Being a Pregnant Law Student

I've noticed that a lot of people have been finding my blog through "pregnant during law school" or "can I do law school while pregnant" searches.  When I was about 5 months along, I did this post about Being Pregnant in Law School.  I thought I would write some more posts expanding on that and giving some more advice because now I can post when I think it's best to have a baby in law school and more so, whether I think it would be possible to be a mother to a newborn during law school.  For today's post, I'll expand more on just being pregnant in law school in general.  In the next few posts, I'll write about being a Mother during law school, and when I think it's best to have a baby in law school (if you have that kind of flexibility). 

As I had posted a few months ago, being pregnant during law school wasn't what I would call easy.  At first, it wasn't too bad, but when the morning sickness sets in, coupled with exhaustion during the first trimester, you're pretty miserable.  You wonder "how can I do this?"  Then, during the second trimester, you think "oh ok, I feel like a normal human being again...I can manage."  And finally, by the third trimester, your mind has gone to lala land and you do have some problems focusing.  There are many things to consider about having a baby in law school, or in my case, 6 days after graduation.  There are, quite honestly, positives and negatives to both.

I do, however, think a few things are essential.  If you are doing this completely on your own (in other words, wanting to be a single mommy), I would recommend you wait until at least the end of your first year.  If I wouldn't have had my wonderful husband around, I honestly would have taken a semester off.  Here's the problem with pregnancy: you can't plan how you'll feel!  Some women are really lucky and they never have anything out of the ordinary happen, or they have no morning sickness.  But, I had horrible morning sickness and I was still throwing up in to my trash can with my husband holding my hair up at nearly 20 weeks.  So don't think it'll be perfect and that you've timed everything your way.  My little precious girl was born nearly 4 weeks early.  I still have no idea how I would have managed if her due date had been June 1st and then she would have come smack dab in the middle of finals.  Yeah...not good.  These are all things I strongly encourage you to consider.

Another thing to consider is how important grades and extracurriculars are in your life. Once the morning sickness really started setting in, it was very hard to focus.  I'll give you an example:  when I was 8 weeks along and my morning sickness was pretty bad, I took my MPRE (Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam).  I failed it the first time.  This test is not hard...seriously...it's embarrassing that I failed.  I took it the second time in my second trimester when I felt better and passed it with flying colors.  Additionally, you can't be in a million extracurriculars either because you'd be letting down your teammates when not feeling well.  I remained very involved on my journal, because I loved the people that I worked with.  I also worked approximately 20 hours a week at a law firm.  Looking back on it, I should have probably cut out my clerking at the firm.  Working and the journal were ok together, but adding in the school work was too much and that is also why my grades suffered so much.  You will have to learn what works for you and make sure to not over do it. 

Another thing I really noticed through this entire experience is that there isn't ever a perfect time to have a baby.  While my husband and I weren't exactly planning to get pregnant that fine day in September (oops! haha), I'm not sure it would have been any easier in the years following.  This is a decision that you and your partner have to make TOGETHER (that is, if it's planned).  Once Evan and I got to thinking about it, there were many positives about the timing.  Throughout Liliana's first year, Evan will be in his fourth year of medical school which isn't nearly as strenuous as his first year of residency!  So as I said, think about how things would be as a couple.  This is going to be a balancing act.  Get ready to start working together NOW, before you get pregnant, because you'll be a team more than ever once your cute bundle of joy comes along.

Note: if this is the first time you've seen my blog, I also recommend the following posts:

Just a Typical Saturday in the Lacefield House:  This could be the kind of schedule you'd have on a weekend with a newborn if your partner is available to help you 24 hours of the day.  Consider how this would fit in to your schedule during law school.  In some ways, it's perfect because you study on your own time most of the year.  It would obviously be hard during finals.

Pregnancy Doctor Visits:  At my law school, they took attendance during our classes and we could  typically miss between 2 - 6 class periods during each semester.  Consider how this schedule would fit in to all of this.  This is, in my opinion, a big positive for being in law school while pregnant because I don't care so much if I miss one class period, but when you're a brand new associate they will not be happy that you're missing so much work!

What to Expect when You're Done Expecting:  Here is the hardest part about having the baby during law school: the recovery.  If you had a job, you would have a couple weeks to physically recover.  Sure, you'll be exhausted during your hours as an associate, but the recovery while you're sitting in class would be rough.
 This is something to consider...talk with your school and see what their policies are.

Overall,  it's a decision you will have to make!  All I'm doing by writing these posts are giving you things to think about.  There are definitely positives and negatives to both.  That being said, personally, for me, if I didn't have the bar to be studying for this would have been perfect. I am happy I was pregnant during law school.  Even though our pregnancy was not per se planned...it ended up fitting our lives very well, much better than if I had been working as a new associate.  I saw how much the associates worked at the firm I clerked for... and let me tell you, when I left the office at 6 p.m. because I had had enough of the nausea, they had to stick around and keep getting their stuff done.  Like I said, if I had to miss class for an appointment, it wasn't a problem.  Also, yes my grades went down because I felt sick, but in the big scheme of things that sure sounds a lot better than the other option: when you're an associate, if your job performance goes down for months, there might be some more serious consequences.  Hope all this information helped!!  Please note, every pregnancy is different and some people might feel differently about this...I'm just giving my opinion from my experience.

