Types of Law Student II

A while back I spotted in a US Blawg (I forget which, sorry) some "types" of law student that can be frequently encountered in American Law Schools. A month or so back I introduced to you a few types of the Pro Bono lady on my first day of lectures. Having now been a law student for a month, I have been able to observe my fellow students and describe types according to Susie Law School. This list isn't exhaustive but these are the most obvious ones. I realise generalisation and stereotyping isn't very open-minded, but it's fun so get over it. If you don't like it, don't read my blog.

Type 1 - The Mature Student

The Mature Student is not specific to Law School. He or she can also be found at any undergraduate university. The Mature Student is keen and driven in a very different way to the young 'uns. This is because they've been around the block once or twice and now they are settling into doing something completely new and different for the first time in a good few years. The Mature Student has two significant characteristics. Firstly, he or she always asks questions. At the end of every lecture, every tutorial. She is here to learn, and learn she will. Having been out of education for a long time, getting back into academic study can be a challenge and as a result the Mature Student may find that things need explaining a lot more than other students do. They will ask until they are satisfied. Instead of some of the younger students who cannot wait to get out of lectures to head off for the pub and thus ask no questions, the Mature Student is the polar opposite. This brings us to the second characteristic - the Mature Student is not sociable. He is friendly and makes the effort to chat and is very nice and liked. However he has not come to Law School to make friends and also probably has children and a spouse who take precedence. Thus the Mature Student does not partake in pub outings.

Type 2 - The Activist

The Activist is pretty much the same as the Idealist from the Pro Bono class. He abhors all that corporations and City lawyers represent and wants to see them suffer. He has come to Law School to take on the world and change it. He is essentially slightly grungy. Some Activists wear clothes made from hemp or other similar materials and washing or combing their hair is something they may do sparingly to save water. Don't get me wrong, the Activist is not necessarily unhygienic or gross or anything, but much more "student-like" than other types and dresses the part. His favourite subjects are Human Rights, Criminal Law or something else that he can use to defend the oppressed. He will get heavily involved in Pro Bono and qualify to earn little money doing Legal Aid work out of his little office at the back of Tesco, but he is doing it for The Cause. Everything is worth it for The Cause and he will probably help a lot of people in his career. He might even become famous and rich but that isn't what being a lawyer is about for the Activist. His mortal enemy? The Eton Boy.

Type 3 - The Eton Boy

The Eton Boy went to Oxford, or at the very least Cambridge. He is a upper-middle class tosser whose so-called intelligence is highly questionable and in any case unnecessary thanks to a little something called Daddy's Money. The Eton Boy isn't stupid, obviously, since he has a degree from a world-renowned University and presumably quite a few acceptable A-level grades from Eton, Harrow or other similar all-boys private school. Neither is he a geek - money buys plenty of pink cashmere jumpers, tan leather shoes and designer jeans. What he is, however, is arrogant. He speaks with a finely-tuned "posh" accent, has perfected his laugh to be as engaging as it can be patronising, along with practising the flick of his floppy Tory-boy haircut to have maximum effect. He probably played some kind of sport at University. Nothing as vulgar as football, but probably hockey or lacrosse. Maybe even Rugby. Or the quintessential favourite - rowing. He probably has a training contract at a Magic Circle firm - he is not concerned about quality of work, only money and lots of it. Oh and of course status. Only the best will do - therefore only the top firms with other Oxfordites as partners will be deemed acceptable to him as a future place of employment where his by now second nature "old boys club" mentality will be reciprocated by fellow Eton Boys. If you are a nice normal girl, beware the Eton Boy. He will believe himself to be truly irresistable and his confidence and flashiness may fool an innocent little law student. Not so much after you spend your first date with him competing for his attention... with himself!*

Type 4 - The Desperate Housewife

The Desperate Housewife often comes hand in hand (literally) with the Eton Boy. She is the ultimate in suburban chic - fairly attractive, well brought-up, intelligent and well-spoken. She has also probably attended a good red-brick university, has good grades in something arty like Philosophy or English and has come to Law School determined to find one thing... a husband! The Desperate Housewife if not concerned with money or status. She is not becoming a lawyer for the career prospects but for the eligible bachelors. Her plan is to get trained up, work a few years in a nice little City firm until she hits the jackpot and finds a young man firmly on the partner track, to marry her. Then she will stop working with no regrets and transform into the perfect little wife, complete with a detached house in a leafy part of Surrey or Berkshire, volunteer work and two or three little angels running around, their place in Eton confirmed at birth. Of course if you have been paying attention you have probably already realised that the Desperate Housewife can easily find her match at Law School. That's right - it's the Eton Boy. For the Eton Boy not just any little lady will do, he wants one willing to be submissive and act in an appropriate manner for a corporate lawyer's wife. The Desperate Housewife is also not concerned with such minimal matters as "love" and "personality". All she wants is a husband to provide for her, pay for her fine wardrobe, take her to parties and the more time he sends in the office the better. Perfect match.

*Please note this is not from any bitter personal experience. I would not date an Eton Boy!

Washington D.C.

Finally - I've returned to my holiday updates. I realise all of you have by now forgotten about the fact that I went on holiday, let alone that I never finished posting about it, but not to worry. I haven't forgotten and I'm finally organised enough to return to telling you about my adventures.

So. The Smoky Mountains trip is where I last left you. Thus we arrived in D.C. After Leesburg, and lunch at TGI Friday's. Would you believe our waiter was called Randy! What are the odds! I daresay he failed to appreciate my amusement at his name... we drove off in the rain towards the capital, and actually managed to find our hotel without any mishaps. We heard that D.C. is notoriously difficult to navigate but we had no problems!

We stayed at the M Street Hotel, predictably not on M Street, but on New Hampshire. Still, it was very nice and lovely, although the concierge wasn't quite as in Charleston. There really was no question about what we would spend the remainder of the day doing, once we dropped off Randy (we had some trouble finding the car rental drop off but it was all due to BAD SIGNAGE!!!!). So yes, you got it, we went SHOPPING!!! We headed off to Pentagon City which is clearly near the Pentagon. Now I always thought the Pentagon is out in the sticks but it actually has a suburb all its own. And a Mall! A big huge giant mall! It's so pretty!

We spent the first hour and a half in Benetton where Miss S knew all the staff and they kept dressing her up like a little doll. $700 later we moved away from the green and on to other shops. Please note I bought a hat for $20, I felt slightly inadequate. But we had much fun looking around the shops and eating pretzels and McDonald's. Now for the record, I never eat McDonald's. I saw Supersize Me, it put me off for life. The only time I ever have it, is after a drunken night when it's the only place open. So I was pleasantly surprised to find that McDonald's in the US is actually much nicer!

The next day we were up nice and early, ready to investigate the city. Miss S is a seasoned capital-goer so she knew all the places to go. We had planned to walk up the Mall, then head to the Smithsonian - American History Museum, but found it to be closed. That was disappointing.

We started off at the Lincoln Memorial, it was all rather strange to be walking around places I have seen so many times on films and TV. Now for those who don't know I am a HUGE West Wing fan. So D.C. has a very special place in my heart and I was very excited about the day. And all the stuff we learned on the Charleston trip helped too! So we walked along from the Lincoln Memorial to the War Memorials with its fountains and a pillar for each state, and the Washington Monument, which was rather weird as there really is nothing else around for miles. Everything in D.C. is pretty flat, there are rules about building heights etc, and this really could be seen when standing around the Washington Monument.

It was here we espied our first glance of the White House. And yes, you got it, the WEST WING!!! We decided to take a stroll up there but were rudely interrupted by POTUS who was having a press conference in the Rose Garden so the back of the White House was closed. Now personally I think this was just very inconsiderate of him - how dare he schedule a press conference for the only day we were in DC! But we went to the front anyway and took some pictures. We were highly amused by the man with cardboard cut outs of Bush and Clinton, who would take a picture of you with them for the not-very-reasonable price of $8, $5 if it was your own camera. Really really bad photos too.

