3L roundup

Other than the occasional reference to the Internal Revenue Code, I don't think I've posted about my classes at all this semester. In honor of the very last day of class, here's a summary.

Corporate Tax kicked my ass.

Legal Writing. I thought it would take up lots of my time and be a chance to seriously work on my writing. Instead, the instructor announced the first day that it was mandatory pass-fail and that each assignment would only be three pages long. He said it would be like he was the assigning partner at a law firm, and at times I think it was a little too much like that, focusing on substance rather than on actual writing. But we tried lots of different kinds of writing in different contexts, so I'll probably be glad I took it once I start working.

The negotiation clinical was awesome. I learned a ton about dispute resolution and about housing issues. I also learned that if you want to know something, just call a bunch of people and, incredibly, most of them will take time out of their day to talk to you.

Legal Profession. The only post-1L requirement at HLS, and a fun one. We spent a little time on the rules and a lot of time discussing ethical issues and whether the large law firm model is sustainable. The professor would take every opportunity to turn ethical questions into cautionary tales. My favorite was when we read a case about a guy who lied about a serious conflict of interest and, it turned out, had also lied for years about being admitted to the bar even as he rose through the ranks to become a partner at his Wall Street firm. The professor handed out a photocopied page from the HLS yearbook, class of '76. "Who do you see in the fourth row?" he asked. "That's right, there he is. Class of 1976. He sat right in this room, in his Legal Profession class, just like you are now... never suspecting that one day he would be in JAIL."