Sex, drugs, rock & roll, and toxic torts
As previously predicted by moi, it seems that I have indeed picked an excellent round of classes for my last semester. For the first time in 6 semesters, I enjoyed every single class I had this week. *shocking* In fact, I skipped a perfect opportunity to skip a class Friday afternoon when an appointment at work was rescheduled. I had previously committed to a project for work and knew I was going to have to miss this particular class. When the project was rescheduled, rather than stay at work or go home early (typical Amanda M.O.) I raced off to the school just in time for my class. *really shocking*
At any rate, I am happy. Here's my take thus far (keeping in mind that my opinion of classes and/or professors is subject to change at a moment's notice for any number of reasons):
1. Sexual Harassment - I took this class for the obvious reasons, plus it fit well into my schedule. Also, I had heard the prof was, while demanding, excellent in class and fair with exams. She's also fabulously uninhibited and will talk openly and directly about the issues, and I love to see other people squirm. I was also pleased when I got the syllabus to see that we would be covering a broad range of litigation elements - anticipating litigation, discovery and evidence, defenses, and alternative resolutions. Being one who loves litigation strategies and alternatives to litigation, I am looking forward to learning some new things withinin the context of sexual harassment. I do think that this will be one of my more time-consuming classes and difficult exams.
2. Freedom of Speech, Press & Religion - I made some changes in my schedule over winter break which resulted in my picking up this class, and I could not be happier that I did so! The class is on the small side, and the professor really seems to enjoy teaching this subject. He is a very funny guy, and he'll keep me on my toes during class. I like his teaching style (no socratic method bullshit) and from my previous experience, his exams are very fair. The reading is interesting (he assigned an Ozzy Osbourne freedom of speech case the first week), and I hear that the material from this class will ultimately be of great help with the constitutional law portion of bar review. Besides, I sit next to Kelly, and she brings Life-savers and cookies and makes funny jokes. I think this will also be a time-consuming class but well worth it in the end.
3. Alternative Dispute Resolution - Okay, I took this class partly because a) it was offered once a week on Tuesday evenings, and b) I heard it was the easiest A in law school. But I also took this class because I truly think that in almost every case, an alternative to litigation is better than litigation itself. ADR, including mediation, is a huge step in the right direction toward slowing the overly-litigious trend of society. And that's coming from someone who wants to be a plaintiff's attorney. I liked the prof - she is practical and teaches the class as a practical course. If I don't get 2 credits of A from this class, I might need to consider changing careers to writing fortune cookie fortunes after all.
4. Food and Drug Law - I have been waiting to take Beer and Nacho Law for 5 semesters now, and this class is going to absolutely kick ass. The prof scores a 10 on my scale of cool (and he's good looking, which never hurts), and I hear that Indy's hottest young lawyer, Lawren, might be filling in for the prof on occasion. Additionally, the course content is right up my alley. I am doing quite a bit of work with my job on drug litigation right now, and the FDA is my most recent soapbox. So much potential litigation falls under food and drug law, and understanding these regulations is just practical knowledge we should have. All that practical stuff aside, the prof brought CAKE to the first class and scheduled beer to be brought in for the entire class as an illustration for alcohol regs. Each week, a student group will illustrate the topic of discussion with some food item. I wouldn't mind taking on the Viagra/Cialis/Levitra drugs because y'all know Kelly P., Heidi and I can come up with some fun props on that! Maybe we could get that hottie (and married) John C. to take the drugs and report back...
5. Environmental and Toxic Torts - Again, I adore the prof for this class. He's brilliant in the subject, easy-going with students, and clear about his expectations for the class. Kelly, Deb and Julia are in here as well, and by the time I got to the first class, Kelly had staked out a seat in the front row. Normally, I would not like this at all. However, in this class I think I will prefer sitting up front. There are 14 students registered, and that (I hope) will foster good conversation in class. I am looking forward to participating because I enjoy this topic so much, but the prof has also adopted a fabulous grading system for rewarding students who are prepared for the majority of classes. Prep for this class will likely be time-consuming, but if I am enjoying the reading, it won't feel like such a chore.