So we trooped on up to Capitol Hill. The whole White House Capitol thing was so surreal for me. Especially with the whole West Wing thing... so up we went, took lots of photos, and even had one taken of us by some kind German tourists.

The failure to attend the Smithsonian threw our day a bit out of whack but since by this point we were getting hungry, we decided to regather the troops and have some lunch. We headed to Union Station and had proper food for the first time in ages. No junk food, nothing fried, nothing in crispy greasy paper but real gorgeous pasta. As we had the afternoon to do more sightseeing, we decided to take the trolley tour around the capital.

The trolley tour was great fun, although we had already seen the Mall, we got to see so much more on the tour! The trolley took us around the Jefferson and FDR memorials, Arlington Cemetery (our fourth visit, we liked it so much and DC really is THAT SMALL!), the FBI and the theatre where Abraham Lincoln was shot. It's still there, how exciting! We swapped onto the other trolley route which took us up to the Cathedral and to Georgetown.

Georgetown is gorgeous. It's like Hampstead but better. All the houses are lovely, and very narrow, since they did use to have frontage tax. Unlike Charleston, as some may remember if you've actually paid attention to what I've been writing. Unfortunately we didn't have time to get out and have a wander but it truly was lovely. But the law states that the houses can't be destroyed or defaced in any way, only painted, so everything is very cute. And expensive. Real estate gets pricier the higher up the hill you go!

In true Susie Law School geek-style here are some interesting facts:

The White House wasn't built white, it used to be brown but got painted to cover up all the bulletholes.

The Museum of the American Indian has no corners because the Indians believe eagles lurk behind them.

There used to be a direct line of sight from the Capitol to the White House but Jackson (Possibly...?) built the Treasury to block it because he didn't like the government.

Mr. Smithson of the Smithsonian never set foot on American soil but is buried there.

The Jefferson statue in the memorial looks into the Oval Office.

There are 61 Starbucks in D.C. One for each square mile.

That will do for now, there are plenty more I'm sure but I don't want to bore you.

The evening was a Friday, and one of our few going out nights. We had dinner on K Street at McCormick's and Schmicks Steakhouse. Lovely lovely lovely. I had lovely salmon and although a bit pricey it was truly gorgeous. Miss S got chatted up by an old man at the bar but managed to escape. We carried on at a random bar on M Street, fully intending to just have a few drinks but it started getting busier and we stayed to chat to some random men. Somehow Miss S got a bit drunken so although we did do some dancing and stuff we headed home reasonably early. Probably a good thing since we had the Greyhound to catch the next morning! And NEW YORK BABY!!!

I seriously loved D.C. I could live there. It is gorgeous, full of history and a much more exciting place than some give credit for. I've heard that its dirty and boring and stuff but we really enjoyed ourselves. Obviously it was summertime so it was pretty empty everywhere but I would love to go back when Congress and Senate are in session!

I promise I will finish the story soon with New York! Be patient little ones!

The downfall of every good law student...

Yes, you got it. Land Law.

Next year, my Law Firm has told me, one of my electives must be Commercial Property. Thus to make life easier both next year and during my training contract (when I will undoubtedly be stuck on a property seat for six months) it is in my interest to do well in Land Law.

This has inspired me to consider Land Law in great detail and I have now solved the conundrum of why law students generally do not like Land Law. Why do students find it such a chore to get through it? I have heard the comment "Land Law is dull but when it evolves into Property Law, it gets better... " Why do you think that is?

I know the answer. It came to me today.

Land law isn't boring as such. It's also not hugely complicated. When you get through all the unnecessary complexities of language and monotony of lecturers the actual principles are pretty straightforward.

But there seems to be some kind of unwritten rule that by definition, land law must be made boring. Law students thus dislike Land Law not because it IS boring and complicated, but because Land Law lecturers are on a secret mission to MAKE it boring and complicated.

As an example, the seminar I had today had an interesting starting point - answering people's property-related questions - but the will to live was sucked out of the whole group by the approximately 190-year-old tutor who was unable to answer a single question posed to him without launching into a five-minute tangent about something that "isn't really relevant yet and you'll learn about this later but i'll just quickly explain..." At the end of his answer we were still none the wiser about whether he had actually understood the question and how the answer was supposed to relate to the question exactly.

The course outline text we have been given for Land Law is another example. It is written in English so complex and old-fashioned that Chaucer would be proud. The textbooks are boring and drab, and again written in a most complex manner. Why, oh why can the authors not follow the principles of other course leaders whose texts are in fact pretty straightforward and written in plain English? No. Land Law lecturers have a death wish. Not for themselves but a sadistic one for their poor students. Thus it will take you two hours to do work for Land Law that would take an hour to do for any other subject. This is because the first hour is spent translating the text you're working on to English, then the next hour actually doing the work. Going to lectures and tutorials may well be futile as it can confuse you more than help you, in which case you might not bother and just teach yourself. It is possible.

Land Law lecturers are nothing but sadistic. They are inherently boring and are out to get you, to make things as complicated as possible. I don't exactly know WHY yet, but at least I have solved the problem of why students hate Land Law.

No need to thank me. Just live happily in the knowledge that Land Law is not difficult, as long as allow more time for it than your other subjects. Problem solved.

Law School Week 2

So week two is over, the induction is over and as of Monday fully-fledged lectures and seminars will commence. This means the real work will commence.

Yesterday was "The Test"- the multiple choice fun and games on the English Legal System that must be passed in order to continue on the course. It wasn't hard although there were a couple of questions I was kicking myself about because I should have known the answer but hadn't bothered to revise. Instead I relied on my Law A-level and Masters stuff and read through the notes a few times. I'm a perfectionist, I can't help it! I definitely got at least 40 right out of 50, another 6 I think I pretty much got right, the rest I have no idea. Results at the end of the month so a while yet!

As it turns out, drinking heavily is a part of student life I am getting a bit too old for. I did not feel well this morning. Admittedly starting at 4.30pm is probably where we went wrong in the first place...

That aside, I'm very excited about all the studying. So far we've had two lectures in all seven subjects and the seminars start this week. That's the stuff I'll actually have to do work for. Tomorrow I will start. I'm so excited.

Monday is a pretty heavy day on the timetable, three lectures and two seminars, but I LOVE IT!!! Watch this space for the lowdown!

The art of outlining

DISCLAIMER: This post is in no way supposed to cause offence, I'm just really really curious!!!

Ok, so I read quite a few US blawgs and the ubiquituous outlining has come to my attention more than once.

I was intrigued. What is this "outlining" that everyone seems to know about? All the blawgs talk about it and people are constantly posting about doing their outlines and suchlike, so I decided to look deeper into it.

Buffalodawg was kind enough to tell me what it is. It's exactly what it says on the tin, an outline of all the course material. This disappointed me somewhat, I was convinced there was some secret study skill the US Law Students were privy to, that I am missing out on. So I delved deeper and found this. Basically it means making notes of all the material in one place. Lecture notes, case book notes, textbook notes, statutes etc.

This struck me as odd, this is what I would always do, take all my reading and stuff when i come to do revision and combine it all in one place. But it seems to be a unique method known only to law students, but surely not? Now, don't get me wrong, I'm all up for the study skills but as graduate students, having been in education for a good few years by the time you start law school, have you not been doing this for years already?

There's got to be more to it, right? Like some kind of special method or something, it can't just mean "revision notes"? So, dear American colleagues, please please tell me what's the deal with the outlining, why is it such a big deal and is there some technique to it? Do you fail if you don't do it? I feel like it's possibly something I should be doing to do well in law school and would like to know what I'm missing out on :-(

Thanks muchly.

