Flummoxed - September 6-16, 2008

The past few weeks have been very hectic, for lack of a better term. My activities continue to grow, and my brother’s loathsome acquiescence to this idea (the ever building list of activities) has been anything but constructive. Needless to say, every time I tell my family about the newest thing I have undertaken, they respond with a great amount of perplexity. Let me list what I have going this semester, and we will work from there.

- Five classes (for a total of 16 units)

- Federal Judge Clerkship

- President of the largest student organization on campus

- Editor of the law school newspaper

- Legal Journal

- Fellowship work

- Co-Head Coach of a local High School Mock Trial team

- Writer for the law school’s Law Revue (Performance Sketch Comedy)

- Student Editor for a law reform project (will be discussed later)

Basically, I continue to suffer from the “yes” disease. Though the name suggests that I always say “yes”, the disease actually prohibits me from saying “no”. I have always been a sucker for involvement; and, let’s face it: I wish I could do more. Every activity offers me something different. I am a sucker for experiences. I had no desire to become a firefighter when I was 17, but the opportunity to “be” a firefighter was presented, and I took it upon myself to make the best of it by becoming a Fire Cadet. Though the activities have changed, the mentality has not.

My involvement in differing activities has opened a new door for each different undertaking. Everything offers something that the other activity did not. I guess this is why I get so involved. Sometimes, I did not expect or solicit the opportunity to get involved (like the law revue and law school newspaper); they just happen to fall into my lap by chance (sometimes people suggest it is a recognition of my character, but I do not accept that as the truth).

Let’s first start with the federal judicial clerkship.

For those not in the “legal know,” a federal judicial clerkship is the gold standard for clerkships and internships while in law school, and post-graduate internships. Basically, everything else is bronze and silver; it does not get any better than clerking for a federal judge. As a result, obtaining a federal clerkship is incredibly difficult. Everybody wants one, but one rarely gets it. I applied for the position over the summer without lending much credibility to the submission. I did not feel I had the credentials to obtain the clerkship, especially where NYU and Columbia is so very near to my school.

While I was clerking over the summer, I received a call from a New York phone number that I did not recognize. While I usually do not pick up numbers that I do not recognize, I broke my rule and answered. The caller was from the chambers of a federal judge. My surprised reply to her introduction was met with a hint of laughter. We scheduled an interview and I hang up the phone in a very surprised mood.

As we neared the interview date in August, I interviewed with (and subsequently accepted) a county court clerkship with a judge. I was not going to kid myself: there was no way I was going to get past an interview with the federal judge. A few days after I accepted the county clerkship, I received another call from the federal judge’s chambers. The caller notified me that the judge would not be able to interview me on the scheduled date because he would be on vacation. We rescheduled the interview for the last week of August. Before we hung up the phone, I decided to take a very aggressive and confident stance: I realized that school would have been two weeks into the year by the time I interviewed. I told the caller that I wanted to interview earlier, as I wished to get class credit for the internship. Two weeks into the year was simply too late to get credit for the job. She asked me to hold while she consulted the judge. When she came back onto the line, she notified me that the judge was going to stay in the chambers until 4:00PM, and was staying just for me. She asked me how quickly I could get there.

I dropped everything I was doing, threw on my cleanest suit and put a pin in my lapel. I had never before worn a pin in my lapel, but I decided to crank up the steam. I drove to the federal courthouse, and walked into the chambers. There, I was greeted by two of the judge’s post-graduate law clerks who did the first phase of the interview. One noticed the pin in my lapel, and inquired as to its significance. She thought it was like wearing an American flag, which is very self-serving and not very endearing in court these days. When I told her the pin’s meaning, it opened a new door of questions and their answers. I had put on my Eagle Scout pin.

At the conclusion of phase one, the two clerks looked at each other. One said, “Should we get the judge?” To which the other responded, “Yes.” Upon their confirmatory nods, one left to fetch the judge. The judge came into the room, fetched me, and brought me into his lavish office. The interview went incredibly well. At the very end he concluded the conversation by saying, “You do not have to answer now, but I am going to offer you the position.”

