Week 3 - Week 6

It's been too long since I posted an update.

School is going well.  No doubt, it is challenging; nonetheless, it is rewarding.  Law school hones your perception.  Much of what I do is read and analyze cases, then try to abstract a general rule that could be applied in a different situations.  Most of the challenge in mastering the material comes through this abstraction and reformulation.  There are a few reasons why this is challenging.

The law is subtle.  Sometimes a very fine line separates what is lawful and what is not.  Many cases are black and white, but in law school you study only shades of grey.  These grey cases force courts to draw the line, but often the line is only clear for one specific set of facts.  Each case is like a snowflake; no two are exactly alike.  Figuring out which side of the line your snowflake is on can be tricky.

The law is still changing.  Our common law system is based on the standing precedent of previous decisions made by judges, which necessarily (and sometimes not) change with time.  In the 1960s, civil rights litigation made it easier for parties to sue.  Recently, as a policy concern against frivolous lawsuits, the Supreme Court made it tougher to sue.

The law is diverse.  The law has to deal with as many uniquely different situations as there are people to create them.  There are common principles that apply, but exceptions abound because of our notions of justice.

I love it.  We are almost halfway done with classes for the first semester.  I've made several friends and feel like I'm making progress--a fulfilling feeling that was lacking over that last several years working in game development.