Law School Week 1

So, my first week of law school is behind me and I'm still very excited about it all.

I have collected about 30 textbooks, and read parts of a few of them. I've had two full days of lectures and one day of a tutorial and some more lectures, and some basic information sessions, computer registration and suchlike. Workload is heavy still, but I love it.

The thing is though, I'm not a procrastinator by any means. I am not one of those people by nature who will think of any possible excuse to not study. However I have not got as much done this weekend as I had hoped and this must be remedied to ensure the year is as productive as my times at University. I propose to you that there are two, concurrent solutions that I must thus adapt:

1) Start going to the library. The library was my haven during undergrad and postgrad. I went there with the express intention to work, and work I did. I had my little spot I would sit at for a few hours at a time (or 10 hours a day when it was exam time, lunchbreaks permitting) and get on with my work. I'm not really distracted at home as such, but I don't really want to mix business with pleasure so to speak, so tomorrow I will be off to the library like a good little law student.

2) Engage in a hectic extra-curricular life. Start going to dance classes regularly again. Examine societies, committees etc at Law School. Arrange to meet people I haven't seen in a while. This will all contribute to the hectic schedule I know and love and as a result will make me work all the more hard to keep my grades up. Hurrah! (And yes, I am one of those annoying people who is capable of still spending a whole afternoon in the pub doing nothing and getting all her work done.)

Once I get my proper timetable I'm sure it will all help me get my time organised, currently too much stuff going on to get a proper routine going. Very exciting though, all the law stuff....

Types of Law Student

Today I learned about Equity and Trusts law and received some refresher information about, statutory interpretation, judicial precedent, mens rea and suchlike. 700 students in one room is a tough crowd, especially when they've been there for seven hours of lectures already. However, the final speaker, a pro bono lady, had this to contribute and it amused me.

There are three types of law student:

1. The Idealist

Those who come to law school to change the world, make the world a better place and assist those less fortunate than themselves. They have a "cause" they are passionate about, something that gets them going (you may be surprised that "sex" does not qualify, an answer that had been given by a guy the previous year). They are keen, excited and ready to go to save the puppies, reduce poverty or make the government feed hungry orphans. This is why they are becoming lawyers and this is why they do pro bono.

2. The Corporate Fat Cat

The students heading for the City firms, ready to jump into action on cross-border transactions and sign on the dotted line for their Porsches. They're competitive, hard-working overachievers. They do pro bono to make themselves feel better and to make themselves look good. They work for law firms that do pro bono to make the firm look good. Or they like puppies.

3. The Slacker

They came to Law School because they didn't really know what they would want to do with their life, and it seemed like a good way to kill two years without having to get a real job. They're not interested in any particular area of law and they do pro bono because they can't think of anything else to do.

I have in my two days' experiences so far found some other law school stereotypes that are a whole different categorisation altogether. In the meantime, can you guess which of these categories I belong to? Yeah thought so, pretty easy.

Meaow!

Law student 1.0

First day of law school was quite fun. Short and sweet, involved some administrative exercises, collecting 7000 textbooks and going to the pub with some of new group.

The lectures start tomorrow with a whole day's worth. The volume of reading is unbelievable but I'm quite excited. Quite glad I have a training contract already and thus don't have to get a part-time job as I seriously don't know how I would do it with the amount of time I will spend in the library.

A legal friend of mine suggested that there really is no need for me to study as all I need to do is pass since I already have a job guaranteed. I laughed and asked "Do you know me?!" I am highly competitive when it comes to academics and would never be happy with "just a pass". I want a distinction. I want to come top of my class and get the best possible grades because I can. That's just the kind of girl I am. So I'm actually quite excited about all this work, although realistically I wouldn't need to do much for criminal law, I hopefully won't ever need it and would only need a pass. But I'm still about to pick up the book and read the first chapter in preparation for Lecture number 1.

Hurrah - I'm a proper law student now!

A Non-holiday Post

... to break up the holiday stuff. The holiday stuff is for me as much as you guys and for people whose inboxes I don't wish to overload with huge emails. This is easier. Many are not regular readers so do not fret.

Tomorrow is first day of Law School. I think I know what I'm going to wear. Shockingly, it's not pink. But I am going to wear my new shoes that I purchased today. I'm not really nervous but it will be weird to go somewhere this significant and not know anyone. I haven't done that since I started University six years ago. My passport photos look awful. I'm not sure if my little suitcase will hold all my books. I also don't think I'm taking the right handbag but I will just have to make my peace with it as I didn't buy a better one.

Tomorrow is enrolment, getting books, student IDs, meeting tutors, getting timetables etc. I don't want there to be any hot men in my group. In my lectures, fine but not in my seminars. That would be distracting. If there is a choice between hot men in my seminars and no hot men at all, I would rather have no hot men at all. I'm going to learn about the law and get distinctions in all my assessments. Anything else is secondary.

I've done my nails, now I'm making a piece of toast and then going to bed. Tomorrow's gonna be weird!

The Great Smoky Mountains... and the beginning of the shopping!

Ok we didn't see much of the mountains. We headed off from Richmond in the morning, the first cloudy day since we arrived decided to take place just then. We drove up to the mountains, hoping to drive across Skyline Drive and see some spectacular views, but encountered some fog. And not just a little fog. A lot of thick, white, unpenetratable fog. To the extent that we couldn't actually see more than about two feet in front of the car. So we drove down again.

We instead had lunch at a small cafe in Staunton (pronounced Stanton), some quiche and a cookie. Very cute, frequented by some students from James Madison University which is apparently nearby. The town was tiny and very all-american small town-like. Although we didn't get to see the mountains this was a nice experience.

In the evening we were due at Winchester, VA to spend the night. A whole lot of quiet in this place and we couldn't even find the obligatory junk food chains to eat in. We had chicken and biscuit (now this is no ordinary biscuit, its like a salty sponge cake that tastes kinda buttery) at Popeye's. And strawberry Fanta. OH MY GOD. I've never encountered this before, and E-numbers and sugar content aside, its so LOVELY!!! I'm not a big fizzy drinks fan, I would never buy any for the house, only have coke in pubs if I'm not drinking, but this I would buy. Yum. Can't get it here. Damn.

This day was pretty quiet, but the next day was our last day on the road!!! We were due to return Randy at Union Station in D.C. at 4pm the following day. So we headed off, driving through the mountains a little bit. This was one of the best drives we had - little winding roads and some great views (no huge drops but cute countryside and stuff). Randy did us proud, even though we couldn't take the roof down because it wasn't sunny. Boo hiss. We managed, with a little detour, to go into West Virginia for a bit, adding to our state count.

The first shopping stop was at Leesburg, where a large outlet park resides. It was very quiet as it was the middle of the day and a Thursday so we could shop in peace. This trip was the trigger for my love of Guess. Miss S is a big fan already and has brought back numerous items from her travels, now I got to go to a shop myself. Now there is one in London but I haven't even bothered to go in there as it's extortionately expensive. But this one wasn't, so we started the carnage on our bank accounts. Such lovely stuff. I'm still dreaming about a handbag I didn't buy and wish I hadn't... so cute!!! I made up for this later on though I'm sure.

I wonder if our ancestors were hot...

... I doubt it somehow though.

We spent the next day at Jamestown Settlement finding out lots of stuff about the founding of America. I wish we had had the time to go to Colonial Williamsburg, but alas we didn't. So this was the next best thing. Mind you we arrived at about 3pm so only had two hours to look around and it was enough. It's pretty small.

We saw a musket being fired (although it didn't work so well the second time, oops), went on board some boats and met lots of people dressed in period costume, telling us lots about the life of the colonists. I won't bore you with any more historical facts, but here are a couple of things that came up and we wondered about.

