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