The Realization

I was at the library last week when I had the horrifying realization that finals are only two months away.

This was the scene playing in my head:

The Georgetown LL.M. program follows a regular law school calendar, but they warned us during orientation that it feels much shorter. And, like many things that were said during orientation, it turned out to be absolutely true.

There are three main reasons why the LL.M. program flies by:

1. Experience: I have been here before — there’s nothing new about law school, preparing for class, or mastering new research systems. The biggest hurdles in law school were “learning how to learn” and the awkwardness of launching a career — I’m comfortable with both now.
2. Specialization: Unlike the hodgepodge of my J.D. program, the continuous focus on a single area of law makes the week fly by. I am getting a certificate in state and local taxation, so all of my classes are related. I learn a new concept in one class, which inevitably pops up in another, and then turns into an assignment at the law firm two days later. It feels like one huge class instead of several distinct courses.
3. Other commitments: Regular coursework is only a small part of the LL.M. program — I’m also at a law firm two days a week, helping a professor with research, and attending “networking” and recruiting events throughout the week. This means that block scheduling is my friend and I don’t have a lot of dead time during the week.

The coming weekends are going to be dedicated to outlining ahead of finals because November is going to be packed — there’s the MPRE and a pesky “zero-credit-but-required” online course that me and all of my classmates are ignoring.

We were also warned during orientation that several employers schedule out-of-town interviews in late November. I have heard horror stories about people studying at airports because no job offers materialized in D.C. — hopefully my travel experience can be more leisurely than that. ✈️