Mark Stevenson

If It Ain't Broke...

2011-06-17T06:00:00.000-04:00

...Don't fix it right? I shall digress.

I know using "ain't" is not proper grammar, but most grammar goes out the door on blogs anyway. This isn't some type of legal academic masterpiece afterall. Blogs are about short sentences, catchy phrases, lists, and other pithy ideas.

Back to my main point.

The old saying goes, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it," right? I grew up with that saying. My dad used it often and I think his dad said it, and his dad said it. It's just one of those things that makes sense. Why spend time and money replacing or upgrading some item if it's working fine? Why buy a new BMW when the 10 year old Honda is running well? I'm guilty of this often. Everyone is at some point, I'm sure.

However, what if you don't know that something is broken, as a result you don't fix it? For instance, what if you drive your car around every day and it's really not working properly but you have no way of knowing until it breaks down. Possibly, you lack the expertise to know if your car is running properly and you're at the mercy of your local mechanic.

In a more philosophical sense, what if something is broken in your life and you're not aware? How do we know we need to fix something if we're ignorant? Perhaps we need to attempt to change and fix things after a certain period. I've heard that as humans get older, we're more resistant to change. Why is this? This is probably a good thing at times, but can also be a hinderance to growth. Change is good and is crucial many times. The key is knowing when, what, and how to change.

With all this said, I'm changing my study habits for the bar. I've done some good things after 5 or 6 weeks of studying, but I need to change. I don't know if my study procedures are broken, but I feel like I need to alter them a little. Maybe after I change them, I will realize I wasn't as effective as I should have been with my time. This is my third time changing things in 6 weeks. We'll see what happens.

Maybe the old saying is wrong in the end.

In the Middle of It

2011-06-11T23:00:00.001-04:00

It's not all that bad, but maybe it will be. I've been studying for the VA bar for about 4 weeks now and it hasn't been too bad. I know in the next week or so I will ramp up my studying a little more. I've been trying to remain calm and relaxed as the exam date gets closer.

Also, some people feel the need to study at different times and in different ways. I know that I need breaks. A little break here and there to split up the long chunks of study time and also a good dinner break with my family.

Other people like to go 12 hours straight and they take the evening off. Others like to go late into the night.

Whatever your flavor is, you have to figure out what works for you. I've definitely tweaked different things here and there to help me be more productive.

When it comes down to it, it's about maximizing your study time and learning the most you can in the shortest amount of time...and making it stick.

The proverbial battle continues on.

2 Exams

2011-04-18T10:22:00.002-04:00

Two exams are standing between me and graduation. I really can't believe law school is coming to a close. I still need to finish my VA bar app, but at least I will be done with my academic studies for now.

I told a classmate that our last day of classes seemed a little anti-climactic and he turned to me and said, "that's what graduation is for." He was right. I guess everything will start to sink in once graduation is come and gone.

After finals are over, I will post some more thoughts.

April Showers

2011-04-06T18:00:00.000-04:00

I just taught my son Liam the saying "April showers bring May flowers," and we've gotten a little rain so far this month of April. In Va Bch, it's just the way of life that one day it may be cold and rainy and the next it's warm and sunny. But, after a few more weeks, the weather will finally be warm all the time. Generally by May, the weather is superb.

A lot is going on with me the next few weeks as I finish some assignments and get ready for exams. I'm also working on my bar app here and there. It's surreal to think that classes are done on the 12th and then I only have two exams left of my law school career.

To all the 1Ls and 2Ls reading this, time continues to fly by and graduation will be here before you know it. To me, that's a good thing and it has made law school not seem so bad.

One tip for future 3Ls is to plan your last semester so you don't have many exams. You can do this by taking classes such as Trial Practice or Negotiations that don't have a traditional final exam. It definitely helps out with everything else going on at the end of the semester.

Finishing Strong

2011-03-21T22:39:00.003-04:00

I'm going to try to finish strong this semester, in my classes and on this blog. I really can't believe this is my last semester in law school. The first two years were pretty tough mainly because of the 1L classes, but after getting through those, the past two years have flown by. I can't say my semesters really got any easier for various reasons, but they definitely went faster.

