One of the things I greatly look forward to during my last semester here is the MSU Legal Clinic – the biggest law firm in Michigan, I suppose! That’s right, I boldly applied for and luckily got into the Immigration Clinic for two personal reasons. One, to get a first-hand experience of what it’s like to be a student-lawyer here in the US. Two, armed with such knowledge and skill in immigration laws, rules, and procedures, I hope to be able to help anyone in my home country with US immigration issues. In sum, the clinic is that missing piece of jigsaw puzzle that should complete my academic experience here in the US …  that yummy dessert prepared for me after a sumptuous buffet dinner … that last chapter of  this exciting law school adventure.

I’d been almost a month now in the clinic, and everyday is just a new, fresh experience for me. Whether it’s about discovering new immigration rules, or to meeting and talking to clients and case workers, or to filing actual motions in immigration court, or to class case rounds, or to brainstorming with David and Veronica (yes, that’s how they wish to be called; not to mention their unique, heartwarming, “cute” tandem as couple-professors!), there’s this euphoric feeling which tells me that I am not just into this class to earn credits for graduation, but rather a sense of belongingness into a family of legal advocates who passionately fight for a client’s cause without counting the cost. That probably explains why some students happily and willingly go back to the clinic even after they’ve completed their credits. That probably explains why it’s quite a different aura when you enter the clinic… That probably explains my recent discovery of a more noble reason why I found myself in this clinic, that is, of ambitiously dreaming of replicating and establishing a legal clinic in my own locality… And that probably explains why I consider  the clinic simply sui generis.

I know it is less than a month into the semester and nobody really wants to think or talk about exams yet, but I want to bring up the dreaded topic a little early.  I want to talk about the decision to take a class with an exam versus one with a paper or take home exam.

There is a big difference between taking a final exam in class, and taking one at home. There is a lot more to think about than the obvious difference in settings. Having a take home exam that is open book and open notes gives you a different mentality for taking notes in class, and when portioning study time during the term and during exam time. At least, it does for me. On the other hand, having a take home exam that is timed and closed book or similar to an in class exam means a whole different study mentality.

Many students think that a take home exam or open note exam is a lot better and will be easier when the opposite is true. In my experience, the take home exams are graded a lot tougher by professors and the questions on the exam require a lot more work and thought versus the questions you might see on a two hour and thirty minute in class exam. Additionally, I always end up thinking too much and try to over-analyze the take home exam questions during the given time period to take the exam. I tend to finish up early and second guess myself sometimes when going over the answers because I have so much time to take the exam.

Another option is to take a class with a final paper instead of a final exam. Those require just as much if not more effort than studying for a final in my opinion, but can be a great change of pace when you are taking 5 other classes with final exams. In summary, once you are allowed to take electives and graduate past your 1L year the world of take home exams and papers opens up, and is a lot bigger than you think.

As I anxiously awaited my grades, my head was a greater swirl of emotion than ever before. This last semester I decided to toss a little extra on my already over-full plate and keep my paying part time job from the summer. All through football season I worked a million hours, and it didn’t peter off with the holidays. And while I always made sure that I studied for class and I studied hard (really, really, really, really hard for Evidence) for my exams. But there was still part of me that was convinced that by trying to do it all that I was going to tank the semester. This was a terrifying thought.
So, the morning that all the last grades came in I woke up early and decided that if my grades were good I was going to get up and be productive early. And if my grades were bad I planned to go immediately back to bed.
To say that I was pleasantly surprised is a major understatement. And while I was super-excited to find out that my schedule, complete with seven seconds of free time a week, still allowed for good grades, I admit that I was most pleased to make the determination that I did not, in fact, have to quit my job.
I really like having an off-campus job. Not only does it mean that I have been able to drastically reduce the amount of student loans that I take out, it also means that I am required to spend several hours a week thinking about something other than the law. Which is so very necessary. I’ve also been very blessed to work somewhere that features management that understand that I wait tables to pay for law school and that school is the priority. I’ve also been blessed by co-workers who put up with my spreading printouts of cases all over the wait station and my inability to cover shifts during the week.
An issue that a great deal of people struggle with in acclimating to law school is balancing time away from school with the demands of studying. I know that I did. I also know that I have been able to much more successfully maintain my sanity by having an off-campus job. Not to say that I haven’t had moments where I regretting choosing a schedule that granted me a total of seven seconds of free time a week, but I find it so important to separate myself from the law college sometimes. I find it imperative that I remember how to interact with non-lawyers and non-law-students. And, conversely, after spending several years waiting tables full time I find it delightful to leave the restaurant Sunday evening knowing I don’t have to be back for several days.
And, I’m not gonna lie, you make great tips when you tell your tables that you are working your way through law school…

