The tension breaks..

Finally. I have been waiting all this time to be called on in class and stare down the Socratic Method. Thursday it happened, and I must say it was quite anticlimactic. However, I did surprise myself at how big a smartass I really am, even in front of 100 of my peers and in the face of a man who controls my grade in the class. It was in Contracts, and we were talking about LEWIS v. LEWIS, a case where a husband and wife were separated and the husband wanted a divorce. Mrs. Lewis was in financial trouble and signed a community property agreement divesting her 50% interest in the property she shared with her husband in exchange for $10,000 (well below the value of her interest in the property). She sought to void the contract for duress. The professor called on me and asked, "Mr. Dubinsky ... why would Mr. Lewis seek to get a divorce from his wife?"

I responded, "because he didn't want to remain married to her any longer." The professor paused, cocked his head to the side a little bit, and said, "good answer." Apparently he was looking for something along the lines of "because marriage is a contract and he wanted to void that contract," but seriously, what kind of question is that? Anyway, the point is that the experience wasn't harrowing and there is no reason whatsoever to fear it.

I also learned recently that all 1L's are required to participate in Moot Court during the Spring semester. You get to choose your partner and then you are given an issue. You write a brief arguing your position and then you are called to go up in front of a panel of faux judges who ask you hard questions to defend that position. Then the next night you go up there again and have to defend the opposite position. Teams are whittled down until 2 remain and at that point REAL JUDGES are the ones sitting on the panel issuing you inquiries.

I can't wait. Moot Court will tell me once and for all whether I want to pursue a specialization in trial advocacy. But for now, I just want to beat the curve.