"Thinking like a lawyer means thinking like a dork"

Title courtesy of a classmate/friend.

I know I said I wouldn't post again til later in the week, but I'm staying up later than I used to, and I have the urge to blog, so here I am. Basically, I am trying to record some of the "life lessons" my classmates and I have learned in the first semester of law school. I am lucky to have a great study group, so in between trying to actually study and learn things, we manage to have a few laughs. That being said, take it from us, here are the things to do or not do, as one semester of law school has taught us:

- Draft a will to make sure your stuff gets distributed the way you want. And make sure your intent is clear, especially if there are family members who might fight with each other and a decent amount of money in your estate.

- Get a prenup. Or don't get divorced. And make sure you trust your spouse. (If you're wondering, no, hubby and I don't have a prenup, we didn't have anything when we got married.) Also, avoid moving from common law states to community property states if you can. (Hubby and I have in fact, done this by now.)

- Never own beachfront property. Just don't.

- Don't go on cruises - or if you do, don't get injured and then get the urge to sue the cruise company.

- Read contracts that you sign.

- Avoid allowing people to "rely" on your actions - because then something called estoppel can come into play.

I guess some of this is common sense, but believe me, I've got some case law to back it up. I apologize for the parts that were somewhat unintelligible, but I'm crossing over into that world. As my contracts professor would say, my classmates and I are basically 16% lawyers. It will probably only get worse over the years!