Now We're Talking!

Whoo!

I just got notice of two more grades. I am glad to say that I now have the experience in law school of receiving a grade higher than a "B." I clapped my hands and let out a "H%*# yeah!", which was probably inappropriate since I'm at my parents' house. They promptly asked from the living room, "What did you get?"

Man, this feels good. And it was in a course whose material I considered exceptionally difficult. I really enjoyed the class, though, and I wanted to do well because I can certainly see the relevancy of this material in a field where I'd like to practice.

The other grade was not so hot. I have three grades now, with two to go. My three grades vary widely. This lets me know that, going forward, I'm likely to grasp certain areas of law significantly better than others (at least in relation to my classmates, which is what exam grades are about). I probably won't give an even performance across the board over the next two and a half years, though my effort in each of my classes this semester was fairly even.

My highest grade and my lowest grade kind of even out my mood. It also establishes that I have no idea what to expect for my last two grades.

Until Next Time,

Nathan Marshburn

Waiting...

After you complete one semester of law school, you can expect to be held in suspense for weeks while the professors grade the exams.

It's just the way the system is set up. The entire grade for the class rides on the exam, and there were 82 people in my class. One exam was four hours long, so I can understand how it takes the professors a while to go through and rank them.

I wish I had something substantive to tell my friends and family at the Christmas gatherings, but I really can't say how my semester went yet.

One grade has posted. It was an exam I felt pretty good about when I took it. However, just based on this one score, it looks like I'll have to continue to work as hard as I can just to stay with the pack.

That's another thing to guard against: Not getting too high or too low based on one exam. I can't say yet whether my first exam score is par for the course or an anomaly.

Until Next Time,

Nathan Marshburn

A Wise Decision

Five years ago I was an aspiring screenwriter.

I gave it a good effort and wrote four screenplays. I entered contests and sent off hundreds of letters trying to acquire an agent or manager. While I have no regrets about those ambitions, real world experiences in Las Vegas and Washington, DC made me realize that I would probably spend years not making much money while I expended most of my effort on writing.

I faced the truth that, given the choice between being a starving artist and becoming successful in another field, I would gladly choose the latter.

Writing screenplays or other types of fiction is something that I could pick up again at a moment's notice. I have half a dozen stories circulating in my head right now. Unfortunately, getting people to pay money to hear or see my stories proved too difficult. I saw myself becoming trapped in a miserable situation in Washington, and I now consider it a great decision to stop writing and focus all my efforts on my legal training.

After one semester of law school, I think there is a great world of opportunity, adventures, and learning ahead. It should be a happier life, and I will do my best not to screw it up. It is great to live in a country that affords me the opportunity to remake myself. That would probably not be an option if I had been born most other places in the world.

Until Next Time,

Nathan Marshburn

The End of the First Semester

Well, my first semester at FSU College of Law is finished.

Classes ended on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, but the exam period is more extended than for undergraduate classes. My last exam was yesterday, December 11th.

I've held some tough jobs (among them working for the Post Office in Washington, DC), and the exam period was much easier than those. Still, this is my 18th year of school, and the previous 2 and 1/2 weeks were the most intense of my academic life.

I love law school. Studying new material and getting ready for class is enjoyable. Honestly, though, exams and preparing for exams is not that fun. You either sit for hours a day re-reading your own notes again and again, or you join a study group and let everyone else's stress infect you. I did both. It is the first time in my life that my entire grade for a semester's worth of work in a class was based on a single exam.

My main source of stress was making sure I actually got to the law school on the day of the exam and took the test. It was a real concern about getting in a car accident or some fluke thing happening that would cause me to miss the exam. I'm not sure what the makeup policy is, but the school did not present missing the exam as an option. Though I sit on the front row, my professors generally don't know my name outside of class. I'd done all this work with nothing to show for it. I finally began to relax a little after my third exam. That meant I had turned in 11 hours worth of credit and had done the prerequisite exams for next semester's courses. Now I should have some standing with the College of Law.

In law school, it also takes a long time to get your grades. I've been told by a couple of second year students that I probably will have started classes in the spring semester before all my grades from the fall have posted, and I will definitely have started classes again before I know my overall class rank.

I have no idea how I did, but I can truthfully say this was my best effort. I can't go any harder as far as studying and conditioning my life to make me perform as well as possible in law school. My diet, exercise routine, sleep habits and down time were all focused on maximizing the results on my grades. So we'll see if I'm in the top ranks of the class, or if I have to bust my butt to just stay average. Grades are completely relative (the law school curve) and based on how everyone else did. Like I said before, I 'm competing with people from Duke, Stanford, and Ivy League schools. So I have no idea what to expect.

My Civil Procedure professor tried to encourage us on the last day of class when she said, "We let you in here for a reason. We usually don't make a mistake. You'll be fine."

Until Next Time,

Nathan Marshburn

Now Entering the Zombie Zone

My blogs are going to be sparse for the next month or so. It is exam season. The grade for every one of my classes except legal writing is based entirely on the final exam. We as students are graded on a curve system. About 50% of the class has to score a "C." At the most, I think 5% can score an "A." A certain percentage of the class has to be awarded a "D" as well. While professors are not required to fail anyone, if you get a "D" in all of your classes you will eventually be kicked out of school. The students here come from Duke, Stanford, Davidson, Vanderbilt, Cornell, Dartmouth, etc. One lady who sits close to me in class has a master's degree from the London School of Economics.

So here we go.

The 2L I spoke with and wrote about in an earlier blog was right. People have stopped speaking to each other much, and we sort of look like zombies here in the library. I find myself walking past people I know without speaking. It's not that we're being rude, it's just that we have a lot on our minds. I'll be thinking about some concept of contract law rather than paying attention to faces.

