Hi George,
My name is Sabur and I am a paralegal student attending PennFoster College located in Scranton, PA.. The course is a degree program (AA) which takes approx. 18-24 months to complete. I just finished my 1st. semester and I can not wait to begin my 2nd. I'm loving it.
Sabur
Hi Sabur!
I knew somebody who was studying to be a paralegal. From what she told me, it sounded like it was a very rigorous program, indeed!
BTW, I am, figurately speaking, your next door neighbor; I live in Ohio; Akron, to be specific! I went to law school at the University of Akron.
One thing I must also say, from what I remember after I got out of law school and began practicing law, as well as what I heard from others, it was good at teaching us legal concepts and learning how to "think like a lawyer;" but it was not that good at teaching us the actual nuts and bolts of day to day law practice; like practical considerations and preprations to file pleadings, motions, etc. That sort of stuff was mainly learned through internships, or just, once you begin the practice. From what I hear, paralegal programs help with teaching people that stuff, also. With they taught more of that in law school! (Maybe they do nowadays; they didn't do it as much when I went in the early 90s!)
Thanks for your input, Sabur!
George
I've been practicing for nearly 33 years, having gone to Loyola, Los Angeles for four years, year around, at night--while working full time. I'll be retiring in under 20 months, and I can hardly wait. I don't know what practice is like in Ohio or Pennsylvania, but I can tell you that in California it has changed very much for the worse over the span of my career. The State Bar of California did a survey of us a few years ago asking whether we would recommend the practice of law to our own sons or daughters. The result was a resounding "NO!" by 73% of the lawyers responding. And a whole lot responded.
I expect this to be the most enjoyable Bar Assn. of which I've ever been a member! :-]
Welcome to the group, Jack; and thanks for your input!
As for me, I became a lawyer 16 years ago; so I have only been at it a little less than half the time as you!
Interesting survey in California. I seem to remember they did the same sort of survey in Ohio; don't remember if was the Supreme Court of Ohio, or the Ohio State Bar Association.
I think what tends to happen with many lawyers is that before they begin practicing or think about wanting to become a lawyer, they have a certain preconceived notion what what it will be like; mainly based on what they see on television or in the movies. And then they become disillusioned by the actual day to day practice, and how stressful it can be.
For me, I felt that way for a while. When I first decided I wanted to become a lawyer, I had these dreams of wanting to go out and save the world. Of course, once one starts actually practicing law, reality sets in, and things don't quite work out the way one had hoped.
I think, that for almost any sort of career or professsion, including law practice, people can realize that it may not be quite what they had in mind before they got into it; but they can look at the bigger picture and make up their own minds to be happy and enjoy doing what they can to help others.
Once again, welcome to the group, Jack; and good luck with those remaining -20 months!
George
Welcome Judge! Glad to have you. Your job oversees us all. Glad you became a member. I may need your input on some things as I continue on my journey in law. I do agree with you that law has changed. Actually I live in Atlanta, Georgia and I take an online program for my studies but I do volunteer my services for a private law practice, by doing so, I have the opportunity to see how some of the decision are made and why. I have notice new law being put into place base on the personal injury more so than for the common wealth of humanity. The south laws are terrible but needed.
Sabur
Hello to all of you!
It looks like I am the only judge in this group. And - looking at the replies above - it seems as if all of you are from the USA. So I do in some ways feel like an alien. 
Anyway, I hope to pick up "something" when reading your comments - which I have done already. And maybe other judges, even from other countries, will join us after some time.
Funny to see that most of your comments above could as well have come from norwegian lawyers or law students. The length of the education is about the same. And it is common to experience that being a lawyer (practicing it from from "inside") is something quite else than was expected ahead from outside. And I add that I have had the same experience as judge; maybe I had seen to many american films!
I practiced as lawyer about 11 years before I became judge in 1993. Before that I was teaching law in high school, worked a few years in the Justice department and had a few shorter jobs in the law field. We are 7 judges and 10 paralegals (administrative helpers) in my region, which covers about 100 000 inhabitants.
I feel I am struggling with the words. English/american is - as you certainly have noticed - not my native language. But if this is a bit "knotty", I hope you will take this crucial point: I want to play chess with many of you as time goes by. You see, I have one big problem with my collegues at work: They don't play chess at all.