Also...please excuse my subliminal messages ....  ;  ) 

The Day I've Thought of A Million Times: Graduation from Law School

Well, on Saturday, May 15, 2010, I finally graduated from law school.  It took three long years, countless hours of studying, countless hours of attending lectures, thousands of dollars in books and study aids, and quite a lot of tears, but I can officially say I have my Juris Doctorate.   Man...that feels good.

I thought I would dedicate this post to graduation weekend, because honestly, it was pretty great.  First, on my way home from my last final, I treated myself to a pedicure and eyebrow wax (that one, surprisingly, was much less relaxing than the pedicure).  Right after my relaxing pedicure (where they even put paraffin wax on my feet...ahhh) Evan met me and took me to lunch.  We just relaxed and barely talked about school, which for the past few weeks was a big change in our daily conversation.  Evan had to go back to clinic, so I went home and was supposed to go to the grocery store to buy some ingredients to bake with, but instead, I just layed on the couch for two hours.  I didn't do a thing.  I wasn't thinking about a thing.  I just layed there and relaxed.  Again...ahhh.  Thursday night, Evan and I were going to go to a law school party until I learned it was a kegger with 120 people and decided perhaps me and my fat self shouldn't go anymore.  Nine months ago, I would have been all about going.  A bunch of the people there were my close friends and it would have been fun, but alas,  Liliana calls the shots now.  So instead, we watched a movie together and went to Target to start getting the ingredients for the hospital bag.  Overall, it was an amazing first day off...I had very little to stress about and got to spend it with Evan, who I had practically been ignoring for two weeks of finals.

Friday morning, I woke up feeling domestic and became a baking diva!  I made some chocolate crinkles (delicious) and this pound cake.  This pound cake is really delicious and ubber healthy...it only has three sticks of butter!

Delicious Pound Cake that was gone by the end of the weekend

By the time I was done baking and getting ready, some of my company almost arrived!  My parents, my grandpa, and Titi Oni were at the house by 3 p.m. and I was already getting even more excited for the festivities.  We went to dinner at Triple J Chophouse (I had been craving the bread pudding for weeks).

On Saturday morning, my brother and Annie arrived and company started coming in from all over.  Evan's mom, poor thing, had been delayed 9 hours getting here and didn't even arrive until 4:30 in the morning! We had people from: El Paso, Corpus Christi, Dallas, Puerto Rico, San Antonio, and Garden City.  I have some pretty amazing family huh?

As I walked in to the auditorium that night, I wasn't nervous in the slightest.  I wasn't even all that excited.  I was more aware of my surroundings than I had been in months (pregnancy makes it hard to focus).  I was hot as hell because I'm so pregnant and my feel were swollen and my back hurt, but quite honestly, I just wanted to walk across the stage.  I worked really hard.  I don't think that's conceited to say: I deserved this moment and I was going to enjoy it...and I did.

Before graduation.  The onesie says "Attorney Work Product."   

Underneath the onesie is my 36 week ginormous belly.  I didn't think it looked all that huge, but right before he was about to leave, my brother looked at me with these pitiful eyes and said "God sis, you look like you're about to pop." I think my belly is now in the ginormous category.

The Man that Went through it all...

My handsome husband and I before graduation.  After I walked the stage, I heard someone call my name and Evan had run down the stairs to get as close as he could just to wave and smile at me.  It was such a sweet moment.  I looked at him and blew a kiss.  He knew that I wouldn't have walked that stage had it not been for his pushing me throughout the years, particularly that first year.

After graduation, we went to the parties!  My party was at McPherson Cellars and we had food catered from Stella's.  I think people really enjoyed the festivities.  We didn't get home until nearly midnight and by the time we got to bed it was two in the morning.  By 7:00, Evan was awake because he was throwing a brunch with his Mom before people headed back to their respective homes.  Evan worked so hard on this brunch.  I wish I could have a post just showing my appreciation.  He had bought all the decorations, had spent a week staining and power washing the fence, had been religiously watering the plants so everything would look nice, had made lists and lists of all the food we needed, had ordered muffins, had made the casserole as a practice, etc.  Really, I was so honored and touched that he wanted to do this for me.  His Mom was a great help too.  She had brought her own casserole and really served as a helping guide.  Evan had never done a brunch, much less for nearly 40 people, so having a helping hand was wonderful.

By the time everyone left (our last guest left on Monday), I have to admit I was really tired.  Yesterday my Mom told me that she has never seen me so tired in my entire life.  I had some really strong contractions and we started even worrying I was going in to pre-term labor, but I think it was just the hustle and bustle of the weekend.  As long as Liliana's ok though, it was totally worth it.

I AM NOW A J.D.  

I GRADUATED FROM LAW SCHOOL.

cooooool....

My Finals...

Well, yesterday marked a pretty big day in my life.  I am officially done with law school.  Finals, while I barely talked about them on my blog, were pretty brutal this semester.  I had FOUR of them.

