Welcome back to Kim, formerly of the blog known as “Mother In Law,” who has returned to blogging at the same url but under the title The Merits of the Case. Kim is a blogger with a fascinating perspective on life — for many reasons. Kim started blogging a couple of years ago as she started law school; her goal at the time was to write about what it was like for a mother with several children to rearrange her life in order to attend law school full time while also continuing to be a mom. But, as she explained in an email:

I took my blog (Mother In Law) down back in January of this year. I was finding it hard to balance school and the kids, and I felt pressure to write (granted, from myself) but I never had the time. I decided to just can the whole thing and be the best blog reader I could be instead. I’ve missed posting from time to time when I have a really good law school story or when awesome people like Martha and Jen publish books and I’ve contemplated beginning to blog again, but I wasn’t motivated enough to do it. Until now.

Last week, after several weeks of tests and worrying, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. It was out of the blue and has meant quite an adjustment for me and my family. (Should make law school pretty interesting, too.) . . . I decided to reinstate the blog as a way to keep my family and friends up to date about what’s going on with my treatment.

Kim has already begun the process of keeping her readers updated about the progress of both the cancer and her treatment; her first few posts provide an intimate first-person account of the early surgery and diagnosis. Those posts also put law school right in its place as Kim writes:

The idea of a law school casebook reading assignment is surprisingly comforting to me. I never thought I’d say that briefing cases and reading procedural rules could be comforting, but I think it is because it is familiar and I know how to do that. I haven’t quite figured out how to have cancer yet.

What, other than cancer, could possibly make law school seem comforting?¹ That’s only part of what I mean when I say that Kim has a fascinating perspective on life; she’s a writer from whom we can all learn a great deal. She’s also a blogger who can use her reader’s support, so if you have had cancer and overcome it or know someone who has, or if you just have insights to share, stop by The Merits of the Case and say hello. [tags] cancer, blogfriends, books[/tags]

1. Of course, I must confess that, after being out of law school for a year, I have, at times, looked back on it fondly and have even occasionally wished for the days of reading cases and preparing for classes, but it’s different if you’re in it. This point also stands out especially vividly as I read Ivy Briefs, which is really all about how law school tends to destroy a person’s perspective on absolutely everything else. More on that in another post…↩

So you think you want to go to law school but you just can’t decide/ Well, as I’ve often said, there are many reasons not to go to law school. One is that it puts you in so much debt. Another is that, well, it can sort of suck. And, despite there being dozens if not hundreds of books on the subject of what law school is like, it still seems hard to know what you might be getting into before you actually decide to go.

Enter “The Trials of Law School,” a new film that attempts to provide at least 6 more answers to those all-important questions about what law school is like and whether it’s right for you. According to promotional materials for the film:

The Trials of Law School is a fascinating feature documentary film about the law school experience that follows 6 students through their grueling first year of law school. With different backgrounds and expectations, these students struggle to balance their families and personal lives while learning a new language, a new way of thinking and a new way of life. The film also features distinguished legal scholars and professors from 25 law schools across the country.

It sounds like it might be just the thing for those potential law students who just aren’t sure it’s really what they want to do.¹ [tags]movies[/tags]

1. This public service announcement has been brought to you by the letter P.↩

The Miami Herald recently ran a story about how hard it is for public interest lawyers to pay their law school debt. Boy, do I feel that pain. Here are the numbers, for the record:

1. Total debt as of April 18, 2007 (it grows every day w/interest): $171,568.01
2. Monthly take-home at $43k/year: $2311.84
3. Monthly loan payment: $1134.21
4. Remainder for living expenses (including rent, car payment, credit card payments, food, and entertainment): $1177.63
5. Effective annual salary after loan payments: $14,131.56

If you think that doesn’t sound bad, add up your monthly bills and see how close you are to $1100. I know lots of people live on less, but it’s not super-fun. And can I just say that credit cards are evil? That’s what’s going to kill me, I swear.

On the bright side, GW has a Loan Reimbursement Assistance Program (LRAP). That is, in fact, one of the reasons I decided to go to law school there in the first place. Now, if all goes well (meaning the program has enough money for me, they decide to give me some, and their calculations come out the same as mine), that program should reduce my monthly loan payments to $532.58. That’s still a lot, but way, way better.