I have a busy week this week with my Trial Practice final trial on Thursday in addition to my regular routine. I also calculated that we only have 3 weeks of classes left. Today is the 21st and we finish on April 12th, not including exams of course. In January, it really is hard to start back since we start so early, but it's nice to get out at the end of April.

Unfortunately, I still have a lot to do before I can rest and enjoy being done with law school. I'll have two in-class exams and my bar application to finish up by May 10. I hope to have all that done by May 1 which will give me plenty of time to relax before I start bar prep.

What a ride.

Fun in Law School

2011-02-15T11:43:00.002-05:00

I try to have fun when I'm not at work or doing school work. As a law student, it is not necessary to spend all your time studying. There is a balance.

One of my favorite hobbies is ODU Men's Basketball. Rebecca and I have been season ticket holders since we graduated and we typically go to nearly all the home games in addition to a few road games each year. It's also a great family activity since the kids enjoy it for the most part and it's good clean fun.

Right now the Monarchs (Lion = King of the Jungle = Monarch) are in the top 3 in the CAA (Colonial) and are hoping to get into the top 2 before the season is done. We have a great shot of getting back into the NCAA tourney in March. Last year we upset Notre Dame in the first round in New Orleans. Thankfully, I had the opportunity to get down there for that game. I'll never forget. I had to skip a couple classes in return for the experience but it was well worth it and I did fine in the classes.

So, as we get closer to March Madness, I'll be continuing to following the Monarchs in addition to all the other happenings in College Basketball.

Finders Keepers

2011-02-08T08:46:00.001-05:00

I've had the privilege of finding a few $20 bills in or outside local places of business in the past year or so. The first time, I found $20 outside a thrift store on the sidewalk. I thought to myself for a few seconds about how I could use this money now that I had found it. Then, I realized I was directly outside a thrift store and possibly a customer lost it on the way out. Regardless, I decided not to be selfish and give the money to the thrift store. If the customer never comes back, then the thrift store could keep it. It was a cool feeling because the employee working that day was very appreciative of what I did.

The second time occurred the other day. I was inside a local Starbucks and I noticed $20 on the ground next to the condiment bar. I picked it up and gave it to the Barista on duty. Again, I quickly dismissed putting it in my pocket and claiming it as my own. A customer definitely dropped it as some point and may come back for it. If not, Starbucks can keep it since it was "lost" on their property.

I don't want to get into property principles on "findings," but we should ask some basic questions to ourself when we find money like this. Regardless, I know I don't have a guilty conscious about keeping money that is not mine.

Obviously, these two scenarios are completely different from finding money on the street or in a parking lot or somewhere disconnected from a place of business.

Bar Prep

2011-01-27T22:16:00.004-05:00

I've been enjoying the "bar prep" course on Tuesdays and Thursdays taught by Prof. Berryhill. Sure, it's kind of haunting digging up old 1L outlines from classes that I didn't enjoy that much. But, it's nice to start refreshing my memory with that all-important material.

I was talking to a colleague today about how I wish I could just go into full-time bar study at this point. I know that in July, I will be looking forward to the end of the insanity, but for now, this last semester is the only thing in my way from the bar.

Prof. Berryhill has been entertaining and he's also provided some excellent tips for answering multiple choice questions. After three weeks, I've learned a lot.

Last Semester

2011-01-25T08:19:00.002-05:00

It's been over 90 days since my last post, but I'm still going strong. I've had a super busy last few months, more busy than I would normally like. However, this is my last semester and I still have much to do.

This semester I'm taking Trial Practice, UCC 3, Va Procedure, and the bar prep class. I'm actually enjoying all of them so far. They are all strong classes.

More to come later.

What's in a name?

2010-10-10T23:17:00.006-04:00

People don't understand how important their name is. When I say Barack Obama, or Abraham Lincoln, or Jesus, or the Apostle Paul, what things come to mind?

Each of these individuals' names carry so much weight in different ways. There is no need to list all the different things each one is known for, that is not the point. What is important is that their names are important.

How important is your name? What do you do to give your name more significance? What do you do to show others that your name is valuable? What do you do that tarnishes your name?

Many professors have mentioned this scripture in class. Prob. 22:1 states "a good name is more desirable than great riches." This is extremely important for lawyers especially. Again, many people do not realize how significant this is. Every minute of the day we are "making a name for ourselves." I hope we are striving to have a "good name" as it states in this verse.

