May, oh May

It’s summer.  And, it’s awesome even with this rain.

My last two years of law school are now memories.  It’s time for new beginnings.

The day after my last final, I returned back to work and have been writing a large variety of Board Briefs for the appellate division.  But, that’s old news because on June 3^rd, I’m transferring over to the trial division.  And, I’m as excited as can be.  Instead of befriending my computer, I get to interact with physicians, attorneys, claimants, and employers in addition to learning millions of new things.  I’m now court certified and ready to roll!

But, I still want a short vacation this summer.  So, I’ll be heading north to Vancouver B.C. in June to get some serious shopping out of the way for a week.   Should be fun!

And, in August, I will be going to OLIO, an absolutely wonderful program hosted by the Diversity & Inclusion office of the Oregon State Bar for incoming 1L minority students, in Hood River.  Following this, I plan to take the MPRE exam (the ethics portion of the Bar) on August 17^th.

And, then . . . my last year of law school begins . . .

A little birdie told me that third year is the year that “they bore you to death.”

A Quest of Questioning

     My first year just finished and all I can think about are questions. Those questions range from, “When will I see my family? How much should I drink tonight? Should I do law review? What classes should I pick for next year? Who is here in Oregon for this summer?” It was not until I attended law school did I think about the questions I should ask.

     Growing up, I rarely thought about questions. To put things into context, I am the youngest of five children in a family that is “ranked”. Thus, being the last child, I was subject to parental and sibling authority and any rebellious inclination were subject to their authoritative powers. I was too small to fight back my older brothers or sisters and it would be too disrespectful if I ever spoke back to my parents. Now that I am closer in size to my brothers, their size is no longer a threat. Now that I am older, my parents can respect that I have some experience under my belt.

     There is a saying that, “Old habits die hard.” My old habit? I take things as they are and do not question them. I thought that if I just worked hard and did my job, that was all there is to life and being successful. Of course, life and success is rarely that simple and I thank this first year  at Lewis and Clark for teaching me more than academics.

     The mock oral argument was more than an assignment where I wanted to win best orator. It was the process of asking myself questions an experienced lawyer would ask. “What is the judge going to ask me? Was I clear in my brief? What is the other side going to bring up? How should I structure my roadmap?” I did my best to prepare for the oral argument and there was more practice involved than I anticipated. Being able to ask questions, thinking of those questions, and having answers are so key to law school and becoming a successful future attorney.

     As I sit back and reflect a bit about this second semester, I remember during a practice interview, the interviewer stressed how important having questions were for an interview. At the 1L receptions hosted by law firms, government, and legal aid services, being able to ask the right questions meant you were interested and eager. For a person like me, if it was not for the Career & Professional Development Center (CPDC), I would have struggled so much more in learning how to ask questions. Because I don’t know what to expect I don’t have questions at interviews or at receptions. I get overwhelmed when I put this pressure on myself to create questions. However, getting tips and practicing with situations with the CPDC, a couple of base questions become a habit, and “better” questions flow from them.

      Every day is a learning process and now that finals are over, it is time to learn something new. For me, it will be the Oregon legislature. That will be a later post about my summer.

The first picture is the Flanagan Chapel where the Environmental Moot Court Competition was held. No big deal but... Chief Justice John Roberts was one of the judges for the competition. Although I did not have a "famous" judge or justice for my oral argument, the experience was just as cool. 

2 years down, 1 to go

This year flashed by.  And, although I know that a lot has happened, it’s hard for me to remember.  I’m not sure why.  Lists help though.  So, here are my memories from 2L year.

1. Source-checking for Environmental Law Review: Although I spent many tedious hours reviewing citations and looking up blank cites, I ultimately learned a lot.  I learned how to research (in books too, which is crazy because no one does that anymore), spot incorrect citations quickly, and pay attention to detail.  I also bonded with my fellow law review classmates by discussing what snacks were available in the office (I’m still waiting for the day that we get chocolate covered pomegranate.)

2. Environmental and Animal Law Advocacy:  This class consumed all of my time through September and October.  And, I couldn’t be happier.  Professor Johnston is a rock-star.  He forced us to learn about wetlands in a month, write a rough 40 page draft brief, and compete in six rounds of oral argument.  I can confidently say that I learned the most I ever have in those two months: I learned about a topic I knew nothing about, I learned how to think critically, and, mostly, how to improve as an advocate.  I was pushed hard.  No, very hard. I am unsure if I will take the class again next semester, but I just might.

3. Finding a perfect job:  There were a lot of tears and sweat.  Literally.  But, now, I am so incredibly happy.  I can’t be more thankful for Career Services and all of the firms that I interviewed with prior to finding this company.  I learned many lessons:  1. Keep trying and don’t give up; 2. Do everything you can to better yourself as a person; 3. Realize that you will be rejected and that you will feel miserable; 4. Know you have friends and supporters who want you to succeed and believe in you; 5. Understand that it is all about finding the “best fit”; and 6. Creativity, motivation, and persistence are more important than luck.

4. Busting out decent memos, papers, and briefs like a cheetah: I think back to my first year and realize how much time it took me to write.  Now, it is so much easier.  Perhaps I am better at knowing what is expected, being efficient with my time, and researching faster.  Perhaps I’m just crazy.  There is something different though.  I don’t know what it is, but I definitely feel like I’m doing better.

5.  Learning to relax:  During my first year, I was a stress-ball. I was also super inefficient. As a second year, I could watch a few TV shows, work out at the gym, sleep eight hours a night, and, overall, not feel behind.  It feels good to feel normal again.

