I decided to trawl the university's opportunty hub today to see if anything perked my interest. Among a swathe of completely irrelevant and otherwise unprofitable so-called 'positions' there were a couple of legal firms that seemed interesting. The firm in question, we shall call for the sake of argument Bandini, Lambert and Locke, have a little programme for would-be applicants or candidates for the Firm. I thought this might help with my next degree (like an addicted idiot, I am subjecting myself to still further punisment by the Matriarch that is the sorority - and it is a sorority, no matter whatever anyone else says). Upon first glance, it did not, at all. Instead of learning, the student is expected to have already learnt law, effectively, then produce work as though he or she were a paralegal. (In my view, this is the exact opposite of how things should be: one ought to learn first, read, take notes, revise, then - and only then - be expected to submit to examination or submit an assignment). In any case, there were some hints (in the programming sense, that highlight once a mouse pointer is over a particular word or phrase). These were actually quite useful, because much like the Oxford Dictionary of Law I own, they provide a succinct summary of what particular phrases are in terms of the law.
I found the little exercise actually quite interesting, though it was dry and full of mind numbingly boring minutiae (one must become accustomed to reading such things as a student of the law). The hypothetical scenario was all about some shady offshore private equity fund in the Carribean. (Hence the name Bandini, Lambert and Locke - from John Grisham's The Firm, the film of which, I might add, is outstanding. So good, in fact, that I ordered a copy. Unusually, it is actually better than John Grisham's original book!). Anyway, I typed these 'hints' out manually, and they may yet help with my studying R82 (LLB for post-grads, id est: a Bachelor's degree in law).
There was something on my mind as I worked my way through the exercise: classical studies. I absolutely adore classical studies. Over these past couple of days I have been reading Isocrates, who is an absolute delight to read.
Do I pursue a career as a teacher? I have a sort of informal interview in a couple of days (one of many - the 'first hurdle' in effect). The person interviewing me will no doubt be a psychology major. I should like to be as Sigmund Freud in the original Bill and Ted's, when he is arrested. "Would you like a couch to lie on? Tell me about your mother." (I am only joking).
There are a few things which oust any psycho-analysis: honesty, and being a person of good character. No amount of cross examination can go any deeper than the truth coming from a person with a genuinely affable demeanour and a sincerely kind heart.
I was thinking, as I was working through this exercise in the law, would I like to spend my time teaching (therefore learning)? This would be the easy option. It would pay little, but I would be at leisure to spend free time working on other projects such as writing plays, doing Latin translation and learning ancient Greek. Yet if I chose the more difficult option, it would be more rewarding, but very difficult. I once spoke to a friend of mine (a graduate at the University of Edinburgh) that interviewed a top barrister. She said that she can see why barristers are paid so much, because the work is very difficult indeed.
I am put in the mind of the words of Hesiod:
The road to virtue is long
and goes steep uphill,
hard climbing at first, but the last of it
when you get to the summit
(if you get there) is easy going after the hard part.
Works and Days 287-288 (trans. Richmond Lattimore) cf. Xenophon, Memorabilia 2.1.20; Plato, Republic364c, Laws 718c; Stobaeus 1.28.
Becoming a barrister is not going to be easy, indeed I may not make it. Yet, I am quite certain, that with three degrees, one in law, I shall be able to find a good job somewhere in the world (if not here...).
Max.
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