Don't let bad decisions affect your good name.

Class of Champions

2010-10-05T22:32:00.005-04:00

If Wheaties is the breakfast of champions, App Ad is the class of champions.

Appellate Advocacy (also known as App Ad among the brave few who decide to take it) is definitely for a select group of law students who want to really challenge themselves in law school. I'm not saying other students who do not take App Ad are slackers by any means so please don't think that. I'm having fun with this.

It's not one of those classes that you can take to "pad your stats" as they say in sports, meaning you're trying to improve your GPA. Rather, it's a class to boost your intellect. It's a class that will stretch you, bend you, frustrate you, tire you, but most importantly, improve your legal analysis, writing skills and oral skills. That is why I wanted to take it. I did not think two semesters of first year writing improved my writing as much as I wanted it to. I wanted more. I wanted to be prepared after law school. In an odd kind of way, I do like writing briefs. I do not think I'm an expert at it, but I hope to continue to improve.

Maybe one day I'll be writing an appellate brief to the VA Supreme Court, or maybe even the US Supreme Court. I'm not sure. I do know that I will forever continue to use the skills I'm acquiring this semester in App Ad. Take it if you want a challenge. Plus, it satisfies your written and oral requirements. =)

What is it like defending Hollywood stars?

2010-10-04T16:48:00.003-04:00

This is a pretty interesting article about Harland Braun, an experienced defense attorney out in LA. I probably wouldn't do a very good job summarizing the article and it's a light read, so check out the link.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/10/04/celebrity.lawyer.braun/index.html?hpt=Mi

Here are a few good quotes:

"It's so much easier to go into court with a regular person," he said

Like most Los Angeles natives, Braun thinks it's uncool to fawn over the famous. But a client's fame almost always affects the people handling the case. "You have normal judges and prosecutors and police officers acting differently because they're part of a celebrity case," he said.

"I can be blunt if I see someone who's got drug problems or emotional problems or ego problems."
He said he told Farley: "You remind me of John Belushi and John Candy, and they're both dead." Farley died in 1997, at the age of 33.

"What's the difference between Washington and Hollywood? They're both superficial, but at least in Hollywood, there's talent."

Homeless Part 2

2010-09-29T08:32:00.002-04:00

I have some more thoughts as a followup to my post a week or so ago.

Driving around Virginia Beach, I'm beginning to see more and more homeless individuals on street corners, especially in the Kempsville area. I had to wonder why this was the case. I came to the conclusion that more people aren't necessarily without a home nowadays, but rather more homeless individuals are attempting to make some money standing on the street corner. I've always wondered how lucrative that can be. Can someone get $100 a day asking for money on the street? Who knows. That would require 20 people to donate $5 in one day. That's feasible in my opinion.

I also encountered a show on MTV the other evening (I really don't watch MTV but I just happened to be flipping channels and this caught my eye). It was a show about a NY indie filmmaker who travels around and shoots documentaries for MTV. Granted, it's hard to know how "real" or "raw" this is since it's airing on MTV, but it was interesting nonetheless. The filmmaker chose to travel to San Francisco to spend a few days with a homeless person out there that authorized him to do this. It was a female with a little dog. It was amazing to just get a glimpse of her life for a few minutes on this tv show. One thing she mentioned was that homeless people out there at least, liked to be referred to as "houseless" instead of "homeless." I thought that was interesting. What really struck me was how she claimed she had all these goals for the next 5-10 years - to get her GRE and go to college and maybe have a family. I hope she accomplishes these things for her good and for the good of society. This particular individual talked about her child hood and how difficult it was and that's what partially forced her to run away from home and live on the streets since she was 13 or so. Unfortunately, in my opinion she made a mistake and is paying for it, but there's no reason why she can't get herself out of that lifestyle with some hard work. After all, Horatio Alger wrote about how the American Dream is all about "pulling ourselves up by our own bootstraps." This is still true today.

Homeless

2010-09-19T21:31:00.003-04:00

I had an internal conflict today as I was sitting at a red traffic light observing a seemingly "homeless" couple standing in the median attempting to obtain money from drivers waiting at the light like I was. I put homeless in quotes since I do not know in fact if they were homeless, but judging by their appearance and their actions, I can only assume they were homeless. Regardless, I was torn.