It is almost the end of the first month of the spring semester, which comes with its challenges. The workload is piling up as the semester proceeds. The semester started with warm weather, but is dynamic and unpredictable, which makes it even harder to plan in advance.

This being my second semester, life in law school has been a bit more relaxing. After studying and adjusting to the system, I am more relaxed and meeting my goals on time. I feel more at home. With new LLMs joining the program in the spring, helping them fit into the system is one of the fun things we have had to do for the past few weeks. It feels good to give back and help the new students adjust.

The first major function of the year that I attended was the Chinese lunar year celebration, which was well organized and attended. It was great interacting with the MSU Law staff, students and professors, along with the dean. This was a first for me and I have to admit I was glad to end the week hanging out with the MSU community. The inclusion of other new LLMs was a great gesture. I am looking forward to another tasking and fun month ahead.

When I was a 1L, I spent more time in the library than at my apartment. I had all my meals at school/in the library, and did all my work there.

When I was a 2L, I still used the library, but spent significantly less time there. I no longer spent 13 or 14 hours at school, though that was mostly because I lived within walking distance. I found myself doing more work at home, and I discovered how productive I could be at coffee shops and cafes. A nice change of scenery did my study skills good.

Now, as a 3L, I rarely venture into my former second home. I even print less to avoid making the schlep to the lib.  But sometimes I can’t avoid printing, or I’ve pretty much overstayed my welcome at most of the local cafes. Recently, I ventured to the library. I was surrounded by 1Ls and 2Ls. There were a few 3Ls I recognized, but probably no more than 10.

I saw these 1Ls and 2Ls that have been slaving away for hours and hours. They looked awful. I could see the leftovers from lunch, empty coffee cups, shoes on the floor, and a general the look of defeat and dispair in their eyes.

But that’s what is is. It’s what you have to do. It’s like a right of passage, or a ritual. You can’t show up to law school and know what professors expect, or what to even expect out of yourself. You have to suffer through the endless days and nights at the library. You have to feel beaten by your first exams. And like anything else, you eventually learn how the system works. And that includes getting more comfortable with law school — and spending less time at the library. If you’re a 1L who’s forgotten what the world looks like on the outside, know that it is just a phase. That is, of course, unless you are a fan of the library, in which case, you can stay there all you like.

Exam time is that time when you have so much on your mind, and wish that you could take all the exams and have them done on the same day.last year was my first exam in the American Legal System. After intense study for four months, there comes the time when you have to prove that you were not just being dedicated but studious, too.

The American exam is a total turn-around from what I am used to. The open book exam is a new concept for me. I am used to having one, closed book final exam, with the option to choose from a certain number of questions. I’m used to cramming all cases, concepts, and rules in my head, and then pouring it off on the final paper, so open book exams came with challenges.

It was good to have the opportunity to bring all the materials and text book that would aid me in the exams. As they say, “When the deal becomes too good, think twice.” I thought it would be smooth sailing. Little did I know the amount of time I would spend trying to refer to the text in order to give the best answers? I ran short of time and had to close the book and start applying what I read and was taught.

The first exam was an eye opener. I took precautions for the subsequent exams and managed my time wisely. A lesson well learned.

