Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Starting to get interesting...

One very interesting thing about the law is that it encompasses the entire spectrum of human behavior.  As I read these cases, it jumps out at me that writing intelligently on these topics actually requires that you know a little bit about them.

For instance, in one of the examples, a product liability claim was being made against the manufacturer of a motorcycle.  To draw the right conclusion, you really had to know that the type of injury (in this case, getting a leg trapped underneath) is avoidable if the bike has engine guards on it.  (Large tubular things that protrude from the left and right.) 

If you didn't know that, or you couldn't think of another way that the product design could be improved, you were going to answer the question incorrectly.

I can remember another example where I thought, "I really don't know enough about this subject matter to answer this question".  Sure enough, in the answer, it was obvious that having some knowledge on the subject was required to answer intelligently.

Most of these things are closer to being common knowledge type things.  However, some of them aren't, and some specialized knowledge is clearly beneficial.

Also the whole "there are four elements to X" and "there are six elements to Y" starts to make sense.  You get these scenarios and you have to judge whether they qualify or not.  It's not reasonable to just say, "well, no, that's not negligence because it just doesn't seem like negligence."  You have to be able to say, "that's not technically negligence because you weren't harmed".  If you don't know the elements that are involved, you really can't give a definitive answer.

I feel a little better now that I have some clarity on the path ahead.  Tomorrow, I go to campus to put down my seat deposit.  It's pretty clear I won't be getting a scholarship, which makes it all the more imperative to try and do what I can to finish tops in my class in 1L.  I may be able to get a scholarship for 2L and beyond.

I'm sending back my LSAT prep book.  I don't need that on my plate.  I have enough to work on with the E&Es, LEEWS and Getting to Maybe.  The E&Es aren't bad.  It's easy enough to finish one chapter a day.  More than that gets tricky.  Takes a lot of time.  I have three more after this one.  If they end up taking about a month, each, that will take me to mid-Summer.  LEEWS and Getting to Maybe will take up the remaining time. 

Plus, this is sort of my personal busy time.  Business should, in theory, pick up during the Spring.  Of course, it hasn't done that in a long time, but this may be the year.  I have a lot of Navy stuff to do between now and the start of the Fall semester.  (Two trips to Ft Worth, a Supply Conference in June and probably my annual training which will be a DAWIA class.)  Plus, travel baseball season is in full-swing.  We have a ton of scrimmages lined up and the season starts in earnest, soon.  That's a part-time job in and of itself. 

So, even though school doesn't start until August, that's not so far away.  I have a lot to do between now and then.

No comments:

Post a Comment