Before I sign off, I will tell one story:

One of my professors was trying to help us relax.

"The first grade I got in law school was the lowest one I ever got," she said. "I was miserable. I thought I was terrible at law school, that I was worthless and that my life was over."

One of the students behind me said quietly, "It was a 'B,' wasn't it?"

The class laughed. But the professor blushed and froze for a second. The class's laughter turned into astonishment.

"Oh my gosh!" One student exclaimed. "You mean you got 'As' for the rest of your time in law school?"

"Well," the professor said, "Would you rather have someone up here who didn't make those kind of grades?"

"Yes!" another student said. "We need someone we can relate to."

"Okay," the professor replied. "Which one of you wants to teach the class today, just so you all can relate?"


Until Next Time,

Nathan Marshburn

Where You Should Go To Law School

This time one year ago, I was very undecided about where I should go to law school (and I was fortunate enough to be accepted at multiple schools).

In the end, I narrowed my choices to Florida State University in Tallahassee, FL and North Carolina Central University in Durham, NC. I opted for FSU, but I think I would have been happy at either place, and either place has advantages and disadvantages.

Now, as I close in on the end of my first semester of law school, I think I can give better advice on where to go and what is right for a person.

Again, assuming you have choices in where to attend, the most important question to ask yourself is, "What kind of law do I want to practice?" By this question, I mean do you want to practice at a large or small firm, open your own practice, or specialize in something more unique like environmental law? One year ago, I really did not know what sort of law I wanted to do, but I leaned toward working for a large firm.

Now that I am at FSU, I know that working at a large firm for a higher salary is my first choice. The type of law I do doesn't especially matter to me (though I would prefer not to have to sue doctors and others in the health care field). The long hours and competitive environment of a large firm will suit me just fine, I believe. I love law school and the work that I am doing.

This is not true for everyone. Honestly, my colleagues who seem to be the most unhappy in law school are the ones with families. One friend of mine told me that she started crying from the frustration of having to spend so much of her Saturday reading law when she wanted to be with her husband instead. As for me, I've got nothing better to do but study on a Saturday.

I guess the point is to know yourself. If you are aiming for a large firm, go to the best school you can get into and borrow the money you need to get there. But if you want to spend more time with your family, perhaps go to a law school that is not so competitive in nature, don't take on so much debt and look for a job (perhaps public interest law) that is not going to dominate so much of your life.

If you want to open your own practice or go into practice with a friend or family member who is already established, then save money and go where you can get a Juris Doctor for the cheapest.

Also, if you definitely know what state you want to practice in after graduation, it is easier to network (i.e., applying for summer associate positions that can turn into regular job offers) if you go to a law school in that state.

So, that's my take after two and a half months of law school. NCCU would have been a good choice for me, but Florida State University gives me the best shot to get hired by a large firm. That is what I want, and I am glad that I am here.

Until Next Time,

Nathan Marshburn

The Hardest Part of Law School

There is a large learning curve in the first year of law school as professors throw a lot of information at you.

Personally, I know that I'm missing some stuff and not understanding other concepts as well as I need to, but I still feel pretty confident about where I am at and what I am doing because so much information is sticking. I am learning quite a bit here at Florida State College of Law.

The largest and most frustrating learning curve (at least for me) is the online research databases- Westlaw and LexisNexis.

These two companies dominate the field of legal publishing. Almost everything in the law school library is published by them or one of their subsidiaries.

Westlaw.com or LexisNexis.com provide massive legal research engines. The things these two sites can do are incredible. At least once per month, the companies send out their representatives to talk to us about how to use the system.

Almost everything in these talks has been over my head. I think that I am behind my fellow classmates in this regard.

It is important for me to learn the systems. Right now, as students we are given an access code and can play around with searches for free. Once we become lawyers, however, the searches will cost money. If you don't know what you are doing, you can rack up quite a bill for your law firm and still not have the information you need.

Florida State is making a point to teach us the "old fashioned" method of research- print resources- as well as how to use the electronic databases. The instructors almost apologize for making us learn the print way, but say that we may work for an older attorney who prefers not to pay the money for an electronic database that he or she really doesn't understand.

They don't have to apologize to me. On Saturday, I did eight hours of research in the library for a memo assigned in my legal writing class. I didn't go online until the last 15 minutes, and this was just to shephardize the cases I found and print them (I was quite proud of myself for figuring out how to do this online) . Some of my classmates in the library were puzzled by the number of case reporters I had piled on my table, but I think I found everything I need.

The best chance for me to catch up will probably be over the Christmas break. Both Westlaw and LexisNexis offer online tutorials- hours worth of them- and I would be well advised to use them. After you take the tutorials, you receive certification based on what you have learned. This will go well on my resume.

I'm trying my best with these computer systems, but it is nice to hear that some people are beginning to agree with me that computers are not always the best way to operate. One lady in my class says she has joined me in not bringing a computer. She just gets too distracted with things like Facebook. Another classmate who rides the bus with me to school says that while he still brings his computer, he has switched to taking notes by hand because he learns better that way.

Reasonableness. It is good to see that in the legal profession.

Until next time,

Nathan Marshburn

Passing the Bar

Florida State College of Law has one of the best Environmental Law programs in the country. Our Tax Law program is also highly ranked, and we have an International Law program that specializes in Caribbean countries. All of these sounded intriguing when I was deciding what law school to attend

Since coming to law school, however, I've learned that my electives are already largely decided.

That's because I want to pass the bar on the first try. I'm going to be spending my electives on courses like Evidence, Florida Constitutional Law, Gratuitous Transfers, Real Estate Finance, Florida Civil Procedure, etc.

These, among several others, are the subjects tested on the Florida Bar. Perhaps I will have a few electives left to take some other courses- but I don't believe it will be enough to complete something like the International Law or Taxation Law programs.

