appreciative of all who came. The next week after the birthday I played catch up at school because if I take a weekend off I need to find the hours somewhere to correct papers, plan lessons, and organize the Spring Production. Another week passed and it was crazy for me because it was the California Standardized Test, a huge thing at our school. We had some crazy weeks where on the Wednesday and Thursday the kids were done by noon, but the other days we still had our 8-4 days. Since I don’t work with 9^th-11^th graders in my “Advisory Class” (the class where most of the tests take place) but rather work with 12^th graders to get them college and graduated, I was able to participate in some fun Senior day activities, and of course all the extra time we had after school I devoted to our school play (which opens May 24^th and 25^th!!!

The Chancellor of the Hunt put us in pairs. My partner, Groth, is swooping for a shot with David's ice cream. We didn't win, but it was fun!

In terms of Chelsea, at the beginning of the month she was participating in “Moot Court” competition where she had to research some cases in a hypothetical “closed-universe” (meaning they gave you all the cases to read), write a 5-page brief on the cases, and then argue an oral argument   in front of judges. She did really well out of 30+ contenders she was in the Top 4 which meant that on the second day of the competition she argued in front of REAL Appellate Court Judges. It was so great to watch her. She is so, so impressive and I am such a lucky guy to be married to her. Chelsea was the only female in the top 4 and the judges heaped tons of praise, not only on her, but on all the finalists. It was really inspiring to watch her. In addition, her brief that she wrote was one of the top 10 briefs that were submitted (I think hers was 6^th). So amazing.  Other than that she finished up her first year of Law School classes and has been diligently studying for finals. She has taken two already and is in the midst of studying up for her last 3 finals. I am sure she will write more once her craziness is done. 

Chels with the other final four and the Appellate Judges they spoke in front of.

The month of May is promising so far. School is pretty mellow for me, since the testing is done and we can really teach lessons that we want to teach rather than teach to the test. I am working on lessons for Macbeth which I am very excited to teach. Then before I know it, it will be finals and summer will be here (yay!!!). Moreover, the school play goes up on the 24^th and closes on the 25^th and once that is done it will be a sigh of relief. But I know it will be great.  Also I have purchased a road bike to ride around Sacramento so these last few weekends, Chelsea and I have been riding and running errands by bike.

Chelsea is done this upcoming Friday and is going to visit her mom and grandmother down the coast for a week or so, and then she starts her summer internship. So good things are coming, and even though it is burning out here, we’re burning too. We’re working hard getting things done and really enjoying life and all its craziness.

Reading Macbeth and prepping for this coming month. Nice times!

March Marches On

A view of Old Sac and the Capitol Mall Brige

A sigh of relief and a sinking into the couch; the March of the Perpetual Houseguest has come to an end. Don’t get me wrong, I am not complaining, but I am a tad bit tired. My mom left this afternoon after a wonderful brunch in Old Sac and a really fun weekend.

My mom and her new husband came down Thursday evening. We spent the weekend together playing Yahtzee, cardgames, and having conversations. We visited the Capitol Building and tasted some great wine and Chelsea made a wonderful Guyanese dinner in which we hung out with some  of mom's old friends.

One of the great things about having guests is it forces us to get out of the house and visit the sights that are always here, but we always put off for another time. We have our staples like restaurants we go to, but then there are other food places that we see along the road but say that we will check out later (and when we do, so far, we are super stoked with what we’ve found).  Then, there is the Capitol building that I’ve always admired from a distance, but never entered. That was a trip. There are museum rooms decorated as if from the early 20^th century and the rotunda is painted with complex patterns. In addition, Capitol Park is full of wonderful surprises from old statues to exotic trees.      

Mom in the foreground! The Capitol Building

On Saturday, we took my co-workers advice and checked out the Bogle Vineyards which is about 20 minutes away near a small village named Clarksburg. To get there we had to go along the river a ways, and carefully wind our way through narrow country lanes. When we finally arrived it felt like we were a thousand miles away. But the location was beautiful and the wine wasn’t half bad either.