I'll report back in a couple of weeks, and we'll see if I'm still loving my semester. But so far, I've definitely landed a great group of professors, and putting together a single semester of really good profs is no easy feat. Also, each class perfectly suits some particular interest of mine. In that respect, I think it will be easier for me to stay inspired by and current with the material than it has been in past semesters.
And thank GOD I'm not taking income tax in my last semester like some people did!
At any rate, I am happy. Here's my take thus far (keeping in mind that my opinion of classes and/or professors is subject to change at a moment's notice for any number of reasons):
1. Sexual Harassment - I took this class for the obvious reasons, plus it fit well into my schedule. Also, I had heard the prof was, while demanding, excellent in class and fair with exams. She's also fabulously uninhibited and will talk openly and directly about the issues, and I love to see other people squirm. I was also pleased when I got the syllabus to see that we would be covering a broad range of litigation elements - anticipating litigation, discovery and evidence, defenses, and alternative resolutions. Being one who loves litigation strategies and alternatives to litigation, I am looking forward to learning some new things withinin the context of sexual harassment. I do think that this will be one of my more time-consuming classes and difficult exams.
2. Freedom of Speech, Press & Religion - I made some changes in my schedule over winter break which resulted in my picking up this class, and I could not be happier that I did so! The class is on the small side, and the professor really seems to enjoy teaching this subject. He is a very funny guy, and he'll keep me on my toes during class. I like his teaching style (no socratic method bullshit) and from my previous experience, his exams are very fair. The reading is interesting (he assigned an Ozzy Osbourne freedom of speech case the first week), and I hear that the material from this class will ultimately be of great help with the constitutional law portion of bar review. Besides, I sit next to Kelly, and she brings Life-savers and cookies and makes funny jokes. I think this will also be a time-consuming class but well worth it in the end.
3. Alternative Dispute Resolution - Okay, I took this class partly because a) it was offered once a week on Tuesday evenings, and b) I heard it was the easiest A in law school. But I also took this class because I truly think that in almost every case, an alternative to litigation is better than litigation itself. ADR, including mediation, is a huge step in the right direction toward slowing the overly-litigious trend of society. And that's coming from someone who wants to be a plaintiff's attorney. I liked the prof - she is practical and teaches the class as a practical course. If I don't get 2 credits of A from this class, I might need to consider changing careers to writing fortune cookie fortunes after all.
4. Food and Drug Law - I have been waiting to take Beer and Nacho Law for 5 semesters now, and this class is going to absolutely kick ass. The prof scores a 10 on my scale of cool (and he's good looking, which never hurts), and I hear that Indy's hottest young lawyer, Lawren, might be filling in for the prof on occasion. Additionally, the course content is right up my alley. I am doing quite a bit of work with my job on drug litigation right now, and the FDA is my most recent soapbox. So much potential litigation falls under food and drug law, and understanding these regulations is just practical knowledge we should have. All that practical stuff aside, the prof brought CAKE to the first class and scheduled beer to be brought in for the entire class as an illustration for alcohol regs. Each week, a student group will illustrate the topic of discussion with some food item. I wouldn't mind taking on the Viagra/Cialis/Levitra drugs because y'all know Kelly P., Heidi and I can come up with some fun props on that! Maybe we could get that hottie (and married) John C. to take the drugs and report back...
5. Environmental and Toxic Torts - Again, I adore the prof for this class. He's brilliant in the subject, easy-going with students, and clear about his expectations for the class. Kelly, Deb and Julia are in here as well, and by the time I got to the first class, Kelly had staked out a seat in the front row. Normally, I would not like this at all. However, in this class I think I will prefer sitting up front. There are 14 students registered, and that (I hope) will foster good conversation in class. I am looking forward to participating because I enjoy this topic so much, but the prof has also adopted a fabulous grading system for rewarding students who are prepared for the majority of classes. Prep for this class will likely be time-consuming, but if I am enjoying the reading, it won't feel like such a chore.
I'll report back in a couple of weeks, and we'll see if I'm still loving my semester. But so far, I've definitely landed a great group of professors, and putting together a single semester of really good profs is no easy feat. Also, each class perfectly suits some particular interest of mine. In that respect, I think it will be easier for me to stay inspired by and current with the material than it has been in past semesters.
And thank GOD I'm not taking income tax in my last semester like some people did!
posted by Amanda at 3:46 PM
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