(1) Criminal Procedure - 05/05 - I studied pretty hard for this one, but our professor did a horrbile job preparing us in class, so I did my best with what I could.  So while I read over the outlines a few times like I usually do, they just didn't have the substance they shoudl have had and honestly, the professor didn't do the job she should have to prepare us.  I think I passed though.  This will be the theme here...that's what's important.

(2) Texas Estate Administration - 05/10 - This class was probably one of my favorites this semester.  It's all about the job of an attorney or an executor and how to administer estates after someone passes.  It was SUCH a useful class.  I already started our wills when I had a few minutes between classes (yeah, law school does that to you...you start doing nerdy things like writing your own wills just for the heck of it).  This final was a tough one.  It was really detail oriented but again, I think I passed.

(3) Marital Property - 05/12 - This class had my favorite professor: Hatfield.  He's the funniest guy and his exam for Wills and Trusts last year was really fair, so I wasn't that worried.  Boy, was I wrong.  It was tough!  The reason though was because there were only 38 questions and questions 1- 15 were worth 5 points, questions 15 - 30 were worth 3, and questions 30 - 38 were worth 1 point.  So in other words, the fact that I was really confused by 5 of the first 15 is BAD...really really bad.  Again though, I made educated guessed and had studied, so I think (hope) I passed.  I've thought I did worse before on a law school final and came out with a passing grade, so I think I'll be alright.

(4) Family Law - 05/13 - Yeah, can you believe it?  I had three finals in a four day period.  That's freaking brutal and it's by far the worst I've had in law school.  Your first year, they give you 3 in a six day period.  These exams are long and cover a huge amount of information so it's really exhausting.  I remember in college I tried scheduling finals as close together as possible so I could be done for the semester!  Ha, how times have changed.  I could have done a better job studying for this test, but I have to admit, when I got home after my Marital Property exam, I was really beat!  I tried my  best to focus, but just couldn't.  My body and mind were overwhelmed and exhausted.  I decided to take a break and try to find some shoes for my graduation, and that helped a little.  But that break only bought me about 2 hours of studying before I was beat again.  This final really wasn't that tough, but I honestly wasn't as prepared as I could have been.  I, however, did my best and that's all you can ask for.

Sorry for the most uninteresting blog post ever.  For those of you in law school, you'll probably think "wow she doesn't sound nearly stressed enough about finals."  I assure you, I usually am, but third year is funny like that.  You just start not giving a shit.  You should, because if you're unemployed like I am, your grades still matter a lot, but you're just drained.

So to any third year law students out there, my advice is: do the best you can.  That's what you've done so far throughout law school and obviously you're still truckin', so keep it up...just this last time.  And then, like me: YOU'LL BE DONE!!

Cord Blood Banking

The new thing is cord blood banking.  When my brother and Annie were pregnant with Sofia (my niece), my Mother, a pediatrician, considered giving this as a gift to all her grandbabies.  Cord blood can be quite expensive, so this would have been an amazing gift.  My mom, in her typical organized fashion, sat down one Saturday morning with an extensive amount of research and read about all the medical information anyone had ever printed. She decided it wasn't worth it.  That's the medical part of this discussion.  Maybe if Evan has time, he can blog about this some time.  Again, that will be the medical part.  Now, I wanted to blog about the legal battles occurring with Cord Blood Banking.

Currently, a large amount of private Cord Blood Banking corporations are being sued.  Why?  Because parents that invested approximately $2,000 are finding out that their good lump of cash is not going to do a thing for their sick children.  The parents leave feeling deceived, disappointed, and defeated.  On the one hand, this hardly makes a law suit.  Something that a lawyer eventually learns is that sh*t happens.  It sounds cruel, but is true.  However, this is not what the parents are upset about.  They are suing for "false advertisement and consumer fraud."

What really convinced me that this legal battle was being won by the consumer, as opposed to the Cord Blood banking companies, is the outcry that the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Academy of Pediatrics have caused.  They have both voiced incredible concern over these companies and their only reason to do this is if they truly feel it isn't worth it for their patients.  After all, economically, you would think they would love the idea of cord blood banking.  Their skepticism is convincing.  They also agree that the marketing techniques are dishonest.  Instead, these organizations recommend donating the cord blood to a public bank.  These public banks make it free to anybody that needs them.

I suppose the legal question then is, to whom is it the responsibility of defragmenting the promises of advertising?  One case I read my first year of law school answers this question.  It was a case that involved a little boy dying in a fire due to a smoke alarm that did not go off.  The smoke alarm manual had in 10 point font in the middle of the brochure that said if placed within a certain distance of a corner, it would not go off.  The parents had not seen this, placed the smoke alarm in a corner, and unfortunately the fire spread too quickly.  In the holding, the court said the smoke alarm company was ultimately responsible, not the parents.  They said corporations hold an amount of responsiblity to let laymen know of unique circumstances, such as cord blood not being nearly as successful as they thought, or a random smoke alarm not functioning in certain places in a home.

The smoke alarm company was required to increase the font size, put it in bold, and place this placement statement on the first page of the brochure. 

