Deadlines

So my first job this summer involved a lot of, "Can you get it to me tomorrow?" kind of deadlines. This job has a lot of, "Sometime before you leave" deadlines. I'll tell you nothing saps you motivation more than staring at a screen with a question presented on some basic discovery issue, knowing that if you get it done in the next three weeks, it'll be just fine.

I mean I was pretty tired after the six weeks I got put through first half but I think it was better than working on these no pressure, sleeper projects.

Wow

I am not unhirable or undesirable! I just got a job offer. Seriously a job offer job offer. I'll see what their details are and what else comes up but it is good to feel like once in my law school life that I have a world of yes in front of me. I know, I know. If I accept I'll join the ranks of biglaw associates who are overworked. I may not be seen by loved ones including my wife for weeks at a time. I'll take my chances.

Again, I haven't accepted anything and won't for a while but thought I'd share some good news on the forum I usually complain about life on.

I'll let Randy Newman tell you about it . . .

Weekly Law School Blog Roundup Posted

This week's roundup is posted at Thanks, But No Thanks. A direct link to the roundup post can be found here. The War of All Against All made it into this week's roundup with the Google search post regarding what it means to be in the top third in your class.

Google Search of the Day - 7/11/08

Today's search string is near and dear to my heart.

Google search of the day:
"what does top third meanin law school"

The quote is verbatim, including the lack of a space between "mean" and "in." Being in the top third probably means that you are more intelligent than most of the people ahead of you, but you are likely unmarried, not to mention lazier than the students in the top 10%. Top third in law school means you have a reasonable shot at making it onto your school's law review if grades are a factor, but you'll have to bust your ass on your student comment and Bluebook exam. It also means that you'll be infuriatingly close to the top 25%, which is the point at which some firms roundfile resumes. Being in the top third also means that you'll struggle in OCI because the big firms won't hire you, but smaller firms won't interview you either because they think the big firms WILL hire you.

Some People Just Deserve What They Get

I was in court today watching a rearrangement for a defendant who was entering into a plea agreement. The judge was going through the traditional colloquy:

Judge: Are you under the influence of drugs?

Defendant: No.

Judge: Are you currently taking any prescription medications?

Defendant: Yes.

Judge: You are? [You dumbass! A simple "no" is all you are supposed to say.] Which medications are you currently taking?

Me (thinking): Please say something great like oxycotin, codene, or something great that will get you in even more trouble or invalidate your plea agreement!!!! Please!

Defendant: Valtrex.

Defendant's Husband (from the audience): WHAT?!?!?!

Judge: Do we need to take a short recess?

Perspectives: Anti-Cell Phone Use While Driving Laws

Oh noes, it's another "substantive" post that goes beyond our usual sarcasm and bitching. Yesterday, I experienced an increasingly common phenomenon for the first time. While on the phone with my sister, who currently lives in New Jersey, she said, "I have to go, I'm about to start driving and it's illegal to hold the phone up to your ear while driving in New Jersey." This was the first time anyone has ever ended a phone conversation with me because the person was about to go driving.

I usually reserve my planned phone calls SPECIFICALLY for driving time so I can sort of multitask instead of having those calls take up time I could spend doing something else. I also like to spend driving time on the phone because it is an effective way to occupy my mind while performing the relatively mundane task of keeping the vehicle under control.

Many states now regulate cell phone use while driving in some form. One of the most common regulatory approaches is to require the use of a hands-free device for cell phone use while driving. However, opponents of regulation often argue that the problem lies in the distraction of the conversation, not in the use of the phone itself. While I agree with that to some extent, are those opponents willing to entertain the notion of making it illegal to talk to one's passengers? I don't think that would ever happen, but that's one logical conclusion of that argument. Here is a color-coded map of states with various levels of laws on point:

What do you guys think about this issue? Should states be regulating cell phone use while driving at all? What form should this regulation take? Do we like the hands-free requirements already adopted in many states? Do we need to go further and require drivers to bind and gag their passengers to avoid conversational distractions from backseat drivers? Please discuss in the comments. Seriously.

I anticipate a debate of epic proportions in the comments, by which I mean I expect to get at least one post from Phaedrus being a dickhead, one from El Guapo employing some good ol' boy Southern sense, and one from mootgoescow including at least one internetism.

Google Search of the Day - 7/10/08

Today's Google search string is more encouraging for all you optimistic little go-getters out there:

Google Search String of the Day:
"i suck at law school"

I'm going out on a limb and guessing that this ambitious searcher thinks he is terrible at all things related to law school. My friend, if you are so desperate that you are entering this search string into Google, it is time to reconsider getting that Ph.D in entomology that you always wanted.

After actually running this search, I was amused to find that the Brooklyn Law School 9-month employment statistics for the class of 2007 page is the first hit. Perhaps it is time for BLS to close its transfer program because a lot of "sucking" 1Ls are apparently finding their way into the BLS 2L class through that page.

I could not figure out why that BLS page was the first hit to save my life...then I thought about it a little bit. I wonder if someone at BLS, perhaps in the IT department, figured out a way to make "i suck at law school" find that BLS page. They then repeatedly Googled it and followed the link until it became the top hit for the desired search string. This sounds like something the All Against All bloggers would (should?) do with our school's Career Services Office page.

It's probably a big joke the BLS 3Ls tell the incoming 1Ls to scare them during the first few days of class. That's almost as good as selling pool passes.

My Career Service

I've been on this website quite a bit the last few days.

My Shingle

There are a lot things I don't know about court rules and procedure that I would like to learn on someone else's dime but on a scale from 1-10, how dumb is the idea of going solo right out of law school?

Things I Learned in Jail

I finally got to make a trip to the federal prison and take a tour with my summer job. I learned something very stunning: a pack of cigarettes goes for $300. The reason is that smoking has been banned in federal prisons since 2005. So as you might have guessed, the #1 contraband (and bartering item) is cigarettes. Any guess on #2? The most muled in item (and #2 contraband) is creatine.

Google Search of the Day - 7/9/08

These posts are always fun. The blog has been around long enough to accumulate some fairly amusing search terms resulting in hits to our site, so I will post one of these every few days. I will also add some brief commentary that I hope will elucidate why these enterprising Googlers would resort to such search strings. Think of it as a little amusement pellet to get you through your otherwise boring day.

Google search of the day:
perversion school 02


Note that this is a different item from the one mentioned in a previous post in which I revealed the "perversion in the school" search term. This suggests someone actually GRADUATED from somewhere known as PERVERSION SCHOOL and is proud of his '02 class. I think it was Phaedrus.