October 4, 2006

• I have conquered the behemoth known as “IRAC.”

  Pronounced “Iraq”–but not having anything to do with the country–IRAC is the standard format for writing legal documents: Issue, Rule, Application (of the Rule) and Conclusion. Deviating from this basic structure results in red marks and low scores–I should know, for I created the IRARCAC…and apparently I was the only one who thought of myself as a genius.

  Last year I had a really hard time figuring this IRAC out. Whereas in high school and college you can get by as long as you maintain a linear train of thought, it doesn’t work that way in law school. I’ve never been forced to restrict my writing until I got here: issues only go in one place, rules follow the issues, do not put rules in the application section because that’s not where they belong, analyze the rule before the conclusion, etc. And you end up having to forget everything you learned about writing so you can teach yourself something completely different. It’s really quite taxing if you’re set in your ways.

  Since I didn’t fully grasp IRAC in my first year, my writing projects were usually average or below average. It was pitiful and a real b*tch slap to the pride…I probably would have continued to do sub-par work if I was able to advance into the 2L classes. Who knows what would have happened if I actually graduated on time! I would have writing skills and an even worse background in basic law subjects. In that respect, I’m very thankful that I’ve been given the opportunity to take another crack at 1L life…because, if I didn’t, I wouldn’t have gotten the highest score in the class on our first office memo.

  Nyahahaha. Sometimes it pays to be stupid.

  Whee! Contract midterm tomorrow! SWEET!

  • 9:45 pm
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