devarim

I have temporarily disabled comments and pings on Devarim post older than twenty-one days. If you'd like to contact me about an earlier post, you can email me (or use my gmail address, if you know it).

Please - if you are sexually active and are not ready, at this time in your life, to become pregnant, use a reliable form of contraception. And take advantage of Free EC Day today by getting yourself a course of the stuff and stashing it in your medicine cabinet. No method of contraception (except abstinence) is 100% reliable, but in case of failure, EC is a far better option than an abortion...

There are still a couple of hours before the polls close. If you haven't yet (and you didn't mess up your registration like I did - mab please don't kill me!): GO VOTE!...

At long last (okay, after an expected two years), my employment with the Commonwealth of Masachusetts has ended. Specifically, my employment as a law clerk has ended, and I am no longer bound by the Code of Judicial Conduct. In other words, I can talk politics again. I wanted to come up with a profound and insightful post for my re-debut, but there's either nothing to talk about, or else too much...

After a blogging hiatus of six weeks, this is not a particularly exciting thing to start posting about again but...well, it doesn't look like it's going to get much exposure on the news, so I figured I'd share. At about 10:25 this morning my co-clerk and I, who work on the fourth floor of the Brooke Courthouse in downtown Boston, stepped away from our desks to run an errand in another part...

Like I said, it happened. I bought Fake Hair. And, I have to say, despite all of my philosophical objections to it...this is turning out to be a lot of fun! Oh, how I hate myself for saying it, but it's true. Maybe it's the newness of it all. Maybe it's because, so far, no one besides Julian and FHL have seen me in it. Or maybe it's because, as Julian pointed...

The hair of various European women not of my acquaintance now dwells on a globular styrofoam form on my dinner table. Details to come. part of a series: I, II, II 1/2, branching out, III, IV, V . . ....

As this series continues, it seems that it is time for a reactive post, rather than a proactive one. Although most of what I've written below is, on the surface, addressed to one person or another (or a small group of people who have made similar comments), it is intended for my audience at large. Enjoy!...

This morning Julian accompanied me to my second appointment with FHL, who had three falls for me to try on. First off, let me say that those snap-clips hurt like hell. Maybe it takes some getting used to, or maybe it was because I kept taking off and putting on new wigs, but by the end of the hour I had developed quite a headache. I'm sure it just takes some getting...

Today I brought leftover brownies to work with me, the better to foist upon my co-workeres calories that my own waistline doesn't need. Since they have a cream-based topping, I thought it prudent to store them in the communal fridge, rather than leaving them out on the counter all day. However, since that's not the most obvious place to put things that you want other people to eat, I am putting a...

So my friend F and I went for my appointment this afternoon. F was terific and asked lots of very good questions, some of which I'd never though of and others of which I'd hought of but completely forgotten. There were no try-ons, but the Fake Hair Lady (FHL) spent a lot of time explaining different types of Fake Hair and matching colors and so forth, and this week she's going to...

Why do I get the feeling this is going to be a very long series? This morning I went over to a friend's home to try on some of her Fake Hair. I found the entire experience alternately silly, intimidating, and freakish. Dude, that's some European woman's hair knotted onto a mesh cap and sitting on my head! Probably the hair of several European women, come to think of it, blended together...

Oh dear. I can't believe I'm doing this. It is quite possibly the consummate example of eating my words. It's the thing I said I would never do. (Well, to be fair, I'm sure there are many things I said I would never do, and I can probably llive up to most of those promises, but this is particularly striking.) It's so very conformist and nonconfrontational and so terribly unlike me that...

Well, it looks like my bag is back in business, and I thank you all for your suggestions. It turns out that the simplest solution may very well have been the best. At work, I wiped off most of the yogurt junk, rinsed a few parts of the lining here and there, and let the most-terribly-affected part of the bag air-dry under my desk. When I got home, I dumped the conents...

One black Nine West tote bag, of the Official Bag of the Probate and Family Court Law Clerk Program line, purchased only last month, barely used, like-new condition, but for the gracefully aging stench of one exploded mocha-latte flavored Stonyfield Farm organic lowfat yogurt. OK, it's not really for sale, but any ideas on how to clean this thing without spending more on my cleaning bill than I spent on the bag...

