Student Diary: Adam Jussel, 3L
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Student Diary: Adam Jussel, 3L |
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As this is, more likely than not, my final “piece” to offer to ya’ll, I figured I would make it a reflective one. Hopefully you have a box of Kleenex handy.
For a kid who was never supposed to go to law school, I am happy to be able to look back on the past three years and emphatically state that I made the right decision. However, the amount of knowledge I gained in these years pales in comparison to the amazing relationships that I have formed.
During these days I am not reminded of the substance of the classes I took, but find myself reminiscing on all of the interpersonals law school had to offer. I remember the first people I met in this place and the nervously-awkward conversations that ensued. I remember late nights mapping out Constitutional law with dry-erase board markers on a friend’s mirror. I remember learning that the people behind you really do watch what you are doing on your computer during class (instant messenger is a blessing and a curse). I remember my friend swearing in the middle of his legal writing II oral argument. I remember all of these moments on the eve of leaving them behind.
Although they are all anecdotal, my colleagues and I find ourselves recalling similar stories. I suppose that is the ultimate message – that law school really is a beast, but the only thing that really matters in the end are the friends you make and the experiences you have with them. I have a fist full of folks that I would trust with my life and that is invaluable as we charge forward into the great “working world.”
I suppose SU isn’t strangely unique in this sense. Most law students at other institutions across the nation likely have similar relationships. Something I have found here, however, is the increased quality of those relationships. SU is large enough to offer the “something for everyone” situation. I was able to find a group of peers (sometimes appropriately dubbed as the “Section A Frat”) that fit my personality perfectly. I know people, however, on the complete other end of the personal-lifestyle spectrum that have also found their “fit” here at SU. That type of dynamic does not exist at every other law school.
Someone asked me the other day about how I feel leaving this place. I thought for a moment and responded that “SU is like a crazy uncle.” The inquisitor, perplexed, questioned further. “Oh…you have to explain that one.”
The truth is that SU has become part of me and part of my family (ironically, my younger brother is knee deep in his first year of law school). It’s a trait that can never be changed or stolen. For all of the oddities, qualities, and strange smells (uncle reference), that this school has offered, it is still, and will always be, part of me. If I would have had the foresight to realize that, I would have charged headfirst into this law school experience – gone to every speaker, attended every social event, and played every intramural sport. However, I didn’t on account of my academic responsibilities. Although grades are valuable and increasingly important, please charge headfirst into your experience, realizing that letter grades mean nothing in the end.
As I cross the stage on May 17th, not much changes. I am, and will always be, a Redhawk – just as I am a Mustang, Cub, Bruin, Eagle, and Kingsman (that’s a lot of mascots from elementary onward…). This place has been life for the last three years and it will continue to be a large part of mine.
It has been a pleasure sharing a little bit of my world with you. I wish you luck in whatever you find before you. Charge forward.
After two and a half excruciatingly long years I’ve found myself in my final moments of this whole law school madness. After being a student for so many years (I came straight through to law school from undergrad), I find it difficult to think about being anything else. A student is such an amorphous concept, but “outsiders” always seem to identify students as doing something positive with your life. Students are bettering themselves, getting more educated, better trained, and gaining a wider grasp of the human experience. However, saying that you are a “lawyer” seems to have a more defined place in people’s minds. While it may not be always negative, there are people who have a defined idea of what a lawyer should be in their head. It’s the person who is all dressed up, who can bring a room to tears or incite a riot with words, who can wax poetically on the intricacies of tort reform, and, significantly, who has money.
While all of these are, of course, stereotypes, they are part of the world that I ultimately am becoming part of. I suppose the goal of my future career is attempting to battle the negative stereotypes and try to push up or amplify the positives. Ultimately, the lawyer you become is more of a reflection of the person you are rather than the profession itself. That may be naïve, but its a little piece optimism that I hold on to as my time ends here at SU.