The point of this post is give prospective law students an idea of what law school debt really looks like once you start paying it back. It could be worse, but it’s definitely not pretty. If you’re thinking about taking on massive debt for law school, I’m not saying it’s not worth it, but I am saying that you should listen to the advice you’ll hear over and over and over again: Scrape by on the lowest amount of borrowing you possibly can, and, no matter what, don’t charge up your credit cards! Also, if you think you might want to work for the public interest, go to a law school w/an LRAP—it just might make the difference between a little pain and a lot.
[tags]loans, lrap, gw, debt[/tags]

It seems the students currently attending my alma mater¹ are finding themselves w/far too much time on their hands.

Introducing Not the Bene at GW Law, a sort of blog/newsletter filled with satirical and humorous stories about the life and times of GW Law School. If you’re a recent grad, don’t miss the revelations about Prof. Friedenthal² or the lowdown on Mr. Cakelove.³

Best of all, the recent riff on the “Cart Lady” also links to a discussion board thread listing reasons to attend GW. Suddenly I can’t imagine how I could have ever regretted going there myself. [tags]humor, GW[/tags]

1. I think “bountiful mother” is really over the top as a moniker for a school you’ve attended. Perhaps that’s why only pretentious putzes — such as myself, apparently — use silly latin phrases like that.↩
2. To me Friedenthal will always be the kindly man who taught me almost nothing about evidence, but that may not have been as much his fault as mine.↩
3. I miss Cakelove and I think I was only in there twice. It’s not about whether I went there, it’s about the fact that when I lived in DC I could have gone there any time I wanted. Now I can’t. Nostalgia blows.↩

I had a random dream about law school last night — the first I can remember in a long time. Class was getting out and I was stuffing my notes into a big accordian file when another student asked me if I thought maybe it was time to try to organize my things a little more. In my mind I realized that this student knew that I was just stuffing every note and paper I got from law school into this file and never looking at it again. So I confessed to that. I said, “Sure, but that would mean I’d have to spend time on school outside of class, and I never do that.”

“Well, that exam next week is going to be pretty tough,” this student said seriously. I smiled and nodded and got the heck out of there but I woke myself up with the miserable anxiety of “OMG, I haven’t studied! That test is going to kill me! I don’t know any of this stuff! OMG! OMG!”

Sometimes I miss law school (mostly all the “free” time it offers). Not today.

PD Wannabe is loving her¹ winter break from law school. I’m so jealous I think I might cry.

As I was going through law school I didn’t enjoy the actual school part all that much. I was constantly disappointed with what we learned and the way the academic culture seemed to reward regurgitation of material rather than any attempt to advance it. Of course, now that I’m working I look back with much greater fondness on law school and one of the things I miss most is all the free time. Compared to my life now, law school looks like a three year vacation.

So enjoy it while you can, PD Wannabe. Work is great, but there really is nothing that beats a true winter break. And spring break. And summer off. And fall break. And all the hours in every day that are “free” for you to fill as you choose.

*sigh*

1. I’m making a gender guess here. Apologies if I’m wrong.↩

1. What is this site trying to accomplish? For some reason I suspect it’s been created by someone who opposes the war and is sort of saying “I told you so” as he/she watches Republicans catch a clue. However, it could just as easily be created by some hard-right warhawk who wants to criticize Republicans who support a pullout. What’s the deal?
2. Two years ago today Ambivalent Images was featured on DCist.com. I haven’t given up the effort to post a photo each day, but I have obviously fallen a bit behind. Sadly, small town life and full-time work have not been combining to create super photo-taking opportunities of late. I hope to change that soon.
3. Speaking of DC, this murder there last week is terribly sad.
4. I saw Little Miss Sunshine over the weekend. It was good. I laughed out loud a lot. However, I do think if you haven’t seen it already it will be just as good if you wait for video. Lawrah says it’s the “Best. Movie. In. A. Very. Long. Time.” Like I said, it’s good, but Washburn’s critique is also accurate. And you have to admit that the end is just, well, borderline creepy. So a mixed bag, but you will laugh, definitely.
5. If you’re headed back to your second year of law school about now, Ian at 3L Epiphany has some advice for you. FWIW, I pretty much agree with all of it.
6. I am not nearly as glad as I thought I’d be that I don’t have to start school again soon. That doesn’t mean I’m sad about not starting school, but there are some great benefits to the student life. To those of you heading back about now I just say: Enjoy it while it lasts!