1. The people pretending to be settlers should have all had English accents. In 1607 the people who came over on the boats were English. To preserve true authenticity, the staff should have spoken the King's English, not have varying levels of Southern, Midwestern and Bostonian accents. This was disappointing.

2. The original settlement was a bunch of men. There were no women for obvious reasons (in 1607 going to found a new country was considered inherently too dangerous and too exciting for women to partake in). Women arrived a couple of years later to perform their duty as wives to the settlers. Now it makes me wonder, if you were a young lady of high moral standard (apparently they had to be in order to qualify) and you decided to head off to the New World to meet a husband and you arrived and they were all mingers, what would you do!?! I mean obviously being a woman among 20 horn-ridden men who hadn't seen a female in years you wouldn't be short of offers, but how cheated would you feel if none of them were hot!? Ok I am clearly making the assumption that 17th century women cared about this stuff, I imagine there were other criteria they considered more important for a husband, but I wouldn't be too happy if it were me. Although saying that, if you can't find a husband in England and had to be sent off to marry a lone ranger across the pond, perhaps you were past the point of caring much about what your husband was like as long as you got one.

After our outing to Jamestown we drove up to Richmond, VA, where we failed to find the town centre (the only time we got lost during the holiday and that was only because we didn't have a map of Richmond) and just had a quiet evening in the hotel in the suburbs.

Fancy a shag?

In Charleston we encountered our first - and probably most hilarity-causing - cultural difference.

For my American readers, shag to us in England is a rather often-used slang word for sexual intercourse (anyone who has watched Austin Powers will know). In South Carolina, shag is the state dance with a somewhat long history. (State dance?!? Those things exists?! Honestly...) The book "Shagging through the Ages" had us in stitches for about twenty minutes. It included old newspaper articles such as "Shagging world-record broken in Charleston", "Famous artist breaks leg during shag" and "Shag contest draws record audience".

That aside, we had a fantastic time in Charleston. This was definitely one of the absolute highlights of the holiday for both of us. We arrived quite early having left Savannah behind, the drive was only about an hour through some non-descript country roads playing "I Spy" (telephone pole anyone?! It was shocking how hard we found it to guess correctly when there really wasn't that much to see).

We stayed in the Holiday Inn in the historic disctrict and were very pleased to find the hotel had a concierge. Once we met him, I remembered having read about this guy on TripAdvisor as being legendary and I would agree. We waited a while to get to see him but it was well worth it. This guy is magic. He organised our entire visit (he got SO EXCITED when he realised we were from England and about our accents. When I said "brilliant" he nearly fell off his chair as it was his favourite British word!) and got us reservations for dinner and a walking tour the next day. He gave us a map and drew on it where to go that afternoon and we had an absolutely fantastic time!

The weather was lovely once again thankfully and we headed on down King Street which has all the shops. It was SO PRETTY! Everything is old, everything. We strolled down towards the riverside walking through what we were told are the most beautiful streets in Charleston and this wasn't a lie! The houses are all straight from Gone with the Wind - complete with window shutters. I could live there so happily! We saw the house rented previously by Brad Pitt and Gwyneth Paltrow, dubbed the Grandest House in Charleston. It was pretty cool! We walked all the way down to the Battery and back up again (so called as during the Civil War and others that's where the guns were). It was like going back in time. I know I've said this before but it really was. I knew Charleston was going to be pretty but I didn't genuinely expect to be quite this impressed!

For dinner we got a bit dressed up and headed on to Hank's Seafood Restaurant as recommended and booked by Kevin the concierge. It was lovely, of course. I had traditional Charleston Prawn Curry, which wasn't really anything special as it really tasted like curry sauce from Tesco's... but the atmosphere etc was great. We proceeded on to enjoy the balmy summer night at the rooftop bar of the Market Pavilion Hotel.

The views again - gorgeous!!! Clear night, red moon, a cascading pool and two hot girls with short skirts and a long drink. What more could you ask for? Well perhaps some gorgeous men to buy the drinks for us but you can't have everything... (Please note it must be included in here that Miss S, my partner-in-crime, actually got a free drink from the barman!)

In the morning we trotted off to take part in the guided walk that Kevin the Concierge had booked for us. This would make our trip, he claimed, and he wasn't lying. The guide was so knowledgeable about all things Charleston and although we only walked for about a mile it took two hours and was packed full of facts.

Now those who don't know me very well will not know about my history obsession. I love museums, period dramas (the ones on TV, not the ones of the female variety), old houses, history books and historical adaptations etc. This tour and Charleston in general was full of stuff about history and from the Southern perspective for that matter, not the Northern one, which the one you always read about. Here are some facts we learned and stuff we saw:

*Boring history geek alert*

Charleston, originally Charles Town after the contemporary regent, was built as only 4 blocks by 8, so it was TINY and the location was chosen due to the peninsula being easily accessible by boat and thus amenable to trade. Most of the original town is still there!

The Civil War started in Charleston both politically and physically. Politically when the democratic party at their annual conference couldn't pick just one presidential candidate (due to booing by hired thugs) and put forward too many. Thus the vote was diluted and Abraham Lincoln was elected president with only 39% of the votes! Thus all the stragglers got upset about the new president and agreed to sign the secession agreement (to sever the Confederate from the Union). The secession was also signed in Charleston, in the building we were in, although it's been knocked down and rebuilt and is now a law firm. And thus the war was pretty much a certainty.

The cemetery we went to see houses some 4000 inhabitants, many in mass graves due to illnesses and suchlike. The pirates' flag with skull and crossbones came from the style of gravestones used there as the skull with wings is in fact the angel of death and was used to make people afraid and associate pirates with death. There was also a really cute little cat living under the church!!! (A live one).

The Charleston Single House was built in order to protect the inhabitants from the heat and humidity which was unseen to colonists coming from the cold and rainy England. The houses in Charleston all face in the same direction depending on whether they are on north/south or east/west roads - so that they get the minimum amount of sunlight! The houses are all one room wide, not because of frontage tax (we'll come to that in Georgetown) but to be more opulent, and the front door leads to the patio to avoid having to build a corridor through the whole house.

The current state of Charleston is quite different from the historical Charleston, as a lot of landfill was developed to grow the peninsula, from rock (there is no natural rock in Charleston, or Savannah for that matter!) and debris that was transported to the country on boats bringing lighter stuff to the country. So a lot of times we were standing on places that started off as river.

Almost all the houses on the Battery are original antebellum houses. Hardly any have been destroyed. There was a huge fire that swept across the city and a few hurricanes but apart from small corrections the houses have survived.

One of only three(?) surviving buildings where the declaration of Independence was signed is in Charleston. Unfortunately we didn't have time to visit.

There was SO MUCH else that we heard and I wish I could remember it all. The tour was really fantastic and packed with information and we enjoyed it muchly. We liked Charleston so much, we just didn't want to leave. But we had to, alas I will be back one day to catch up on all the stuff we didnt get to see.

From Charleston our journey took us up the coast through Myrtle Beach and Wilmington to Raleigh, NC. Looooooong drive. Boring drive. Raleigh we didn't see much of. Only the Days Inn and the highly authentic Waffle House complete with trailer trash waitress missing all of her front teeth. Lovely.

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

Savannah, GA. No we did not take the midnight train, we drove up the coast from the Sunshine State and arrived outside our Historic Inn about 6pm in the evening. Just in time to have missed out on all the good parking spots and having to drive up to the multi-storey car park. Although this wasn't so bad seeing as we were given a suggestion to park on the roof where the views were truly amazing from.

The Inn cost us quite a few dollars for the night but it was well worth it. The decor was incredible, we felt as if we had been taken back in time to the 19th Century when the Deep South was still in its glory and Scarlett O'Hara was flouncing around in her giant dresses with young men bringing her all her heart's desires. (Please note this was not exclusive to Savannah, wait til we get to Charleston!)

