Improvilaw

Hey, you aren't baby spinach

2009-06-14T21:37:00.002-06:00

Dear readers:

As a public service, I must tell you about an imposter in our midst. Recently, I was at the farmer's market and bought some "baby spinach." (Quotes intentional) I got it home and started cooking it to add to my already delicious pasta dish for dinner.

But it smelled a little....weird. I thought I was just being a freak about it, and that maybe it was just really really fresh. NOT.

It tasted really pungent and not in a good way. Turns out, that we have a green named tatsoi masquerading as my beloved spinach. And this tatsoi is no spinach my friend.

Tatsoi has been described as mustard like, and a bok choy variant. What it really is, is just straight up yucky. Sorry to all the tatsoi lovers out there, but I call shenanigans.

Still jobless

2009-06-07T09:50:00.001-06:00

So, I didn't get that terrific job. They called after the second interview and said that they decided to hire a transfer applicant from one of their other offices. Even worse is that our career services lady mentioned in an offhand way when I saw her the next day that she knew they were going to hire the transfer person. WTF? Gee, thanks for letting me know that before I bought a new suit for the second interview. Like I have money laying around for that. Yeah, right.

I feel frustrated with the whole job situation. I went to a really good law school, and did OK. I was on law review. I was involved in student orgs. I did two externships, one with the Appellate Court. I did everything I was supposed to do, and yet I am sitting here in June with no job, and a pending food stamp application.

I think things would be better if my significant other had a job, or was even remotely employable. But he really isn't. They aren't hiring in his field, and he is just frozen with fear, acting like that's a good excuse to do nothing. He keeps just searching for the same job over and over. When I mentioned a decent paying entry level position, he just said, "But I have that test to work for the unemployment division next week. What abouot that?" What about that you idiot? Odds are, even if he kicks ass at the test, there will be hundreds of other applicants. It's very frustrating to deal with someone who thinks he can only apply to one fucking job at a time.

As for me: I had an interview working for a firm that wants to start up a bankruptcy practice. The interview went OK, but they really (from a business standpoint) should hire someone other than me. And I know that. And it's OK. But OK doesn't pay the damn rent. Speaking of which, I have no idea how that will happen next month.

Shit.

Interview today

2009-05-20T09:26:00.002-06:00

I have a second interview today, at a place in my hometown, where I would really like to work. It is a place where I could really make a difference. According to the lawyers working there who attended my first interview, there is a ton of work to be done, and there will be a TON of court time. This actually excites me.

There is a video of some of those involved with this organization talking about the project I am interviewing for posted on the net. It's an hour long, and I have been watching it (again) this morning, desperately trying to come up with new questions to ask at the interview. That is the tough part as I "used up" my 4 good questions at the last interview.

Does anyone have any "go to" questions for public interest interviews?

(I already used up questions about funding, grants, and the project's legislative advocacy.)

Graduation

2009-05-15T18:25:00.002-06:00

What else can I say right now. I had such a hectic last couple weeks:

getting the public interest award from the bar,
job application due dates,
finally get the OK to get admitted to the bar,
an interview,
an exam, then a paper due the next day, then a mock hearing yesterday,

And now...I finally graduated.

It hasn't sunk in yet. I don't know when it will. I feel so exhausted and happy and I want to hurry up and find those classmates who are leaving town soon, so I can say goodbye and wish them well.

And I want to get back to "real life." The life I left behind wasn't based on "book" learning: it was about the lessons you learn from going through births and deaths and marriages and relationships. The law still seems like a big bunch of theory with a question at the end that won't be answered until I am actually able to help someone with my degree.

Not to say I haven't had a life while in law school, but it was one that centered around classmates and classes and intellectual growth, and trying to figure out how to best use the things about practicing law that I am good at and to decipher the hard parts enough to get through them.

I thought the giant question mark would scare me, but it really is a world of possibility.

And I am ready to take that on.

LMAO

2009-05-09T08:46:00.002-06:00

Yep, I have been feeling a little bad about not having a job, but I found this blog, which makes me feel like a million bucks in comparison to some poor saps out there.

My favorite of course, is the infamous naked wizard gets tazed video, for obvious reasons.

Hilarious Celebrity Apprentice Quote

2009-05-05T10:27:00.003-06:00

In the board room:

Ivanka Trump: "These are the things that most project managers wouldn't forgo the opportunity to be a part of."

Brady (former Playmate) "I didn't "forgoo" anything."

Wow. This woman is an idiot. LOL!

