life estate

You can have a life estate based on a person that doesn't know about it and that is not involved in the deal.  My professor then explained that she wouldn't pick a certain celebrity who has been arrested repeatedly for drugs and alcohol related events.  She claimed not to want bad luck on the person, but that she is doing a pretty good job of bad luck on her own.  Then my professor said if you don't wan the person to have a long life estate you might actually want to do a life estate based on this actress.
Only in law school would this bring a round of laughter.

Advice on Finals

from my professors:
At 9pm there are bars all over (enter your location here) that are waiting to accommodate you.  You should finish your final and go visit them.

There are 10 questions because it is easy to count them.

Just don't drive after you have imbibed.

Some career advice from one of my professors

*Don't put yourself in a position where you will need bail.

*If you want have an impact on the court system become a prosecutor.

*Don't let people know where you live.

who says that?

My Property professor loves to say "maybe he likes the cut of her jib?"  who says that anymore?
She has been saying that since we started life-estates.  Property law has made me realize I don't want to practice law in Massachusetts, Delaware, Maine, and Rhode Island because of their wacky property laws.  I have decided California law is just too weird for me to want to practice there.  Out of the 50 states I might be able to practice in I have now ruled out 10% of them.  I should just stick to where I am learning law, but being realistic I think with double majoring it might be a real possibility to end up practicing in another state.  This is clearly something I need to keep in mind, however I will do everything in my power to not practice in the five states listed above
Any advice out there?

Putting it in perspective

My Criminal Procedure's Professor on the Panthers loosing a football game.
Just think about it this way they made as much for playing last night than many of you make all year.

One of my classmates:
They made way more than that last night.

There is the perspective for why to stick it out in law school.  I'll never make as much as the NFL players but maybe my yearly salary will at least be equal to one of their game paychecks.

How to be a better criminal, well at least better than the people in my crim pro book

Funny comments - and no real legal advice on criminal cases from my Criminal Procedure Casebook:

On a Friday in New York you can get away with a lot of stuff.

The dummie should have stayed in NJ, the police told him to call to find out what they decided to do with his bag, which he knew was full of dope.  Even Stevie Wonder can see that it is not wise to do that.

FYI -
every person is presumed to know their rights, and know how to exercise their rights.  Now, in  reality that is not the case.  So if you think you have to respond the officer then that is on you - and it is voluntary unless there is coercion physical or psychological in nature.

if you steal from the drug dealer you want to give it to the police, because if no the drug dealer will find you and you wont steal anymore.

you just use a credit card or a screwdriver to pop the lock.

when you leave your roommate will go through your stuff.  Get rid of your roommate or lock you door.

Your baby-sitter needs to say I am just the baby-sitter I don't live here I cannot give consent for you to search the house.

even though they are checking to make sure the roads are safe by only having drivers with a license drive.  In the real world we know that some of the worst drivers have their license

you can do that in Vegas but not in this state

Best laugh ever in Contract

my professor just acted out a 3 year old throwing a tantrum about not having his widgets.  Why is it always widgets in contracts?  because they aren't personal and you can jump up and down waving your arms in the air pretending to cry about wanting widgets.

career advice

lawyers should not do math in public.

Criminal Procedures - the joys of advice

That is a dumb place to hide drugs, if you are going to hide drugs, hid in the briefcase or on yourself.

As my Criminal Procedures Professor explains about close proximity, this was his comment on the case Maryland v. Pringle.  I love how honest he is when talking about drug cases and being realistic on people speeding, and what clients will do and say.  I think everyone should be this honest about how criminals will behave and realistic to what college students will have experienced.
While I have no interest in working in criminal law, criminals can be scary people, why willingly work around them all day, everyday?  I am truly enjoying my Criminal Procedures Class.

Advice on where criminals hide:
Typically people under the bed or in the attic.  We don't have too many basements around here, but sometimes there.  You would be surprised how many times people come crashing down from hiding in the attic.

I love criminal procedures, great cases to read and a great professor

Important lessons

So far I have learned a few key things about Property and Criminal Procedures

Property:
"We like thieves, we don't like liars."

We know people are liars and they will lie for their benefit.

Criminal Procedures:
"You can sniff the suitcase."
"But I can't smell the drugs like the dog can."
"Well then that would be a waste of your time then."

That is why people have cameras on their phone now, to take pictures.  If you are out in the open there is no reasonable expectation of privacy.

