A post mortem for the day

The more I know, the less I know. And so it goes.

I forgot to pay attention

When I lived in the Midwest, the predominant attitudes about politics, religion, personal liberties and other broad categories were conservative. To say I was in the minority in almost any setting in my rural community would be accurate.

The move to California changed the complexion of my surroundings in many ways. I've been here long enough that I take it for granted, and I often assume that my fellow Californians fall in line with my views. Turns out the guy next to me in class is a fervent Second Amendment supporter.

This serves as a reminder to talk to, and listen to, those who people my world.

Near misses are better than not trying

During the summer between our first and second years, I tried to get a history of law project off the ground. Then second year began, and we were so busy it was hard to see how to survive. Regretfully, I set aside my project in favor of things like sleeping, eating and showering daily. Much went undone that year, and it was all I could do to stay afloat at work and at school. But this year is not so intense, and I finally find myself in a place to pick up the threads again. And I know that once law school is done, making this happen will be so much more challenging. If I want to be a student of the law, it will be up to me to make it happen.

So here are some things I'd like to find out more about:

I had done a little research about Shari'ah law, very little, but I hope to do a little more reading about it now. I'm interested in contract Shari'ah law in particular. The whole concept of riba and gharar, and mudaraba, and much more, particularly how Islamic contract law must co-exist with conventional law, is worth investigation.

Poverty and homelessness law is something I find compelling. I know that it's not something I am going to make a living in-I'm too far down my career path to take such a detour. But conceptually it draws me. So I'd like to continue to learn about the current state of the law in this arena, and perhaps in some small way to contribute something in the future.

Law review seems to have fallen victim to someone's failure to perform on a promise, and so we may take this into our own hands, we class of 2014. In any case, I hope we find ways to stretch our minds and learn better how to write. More to come on this.

And then there is what I was born to do. Contract/transactional law. Yes, I'm one of those - an area of law that is boring to most but invigorating and stimulating to me. And so much more to know, I've barely scratched the surface.

As usual, I'm trying to do too much. And I won't get nearly all this done. But I'll enjoy failing.

Getting ahead of myself

I got the next year's schedule in my in-box a day or so ago, and what a shock! to see that there is law school after I leave. Or more accurately, to think that I will actually finish this. I know it's way too early to be thinking like this, I have more than a year to go. Still, when I started this, 4 years seemed interminable. It was such a long period of time that I felt the only way to survive it and enjoy life in the process was to fully engage in it. So I jumped in feet first, and still love the study of law after some disillusionment and disappointment. And I think perhaps the ending of it all is going to be a letdown.

How to think

It's interesting to look at those entering law school now from my vantage point of more than mid-way through. I'm far enough along to be fully invested in finishing, but far enough from the end to still need to keep my head down and move forward. But those just embarking on this journey are experiencing similar things to what we did, and there is no amount of advice or forewarning that can shortcut the process of indoctrination and adjustment.

They say that the first year of law school in particular is meant to teach us to think like lawyers. I sometimes wonder if I missed some part of that process, and am fatally flawed as an attorney. I'm not sure how to quantify what changes in my mental process have taken place during the last two and a half years. It may be that I am too old, too set in my ways, or perhaps too cynical of being force-fed to be effectively and fully indoctrinated. I don't believe everything I'm told; I test what I hear against what I have already determined to be true.