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