I Don't Want to Read Crim Pro/Triumphant Return?

I randomly clicked on the link to this blog today and realized that it's been over a year since I've posted--that's more than a little sad. I could say that I'll be writing here more frequently, but I've made similar promises before. Still, since I'm trying to avoid my reading again, how about an update?

* I'm graduating in May! And while law school has been fun, I can't say I'm sorry to be leaving. The seminars were great, as was the independent work that I did, but lecture classes are tough: reading every day for the seemingly sole purpose of memorizing facts and having no opportunity to do any in-depth analysis=lame.

* I got published! It's on a very esoteric topic, but it was still pretty neat to see my name in print. I've been working on a second piece that's nearly complete, but we'll see whether I actually submit it for publication or have it accepted anywhere. Will I ever fully give up on the idea of becoming an academic?

* I'm almost done being editor-in-chief of the law review! The last year has been quite an adventure, and I'm very, very glad to have had the experience, but at the same time it's great to know I'll soon be finished. We'll be picking the new editorial board Superbowl weekend (bad timing, I know), so T-minus 8 days and counting.

* MLR has been running smoothly. Thanks to a really great group of editors, we've published each of our issues several weeks early (#5, the March issue, will be out shortly) and are hopefully leaving the journal in the same great shape we found it in last year.

* I'm moving to Virginia, then going to DC. I'll be clerking for a year and then will make the permanent (or at least semi-permanent) move to the District in 2012.

That covers the highlights, I think. Now we'll see if I can keep it up.

I Don't Want to Read Jurisdiction

Since I'm trying to avoid doing my class reading and I finally have a little free time after a very hectic week and a half, I thought it would be a good time to post. Updates on life:

* Successfully visited Nashville, Indianapolis, Plymouth and Ann Arbor & got both Jennifer and my things moved in.

* OCI week came & went, which was a whole lot more stressful than I thought it would be. 20 interviews over the course of 4 days is very tiring. Still, I think it went well overall. A number of firms are still deciding on who they're going to offer callbacks to, so for now I'm still waiting to see how the whole thing went.

* MLR orientation ended yesterday. I'm still really looking forward to working on a journal, but the 3L's certainly weren't kidding when they said it was a major time commitment: 5-10 hour weekly assignments + writing a publishable note this year + committee work + administrative duties (though I'm told that's only a couple of times a semester) on top of my regular class work and Campbell (which I'm separately really excited about) means this year will be keeping me busy.

* I'm getting particularly excited about researching & writing my note topic. For anyone who might be interested, I'm planning to write on whether a district court has the authority (and if it does, whether it should ever exercise that authority) to compel the attendance of a corporate defendant at an 11(b) plea colloquy even though Fed. R. Crim. Pro. 43 says that organizational defendants "need not be present" at any hearing or trial if represented by counsel. OK, it sounds esoteric and boring, but I think a lot of the discussion will revolve around the justifications of prosecuting corporations and whether the reasons why we choose to do that tells us anything about how corporations should plead guilty to crimes. White collar crime is kind of cool, right?

I think that touches all the highlights. Time to get back to that reading.

Almost Time to Move Again

In less than a week I'll be heading back up to Michigan via Nashville (Jennifer has assured me I'm not going to turn into slack-jawed yokel by stepping foot in The South) to start my second year of law school. That of course means that the next few days will inevitably be filled with my procrastinating, followed by panic that I'm actually going to have to leave DC and somehow get all of my things back to Ann Arbor. That, coupled with the substantial amount of preparation needed for OCI, means fun times for me. Before classes actually start, I also have the week of on-campus interviewing and then another week of journal orientation. Life will probably be busy over the next month or so.

Other than that, very little is new. I'm finishing up work at the DoJ, so it's been pretty slow in the office. Tonight it's out with friends to spend our winnings from trivia, a $50 gift certificate to a bar. Other than that...nothing. Let's be honest: I'm pretty much posting for the sake of posting. But at least I've got something new on the blog.

I'm Posting??

Hey, it's only been 7 months since I last posted something here. But given my level of boredom this week, I figured writing a few entries would kill at least 20 minutes. And changing the name, font and style? That's at least another 10.

Updates
Surprisingly little is new (or at least surprisingly little that I'm going to talk about in a public forum with OCI coming up (please hire me, DC law firms!)), but some highlights:

* I finished my first year of law school! Yes, I made it out alive, so I am officially 1/3 of the way to being able to pretend I know enough law to give legal advice. Scary thought.

* I'm interning this summer at the Department of Justice in the Environmental Crimes Section. Yes, environmental crimes are real; no, not everyone who works here is a granola-crunching hippie. Turns out dumping tons of putrid, hazardous chemicals into the main water source of a small town is a big no-no. So far I've been pretty lucky in getting assignments which are challenging and interesting. It's also even further solidified my love for litigation: spend the next two weeks reading over this brief, doing research and writing out an argument demonstrating opposing counsel is wrong? Sign me up. I'm here through mid-August, too, so if anyone in the DC/Northern Virginia area is interested in getting together before then, let me know.

* OCI is coming up. For those of you less familiar with the process of finding legal employment, OCI is the On Campus Interviewing program that Michigan and a good many other schools do. Employers come to the campus to interview prospective employees for next summer (only 9 months away!), and each student goes through dozens of interviews over a 4 or 5 day period. The important part is that the large majority of students will end up working for the firm, organization or agency they intern for during their 2L summer after they graduate, meaning this process pretty much determines where I'll be going with my pretty new J.D. in 2011. I really want to return to the District once I graduate, so we'll hope the process goes well.

I'm going to try to revive my blog and post here at least semi-regularly, so here's hoping I stick to it.

Question

How many of my law school friends have checked this since Laura told you all about it last Saturday?

It's Friday

...which means I've just finished my first week of law school, and overall it seems pretty good. There certainly is a fair amount of work (a lot more than in undergrad) but I don't think I have to worry too much about the horror stories I've been told of how law students have to work 14 hours a day, 7 days a week until finals season, at which point it becomes 18...I know a couple of people who are treating it like a job, where they'll work from 9-5 or 6 on weekdays, and that gets them through the material.

Ann Arbor's turning out to be a really great place: the Law School is beautiful and I don't think I could ask for anything better in the Reading Room or library. There are also a ton of bars, restaurants, stores and anything else you could want within walking distance, so there's always a new place to go.

The people here are much more laid back than your stereotypical law student--friendly, easy to get along with & willing to help you out if you need it. I think I got lucky with my section in particular, which seem to be filled with some pretty great people.

As for the classes I'm taking this semester, I think I'll end up really enjoying 3 out of 4, which isn't too bad: Con Law and Torts are both interesting (and match up pretty well with some of my interests in philosophy from undergrad) and Legal Practice shouldn't be too demanding (read: it's pass/fail, so I don't have to stress about it). Property, on the other hand, is the one I think I'll enjoy the least: I'm not as interested in the material, and it seems to be (at least at this point) a lot more memorization than the others. But the semester is young--that could always change.

And speaking of classes, I should probably get started on that reading....

Pictures of the Room

My desk (with the 1st semester books), and in back of that my pantry/food area

We get a sink in the rooms, which I think is great--it makes sharing a bathroom significantly easier.

The desk again, and the door in the background.

Desk/empty bookshelf

My bed and, of course, my GLORIOUS television.

And finally the incredibly heavy, unmovable dresser and a shot of my closet.