The cord blood company needs to be honest in a bigger font size, bold print, and on the first page of each brochure.  But, they wouldn't be able to dupe all these parents then, would they?

The Obligatory "I Hate you Law School" Post...

I've tried as well as I could to keep negativity out of this blog.  Heck, I've been trying the last year to keep negativity out of my life.

As I've posted earlier, I hated the first year of law school.  I cried probably 4 times each semester through stress and poor Evan had to sit there probably thinking to himself, "What a wimp!  It's just school!  Get over it!"  Evan handles stress much better than I do.  During his third year probably marks the first time I've seen him physically drained and tired of his schedule.  During OB/Gyn, his night float week was tough.  He was gone from the house at 4 pm and didn't get back until 8:30 am.  He slept until 1:00 (yeah, only 4.5 hours) and I'm at work between 1 and 4, so we barely ever saw each other.  It was a tough week.

Currently, Evan is in his Surgery rotation.  I see him tired again, and I hope I'll see him happier soon. Evan wants to do Surgery.  Well, he wants Urology first (which involves a year of Surgery residency), but if he doesn't get in to Urology, Surgery will likely be his second choice. Evan's waking up at 4:15 every morning and leaves the house around 4:50.  He's not getting home until around 5:00, but when you add up that time, those are 12 hour days and he has to go to bed so darn early every night that the schedule is tough.  What makes this harder than OB is that this is his schedule for 7 straight weeks.  To make matters WAY worse, he's on call every four days.  For instance, he's on call today.  He got to the hospital around 5:15 this morning and won't come home until noon tomorrow.

I post all this to say, I realize that my story isn't a "cry me a river" situation.  My husband has this schedule, and I have the AUDACITY to say I'm stressed?  Ugh.  Get over it Cristina.  Alas though, I can't help it...this week and next week will be ridiculously busy.

Tomorrow (yes, Saturday) I have an exam at 9 in the morning.  The Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam.  It's historically not supposed to be a difficult exam, but if I don't pass, I don't get licensed.  The average law student takes it twice to pass.  I want to pass it, badly.  I am on my second chance already...so that adds to the stress.

RIGHT after I get home from taking that exam (which I'm sure I'll be studying for until late tonight), I have to start studying for my Family Law midterm on Tuesday afternoon.  I have barely had enough time to properly prepare for both.

I leave the house at 8 every morning and get home from work usually around 6:30.  I do my school work just to keep up for possibly being called on in class the next day for a copule hours each night and then of course, we have to eat dinner.  Usually, that goes until 9:30 (when Evan starts getting ready for bed).  I feel like we barely get to spend time together because he goes to bed so early and I get home so late.  I usually get in bed around 11, so then I've had about 1.5 hours each day to study for two exams.  Ideally, I would want at least 4 hours each day to study for each...I'm very behind.

If I didn't have my job, I think my stress level would greatly decrease.  To make matters worse, as I said in my post a couple weeks ago, I knew I would shoot myself in the foot for getting excited about the vacant associate position at the firm.  I heard some people talking today about how the firm wants someone with minimum 3 years experience to take her spot.

The situation with lawyers right now is so tough economically that they know they can pay an experienced lawyer pennies compared to what they would have given them years ago.  Might as well have someone who is experienced if you can pay them what normally a brand new law student would have been paid.  So, I sit there at work, working my ass off, and all I can think now is "for what?"  However, I try my best not to think like that. 

But like my Dad told me yesterday, "I'm not sure there's anything YOU can do to change whether they'll hire or not. You just have to wait"  I think he's right.  In the mean time I need to see the positives:  this only gives me experience, you NEVER know what'll happen (maybe they'll hire me after all), I make enough money to pay for our utilities every month, AND most importantly, I like it. I really don't think they'd regret hiring me.  I would work my ass off. 

Ugh.  So I'm done...there was the obligatory "I hate you law school post." I feel better.  : )

Graduation = 70 days away.  WOO HOO!  Just keep swimming...

The Possibility of Being Excited is Beyond Scary

I've been really reluctant to post about my subject today. I have a huge fear of failure. I don't want to admit how badly I want a job after I graduate...especially one I'm proud of. But in all honesty, I would feel like the biggest failure if I graduated and six months later, was staying at home with Liliana. I could have done the same thing without going to law school. I would feel like I let myself down, I let the school down (what a waste of a scholarship), I let my husband down, and you know what, like I let my daughter down. I want her to be proud of her mama...and I know that being a lawyer isn't going to do that, but if I'm a confident person, I'll be happier and more successful in life (not just a money thing, just life in general). Those qualities make it easier to be proud of me. I want her to know that the world is her limit. She can do whatever she wants. I worked for my goals, and I want her to know she can work towards hers, whatever they are.

So here goes...

