Bar Exam - Registration

My 1L section-mates are up to their ears in bar prep, but I am just starting the process. I recently registered with the California Bar, which is the very first step towards the dread bar exam. This step was relatively painless.

There wasn't much brainpower involved (all they're interested in at this point is basic biographical info). There wasn't a terrible amount of money involved either (~$90). In exchange, the Bar sent me an identification number.

Step one, all done!

Week 6

This was a short week due to the July 4th holiday. It was such a blur that I'm not exactly sure what I did each day (which is why it is so important to record time on a daily basis, I suppose).

In terms of projects, I'm slowing down with two weeks left and, for the most part, have chapter updates left to tackle. Chapter updates are the quintessential not-real-work summer associate assignment, but I can learn something from the exercise, so it's not a complete loss. I also have to be thankful for some more interesting work that I received earlier this summer.

Socially, I grabbed lunch with an associate who was my next door neighbor back when we were undergraduates. One of the things I like about Summer Firm is that acquaintances from other parts of my life (e.g., high school, family friend, and sorority sisters) work in various offices of the firm. I might never work with them directly, but it has been handy to be able to ask for their frank opinions and I have been reassured by highly thought of friends and acquaintances choosing the firm for themselves.

I wish I could say that I'm having a fantastic holiday weekend, but I spent most of my day completing a final edit of a journal article (the HORROR!).

More on OCI

Just a couple of days ago, I commented on the not-so-newsworthy e-mail UT Law students recently received from Career Services. I failed to mention that the e-mail also included the following:

The number of scheduled interview rooms is down overall from last year, with a drop of about 45 percent for employers seeking 3Ls.

So, apparently the 3Ls are freaking out (but, let's face it, freaking out is what law students do) and tipping off Above the Law as if this is earth-shattering. While a 45 percent drop in scheduled interview rooms is significant, it seems to me that this is par for the course given market conditions, generally. I'm with ATL when they say, "This is probably happening all over the country."

Market conditions are terrible. There are fewer jobs and those jobs are paying less. These conditions will effect law students at all schools. Of course, some schools will be harder hit than others. 3L recruitment will probably be harder hit than 2L recruitment. Let's face it, a 3L's OCI prospects weren't so great in good times either.

Just my two cents.

Vision

Because I have a big-time dry eye problem, I can't wear contacts. At first, it wasn't too big of a deal because my vision was still decent and I could still enjoy dance class. But, over the past few years and the last six months in particular, my vision has gotten a lot worse.

Today, an associate stopped in the doorway of my office to chat and I realized that, sitting only a few feet away in my desk chair, I couldn't clearly see the attorney's facial features. It's much, much harder to go without my glasses and it's starting to keep me from doing the things that I use to love to do. (Dance class isn't very fun when you can't see what the teacher is doing.)

My doctor says that laser eye surgery isn't an option because it tends to make patients' eyes even dryer post-op. At this rate, I'll have to wear my glasses at my wedding just to be able to see the groom. I wish there was something I could do about this.

Career Services Says

The Law School's recruiting season is about to begin. Bidding on OCI scheduled to open on Monday, July 6th, which means that e-mails from Career Services are beginning to fill my inbox. On Monday, Assistant Dean Montoya distributed an e-mail to members of the Class of 2010 which included, among other things, this vague summary of market conditions:

Summer clerkship classes this year are generally smaller, potentially positioning fewer of our 3Ls for associate offers through clerkship programs. Offer rates from summer clerkships may be lower generally, and offers may be made much later after the clerkship than in the past several years. These conditions suggest that more 3Ls will participate in Fall OCI this year. With fewer employers seeking 3Ls, it is more important than ever that you not rely exclusively on the OCI program for employment opportunities. Career counselors can help you formulate and execute a broader job search strategy more tailored to your specific goals, interests and priorities.

Thank you, Captain Obvious.

Week 5: Start Speculating

Summer Firm and I have only three weeks left together. Naturally, I'm starting to wonder how we'll part ways. Last summer, offers were given during final formal evaluations on the last day of the program. This year, I believe it is less likely that this will happen because I think it's less likely that all of the summer associates will get good news.

On the first day of the program, we were told that the firm would be giving out two types of offers this summer. There will be offers to start in the fall of 2010 and there will be offers to start in the spring of 2011. Because of these differences and the general state of the economy, I worry that the firm may not end up giving out offers to all of the summer associates in the offices. And that's okay, if it makes business sense.

Because all of the incoming associates in "my" practice group have been deferred until spring of 2010, I am assuming that the best possible outcome for me this summer will be a deferred offer (with a start date in spring of 2011). I spend a lot of time wondering what I would do with that time. I also spend time wondering what I'll do if I don't get an offer at all. In the meanwhile, all I can do is try to stay focused on learning as much as possible from my remaining assignments this summer.

Integrity

So here's the thing. I don't care if you come from the "family values" party or any other party. If you're a politician, integrity is important.

I want my politicians to demonstrate integrity when they act in their official capacities. But because I think integrity is a character thing, I except politicians demonstrate integrity when they act in their personal capacities.

Falling out of love with your spouse, in my opinion, doesn't represent a complete moral lapse. It happens. A lot. What I object to is this business of starting a new relationship, with a new partner, before respectfully ending one's marriage.

A party to a conventional marriage promises to be faithful. So, until a marriage is properly ended, a lapse in fidelity is a lapse in integrity. And that's why I think it matters when our politicians behave like this.