New school year, new jobs, new hope?

So, I am finally quitting my legal research job to work as a project assistant for the school's volunteer lawyer/law student partnership project. I am excited for the new opportunity and because this job enables me to do something other than staple printouts.

I also am working with another student at school to get the law school to offer a new class. We were thinking of "Survey of Public Interest Law." Basically, we are trying to get some clinical profs to teach us a little bit of what we missed when the school decided never ever to offer 80% of the public interest classes listed in their brochure.

An email to two of the professors today yielded really enthusiastic responses. I am really excited about the prospect of being taught stuff I want to learn for once! I hope we can make this happen.

Back on the voter registration bandwagon

So, I am getting back on the horse so to speak, and registering voters again tonight at a show here in town. I said that it was time for me to direct my energies elsewhere, but the org really needed help, and I couldn't say no.

However, I am not sure how I am going to feel watching someone else do the job that I used to have. Ah, nostalgia.

Well, at least this makes me feel like I am doing SOMETHING about this election. Seems like most of my peers, for all their shit-talking, don't get involved at all, in anything, other than just...talking.

Blog readers, post in the comments about how you are getting involved this election season.

Can I please just shut the hell up?

If I am not the one in charge, and the one in charge isn't doing a splendid job, why can't I just shut the hell up? I have no idea, but I really wish I could. It's not my fault that things might be a little screwed up, and I don't have to make sure that every damn thing I am involved in is just exactly perfect. Who the hell died and made me judge? No one, that's who. So I am just going to have to learn how to be a "member" of things, and not in charge of them.

I was the one who wanted to be more employee and less boss. Why is it so hard for me to get used to this?

I am getting published!

An article I co-wrote on debt management is going to appear in my state bar's monthly magazine. I am pretty excited about this development. However, there have been recent changes in the law (the prez recently signed HR 4137 which gives debt relief in exchange for 3 year commitments for prosecutors and public defenders) that aren't covered in the article.

For some odd reason, the bar is publishing it as is.

I am just happy that something I contributed to is getting published.

Dear summer....why did you leave me?

Apparently, summer is packing its bags and is on its way out the door. Why oh why does it have to leave so soon? I was just getting the hang of grilling my meals outside instead of cooking them on a stove. I had just gotten used to spending more time outside my apartment than inside. I was done working and had nothing in front of me but two weeks of relaxation.

Now, I have an afternoon today to get organized before I leave for my vacation. I return Friday to book buying, reading assignments and job hunting. And then school starts.

I am just not ready.

Fame!

Actually, Hall of Fame. Or "Halls of Fame" as the case may be. I am going on a road trip next week to see the Rock and Roll and Football Halls of Fame. I am totally psyched. I think this will be a great pre-school road trip and the perfect start to my 3L year!

If you have been to either one, or are from Ohio, please leave info/advice/warnings/etc in the comments.

P.S. Though it looks odd, it is correct to say "Halls of Fame" and NOT "Hall of Fames."

Grammatically yours,

Improvilaw

Book sale!!!!!!!

Oh yes, it's that wonderful time of year again, when I unload a whole bunch of books that I don't need anymore. My readers were very kind last year, and helped take a bunch of these off my hands.

Buying used books is environmentally friendly, as you are helping me "recycle."
Buying used books helps you save money
Buying used books means that you don't have to trudge to the law school bookstore.

Check out the list of books below:
Listed as Title/Edition/Author/Retail/My price

Evidence: Exam Pro 2^nd Michael Graham $30 $20

Civ Pro: Legalines 5^th Keyed to Yeazell $20 $1

Anatomy of a Lawsuit Revised Peter Simon $23 $12

Contract Law/Prob& UCC 3^rd Scott and Kraus $40 $5

Contract Law:Capability Problem 2^nd Danzig and Watson $31 $10

Contracts: Examples & Explanations 2^nd Blum $40 $15

Contracts: Casenote Legal Briefs Keyed to Murphy $28 $15

Understanding Torts 2^nd Diamond/Levine $25 $12

Black’s Law Dictionary Deluxe 8^th Garner $108 $75


Contact me if you are interested.