The Bogle Vineyards

It was wonderful to see my mom because she hasn’t really visited Chels and me much since we’ve lived so far away (first San Diego, then Guyana, and now Sacramento) and she is usually so busy most of the time. Moreover, it was great to play host for her for once rather than the other way around.  There is this strange, affirming thing to have my parent come down and be in my space for a while. I was able to show her my classroom, take her to dinner, and engage her on a different level than before. In other words, rather than feeling like we were still on the level of mother and dependent child (even though I haven’t been that for while) I felt like we were engaging as two adults (though, you know she will always be mom!).  It was a fabulous feeling.  

Anyway, it’s spring break for me and I have a few weeks off. I have nothing special planned, just to laze around, work on my novel, finish some BTSA stuff, plan for the next few weeks, read, read, read, and do some things around the house that need fixing (Wow. That doesn’t sound like lazing at all.) I am sure things will come up, but for now I am going to sit back and enjoy the last vestiges of grand weekend.  

All of us at the Winery

Spring Break

            Today is my first official day of Spring Break! Yay! Last night I turned in my final graded assignment for my legal research and writing class which was a wonderful feeling! Another 1L law school milestone accomplished!

            Luckily, since I had started the memo earlier in the term, I was able to split my time between finalizing the assignment and enjoying my first weekend on Spring Break, which just so happened to fall on St. Patrick’s Day. My friend celebrated her birthday on Friday and she came to visit for the weekend. I am so lucky that we live close to each other so we can do weekend visits regularly. While she was here we ate yummy food, watched the St. Patty’s Day parade in Old Town, spent a beautiful, sunny day walking around mid-town for a celebratory pub-crawl and ended the evening with a raucous game of Cards Against Humanity.

            I felt like the weekend was a perfect balance between school responsibilities and fun. On Sunday I was able to finish my memo while Tim and Em did some of their own work for their respective professional jobs and then we all took Toast to the dog park followed by an afternoon at Tres Hermanas with margaritas (green drinks of course in honor of the holiday!).

            Over my break I am planning on getting started with my outlines for finals because when I go back to school next week there are only 4 more weeks of instruction before study week and then finals and then I will be officially done with my first year of law school. Hard to believe how time flies! I am also participating in the 1L Moot Court Competition so over the break I have to read a fact pattern, a closed-universe of cases from the hypothetical jurisdiction of Utopia and then prepare a brief and oral argument that I will submit next week. It is a fun competition that simulates the Appellate process so I will be practicing my persuasive writing skills and getting feedback on my oral advocacy. There is the possibility to win a scholarship prize and earn a spot on the Moot Court competition team as a research assistant next year if I do well so I am going to give it my best effort.

            Again, I am working on the whole school/life balance thing so also during this break I am heading out to Santa Rosa to visit my cousins and my 2 year-old second cousin while they are in town visiting Oma. It will be great to see the family and have some chill family time. Also, next weekend my mother-in-law is visiting us, which we are really looking forward to! I love hosting family at our little house and I am looking forward to showing off the fun parts of our new hometown.

            Tim has his Spring break next week and the following week (major bummer that our breaks do not coincide) and he is looking forward to having some time to relax, plan lessons without being under a time crunch and take care of some tasks around the house that he has had on his list for a while.

            The weather is beautiful here in the Capitol so we are happily taking advantage of our free time to get outside and enjoy the warm breeze, smell of the blossoms on the trees and sunshine. Toast loves the spring weather too. At the moment, I am watching her play in the backyard. She must have lost some toy in a bush and gone in after it but now she is stuck in the bush and all I can see is her little head poking out! She is a hilarious animal (although she is not staying tiny, technically a medium sized beast) and it is great to have a little dog friend to keep us company. Life is good. 

Toast and her best friend Atticus playing in Erin's backyard

The Paddy Wagon at the Parade

Celebrating Tim's Irish heritage

Seriously LOVE these ladies!

Old Town Sacramento reminds us how amazing California is!

Yay! Vacation! Yay friends!

