T minus 5 days

Compassionate Conservatism?

Wondermark by David Malki

Brilliant Idea of the Month

I graduate from law school in May. This means I will possess a juris doctor degree and all of the debt that goes with it. It does not mean I will be authorized to practice law. To practice law, I have to take (and pass) the bar exam in July. This situation, common to almost all law grads (exception to those who graduate and practice in Wisconsin—an odd arrangement to be sure), inspires most of us to devote the summer following graduation solely to study and preparation for the exam.

Common way to tackle this task:

• Enroll in BarBri course ($2200)*
• Food and incidentals for 8 weeks ($150 x 8 = $1200)
• Rent and utilities for 3 months ($550 x 3 = $1650)
• Take the bar exam ($1200)

Total cost: $6250
Pros: fairly fool-proof, structured way to get the information needed to pass the test.
Cons: boring as all-get-out, spend all summer in a sterile classroom under commercial fluorescent lighting. I don’t have that much money.

Consider an alternative:

• Buy bar study books ($200)
• Find 2 to 4 friends with similar study plans to come with me (provide safety, study companions, and split up carrying books)
• Plan short distances between shelters to maximize study time during daylight hours.
• Buy hiking supplies: subtotal $910
• Sleeping bag rated 0 degrees or lower ($200)
• Sleeping pad ($100)
• camp chair ($30)
• Hiking boots ($140)
• Backpack ($200)**
• Platypus ($30)
• Water filter ($50)
• Rain gear ($70)
• Appalachian Trail guide ($50)
• Pepper spray (for bear protection) ($40)
• Plan weekends (trips into town): subtotal: $1220
• 8 Saturday nights in a hotel (sharing rooms) ($35 x 8 = $320)
• 8 Saturday dinners out ($15 x 8 = $120)
• 8 loads of coin laundry ($2.50 x 8 = $20)
• 8 trips to the grocery store for restocking ($100 x 8 = $800)
• Local church Sunday morning (free)
• Taking the test: subtotal: $1750
• Rent/utilities for 1 month ($550)
• Take the bar exam ($1200)

Total cost: $4050
Pros: WAY more fun and memorable. You only get to do this once, and it may be your last chance to structure your own time for a long while. Also, you get to bite your thumb in Barbri’s general direction by refusing to participate in its unfair competition practices. And you save money.
Cons: More risky. Have to have friends who will enforce accountability for studying.

So, um… Anybody game?

*Figures are based on the cost of taking the North Carolina bar. Other states may vary.
**I already have a backpack that may be fine.

Evidence thoughts

From United States v. James, 169 F.3d 1210 (9th Cir. 1999) (Kleinfeld, dissenting):

The victim was a bad man. Some people would say, in private and out of court, that "he deserved it," or "he needed killing." But no one says such things in a courtroom, because the law does not permit murder, even of very bad people.

Are finals over yet?

The Islamabad Bar Association objects.

It looks like Pakistan is struggling a little with the whole "rule of law" thing right now. The lawyers have taken to the streets in protest over the declaration of emergency rule. The forced judges who took oaths under emergency rule out of the courtroom by threatening to throw eggs at them.

I can't say I've ever wanted to throw eggs at a judge (a witness or two maybe), but I would like to keep the option open. "You're honor, I emphatically object!"

is not having a good week.

Exactly.

What I Learned This Summer

Rule One:

Don't care more about a case than your client does. If the client doesn't care about his life as much as you do your job, somebody's perspective is messed up. Only one of you knows what the case is worth, and my money's on the best cost avoider--and that's not you.

Thank you and good night.

A brilliant idea

Dear anyone who designs courthouses:

Please include in your designs a drive-thru with a window to the clerk of the court's office and those cool vacuum chutes that they have at banks. I know you can't control where courthouses are built, but they are pretty much always located downtown where you're lucky to find a parallel parking spot to squeeze into. I am tired of driving around for ten minutes to find a parking spot three blocks away, clomp to the courthouse in my heels and polyester suit in 90-degree heat and humidity to hand a piece of paper to the clerk for filing, and clomp back three blocks to my car. If I can bank from my driver's seat, there is no reason I shouldn't be able to file a paper with the court the same way.

