September 23, 2008
Other People
Sartre, as he is quoted by loner emo high-school children across America, declared that "l'enfer, c'est les autres" - hell is other people. Indeed, at most law schools across the country, he might be right. We're crass, we're rude, we're stuck in a pretentious mode of thought and speech in which there is nothing we won't argue. Law school has been described as a lone struggle - a solitary student in a lone carrel deep within the library at war with a monolithic grading curve. And hell, for many law students, is all of the other people around you who are doing it too.
But at Michigan, Sartre finds his match. The discussion threads of Michigan's own lawopen listserve, unfairly maligned online in recent weeks, is a marketplace buzzing with advice and commerce. I've sent mail to lawopen four times, and each time, I've gotten a helpful response in mere moments. One student offered baked goods for outlines. Others do brisk trade in football tickets to take advantage of 2Ls off on callback interviews. And hardly a day goes by when someone doesn't email me to offer me a free lunch and an interesting speaker.
I served as an orientation leader for the incoming 1L class, and I have found them to be engaging, brilliant, fun, carefree (that might change), and friendly. So have they. Among the statements overheard multiple times around the Law Quad during orientation week was that Dean Zearfoss was a genius for selecting such cool classmates. Returning classes feel it - that's why we sign up for things like tour guiding and orientation leading. Alumni know it too - when a law firm associate tried to explain how friendly the people in his firm are, he compared it to his experiences as a Michigan Law student.
My classmates and I go to lunch together. We make midday chocolate chip pancake runs. We play frisbee on the quad. We take notes for each other when we're out of town on callback interviews. We wish each other good luck during interviews we're both headed into - and mean it. We make each other cookies. We visit each other over the summer, form teams for trivia night, compare notes and outlines on professors, and help each other gather sources for journals. In short, hell isn't other people. Hell is trying to get through law school without these people. My college roommate gave me the advice that - law school is hard enough without everyone trying to be horrible to each other. For me, law school would be that much harder without everyone around me helping each other out.
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Just as a side note, I'm taking five classes this semester and am loving all of them. Chapter 11 Bankruptcy couldn't be more appropriate, and our professor has serious street cred during interviews. Tax Law is the dark horse for favorite class of the semester. It's surprisingly entertaining. Enterprise Organizations is a phenomenally interesting subject, and the material makes a great read. Labor Law hasn't started yet - I'll be sure to let you all know how it is when it does. Finally, a seminar called The Uncensored History of International Law has been the icing on this cake for three weeks. I can't tell you how much fun it's been.
August 06, 2008
On Libraries
Last year, a call to the 1L class went out from the admissions department for pithy and flattering quotations about Michigan Law School. I sent one in and was flattered when it was used on a piece of the law school's promotional material. What I said, and I truly mean it, is that "the majesty of the architecture and energy of the students have to be seen to be appreciated." There's more to that sentiment though - we just can't distill down to a two-dimensional printed pamphlet or computer image the full Michigan Law experience. I suppose I have a bit of a soft spot for the architecture around the quad, stemming in no small part from the fact that I was born in Ann Arbor while my father was a Professor of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning here. I notice buildings, and there's a ton to notice around the quad.
The law quadrangle is a cohesive architectural cluster in the collegiate gothic style most associated with institutions such as Yale and Princeton, and copied from the august traditions of Oxford and Cambridge. The law library was named 94th on a list of American's Favorite Buildings by the American Institute of Architects in 2007. If you've ever seen an old English cathedral, the focal point of the grounds (the Cathedral Building) is our reading room, while Hutchins Hall (lecture halls and some faculty offices) would be the cloisters. The rest of the quadrangle comprises dormitory space, and is analogous to the cathedral close. During a broadcast of A Prarie Home Companion from Ann Arbor earlier this summer, Garrison Keillor opined that "this beautiful cathedral with leaded casement windows and lamp light ... just made you want to go to law school, actually."
Now, in August of 1981, the Allen and Alene Smith Addition to the Legal Research Building opened underground. Underground indeed. Because the 1955 above-ground library stacks building, with its aluminum siding and cardboard box-like shape, was viewed by many faculty, staff, alumni, and students as an insult to the limestone and granite gothic majesty of the law quadrangle, the library addition of 1981 was to open underground, lest it fail to blend in. The Smith Addition houses some of the most comprehensive international law resources in America, two great computer labs, some very helpful librarians, and a fantastic skylight system that means that even three stories down, students do not lack for natural light (or, at least, no less than their weather-depressive above-ground counterparts). Its magnificence and fire, like that of Lucius Junius Brutus, is carefully hidden, probably due to a very Midwestern modesty.
My summer job has comprised researching various projects for two professors. Much of what I do can be done off-site, and I have been at liberty to travel this summer to maintain my social schedule of weddings, graduations, etc. Thus, I have had the great privilege of visiting other law schools' libraries and playing in their sandboxes so to speak. In particular, I have gained entrance into Harvard Law, Georgetown Law, and even the Law Reading Room of the Library of Congress. Harvard's library has an airy and light neoclassical reading room with lots of dark wood to play off of the cream-colored walls. I particularly liked the very cushy armchairs, floor to ceiling windows, and trite Ciceronian tidbits on the walls. Georgetown's library is built around a huge circular atrium that is capped by a round lounge. The reading room is a beautifully red-carpeted shoebox filled with tables packed into tight rows. While Harvard exuded a sort of rarified luxury, flair, and ease (when will tea be served?), the air at Georgetown hung heavy with panic, probably from students cramming for the bar.
