Summer of 2006, pt. 11

It has been a long week. I know it has been a long time between posts, but I have been swept up in getting back to Ohio, back in the swing of things, and involved with acc-checking for the law journal. So here are some updates on things from Columbus, and next week I should have things in order enough to start book reviews, legal news, etc. again.

- Most of my time this past week has been spent either on the "acc-check", or accuracy check, for the law journal I am on, or on interviewing with firms for early OCI, or on-campus interviewing. The interviews generally went pretty well. I interviewed with four great law firms, two in Cincinnati and two in Toledo, and hopefully I will hear from them again within a few weeks.

- My last interview was on Wednesday, so most of the week was spent in the law library, and various other places, performing an acc-check on a portion of an article I was assigned. For those of you reading this who are not yet in law school, or in your first year, try to get on a law journal or law review at your school (not that I will be the only one to give you that advice). It's one of the best resume-builders you can have, and it's a learning experience that will help make you a better lawyer after you graduate.

Case in point...the article I acc-checked dealt with a narrow issue in patent law, which is traditionally an area I don't know much about. But I was able to get at least a basic grounding in it just by proofreading an article written by a law professor who knows the subject well. Even if you're not planning to practice in that specialized an area of law, it's a good idea to know as much as you can about any subject, the more the better. To quote one of my first-year professors, "the law is a seamless web," and you would be surprised at how much interrelatedness there is between subjects that would seem to be far apart.

It's true, being on a journal or law review involves a lot of work. I put in a substantial amount of time on the assignment (about as much as a part-time work week). But it's like any other story or rumor you hear-a grain of truth wrapped in a big ball of exaggeration. The truth is, I enjoyed different aspects of the acc-check, such as proofreading the article and checking the accuracy of quotations, because I have always had a good eye for editing. In high school, I worked in my school's Writing Lab, proofreading papers for the freshman and sophomore English Composition students, and it was always fulfilling to me to help people improve their grades by helping them with grammar and style. I enjoyed the acc-check because it took me back to the good old days, if only temporarily. I can tell I am going to enjoy it, and the work is well worth the experience.

- I am going to have one last "summer of 2006" post sometime next week, probably Monday or Tuesday (but no guarantees because of how hectic things are right now), where I will discuss the Blackstone and the Phase III experiences in more detail.

- Other than the journal work and interviews, not much else of note to report this week. Things will start to get back on a normal pace next week, since classes start Tuesday, but at least I have this weekend, one more weekend of freedom before it's back to the classroom.