Bar Exam Memories

So it was just 2 years ago that I found out I passed the bar exam in Massachusetts.  And while I was terrified to do anything like this (who wants to record themselves discovering they've failed?) I love watching these videos of folks who have passed.  Note: I'm sure there are tons of videos of people finding out they have failed that never make it to Youtube. 

If you're looking to see pure joy on someone's face, watch these short clips:

I did it!

Harley helps me study this summer

I passed the Massachusetts bar exam!

Rumors were flying that results had been mailed yesterday, so I was watching the mailbox like a hawk.  My mail comes in sometimes between 10am and 6pm, so I never know when my mail will actually get to me.  Well, a little before noon, I saw mail sticking out of my mailbox, so I knew it had arrived.  I thought I would be calm and cool opening the letter, but I was a ripping, flying maniac.  I barely skimmed the "Congratulations!" before yelling "Ohmygod, Ohmygod, I passed!" and running back into the living room to grab my phone and call Jon.

Now I can get rid of all of my bar review materials (sending most to my best friend who is taking the bar for the first time in February), not have to worry about studying with an infant, and hopefully get my assignment from the Air Force.

Tonight, Jon said we can celebrate however I want, so the rest of the day is devoted to figuring out what I want to do!  Unfortunately, I can't go out and drink like I'd like to, and there aren't any movies I'm super-interested in.  It might just be a low-key night, but a happy happy happy one!

So You Want to Go to Law School

Alison Beach, JD!

Finally I got around to downloading the pictures from graduation!

To preface everything, law school was a lot harder than I thought it would be. After years of military discipline, I thought that I would be able to ace everything. What I found was that I had to study harder than ever to compete with a bunch of early-20s folks. I will say though, that I was blessed in going to a school where there wasn't competition, other than the friendly joking around with my study group. My main competition was really myself and my expectations, and I'm proud to say that after 6 semesters, I made it (barely!) into the top 10% of my class, which was my personal goal. I graduated cum laude with a great internship, a clerkship, a winning trial record, and more importantly....a JOB under my belt.

But, I couldn't have done it without my support system. First, Jon, whose nightly dinners he cooked made everyone at school jealous when I took in the leftovers, and for listening to my blatherings about cases and taking me through flashcards for three years. Secondly, my amazing study group: Andy, Noah, and Dave. Andy has been my best friend in law school practically since orientation, coming to see my shows, and providing more advice and patience with me on non-law-school stuff than law school! Noah, even though he though my name was Heather, provided nonstop entertainment the whole time. And Dave provided some great competition as well as a great study location :-) And they all dealt so well with my bossiness and my anal retentiveness and my general Mom-Ness.


And finally, a huge thanks to all my family, community theater friends, and everyone who's understood when I can't hang out or go out.

Now, on to the bar exam!!

My Last Week of Law School

Well, this was it. A short, 3-day week, and my last of regular law school classes. Like being pregnant, it all seems surreal. I remember what I wore the first day of class, I remember blogging about my first week (see my first week of law school), I remember all the initial nerves, panic, and finally relief when it wasn't half as bad as I thought it would be.

So to recap my last week, here goes:

Monday - As a third year taking a clinic, I work in the in-house legal clinic, which I have from 9-5 on Mondays. I realize that with only a few days left to put in clinic time, I've got a crapload to do. Court appearance, transfer memos, and one client who wants me to file a million things before I leave. I work out a good timeline one when I'm going to do everything that, let's face it, I'll probably either lose or ignore. I come home and take a 2 1/2 hour nap instead of working on my take-home final for Landlord-Tenant law that's due on Wednesday. Then I completely veg out watching Dancing with the Stars, pick up my husband at the T, and am ready to head to bed when the dog falls down the stairs and rips off his dew claw. Jon and I spend the next hour trying to clean/bandage it.

Tuesday - I have my last bar review class with this crazy professor who has dubbed our class the "Ninja Bar Turtles." Seriously. I'm 31. Anyway, he gives us some info on Evidence rules that I promptly ignore and then, the best part of the semester: He shows us THIS to motivate us to CHOP the bar exam. Best part of my day. After that, I was off to the library to work on that take-home final and I got one of two questions finished. Then I went to my last clinic class where we were given yet another pointless assignment due in a week and forced to listen to other people's problems. Meh. Craving nachos, I was talked into a nice dinner at Finale with a couple of ladies from the clinic (including Molly) which was delicious, but did not sit well with my stomach. Back to the library to crank out more Lanlord-Tenant Law take-home. Finish that, but am not super stoked at my answers. At 9:30pm, the student government had the last meeting of the year out at MJ O'Conners, which sucked because I can't drink, but had delicious appetizers.