When the Smith Addition opened, the New York Times ran a profile of the library which turned into a psychoanalysis of the law school itself. "The new building," they wrote, "seems particularly well suited to this institution, which, though it has shed much of its conservatism, is still reluctant to flaunt its brilliance." That's exactly how I feel about Michigan. Of course, I too am having a hard time distilling down the Michigan Law experience myself - so come visit. I'm an admissions tour guide and would be more than happy to show you around.
May 14, 2008
One-and-a-half-L
It hit me yesterday when I signed up for a study carrel in the library - do I check the box for 1L or 2L? I'm like Britney Spears in the 2002 box office hit Crossroads - I'm not a girl, not yet a woman. I hope that doesn't mean I'm about to Kiss Madonna, marry K-Fed, or shave my head. Or something like that. Look, it's been a long year - not everything I write can be a gem!
In the exam run-up, I got a coupon for 40% off at Barnes & Noble and went on a mini-spree to fill in the gaps in my collection. I came home with Robert Shaw and the Atlanta Symphony's recording of Verdi's Requiem, Jascha Heifetz's recording of Bach, Mozart, and Brahms Double Concertos, the Durufle Requiem conducted by Michel Corboz (mistake - his tempos are too fast), and The Tallis Scholars with four Renaissance Requiems: Tomas Luis de Victoria, Duarte Lobo, Manuel Cardoso, and Alonso Lobo. It wasn't until I got home that I realized I'd purchased three CDs of masses for the dead, and it occurred to me that perhaps these were not the best choice heading into exams.
But exam period came and went. I was part of a study group, and getting involved in one is one of the larger pieces of advice I'd give to incoming students. No man is an island, accountability, etc. All of those are good reasons for being in a group. My reason is a little more selfish - sometimes members of your group bring food, and sometimes it's really good food, like Twizzlers and Goldfish. Incidentally, I think Law School numbs your taste buds (or really, it could be that coming to Michigan does).
Now I'm starting my summer research projects (I'm working for two professors - one in the Law School and one in the Business School) and it's proving to be really interesting stuff. The weather in Ann Arbor got gorgeous just in time for exams, and without the undergrads here in the summer, the parking situation has improved immeasurably. Last week, I threw a dinner party for some of my law school friends with a huge menu: cold wine-poached chicken breasts, steamed whole mackerel, steamed asparagus with miso butter, vegetarian pan-fried noodles, miso-chili crusted pork chops, spicy garlic shrimp, soy-braised eggplant, and chinese broccoli. It was everything I wanted to cook during exams but couldn't muster the energy or time for. Surprisingly, we did manage to talk about non-law topics for a full 15 minutes before breaking back into insufferable law-student mode. I'd love to talk to my friends now and get their feedback on what a nerd I sound like now.
April 16, 2008
"Justice" in the Clouds
A term that is very often used in the rules of contracts or civil procedure is that a rule should be applied 'when justice requires.' The concept of the interests of justice is a judicial catch-all, either to provide for relief where the procedural law might fail, or to be a release valve if the practical application would be too restrictive. The problem is that the more deeply into 1L year one gets, the more cynical we get as to exactly what that "justice" is. We've studied what looks like judicial surrender in Friendswood Development v. Smith-Southwest Industries, we've seen the stranger points of the law at work in Polemis, and we've attempted to see the logic behind a judge having to rule whether a burrito is a sandwich. So we become cynical about the application of a discretionary rule like 'when justice requires.'
Late in the semester (and today is the last day of classes, yes), I saw increasing numbers of 1L students using air-quotes around the term "justice". I've caught myself doing it a couple of times. I guess it signals some of my dissatisfaction with the way some courts handle wanting to be fair instead of applying the rules strictly to the letter. Paradoxically, fairness does not mean justice, and vice-versa. Plenty of folks in my Contracts class have objected to a court's verdict with "but that doesn't seem fair!" In talking to my non-law student friends sometimes I fear that they look at my studies as a sophistic exchange on par with Aristophanes' Clouds: that I came to law school in order to argue that up is down, that the greater power is the lesser, and that the natural and fair order of the universe can be argued to be upside-down. The judgment-proof but liable defendant incurs no actual liability because his plaintiff can't collect against him: you can't squeeze water from stone. And there are some weird cases like the Alcoa debacle in which the court inexplicably rules for what is near- universally held to be the weaker case. But in the broader picture, coming to grips with some of the broader themes of law school has meant reevaluating my sense not of right and wrong, but of inherent fairness. After all, the losing side in a civil trial decision that I agree with won't likely be comforted by the fact that "it was a fair decision." They think they lost, they think it sucks, and they don't think it was fair, and no reasoning with them on the part of their counsel, the judge, or the guy on the street will make them feel better about it.
