A Decade After Law SchoolThe other day I visited my parents' home in Brooklyn. In my old room was a pile of mail, including a letter informing me that the ten-year reunion of my graduating law school class is coming up next spring.
One of these days - I'm guessing it will be about 11 months from now - Elster will receive a similar letter from his law school. He'll then likely follow up with a lament about his continued practice of law, a lament that could be written by many attorneys.
I'm not without regrets or frustrations, but upon receiving the letter from the school, my thoughts turned to my days in law school and to some of my old classmates.
There was the Christian Arab who was friendly to Jewish students during the first year of school but became increasingly militant; the guy with the tattoos, piercings and ponytail who now is a well groomed corporate lawyer; the smart, confident young woman whose novel purportedly based on her experiences in my class as an insecure naive girl from the Midwest will soon be published.
My time in law school was a formative period for me. I hung out in the halls, the libraries and in the lounges, eager to discuss anything with anyone. Sports, politics, religion, the Israeli-Arab conflict, whatever. Unlike many who inexplicably find law school to be a difficult experience, I was smart enough then to savor those years, knowing that things would never be as good once billable hours became an integral part of life.
posted on 9/18/2006
