JD’s Docket: Law School?...Are You Crazy?

"Why did you decide to go to law school?" is probably the most asked question that I hear nowadays.  That, closely followed by "what kind of law do you want to practice?” 

Since starting Lincoln Law School in February, everyone wants to know why in the hell I want to go back to school.  To be honest, my response usually involves a shrug, quickly followed by a half-assed answer that probably doesn't reveal the entire truth.

Law school was always a goal of mine, even in grade school. Many law students will mark the reading of To Kill a Mockingbird as the time when becoming a lawyer rose to the forefront of their career aspirations. Reading that story in eighth grade surely added logs to the legal fire burning in me, but I remember my first mock trial a year early in a world history class that initially set off the spark for me.

My client, Christopher Columbus, was charged with the murder of thousands Native Americans. If I remember correctly, the evidence was really stacked against Columbus. I’m pretty sure the plaintiff had pictures of dead bodies with Columbus shooting finger guns at the piles.  Only the late Johnny Cochrane would have been able to get Columbus off Scott-free.

In my head, that class experiment played out like the trial at the end of Godfather 2. But, in reality it was probably about as watchable as Godfather 3. When all was said and done, my client was found guilty and I was officially bitten by the dream of becoming an attorney.

I went through high school planning on going to law school and stepped foot on the UCSB campus with the same goal. However, somewhere in between the trips through herbal enriched rooms and partaking in "drinking hockey" or "snaps tournaments", I managed to get lost along the way.

After graduating college, I immediately applied to law schools, but fell flat on my back like Charlie Brown trying to kick a football.  It is hard to get into a law school when your GPA looks worse than the sheets of a roommate who can’t handle his alcohol. (We all know that guy who has once, or twice, blown chunks while sleeping…so gross)

"Suck me beautiful?"

The several rejection letters that litter my mailbox had all but squashed my dream.   For almost 10 years after, I trotted to an unrewarding job feeling like a background character in 1984. By the end, the work began to suck at my soul as if I was a convicted felon in Azkaban crossing paths with a dementor.  

Of all things, unemployment reignited my aspirations to become a lawyer.  I knew I didn’t want to be in advertising for the rest of my life and I needed to carve out another path.  After talking to a few of Wendy’s family members that are lawyers, I decided to actually try to reach the goal set by that much thinner version of me. 

Going to Lincoln Law School definitely was not my first choice (or second or 15^th).  It’s a non-ABA accredited law school, which, in short, means I can only sit for the California Bar upon graduation.  At first, this was huge problem for me.  School prestige always carried its weight in my mind, mainly because of my 13 years of private, catholic education.  

Taking this step down to a school with much less panache definitely deflates the ego.  It also extinguishes any reasonable chances of landing those high paying corporate jobs that all law school grads seems to orgasm over.    

But, I’ve learned that this isn’t why I’m going to law school.  I’m going to law school because it is something that (along with sports) has been a passion of mine since I was a kid. It is something that I know I could be happy doing for the rest of my life (well, at least until retirement), not a job I randomly fell into because of a job placement agency.

It is a goal that I set out for myself when I was young and one that I want to do everything possible to complete.  If that means playing the underdog role at a lowered tier school, then I’m absolutely up for the task.

With most of the distractions from college life out of the way, if I fail this time around I truly only have myself to blame.  The true test begins this August, which most likely means that my time for this blog should concurrently vanish.

Although I'm determined to keep this blog going, when push comes to shove, homework will trump any meaningless blog post everyday of the week.  And from what I understand, free time isn’t exactly a common companion of the law student.      

While this blog will usually revolve around sports, gambling, and everything in between, JD’s Docket will breakaway to talk about the legal issues that pique my interest. I may also use this space to post sleep inducing stores about my journey though law school. (So if you run out of Tylenol PM, bookmark this baby.)   

There are a ton of great stories going on in the legal world that silently affect our daily lives.  As a law student, it’s hard not to form opinions on these random cases that cross my screen.  Although my opinions will most likely be legally unsound, it is still fun to throw in my two cents with the little legal knowledge that I currently think I possess. And what’s the point of throwing in your two cents if no one has the opportunity to listen.