The registry upstairs has a huge delivery of cakes, cookies, and assorted other treats for employees - including Angelic Gourmet's Decadent Dippers and a variety of stuff from Dancing Deer. Those items just happen to be kosher. Yay!...

Peninah alerted me to the newly-minted WikiLaw, whose purpose is "to build the largest open-content legal resource in the world." It's been posted about on Lifehacker, where the comments already reflect some of my misgivings about the ambitious new project. I'm generally in favor of having a well-informed and self-reliant public, but there are reasons that some of us went to highly-specialized "professional schools." This all leads me to wonder...can you get...

Apparently, lawyers are taking over the world. The blogging world, at least:There is no reliable data on how much of the blog universe consists of lawyers, or of any other profession, for that matter. But several influential blogs do seem to be run by lawyers, who constitute considerably less than 1 percent of the population. Ah, to be influential. Alas....

There's a doozy of a thunderstorm rolling through East Cambridge at the moment. We (the P&F law clerks, that is) all spent a few moments gazing out at the rain as if we had never seen water before, and then one by one returned to our desks and our diligent pursuits of Legal Truths and Justice. My workspace faces away from our windows, so I could enjoy the sound of the rain...

My law school application essay on agunot, which I submitted to the Princeton Review for potential inclusion in their 2006 edition of Law School Essays That Made a Difference...has been accepted for publication! Yay! (Link added for clarification purposes.)...

So, I emailed Suzanne Podhurst, and it turns out that I'm not too old after all. Go figure....

I decided to send a query email to Ms. Podhurst anyway; one never knows what exceptions may be made until one asks. (Which reminds me: always, always, always ask. Particularly for scholarship money.) As I was flipping through the old files to double-check for all of the relevant essays, I came across the following little piece that I included with my Yale Law School application. (This is not the essay I intend...

I was poking around Craig's List and found this ad: The Princeton Review is compiling real essays (from real students) submitted as part of the law school application. If you have successfully applied to law school within the past four years, please contact us for information about submitting your essay. Authors of essays selected for publication will be paid. Please contact Suzanne Podhurst, Editor, The Princeton Review, at SuzanneP@Review.com. Hey! I thought....

Yesterday we received our assignments for the summer rotation at my clerkship. The good news: we don't need to borrow a car from my in-laws and find a second parking spot. The better news: Julian and I will get to carpool together! Yay! - more time with my husband! Now commence the battles over car windows and radio stations....

I'm wearing a new necklace today. It's one of those many-stranded beaded things, supposedly made under fair trade rules by artisan craftswomen in Nepal or something. I don't think I've ever worn a chunky, substantial necklace like this; most of my neck jewelry consists of thin chains with small pendants, and the rest are understated silver-link deals no more than a quarter of an inch wide. This one isn't heavy or anything,...

The good news: I was offered a position as a returning law clerk on the Massachusetts Probate and Family Court for September of 2005 through August of 2006. (I'm taking it.) The bad news: Another year of this. On balance, though, I think I'm in good shape. -=- In unrelated news, recent hits to this site came from searches for "deaf intermarriage debate" and "paddywagon subcutaneous." Please, come back and explain....

This is really starting to grate on me. I am just about ready to burst with sociopolitical commentary, but I have to keep it bottled up. It doesn't help that there are religious facets (Judaism-specific and cross-cultural) to many of these issues that I dare not discuss in public (including online) lest my words be misconstrued as political endorsement. It's making my blog very boring, and it's frying my brain. Be it...

I'm still trying to figure out why my alarm didn't go off this morning. Maybe my clock knew it's Evacuation Day and the Suffolk County courts are officially closed. No matter...I'm at work today (can we say, "comp day," class?) and even arrived more or less on time. It was amazing walking into the building this morning, with almost no one here. The center of the building is open from the second...

It is happening again. Different brand of pantyhose this time, same story. Actually, no...different story. These are Donna Karan hose, and this particular pair has lasted me for well over a year. As of when I left home this morning, they were fine. As of five minutes ago, there is a gaping hole on the back of my left thigh. (Well, the left thigh of my pantyhose. The gaping hole in me...

