An accepted measure of an excellent law school is the awarding of an Order of the Coif chapter. Tech Law School received its chapter pretty early in its existence. The school was hard while I was there; two years of required courses with few opportunities for electives until the third year, but Tech Law School graduates consistently did well on the Bar Exam.
I am a very confident guy, but law school is the only thing in my life I thought perhaps I could not do. I did well eventually, but I worked my butt off for three years and never let up.
ETA: I was on the Mock Trial team for two years, and our “coach,” Don Hunt, was outstanding. The experience completely prepared me for trying cases in real life. Don also coached the excellent Moot Court teams. All of us did moot court during the first year.
I too gave up on the NFL when the Oilers left town. Don’t regret the decision to not waste calories on Sundays caring about professional football, but goddamn I do miss Columbia blue, scarlet and white.
If the name and history could ever be pried from the cold hands of the Adams family (hell, I’d settle for just the name at this point), I’d come back in a heartbeat.
As it is, the only interest I can really muster is to watch the Steelers with a somewhat empty heart because my partner Kara is from Erie and devout in her loyalty. I can’t bring myself to support them, though. Growing up with the legacy of Mike Renfro and Gary Anderson does that to a man.
I watched less football this year than any other year of my life. I had almost no interest because I wasn’t playing fantasy football and haven’t been excited about a team since the Oilers left. I tried the Cowboys but my total disdain for Jerry Jones makes rooting for them impossible. I tried the Texans but following that organized clusterfuck was like subjecting myself to surgery without anesthesia. I would love to see the Texans or the Cowboys with different owners, until then, I’m a man without a team.
You seem like the kind of person who could be a success in a variety of working endeavors… Wait, you have been.
Some of the smartest people I know are attorneys. I once took the LSAT and didn’t do too well. I’m sure Law School is very hard and demanding for most people. And I’ve heard passing the bar is no simple feat. And yet, everyday I see lawyers (usually politicians) acting so ignorant that it has me questioning how they ever made it to where they are.
Thanks for the kind words, Marty. I do not know how it was for Neil or for any other lawyers here, but law school is the hardest thing I have ever done. I am convinced I made the grades I made, not because I was any smarter than my classmates, but because I outworked many of them and did not let up the third year.
The Bar Exam? Oh, my: multiple days of high pressure Hell. On the final day, I went straight and immediately from the Bar to a bar, and I refused to review questions and answers with anyone. I was there to drink and to relax/have fun, not to compare my answers with others. If I had missed a lot of questions, I did not want to know. I would find out soon enough.
I found this interesting: Tortoise and the Hare. There’s a second episode following this one.
Malcom Gladwell’s podcast on what the LSAT tests for and how that selects for a specific talent among future lawyers, but hardly the only important one. Also the knock on impact that has for hiring.
I went in and took the lsat on a whim with no preparation. I don’t think it was as big of a deal when I took it, but maybe I was just stupid, and I don’t have a lot of an opinion on it. I have no idea what I made. As far as law school, I was a bit older and was ready for it in a way I hadn’t been ready for college. I enjoyed it. I always think that a lot of law school is learning a new vocabulary and learning how to identify how a thread of facts fits that vocabulary, and while many would disagree, it’s really pretty good training for post-law school. Did the lsat test for that? I’ve got no clue.
The very short of it: It tests for very rapid assessments. That can be helpful in certain applications (e.g., any types of transaction law on crazy deadlines), but not necessarily predictive for jobs that require a more deliberate review of law.
However, the Supreme Court basically only selects from the very elite law schools that will have selected their students based on a test that favors rapid assessment skills almost exclusively. Arguably, not the most important skill in a Supreme Court setting that likely requires a more deliberate review.
Not that these skills are mutually exclusive, but highlighting a potential inefficiency.
I took the Bar Exam in Lubbock, and I do not remember which bar. That was 1978, but Fat Dawgs sounds familiar.
I was almost 30 when I started law school, Neil, and almost 33 when I finished. I did not enjoy a single thing about it except the friends I made. I worked my butt off and had been a teacher. Law school teachers hiding the ball with the Socratic method did not amuse me.
I’m watching the game. It’s the first football game I’ve watched this year, which is probably one more than I watched last year. I think I’m rooting for the St. Louis Bucaneers, but I really liked the National Anthem.
I asked my wife who was performing at halftime. She said “the weekend”. I said I know it’s this weekend, who’s performing? What happened to the old guys at halftime?