I normally do not think twice about not giving money to peddlers who are asking for money. The main reason being, I've seen and heard of too many examples of giving money to people like this only for them to waste it on alcohol, cigarettes, or some illegal drug. Typically, these people get themselves into these situations because of their addictions. I would rather not throw away money for that purpose. These people need more than a few dollars here and there. I would also argue that these individuals probably get quite a bit of cash standing out on the street all day. I really do wonder how much they get. But, though I normally do not think twice about keeping my money to myself, I actually second-guessed myself today for some reason. I'm not sure why.

I was reading a passage in the Bible yesterday about how we need to treat everyone equally. The Bible specifically brought up treating people in all different economic situations. This passage came to mind as I was sitting at the light, but then I thought to myself that I did not know this couple's background and I again did not want to waste my money.

In the end, I kept my money and it was only a few ones anyway. Next time though, I decided that I am going to roll down my window and ask them a few simple questions about their situation hoping to gain a little more insight into why they are homeless just to see if I can see if they are being honest. Maybe this won't help the situation at all, but it will probably give me a little peace of mind about my decision and I will at least feel comfortable with whatever I decide because I will not be judging the situation or the people based on appearances.

It's easy to judge in these situations, but it's not necessarily the best thing to do. I thank God I have a roof over my head, running water, electricity, and food in my pantry and fridge.

Time Management

2010-09-06T16:17:00.002-04:00

Even as a 3L, I'm still learning things about time management. I think this skill (definitely a skill) is something that law students need to learn right away. It's really a matter of discipline. Some students are more disciplined than others and it translates to better grades and a better comprehension of the material in my opinion. This does not mean that it is impossible to improve time-mangement skills, though. I know this is a skill set that we need to improve on since we will need it in the workplace as well. Often for me, time management involves staying up an hour or two later at night, or not going out to eat with friends and family, or not going to the gym one particular day. It's not easy sacrificing "fun activities" for "hard work."

This semester is going to challenge me in this. I'm taking Appellate Advocacy (App Ad) and although it's not really anything new since we wrote appellate briefs our 1L year, it is much more work in a shorter amount of time. It will be a very good test for me in my time management. I've already experienced a few challenges in the past two weeks.

I hope I continue to improve in this area and I'm grateful for the experience if anything. It's not an "easy" class to take if there are easy law school classes, but it will indeed be a positive learning experience in the end.

Long Overdue

2010-08-29T22:39:00.002-04:00

This post is long overdue, but it's going to be short. I've begun my fourth and final year of law school this past Monday. It's been a wild ride. Sure, I still have two semesters left, but this has been a feat by itself. I thought my final year would be a little easier, but I don't think it's going to work out like that. This semester will be very busy, if not my busiest semester yet. I said that about my two semesters last year, owell. I do believe, however, that my final semester next spring will be "easier" if there is such a thing. Regardless, I'm excited to be taking some important classes this semester and I know I will be learning a lot, which is all that matters.

In other news, I'm trying to keep up with my golf game. I took too much time off this past year and was a little too rusty when I went out last week to hit 18.

I'm also looking forward to ODU football and basketball starting this fall. Obviously, college football starts in the next week while basketball won't start until November. It's just another thing to look forward to in addition to distracting me from the rigors of law school and working full-time.

US Copyright Office Allows iPhone "Jailbreaking"

2010-07-27T16:24:00.003-04:00

This was a big deal in the tech world today, especially for those iPhone users who like a little more freedom with their iPhone usage. See the excerpts below:

There were also a few rulings that dealt with ripping movies which are pretty significant in relation to the "fair use" doctrine. Very interesting stuff.

http://money.cnn.com/2010/07/26/technology/iphone_jailbreaking/index.htm

iPhone users can now legally hack their phones to download applications that aren't in Apple's App Store.

The U.S. Copyright Office, a division of the Library of Congress, has authorized several new exemptions to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), one of which will allow mobile phone users to "jailbreak" -- or hack into -- their devices to use apps not authorized by the phone's manufacturer. The new rules will be published on Tuesday in the Federal Register.

Jailbreaking iPhones in order to download apps that are unavailable in Apple's App Store had been a legal gray area: Apple technically had the right to request a $2,500 government fine for damages every time a user violated the law that bans "circumvention of technological measures" controlling access to copyrighted works -- in this case, the iPhone's iOS software.

Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) never actually requested that a fine be levied on an iPhone customer. But it fought to preserve its right to: Apple filed an objection last year to the rule the Copyright Office has now adopted.

The Copyright Office's decision means that jailbreakers will not face legal sanctions, but phone makers are still free to fight back technologically against the practice. Apple typically voids the warranty on iPhones that owners have hacked. The company maintains that tampering with the iPhone can introduce bugs and glitches.

. . .

A Little Summer Update

2010-06-23T20:21:00.002-04:00

I have to say this summer is flying by so fast already. Before I know it, Monday is Friday, then it's the weekend and Monday is here again. I absolutely love it, though. As all law students and other students can attest to, we just want to finish and start doing real legal work. Sure, everyone says it's more difficult after law school, and I do indeed believe that. I also know that I will be earning a salary for my work rather than paying for an education. That is a huge difference mentally.

I'm enjoying some free time here and there, but also trying to work hard studying patent bar material, doing a 1-day a week internship at a DA's office, and also working full time. In between those things, I'm trying to keep up on internship cover letters and job apps. Before I know it, it's going to be time to start ordering my books for the fall. I'm looking forward to getting on with my final year, but I have a lot to do between now and then.

Blessings to all the graduates studying for the bar. That's coming up in about 4 weeks. Crazy.

Oh, and I must mention that I've been enjoying the world cup. The USA put on a strong showing so far winning Group C. We face Ghana on Saturday. I can't wait. I can't claim to be a huge soccer fan, but watching these games has been a blast. Just maybe it will spur me to a new level of soccer enthusiasm. If anything, it's great to cheer on our country in an international competition.

iPhone / iPod Touch bar prep app - BarMax

2010-06-07T08:56:00.006-04:00

BarMax has been getting a little press recently as they've been releasing bar prep apps on Apple's App Store. Though they are still pretty costly ($1000), they are definitely cheaper than the BarBri rate and they claim that everything is available on the convenience of the electronic device of your choosing. BarMax will provide an iPod Touch for the duration of the bar prep if you do not have an iPhone.

I've read a little background on BarMax and they were started by two Harvard grads and actually are still a very small LLC with only about 3 or 4 guys working there.

A few other tidbits. They have a free MPRE app which i have downloaded but not tried out. They also have an MBE app that is $500.

Their state specific apps are limited to California and New York, but they hope to add a few more states in the near future.

I think the use of electronic devices for bar prep is the new trend since students are becoming frustrated with having to carry around so many books through law school and then through bar prep. Devices such as the iPhone. iPod Touch, and iPad are trying to change the direction of learning and move to electronic means where you can still have interactivity with your reading.

It will be interesting to see how BarMax holds up in a bar prep market seemingly dominated by BarBri.

Funny little story, an 11 year old accidentally downloaded this BarMax app the other day on his iPod Touch, thankfully he paused the download and was able to get a full refund from Apple.

Story here.

BP's Liability

2010-06-06T17:35:00.003-04:00

As the oil is continuing to spew out from around the cap that has been a partial success so far (thankfully), many people are inquiring as to what BP is going to be liable for and how much they are going to have to pay. Granted, money is a secondary issue right now as the gulf is being infused with innumerable amounts of oil, wildlife is being killed and people are losing work down there, but liability is an important issue. Obviously, BP has already claimed they are going to pay for everything and make sure the gulf and affected areas are put back in their original state, as best as possible - but what does that entail?

I came across this article by CNN that does a good job of explaining BPs liability in more detail. It's worth a read. In sum, yes BP will be liable for more than the 75M economic damages cap in place through OPA (the Oil Pollution Act of 1990). It's definitely worth a read.

Here are a few excerpts:

Is BP really protected by a $75 million cap on damages?

Probably not. In the wake of the Exxon Valdez oil spill of 1989, Congress passed the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, known as OPA (pronounced like 'Oprah' without the 'r'). For leaks from offshore oil rigs like this one, OPA limits the liability of the responsible party -- BP in this instance -- to $75 million in economic damages, but there are several mammoth exceptions. To begin with, the limitation does not apply to any of BP's liability for state and federal cleanup costs, for which BP (BP) is 100% responsible. As of early June, these costs had already come to about $990 million, according to BP, and the company seems to be just getting started. (BP has also committed to spending another $360 million to fund the building of barrier islands off the coast of Louisiana.)