Summer Sorted and March Madness

Exciting things are happening in Casa de Tibbs! Our summer plans are sorted out which is such a great relief and this month we have our house full every weekend with visits from friends and family, which is such a joy!

My summer plans were looking promising anyway, since I had interviewed and been accepted to work (on a volunteer basis) for a nonprofit that advocates for vulnerable populations in rural communities. I was excited for the opportunity because the hands-on legal work of underrepresented farmworkers was right up my alley but I was also a little concerned about how working for free and the long commute would be a serious hardship for Tim and me.

I had also applied to a program funded by the Bar Association that offers paid summer internships to 1L students. The Fellowship program is a great opportunity because it has an educational component where the participants get to know the lay of the land in the local legal community. It is a great networking opportunity and excellent experience. I wasn’t feeling very confident about getting the Fellowship because I was competing in a field with student from my school and Davis. And the competition was stiff. Plus, I did not leave my interview feeling like I had nailed it. So, I was starting to look for grants and scholarships to fund my summer working for the nonprofit.

Then, last week I found out that I was chosen for the Fellowship program! I was placed at a boutique labor and employment law firm. It is going to be such great experience for me to learn how things work in private law firms and the corporate legal world. I know I will learn a ton about many facets of employment law from wrongful termination, sexual harassment and labor law. I am excited about the technical skills I will gain and thrilled to have an established, structured introduction to the legal community in my new town. Plus, I’m gonna be getting paid!

So things are looking up for my summer! Unfortunately, my internship coincides directly with the month of summer vacation that Tim has so we don’t see ourselves being able to do much travel or vacationing together this summer unless it is local and we can go over three day weekends. But we are really looking forward to spending more time acquainting ourselves with the leisure and adventures that this part of California has to offer.

Now that I have my summer planned, I am able to focus more on school and ending my first year strong. Also, this month we are so lucky to have visitors who we adore coming to stay in our home every weekend. This weekend, both my mom and Tim’s friends from high school are visiting. Next weekend, Tim’s cousin will be in town, the following weekend Emily will spend her birthday and St. Patrick’s day celebrating in Sac and the last weekend in March, Tim mom will be here! We are so excited and so lucky to be surrounded by so many amazing people. After spending two years away from our families, we have developed a deeper appreciation for the amazing community that we are a part of.

So, as it starts to warm up in and the blossoms start to flower on the plum tree in the backyard, we give thanks for the blessings that we have; family and friends, a sweet home, great jobs, promising futures, a silly puppy, and each other.

What I am learning in law school

      This semester my school cranked up the heat for us ILs by requiring us to take an additional class. Now my weekly course load includes: Civil Procedure, Contracts, Property, Torts, Legal Research and Writhing (Global Lawyering Skills GLS) and Criminal Law. Over the past few weeks I feel like I have been learning some very transferrable life skills, some technical legal skills that will only be applicable in my life as a lawyer and learning about some laws that make me very sad/angry/frustrated.

Transferrable Life Skills

Recently in Property we have been learning about leasing and buying real property (land/houses). I have been paying close attention because I realized I know next to nothing about that topic. I have leased residential property a few times in my life but I certainly did not take a close look at the lease to learn my legal rights and responsibilities. I realize now that a more careful read of a lease could protect me in the future as a renter, and that if I need to, I can even negotiate the terms to get a better deal (not necessarily in price, but it terms to security and amenities). And, when the time comes, I am equipped with a basic understanding of buying property. I know the basics of how the sale of real property works from purchase agreement, to examining the title, to mortgage and closing. I understand the fundamentals of what types of deeds and securities exist and which ones protect the buyer the most. It is nice to know that when Tim and I buy our first home we will be coming into the process armed with substantially more know-how than many first time home buyers so we will be able to make sure we are getting a good deal and will be safe from problems down the road.