"The courts are always open," my supervisor said. "Unless there is a state of emergency, you must report to work." She told us, "You are essential government employees; even if the news says that there is a snow emergency and state employees are not to report to work, they are not talking about you." From today's Boston Globe, "Governor Mitt Romney, who declared a state of emergency on Saturday because of the...

I just got a run into today's (also new, albeit "imperfect") pantyhose. It's really frustrating, because I never had problems like this until very recently, and now they're all revolting at once. Still, I don't think I can spend thirty dollars on a single pair of hose...that's just crazy....

I went through three pairs of pantyhose this morning. Three. The first two, by the way, were fresh-out-of-the-package new. (Granted, said packages came from Filene's Basement, but that's no excuse for them to be completely unusable from the start.) Pair #1 - pull on; notice a tiny hole and run near the front of my ankle; decide to patch with nail polish and turn around so it will be at my heel;...

I take it back. Today my train (trolley, light rail, streetcar, whatever) spent fifteen minutes sitting in the tunnel between Boylston and Park Street. There was a disabled train on the platform in front of us. Please tell me: did they not know about the disabled train on the platform thirty seconds earlier...y'know, before we left Boylston, when people still could have gotten off of our train? Because, seriously, I could have...

OK, not really. Still, as of yesterday, the C line runs all the way to North Station instead of turning around at Government Center. As of today, I started working at the courthouse on New Chardon Street...which is halfway between Haymarket and North Station. My walk to work from the T (in the icky cold winter) just got reduced by about 70%. Yippee! Of course, I still have to navigate the Big...

That's what my father-in-law called me last night. It was cute. Yesterday I was sworn into the Massachusetts Bar. The ceremony was nice, and if I find the time I'll blog more about it later, but I just have to share with everyone the card that accompanied the congratulatory flowers delivered to my workplace today: Dear Counselor, The road to the Supreme Court is open. Good luck. Love, Daddy and Yael See?...

I realized over the weekend that I neglected to mention an important hair-covering consideration in my recent post about covering my hair at work. My swearing-in to the Massachusetts Bar is tomorrow morning. Because I felt so strongly about covering my hair during the bar exam, it seemed only appropriate to wear a hat for the swearing-in as well. However, the only question asked of me when I requested hair-covering permission for...

Wednesday: Well, I don't have quite that many hats (yet), but I definitely have my fair share, and certainly enough simple cotton berets to keep people at work asking just how many colors they come in. Tomorrow is the first day since I started covering my hair at this job that I expect to sit in a courtroom (as an observer). I'm still not 100% sure whether the hat will stay on...

So, each of the law clerks in my program is assigned a mentor-judge. My mentor called over today to suggest that he and two other judges take us and the other judges' mentees (nine people in total) out for dinner on Thursday, after our holiday party. Not wanting to make trouble, I told the clerk who was talking to the judge that I was OK with going anywhere, and I'd just have...

I kept my hat on today after arriving at work. One judge walked by without comment (well, he said "Good morning," but you know what I mean). Similar lack of comments from said judge's register and the court officer who changes in our bathroom. At first, none of the other clerks said anything either. After returning from getting coffee, though, one of them asked me, "So you're wearing your hats now?" Yup....

On my lunchtime walk today, I decided to keep my hat on when I got back to work. It's a decent day to try it out...the judge who sits near the law clerks isn't here and the courtroom next to my desk is not in use. I have no meetings scheduled with any judges, nor can I discuss any of my current projects with their assigning judges in person (since neither of...

Today has been not particularly productive (to put it mildly). And, although I have gotten full nights of sleep every night for the past several, and wasn't particularly sleep-deprived prior to that, I'm feeling kind of sluggish. I can't seem to find a good explanation for it (and, no, I'm not pregnant; I really wish people would stop asking me)....

Nope, no catchy entry title this time. Just directly to the point: I loathe, despise, detest, hate, and in all other possible ways do not like the public transportation service in the Boston metro area. This morning I waited outside for about 25 minutes for a Green Line train (*ahem* trolley). They're supposed to run every six minutes during rush hour. When one finally showed up, it was (of course) packed to...

Yesterday, I left home at about 7:45 A.M. As always, I got on the T, rode it to the end of my line, transfered to the stupid shuttle bus, and got to work. My arrival time was approximately 8:30 A.M. This morning, because I had a memo I wanted to finish writing as early as possible (so I could discuss it with the assigning judge), I left home at about 7:20 A.M....