I've been working at a firm here in Lubbock since July. I interviewed with them through OCI and was beyond thrilled when he called to say that they chose me out of thirty applicants! Out of thirty...I couldn't believe it. These people had better grades and I thought I had bombed my interview, but he saw something, and I was hooked with this place (not to mention the pay was more than I had made in my life, so Evan started calling me his sugar mama immediately and that lasted until August, which I gotta admit, felt pretty damn good). They worked me hard over the summer, but I was in heaven. I finally felt "lawyerly" and when I came home, I was beaming...I had seen so much, done so much, and challenged myself so much. I was happy. So I, very timidly and after millions of dry runs in my head, asked the hiring partner if I could stay on throughout the school year as a third year law clerk. After all that deliberation in my head, he said yes without a problem.

Once the fall semester started, I told them I was interested in an associate position after graduation and they told me they would consider it at their partner meetings (held once a month). Some things to note: there are 8 partners - all male, all white. I definitely stand out like a sore thumb at the firm, but I'm happy there. I could see myself there. I asked all the other associates when they were hired, and they said between April and June, so I realize I still have so much time left to wait...but it's hard.

When I told one of the partners I was pregnant, he offered a very quiet Congratulations and I never heard anything about it again, still haven't really. Not one partner has congratulated me (not that I expect people to be proud of it or anything, but ignoring it, I dunno, doesn't seem right either. I don't know what the right response is, I'm just typing my thoughts). I had to take two days off last semester when I had some spotting and was put on bed rest. So of course, all I thought those two days was how much this was killing my job chances, which truly, is unfair. It sucks being a girl sometimes.

This semester started and I asked them the status of my chances and the prognosis wasn't good. They don't know if they have the money to hire an associate this upcoming year, which is incredibly common with law in the United States. In fact, I had honestly expected to hear a flat out NO as most firms are doing in Houston and Dallas (heard of hiring freezes?). I went home rather defeated, but at least had started coming around to the fact that most likely, coupled with the pregnancy and their lack of enthusiasm (and yes, I'm aware this is against the law if they consider it, but if law school has taught me anything, it's that the law isn't always followed, so I better start learning how to deal with this retribution now), I would have to search for a job elsewhere. Last years graduating class had a 36% hired rate after graduation, so I would just have to do what the great majority of law students have to do...live off of absolutely NO MONEY until you get licensed in November (yes, that's 6 months after graduation) and start job hunting.

Well, this week, things changed. One of the female associates got another job and is leaving the firm. They didn't know this when they told me that the money might not be there and of course, they have more work that will need to be done by someone. Plus, she does probate work (my favorite!). This could potentially, be my dream job, but I don't know if her leaving chances anything.

SO, here I am again, with the hope I had months ago...and I don't know what to do. Do I go in a couple months and ask again what my chances are? Do I go ask them sooner? Do I put in EVEN MORE hours at the firm so they can forget my huge belly and notice how hard I work? Is that worth it? My mind tells me not to get excited, but I can't help it. In the mean time, I've possibly set myself up for a huge feeling of failure. When that happens and they officially tell me NO (which won't be for a while and which, to be honest, I think is what will happen), I'll write a blog post hating myself for writing this one in the first place, and I'll feel like a failure.

But you know, life works in funny ways...if I don't get it, it wasn't meant to be (or so I'll keep telling myself right?). I know I'll get a job somewhere. It doesn't HAVE to be there. I'll just have to search...but that'll happen at a later time.

Law School Classes

As I sit here in Criminal Procedure, a class that I happen to greatly dislike, I thought blogging about law school classes would be helpful to some people. Since I've started law school, I've come to realize how little people know about what lawyers actually do. Not to toot my own horn, but we're pretty damn useful. Pretty much any topic in your life includes the practice of law. For instance, Evan and I went to a new restaurant in town last week and I told him that I had heard the restaurant cost over $1 million to build. Evan thought that was a ridiculously high number and probably incorrect. Well guess what? At work yesterday, one of the attorneys wanted me to write a Summary Motion to Remove Lien because a sub-contractor is wanting some money on that very restaurant! While looking through the documents, I saw how much the general contractor has paid thus far, and would you believe it, it's over a million dollars!

Anyway, I thought I would write out what classes I took as a law student for any other law students that happen to read this blog. I'll tell you which ones I recommend and which ones I don't. Hope this helps with your planning!

First Year
First Semester
Civil Procedure - I thought this class was beyond boring, but it's required for all law students.
Contracts - this class, while one of the hardest in law school, is incredibly useful. It's also a great way to get clients after graduation because lots of family members can have contracts questions.
Property - this is another really useful class and was my favorite first semester. It's a tough class, especially what's called future interests. My main advice for property is that if you get to choose who your professor is, go with the guy with the best reputation...not the easiest one. Property is heavily tested on the bar exam so whether you learn future interests now or then, you'll still have to learn it. You might as well have an expert teach you as opposed to your teaching yourself.
Legal Practice I - legal practice is an important class, but I happened to have a horrible professor. More than anything, I think it just prepares you for clerking and making you familiar with writing briefs, etc.
Second Semester
Constitutional Law - my favorite class my first year (I also did really well in this class, so yes I admit, that's part of why I loved it!)
Legal Practice II - look above from Legal Practice I
Criminal Law - I dislike Criminal Law so much it's not funny. I know I do not want to practice Criminal Law, but obviously, everyone has to take this class.
Torts - This class finally has fun cases to read. It talks about your "typical" cases that you hear about before starting law school - slip and fall, malpractice, etc. It finally was what I thought I'd be hearing about full time. That's the surprising thing about law school...torts is the only class ever covered on television shows. ha.