Finally - my paralegal experience pays off

2009-05-05T09:05:00.003-06:00

Throughout law school, I have been shocked and sometimes upset with how easily my fellow law students and potential employers have dismissed my years of paralegal experience. I worked hard at that job. I helped build a firm from the ground up. I happened to have worked for someone who trusted me and who gave me a long rope (which I sometimes attempted to wrap around my own neck out of frustration. That enabled me to develop an advertising mechanism that doubled the net profit of the firm from that point on. I hired and trained staff, including attorneys. I learned how to handle conflict, both with clients and the sometimes ornery opposing counsel in our cases.

Frankly, I kicked ass at that job. The owner told me I had to go to law school because I had a knack for the business and communication portions of law practice. I was successful, and sometimes, when the joblessness brings up that tiny bit of fear about the future that sometimes ebbs when I feel stressed, I wish I could go back to that job.

Which makes it even harder when the skills I honed there are so easily disregarded as unimportant. Paralegals really are the ones running most law firms. They provide continuity, mediate disputes among staff, ensure quality work product and keep the firm on an even keel.

This morning, I got a call from a firm I applied to. Granted, I didn't really want to start applying to jobs at law firms, but it's a small planitiffs' firm, which doesn't offend my public interest sensibilities. The woman who called immediately told me that the firm had decided to hire someone with 3-5 years of experience, but that they loved my resume and experience, and wanted to consider my paralegal experience as fulfilling that requirement. Hallelujah!

The scary thing is that they want someone who can start up a bankruptcy/debtors' rights practice for them. I have a ton of experience in this area, but not as an attorney. The thought of doing all of that on my own scares me, but is also exciting. In this economy, bankruptcy is booming, and I should take advantage of my knowledge in that area.

I really just want to save the world though.

Still jobless. Have company.

2009-05-03T23:42:00.002-06:00

So, update is that I am still job hunting. The good news is that:

a) I am by far not the only one. Some of my smartest, most competent friends and family are still looking too, so I don't feel too inadequate because of my unemployment.
2) I have an interview in my hometown for a job on Wednesday. Please God, let me get that job. It pays almost nothing, but it's doing really good, important work.

The job is at a legal services place, and I would probably have to improve my ability to speak Spanish by about a million percent if I got it, but I think I could really love the work. Can you imagine loving your job? I didn't used to, but I can see loving this. Helping people eliminate barriers to employment is a great thing. Who wouldn't want that job?

OK, the bad thing is that I can't let myself get too excited about it. Period. A crushing defeat might be too much for me right now. How about a tenuous optimism? That sounds very good.

My own ecomonic crisis

2009-04-25T19:11:00.002-06:00

So, I am running out of money. Fast. I knew when I started law school that my savings would be out by the middle of this school year, and that I would have to rely 100% on student loans. Then my significant other lost his job.

And it has been rough. No spring break trips for us. While classmates headed to Florida and Mexico and other warm destinations, we went on a day trip an hour away to visit friends. I am not complaining - I had a good time. It just is hard to have two people in my household looking for jobs, and being so incredibly low on money. His car needed a new transmission 2 weeks ago. We actually found out about that $1700 bill the same day he got into an accident with an uninsured driver. There goes $2,200.

I figured out that we will be out of money entirely by the middle of June, and I will have to start waitressing or something. No shame in that, but it is a little odd for someone with a law degree to be waiting tables again.

One step forward, two steps back.

He went to a teachers job fair this morning. Said that he handed out his resume and chatted up some people, but no one was interviewing people with his specialty area. I am happy that he went. I think that both of us need to improve our confidence - and you can't do that staying at home!

For those soon-to-be law students reading this, be aware that these are bizarre times. Normally, more than half my class would have jobs by now. Normally, I would have a damn job by now. However, before you go to law school, think about what you would do if you couldn't find a job after. Seriously.

Who knew?

2009-03-03T22:24:00.002-06:00

Who knew that after high school, an Associates Degree and a B.A. I would finally catch "senioritis" now? While I like one of my classes, the other two are downright painful at times. I do the reading, but my heart's not in it anymore. I can barely sit through our student government meetings, as the closeminded attitudes of my schoolmates are now unbearable. I need to be done with school. Seriously.

Thank god I don't have a job, or I would really be slacking off!

The most amazing room in the Student Union

2009-02-17T15:12:00.003-06:00

My friend is doing a panel at the law school today. And her bus lets her off at the Student Union. So I decided to study here for a while. I went upstairs and found this amazing room. Very quiet, with windows overlooking the lake, but not so many windows that its distracting.

I have been getting a lot done here. I might just stay.

In other news, I still don't have a job. Since that's the way things have been for a while, I guess it is not news after all.