My response was between gasps of excitement. “I am going to answer now, and I am going to accept the offer,” I excitedly replied.

I could not ask for a much better placement. The judge is a very hands-on mentor. He talks to me before a case, briefs me on its facts and history to date before we walk into the courtroom. After the hearing, he sits down with me to discuss what he and I saw. He puts us in the position of a judge, and really helps all his clerks understand what he is seeing, thinking and doing.

Unlike other clerkships have had, this position expects that the person filling it knows what they are doing from the beginning. There is not learning curve; expectations are high. On my first day I had to teach myself and memorize the system of appeals and a slew of criminal procedure on the New York State and federal levels.

Needless to say: I enjoy this job. (And, yes. I had to call the county court to un-accept the position I had previously accepted. Doing so was not an easy task.)

My presidency of the largest student organization on campus (probably law school and undergrad included) has not been without its fair share of drama. I set very high expectations for those around me, have a unique and hard-to-achieve (though achievable) vision, and disgust for people who do not pull their weight. I am not always readily accepted, as people do not like being pushed to do work (even though it is their job to do so). Two of the board members have banded together to make my life miserable. They are progressively successful, but will likely fail in the end. Though not everybody likes me, most people underestimate me. There will likely be more on this at a later date, but that is all for now.

My Fellowship is increasingly time consuming. I have really taken to organizing the students involved with the program, and have been a key leader as a result. Each 2l IS ASSIGNED A NEW 1l FELLOW TO mentor. Because my year of fellows was smaller than normal, I ended up with two Mentees, instead of one. Both of these 1Ls have really taken to the Mentorship program, and I have become quite enthralled with the role I have taken as their mentor. Sheparding them through their law school experience has been uniquely gratifying. I have become a big brother to these two 1Ls, and our relationship is quickly becoming one of the first I have valued since I arrived in New York. (Don’t worry; I have my very close set of friends.)

Speaking of friends: my partner from last year dropped out of law school. He is in medical school now. Did not see that coming, at all. I knew he was pre-med in undergrad, but one never expects to make it through the first year of law school, only to drop out and go to med school. As a side note, I saw a dentist days before I came to New York to start law school. He told me that law school was too difficult for him. Apparently he completed the first year, only to drop out and go to dentistry school. Definitely not something you want to hear from somebody with “Dr.” in from of their name before you start law school. Anyhow, his departure has opened a new door for friendship with me.

My gigantic partner from yesteryear was close friends with another Gigantor. The gigantic man, we will call him Awesome, has a traditionally female name. Needless to say, he adapted to his name by becoming a huge man. Trust me: nobody makes fun of him for his name. Nobody.

Anyhow, Awesome is my vice president in the large student organization. He and I spoke a lot last year. He also tries cases, just like bad partner and I did. He used to come to me to discuss his cases because he and I knew we each knew what the other was doing in these cases. I gave him pointers on how to handle the judges, different sneaky courtroom tactics (like speaking over the testifying witness so that there was no record of bad answers on the tape) and general legal theories for cases. He is a really great guy.

Awesome and I have begun to talk more and more, and have grown very close. Any guy who is willing to help you move a large sectional couch on a one-day’s notice is a good friend. He and I have done a lot of errands and favors for each other, and is a truly reliable guy. (This is not characteristic of most New Yorkers.) So, we are becoming closer as the drama on the aforementioned organization becomes more hostile. He is well-spoken, very thoughtful and overly diplomatic, almost to a fault.) I am happy to have him around in this capacity. Having reliable friends is something I missed-and, sadly, left in California.

My involvement in the Law Revue is as funny as the kind of sketches that we have come up with. I received an email from the organizer of this brand new organization.

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From: Organizer

To: Me

Subject: You've Been Selected: Law Revue Writing Team

Congratulations! You've been either 1) handpicked by me or 2) suggested by someone else (most likely JL or the SBA President) or 3) volunteered yourself (or all three) as someone who is "smart funny" and highly capable of writing funny material for the Law Revue Show.