Second Year
Law Science Policy & Evidence - this, obviously, was one of my electives, but I really enjoyed it. I learned about an entirely new area of law: microorganisms, forensics, etc. I wrote a 40 page paper on electronic waste and what happens to all the televisions, etc. that get thrown out. The United States just sends them to other countries instead of dealing with them and it's causing serious environmental and health problems, particularly in China.
Discrimination in Employment - this class was great. I recommend every law student take an employment class, if nothing else, to at least to help yourself in the future.
Correctional Health Law - I really liked this class. The correctional system is the current day mental hospital. It made me feel so bad for those with psychological problems that are labeled as criminals, when truly, you can't say a schizophrenic is a bad person. For instance, schizophrenics are released with 2 weeks of medication (each week after that is over $100).
Wills and Trusts - oh wills and trusts...I love you. I found my love in Wills and Trusts. Probate law is amazing to me, but I know not everyone loves it. Either way, it's required, so take it and then fall in love with it just like I did.
Income Taxation - this class is useful and you mainly learn how to fix problems that occur after people or CPAs incorrectly file tax returns (that's exactly how my professor put it at least). That being said, I found tax boring.
Second Semester
Bioethics - I wouldn't recommend people take this class. I did the "Health Law Certificate" in our school, and while I will be certified in health law, I don't think this will help in my job search. It's probably my greatest regret in law school. If you do need an advanced writing requirement, I still don't recommend this class because you had to do a 75 minute presentation and write a 30 page paper. Some classes don't require as much.
Public Health Law - Look at my notes from Bioethics.
Evidence - Evidence is required, but obviously, it's useful. The only problem with evidence is that people start thinking they're lawyers in their second year (my pet peeve). As law students, we know nothing. I probably won't feel competent enough as a lawyer until I've been practicing for a few years...so what would convince others that they're qualified to spit out legal information after sitting in class for a few hours a week?
Business Entities - most people hate this class: mergers, acquisitions, LLCs, corporations, etc. However, I think it's beyond useful! As a clerk, I get at least two projects each week that involve some form of business entities.

Third Year
First Semester
Health Law - look above for my thoughts on too many classes on such a narrow topic
Commercial Law - this, in my opinion, was the hardest class I took in law school. I was just happy I passed. Unfortunately, it's useful and I wish I would have tried harder. This class involves security agreements, check fraud, check forgery, etc. I think what made it so difficult was that it is an entirely new language. I had never heard of half of the issues so was teaching myself a new language and a new set of laws. I wish I had taken a better professor, one that actually cared, but either way it would have been hard. P.S. Doesn't sound fun? Too bad, it's required.
Professional Responsibility - It's ridiculous that this is a full 3 hours course. This class could be taught once a week and be plenty. As a law student, you have to pass the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam (MPRE) before the state will issue you your law license (this is a separate exam from the bar exam). Taking this class before taking the exam is recommended. I tried taking the exam before taking the class, but of course, I hadn't studied hard enough. Once you've at least studied for the final, you'll be more prepared to take the MPRE. Then, passing should be a breeze.
Estate & Gift Tax - I took this class since I enjoy probate so much, and while it's useful, I found it boring and don't recommend it unless you want to practice probate. Side note: as a brand new associate, you're rarely afforded the opportunity to practice the kind of law you like. If you're fortunate enough to get a job (this economic climate is very hard for law students), you do whatever kind of law the firm wants you to do...and you do it with a smile on your face.
Second Semester
Criminal Procedure - ugh...required. Look above for my thoughts on Criminal Law.
Marital Property - LOVE this class. The first half of this class talks about homesteads, which to those of you not in law school, talks about what you could do with your house after your spouse dies. In Texas, if your spouse dies and he leaves your house to his lady friend, she is quite out of luck...you get to live there until the day you die! ha...I'm leaving out some parts to this of course, but this sounds more tantalizing.
Texas Estate Administration - LOVE this class. You work through how to administer someone's estate and I happen to have Professor Gerry Beyer, one of the best probate experts in the nation.
Law Office Management - honestly, I needed another two hour course so that's why I'm in it this semester. However, if you're thinking about starting your own law office, take this class. It talks about advertising, how to get clients, etc.
Family Law - I took this class because it's tested on the Texas Bar Exam, but so far, I don't mind it too much. I wouldn't want to practice Family Law (hear people arguing about their child support, alimony payments, etc.) but if you want to hear about all this stuff (cause some people love it), then take this and enjoy.