I passed the bar....

One of the other law clerks just emailed the whole group to say that her Bar exam results came in today's mail. We can't leave work until 4:30. Why would she do such a thing to all of us? I feel ill....

Rachel just called to tell me that Ernest told her that he called the Massachusetts Board of Bar Examiners, and they said that they had not yet mailed out results from the July 2004 exam but they would go out "this week" and a list of passing candidates would be posted online on Monday. Pass it on!...

Julian's advice regarding my comatose work computer: Rock it firmly back and forth. Bang it on the floor a couple of times. If it starts up after that, move everything important to a floppy right away. Wouldn't you know...it worked....

So far today, I have skipped breakfast, been stuck in the tunnels on the T, been evicted from my desk for half an hour by another employee who needed to borrow my phone "for just a minute," and performed CPR on my work computer to no avail. Oh, said computer? The hard drive is fried. And the document I've been working on for the past two weeks is on said hard drive....

I love making schedules and checklists...but I love it even more when I bother to consult them and it actually helps me to get work done! Of course, posting on my blog is not on the list, so I'd better stop before I fall iinto another pit of procrastination....

My clerkship requires me to comply with the Code of Judicial Conduct. This means, in part, that I cannot make political endorsements. Just to be safe, I am removing most of the political content from this blog for the duration of my clerkship. I apologize for any inconvenience....

First, in all fairness, I must tell you that we were given an amended retirement plan enrollment form that asked for "former name" instead of "maiden name" (which was on the old form). Bravo, Commonwealth. For my first rotation (Sepetmeber through December), I've been assigned to Cambridge. The court is commutable by public transit, which is wonderful. I estimate that the total commute will be around 45 minutes, which is also not...

Tomorrow I become a grown-up. At 8:30 AM, I begin training for my new job. I haven't yet had a chance to write up those Montreal restaurant reviews. No, that's not entirely accurate; I've had the chance, I just got lazy. I'll do them, I promise. Not now, though. Now, I want to talk about a little phrase that has appeared on almost every piece of paperwork I have filled out for...

I suppose I owe my loyal readers (I like to pretend I have some) and explanation of what happened with my job search, and how it is that I am magically now employed. Way back in September of 2003, at the urging of an advisor in the B.U. Law Career Development Office, I applied for a clerkship on Probate and Family Court here in Massachusetts. I almost didn't bother to finish the...

Ladies and gentleman, I am employed. Beginning September 1, I will be clerking on the Probate and Family Court. Carry on with your lives......

I've been remiss. Many people did many things to help me get through that horrendous part of my life known as Studying For the Bar Exam. However, no one was quite as important during that time as my husband, Julian. He put up with many more nights of take-out than anyone should ever have to (he offered to cook, but I wouldn't let him), did more than his share of dishes, gave...

I barely have the energy to post. In fact, if I didn't think there might be someone out there scared that I committed suicide by number two pencil in lieu of finishing the test, I wouldn't be posting at all....

(It was a toss-up between that and "Twenty-Twenty-Twenty-Four Hours To Go-o-o.") At this point, I am fairly convinced that for the past two months I have been studying the law of another country....

Tomorrow's lunch (and Thursday's) is made. Brownies are cut and individually wrapped. Pencils are sharpened; pens are tested. My one-gallon clear plastic food storage bag is packed with writing implements, instruction sheets, wallet, keys, tissues, lip balm, and teabags. (The lip balm wasn't on the "approved" list, but I think it'll get in. If it doesn't, I'll toss it. No biggie.) All of my clothes for tomorrow--including undergarments, socks, and hat--are laid...

No, not really. Actually, I'm 65% pure on the Law School Purity Test. I'm not sure whether I should be proud of that. Also, an excellent article on why both law school and the bar exam are fairly pointless measures when it comes to turning out good lawyers....

So, I elected not to take the New York Bar Exam today because of the fast. The make-up day for peple in my situation is Thursday...the same day as a whole bunch of other states (including Massachusetts), so that doesn't really work, huh? I'm not taking the NY exam altogether, and I figure that if we ever move to/near NY and I want to practice there, I'll either suck it up and...