Our room on the third floor comprised two humonguous four-poster beds (high enough to provide vertigo to the bravest of travellers), gorgeous high ceilings, wooden furniture, old-style sofas and dressing gowns. And complimentary bottles of water (these were NOT free in DC, $4 I tell you! $4!!!!)

We spent the evening exploring the riverside of Savannah. The atmosphere was very deep south, weather was warm and there were street performers, musicians etc very relaxed ambiance and generally lovely. We started off at the Savannah Candy Kitchen

Oh my god we had died and gone to heaven - it's basically a huge sweet shop where they make taffy and praline and chocolates in the premises. The smell was heavenly - we both bought big bags of flavoured taffy, straight from the conveyor. Yum! Obviously we didn't want to spoil our appetites so we only had one... or two... to taste.

For dinner, since we were in the South, we wanted something local. I was considering for a while having grits but I wasn't quite brave enough. The riverside restaurant we chose looked pretty basic from the outside and the portions looked like nothing special when they arrived but they tasted so good! I had linguine with grouper in breadcrumbs and creamy sauce and I can still taste the lovely flavour. We don't get grouper in England much unless we pay ourselves silly so I was brave and had this whole new kind of fish and I didn't regret it.

We couldn't find much nightlife in Savannah but that was probably because we were at the opposite end of town to all the bars and only hung around at the riverside, so we had an early night in our gorgeous beds. It was here that I discovered the Gameshow Network. Oh dear, I could spend a long time watching that!

In order to make the most of the town we got up early, planning to take part in a carriage tour around the town. Unfortunately though, the carriages were booked by a large tourist group so we couldn't have a tour. Instead we walked around the various squares and MAN was it quiet. Admittedly this was Sunday in Georgia so the world and his wife were in church, but we didn't really find much to entertain us in Savannah. So we headed off to Charleston, not so much disappointed with Savannah but perhaps hoping that there had been more to see. A tour would perhaps have provided us with this - goddamn tourist groups!

First holiday entry - FLORIDA

So it was that two girls woke up before dawn one Thursday morning and began their journey to the land of the free. Following an eight-hour flight to DC, a half-hour queue through immigration (seriously, a queue of about 50 people all catching connections and you have ONE COUNTER OPEN!!? This was not America's finest moment...) and a lung-destroying run through the terminal, we arrived in Tampa armed only with cameras, money and passports. The mention of the extensive queueing at immigration and the running through the terminal perhaps suggests to you that making the connecting flight was just a teensy weensy bit tight. So much so in fact that they held the gate open just for us, as customs phoned up to get the staff to hold the gate open. A sardonic applauds wouldn't have surprised me.

The only logical conclusion you can thus come to is that we made it onto the plane to Tampa, but our luggage did not. So our first night was spent with very little to keep us comfortable, as security restrictions meant we couldn't take any cosmetics on the plane. K-Mart was our saviour and after we'd collected Red Randy (yes, we are sad and named our car) we spent a small fortune on girly things. Stuff was SO CHEAP!!! Just as an example a nail care product I regularly buy causes me to cringe every time it is rung through the till at £8.99. Imagine my excitement when I discovered the same product in K-Mart for $2.99. That's like £1.50!!!! Unbelievable.

Our luggage arrived overnight and being a bit keen we phoned reception at 6am (we woke up early, it was 11am in the UK) to find out if they had appeared and thankfully we were reunited shortly afterwards. So we headed for emBusch Gardens - so much fun! Weather wasn't great as there were thunderstorms circling Tampa Bay, so it was pretty empty and even though we were caught in tropical rain halfway through the day (and had to purchase some highly flattering yellow plastic ponchos) we managed to go on all the good rides twice. We were also very much entertained by the people failing to spot the "Caution! Wet zone!" signs and getting drenched from head to toe by one of the rollercoasters rushing through a pool of water.

The main problem we encountered as tourists, which followed us throughout the holiday until we reached the metropoles, was the lack of reasonable, non-junk food available. As a result we ate a whole lot of fried food and very little vegetables - I did really miss my greens! Big detox for the next couple of weeks to get rid of all the unhealthiness. In Busch Gardens I had salmon with supposedly vegetables but I wouldn't have been surprised if someone had told me they were rubber. Other than that it was burgers, ribs and fries all round (I am a sufferer OAS, so I can't have fresh fruit and veg and thus salad!)

In Tampa we took a brief drive to Ybor City, which is the so called Historic District. EVERYWHERE in the US has a historic district. We translated it to mean the oldest houses in that area regardless of age - ranging from antebellum dwellings to early century townhouses. Even the tiniest little villages have them and some are more impressive than others. It was fairly cute - some little shops and stuff but didn't feel like the cuddliest of areas. We did encounter a Coyote Ugly though which was hysterical but were too tired after our day rollercoasting to enjoy it much.

Florida didn't get the chance to enjoy us for long - the next day, Saturday, we piled our cases into Red Randy and zoomed off towards Savannah. Our drive took us six hours north via Orlando and Daytona Beach, where we took a stroll along the seaside. The ultimate Spring Break spot was sooooo quiet, it was actually quite nice for the ocean-walking. And the weather, in spite of warnings on The Weather Channel, was glorious!!! The spot where we lunched was a mexican bar and all the walls and tables were adorned with comments from previous patrons, most spring-break related. Drunken students really are easily amused!!!

The conclusion of the training contract saga...

So, those of you who have been avid followers of my blawg will know that the most prevalent legally related (and any other related for that matter) dilemma in my life recently has been my search for a Training Contract for 2008.

For my across-the-ponds readers, a Training Contract is a two-year "on-the-job" programme that you have to complete after Law School in order to qualify as a lawyer. No bar exams or suchlike here. You get paid, it's like a job, and the big City firms also give you money to live off during law school and pay your fees.

Now getting one has been the bane of my life. You may remember my inspiring posts detailing my interview experiences etc earlier in the summer, rejection after rejection and other issues to boot.

Thus I'm sure you will be relieved to read that it's all over. Whether thats a good thing, I'll leave to you to decide, but it's over. I have heard back from all the firms I have applied to apart from one. So, all the interviews I have got I have had and now there are really no more chances.

So here is the lowdown:

Applications - 18

Downright rejections - 12

Assessment days - 2

Rejections from assessment days - 2

First round interviews - 4

Rejections after first round interview 1

Second round interviews - 3

Total rejections - 17(one haven't got back to me though)

Total number of Training Contracts - 1

Yes that is correct. You read it right. The whole saga has all been worth it. This morning, I had a second round interview at "Week of interviews Part II". It was a bit tough. I was nervous as hell as I knew it was my absolute last chance to get a TC or I would have to take a year out after Law School and apply again next year for 2009. They said they would let me know this afternoon, and by the time I got home and was getting out of my suit, shaking uncontrollably, the phone rang.

They want me.

Oh yes, I have been offered a training contract. I love them, they are my saviours! I really liked the firm when I went to see them before and was so excited when they offered me a second round interview. And apparently it went well! I answered the questions best I could and it seems to have worked.

The relief is unbelievable although I am not sure it feels quite real just yet. So far all I have got is rejection after rejection so getting someone to say yes is just surreal. This means that when I walk through the Law School doors on Friday it will be with less pressure about my future and I can truly focus on the studying. I won't need to get a part-time job (although I probably still will to save up), I can afford to stay in the flat I live in now, and I will be able to keep myself in shoes.

A BIG FAT HURRAH FOR ME!!!

(And I will update you on my holiday soon, promise, but yesterday I was caught up in interview prep!)

New York New York

Stop press - Susie Law School has fallen in love.