But the key, ginormous loophole in the $75 million OPA limit is that BP isn't allowed to take advantage of it if the company -- or any of its contractors, Kende (an int'l insurance law specialist) stresses -- acted with gross negligence or violated any federal safety law or regulation. In other words, if either BP or rig-owner Transocean Ltd. (RIG), or cement contractor Halliburton Energy Services (HAL, Fortune 500), or the blowout preventer manufacturer Cameron International (CAM, Fortune 500) violated some safety rule -- the limit vanishes. (If a subcontractor is the one responsible, BP might then be able to go after that company for contribution or indemnification.)

. . .

Just how remote can economic damages be? If a New Orleans barber says he has suffered loss in revenue, due to fewer tourists visiting and his regulars being too strapped to come as often, does he have a claim against BP?

Kende replies with an even more disturbing hypothetical of his own: "Suppose a New York travel agent makes claims against BP based on the loss of her commissions from fewer clients making trips to Louisiana?"

Kende doesn't know the answer to either of our questions, since a situation like this one hasn't arisen before. "Courts will just have to draw a line somewhere," he says.

He assumes that the more remote geographically someone gets from the spill, and the longer the chain of events is that led to a claimant's alleged damages, the harder it will be for the claimant to prevail. (Kende observes that the desire to avoid engaging in such difficult line-drawing was the precise reason courts had, prior to the OPA, refused to recognize claims for economic damages from spills unless the claimant had also suffered physical property damage.)

Early on in the summer

2010-05-20T10:47:00.003-04:00

It's stil early in the summer, but I've already been keeping busy. I finished exams right before May 1 and then got right back to working that following Monday. It was a busy week here on campus as Commissioning ceremonies were going on for all the schools and then Commencement was on that Saturday. I did not attend but the weather was great and it seemed to be a very nice affair.

The monday after commencement I jumped right into studying for the patent registration exam, a.k.a. the patent bar. Being a chemistry major in undergrad, I am automatically eligible to sit for the bar so I've decided to pursue it hoping to add a nice tool to my resume tool belt. I've been putting it off for a while, but the time is now.

I'm about halfway through my studies and I hope to finish up by June 1 and then take the exam shortly thereafter. I'm eagerly waiting word from the patent office for confirmation so I can set my exam date.

In addition to studying, I've been doing cover letters for internships and jobs and of course hanging out with my lovely wife and 2 boys. I wish I could say this summer has been nice and easy so far, but rather it's been busy. There is always something to do. Until next time.

The chaos surrounding the "iPhone 4"

2010-04-26T23:48:00.003-04:00

Some of you all who follow tech news are most likely aware of the mystery surrounding the rumored iPhone 4 that was lost at a bar in California by an Apple software engineer. Now, a writer for Gizmodo who is featured in one of the videos they released is being pursued as a possible felon. In fact, police searched his home a few days ago seizing several items possibly associated with his involvement in the purchase of the iPhone 4.

Without getting too in depth into California law, there are several legal issues going on here.

1.) What what was the state of the iPhone when it was "lost" in the bar? I use the term "lost" loosely since now there are reports that the engineer is claiming the phone was stolen, although the initial reports were that the phone was lost. Another customer in the bar picked up the phone and asked around and even waited for the engineer to come back. The phone would probably then be considered lost (instead of mislaid or abandoned). So, what should the customer have done? According to CA law, he should have given it the restaurant since they would have had constructive possession of it at the time it fell out of the engineer's pocket. Instead, the customer took it home with him.

2.) Gizmodo later paid $5000 for the phone after the customer in possession of it attempted to contact different people at Apple to tell them he had an iPhone that belonged to them. He did not get anywhere with this since he couldn't penetrate the many tiers of customer service who probably thought he was going crazy. So, did Gizmodo buy a stolen phone at this point? It should be known that Gizmodo voluntarily gave the iPhone back to Apple with a simple request from Apple's general counsel.

3.) Assuming there was a valid warrant, Gizmodo's parent company is arguing that the search was unlawful because of journalism protections since Chen works out of his home.

