Day 1

Although my first day is not yet complete, tonight will almost certainly be consumed with tomorrow's reading assignment for Civil Procedure, which easily promises to be the toughest of this semester's courses. Thus, I'm writing while I have at least today's reading done. In a few minutes, I'll start on tomorrow's, then head to Criminal Law, my final class of the day.

I've yet to be called on in class, an event I'd like to dispense with as soon as possible. Prof. Meese must have called on half the class this morning in Torts, while Prof. Green lectured for the bulk of Civil Procedure. So, to those who will ask, "How was your first day?" — the answer is, "Good, yet incomplete." Until I'm called on in class, I won't really know what it's like to be a law student. The so-called Socratic method — we philosophers know that's not really what it is — is quite different from anything any of us experienced in our undergraduate studies. When a law professor calls on you, he expects you to know what you're talking about and furthermore, to contribute some useful thoughts that keep the discussion moving. That's not to say that every law student actually accomplishes either of these, but it's still the idea behind the teaching style. Be prepared, or if you're not, be prepared to be embarrassed. At William & Mary, it's not quite as harsh as it might be at other schools but even so, no one wants to be caught off-guard.