Hope this helps! : )

Being Pregnant During Law School

As soon as I found out we were pregnant, I started looking for blogs to tell me "you can do this. You can be in law school and be pregnant." I was, quite honestly, terrified.
Fortunately, I did find a couple blogs where women have gone through the same thing (some of the women intentionally getting pregnant this early, unlike us). That calmed me down. And yes, if people do happen to find this blog and they're in a similar position, it can be done. However, you need to get a few things clear.
(1) Grades will likely go down.
Mine did. A lot. I had horrible morning sickness while studying for finals and also the 8 weeks leading up to them. So, I had my doctor call me in some Zofran to help with the nausea. That sounded nice, until the medicine got me beyond constipated and I had to time myralax between the finals and would stay up all night going to the restroom. Long story short: it wasn't fun. At all. And, oh yeah, my grades DEFINITELY went down.
(2) You need support.
We all have great husbands, boyfriends, partners, etc. etc. Yadda yadda. No, I'm talking about REAL support. I didn't cook or clean for over a month throughout finals and the morning sickness. Any energy I had, I had to use while studying. Fortunately, even though my husband is probably busier than pretty much anyone else I can imagine (he only worked about 85 hours a week throughout his OB/GYN rotation some weeks...ha...yeah I told you...BUSY), he came home, stroked my hair, told me to relax, and knew I was doing all that I could. He knew I was unhappy just laying on the couch with the wastebasket underneath me the whole day. He knew that I missed working out and that if I could, I would be up doing it. I thank the lord for his support because even though my grades went down, had he not at least fed me those days, my grades would have dropped, AND I would have starved to death. Not a pretty combination.
(3) Things NEVER go as planned.
So even if you planned this pregnancy, or even if you're like me and think "well at least it was late enough so that I graduate on time," some things NEVER go as planned. Six weeks in to the pregnancy, I had some spotting, got put on pelvic rest (which means no hanky panky) for 3 days, and was worried sick for a few days. I hadn't planned for that! Now, there was a few days where school work just went out the gutter. Then, we made this surprise trip to San Antonio where fortunately my Mom gave us an ultrasound (she's a radiologist). Whew...everything looked wonderful. Well then, at 8 weeks, spotting again. This time, I was put on bed rest and pelvic rest (so I had to call in to work and couldn't have sex again for a few days...geez...if I'm gonna call in to work, at least let me have fun!) This time, my OB here in Lubbock wanted us to go get an ultrasound. We did: everything looked great. I thought, finally we were done with the unplanned visits, calling in to work, feeling sick, etc. WRONG. At 19 weeks pregnant, I fainted in the grocery store. I had unfortunately gotten a horrible cold from my niece and I got sinusitis, strep throat, and it threw off my balance too much. But as you guessed, this was another trip to get some care. I called Evan, he had to step out from seeing a patient, rushed home, and took me to the E.R. for the next 5 hours. Again, nothing will go as planned. I promise.
(4) Even with insurance, you're gonna spend money.
Having insurance when you're pregnant is an absolute must. We are lucky to have great insurance through the school, but even with that, our medical bills have already surpassed $1500 (including an upfront $700 fee for all the visits with your OB). And for those of you that think we're going to Covenant (the private hospital), wrong. We went cheap-o and are at the University hospital. So no matter where you go, get ready to spend money.
(5) NO ONE at school will understand.
In general, once people started hearing our news around the law school, people were nice about it. BUT, the MOST common things I heard were:
(1) Don't worry, I did it, you can do it too - I had ALL males tell me this. Not one female. It infuriates me. No, you haven't been pregnant in school. Your wife is the pregnant one, and not one of them have the stress of finals and pregnancy at the same time. So please, even though you're trying to be nice, don't tell me "you've been there too." You know what it's like to a certain extent, but you by no means are in the same boat.
(2) I don't know how you'll do it. You're so brave. - is this a compliment? When you get the positive on the test, you don't know how you'll make it either. There's really no other option. I saw it as "ok, now I have to make this happen. Let's go. I need to kick some ass." My only response to people is, "there's nothing like this pregnancy to make me realize that I'm not brave one bit. There are things SO much bigger than law school and taking the bar." And I mean that...even if I have to repeat it to myself on a daily basis. : )
(6) Screw any of these negatives, you're pregnant...enjoy it, love it, we are so lucky.
Yes there are negatives to this...but aren't there negatives to everything in life? Even though grades went down, I kept thinking to myself, would this have been ANY easier as an associate? I don't think the answer is yes. I think even though this hasn't been easy, it's never easy. I am so lucky to say I'll be a Mom soon. As long as we keep things in perspective, I realize that everything else doesn't matter.

Being on a Law Journal

Two summers ago, I got awesome news as a law student: I had been selected to be a member of the Texas Tech Administrative Law Journal. If you are a law student and wondering whether you'd like to do all the work to try and get on a journal, I highly recommend doing it. At Tech, the way we do it is with a tri-journal write-on competition. We have three journals at the law school: Law Review, Administrative Law Journal, and Estate Planning Journal. Right after taking your last final first year of law school, you go pick up the most daunting packet you've ever seen and spend the next two weeks working full time editing two papers and writing a case note. It was pretty horrible finishing the first year and going straight to working hard for two weeks, but it was all worth it when I got the email saying "congratulations."