Bad Forcast

As I am writing this my professor is explaining the fact that only about 80% of the students who take the NC Bar exam pass.  He is stating that you need to read and pay attention in class so that when you have that day of reckoning you will hopefully be able to pull the information out of your head.  Now he is talking about the joy or the devastation of finding out the results of the exam.  It is good to know that as long as I am willing to pay $800 I can take the exam as may times as I need to.  Right now, I am thinking if it took JFK Jr. three or four times to pass the NY Bar exam, as long as I can do it in that amount of time or better than I should be doing good.  I don't know what to make of this.  Should I be in fear of a test that I don't take for several years (yes, I am) or should I move to a land of denial and pretend I wont have to take the test for several years so I can delay worrying (trying).  I feel like the storm is brewing off the coast and I am standing on the shore just waiting for it to hit me, but is just out there growing stronger and taunting me.  I think it might be a wise idea to find another option that allows me to seek some cover.  I know if I get a joint degree I don't have to take and pass the bar exam, but I would still want to just to see if I could.  I mean why spend 4 years of my life giving up a social life, 3 nights of the week I am stuck in classes and then I have to find time after work to get the reading, assignments and studying, if I am not willing to at least try to become a lawyer?  That being decided, sadly, I must figure out what to do about that big scary test looming ahead.  The advice to study hard and review seems simple, but will no doubt be much harder to do when the time actually comes.  I'll keep my fingers crossed, buy a rabbit's foot and search for a four leaf clover before I have to take the bar exam, and take any other good luck charms/rituals that I can find between now and then.

good news/badnew

6 word story to sum up what just happened to me:
Good news, must take required deferral.

I was just informed that I could do the joint JD/MLS program, however I must deffer my enrollment in the MLS component because I am an evening law school student and that makes me still a 1L.  So why let me join the program?  This is so confusing!

Other than stress, what do you think of law school?

I have been asked this question at least weekly since I started law school one year ago.  After completing my first year of evening classes, I now have a finely tuned answer.  "No one ever said that law school was the best time of their life, and I will not be the first."  I am stressed and most nights pass-out due to exhaustion.  I have had panic attacks, stress so bad that it gave me high blood pressure and nose bleeds.  I don't know why I am still doing this.  Yes, there has been some great moments (or highlights of comedy) but overall this is something I cannot answer why I am still doing.  I started this, now I need to finish it.  Life in law school, evening classes, is miserable.  My friends have to point out when the last time they saw or spoke to me was - because time in law school seems to be something that goes too fast and to slow all at the same time.  You are sitting in class and the hour long class feels like it is really 3 hours and the hour you try to squeeze in some studying or reading flies by in the blink of an eye.  I have taken exams that made me feel like I have given birth, and was thankful to just get home safely before falling asleep.  I am on this path and will keep walking until I graduate but it is not fun and it feels as if I am climbing Everest or K2 without oxygen during a snowstorm.  I think I have now answered why so many lawyers and business exec. climb these mountains - after completing law school that looks like a day at the beach to most people.  I am writing this entry for two reasons, (1) I realized I haven't written one in weeks and (2) I am putting off reading for classes that start in two weeks.  That is right I am writing my final paper for my summer classes (required for evening students) and reading for Fall classes.  If you are reading this and are even remotely considering applying to law school, my advice is to think long and hard, realize that lawyers are in no great demand for jobs, we don't make the great money people think, and if you are like me and work full time while taking evening classes - you will not have a social life for 4 years (or you will be social only with classmates).  I am trying to squeeze the fun in (I have gone to some concerts this summer), but I have to plan it out months in advance.  I have attended NASCAR races, but I bring my casebook with me and read while the I can.  I am reviewing flashcards at work during lunch so that I have time to go to dinner with friends.  My life is a giant schedule and I feel like I don't have control over it.  My hope is that somehow my second year will be better than my first year and I will find more ways to enjoy life.

Why I need to keep having fun in law school

When you stop doing things for fun, you might as well be dead. - Hemingway

Inspirational Quote

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. " ( Ralph Waldo Emerson)

good quotes of the day

If you are smelling worse you are buying the wrong perfume.

It is like the big AKC name, and they call him Bud.  You need the big long name and the call name.

I want to be on the side of the consumer, it is like being on the side of the angels

Vaseline tried to fight the good fight.

crazy things you hear in law school

That is the sort of crap everyone was saying about their product.

The guy that was whining because he was not on a best seller.

Probably some of you just sent that, or Facebook status.

Here is your birth certificate and calf, if you loose your calf you loose your citizenship (talking about Texas)

Throw the libelous book at each other

The aliens came down and hung him, is unreasonable

They weren't debt cards, I feel like I am talking about the caveman days.

If you act recklessly you'll have to pay for what you break. (seems like common sense to me)

Local ingredients, we want to know the name of the pig.  He did happy and wanted to be put on top of a pizza, so we honored his wish.

BS detector goes off - been shopping?

Thrusting yourself into the public vortex

Remember when...