Many students who attend here take the courses in those programs and then depend on a bar prep course not affiliated with the law school for them to pass the bar. Sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn't. One professor told me that Evidence is a complicated course and is probably too much to learn in a month and a half bar prep course. Also, bar prep courses are expensive- costing thousands of dollars for tuition alone-- and there is no money back guarantee if you still fail the bar.

That's not a risk I'm too thrilled about taking. So, the goal with my electives will be to take the subjects tested on the bar.

These are things to think about when considering a law school. I love it here at FSU and do not regret coming to Tallahassee in the slightest, but now I understand how some less prestigious schools in my home state of North Carolina could boast of having higher bar passage rates than Duke or the University of North Carolina. These schools focus on the meat and potatoes of the bar exam, with less emphasis on programs like Caribbean international law like you can find at Florida State...

Here is my favorite laugh from the past week:

My contracts professor was discussing what damages, if any, the plaintiff might get from the emotional suffering she experienced as a result of being fired from her job and not being able to work:

"As opposed to the emotional suffering she experienced from having to go to work every day," he said, "that's a totally different kind of emotional suffering."

Until Next Time,

Nathan Marshburn

Law School Aging/ Law School Humor

Law school is a transitional period for many students. They go from being fun loving kids as undergraduates to adults preparing themselves to take on serious problems in law school. It's amazing how different my classmates can look to my eyes depending on the situation.

One female student I met here recently graduated from college. She's younger than me. But earlier this week her and I were both in the library. She typed away on her laptop as I read. When it was time for me to go, I stood up and told her that I'd see her tomorrow. She stopped typing and looked at me. I'd obviously interrupted her train of thought. "Okay, see you," she said. At that moment, as she peered at me over the top of her glasses, she looked like a woman in her 40s. The next day when I saw her again, she was back to her usual early 20s self. Of course, I didn't mention my observation to her.

Another guy I know is young and very active in intramural sports on campus. He looks like a natural athlete. But this week I saw him come into class, walking fast and carrying his open laptop. He had an intent look on his face, and again he struck me as a man in his late 30s or early 40s. But he is only in his early 20s.

The same is true for a guy who sits close to me in class. I watched him unpack his books and laptop. As he did so, he aged 15 or 20 years. I was looking for grey hair on him. When he finally sat down, he looked normal again.

And though I don't feel like it, I am older than most of the students here. A classmate who rides with me to the grocery store on the weekends was admittedly shocked when I told him that the first Superbowl I can remember is the 49ers versus the Dolphins, or Joe Montana versus Dan Marino. He barely remembers Marino and never saw Montana play. He thought I was only a year or two older than him...

I am most impressed with the intelligence of my professors in law school. I am equally impressed with their sense of humor. The way they phrase things often cracks me up in class- though it would never fly in the general public because they are largely subject matter and insider jokes.

Here are some examples:

1) My torts professor asked us if it would be false imprisonment if the owner of a swimming pool let his pit bull loose around the pool while someone was in it. The general consensus was yes. Before the professor could move on, I piped up:

"Pit bulls get a bad rap. They can be friendly dogs."

With the most serious face, the professor looked around at the class. "I don't want to hear anyone defending pit bulls," he said. "Pit bulls eat babies."

Luckily, I wasn't the only one that burst out in shocked laughter when he said this.

2) My contracts professor had us go through a complicated case where we finally figured out what the court was doing. The plaintiff wanted specific performance of a contract, which the court refused to do. Instead, the court awarded damages to the plaintiff with the provision that if the defendant did not do specific performance, the plaintiff could sue again for more damages.

We spent five or ten minutes sorting this out. I was deep in thought, trying to get my head around the court's logic when the professor said of the court's decision,

"Ladies and gentlemen, I submit to you that this is stupid."

The remark caught me so off guard that I burst out laughing.

3) A professor called on a student in class to explain a case. The student gave a grimace, obviously uncomfortable. She began mumbling what the case was about and most people could not hear her.

The professor said, "Miss Smith, speak up so the entire class can hear your mistakes."

The list goes on. Maybe you have to be here for them to be funny, though many of my classmates still sit stone-faced during all of this.

Okay, time to read for torts.

Until next time,

Nathan Marshburn

Gunner Bingo

Though I am enjoying myself at FSU College of Law, there is a sharper, more callous side to law school that I see, though by no means do I think it is unique to this place.

I learned from one of my fellow students that a game of " Gunner Bingo" is going on in a section different from mine. Evidently, about half the class is either playing it or aware of it. They fashioned bingo cards on their laptops with the names of the students who talk the most in class on the cards. When one of these students speak, they mark off a spot on the card (I've not seen the cards and so I'm not exactly sure how they're set up).

According to a couple of students I spoke with, somebody won the first game this week. The winner called it with perfect timing... One of the talkative students spoke, and the professor said that the information the student referred to was on page 293.

"Bingo!" the winner called. Half the class turned around and smiled or laughed, the other half didn't know what was going on.

I've been told other law schools play this same game...

Also, I learned this week that not everyone is enjoying law school as much as me. I spoke with one female colleague who said she goes home and cries many nights because of the stress. She has lost 10 pounds since school began, and only eats crackers during the day because she feels like she needs to be studying rather than taking too much time to eat. She also said she was considering seeing a doctor to get anti-anxiety medication.

I tried to give her some advice, though I think she just wanted someone to listen to her. I told her that one can study 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in law school if you want. But as for myself, I deliberately stop to go eat a nice meal or go for a run. These are two things I look forward to every day and are essential to maintaining a good mood. Before you go to the doctor, I said, try eating balanced meals and exercising.