Immediately, once your second year starts, the journal puts you to work. You do an editing assignment once a week and eventually add a page proof (editing with a partner) too. This can start taking quite a few hours each week and is stressful, but very rewarding. I really enjoyed seeing our published book and seeing all the work we had done. Shortly after I started my second year of law school, I decided I wanted to be on the board of editors, so I tried my best to get great grades on each weekly assignment, getting to know that years board, and making it to each event our journal sponsored.

Fortunately, I was lucky enough to get chosen to be on the board after my interview with last years board. This year, I served as the professional development chair. This means that I help with organizing a fundraiser, interview our current second years and prepare them for On-campus interviews (a whole blog topic in itself), and review resumes whenever they ask. You can say I've become quite a interview and resume expert, but that's helped me a lot with my own life, so I can't complain! Alongside those duties, we meet once a week for an hourly meeting and also read ALL the editing exercises turned in by the first years when they do their write-on competition.

Last week, another big duty came about. Eight of our 20 staff editors get chosen to be published in our journal. Therefore, I had to read all 600 pages and then we got together as a board for nearly two hours and discussed their comments (papers). I'm really happy with what we chose. The topics range from CPS, to property taxes, texting while driving laws, wind law, and insurance reform.

Shortly after we made the decision, we got an email that school was canceled because of snow and ice on the roads...yay, a day off! Then this morning, after I woke up, I got another call...school and work at the law office was canceled AGAIN! This time though, the roads really are quite icy. Therefore, we've stayed in and worked on the nursery for HOURS...but I'll definitely do a "nursery decor" posting one day.
In the mean time, to all you 1L's out there...WORK AS HARD AS YOU CAN and make sure to get on those law journals. It's by no means a career killer if you don't get on one (I had students tell me that and I stressed so much). There are PLENTY of students that get jobs without being on a journal. But in my opinion, it has made me a much better law clerk, a better law student, and it made me finally enjoy law school - that was pretty priceless.

Where to Start...

I'll use my first post mainly to describe what this blog is all about and who's writing it. With time, I'm sure I'll use this blog to post about life in general, life as an attorney, as a wife, as a mother, as a woman who loves to work out, as a woman who loves to bake (the last two kinda contradict each other right?), and so much more.

But for the first few posts, I'm sure I'll talk about two things mainly: law school and pregnancy. I'm a third year law student set to graduate in May 2010 (109 days away) and am married to a wonderful man: a third year medical student, set to graduate in Spring 2011 (I won't put the countdown for him, that's just depressing to think about).

Evan and I are high school sweethearts. We started dating on June 7, 2002 and really, from the beginning, knew we were meant to be together. We both graduated from Texas A&M University in May 2007 and got married two weeks later in June 2007. Our first challenge as a "grown-up" couple was the fact that we both wanted to be very successful in life. It seems to be that usually one of the two in a marriage feels that it's their duty to slow life down for everyone's benefit, and while I see the beauty in that, I think perhaps we were both naive and said "let's both go for it!" Fortunately, we both got in to our respective graduate schools quite easily and believe it or not, Lubbock was the best match for us. I got a full scholarship through my three years of law school and we loved the concept of our schools only being 5 minutes apart, so we could occasionally meet for lunch (sometimes the only time we're able to see each other).

I'm not going to lie: the first year of law school sucked. In fact, I pretty much hated it. My husband convinced me to stay in school and said I would regret it if I quit. He was beyond right. I've really come to like the last two years and finally started finding purpose in my days.

Evan and I have always known we wanted to have a big family. We thought the best time to try was going to be in my second semester of law school. That way, I'd be done with the bar and could interview for jobs without a big belly. In the past, I had some medical complications and was not ovulating, but after talking to my physician, he told me not to stress and that when we finally deciding to start trying for a baby, to come see him. I called his office months in advance and made an appointment...little did I know...that appointment would be for my first prenatal visit!

On October 4th, after my boobs had been hurting me to the point where even my t-shirt was hurting, Evan told me he thought I should take a pregnancy test. I thought this idea was ridiculous for a few ideas: we knew I couldn't get pregnant, we were being careful, but most of all...I couldn't have a baby 4 weeks after graduation and while I was studying for the bar exam....RIGHT?? WRONG! He convinced me to stop at Walgreens and I took the first test. I brought it out of the bathroom and just watched while this faint second line started to turn pink...what the hell? I told Evan to come inside, thinking it was all in my head, but all he said was "huh..." HUH??? Oh goodness. We quickly looked on google what a faint second line meant. Everything said, any second line = pregnant. I was still in disbelief, so at 10:30 we went to our grocery store to buy a digital (something I will do from now on, because those other ones are worthless). The grocery store didn't have them...on to Walmart! We bought a digital test at Walmart and I had to come home and wait to pee again. Evan and I normally go to bed early because he wakes up so early through his third year of medical school, but we decided, this night was worth waiting up for. We tried watching T.V. go get our mind off things, but obviously were both quite overwhelmed. I went in to the restroom at midnight and 3 minutes later, it said "yes." All I said was "umm...baby?" Evan quickly jumped up and hugged me while squeezing me so tight. He was beyond thrilled and my tears, well, they were tears of happiness.

In that one moment, I realized how small law school seemed and how much bigger and brighter our lives were about to be. We were pregnant.