Best wishes
Oystein Knudsen
Greetings, Judge; glad to have you with us!
Of our three members, half are in the US, and three non-US. One is from Bangladesh, one from Australia, and yourself, of course, being Norwegian.
By the way, your English is great; much better than my Norwegian, for sure!
Once again, glad to have you with us!
Thanks,
George
Hello, George, D.J., and Judge Knudsen-
I was influenced to become a lawyer through my experiences as an expert witness (criminalist) in the 60s and 70s. The only lawyer shows on TV back then were Perry Mason and The Defenders, neither of which made me want to practice law.
No, what happened is I saw the practice of law change after I became a lawyer. It was a "gentlemanly" practice when I started. There were three things that could get you in trouble as a lawyer: (1) acts that were illegal that you could go to jail for--like stealing money from your client's trust account; (2) acts that weren't illegal but were unethical that you could lose your license for--like failing to represent your clients or failure to communicate with them; and (3) acts that weren't illegal or unethical that could give you a reputation as a "sharp practitioner"--like playing dirty tricks on opposing counsel to gain an advantage in a lawsuit. You didn't want any of these things to happen to you.
By about the mid 80s, if you asked a young lawyer what "sharp practice" meant, he didn't know. He'd never heard the term. There was no more "sharp practice" because "sharp practice" had become "standard procedure."
I actually remember the senior partner of my first law firm calling a meeting in 1976 to discuss whether, given the law's preference for trying cases on their merits, it was ethical for us to win cases on procedural grounds. Can you imagine a meeting like that today?
So, in 1988 I quit the traditional practice of law because I couldn't stand having to deal with other lawyers. Instead, I went to work for the judges in our county superior court, which is our trial court level here. I've been working for the "umpire" ever since. I still have to deal with lawyers' briefs daily--most of which are unfortunately pretty dismal, I'm afraid--but at least I don't have to respond to them. I get the briefs as they come in the door, read them, research the applicable law, identify and analyze the legal issues (often quite different from those the lawyers addressed), and write it all up in a memo and present it as a package to the judge who sees it for the first time with my recommended ruling, and why I recommend it. At 1700 I go home and take nothing with me. I never work on weekends. I'm not rich, but I still have my sanity. Yeah, and my cynicism . . . I know, I can hear you! ;-]
On the subject of Norwegians and English: I long ago developed the greatest respect for Scandinavians and the Dutch for their prowess in second languages, including English.
At UCLA, I knew a "girl" (we called them "girls" then because we didn't become adults until age 21) for two years. One day she said she was going to have lunch with the "gurls." I said, the "gurls"? She said, "Oh, I always have trouble with that word." I didn't get it. Then she told me that she'd come here from Norway only two years before I first knew her. I couldn't believe it. She sounded exactly like any born-in-California girl. And for two years I'd known her without the slightest suspicion that English was her second language. Amazing!
We Americans have to be the worst in the world at second languages. I'm struggling hard to learn Spanish, which is very good to know in California. It's fun for me, but I have no delusions that I'll ever be able to read Spanish literature.
¡Viva Ajedrez!
Jack
Good idea for a group. I would like to join.
I am a 2nd generation lawyer and proud father of a third generation lawyer (my daughter was sworn in as a member of the bar here in Illinois, November, 2008)
Hi Everybody!
Since currently most of the people here are law students, I thought it may be a good idea to start a discussion about what law school is like, preparing to become a lawyer, and how best to deal with that experience and preparation.
As for me, I went to law school from 1988 to 1991. Here, in the US, under the usual program, it takes three years to complete the program and get a law degree. This is after one first obtains an undergraduate degree, which usually takes four years. So, the entire program of study takes seven years.
After that, we need to take bar examination in order to be licensed to practice law in the state where we wish to practice; state by state.
As far as law school itself is concerned, most of the first year courses are mostly the same basic courses: civil procedure, torts, property law, and contracts. After the first year, we are usually free to take electives depending on which area of practice we wish to pursue.
Well, that is it for starters. Look forward to what others have to say!
Thanks,
George