I spoke with a 2L about this, and the 2L told me it will get even worse around exams. No one will speak with each other, she said. Last year, some of her classmates threw up before their first exam.

Honestly, I was sort of oblivious to all this until this week. I see people who are as smart and probably smarter than me showing signs of stress, and I guess the anxiety is a little contagious.

I trust that I'm doing things right. Everyone is obsessed with "outlines." They think every course has to have an outline, and most of my professors mention it. I really don't think in terms of outlines, though. I review the cases and try to think of what rules or precedents have been set.

Students have also warned me that I will need to write some of my final exam essays in "IRAC" format, which stands for Issue, Rule, Analysis, Conclusion. I think we will go over this later in the semester in Legal Writing and Research I, but if not I'll have to become familiar with it before exams start.

So, my antennae is alert for possible stumbling blocks at law school. The material is becoming more difficult and beginning to pile up, but I know that I am doing the best I can. When exams come, I will be as prepared as I know how to be. So I really don't feel too stressed-- at least right now.

Until Next Time,

Nathan Marshburn

Boasting on FSU

I just finished writing my rough draft of a "closed memo" for Legal Writing and Research I, and thought I'd take a break to post a blog.

It's official-- I'm the only person in my section of about 80 students that does not use a laptop computer in class now. One person made the comment that it just looks more professional to use a computer, but I hope that is not the trend of belief. I like my system just fine, and you won't ever catch me on facebook or checking baseball box scores during class like I've seen some of my colleagues do. My three ring binder never crashes, and I guarantee you I can draw the professor's chart from the whiteboard faster than you can hit the keys to make it look right on your laptop.

It feels good to be a student here. Yesterday was open house for the law school, and I saw some young visitors as I headed down the hallway to the library. They gave me an envious look as if to say, "There's one of them. He's actually a student here. Neat."

While I know where a person graduates should make less difference the longer we practice law, it is nice to be at a school where a lot of people would like to go. I talk to transfer students who came here from other schools that I considered attending. They had to be near the top of their class for FSU to let them in, so I feel fortunate to have gotten in as a 1L. Despite our class size being around 235, we are still small compared to a lot of other schools. One transfer student from Florida Coastal told me that the usual entering class there is over 600.

So, tonight I'll go to the football game and cheer for the Seminoles against Wake Forest. The game should be on ESPN2. After the game, I'll get back to reading for my torts class.

This existence is pretty good.

Until Next Time,

Nathan Marshburn

"The Talk"

One of my professors found out that our section had not been given "the talk" yet, and so yesterday she performed that service.

Right now, my classmates are running for student government positions such as "1L representative," "Transfer representative," etc. Posters are up all over the law school, and one student has even draped a tarp from the stairwell with a life sized photo of himself.

In all my classes, I've made a point to sit on the front row and take an active part in the class discussions.

"The talk" related to these things.

You as students need to be careful, my professor said. Your legal career does not begin in three years. It began one month ago when you showed up for orientation.

You will remember some of the people in your 1L class for the rest of your life, she said, whether the memory is a fond one or not. Some of you may also work together for the rest of your professional lives.

She used her own experiences as a 1L to illustrate. One lady in her class was always fighting for seats at the front of the class, always had her hand in the air to ask a question. This lady ran for a position as a 1L representative, and one day went to the front of the class and asked who else was running. When she saw who raised their hands, she turned to her friend and said, "I'm all right."

During the second semester, everyone noticed that this classmate had lost a considerable amount of weight. Our professor heard her say in a conversation, "I don't know why my boyfriend was so upset. I mean, I was just doing a little blow in the bathroom."

Our class sort of gasped and laughed. The professor said this classmate of hers is now a lawyer in a specialized field. But if someone asks the professor for a recommendation of a lawyer in that field,

"Guess whose name I am not saying."

The point is that we are making an impression with our professors and our cohorts, and we don't always get to choose what professor talks about us to a prospective employer.

"The talk" is something I well certainly keep in mind.

Until Next Time,

Nathan Marshburn

Getting Involved

After two weeks here at FSU College of Law, I've found that there are many organizations which one may join. Thus far, I've only signed up with the Student Bar Association.

More than at any time in school, however, I have to be careful not to overextend myself. It is easy to tell that what I am learning in my classes right now is by far the most important thing. I'm being taught the nuts and bolts of how and why the law works as it does, and it is essential that I master the principles in these classes...

I have a favorite quotation from week two. Again, it comes from my Contracts I professor:

We were discussing a case in class when a student raised his hand and asked a question about some principle of the law of which I was not familiar.

"That's a great question," the professor said, "just not for today. We'll get into that principle next semester."

The student talked a little more about it, and then the professor said something like, "Yeah, I can tell you know a little bit about it, but hold off. It's like karate. If you only know a little bit, then you'll get your butt kicked even worse."

The class broke up laughing...

My brother is here with me right now. He flew into Tallahassee yesterday to watch the football game against Western Carolina University, our Alma Mater. It's good to see him, and he certainly is impressed with the campus and the football stadium.

As always, time is pressing. There are some pages in Civil Procedure that I need to read before the game tonight.

Until Next Time,

Nathan Marshburn

Impressions from the First Week

One week at FSU College of Law is in the books.

Again, I am enjoying my time here. Some of the most memorable things from the week include:

1) The best "welcome to law school" moment: Monday morning, the 8 am class, Civil Procedure (my first law school class ever). Approximately 80 people are in class with me, but I am only one of perhaps two or three others who do not use a computer. The professor begins lecturing, and I hear a cascade of typing on keyboards. I don't think I've ever been in a room with almost 80 people typing at once. I felt like I was being left behind, but I know that I can take and organize my handwritten notes faster than I can type.