UPDATE 8/29/06: Ok, I should have just read a little further. Cut and Run Now is the creation of an anti-war person—Dave Winer of Scripting News. He started the site after watching Meet the Press and getting incensed that Republican pundits were saying “of course it’s time to get out of Iraq, and that real Republicans were against going into Iraq in the first place!” Hmph.
[tags]lists, politics, movies[/tags]

Sadly it seems that Three Years of Hell, a Columbia law student blog,¹ is over—today. Anthony’s blog has been a regular read for me for, oh, about three years now, and it really does feel like the end of an era to see it shutting down. As I’ve said before, I completely empathize w/the impulse many law students seem to have to leave blogging behind once they move on to the next stage of their lives. God knows the imbroglio has sort of become a blog in name only in the last couple of weeks as I try to find some balance of time and topic that will fit with my own new situation. But just because I understand what Anthony is doing, that doesn’t mean I won’t miss checking in on, or wrangling with, his conservative-yet-mostly-reasonable take on law school, politics, and life.² Even though we’ve disagreed more often than not, he always made me think and frequently offered invaluable insight into conservative think as well as the technical intricacies of blogging and Movable Type—all of which I will definitely miss.

So thanks for Three Years of Hell, Anthony, and best of luck to you in whatever it is you’re doing next. I guess if you’ve finished the three years you must now be the devil so please let me know when you start your new blog, The Devil’s Daily Details!

And for all you readers of Three Years or this blog, be sure to check out one of Anthony’s final posts—a magnum opus of advice for law school bloggers. If you’re just getting ready to start a law student blog you should definitely read this post.

1. All this time I could have been helping Anthony “own” the terms “a Columbia law student blog and I didn’t even know it!↩
2. What’s the best way to describe a gay-friendly conservative? It’s a rare bird in my experience, plus the mostly-reasonable part, which often enables Anthony to rise above conservative orthodoxy. He’s a complicated guy!↩

Congratulations to Unblague, who was sworn in today and is now officially a Counselor at Law! [tags]blogfriends, good news[/tags]

One of the best things about being finished w/law school is facing all my debt.

Not.

But face it I must. Interest rates are going up again July 1 so if you’ve got student loans you might want to consolidate. Of course, if you have student loans, I’m sure your lender has made sure you know all about consolidation—perhaps much more than you ever wanted to know.¹ However, in doing my own second consolidation I’ve learned a couple of interesting bits of new info, including:

1. Private loans have 9 month grace period from date of graduation. You should get a letter 45 days before repayment begins. That letter will tell you when payments are due and allow you to choose your payment plan.
2. Make sure your lender has your correct address for that 45-day letter! You never want to miss any payments or pay late, obviously, but being late in the first couple years can have even worse consequences than you think. I think. ²
3. If you’d like to learn a bit about your loans you might want to with the Student Loan People. Once you login there you should be able to get a list of all your loans, including details about amount you owe, interest rate, and whether the loan is in repayment or deferred, and when your next payment is due. Try the NSLDS for info about your federal loans only.
4. Judging by the change in my loan amounts from yesterday to today, it looks like I’m paying at least $10/day in interest. That amount will only grow until I start repayment…
5. The loan consolidation interest rate a year ago was 2.7%; the current consolidation rate (before July 1, 2006) should be 4.7%.
6. If you consolidated any federal loans last year and you graduate(d) this spring, those loans will go into repayment about a month after you graduate. If you don’t have a job (like me) and you’d like to defer repayment until you do, check w/your loan servicer to get an Economic Hardship Deferment Request.

As interesting as all that is, I’m still not sure what to do about consolidation this time around. Since my last consolidation I’ve borrowed another $18,500 in federal loans I could now consolidate. Those loans have an interest rate of 5.3%. If I consolidated them, they’d only be at 4.7% (but probably a couple tenths more b/c I probably won’t get the lowest available rate). So is it even worth my while?

Loans. So not cool. [tags]debt, loans[/tags]

1. Access Group must have called me a dozen times in the last couple of month before I finally told them that if they called me one more time I would go elsewhere to consolidate. They haven’t called since.↩
2. Can anyone verify this? I remember something like this from my loan exit info session, but, of course, I didn’t write it down. I remember learning something like if you make all your payments on time in the first three years (or something like that) the lender must (by law) reduce your interest rate by some amount—like a half or quarter percentage point. Does anything like this ring a bell w/anyone? This came in the part of the lecture where the “expert” said that the most common payment to miss or be late on is the first one and that it’s our responsibility to know what’s due and when b/c the lender wins if we ever mess up. Please please comment if you know anything about this b/c, while I’m planning on paying everything on time, I still want to know I’m not remembering things that didn’t happen.↩