Wednesday - Slept in a bit, which is nice, and head down to school to do some last minute polishing of the take-home final, due at 2pm. With that finished, I headed to a professor's office, as I am his research assistant. This is a pretty old and grumpy professor, and he made my next-to-last day pretty rough, demanding ridiculous things, then blaming me when I did them. If only I wasn't pregnant, my next stop would have been Sweetwater, the local bar. I ducked out of there to turn in my take-home final, where my awesome prof had purchased pizza for everyone. We all sat around just chatting for a while and I talked with her about being pregnant with hopes she would take pity on my poor take-home final (throwing my kid under the bus already!) I ended my law school career in Animal Law, which is the worst class I've taken in law school. The professor refused to put a time limit on our final presentations, and because I was the last one to go, I had 4 minutes to discuss a case that lasted for 9 years, as opposed to another girl who talked for an hour about her cat. Seriously, she put up a picture of her cat with its paw on a computer with the words "BENGAL CATS ARE SMART!" I forsee many many cats in her future. And...that was it! To treat myself, I took a cab home from the T stop to avoid the wind and rain and I vegged out and watched TV all night.

I'm still not done with things - I have another take-home to work on, a final in my bar review class, and lots of clinic work to wrap up. BUT, no more classes in law school!!!

Trial and Error Update

I won my trial :-) I actually got more than I asked for from the judge! Granted, I was not the plaintiff, so I didn't have to PROVE anything, but, in a way, I proved that the plaintiff did not prove what he had to prove. Hope that made sense to the non-lawyers in the crowd.

Thinking about quitting law school to bask in my 1-0 record.

Trial and Error

Yesterday, besides being my 31st birthday, was my first trial. I'm a student attorney at my law school, and in Massachusetts (just like in Legally Blonde) a student attorney can represent clients under the supervision of another attorney.

Well, I think I did pretty good. First, most students either don't have the chance or aren't allowed to do a trial. So I feel pretty fortunate. I had all my things together, and was very organized. When we got to the courtroom in front of the judge, the opposing party did some things that pissed off the judge (incorrect paperwork and the like) so that made me look a lot better. And my direct and cross-examination was very smooth. I got the information that I needed to get from the witnesses, and I think I made great arguments. My client was excellent on the witness stand.

But, I'm still a student, and not everything went right. I thought my supervisor would be objecting to things, but when she tried, the judge said that I had to do it. So, she'd kick me when I needed to object, but when the judge asked me why I was objecting, I'd sometimes have no idea, and he'd overrule me. He did, however, sustain many of my objections, which always makes you feel good. I wasn't really prepared to make a closing argument, and when I should have just restated my opening argument, I got a bit flustered and bumbled.

BUT, as the defendant, we didn't have to prove anything, and I'm not sure if the opposing party proved their case. In fact, I don't think they did at all, and told the judge so. He took everything under advisement, and hopefully I made my case to get what my client deserved.

Finals Update

Hey all, just a quick note to let you know how finals are going....

Negotiation paper was handed in on the 30th of November, Mediation paper was mailed in the 10th of December, Law and Literature paper will be handed in this week. In-class exams are the 17th and 18th of December, in Criminal Procedure II and UCC: Sales, respectively.

After that, it's a trip to see the Nutcracker, and then a trip to see the Slutcracker (the burlesque version of the Nutcracker), and then off to the Midwest for the holidays!

Hope your December is going well!

Plans coming together

Exciting news! After a tough interview and a little waiting, I've been accepted into US Air Force JAG Corps, which is the ONLY job I wanted and the ONLY job interview I was planning on taking. Add that to the fact that they ONLY accepted about 20 of the 200-some applicants, and that makes Ali Beach a lucky girl!

I'm a law student - with a job!!!

Just when my apathy nearly devoured me...

I usually start each new school year with great aniticipation. New books, new folders, new highlighters - I eagerly complete all my assignments. Until this year, when 3L-itis (the law school version of senior-itis hit me and hit me hard. I'm in some really great classes....and I could care less. I'm not following what's going on in Crim Pro II, UCC: Sales is moving at a snail's pace, and Law and Literature just teased me into thinking it would be easy.

But, I'm happy to say that in the midst of what began as a completely apathetic school year, with a constant frown on my face and exasperated sigh on my tongue came two classes with actual useful and practical skill that once again heightened my excitement for the law: Mediation and Negotiation.

Just a fun fact, here's the difference between all the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) techniques: In Mediation, the Mediator is a 3rd and neutral party and nothing is binding, as the hope is just to get parties to come to some sort of agreement. In Negotiation, the Negotiation uses ADR techniques to try to get a good outcome for their side. And Arbitration is a little more like Mediation, except the result is binding, and there is less focus on helping the parties come to their own conclusions.

In these classes, we make up scenarios, do a ton of role-playing, and really get to the heart of many issues. Here's the classic example that really just bowled me over: Two girls are fighting over an orange, kicking, screaming, biting, etc. The mother comes in to resolve the dispute and splits the orange in half, giving each girl one of the halves. Both girls are upset...why? One girl wanted to eat the juicy inside of hte orange. The other girl wanted the rind of the orange to bake a cake. The mother didn't bother to get to the heart of the issue to find out the real needs of the arguing parties. Simple example, but a great way to show that sometimes a dispute has a deeper meaning that just "I want this" or "I want that"

Anyway, a long blog for such a simple thought as "I like Mediation and Negotiation" but I really do. I can't help but think how the skills I've learned in just two weeks would have been useful in the never-ending battle that my sisters-in-law are in. Even thought my heart is set on being a JAG lawyer, I might take a deeper look into negotiation and mediation and see if it's not a skill that I could develop....