6.  Always writing:  I literally am always, always, always writing.  In addition to writing board briefs for work, I was writing Ninth Circuit Review case summaries and briefs for school. I also took Advanced Legal Writing this spring with my favorite professor, Toni Berres-Paul, where I wrote a complaint, a demand letter, a judicial opinion, and a statute (I highly recommend this class, by the way!).

7.  Outlining as you go makes life so much easier:  Finally, I did it!  This spring, I had all my outlines complete before dead week.  It felt nice, really nice.  I relaxed more and was able to do more practice problems.

8.  My growing passion for diversity: After interviewing at a lot of firms this fall, I reaffirmed my realization that the legal field isn’t too diverse.  You may see one or two minorities and women working as an associate.  But, it was on a very rare occasion that I saw minorities and women working as partners.  It’s disappointing.  It’s good for me though because I am inspired to make changes.  Minority Law Student Association was a start.  I plan to do more now, next year, and definitely during my legal career.

9.  You make more friends:  Sure, you might lose touch with some of your pod mates from first year.  However, as an upper division student, you aren’t bound to classes with the same people.  This makes it so much more fun.  You get to meet new, remarkable people all the time.

10.  You work hard and don’t realize it:  Working hard becomes a part of you.  You don’t know it, but you definitely are doing much more than you did as a first year.  And, I remember first year being incredibly hard.

On to third year . . .

April, already?

Oh my!  It's April.  I didn't realize that 2L would fly by.

I'm definitely excited to write a re-cap of my 2L year - so, be ready!

Regardless, I just wanted to let you know that Chief Justice Roberts visited our school last week.  It was definitely a highlight of my law school experience!

Spring has arrived!

It's the most exciting time of the year: spring, or as I like to call it, "pre-summer." The last few weeks have been uncharacteristically warm and sunny for this time of year in Oregon and I've been relishing the opportunity to bust out my new sunglasses. The weather forecast tells me the rain will be back soon, but I'm in major denial of that right now. The awesome weather conveniently coincided with spring break (although admittedly I spent a lot of spring break inside watching my March Madness bracket implode).

After a relaxing week off (yes, a WHOLE WEEK!) from school and reading, appellate briefs has finally been turned in! My partner and I are very excited about how our brief turned out, and it feels good to have one more item on the list crossed off. Now all that remains in Legal Analysis and Writing is oral arguments. We're starting to talk in class about how to translate our polished and organized written arguments into a more fluid, flexible outline of the best points to present to the judges. My current main task is to try to put myself in the mindset of a judge and think about what questions I should be prepared for them to ask. I'm sure as arguments get closer I'll be a little nervous, but right now I'm actually pretty stoked to argue on behalf of my (fictional) client and show off a little of the work I've done all semester.

The rest of my study time will be devoted to outlines and practice exams for my other classes. It's hard to believe that spring exams are only a month away! The year has flown by, and it's weird to think about almost being officially done with 1L year.

Get Your Group On (Like "Get Your Groove On")

Here at Lewis & Clark, there are plenty of opportunities to join student groups. The only downside is that, if you're like me, you want to join every group. I came to law school for public interest. I want to somehow fix all of society's problems for people of disadvantaged backgrounds. However, there are a lot of issues that need solutions and where you concentrate your energy matters. I decided to focus my energy on criminal law, civil rights, employment law, education law, reproductive law, health law, housing law, intellectual property, and just about everything else.
To my surprise, a lot of the law intersects with lives of people. There's no one "law" that I can focus my energy on. Lewis & Clark lets me explore all the possible routes because of the very hospitable and welcoming community here. The only issue is that now I want to do everything. I thought I could focus on one part of the law but now I have a gift and a (lightweight) curse, an outstanding legal education.
The first picture was taken at the American Constitution Society student convention. I spent a weekend down in Palo Alto, at an esteemed law school. The convention talked about the issues of poor people's justice, in particular, the celebration of Gideon v. Wainwright at 50. It was awesome to talk to students and lawyers of all practices. The people I met are committed to the idea that there are flaws with the legal system and we discussed about the solutions to help people who do not have the resources or access to justice. Wherever I focus my energy, I know I am committed to the goal of being a great attorney and giving back to the community that influenced me. I grew up in poverty. For reasons that it would be too much to write about my life story, I think it is safe to assume that I grew up with little resources but the ideals of community, reciprocity, and respect shaped my passion to pursue law.
The second picture is just a "typical" day of my peers enjoying the sun. Portland's weather reputation definitely allows you appreciate the sun. In a sense, what would be pleasure without the pain. I am not saying that the weather is painful. I really like the mild weather. Growing up in San Francisco, you wake up to fog almost every morning, and sometimes it doesn't go away. Nonetheless, it is beautiful up her. I can write for days about Portland's beauty and Lewis and Clark's beauty. There is so much to discover. I am still discovering. One thing I just discovered is ... (I'm not the biggest fan of pictures about food but...)

It combines two things I grew up with in terms of Vietnamese food. One is Banh Xeo and the other is Banh Khot. One is made with ground mung bean and the other ground rice. I believe it also depends on the region about how they cook the delicious goodness. Nonetheless, it sums up law school here in Portland. You combine great things and add your own flair.

Random Discoveries

Here are three (of many) random things I’ve discovered during my time here.

1.  Diabetics Beware:  If you are ever in need of candy, visit Career Services, AEP Director J.B. Kim, or the secretary for Earthrise.

2.  The Writing Center:  Need a paper reviewed or want someone to look over a writing sample?  The school hires practicing attorneys to help you whenever you need it.  The office is located in the L.A.W. Hallway of Wood Hall.

3.  Free Stuff:  Hang out in the Wood Hall lounge and find random things including food and free books.