Law School: Day One

"You only get one first time, better make it an enjoyable one"
-Random guy to his HS girlfriend

Get your mind out of the gutter! So today was my first day of law school, which begs the inevitable question "How did it go?"; or my personal favorite "How bad was it?". Well I am here to report that not only are Law Professors not FIRE BREATHING DRAGONS...but by all accounts they seem to be reasonable, breathing, normal Humans! How can that be you might ask, find out below the break.

So with one day, and two classes under my belt, I now feel fully qualified in judging the entirety of law school in the post *note the sarcasm please*. I had two classes today, Torts and Civil Procedure. Each of my professors were older white men who had spent time out in the legal profession. I guess from here I should go into a little bit of background on the classes.

[This may also be a good place to reaffirm a few things about my posting here. As I've stated on several occasions this is meant to serve a few purposes: be my first hand account and written record of my trials and tribulations and law school, AND as a handy guide/reference for anyone considering, or anyone just interested in what law school is like. With that being said, this is entirely my experiences, my opinions, and my thoughts on things that I observe and happen in my world. That necessity means that I can only comment on the totality of my experience as I perceive it. All that is to say that, I can't speak for others or how things seem to other people. To that end, I will implement a policy of not using any professor's name at all, and not using a peer's name unless given permission by them as a professional and personal courtesy. That means you should assume all names are fictional unless otherwise noted]

Torts- this class is designed as an introduction and overview on the principle of torts. These are non-criminal, non-contract related instances where the action or inaction of an actor inflicts a harm or injury on another. The classic example is car accidents. Basically these are your everyday accidents, spilled hot coffee, slip in a store, product defects and injures a party. When people speak of "suing" they are claiming a tort has happened to them. Professor Torts seems to be a intelligent and knowledgeable teacher. My overwhelming first impression was that he wanted to be as accommodating as possible in helping us through a very long, challenging, and difficult process. I guess like the kind dentist that has to operate but makes you feel better about the procedure. Personally I enjoy the readings thus far, the cases are interesting, and the things we study are applicable to everyday life and situations. More on the class as the week continues.

Civil Procedure "Civ-Pro"- The study of the forms and rules of non-criminal cases. In short this class will teach us the rules, forms, and procedural laws that govern non criminal cases (cases arising from disputes between two parties, not invoking the power of the state). This class is ehh to me thus far. I understand and see it's extreme importance but rote memorization has never been a forte of mine, and it would seem this class focuses on learning the steps it takes for a successful law suit. That being said, as a person that strives to be an excellent lawyer you can bet Ill be learning pretty fast. Throughout orientation I was told by other staff and upper class men that Professor Civ-Pro would be my hardest teacher, he was mean, he was rude, he ate babies, and transformed into a bat at night (again please note the sarcasm). As is often the case, the truth is much more mild then the imaginations and misremembering of stressed out students. My one day appraisal is that he is highly intelligent and thus expects all of his students to see the cases the way he See's it after years of practicing. Personally I do appreciate the verbal sparring that goes on in class, but then again I never take personally when someone challenges my positions. I can see how that might be disconcerting to others though. We will keep an eye on this class though.

And that for all intents and purposes was it for my first day. I met with my study group after class (more details on that later), picked up my Transit Pass, and came home and did some studying. All in all, I would have to say while this will be a challenge, it will by no means be the most difficult thing I have ever done. After learning the Sigma way i.e. late nights, sleep deprivation, group learning, and muscle memory; I feel as if there are not too many extreme learning situations that I cant handle at this point. So there you go, that is how a first day of law school goes. Day 2 is tomorrow with more adventure.