August 19, 2004
Busy Times
My final interview in Portland went well (in my opinion, anyway) and after spending a few hours crafting thank you letters for the attorneys I met with, I was able to actually relax and enjoy a few days of vacation. I'm glad I did.
On Monday, I began training for Law Fellow (legal writing fellow, whatever you call it, I teach weekly LRW workshop to 1Ls). Eight to nine hours a day of "training," followed by 2-4 hours of "homework." The week has been full of grand concepts and optimism. The cynic in me is stewing. I like thinking everything will be great (and our students will love us and really care about the class, etc.) as much as the next guy, but it's simply not the case. Not at Georgetown anyway. There will inevitably be some pompous idiot who thinks his Yale communications degree or failed internet start-up or "excellent" writing skills mean he doesn't have to try. There will inevitably be the person who thinks the assignments suck. Or the professor sucks. Or law school sucks. Or everything sucks. There will inevitably be the student who just doesn't get it and is questioning his/her very presence in law school. There will be the insecure, former straight-A student who is afraid to do or say anything that he/she didn't hear directly from the professor.
All the optimism in the world doesn't help when we're dealing with the realities of what we're likely to face. I think part of the problem is many of my colleagues came straight from undergrad and haven't yet faced some of the harsh realities of the world. Or maybe they didn't have the same experience as I did during the first-year. I was pragamatic. I wanted to learn how to do it so I could get good grades. Period. Save the optimism and waxing poetic about the intrinsic value of writing for somebody else. But, I will teach the curriculum I am given and I will do my best to teach it well. And it matters not because my class will love me. After all, my fiancee offered to make them cookies.
Last night I went to my first journal event. It was held at the offices of Firm X and it was quickly apparent that the event had less to do with welcoming us to the journal than it did recruiting us to the firm. I did meet some of my journal colleagues and there seems to be some folks I could get along with. All in all, I think the journal experience will be doable and, at times, even enjoyable. I just need to brush up on my schmoozing.
I've got an interview tomorrown and 15 scheduled for next week. Not to mention the half dozen firms I'm not scheduled with that I plan to harass. I hope I have the stamina.
On Monday, I began training for Law Fellow (legal writing fellow, whatever you call it, I teach weekly LRW workshop to 1Ls). Eight to nine hours a day of "training," followed by 2-4 hours of "homework." The week has been full of grand concepts and optimism. The cynic in me is stewing. I like thinking everything will be great (and our students will love us and really care about the class, etc.) as much as the next guy, but it's simply not the case. Not at Georgetown anyway. There will inevitably be some pompous idiot who thinks his Yale communications degree or failed internet start-up or "excellent" writing skills mean he doesn't have to try. There will inevitably be the person who thinks the assignments suck. Or the professor sucks. Or law school sucks. Or everything sucks. There will inevitably be the student who just doesn't get it and is questioning his/her very presence in law school. There will be the insecure, former straight-A student who is afraid to do or say anything that he/she didn't hear directly from the professor.
All the optimism in the world doesn't help when we're dealing with the realities of what we're likely to face. I think part of the problem is many of my colleagues came straight from undergrad and haven't yet faced some of the harsh realities of the world. Or maybe they didn't have the same experience as I did during the first-year. I was pragamatic. I wanted to learn how to do it so I could get good grades. Period. Save the optimism and waxing poetic about the intrinsic value of writing for somebody else. But, I will teach the curriculum I am given and I will do my best to teach it well. And it matters not because my class will love me. After all, my fiancee offered to make them cookies.
Last night I went to my first journal event. It was held at the offices of Firm X and it was quickly apparent that the event had less to do with welcoming us to the journal than it did recruiting us to the firm. I did meet some of my journal colleagues and there seems to be some folks I could get along with. All in all, I think the journal experience will be doable and, at times, even enjoyable. I just need to brush up on my schmoozing.
I've got an interview tomorrown and 15 scheduled for next week. Not to mention the half dozen firms I'm not scheduled with that I plan to harass. I hope I have the stamina.