Oh yes, I have fallen in love with the gorgeous, exciting, beautiful, exhilarating and fabulous city that is New York. The Big Apple, the city that never sleeps. I am a City girl at heart, as those who know me will testify to. I love London, now I love New York.

So what's so good about it, and what's the difference?

First of all, everything in NYC is high. Outside of the City and Canary Wharf, a few random buildings aside, London is essentially no more than six stories high. New York, in it's essence, is sixty. Less of Manhattan than of London seems old. I love little old houses in London, random mews cottages and Victorian townhouses, whereas Manhattan is more about the size, height and opulence. Condos replace townhouses, high-rise apartment buildings replace the cottages.

I like people. Lots of them. I like where I live because there are always people around. London has a lot of people, but they seem more concentrated to particular places. In New York, we didn't go anywhere that was even close to the exhilarating or suffocating (depending on your point of view and how much time you have to maneuvre through them) crowds of Covent Garden on a Friday night. People are everywhere but they are more evenly spaced out. In London you can turn a corner and find a completely deserted road right next to a busy area - in New York, everywhere you go there are people.

Central Park - the only thing that comes even close to this in London is Hampstead Heath and even that is forced to cough up the dust left behind by Central Park. It's like a nature reserve in the city. It has hills, little nooks and crannies, water, so many different beautiful places to see and you can truly get lost in it. Hyde Park is nice, it has pretty features and fountains and stuff but you can still essentially tell you are in the City because it is flat and there aren't that many trees. In Central Park you could just as well be in the forest miles from civilisation. The trees rise up to dizzying heights, hiding the surrounding buildings and keeping noise far away. Despite this the most spectacular views were those from the Jackie Onassis Reservoir and the meadows where park meets architecture, and the trees complement the rising Central Park Towers and Midtown skyscrapers. Gorgeous.

One thing we did miss in NYC though, were the men. I am forced to resign myself to the realisation that Americans do indeed work too hard - we did not see a single gorgeous Wall Street trader or high-flying lawyer so they must all be at work 24-7! Nor did we see any handsome specimen representing any other professions for that matter. This was a huge disappointment. London wins hands-down on this count. Ok, perhaps we just didn't know where to look but just walking down the street in London chances are you will bump into at least a few attractive males without really having to look. It's not hard work. In NYC specifically and USA generally, the talent was poor.

The Shopping!!!

Shopping in New York is out of this world. Ok, so I didn't really get started until near the end, couldn't really find anything early on in the week (ok, read that as "couldn't find anything I could afford" as I found plenty of gorgeous things outside my budget) while the other two were racking up phenomenal withdrawals on their bank accounts. Even so, I stayed within budget but am still missing a few crucial items from my autumn wardrobe.

However I did purchase Bruiser, a hangbag that is a chihuahua - yes I know, the Legally Blonde connection was too good to resist.

In addition I bought a hat, boots, a pair of jeans, four pairs of trousers (oops, but I needed them and they fit so nicely!), a pair of trainers, three skirts, two jumpers, a cardigan, two belts, underwear, a top and two handbags. Wow is that all? The problem is though that in spite of all these trousers and skirts I still don't have tops to wear them with, or a winter coat. Which is kinda crucial. Oh dear...

And what else did we do?

I will not bore you to tears with a day-to-day description of what we did, if you want one of those you can ask me. Here are the main facts:

Our hotel was on W 25th and Broadway, which was an excellent location as it was bang on midtown and we had easy access to a number of subway lines. The subway was air-conditioned. That was a refreshing difference, although the stations were all truly grotty! But air-con made it seem all the more bearable! The room was about the size of a postage stamp and we had some amusing moments trying to navigate three girls getting ready in it but by the end we were champs! Breakfast was horrid and we stopped having that after about a day but generally we were happy with our little room.

We went to see Mets play Tampa Bay Mariners on the Tuesday night. The atmosphere was excellent although our seats weren't the best in the house. We had two hot dogs each and had our photo taken for the Mets website. Everything was orange and blue and what we didn't know was that that evening's game was a decider on Mets winning the series and heading up to the World Series (admittedly they got knocked out pretty sharpish but still...). So when the win was confirmed everyone went crazy! That was a nice experience and the hot dogs weren't too bad either...

The first day there (Sunday) we had a stroll around Brooklyn, then headed across Brooklyn Bridge to South Street Seaport. The weather was truly glorious, sunshine all the way, glimmering skyscrapers etc. A very good start to the week. The weather was a bit more hazy when we whizzed up 86 floors to the top of the Empire State Building. Views were still amazing though, and even though we couldn't see that far aclookross we certainly saw far down! People were so tiny! I am a great lover of heights because I like to be able to see far away and that was definitely top of the list!

The Sex and the City tour we did on Wednesday was fantastic. Abso-fucking-lutely! (For non-fans, thats from the show) The bus took us from outside the Plaza ("Your woman's so lovely, Hubble) to the Pleasure Dome to Greenwich Village. Here we stopped to have the most AMAZING CUPCAKES IN THE WORLD!!! It was from the small bakery outside which Carrie tells Miranda she has a crush on Aidan. From there we proceeded to Carrie's apartment stoop, which although located in Greenwich Village is actually portrayed to be on E 73rd in the show. We had photos taken on the steps and everything! Although apparently the woman living across the road gets really annoyed by people turning up twice a day to have photos taken! The journey continued to Aidan's bar for Cosmopolitans and concluded back at the Plaza, with lots of clips of SATC and quiz questions and all sorts! It turns out that the park where Elizabeth Taylor got gang-banged was the park across the road from our hotel, and when Carrie ran out of the taxi to get the subway to the Stock Exchange, it was the subway we would take from the end of our street!

Mostly we did lots of shopping. The only other sight-seeing thing we did was Ellis Island ferry. We went to see lots of various landmarks but didn't do any museums etc. We saw Hairspray on Broadway which was excellent - a musical just had to be done! We did no real going out apart from some cocktails at the W hotel on the last night. There were generally cocktails everywhere and they were huge! Love it!

So... in no particular order my ten best USA moments:

Having cocktails on the roof of the Market Pavilion Hotel in Charleston, SC

Riding the Gwazi rollercoaster at Busch Gardens in Tampa, FL.

Eating gorgeous medium rare steak at Angelo & Maxi's on 23rd and Park in NYC.

Strolling down the beach at Daytona, FL

The gorgeous four-poster beds of East Bay Inn after a balmy Southern evening and dinner in Savannah, GA.

Driving on the highway with the roof down and Boys of Summer playing near Jamestown, VA.

Catching a first glimpse of the White House from the Washington Monument, DC.

Looking down from the Empire State Building and listening to the sounds of NYC.

Getting off the subway at Shea Stadium to the lights and noise from the game in Queens, NY

The Manhattan skyline from the Jackie O. Reservoir.

Panic over everyone!!!

You can refrain from suicide attempts and turn away from the bottle - I am back in London town and back in action to update you on my latest antics, namely my AWESOME holiday. I have a lot to write about so be patient, it will not all appear in a single post, this is just the start to calm your nerves in case you were worried about me being stabbed in the subway or suchlike.

Currently my body thinks it is 5.30am. I have been awake since 9am yesterday (2pm GMT) and only managed half an hour's sleep on the plane (flew back overnight). So I've so far been awake for almost 21 hours and bedtime isn't for another 12. Thus, I would like to apologise in advance if my posts are ridiculous, but they may entertain you nonetheless. At this point it suffices to say that the holiday was fantastic.

The really crap news out of the way first of all - I have NO TRAINING CONTRACT!!! I have no prospects of securing a Training Contract. Until 2009. So there. This week I will be job hunting, and Strippers-R-Us will be in line for an audition in worst-case-scenario (Mum, I know you're reading this, I wouldn't really do it DON'T WORRY!). I also missed the deadline for signing up for optional courses in Law School so have sent them a kindly email and will be ringing up tomorrow. Also I have lots of reading to get on with. Law school starts on Friday - so this week will be a busy one!