Thank you.

Compassion and what passes for it

Sorry it's been so long. I would love to blog about all of the very interesting and painfully real-life stories of my clients this summer at Notre Dame Legal Aid, but client information is, of course, confidential, and that would be an ethics violation of the most basic type ("So, Rebecca, about this blogging about your clients' personal lives..."). Suffice it to say that the most ordinary of towns hides hurting people with stories that rival the great tragedies of literature. Most people don't show up at a legal aid clinic until they are at the end of their rope. I guess it's not unlike being a pastor, or an ER medic.

For something completely different, check out this story on Slate: Fifteen Dollars' Worth of Smug. Apparently some NYC firms are letting summer associates opt to trade the $60 lunch with a partner down to a $15 lunch at a less posh eatery, and the firm will donate the difference to legal aid. I think Slate pretty much says it all.

I thought about titling this post "A Summer Worth of Smug." But I kinda hope it's more like "A Lifetime Worth of Smug."

A Wild Idea

Last Monday I finally made it to NYC to visit the Bronx Defenders office I had heard about in February. It was a six-hour trip from Harrisburg, involving a car, a boat, three subways, and a commuter train, and I doubt I'd have made it if Ryan had not taken the day off work to be my navigator.

When we got there the executive director Robin Steinberg (whom I had met at the Norman Amaker Public Interest Retreat in February) met us and showed us around the office. It is larger than I expected, especially given its unassuming store-front appearance from the outside. The design is open, with few walls, and low cubicle dividers. There are brightly-painted accent walls, artsy posters, and high ceilings. The waiting area has toys and books, and the receptionist frequently occupies children while their parents consult within. The cubicles are arranged in "teams." Each team has a few defense attorneys, a family law attorney, a case worker, etc. Clients are assigned to teams rather than individuals, so that their particular situation can be addressed holistically. Most people do not have a criminal defense problem; they have all kinds of interwoven problems.

Robin is energetic, and has the passion and sense of mission of an evangelist. She is proud of the fact that Bronx Defenders does not follow the usual model of legal aid, but she'd change it in an instant if she thought another model would benefit the community more. She takes her clients personally. I cannot imagine the emotional energy she must have to still be outraged each time one of her clients gets the short end of the stick.

So here's my crazy plan:
1. Work in legal aid, perhaps at the Bronx, for a while to get my hands dirty and learn where the unexpected difficulties are (not to mention how to handle the expected difficulties).
2. Start my own model somewhere else. I will need:

• Funding. While I was in PA, Ryan took me to the Hershey factory museum (cool place, btw). As we drove around Hershey, he pointed out all the evidences of non-profit money from the Hershey foundation being slung around the community. Federal non-profit law requires that foundations spend at least 5% of their money every year to keep their tax-exempt status. For Hershey, this is a LOT of money, and they hardly know what to do with it. They are almost driven to tearing things down just so they can spend money rebuilding them in the most expensive way possible. I wonder if I couldn't write a proposal inviting them to spend some of that money in a more constructive manner.
• Location. If I used Hershey money, it would need to stay in PA, preferably connected to the Hershey community or mission to make the project attractive to the funders. Hershey and the surrounding communities, however, are relatively well-off and may not really need legal aid. Probably I would need to go to Philly to find my clients. Robin confirmed that Philly would be a fantastic place for a legal aid clinic. There is currently a very traditional public defenders office, but little is being done in other areas of law, and the need there is great. How to pitch it to the good folks at Hershey? Hershey founded a boarding school for underprivileged, inner-city kids from Philly. The school is located in Hershey, but the kids' families are still in Philly. I can serve their families.
  
• People. I can't run a clinic by myself. I need lawyers, social workers, folks with heads for business and people. A clinic like this would need talent, vision, and dedication. And organization like crazy. So if you like adventure, helping people, and low pay, keep the idea in your mind and make sure your phone number stays in my files. One day I may call you.
  

Slow posting day

And it will only be decades later, after the code has become overlain with a thick encrustation of case law, that the old measure of legal certainty (or uncertainty) will be restored.

I just thought this was a pretty sentence. I found it in my Comparative Legal Traditions text.