As a quick overview, in case you haven't read one of the thousands of flyers or e-mails or facebook messages... the Law Revue will be (once we write it) a show of musical and sketch comedy acts making fun of law school. I've attached a list of ideas that have been brainstormed already as a jumping off point. Feel free to embellish on them and to come up with your own concepts prior to the meeting and bring them along. Also feel free to come to the meeting with absolutely nothing and throw out ideas on the spot.

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Too bad they did not specify incredibly good looking as a requirement as well.

Anyhow, as I told the Mom (and my brother when he told me I was crazy for adding another activity-this is the latest addition to my schedule), this is my first outlet for fun. Everything else I do is exciting, a great opportunity, or a way to advance myself in the legal world, but this is where I get to have my fun. Just know that there is going to be a Blue Collar Comedy Tour spinoff of the “here’s Your Sign.” It will be called “Job Security” and will feature many of the stories us law students have from our clerkships. Trust me, I’ve got a few. There are a lot of song spoofs and interesting sketches. It will be a good time.

Being the Coach of the local High School’s Mock Trial program is interesting. The law school is situated in a city that is to Long Island what LAUSD is to Los Angeles. Basically, the school is rough, the graduation rate is very low, and the law is not a priority for most of the students. The law school has been attempting to reach out to the local community. What better way is there to reach out to the community, mentor promising students, and change young persons’ views of the legal system than to start and fund a mock trial team at the high school? The law school received earmarked funding for this flagship program that is being organized, coached and administered by law students. A 3L Fellow took on the main role, but there was a need to have a 2L take on the other top role so that the program would seamlessly continue from year-to-year. In the fellowship program, you either volunteer for a project or are assigned a project. Most of the projects are tedious, boring and not desirable. So, when the opportunity to do something fun and hands-on arises, you volunteer fast. That is exactly what I did. While the great majority of projects are usually research and legislation-based, this one is practical and fun. Yes, it is another responsibility, but it was either this, or something that would have me in front of a computer. I am very excited to help these young men and women embrace those things that I love about the law and its practice. This is a chance to make a difference that I could not do otherwise.

The Law Journal to which I was selected to join is becoming a major undertaking. We are expected to author a “student note”. These run around 25 pages in length. It does not sound like much. However, we are required to have no fewer than 120 endnotes. Basically, it is a research-intensive thesis. The note must be of publishable quality and undergoes an incredible long process of planning, proposing, writing, researching and editing. We have to do all of the above while enrolled full time in our classes. My topic intrigues me, and is something about which I am very passionate. It runs against the accepted norms, and challenges commonly accepted sentiment. More on this later.

Though last to be discussed, my highest priority has been my classes. I am finally taking courses that I like and can use. My criminal procedure professor has impressed me, and continues to do so every time I am in class. She takes an otherwise difficult to understand and complex topic, and instead of leaving us teaching ourselves and wanting to figure out what the cases actually hold, she breaks it down and makes the topic simple and understandable. I love how she teaches and the way she connects with students. She is very young, still in touch with our generation and teaches to us instead of lecturing at us. My constitutional law class is not interesting yet. It is a class I was looking forward to, as the topic is intriguing and pointed directly at my interests. So far, the professor’s lectures are self-serving, not helpful and not advancing my interest at al. This is quite a shame. Family law is a next-generational skills-based course. All I have learned is that it is always in the child’s best interests or up for interpretation. I am not learning too much about the law, and not advancing my knowledge or interest in the field of family law. I am just as unmoved by this field as I was when entering the first day of classes (if not more unenthused.) My evidence class continues to be fun and very practical. The professor has students stand up and argue objections to scenarios in class like they are in court. It is very useful, and I love this kind of stuff. My favorite parts of the law are those times when the law is concrete, but one must use logic and oration to coherently and concisely advocate for their position. The evidence code (when people stand up and object to testimony or the admission of evidence in court) is an assured area of the law that meets the above requirements.

Finally, I leave you with the most amusing assignment that I have received since I began on this trek:

“How many of you will drive a vehicle between now and Thursday?” my criminal procedure professor asked. As the great majority of hands in the class raised into the air, she relayed our next assignment.

“Just one time, see if you can drive without breaking ANY laws.”

We shall see how this goes. I guess this is our practical introduction to probable cause and police officer applications of it.