Now I'm going to the supermarket to get food, then I will be back later to detail my holiday. So much fun!

What holiday feeling?

Ok, today I am supposed to be packing.

However, the annoyance of the Training Contract search is increasing daily.

In addition to the e-mail saga and the rejection yesterday, I today found out that I've been invited to a second round at Week of Interviews Part II but it is while I am in the US.

Now if one more person asks me if I can cancel my holiday - the answer is NO. It has cost me £2000. Coming back early would cost me another £1000+. Seriously - I'm a student. I've been saving up for this holiday for a year. I HAVEN'T GOT A SPARE £1000!!! Now if the law firm was prepared to refund my costs then yes fair enough, but somehow I dont think a transatlantic flight qualifies as "reasonable expenses".

Perhaps I'm thinking about this all wrong. A lot of people will say "but it's your career" etc. And if it was a matter of flying back/cancelling a week in Spain fair enough, but I physically do not have the money to make this change to my plans. There is no guarantee I would get a TC anyway even if I did come back. I have paid myself sick for this trip and have been dreaming about going since I was 13. I am feeling a bit like maybe I don't deserve to get a TC because I'm not changing my plans to go to the interview - there are so many people out there who would do it at the drop of a hat. There are no words to explain how much I want to be a lawyer but I physically don't have the money or the desire to cancel this trip. I made a conscious effort not to go earlier because the firms were telling me they would interview first week of September but obviously that is not the case. Silly me.

That is now the third application in two days that has gone tits up. I am probably just a bad person and destined to die TC-less and lonely :(

Rejections rejections...

So the firm in my post yesterday have filled all their interview posts and helpfully made some spiteful comment about me not checking my junk mail. So that one's out.

Also, Week of Interviews Part I have just called and said they won't be offering me a TC because apparently I "didn't show enough motivation to be a solicitor and particularly in their firm". I agree that I wasn't so keen on them so that's fine, but not showing enough motivation to be a solicitor??? OH DEAR! I've used the same reasons for all the firms I've applied to so if they feel that way chances are other firms will do too. Particularly the ones who asked me about what I think solicitors do all day.

Still haven't heard from Week of Interviews Part II so I'm guessing that one's a rejection too. So really I only have two chances left to be offered a TC or a second round interview.

Looks like I'll be looking again next year - Strippers R Us here I come!!!

Stupid technology.

I received an email today from a law firm, wondering why I had not taken part in the online reasoning test they invited me to in early August. They presume I have withdrawn from the application process and would like to know why, and where I have accepted an offer from and why.

(what offer, you may ask?!)

Those of you who have been following my blawg can probably hear me screaming right about now. And yes, that banging you hear is my head against a big fat brick wall.

Obviously I never got the email. My obsessive junk-mail-checking indicates it never arrived. I got no invite. Full stop. Now they've probably filled all their places and I have no chance. Obviously I have emailed them to explain but it's a bit too little too late. I can't believe that technology is responsible for me missing out on an interview. I mean I'm not fussy, if somewhere I applied to invites me to an assessment, I will take it!

I can't help but think that back in the days of carrier pigeons, invites to training contract interviews had a much higher chance of arriving.

AAARRRGGGHHH!!!!

My week of interviews - Part III

Today's interview - corporate giant with reputedly evil interview.

Not so evil. They have been my number one choice since I started looking into firms, and they remain so still. Now all I need is for them to offer me a training contract.

The questions weren't too bad, thankfully, and there were only a couple that I had issues answering, but I just don't know what they thought of me. These included "What exactly do you think we do in a typical day" and "should law firms represent unethical companies" - oh yes, that one again! Ethics are going to be my downfall!!! In terms of interview technique I think I did fine, in terms of fitting in they're probably a better judge than me. And if they think I am unethical (although I'm really very very nice and was trying to be less moralistic than last time, when it went down like a lead balloon) then that could pose a problem.

News next week. No news from Part II yet either. Watch this space. I really like this firm and I think I did ok, but then the same happened before and I didn't get anywhere.

Plan B is if I don't get a TC then it's definitely a sign from the Universe that I should be a barrister.

My week of interviews - Part II

Today was part two, although it doesn't really count as a proper interview. There was a presentation given by the firm, then a verbal reasoning test (that old chestnut again, I still don't feel like I could do it at ALL!) and finally a tour of the offices. The fun part is that they will let us know tomorrow if we made the second round. I would like to as I think I could do really well in the second round - it's a case study and interview - and it's a nice firm who I would like to work for.

Tomorrow is part III - it's at big-ass corporate firm that I've been to once already (not for an interview, just an open day type thing) and I've heard that their interviews are MEGA EVIL!!! Someone got asked to debate the advantages between debt finance and equity finance, I only just about know what the difference is!

New blogger friend..

The lovely Jet Setting Bex has started her own blog. Now, I expect you all to make her feel welcome and give her a read. She'll be detailing her travels around the world - starting with NEW YORK BABY!!!!

Part II of my week of interviews tomorrow... toodles!

My week of interviews - Part I

So first in four interviews coming up in the next week was today. It went well. I was confident, coherent, funny, chatty etc... but I didn't like the firm. Well thats a lie, I liked the people, they were all very nice, but I don't think they will offer as I was just not a very good fit. I think I was too corporate and wannabe high-flying for them, which is ironic as I seem to be too nice for the high-flying corporate firms! Argh!

All the questions were "nice" questions. No evil stockmarket or current affairs rubbish, and no trick follow-up questions. So none of the questions I can expect at "Corporate Giant Firm LLP" type places.

Now I'm off to read the paper so I can give share tips in my next interview. Bastards.

Good news and bad news

Bad news first.

My second round interview outcome came alive yesterday with a brief but to-the-point email, aptly in my "Junk Mail" from HR informing me they were "unable to offer me a training contract". Bastards. I thought it went ok, not brilliantly, but ok. But I guess it should have gone brilliantly. I bet it was the stupid stockmarket question.

Good news next.

I got invited to an interview at a firm I didn't even apply to. I was going to apply but their application form had stupid questions on it so I didn't bother. However they've merged with another firm (UK training contract seekers will have no trouble establishing which two firms are in question) that I did apply to and have apparently as a result decided to give me a go.

So next week I have an assessment day on Tuesday, an assessment day on Thursday and an interview on Friday.

Fun and games. Seriously need one of these to offer me a job!!!

Off to read up on the merger now - have travelling friends coming to visit shortly to plan so don't have very long. Thanks to all for comments regarding holiday - all you stateside feel free to keep the tips coming, itinerary can be found below!

Law School Update

Today I received some information from my Law School. Nothing hugely exciting but exciting enough that I went, for an interval, into my "I'm going to Law School!!!! Woo!!!" excitable giddiness.

I now know when all my exams are going to be and when I have to hand in all my coursework. (My first "exam" is a multiple choice test on the legal system, two weeks into the course, yikes, best get on with that reading...) I also kind of vaguely know when holidays are taking place, I know that there will either be one or three weeks off at Christmas and I know there will be a two week break around Easter with a three-week revision period in May. Furthermore, all my exams are two days apart. Bastards....

All this information is very simple. However my poor brain having been deprived of intellectual challenges in the last couple of years has somwhat struggled to comprehend it all and it's bloody confusing. I know it isn't, I just have to train my brain a bit, but it is making me consider that perhaps in my old age I have become - if possible - more blonde!

All booked and ready to go...

Thanks to a fellow Legally Blonde...

Elle Woods , for introducing this guy to me. I might be in love. Well lust for sure.

Bugger...

