I just completed my first week of law school…phew! And already it’s happening: I’m starting to laugh at legal jokes.
Before I came to school, I watched The Paper Chase, considered how stressed out everyone in the movie seemed to be and wondered why in the world I had decided to leave a 9-5 for this apparent nightmare. There was nothing funny about it. Today, after we discussed Hawkins v. McGee in Contracts, we watched the opening scene in which Professor Kingsfield grills Hart about the same case. I, along with every other student, was laughing as if it was the funniest scene I had ever seen. (Okay a bit of an exaggeration, but just want to make sure we’re clear it wasn’t a light chuckle).
Would anyone else think it was funny when Hart was attempting to clarify the difference between the promised hand and the post-surgery hand? Would anyone else laugh when Professor Kingsfield chastises Hart for not knowing there was a reading? Maybe, but I don’t think it would ever be with the same understanding of a law student.
It feels like I’m finally a member of the club.