Wide world of Apathy

2009-01-29T17:35:00.003-06:00

Reading this blog, you might think that nothing has happened in the past 30 days, but lots of stuff has...I have just been too busy, lazy and apathetic to blog about it. I think it might be good that I am spending enough time living life that I don't have energy left to write about it.

We have a new President, and he's got a tough job ahead of himself.

I went to New Orleans, and loved the experience again, especially the friends, legal work and food part.

When I returned from New Orleans, I found that my boyfriend is the recession's newest victim, and we are now much much more impoverished than we were before.

More on all this later. I am in Worker's Comp class right now, and I should be trying to learn some things.

Well well well, who do we have here

2008-12-31T09:48:00.002-06:00

It's me! Sorry for the really really long absence, but I just got really really busy! While we were on hiatus, the following happened:

The boyfriend's sister had a beautiful baby girl.
I finished the semester.
I took my Real Estate exam. It went OK.
I took my Tax exam. It was insanely hard. More on that later.
Finished the Court internship. Judge said he would happily give me a reference. Great!
Holidays were fun. Spent time with family. Mildly irritated by some in-laws.
Got Wii Fit. In pain from Wii Fit.
Tonight is New Year's Eve. Going out to dinner with some wonderful people, than drinks here at the apartment. Still feeling the holiday vibe.
No job yet. Actually, not much available in the way of jobs for me yet, but I knew that choosing gov't or public interest would cause that. Still hanging in there.

I keep getting teary-eyed about Obama's win

2008-11-05T22:12:00.004-06:00

So, I kinda knew I would cry when Obama won the election. Actually, while I hoped he would win, I was still skeptical that we could pull it off. I think that I was a little burned out after 2 terms with the Moron. I also think that's how I kept getting dragged into phone banking and GOTV calls for him and HeadCount.

What I wasn't expecting is how touched everyone is about this victory. I feel so proud of our country for picking the smarter candidate and seeing past the Republicans' poisonous rhetoric.

I have been watching news shows like crazy (we cancelled our cable TV, effective tomorrow so we could still get election coverage) and every time they show someone else cry about this election, I do too. I even cried watching Jesse Jackson and he gets on my nerves normally Who knew that Oprah's runny mascara could move me so much?

I guess I am the official election crybaby. And damn proud of it.

Obama's grandma passed away

2008-11-03T16:38:00.002-06:00

Sometimes, life just isn't fair. After sacrificing for and encouraging Obama so much, his grandma died last night/early this morning.

I can't imagine the terrible and strange mix of grief and anticipation for tomorrow that Barack and family must be feeling. It seems like such a shame that his Grandma won't get to see him become president.

Rest in peace Grandma Dunham.

Justice for workers = exciting for lawyers!

2008-10-29T10:52:00.003-06:00

Some deliverymen in New York City were getting ripped off by their employer. The guys were working tons of hours and only getting $520 per month from their employer, the Saigon Grill. Turns out that they only made about $2 an hour. They sued with the help of a public interest law organization and won a multi million dollar verdict.

Check out the New York Times story.

This is the kind of thing that makes me excited to practice law!

So close, yet so far away!

2008-10-20T18:30:00.003-06:00

Graduation is less than 6 months away now, but I still have a ton to do.

Found out recently that I might be able to do some updating to my law review article and get it published in a different journal or even the newsletter for an organization I am in. That involves a TON of work, but I might do it.

I also am up to my ears in regular school work because I took a 4 day "vacation" to Detroit to attend that conference. I am planning to stay at the library until 9:30 tonight as part of my "catch up" plan. Same with tomorrow. Hopefully, I can manage not to flunk out before I graduate!

Going to the Motor City

2008-10-15T20:15:00.002-06:00

So, I am going to a conference this weekend in Detroit. In a Toyota Corolla. I don't care what the motor city thinks about my foreign car. It gets damn good gas mileage.

I have to laugh about how a momentary decrease in gas prices makes everyone forget that last month, that stuff was $4 a gallon or more. I haven't forgotten, and my hatred for spending money on stuff that is consumed means that I will drive itty bitty cars the rest of my life!

New school year, new jobs, new hope?

2008-09-23T12:10:00.003-06:00

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

2008-09-19T07:02:00.002-06:00

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?

2008-09-15T18:25:00.003-06:00

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!

2008-08-30T16:09:00.003-06:00

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?

2008-08-25T11:57:00.001-06:00

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!

2008-08-21T19:55:00.002-06:00

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!!!!!!!

2008-08-21T12:01:00.003-06:00

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.