Job market looking bleak for "firmies"

For my classmates who are looking to work in big firms after graduation, things aren't looking so good this year. Only one or two local firms were on the 3L OCI list.

That means that these people might actually have to use their brains, and come up with a list of firms and addresses to send *gasp* snail mail resumes and cover letters to. Oh the humanity! They are going to have to do a real job hunt, not just go across the street to interviews with 2nd year associates who don't have a clue about what's going on.

On the other hand, I feel like I should be more worried about finding a job, but I am not. Many of the public interest employers I want to work for need more help in a bad economy. They also don't hire until winter. For now, I am just making my mail merge list of employers, and doing a lot of networking.

Questions about UW Law

I have had a couple inquiries via email and one in the comments about UW Law in general and my situation specifically. I can tell you that the one thing I have learned in law school is that you just never know.

I have gotten interviewed for jobs where I didn't meet their criteria at all. I have been not been offered positions that I was qualified for because of not having grades the employer wanted, but exceeding all other qualifications. I have had employers offer me paying school-year positions based on my summer work when I least expected it.

I don't know much about law firm jobs because I rarely apply to any. I like 40-50 hour weeks, and think that I didn't bust my ass at law school just to continue to do so as a nameless cog in a giant legal machine for the next 30 years. I have a ton of interest in doing very "non-traditional" stuff with my degree. Like starting a non-profit which saves other non-profits time and resources. Or counseling other people considering a second career. Or working on the technology side of law practice. Or saving the world.

I have a lot of dreams, but not many solid goals, other than following my passion for people wherever it takes me.

If you are seeking further information about UW Law, feel free to email me. Or leave your email addy in the comments and I will get back to you. I love talking to people about my experience, but I want to remind my readers that every person is different, and so are their job prospects and hopes and goals and thoughts about law school, the legal profession and success.

My biggest education in law school has been the one I gave myself - about it being a great thing to be different. About shattering the status quo. About going against the grain and doing my own thing.

Are you gonna vote?

So, I am going to be adding a "Register to Vote" button for HeadCount to my blog. As some of you may know, I started working for HeadCount in 2004 when the org first started, registering people to vote at music concerts and festivals all over the midwest. I had a great time doing this, and eventually worked my way up to Outreach Director in 2007. However, being in charge of outreach at a time when the organization needed to grow exponentially to prepare for the 2008 election and law school didn't go well together. My grades took a big hit from working so hard for HeadCount and I resigned my position in January 2008 to let more available people take over.

The good news is that HeadCount is still going strong, and voter registration is a cause which is still near and dear to my heart.

So, please click on the button on the right side of the page, and check out the site. You can register to vote, or even volunteer to help others exercise their own right to vote.

This is outrageous [attempt to go green content]

My boyfriend and I are trying our best to recycle everything and to stop using so much stuff. So, we are now trying really hard not to buy bottled water. We got a Brita filter for Christmas and have been refilling water bottles or using Nalgene bottles for our daily intake of H2O.

We had to replace the filter today and I discovered that Brita filters can't be recycled here in the U.S. Chlorox owns Brita in the U.S. and they haven't started a recycling program here like they have in Europe.

There is a petition online to get them to recycle these plastic things. Check it out.

Time to start working soon

So, I start working on Monday. Many of my friends at school started over a week ago. My employer for the summer wanted me to wait (vacations or something for my supervisor). So I have had some time on my hands. I went camping for a few days. I went to the Chocolate Festival in Burlington. I went to a fabulous dinner with my mentee. I got to spend my best friend K's birthday with her, and commisserate and have a great time talking about the "good old days" before both of us started collecting all these degrees and life got so crazy. I have read one mystery novel already and am in the middle of another. I have done a lot of shopping for work clothes.

I still haven't found my damn passport yet though. I have to get on that.

Monday is coming too soon!