Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested.
- Francis Bacon
And sometimes, the books will consume you in return.
In two months' time, I will begin law school at one of the many institutions in the Boston area. I have been submitting paperwork, making phone calls, and reading books. For my birthday this past year, my father (who is also an attorney) purchased a copy of 1L of a Ride, by Andrew J. McClurg. There are many books on the first year of law school available to 0Ls out there. Without this turning into a book report (or free advertising!), I would like to say that the information in this book is by far the most solid and reassuring I've seen. Of course, I can't really tell you how "on" it is until about a year from now, when I'm through with my first year. The advice is thorough and manages to be humorous at the same time. I suspect I'll be reading plenty of dry case studies over the next few years, so the humor was a nice start.
In any case, as per every portrayal of law school, I already have an assignment, which will be due on the first day of orientation. Technically, it's two assignments. The first one is to prepare a brief on a provided case. They then attach a sample brief to compare with against your own. This is, essentially, a chance to practice. The second assignment is the one that will actually be due on the first day of orientation. It's another case which needs to be briefed. This is the one that will really count.
I am going to be a bit Hermione-esque and probably get them both done in the next few days. I'll then simply revise the one for class the day before we start so that I'm refreshed.
So, this is Em•inent Domain. I expect as law school gets underway this place will be a mix of case discussion, general observations on the law school experience, and devolving into utter gibberish around exams.