2) My favorite entrance by a professor: My Contracts I professor walked into our first class wearing a suit (all the law professors wear suits- they don't dress down like other professors I had as an undergraduate). He had emailed us a reading assignment prior to the first class, just like all my other law professors. The first thing the professor says is, "This is Contracts I, right?" Then he looked at one of the students. "Mr. Smith, tell me about Hawkins v. McGee." The girl sitting beside me exchanged a "Holy Smoke!" look with me, and away we went on an intense discussion about expectation damages.

3) One of the most important lessons learned: In Torts class, I had my eyes opened as to how complex the law can be and that, just because you pass the bar, doesn't mean you are an expert. We studied cases this week where a judge flatly misquoted the law and then another case where a litigant, if he had a good lawyer, almost certainly would have won rather than lost his case. I did not see the errors of the judge or the lawyer upon reading these cases the first time. The professor had to point them out to me. As a lawyer, I will be having a profound impact on people's lives. What I am learning in my classes right now is vital to being able to provide them with the best service they can get.

4) Another lesson, but one that I already knew: Time is valuable and precious. There haven't been enough hours in the day to study, exercise, eat and sleep. And if I don't end this blog right now, the Suwannee room will close before I can have dinner.

Until Next Time,

Nathan Marshburn

Finding Satan

I suppose that for as long as I live and can remember anything, I will remember that the first case I read in law school was "Mayo v. Satan and His Staff" in Civil Procedure class. We discussed the case some today, the first day of classes. We will continue talking about its implications tomorrow. Filed in the 1970s, the case is about a man, Mr. Mayo, who tries to proceed with a complaint against the devil for violating his civil rights.

One of the points of studying this case is to show how civil procedure operates in terms of identifying jurisdiction and serving notice upon the defendant.

I like my classes and the reading, though I'm having a hard time staying awake right now. It is just past 7 pm, and I've been going pretty much non-stop since 6 am. The early mornings are probably what I will like least about law school.

There seem to be quite a few transfers to the 2L class here. When I first arrived, I learned that last year's class was about 190 students. The administration wanted around 205, so they probably granted some transfers to try to get that number up.

205 was their goal again for this class, I believe, and we are somewhere around 240 students. This probably means that the likelihood of getting a transfer to FSU next year for 1L students at other schools is not good.

The law library here is relatively small and quiet. Most of it is a "no-talking" zone. At WCU, I used to roam the floors of Hunter Library looking for people I knew so that I could speak with them. Here, the students stay intense in their studies. I get the feeling that to walk up and start a conversation would not be as welcomed as at WCU.

I really like it here, though, and I feel like I am in my element. There are a lot of smart students at FSU College of Law, but so far at least, I think I can hang with them.

Well, I'm off to eat at the Suwannee Room Restaurant again.

Until Next Time,

Nathan Marshburn

Day One

Today was the first day of orientation at Florida State University College of Law.

I got up at 6 am, caught the Tallahassee Metro bus at 7:00 am with my bike stowed on the front of the bus, rode as close as I could get to the law school, then biked the rest of the way to arrive at about 7:45.

Things are early, of course, but I think I am going to love this.

It was important to be here for orientation, as the admissions staff finalized the class count today. If I understood the Dean of the Law School correctly, the staff was somewhat surprised by the number of students who showed up. Last year's class was 190 students, a little shy of the number they wanted. This year, the count was 240, about 35 more students than their goal. I guess no one on this year's waiting list for FSU law received a last minute phone call. I also learned through this process that the number of seats for an entering class is not a "set in stone" figure. More people accepted FSU's offer of admission than they anticipated.

Thus far, nothing seems to be over my head. I do not really like the fact that my entire grade for every class will come down to the final exam, but as one professor said, the idea is to put the same kind of pressure on you as in a trial. It is a one shot deal. If you are arguing before the Supreme Court, the justices don't grade you on your preparation three months before you present your argument- they only judge your argument. A few hours in front of them is all you have... Three hours on the final exam will be all I have to show I understand the material.

Tallahassee is a nice town- much smaller than I expected for the capital of a state like Florida. There are only one or two buildings that you might call high-rises. Raleigh, NC seems to be a much busier place.

The campus of Florida State is large, with about 40,000 students attending. The football stadium is the most prominent structure on campus, and I rode past the statue of Bobby Bowden on my bike today, outside the main entrance to the field. At Western Carolina University, where I earned my bachelor's degree, I enjoyed leaving my car parked for days if not weeks while I walked to class, the library, the gym, and the cafeteria. I can't do that here. The gym is just too far away at FSU for me to take the trouble to go there just to run on a treadmill. I visited it today, though, and it is a beautiful state-of-the-art facility with three floors. The third floor is an indoor track.

The most surprising thing from day one was the food. Man, am I going to eat well in law school! I have no gripes about the food at WCU. It was good fare that kept me healthy all year. But at FSU, their all-you-can-eat location, the "Suwanee Room" is like a restaurant. It is better than Golden Corral. I felt like I was eating at the Olive Garden and Applebees and KFC rolled into one. The dining hall itself was massive with medieval style architecture that made it look like it belonged in a Harry Potter movie. I told one of their managers how good their food was, and he replied with a smile, "Yes, sir. We are a restaurant. We are not a cafeteria."

I am very glad I purchased a meal plan with block meals at the Suwanee Room. The only advantage WCU had was that I could walk there. At FSU, I have to drive and struggle to find a parking space before I can eat.

Today was a very full day. I could go on an on about the people I met, my living quarters, how great my parents were in helping me set up...

But tomorrow is another full day. I will have to be at the law school before 8 am more days than not this semester, so I'm going to get some rest.

Until Next Time,

Nathan Marshburn

The Advice from My Volunteers

Very soon I will head down Interstate-95 toward Florida.