Ok so I had the interview. I'm going to break it down to good bits and bad bits.

Bad bits first (cos it will make me feel better at the end):

I sent separate emails to both partners saying thank you and I should have sent just one, and also copied the HR director, this became apparent when one of them replied, copying the other partner and the HR director. But I'm hoping they compare notes and the other partner says I sent her an email also...

I knew the firm works with ID cards. I knew they would ask me about ID cards. I did not read up enough about them and when they asked me specific questions I had no idea.

The ethics question. Full stop. I had to ask them to explain like two parts of it to me because I had got it slightly wrong. Could have answered that SO much better, I'm pretty sure I even changed my answer half way through the question. The follow ups were what killed me - they made me feel like the original answer was wrong. And then I got worried and started talking crap.

I had a really good rationale for wanting to work there but somehow managed to compress it into about two sentences that said absolutely nothing of my original answer and left out all the best bits.

The only question I genuinely had no preparation made for was asking what three companies I would invest in in the stockmarket. I had no idea. None. Zero. Zilch. Nothing clever, no logical up and coming firms, no cool new funky targets... I completely and utterly fluffed that one up but I hope that that I still came across like I had made an informed decision, not come up with it on the spot, even if they guessed that. Or something. This is probably how I was talking too.

I felt like I was waffling too much. Concise answers and all that? Nah. More I thought I wasn't saying what I wanted to be saying the more I felt like I waffled which was probably not good, and am worried I didn't get across everything I wanted to.

Good points:

Both the people were nice - I didn't feel like the other firm where I was grilled to within an inch of my life. At times there was "conversation" rather than Q&A.

I wasn't late

They said they really liked my question (this could also be a bad thing) as I asked about the proposals to shorten the TC and they hadn't heard about it.

I think one liked me, the other not so much. Had slightly similar vibe to first firm interview by the end, as felt like I wasn't coming across in the best possible light

Ok thats not really finishing it on a positive... but there you go, that was my experience. They will let me know within two weeks. In other news, Gavin also had interview news, and I had two rejections from other firms waiting for me in my inbox.

Toodles!

Death by interview

So tomorrow is round two of midsize City firm interviews. I am unprecedentedly unprepared, unless you count horror interview #1 in June when I knew nothing. I couldn't even answer questions about myself. It went something like this:

Evil Interviewer: So what do you think about private individuals funding political parties
Me: (making a really stupid, inadvertent face to clearly show that I had no idea what to say) Um... I guess its ok... I mean as long as its regulated and stuff
Evil Interviewer: So how exactly would you regulate it?
Me: Um... I guess you could have like a law or something
Evil Interviewer: (at this point starting to look bored and stare out of the window) Well do you really think that would work?
Me: I wish the ground would swallow me whole.

Ok so I didn't really say that but the conversation went along this tack for a while until he evidently decided he had tortured me enough and went on to the next evil question. Obviously when I thought about it a bit more I realised that was really not my opinion at all and I later found out it had been a significant current affair in the previous weeks.

So I've been reading the paper, watching the news and all sorts. I've also been trying very hard to prepare my "why law" answers because that is by far my weakest area. I have my stock answers to stuff now but I imagine that in a second round interview it will be more generic than going through my CV. It will be far more evil, and being with two people, far more difficult. Must remember not to show emotion to any questions. Must have opinions about current affairs. Must sound intelligent and look at people in the eye. Must have intelligent questions. Must not look nervous.

Oh crap this is gonna suck!

Susie in Deed Poll Shocker

I decided Susie Lawstudent didn't quite reflect the message I wanted to send. Therefore Susie Lawstudent has become Susie Law School.

The reasoning behind this is that the name "Susie Lawstudent" originated from the 10 Things I Hate About You quote on Susie High School. But it didn't quite resonate and I came to the conclusion that Susie Law School is much better and has a more direct link to its origins.

Try not to get too confused, dear readers. Still the same old stuff on the blog.

More next week when my visitor has departed and I won't be so busy all the time :)

The joys of pre-law school reading

They have begun.

I haven't got a law degree, my first year of law school will therefore comprise 1645 hours of study, equivalent to two University year. I can't wait. Yes I am a crazy academic and love studying, particularly now that it will be in law.

Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed half of my undergraduate degree and all of my Masters, but this is the big one. I'm going to Law School, look out world!

So, in preparation for my first day as Law Student I am due to read about and work on the following:

Historical Development of the Law

Sources of Law

The Court Structure

Statutory Interpretation

Doctrine of Precedent

EU Institutions and basics of EU Law

Structure of the UK Parliament

Specimen Directions

So far so good. All of this was covered in my Law A-level and it makes me feel quite pleased that I know a lot of this stuff already, I just need to refresh it. Yes, admittedly my Law A-level was 6 years ago but it is surprising how much comes back when you read up on it a bit. After all I diligently memorised it all back then, it has to be somewhere, right?

In addition I get to read about new stuff as well!

Charity Commission

Probate

Principal theories, objectives and aims of Tort Law

Use of mediation for solving clinical negligence disputes

Tort reform

Basics of Contract Law

Sounds a lot. I have no time to do it in. Oops. In reality I have this weekend to do it in. And a few nights the week after this week.

Welcome to the next two years of my life!

Second time lucky...

So the law firm I had an interview at last week invited me back to meet two of their partners for a second round interview. I'm scared. Have called them but got voicemail thus so far the exact time and date of this gruelling experience is unknown to me.

I really want this. Really really really want this. Its a nice firm, I immediately felt comfortable, everyone was friendly, they do good work and its not overly ridiculous in the hours department. There is no forced socialising and hanging out with work people outside the office. They have a huge range of practice areas and good clients. I want to work for them. I want them to give me a job.

I'M SCARED!!!!!!!!

Next week I have a friend visiting me the whole week - there will be no time for preparation amidst being at work and entertaining her and showing her the delights of London. Somehow I don't think she would consider interview prep one of those crucial delights... hmmm...

So this will be my weekend.

In other news,

The prospect of being blown to pieces on holiday is a worrying one. The prospect of an 8-hour flight with no book, earplugs, moisturiser, bottled water etc is almost right up there with it. However I would rather not have any of those things if it means that terrorists can't bring their explosives on either. This is one of those situations where the irony is obvious - i could get a TC only to be victim to something like this. I realise the odds are slim (on both counts) and the combined odds even slimmer but I am a Mathematician, I must consider these things. How long until they build a tunnel a la Eurostar to the US?

All the forms are done!

Now my fate belies with the powers that be, in other words the recruitment teams at Dewey, Cheatham and Howell LLP and co, who are clearly riddled with other wannabe trainee lawyers looking for a place to lay their law books.

Success rate of getting interviews has been ok so far (could do with a few more please) but it's getting through the interviews that is far more stressful. And also so much more upsetting to be rejected at that point! Had one on Thursday and I will be very sad if they don't invite me back as it was a lovely little firm and I think I did pretty well.

If I didn't it will be even more scary the next time! :(

Now all the applying is over and done with I can start focusing on hotel search in Savannah, GA. And the pre-course reading for Law School. Yes I'm odd I know!

Toodles!

Signing my life away...

... to Mr Bank Manager.

I hereby promise to pay you £15000 in return for you giving me £10000 to pay my fees. I will now pursue at great lenght a Training Contract with a nice firm that will pay my fees and probably as a result have to give you all the money back due to the fact that the loan agreement actually specifically states that the purpose is to pay course fees.

I will also pursue at great length a nice job for one day a week to pay me enough to be able to pay rent and eat. (Strippers R Us are still hiring) It's pretty scary to take that much money out - especially when it isn't even enough to cover basic living expenses, so this better all be worth it and hopefully in five year's time I will laugh all the way to Karen Millen with my £60k paypacket. :-)

Hard work pays dividends I hope!