Ahhhhhh....

Have you ever been dreading something or felt like the weight of the world was on your shoulders? I hate that feeling, but when something gets resolved, it feels sooooo good.

I'm in the last year of law school, and I had a moderately challenging academic schedule ahead of me. The most daunting was a clinic, which is where I go out in the world and actually practice law. Cool? Very. Stressful? Very. I got assigned to the District Attorney's office in Dorchester, which is sure to have a lot of crimes coming through it in the next few months. So....why was I not happy?

The clinic would take the only two free days in my week (Wednesday and Friday) and fill them with work. All day at the courthouse. My train ride would be longer, since I'd be switching from the orange to the red to get to Dorchester. And, I was a little nervous, to tell the truth, it's a big responsibility to actually get out and practice law. Tie all of that in with additional work for the clinic (writing journal reflections and attending seminars) and I'm spending about 18 hours a week for 3 credits.

The alternative? Take a 3 hour course on mediation Thursday from 4-7. Learn how to mediate arguments (97% of cases doing even GO to trial), do some fun role-playing, have Wednesdays and Fridays completely off so I can do homework during the day and spend the evenings at theater rehearsals, with Jon, or just relaxing and watching television.

So, even though it's not really my nature to turn away for a challenge, sanity won out. I want to enjoy this last year of law school, and, as I get older, I appreciate how fast life is going for me, so I should make myself happy. And after a toss-and-turn night that followed long discussions with Jon about my options and what I was thinking, I dropped the clinic and picked up mediation. And then the feeling hit me. I can only imagine it was like endorphins that runners experience (I've never had that feeling) because I felt free and relaxed and like I could actually enjoy a semester of law school.

While I regret not being able to experience the chaos and fun of the DA's office, I've had enough chaos in my life already, with more likely to come down the road. No need to pile it on myself unnecessarily!!!

Finals Update - updated 5/6

Monday: Took Adminstrative Law final. Over the weekend, my professor told me to get out and enjoy the nice weather and stop worrying about the test. I ignored his advice. It wasn't too bad - some easy multiple choice followed by some tricky multiple choice. Then, an annoying essay for everyon to tapdance out followed by a tried and true essay. Went home and studied Ethics until after midnight in preparation for Tuesday's exam.

Tuesday: Took Ethics test and am pretty sure I rocked it. Thank goodness we could use our Rules book during the exam. In the library all night working on my Indian Law take-home final which is 16-19 pages of goodness due on Thursday...

Wednesday: I hate how I get/feel uglier, fatter, headachier, and more tired during finals. It's like I totally don't care about how I look until I see a mirror and well...it's not pretty. Thank God it's only one brutal week. I got an email from my Child Abuse prof who lets me know that as long as I keep up the good work on my final paper due next week, I should get a good grade in the class. I have a huge migraine today which lets me finish my Indian Law take-home final (17 pages of native goodness) and spend three hours going over ONE essay question of Criminal Procedure with my study group before I'm wiped for the day. I eat two coconut ice cream bars for dinner and order Dominos for dessert. No wonder my stomach hurts during finals......

Thusday: Stomachache gone...headache still here. I head off to study group to do Crim Pro analysis all morning. Swing by the scohol to drop off my Indian law final, and immediately am positive that there are several important points I forgot to make. Sigh...too late now. Keep going with the study group in the afternoon and am pretty confident I know all there is to know, just worried I won't be able to stop the issues that I need to address. My plan: take my time, review everything, realize there are only so many rules you can apply to a problem. Came home, had dinner, took and bath, and am reviewing some fact scenarios to practice issue spotting. Just Crim Pro tomorrow and then I'm done with my tests!

Friday: Crim pro was ok - it was 20 minutes of multiple choice and then 2 hours and 40 minutes of nonstop writing. I just wrote and wrote and wrote until I had three bluebooks of writing, black ink all over my palm, and a left hand that likely needs to be wrapped or soaked or something. Anyway, I feel ok about it. So, I really feel ok about all of my tests! It's the first time where I haven't had ONE final that I dread finding out about for the next month because I'm sure that I failed. All I have to do now is write a paper for my Child Abuse class, which should be easy because I have a week and I love to write!!

The Next Week: Hmmm...well the Child Abuse paper, which focuses on the physical and emotional effects of parents who push their children too hard to succeed, is NOT going well. At the moment, I have 10 pages of what looks like a 4th grade book report. I sent a draft away to my professor who is going to meet with me today to comment on it. I'm hoping it's just me being paranoid, but I've got an A going into the class before the paper, and I'd sure like to keep it!!