This summer, I ran concessions for classical music concerts at the Brevard Music Center in North Carolina. A number of volunteers worked for me on the days of the concerts, selling the items we had set out.

Talking to them was my favorite part of the job. Most of my volunteers were retirees, and they told me great stories about their life experiences. One couple, the Taylors, have a son who is currently a lawyer specializing in intellectual property in Seattle. He went to law school at the University of Virginia. Mr. Taylor said that after his son had been at law school about three days, he called home and said, "Dad! These people are smart! I don't know if I can do this!" But Mr. Taylor assured his son that he was intelligent as well and just to keep going.

I imagine similar feelings will hit me once I start at Florida State.

Another volunteer who worked with me had practiced law for 40 years in Indianapolis. He earned his law degree from Northwestern University. I especially enjoyed hearing his stories. To my surprise, he said that he actually enjoyed law school more than his undergraduate years.

I asked him what kind of law he practiced, and he said he was a "door" lawyer.

"A door lawyer?" I asked. "What is that?"

"That means I took whatever came in the door," he replied.

He told me to expect some strange things in law school. When he was at Northwestern, sometimes a professor would assign a special reading to be done in the library, and he would find that the book had disappeared.

He also went to school with a student derisively nicknamed "Razor." The student earned this nickname when someone saw him using a razor to slice cases out of a law book in the library.

I asked him what mistakes he made as a lawyer that I should strive to avoid, and what things did he really do right that he would emphasize to me.

After some thought, he told me that he once was sued for malpractice because he misunderstood the timeline for filing an appeal and subsequently went past the statute of limitations.

"I guess the moral of that story for you is to be darn careful," he said. "Know what the deadlines are and don't wait until the last minute. File your paperwork three or four months before the deadline."

As far as successes, he told me to give my clients proper attention and great service. Work late hours for them, he said, and keep them informed of what you are doing. If you provide them with good service, they will come back to you and recommend their friends to you as well.

I appreciated the advice of the volunteers this summer, and if I ever get back to Brevard I hope to see them again.

Until Next Time,

Nathan Marshburn

The Importance of the LSAT

As I said in my first blog, your LSAT score and GPA are the two most important factors in acceptance to law school. And most likely, a high LSAT score is better than a high GPA.

LSAT stands for Law School Admission Test, and it is offered only four times per year. The lowest one can score on the LSAT is 120. The highest is 180. Of those who take the test, the average score is 150. The average LSAT score for some top rated state supported schools (at least for those I looked at in the southeastern United States) such as the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Georgia, the University of Alabama, the University of Florida and Florida State University is above 160. To be considered for an Ivy League school, you probably need a LSAT score of around 170.

I'll tell you a personal story from my application experience that illustrates the importance of the LSAT:

The University of Arkansas is one law school where I applied. They are unique among many law schools in that they provide you with a formula on their website that allows you to plug in your LSAT score and GPA. If your LSAT and GPA are high enough, then you can tell before you even apply whether or not you will be accepted at the University of Arkansas (provided you don't have other negative marks against you like a criminal record). The university does admit students who score below the cutoff of their formula, but these admittances are few as I found out first hand.

I took the LSAT twice, in December 2007 and February 2008. My December LSAT score combined with my GPA was not enough to be automatically admitted to the University of Arkansas. They sent me a letter of rejection but invited me to write an essay in competition for the handful of slots they would have for people who scored below the formula cutoff. They advised that I would be competing against hundreds of other applicants for these few slots.

My February LSAT score was higher, high enough to be automatically admitted to the University of Arkansas. I called their admissions office and told them my situation. The admissions officer said the school would have to wait for my official LSAT score to arrive, but that I should be admitted. Sure enough, two weeks later I received a letter of admission from the University of Arkansas, along with a scholarship offer that reduced tuition to the in-state level.

My February score was only two points higher than my December score.

Two points on the LSAT was the difference between rejection and admission at the University of Arkansas with a generous scholarship offer. I was very happy to be admitted to Arkansas and made plans to go there until a school in my native state of North Carolina admitted me with a financial package that topped Arkansas's offer.

So what can you do to improve your LSAT score? Unfortunately I don't have groundbreaking advice. The LSAT is a difficult thing for which to study. I suppose a good vocabulary would not hurt as some of the reading can be challenging. But the LSAT tests the way you process information, and that is probably a difficult thing to change.

I can't speak to how well improvement courses or seminars may work as they were too expensive for me to gamble upon. I took two timed practice tests at Western Carolina University, and my score on those were virtually identical to what I scored on the real test.

As I said, I only scored two points higher on my second attempt, but I did try a different strategy. The first time I took the test, I made sure I went to bed early to get rest, though I really didn't sleep well. During the first test I had too much energy and experienced some trouble concentrating. When I left that test, I did not have a good feeling.

Then I remembered a story that Hall of Fame second baseman Joe Morgan told about fellow Hall of Famer Willie Stargell. Stargell played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, and Morgan for the Cincinnati Reds. One of the teams came into town to play the other, and Morgan and Stargell went out together for a night on the town. After a while, Morgan said he had to go home to rest before the game the next day. Stargell teased him for leaving early and stayed out himself partying late into the night. The next day, Stargell hit two home runs as the Pirates beat the Reds. As Stargell rounded the bases after his second home run, he said to Morgan, "Rest is overrated."

With that idea in mind, the night before my February LSAT I went out and had a good time. I found a gathering just off campus and did not get to bed until about 2:30 am. The test was at 8 am that same morning.

I was tired when I got to the test, but it turned out to be a good thing. I was able to relax and focus on the questions, and my sleepiness gave me a sort of careless attitude that eliminated the anxiety I felt during the first test. Unlike my first attempt at the LSAT, this time I completed each section with time to spare, and I left feeling I had done about as well as I could do on the test.

