Going Out on a High Note

My last final was Tuesday night in Legal Process. As I mentioned previously, the test was a Performance Exam, one of the three types of of tests given as part of the Bar Exam. You are given a task to do (some document to write) , a law "library" (various cases and laws) to use, and a fact set. You have 3 hours to read the packet, organize your thoughts, and write the item using only the provided materials.

It's not really so bad. The first few we did over the semester were more intimidating because I don't think anyone is used to sitting down in 3 hours and just spitting something like that out. You have to focus and get to the point, and not try to be fancy or cover subtle nuances.

Anyway, I felt happy with my performance on that exam and expect an excellent grade on it. Speaking of grades, the first ones were posted yesterday and the rest should trickle in over the next few weeks. Only my Evidence score has been posted so far. I thought that would be my second highest score (after Legal Process). I got an 83, which is a good score, but not as high as I thought it would be.

Now that looking for a job is one step closer, I'm being hit by negative news. The county has a hiring freeze in effect at the current time, and today's paper said that the District Attorney's office here may lose 55 prosecutors due to anticipated budget cuts this year. :( Considering that I need a minimum of one year of experience to get a job at the U.S. Attorney's Office, and where I wanted to get that was with the DA, this isn't good. Surrounding counties may not have the financial woes that are plaguing Fresno, but then I would have to deal with a commute. Not sure what I'm going to do exactly. I know going civil is an option, and I could get several interviews without much problem, but I'm not sure I want to go down that road yet. But I'm going to have to figure out something in the next 6 months.

I'm now down to my last week at the U.S. Attorney's office. It just feels weird. I don't want to leave. I LOVE working there. But I can leave knowing that I did an excellent job and received invaluable experience. It also feels good to know that they will miss me!

It's still hard to believe this is the end of the law school experience. I did not think that I would enjoy it this much, nor did I realize how much it would change my life.