In eight to ten weeks, all third- and fourth- year law students will graduate from one of several hundred law schools in the United States of America. There will be a lot of fun, festive events, family gatherings, and excitement during this time period because the graduates have completed their journey as law students. All of them have endured at least three, and in some cases, four years of non-stop, year-long learning about our legal system.
Everyone - - mom and dad, sister and brother, aunt and uncle, cousin and friend will have the chance to meet deans, professors, and staff. Your family will meet all of your 3L and 4L buddies, too. Many of the people that matter most to you will be in the SAME PLACE at the SAME TIME and the stories you have shared with each group will now have faces to match.
This day means so much to you. You can barely contain yourself. There are flowers, gifts, congratulatory remarks; awards are bestowed upon you. Everyone is in their best attire, looking glamorous with their new suits and dresses, and the sun usually shines for graduation, no matter where we are that day. There is food, drink, laughter, and a bunch of children running around playing. It is so overwhelming. It couldn't be better.
Or, could it be ... ?
There is only one other event more breathtaking, more exciting, and more overwhelming than graduation.
Is it the bar examination, itself? No. The bar exam may take your breath away, it may cause a little extra excitement, and for some, it may be overwhelming.
Is it finishing the bar examination and going on vacation with friends and family afterwards? Oh, that will be a lot of fun, too. It will likely be breathtaking, and certainly exciting. But, nope. That's not it, either.
Well, it must be the letter you get in the mail with the results indicating that you were successful on the bar exam. Sorry, that is a close second, but that is not the one event that is as breathtaking, exciting and overwhelming as the day of your graduation and day-long celebration.
The one event that is as breathtaking, as exciting and as overwhelming as graduation, is the party.
That's right.
The Party.
What Party?
The Party You Decide to Attend After You Have Received The Results In The Mail, or On-Line, Indicating to You and the World That You Passed The Exam That Qualifies You To Be a Licensed Attorney In the Jurisdiction Where You Sat for The Exam.
THAT PARTY!
Yep.
That's the one.
Three-L's. Four-L's. I want you to think about the party tonight.
I know. I know that you have a bunch of exams staring you in the face over the next couple of months. I know that you have a lot of requirements to meet and a final screening for graduation coming up.
I know that you can't think of a topic for the paper that is due in six weeks. I even know that some of you haven't started the research on the paper, yet.
I know some of you are coming up on the deadline for the bar application, and you are still trying to get that traffic violation removed from your record so that you will not have to include it on the state's bar form. I know that a few of you may even have a credit issue that you have ignored and will have to deal with as part of some jurisdiction's character and fitness review.
I know.
Tonight, however, I want you to think just a little bit about the party. Think about it while you work on that bar application. Think about while you conduct the Lexis or Westlaw search for that final paper. Think about it as you begin one outline for exams and finish up another.
Think about how much fun it will be to receive an invitation to become a lawyer. Let that future moment get you through some of the work you have to do over the next couple of months.
Why don't you do that tonight while you work.
And, I'll start helping you get to the party, beginning with my next post.
Party Hard.
Prof. Smith
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