The results bore it out for me. While this may not be a wise strategy for everyone, I can only offer advice that helped me. The LSAT is very important in admittance to law school, but it helps to find a way not to think about that while you are taking the test. I thought about it a lot during my first time taking the test. The second time, I was tired and just focused on the questions and answers in front of me.

Hopefully, this will help some people.

Note: I recently went back to the Arkansas School of Law website, and it has changed. Apparently, the formula is no longer published.

Until Next Time,

Nathan Marshburn

Health Care is More Important than Law School

It is now August 4th, and I am counting down the days until I head to law school. It looks like my destination is Tallahassee, Florida and my school will be Florida State University. I regret that I have not posted more blogs in June and July, but frankly my summer job has kept me a little too busy to do much thinking about law school.

I work at Brevard Music Center in North Carolina. It is a beautiful little town, unique for its white squirrels (which are not albinos) and breathtaking scenery in the Appalachian mountains. Each summer, some of the best musicians in the country come here to play classical music, learn from each other, and have a good time. There are many people here from Florida State, as I learned that FSU has one of the best music programs in the nation.

One of the friends I made this summer is Emily, a Ph.D. candidate at FSU in music theory. Her husband, Oscar, just finished his first year of law school at FSU, so I am fortunate to meet them.

More will come in future blogs about FSU College of Law, as this site is dedicated to that purpose. However, this one time I want to talk about something more important than law school.
About a week ago, Emily's brother, Bill Swift, rode into town on a bike-- all the way from Oregon. He is riding across the country to raise money for a friend, Tausha Marsh, who was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 24. At the age of 28, she was diagnosed again with a totally different type of cancer. Since these diagnoses, she has engaged in a battle for her life. There is one part of this battle, however, that she should not have to fight. Nonetheless, it remains a staggering obstacle:

Because Tausha has cancer, her medical expenses have driven her and her family into over $150,000 in debt. She faces perhaps another $150,000 in medical expenses as she continues to fight the disease.

Because Tausha has cancer, her family faces financial ruin. How can that happen in this country? Imagine yourself, having worked hard your entire life, saving money, planning wisely. And then a diagnosis of cancer hits you or one of your children- or a car accident happens that wasn't even your fault. It can wipe out a lifetime of savings and reduce you to poverty.

I ask again... How can that happen in this country? Things like this do not happen in England. They do not happen in France, or Germany. They do not happen to members of the United States Congress, our elected leaders who also have the best health insurance plans in the world.

This is a subject about which I have written before. See the links at http://wcugradstudentblog.blogspot.com/2008/03/open-letter-to-candidates.html and http://www.cjr.org/campaign_desk/a_health_care_conversation_ope.php. But to hear the story of Tausha Marsh awoke me from the dull exhaustion of the summer to take up the matter again.

We as U.S. citizens are privileged people. I can write this blog criticizing our government and elected officials with no fear of being thrown in jail. Just because we have freedom of speech, however, does not mean the citizens of America are not under attack from a cruel system. Americans are some of the hardest working people in the world. We often work multiple part time jobs-- 60 hours a week or more-- and still take time to raise families. People in this country accept jobs for a ridiculously low minimum wage and no medical benefits.

Frankly, most of us are just too busy working and surviving to think about changes in the health care system. Much less are we able to summon the time and energy to actually get out and fight for these changes. It's a situation that has progressively gotten worse in this country. The middle class disappears as a working poor emerges and the rich become richer. I saw it most plainly in the housing and residences of our nation's capital, Washington, DC, where I worked as a mailman. Americans do not suffer under an iron dictator the way the Russians did under Stalin or the Iraqis under Saddam Hussein. But we have been lulled to sleep by a system that overworks us and constantly tries to reduce what we should expect from our government and from the companies where we work.

I say to the our political leaders: No citizen of America should be denied health care coverage due to cost. This is a right as human beings we should all expect from a country as great as the United States.

Bill Swift is an American hero, a person who is actively trying to pick up the ball where government and politicians have failed us. He is trying to raise money to fight the debt Tausha Marsh should never have to think about in fighting cancer. I encourage you to view his website and do something for the cause. It is http://www.whydoiride.org/Site/Home.html.

And this blog is a call to action for the ordinary American as well as for those in power who run the corporations and government of America. We may disagree on how to fix the problem. Some people who read my blog for Western Carolina University say socialistic medicine is not the answer. One suggested that I read Milton Friedman's ideas on how to solve the health care problem. Friedman was decidedly not a socialist-- and that is fine with me. I would sign on to his plan and say, "Full steam ahead!" Because we need to try something... anything. The current system is tragically broken.

To paraphrase Franklin Roosevelt, a man's whose leadership we could use today: If one thing doesn't work, then try another. But above all, try something.

Stories like that of Tausha Marsh are not only sad, they are sickening and a black mark against the United States. We should all feel ashamed that things like this happen in our country. The time is now to overhaul the system. We can do it and do it successfully. If we have the money and resources to rebuild Iraq, then we can certainly fix our health care problem.

Fortunately, I am going to law school where I hope to learn more about how to change the system. This one issue is enough to tempt me to enter politics, though I doubt I have the credentials or the temperament to last long in that arena. People like Emily's husband Oscar, a man of my generation who is an Army reservist and has served America by going to Iraq, probably better represent mainstream Americans. Health care is a problem that is not going away, though. It should remain foremost in all Americans' minds and actions until those in power move to change the system.

Until next time,

Nathan Marshburn

About the NCCU School of Law

Last week, I visited North Carolina Central University School of Law in Durham, NC.

I was most impressed with their facilities. One wing of the building is almost brand new, and the rest of the building was renovated approximately two years ago according to the admissions office. All of the classrooms had a nice, modern feel to them. Each seat possessed outlets for a laptop computer, and the front of the classrooms were equipped with large screens, computers and other electronic equipment.