So, with all these different stories going on, we still haven't really heard from Apple's counsel on this whole thing. Granted San Mateo police performed the search and is conducting the investigation, but one has to believe that Apple has a hand in all of this. It's going to be interesting to see how this story shapes the release of the new iPhone. I'm an iPhone owner myself and also an Apple fan, but I kind of wish this whole thing would have died a while ago. The release is imminent within the next month or two and this story is seemingly diminishing the excitement of the next version all because of an accident by an Apple engineer who maybe had a little too much to drink that night. Who knows.

If I were to do it again...

2010-04-17T15:07:00.005-04:00

It's exam time, so I'm going to keep this short for hopes that I can get a little more extra study time in today.

There's something about law school that makes it hard to really give advice to incoming 1Ls because the law school experience is somewhat indescribable. Sure, you can give general advice like: "you need to keep a maintained weekly schedule and block out time", or "you need to keep up with outlining", or "you need to do practice essays before you take an exam." While these pieces of advice are true and worthwhile if the student follows through with them, there is still some ambiguity about the depth and practicality of this advice. But, I do have a few pieces of advice that are easy to act on if given the opportunity and they involve class scheduling.

There are a few classes that I view as more important than others for the reasoning that they are used in more areas of legal practice than others. For instance, generally civil procedure is more useful than sales (UCC I). So with that said, I recommend taking the following classes asap after the 1L year. These are also especially important for the internships that are out there.

Evidence
App Ad
Crim Law
Con Crim Pro

Let me briefly explain. Evidence is super important and I don't think anyone will refute that. It's used in all aspects of litigation, civil and criminal. The reason I put app ad on the list is that it's a great course for improving your writing skills AND oral skills all in 3 credits. It can also provide some great writing samples to use for internship applications as well. For those that don't write a student note, this is a good way to use something other than your 1L papers for writing samples. The downside is that it's a tough course overall and requires much work. Though I have not taken this class yet, I will be taking it in the fall and I wish I would have taken it earlier. Crim Law is important because there are tons of internship opportunities out there in DA and PD offices, if not with smaller private defense firms. On a lighter note, if any regular person knows anything about the legal field, it probably came from CSI, Law & Order, Boston Legal, Eli Stone (my favorite though it's discontinued) or some other glorified legal-based TV show. Knowing crim law allows students to have some good conversation with the die-hard TV fan. Lastly, Con Crim Pro goes almost hand in hand in with crim law with a constitutional and procedure spin on it. This class also relates pretty well with evidence. Crim Pro likewise can be useful in a typical summer internship. Also, the typical American who likes a protection of their privacy would be interested in discussing the 4th amendment.

So, there you have it. My top 4 classes that should be taken immediately upon completion of the 1L year. Sure, there are plenty of other great classes out there, but some are just more useful generally than others especially for students trying to procure an internship for the summer(s) and are looking to impress their close friends and family who watch too much TV.

A few questions to ask yourself

2010-04-04T21:37:00.002-04:00

I was just doing some reading tonight and thought about these questions. They are good for a little introspection as we face different trials each day.

If life was easy how would we mature?

If we were not faced with obstacles, how would we learn to deal with difficult situations?

If we didn't have to work for what we have, would we really appreciate it?

U.N. CRC Symposium

2010-03-27T15:18:00.003-04:00

Last night, the Federalist Society co-hosted a symposium with the Journal of Int'l Law on the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child and the impact it could have on Federalism and family if the US ratifies it.

I have to say it was a very interesting and entertaining event. Though I am on the Journal, I have not had much experience with the CRC and do not know many of the arguments for and against it, so I came into the symposium with an unbiased opinion.

The three speakers were all a little different in their approach of the subject matter. The opinions ranged from a strong belief that US should not ratify it and it would bring great destruction to Federalism and the family to the other side that the US needs to ratify it in order to better reach out to the international community. The middle hoped for a ratification with some reservations - essentially limitations.

This symposium wasn't about picking a winner, but rather about discussing a very important topic that will continue to be discussed today, tomorrow and into the future.

One thing I do know, I am a parent and anything relating to children peaks my interest.

Though the weather in Va Bch was a little nasty yesterday and I ended up having a long Friday, I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the symposium last night.

Job well done to all the organizers and volunteers.