Mid-Finals Update

Along with a little bit of snow, finals season has fallen on us here in Bloomington, and I am in the thick of it. My toughest exam, and the one I was most dreading, was Torts on Wednesday. My worry was, perhaps, not founded. Actually, I knew more than I thought I did, which I think is the general consensus about the law among 1Ls. It doesn't feel like we know anything about the law, but suddenly when an outsider asks us a question, we seem to have the answer. None of us are sure when it happened - I suspect that it was over Fall Break - but most of us know the basics of the law, even if we don't think we do.

That said, I have this one recommendation to anyone thinking about coming to law school: take plenty of Economics. They tell you that a couple of courses will make you well suited for law classes, but that is an understatement. In undergrad, I took (I think) five or six Econ courses. On my Torts exam, I think I used each of them at least once. Well, except Labor Economics. I suppose I will have to wait until 2L to apply that one.

I have three exams remaining: Legal Profession, Contracts, and Civil Procedure. I feel the best about Civ Pro, though LP is a take-home exam this Saturday. It finds itself due at the exact time that IU will face off against Kentucky in basketball. I suspect that I will be turning it in early.

One final note. Today we received an e-mail telling us that the faculty has approved a new grading scheme that will benefit us ever so slightly. This makes me breathe easier about Torts, and since the grades are retrofitted, and because I was right on the edge, my Criminal Law grade from the summer should be moving up. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about the new grading system. Sure, it benefits me. But it doesn't do much for the competitive nature of things. Despite the negative image law school competition has, I believe that competition is what drives a vast majority of us. I suppose we'll have to see how it all works in the long run.