NCCU School of Law has perhaps the lowest tuition of any law school in the country, and it was rated number one on the list of "Best Value Law Schools" in the back to school 2007 edition of PreLaw Magazine. You may see this report at http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/cypress/prelaw-bts07/index.php?startpage=25.

I felt very comfortable there, and the students I talked to said that NCCU is different from other law schools in that the focus is on creating a community atmosphere rather than one of intense competition. NCCU School of Law specializes in producing attorneys who will work in public service. The school's clinics train students to help the downtrodden and impoverished of society. This is worthy work, and I could see myself being happy making this my career.

Thankfully, the students I spoke with were also honest with my blunt questions. I was told that if I want to make a lot of money in law and go to a highly competitive school that prepares me for 60 to 80 hour weeks at a large firm, NCCU should not be my first choice. Also, a Juris Doctor from NCCU would serve well for employment within North Carolina, but may not be a greatly recognized degree if I desire to work outside that state. However, there seems to be a strong NCCU/Atlanta connection. I talked with three students from Atlanta, and they told me a large number of alumni work in that city. When I went to an LSAC (Law School Admissions Council) conference in Atlanta in 2007, I remember the table for NCCU School of Law being swamped with people, and the admissions officer quickly ran out of brochures and materials. He told me that next year he would have to ship boxes of brochures to the conference ahead of time, as his car was full when he made this trip.

Again, I really enjoyed my visit to NCCU. Theirs is a law school I would recommend- particularly if you want to practice in public interest law. The low cost of attendance can take the pressure off when job hunting, as the debt burden should be much lower than other law schools. Follow this link to their homepage: http://web.nccu.edu/law/.

NCCU makes my choice of a law school very difficult. Another school where I have been accepted also has very attractive features. I will write about that institution in the future.

Until Next Time,

Nathan Marshburn

Introduction

To get things started, this is a duplicate of a blog I wrote for WCU's Pre-Law Club in April 2008.

Hello all,

My name is Nathan Marshburn. I am a graduate student at Western Carolina University, and I also received a B.A. in History from WCU. Dr. Todd Collins, faculty advisor to the Pre-Law Club at Western, has been an enormous help to me as I prepare for law school. He also provided some questions for me to think about for this blog, the answers to which I hope will prove useful to my fellow students considering law school. The questions are as follows:

1)What do I know now about the process of getting into law school that I would have liked to have known when getting started?

Well, if I had done some research I would have discovered that having a Master's degree does not mean much when applying to law school. The two most important factors are your LSAT score and your undergraduate GPA. After I learned this information at a LSAC forum in Atlanta, I went ahead and applied to several schools and received multiple acceptance letters. I plan to leave the M.A. program at WCU and go ahead and enroll in law school for the fall 2008.

I certainly do not feel like I wasted a year here, though. When I came back, I was undecided between law school and pursuing a Ph.D. in history. My experiences both inside and outside the classroom in Cullowhee this year have made me a more prepared person for the practice of law. I established some great relationships with professors who wrote vital letters of recommendation to law schools. And I was happy this year, a year that went by faster than any in my life.

Also, I probably would have taken the LSAT a little earlier than I did. I took it twice, in December 2007 and February 2008. I scored higher on the February test, but a couple of schools that rejected me closed the application process before the February test and only used my December score for evaluation. If I had taken the September 2007 and December 2007 tests with the same subsequent results, I might have been admitted to these two schools.

2) What should I have done earlier in my college career that would have helped me get into law school?

I can not stress enough the importance of good grades. Like I said, undergraduate GPA and the LSAT score are the two heavy hitters, and a good performance in both of these areas will get you accepted more places than a great personal statement or letters of recommendation. When I was 19, I goofed off for a couple of semesters. This put a dent in my GPA that as an immature sophomore I did not realize would be so influential. I am happy and fortunate to receive many acceptance letters, but who knows what results might have occurred (say, with merit scholarships) if I had given my all to academics for all four years of college. It is okay and even important to have a good time in college and learn the art of socializing, but never let it interfere with your academic work.

3) Was there one or a few pieces of advice that someone (lawyer, professor, family, etc.) gave me that really helped?

Dr. Collins has given me some great advice on where I should go now that I've been admitted to schools and have some choices. As far as the application process, though, one of my best friends, Heather Loveless (who went to WCU with me as an undergraduate) proofread my five page personal statement for a law school and made some suggestions for changes that I now view as very important in where I got accepted. While no two personal statements I wrote for law schools were the same, I used elements of this five page statement that Heather edited for all of them. After you write a personal statement, get someone you trust, has good common sense, and can read and write good English to proofread it. They will catch things you never would have realized needed to be changed.

4) What was most surprising about the process?

Honestly, not much has surprised me about the process. I did a lot of research in applying to schools, and had a fair idea of where I might be accepted or rejected based on my LSAT and GPA. An unfortunate surprise is the amount of debt law school students graduate with. I believe $90,000 is the average, and it is not uncommon for students to finish with well over six figure debt. Right now, $90,000 in debt means a monthly payment of about $1100 for the next 10 years. Going to law school can be like mortgaging a house, and this has weighed heavily on me in my decision about where to attend school. It is an enormous risk to accrue debt like that for three years with the hope you will get a high paying job when you graduate. A lot of things have to go right- a lot of things I do not necessarily have any control over.

I'd better pick an area of law that I like, because I can't quit once I've signed master promissory notes for that much money! But WCU has given me a great opportunity not available to many people. As Dr. Collins has reminded me, though the process can be stressful, I am very fortunate to have options like this.

Until Next Time,

Nathan Marshburn