Things are definitely winding down. Today I did the following (in no particular order):baked brownies made black bean salsa to toss with pasta for my exam day lunches reviewed questions 101 through 125 on the simulated MBE wrote out one essay on domestic relations washed some dishes and crystal had a rather drawn out conversation with Batya about the 9/11 Commission report (which I haven't read) and the "Free Speech Cage" (which...

I'm finding it nearly impossible to focus on studying today. Part of me says that there's no way I can cram more information into my brain, and I should just rest for the next (almost) two days and let it all soak in. Part of me thinks, "But what if you could glean just one or two more little bits of law from doing just a few more questions or reading just...

Today was less productive than I'd hoped it would be, but I think the usefulness of my actual studying is waning, and it's probably more important now to rest my brain a bit and practice sitting in one place for three hours at a time. Tasks accomplished:Reviewed Friday's 60 MBE questions - 96% retention! Wrote out three essays: torts/civil procedure/contracts/93A; agency/contracts; domestic relations Reviewed questions 76 through 100 on the simulated MBE...

Eeek! Did I just say three? I think I want to re-evaluate my countdown system. Anyway, Saturday's accomplished tasks include:Reviewed questions 1-75 of the simulated MBE (including a careful reading of each explanation) Read and digested (heh) Conviser Mini Review outlines for contracts and sales, along with the corresponding Massachusetts distinctions Noticed another mnemonic: NICE compensatory damages for breach of contract (nominal, incidental, consequential, expectancy) Began reading CMR torts outline Slept a...

Well, not precisely talking, but in the past week or so I have had dreams about evidence, criminal procedure, constitutional law, torts, and commercial paper. I find it simultaneously quite helpful and awfully disturbing that my subconscious mind is schooling me on the elements of a negligence action while I sleep. Also, my brain managed to work messianic Jews into a dream about hearsay exceptions. I'm not kidding....

Accomplished on Friday:Reviewed Thursday's MBE questions - 83% retention rate Did Friday's 60 assigned MBE questions...it looks like I'm going to nail character evidence, and that's about it Wrote out two essays: commercial paper/partnership; evidence/professional responsibility Issue-spotted a third essay question on criminal law and checked against model answer (ran out of time before Shabbat to write out the whole answer) Did some additional constitutional law (separation of powers) studying for the...

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The following is written on the back of the package of pens (for use at the bar exam next week) that I bought at CVS today (emphasis mine): The Pilot EasyTouch® is guaranteed to be the most comfortable, smoothest writing rubberized grip pen you will ever use. If for any reason, you are dissatisfied with its performance return it, postage paid, to [address omitted] and we will replace it free with a...

Accomplished today:Reviewed yesterday's MBE questions; retention rate over 90% Did today's 60 MBE questions; intial success rate was pathetic Near nervous breakdown, which may have affected performance on MBE questions Wrote out three essays: civil procedure/federal jurisdiction; contracts; criminal procedure/constitutional law Ate too much pizzaAll in all, not my best day. I'd better damn well get my act together for tomorrow....

If my performance on today's MBE questions is any indication, I should just send in my application for the February examination now. Maybe it's because I'm stupid....

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Retention rate for yesterday's MBE questions was 93%. I'm pretty sure that if they let me take the multistate exam twice, I'll pass. Also, yes, I realize that my day countdown may be one day off, depending on how you interpret it. All day counts are as of the midnight at the end of that day, meaning that "t minus five" is correct for today if you discount the rest of today....

Wednesday's accomplishments:completed Tuesday's assigned MBE questions (there were about 25 remaining) reviewed all of Tuesday's assigned MBE questions with an overall 90% retention rate completed all 60 of Wednesday's assigned MBE questions issue-spotted and wrote out five essays--the remaining one from Monday's list (torts) and the four from Tuesday's list (agency, trusts/professional responsibility, real property, constitutional law) had an epiphany about equitable servitudes went over two worst BarBri-graded essays (on contracts and...

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I only did about half of the planned MBE questions yesterday and nothing else on my list, but I spent nearly three hours on the phone with a good friend who is also taking the Massachusetts bar. We sped through our mini-review books, highlighting the bits we thought were most important and asking each other for clarification on some fuzzy issues. It was definitely beneficial. I finally received the fourth (of five)...