Technical (read: boring) lawyerly skills

If I tried to explain the complex rules of submitting a pleading to court and what one must disclose at the discovery phase of a trial, I would bore you to sleep.  However, these are crucial skills that I am developing in my Civil Procedure class. This week, we are participating in a simulation of the discovery phase and I may have the opportunity to conduct a mock deposition. The technical rules are complicated but the rules of procedure are so important for a good lawyer to know to make sure that the client doesn’t lose their case on technical errors. Although the class is tedious at times, I feel like I am being well prepared, not only to pass the Bar exam in a few years, but also to earn the (hopefully) big bucks that people pay for a top notch attorney who can work the rules of procedure to conduct an efficient trial from the initial filing of the complaint, through discovery and all the way to the judgment.

Laws that Make me Mad

I have unaffectionately dubbed last week, “Rape Week” at school. In our criminal law class we focused on rape law and read case after graphic case illustrating the complex analysis of rap law. It was so upsetting to read detailed descriptions of these horrible, brutal sexual assaults. As I read the cases, I tried to focus on the law but it is hard to read those cases without thinking of all the beautiful women I know. It was hard not to imagine each cousin, friend and mother in the place of the women in these cases. The infuriating part was two-fold:

First, rape law is in need of serious reform. Each jurisdiction has a different definition of the crime of rape. The most common similarities are that the prosecution must prove that the intercourse was done with “force” and/or “without consent”. Now, most young women I know have heard the quip, “No means no”. Well, it turns out in many courts, even if a woman says no, she might still not be able to win on a conviction of rape because she cannot prove “forcible compulsion”. The opinions I read brought in supporting facts from the surrounding circumstances to try to prove that the women consented. Facts such as; she went into his dorm room willingly, she was murmuring “no” passionately, she didn’t scream or scratch or run away, therefore she must have consented. Those of you who know me, can anticipate why this makes me so mad. What happened to “no means no”?!? Rape law today often requires victims of the most invasive, degrading crime to stand up for themselves. If a woman were robbed, we wouldn’t be asking why she didn’t stand up to the robber and defend herself. Yet we do with rape.

The second thing that made me just sick to my stomach, was listening to some of my classmates adopt and defend this position. I am slightly embarrassed because at the end of Rape Week, I couldn’t play nice anymore and so I jumped up on my proverbial feminist soapbox and spoke out in class. The gist of my position was that we should have a criminal system that does not require the victim to magically produce evidence that proved her subjective mindset that she did not consent. Instead, we should shift the burden to the defendant and ask him, what led him to believe that the intercourse was consensual. I know it flies in the face of the traditional process of criminal justice to place the burden on the defendant, but frankly I would like to hear how the defendants in rape cases can justify why they thought the sex was consensual when the victim was crying, or muttering “No, I need to leave” or asking questions like “If I do what you want, will you not kill me?”. These were examples from actual cases that we read and some of my classmates tried to argue, with these facts, that there was not enough evidence of force to find a conviction of rape! Seriously, what the hell?!?

Despite my frustration, I am glad we engaged in these conversations. I know there were men in my classroom who had never heard some of the counter arguments that I, and some other of my colleagues, were espousing in class. Our assigned reading consisted of some brutally honest feminist scholars discussing rape law reform with much more authority than I can. I think it was good for all of us, young attorneys to-be to gain insight to different positions from those that we were familiar with growing up.

Whereas I am unfamiliar with issues regarding buying and selling real property, I certainly had my fair share of exposure to women’s rights issues growing up in a feminist community in Santa Cruz. And, as my mom and I have to remind ourselves often, not everyone was raised in a women’s circle. So, perhaps my colleagues may be more familiar with discussions of estates and trusts than women’s rights, but we are all learning and filling in the gaps in our experience to become well rounded, level-headed legal scholars. Little by little, week by week. I hope. 

If you want to stand up against violence against women, check out One Billion Rising:

ONE IN THREE WOMEN ON THE PLANET WILL BE RAPED OR BEATEN IN HER LIFETIME

ONE BILLION WOMEN VIOLATED IS AN ATROCITY

ONE BILLION WOMEN DANCING IS A REVOLUTION

On V-Day’s 15th Anniversary, 14 February 2013, we are inviting ONE BILLION women and those who love them to WALK OUT, DANCE, RISE UP, and DEMAND an end to this violence. ONE BILLION RISING will move the earth, activating women and men across every country. V-Day wants the world to see our collective strength, our numbers, our solidarity across borders.

