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Thursday, March 25, 2004
3:50 PM

"When I Was In Law School . . ."
I'm sure everyone at one point hears a parent or other older person use the famous "When I was your age . . . " comment, usually followed by a detailed explanation of how easy things are now as compared to then. I know that the natural response when faced with such a sentence is to roll your eyes in disdain and then to have said eyes glaze over with boredom as you hear about how lucky you are now. Blah blah blah. See? Even I glazed over there for a minute. But as I get older I'm starting to understand how it is to be on the other end of the spectrum.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending a cocktail reception at my law school. It was hosted by my Firm and was intended to inspire the law students to apply for positions at my Firm. Go Firm! So up I went to the school in my lawyer costume, all set to be a cheerleader for my firm and thereby convince poor unsuspecting law students to come work with us. Go Firm!

It was actually kind of strange. I hadn't set foot on the campus or in the law school since graduation day in May of 1994 - nearly a whole decade ago. We got there early so I had a chance to walk around. On the one hand, the school looked pretty much the same. Same classrooms, same cafeteria area, lockers, mailboxes, etc. I even walked through the big lecture halls where the main classes were. Once the memories started coming back, I didn't stay long. Like the memory from my first class, the first day of law school - I was the poor sucker who was the very first person called on by the professor. That just blew. And that may very well have been the high point. As you can see, law school wasn't the most fun period of life so let's just say that I sprinted rather than strolled down memory lane.

Though the school itself was pretty much the same, I could tell that the whole school experience was very different. First of all, I don't think I saw a single student without a cell phone. I guess that is the norm now, but I cringe to think of what must happen to students if their phones ring in class. I highly doubt that the law professors are particularly understanding. But I love my cell phone, so more power to them. (Maybe my cellphone-carrying college-student readers - or should I say reader - can explain how cell phones work in college. Can you bring them to class? Do you just turn them off? What happens if you forget? Does the professor go ballistic if they ring?)

Second, I can't freakin' believe how expensive tuition is now! It was bad enough when I was there (and I'm still paying for it), but it's almost double now. Double. The tuition alone is as much as my entire yearly package (which also covered living expenses)!! Then again, starting salaries for lawyers have almost doubled as well, so I guess that isn't that big of a deal either. It just sounds bad now. (So don't worry Laura - it'll be ok!)

I did learn that just as it was when I was in school, student loans are incredibly easy to come by. When I was in school they practically lined up to give you loans for everything from tuition, to books and living expenses, and even a "bar stipend" to help you survive while studying for the Bar. I thought that the money was foolishly easy to get (though naturally I took some). Apparently that aspect of law school hasn't changed. I heard from the students who came to the reception that there is a new type of loan - a laptop loan - the purpose of which is pretty self-explanatory. When I was in school (oops, there I go). Allow me to re-phrase. Laptops were pretty uncommon in the early 90s. There were a few, but the people who had them usually just got dirty looks from everyone else for making all that keyboard noise. So I was dumbfounded by this new type of loan (and admittedly a little jealous. I wonder if I can still get one?). The students were just as dumbfounded that I was dumbfounded.

Being the old fogey that I apparently now am, I asked "Doesn't anyone take notes by hand anymore?" The students looked at me like they didn't understand my question. They actually looked sort of confused by what I meant by "by hand". Then they started to scoot away from me with dismissive looks on their faces like "Ok, granny, if we need someone to teach us how to use a chisel and stone tablet, we'll come back and talk to you, but meanwhile we're going to talk to the hipper and younger people from your Firm who are here." Yes, they really said all that with one brief glance. Really.

So once again I was reminded that I'm getting old. (Sigh). That may well be, but my memory hasn't started to fade yet. And I can hold a grudge with the best of them. When these same students apply for positions at my Firm I think I'll just have to show them a thing or two about their elders and give them a little test with a chisel and stone tablet. Ha! But I guess this would probably defeat the purpose of the reception (to hire people), so maybe not. I can always dream though . . .

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