In less than three weeks, my friends will scatter for the summer. They're going to work in public defender's offices, IP litigation houses, child advocacy centers, judges' chambers, the department of justice, gay legal defense groups, and health care privacy advocates. Some, like me, will be around Ann Arbor (and I'll be posting over the summer, so check in every so often), others will be in London, San Francisco, Washington, Boston, Atlanta, and Des Moines. We may come out of 1L year with an academically cynical outlook on what "justice" is, but I doubt that any of my friends will be so cynical after some time those aforementioned jobs. After all, law school, in broad terms, can be as bewildering as Aristophanes would have us believe Socrates' 'Thinkery' was. It occurs to me that this might be one of the only times that life outside of school will leave me less cynical than life inside school. But that might just be final exams talking. Wish me luck!
March 14, 2008
Preview Weekend vs. Deep Thoughts
I'll say this first because it's important: I loved preview weekend. I'm even quoted as loving preview weekend on the flash animation that accompanies admission to Michigan Law. I absolutely loved it. But preview weekend comes with an implied point: the school administration, which plans preview weekend, is going to tell you about all of the things they think are important. And such things are indeed important: financial aid, clerkships, job hunting (you're not even here yet and you want to find a job?!?), etc. are all of great usefulness. But there are other things too that are useful, and this list of random thoughts that popped into my head over that last couple of days is just such a list.
• Hutchins Hall gets hot. Bring breathable clothing.
• Sandals are for warmer and less muddy climates. Bring boots. They may not be sexy, but neither is having wet socks.
• No, you're not going to die of boredom in Ann Arbor. But if you want to, bring a good book: it'll be nice to look at it when it's gathering dust on your shelf while you read Civil Procedure.
• A favorite lunch for some is Big Ten Burrito, which is Mexican food done Michigan style. What's Michigan style? Let's put it this way: Michigan looks south onto Canada, a country not known for its tolerance of spicy cuisine.
• With a car and a total lack of decency, a half-hour of walking around Wholefoods in Ann Arbor makes a satisfying and remarkably affordable lunch out.
• I don't care what anyone else thinks: the sangria at Dominick's should have more fruit in it.
• Michigan Football Season Tickets are a good investment.
• If you wear glasses, don't play solitaire on your computer during class. The professor can totally see the green reflected in your glasses.
• Michigan Law School actually does have videoconferencing facilities. And yes, doing a job interview by videoconference is cool. And sometimes awkward. But mainly cool.
• You can get free pizza before hearing concerts on campus such as the San Francisco Symphony through the Arts & Eats program of the University Music Society.
• The potholes in Ann Arbor could double as clambake pits.
• Textbooks make lousy pillows. Luckily there are enough coffee outlets in and around the Law Quad to stave off that pending nap.
• Celebrating pi day (today) is significantly less geeky than celebrating mole day.
Kind of went off the rails on that last one. Nonetheless, it's true. Happy pi day, everyone.
February 25, 2008
Sweet Home, um..., Boston?
Spring Break! In February! Are we crazy? Of course we are! And what better way to kick off a student blog than admit that outright?
I thought perhaps Spring Break would be the right time to kick this blog off right. I've been filled with school spirit lately, and perhaps it's because I'm not *in* Michigan at the moment. Not that I don't love the old Maize and Blue during term, but sometimes absence really does make the heart grow fonder.
I've been interviewing students for Princeton, my humble undergraduate alma mater, and I think it's a pretty sweet gig. I sit and talk to aspiring young Michiganders for an hour or so and get to reminisce while they look at me like I have the keys to their admission in my back pocket. Of course, I don't, but that doesn't stop them from referring to me as "Prof. Wang", which cracked me up.
I also went to visit a few friends of mine from my grad student days in England, and have been fielding emails from former Keble members each day. I loved Oxford, and there's not a day that I walk through the Law School reading room and see Oxford's seal that I don't smile.
As for Michigan, I love it here. Perhaps it's the snow, perhaps it's the cold, but it always seems to sparkle more when I'm several hundred miles away. I was in New York last Friday during a slush and salt-fest that ruined a great pair of shoes when I realized that as bad as Ann Arbor can get in the snow, it never gets sloppy. And yes, Ann Arbor looks magnificent in the snow. Moreover, the quad looks unbelievable. Email me - I've got pictures to back it up.
I'd like to think that this blog is going to be a repository for all of the things I'm thinking over the course of the next few weeks (and maybe into the following year, if I don't annoy too many people?) and I want it to be a reasonably uncensored view of the law school: not only of the academics, but also the foibles of the students, the basic human drama that unfolds in Hutchins Hall every time someone opens their mouth to match wits with a professor employing the Socratic Method.
By manner of introduction, my name is Joe. I am psyched to be at law school because it's the most practical thing I've ever done: I majored in Classics as an undergraduate, my backup minor to fall back upon was Music Performance. I went to England for a Master's Degree, also in Classics. Law School, therefore, has been a mind trip like I've never experienced. I've loved it, I've hated parts of it, and I've blown a good chunk of time since I was supposed to be reading. So, back to the books I go.