What does ONE BILLION look like? On 14 February 2013, it will look like a REVOLUTION.

ONE BILLION RISING IS:

A global strike
An invitation to dance
A call to men and women to refuse to participate in the status quo until rape and rape culture ends
An act of solidarity, demonstrating to women the commonality of their struggles and their power in numbers
A refusal to accept violence against women and girls as a given
A new time and a new way of being

Hey, January. Where ya goin?

Just Toast, being adorable!

Dear January, so you’ve decided it time to move on already huh? Gotta make way for Febuary you say? Well, I can’t say I’m sorry to see you go. Not that you have been bad, really. Just a little cold; frosty actually. In fact, I did resent having to de-ice my windshield every morning. And sure do appreciate being able to feel my toes again. Toast is especially looking forward to spring so she can enjoy sunshine in the back year, walks and trips to the dog park. So, go ahead January. Off you go. Ciao, adios, go long yuh way.

So far, 2012 has been keeping us busy but has ben full of fun too. Tim and I both started a new semester. Tim is assigning two books to his students this semester, Night and The Kite Runner. He is enjoying teaching his students how to be critical readers and thinkers. Although Tim loves his students and is so passionate about helping them learn to love to read, this semester hadn’t been a calk walk for him. The administration at his school has very high expectations and is primarily focused on test scores rather than holistic education. I know they are placing unreasonable expectations on him and rarely give him positive feedback. I try to make up for it, but Tim knows I am biased. He is truly a dedicated, thoughtful and caring teacher. That damn school is lucky to have him.

            As far as law school is concerned, this semester began with some good news and high expectations for me too. The good news is I got my grades back and I am pleased to say that my hard work paid off. I got good scores all around and was especially proud that I earned the top grade in my legal research and writing class. So, that was great! The workload for this semester is already in high gear. The school requires 1Ls to take an additional class, Criminal Law, this semester. And on top of the new class, all my professors have been assigning us more reading, more projects and more memos to write. It has been hard to keep up but I am miraculously making it happen. Almost on a daily basis though I wish for one of those time-turners that Hermione had in Harry Potter. 

            I am also starting to make plans for the summer and that has been a bit of a time commitment too. I am applying to a very competitive Fellowship program that places first year law students to work as (paid!) interns in 15 of the top law firms in Sacramento for 10 weeks. It is an amazing networking opportunity and chance for me to get a type of hands-on legal work that is rare for first years. Keep your fingers crossed for that for me. If that doesn’t happen, I’ve got my resume updated and looking fancy and I hope to land an internship that will let me work only part of the summer and, for the other half, I’ll participate in the 3 week comparative international law program that is held in Antigua, Guatemala. Either way, things should work out. I am just staying busy getting all my ducks in a row. 

            Neither of us are too busy, however, to have a little fun now and then. We have been having so much fun with little Toast (although we can’t fairly call her little anymore!). She is finally finished with her puppy vaccines and we took her to the dog park for the first time over the three-day weekend. She had so much fun chasing other dogs and sniffing all sorts of new smells. It was great to socialize her and see her play nicely with other puppies. Tonight we are going to a Sacramento (soon to be Seattle) Kings game, which should be fun. We got free tickets from a coworker of Tim so we thought we should enjoy having a pro-basketball team in our town while it lasts. We have some other fun things in the works, like tickets to see Wicked in SF, a coupon for wine and chocolate tasting we need to cash in on, and movie coupons we got for Christmas that we are looking forward to using. 

            All in all, good things happened in January. But I’m not sad to get it behind me. Did I mention it has been cold. Yeah. Freezing. I am looking forward to watching Sacramento turn into spring, working hard and enjoying life. I am feeling very blessed.