I just know I am going to get called on first...

I couldn't get that out of my mind all day Monday. I had heard and read plenty about the socratic method that so terrifies law students. Everyone said that it is scary, but not to worry about it. Problem is--I worry. I would like to say that I am an average worrier, but that's probably not true.

So I get to criminal law and head to back right of center from the professor's point of view. I pull out my book and a pen and try to look as inconspicuous as possible. The professor comes in, everyone gets a bit more quiet (which didn't last the week) and she begins the class. After a brief introduction, professor Davidson asked a question--and waited for someone to answer. "The next one will be a cold call," I thought. Nope. Not once did she try to scare us into submission. "The next class," I thought. Not really. I did apparently nod my head which prompted the professor to ask me about Article III of the Constitution. Still, not scary. And it actually wasn't in at all intimidating. Apparently not all professors are intent on striking fear into the heart of their pupils. Who'd a thunk?

Second day of class- how hard could this be? Reading done, checked the E&E, talked about it with classmates. I was feeling pretty good. The only new class on my schedule was Torts. To not break with custom, I take a back seat just to the right of center from the professor's prospective. There are about 80 other students in the auditorium. The professor comes in explains the basics, but with a twist. He explains that he doesn't like to arbitrarily call on people and that he prefers a more democratic method of deciding who gets called on first. So he presents the option of alphabetical order. Not. Cool.

Tangent.

Adams. As a kid, it was cool being at the front of the line. There was one year that Aaker made me second and another that Abbot did the same. The worst moment of my front-lined-ness was when my fourth grade teacher thought that reverse alphabetical order was a good idea; it wasn't. All this popped through my brain. And then one more thought crept in- "Lee, you were the first on the list at orientation."

And before I knew it, "Mr. Adams," booms the professor, "What were the facts of the Prosser v. Keeton hypothetical?" A cold sweat pops up on my forehead and I turn to the case. "Prosser owned a watch, which went miss-"

"Ok, stop looking at your book. Pretend that I am the judge. You will get no respect if you have your head buried in papers when you speak to a judge. We need to start practice today. This is a conversation. Continue, Mr. Adams."

I just smile and continue relating the facts of the case. My answer is apparently been sufficient.

"And what is Judge Allen's reasoning?"

"He focuses on who had rightful title to the watch."

"So what kind of reasoning is he using?"

Panic. I know this. Book. Can't find it. Lee, you are in law school., think. Justice! Of course it's justice- "A sense of justice."

"No. Anyone else?"

Shame. Someone else answers the question. I look down at my book and see that the next judge focused on justice.

"And Mr. Adams, do you agree?"

"I do."

"Thank you Mr. Adams. Ms. Am..."

Phew. I made it. And it wasn't half bad. I think I can do this.

Orientation (for me)

Name tag- check. Orientation packet- check. Orange juice for breakfast because I am nervous- double check.

Orientation is a great time. Administrators and honored speakers pump you up and scare you to death about the next three years. You get to take care of administrative stuff like parking passes, student IDs, and the like. My favorite part is meeting people. I met probably fifty people that first day, only to realize the next day that I most likely wouldn't have class with any of them until next year. It's really too bad, because every person I met was super intelligent, had a very unique background, or shared both traits.

After the speeches, we had the opportunity to meet with two legal professionals that graduated from Willamette. We had an attorney that works at a private firm that handles mostly IP work and the honorable judge Angel Lopez in the Multnomah County Circuit Court (Portland's county). We discussed ethics and professionalism. I was very impressed by both lawyers and their view of the system. I was very interested in judge Lopez's insight into criminal law. I always thought that ethics were more of a solid code than an issue for discussion,but I was wrong. Welcome to law school, Lee.

With the day over after lunch, I headed home. Before starting orientation, I spent almost a straight week getting everything in place for school per the advice of Law School Confidential and a number of other prep books. I highly recommend LSC as a primary source, but not as an exclusive source for your guide to law school. Up to this point, it has been spot on concerning the experience. So with nothing better to do, I sat down and did my Civil Procedure homework. As an English major, fifty pages was about an hour read depending on the book. When I saw twenty pages, I did a double-take. "That's it?" I thought. Two hours later I realized that I was definitely beginning law school. I also realized that I had some serious back pain.

I had opted for a cheap stacking office chair because it resembled a library chair and I didn't ever recall having a problem with them as an undergrad. Now that I think of it, I also don't recall studying in four-hour blocks a couple times a day. Needless to say, I took it back to Office Depot and got a comfortable, well-supported chair that fits my desk (a folding dining table) perfectly. It has casters, so to prevent damage to the carpet, I grabbed a couple sturdy doormats from Walmart because those plastic floor protectors are way too expensive.

Thursday and Friday, we got an intro to legal study from our Legal Research and Writing (LRW) professor. The people in that class will not only be the same for the remainder of the year, but for every class as 1Ls. Time to make friends. We have a great mix of people and I am really excited to work with them. Luckily I found Chris, my new study buddy and carpooling partner that lives practically right next to me. Bonus!

That's a wrap for orientation. Let the intellectual beating begin!

Orientation (for you)

This is another one of those blogs that is written by the up and coming of the thousands of law students around the country. My part of the country is the Northwest-- Oregon, to be exact. After graduating from BYU in 2010 and working at Ancestry.com for a year, I decided to come home to my beautifully green, unmistakably open-minded state and get a legal education at Willamette University. If you are from Oregon, you have heard of it. Washington, maybe. California, the same. Otherwise, just know that for a legal career in Oregon, it is in the same market as Lewis and Clark, University of Oregon, and a bit of the University of Washington. As a 1L, I have an inkling of what I want to do in the legal profession, but I will hopefully narrow it down to at most two options by the end of my first year.

As far as my background goes, I am 25 years old. I am the oldest of three kids. I speak Spanish fluently and have a love for almost all things Latino/Hispano/Sudamericano and Spanish. I studied rhetoric and race under the umbrella of an English major and took plenty of political science and Spanish classes along the way. I vacillated on whether to go to law school for a long time. As a self-confident and embarrassingly ignorant freshman in college, I wanted to get a law degree to become a politician. Two years of giving service to others before resuming my formal education helped me realize that there are better ways to help people. Long story short, I have had experiences with attorneys and other legal professionals that convinced me to bite the bullet and here I am, writing a blog to cyberspace and maybe the occasional passer-by.

My hope is to include those things that I want to remember later as well as those that by chance help someone else who decides to sell their soul, in the most positive sense of the phrase, to the law.