More great quotes from my lawyer professors

The talk of China today used to be what was said about the South, from the people in the North East.

Remember when this country used to manufacture things?

Remember when there was employment in this country?

You get the value of things that are not normally on the legal market.

I sound like the 1st Wall Street "Greed is Good!"

It is the most clickish, cut throat business.  They have vanished from the face of the Earth, if you try to follow the person who cuts your hair to a new location.

"You see me rollin'"

You'll never be disappointed by having a low opinion of human behavior

more crazy things my law professor says

It is a big fat hairy deal when you break your promise to marry

There is no crying in contracts, except in a couple big exceptions

"It is a one way street, dudes cannot be seduced."

Crazy things my law professors say

"Bitch stole my dentist."

"The parade of little horribles."

"Bump and sue."

"Tab A, slot B"

Finals Fast Approaching

Finals are fast approaching, assignments are due in just a few short days, and my stress level is going up faster than a rocket.  I have really tried to relax and have fun this semester, sometimes I feel like I have been able to do that, and days like this morning I feel like I am sinking in cases.  I have been keeping up with flashcards as the chapters and ideas are completed in class.  I am working on having fun with friends outside of class, I make plans ahead of time and really schedule in fun, but at least I am having fun.  Last  weekend I got in a shadowboxing class, that was great stress relief.  I miss shooting with my bow and arrow, but the weather has not really allowed it.  I am exercising (meaning walking mostly) more, in hopes that it will help with my stress level.  But, right now as I type this I just keep thinking you have a paper due in 3 days and finals start in a week you need to be proofing the paper instead of letting your thoughts ramble out and you need to start taking the practice tests, and continue studying the flashcards.  I am starting to like Quizlet to help me study flashcards at work and just typing the information has been helpful sometimes.  I have been told this will be handy in 4 years when I have to take the bar - but right now I am just concerned with staying above a C average and not being kicked out of law school.  I have no idea how I will do, but I need to go study to make sure I do the best I can.  Isn't that what we tell kids, just do the best you can, that is all we want out of you.  Why does that change when you become an adult?

Happy Easter

Easter weekend has been a mix between relaxing fun and starting to prepare for finals.  I have about 3 weeks of classes left, so I have started getting my flash cards ready and study material together.  It has been nice to be with friends and family during meals, but because of plans scheduled for the next several weekends I need to start preparing now. I have started to realize that while I squeeze in scheduled fun I am cramming in studying and school work everywhere I can.  My hope for a fun life, while attending law school is difficult.

Spring has sprung

Spring has sprung, with the spring semester in full bloom.  Mid-terms are over, I got my grades back - looks like I will be staying in law school for a little while longer.  I had to register for summer class, got into two of the classes I wanted, but missed out on one I really wanted.  I had to register for fall classes, but I don't really have a say in what I take so I don't know why they made me register.  I have decided I will not let Law School take all the fun out of my life.  I have started taking my one night off from classes and doing a variety of different activities so that I get exercise and relax.  I will be attempting to do a 5k this fall, and I am think if I start practicing now I will successful be able to jog/walk it.  I am determined that sitting in classes for 3+ hours 3 nights a week for the next four years will not be a bad thing for my body.  Anyone out there have ideas on how to help my keep my energy up? my weight down? all while stuck in classes.

6 word story for my day:
Woke up, job, school, now sleepy.

Still Unsure

I have survived my first semester, gotten my grades, started classes, had a change in professors, and now realize that it is a month until mid-terms.  I have spent several class session day dreaming, thinking of writing a book, and contemplating why I should stay in law school.  I have turned my day dreams into the rough sketch of an rough outline for a book, and have not figured out why I should stay in law school.  I am determined to stay until I figure it out.  Maybe when I can take electives instead of required 1L courses it will come to me.  I know that law school is not fun, I have not met a lawyer who has told me that law school was the time of their life, or it was the most fun they have ever had.  However, I need fun in my life.  I realize life is short and I follow my mantra: I work hard so that when I have the chance to play I can.  I am working hard in law school right now, but will not let it get in the way of my play time.  I am taking a night off from class to go to a concert, and I don't feel bad about it.  I am nervous about mid-terms and trying to study and understand the materials, however, I refuse to let my life become what it was last semester when I worked so hard I raised my blood pressure, was so stressed I literally broke out in a rash and had panic attacks, and hardly saw my friends or enjoyed myself.  I promise myself this semester will be different.
I will find a method that allows me to pass law school and still enjoy my life and my friends.  I truly know I don't need the A in classes I just need to pass and keep my GPA at a place where the law school will let me stay enrolled.
Until then, I am willing to take advice and guidance from any one who has been in my shoes and is willing to share words of wisdom or warn me of mistakes not to make