Hello/Goodbye

I can’t believe it; it is the beginning of the end of my life at law school and it is so scary.  I had my last first day of school today and boy was it hectic.  Let me start by saying that I am sorry for being a bit sporadic in my blog postings, the last quarter of first semester was crazy and my studies seemed to take over my writing time.  But I am back now, ready more than ever to keep you all informed and update about the comings and goings of RWU Law.

This semester I have the great fortune , along with 9 other classmates, of participating in RWU’s Mediation Clinic.  The clinic meets twice a week, on Monday’s and Thursday’s, in Newport and Washington County, respectively, On Monday’s we given the opportunity to mediate small claims and landlord-tenant issues, while on Thursday’s we focus on family law issues, such as child custody.  I am really looking forward to these opportunities, as I have stated in past postings that mediation is truly a field I am interested in focusing my career.  I went to court today and observed a far more experienced mediator deal with a small claims issue; it was so interesting to watch, as two parties went from yelling and screaming at one another to progressing to an agreement both could live with.  For the first time in law school I got to watch skills that were taught be put into action and it actually work!

Along with the clinic, I am taking three other classes, two of which deal with Maritime Law.  Although not initially interested in this area of law, I took a class last semester and got hooked.  I am looking forward to learning more, but wish I discovered earlier how interesting these classes were.

So this last semester will be pretty busy, especially with the Representation in Mediation competition coming up in March, along with starting my bar exam training.  I know this last semester will go by quickly, although I am not sure if I am ready to say goodbye…