As a 3L graduating this coming May it has only now started hitting me that this is my last semester in East Lansing at MSU law. The cliches about the three years of law school are pretty close to accurate. “1L year they scare you to death, 2L year they work you to death, and 3L year they bore you to death.”

Your 1L year you are just getting used to the Socratic method, and law school classes and test and everything is new and seems scary and hard. During your 2L year you are worked to death. By your second year the fear of law school classes and tests has diminished (but only enough to be able to stand the thought of taking a lot more until graduation), and student organizations, moot court, law review, and other resume padding experiences keep you extremely busy. During your final year the stress of being a law student doesn’t subside. 3L law students continue working extremely hard while polishing off their resumes and trying to find a job. Not to mention the stress of signing up for and taking the bar exam, including which state to take the bar exam in.

All that being said, I guess the law school mantra above is all but true except for the part about your last year, at least for me. This being my 3L year I am anything but “bored to death.” I decided to take some of the classes that some people call the harder classes (Evidence, Secured Transactions, Business Enterprise…) in law school during my last two semesters and have a lot going on along the side. With only one more semester of law school remaining and the realities of the bar exam and a job right around the corner, I can only tell law students to enjoy school while they can. However cheesy it might sound, you really turn into a 3L and will be walking across the stage at graduation in the blink of an eye.

I know it is a little later than usual for the third edition of “Exam Jams,” with exams halfway done, but I didn’t want to deprive anyone of the opportunity to miss out on some new music while taking a break from exams. I also threw in some holiday music since it ‘Tis the season. Hope you all enjoy! Best of luck on exams and happy holidays!

Study Music Project- Midnight Coffee

Lupe Fiasco/ Pachelbel- The Show Goes On (Violin)

S-Preme- Celebrity

Justin Bieber ft Busta Rhymes- Drummer Boy  For all you with Bieber fever out there

Tyga- Far Away

ZAK Downtown- Give Me The World

Florence + The Machine- Take Care

Elton John- Rocketman

Rusko- Hold On

Mariah Carey, John Legend- When Christmas Comes

Evidence Hearsay Exceptions Song

My 1L year was, in many ways, a flashback to Junior High. My classes were pre-picked for me, I got a locker and started to love toting a brown bag lunch to school with me. But the best perk of the 1L set schedule is one that I am just now starting to fully appreciate. As a 1L my exams were evenly spaced out by the school. Not having to negotiate through unevenly spaced exams is an amazing perk that most of us didn’t fully appreciate. Until now, that is.
This year I only have three exams, which is pretty nice. The downside? Two of them are two-days in a row. This is still better the situation many of my colleagues find themselves in, with four exams in a week, or two in a single day. But it’s way worse than the nice spacing that the school did for me last year. I have known since the very first day of class, and even well before, that I had to essentially prepare for two exams at once because of the exam schedule. But now, with the first of these two occurring in just over 40 hours (oh, my heart just fluttered, and not in the good way, typing that) this is the most real reality that I’ve had to deal with.
While I discovered earlier this semester that working off campus while attending law school full time does have a tendency to make a person extra, extra, good at time management, there remains the struggle that studying for multiple exams in two days necessarily brings.
I should count myself lucky. The second of these two exams is for a class that I really enjoy, and that I feel confident I can do well on. (The second exam is for Criminal Procedure, an area of law that I am fascinated with, and an area of law that I intend to study my third year as a means to pad my GPA.) This means that I can feel like I am effectively studying for my first exam without ignoring the second exam.
I am still concerned with time management. I am still worried that I am not doing enough for either exam. Of course, that is to be expected. It’s exams, so it’s reasonable to just say that I am worried in general.
At least I have a little bit of an idea of how to play the game this year. Sure, it’s not ideal to take two exams in two days, but having known about it for almost six months at this point, I have no excuse for freaking out about it now.
Time has never been so precious as it is for me now. I suppose that might be a good initiation for practicing law.