As things like this draw to a close I always find myself prefacing everything with “my last….” I think the biggest deal thus far has been “my last Christmas” break. I spent a glorious three weeks back at home. I was well fed by my welcoming parents and just read, relaxed, and enjoyed the time away from school. However, there were several moments where I had to stop myself and say, “this is the last time, for a long time, that you’ll get this long of a break…probably should enjoy it.” Also, if I can bleed some pity out of those around me (including my immediate family) by slowly reminding them that I will soon join the working world and not be able to have three weeks of time to go home, I will enjoy those fleeting moments of attention.
As far as classes go in “my last semester” (couldn’t resist), I am taking two legal writing/research courses, business entities, professional responsibility, and Constitutional law of terrorism. Although it has only met a handful of times, con law of terrorism is amazing. It’s just something totally different for me and allows me to “think” outside the box a little bit. I am, however, in two evening classes. On Mondays and Wednesdays I find myself at the law school until 9:30 PM. It’s a brutal run on those days, but my weeks are done on Thursdays at 11 and don’t start again till Mondays at two. I’ll let you think about that for a while….
…
So that’s basically 4 day weekend. You would think I would get more done with that type of time, but I have wasted my days away playing basketball and reading non-law related books.
It’s a nice way to enjoy “my last semester.”
Until next time.
We’ve almost hit the half-way mark of the fall semester. It’s been a little bit intense so far, but that has made things move more quickly. I don’t have a lot of crazy updates, but I’ll see what I can do to provide you with a general outline of what I do at the federal district court. Hopefully, I won’t violate any rules of confidentiality along the way.
Again, for those not following this delightful series of journals I have been piecing together, I am a judicial extern at the Federal District Court for the Western District of Washington. This means that I spend the entire semester at the courthouse instead of in the classroom. It has truly been amazing experience thus far. Working with a Federal Judge is like working for a wizard. My best estimate, as of this point in time, is that he could read a novel a day and retain basically everything. It is great to work with someone who has honed the legal craft to a point where it is almost second nature.
Basically, my day starts out like any other day. I wake up; put my pants on one leg at a time just like everyone else. I cruise into the federal courthouse in downtown Seattle, pass through the metal detectors, wish a good morning to the federal marshals, and head up to chambers. Chambers is a fancy way of saying the Judge’s office.
I spend most of the day reviewing all of the briefings and authority filed by the parties, analyzing all of the relevant law, and providing the Judge with some semblance of a recommendation on how to handle the issues. The scary part about that whole process is that he actually LISTENS to what I recommend. I am sure that he realizes that I don’t know what I’m doing, because he probably knows the answer before I even step into his office.
That’s probably good for this time. I’m off to enjoy the chilling weather. Gotta love fall.
Till next time.
So I suppose I should update on the summer. I did the summer firm thing and it was a great experience. The Seattle legal community is really close. So it was fun to see all the SU folks in their suits and “lawyering.” It’s weird to grow up – riding the bus into work, earning a paycheck, and all that madness is new, exciting, and strange. It’s also fun to be in Seattle for the summer. I’ve said it before, but it’s really the best place to enjoy the sun for a short three months. However, there were multiple weeks that were gorgeous and the weekends, well, overcast. That wasn’t my contract with Seattle – I signed up for sun, 3 months of sun! Anyways…transition…
Bore you to death time! YES! For those who don’t know, the old saying goes, “first year they scare you to death, second year they work you to death, third year they bore you to death.” Bring on the boring!
I actually am in a full time externship as of now. What does that mean exactly? Well I spend all of my time at a courthouse working for a Judge for the entire semester. Get some credits out of the deal and some pretty amazing experiences. It’s crazy to see how the Court operates from the inside out. I am sure it will be invaluable in practice. Also, added bonus – no finals and no classes. I should have done this every semester. They should put this in a pamphlet somewhere.
I hope everyone enjoyed their summer and I look forward to hearing from ya’ll as the application process begins. Good luck!