I am heading off to bed now… bar review early in the morning and all day tomorrow and Wednesday.

Then I promise I will shut up about all this stuff. Haha

I am both so so tired and utterly scared out of my wits.  Should be a fun night.  How I wonder what dreams may come? 

hobosheek:

So this is it, shit just got real and it’s the end of the line. Most of us are holed up in hotel rooms right now watching the clock tick. Some relaxing like they told us to but most of us are still trying to cram. 

Except for those gunners  who smiled every day because they loved law school ( if that’s you stop reading, this pet talk is not for you) we’ve all hated and survived through the worst three years of our lives. We busted our asses, sat through classes like property and evidence, ended relationships, tried to start new ones and failed, lost touch with a bunch of friends, made new ones who never shut up about the law; made asses of ourselves at bar review, or avoided bar review altogether; and got used to not having weekends. 

We suffered through that stupid memo one L year, stuttered through the oral arguments dressed in our itchy suits, did OCI and got no interviews, or no callbacks, did law review, or tried to and failed; we did clinic and thought the whole time we were gonna screw up a client’s life but didn’t, and we finally graduated but started studying for the bar the next day. While all our friends worked on their tans we sat in our rooms, libraries or coffeeshops to pack massive amounts of information in our brains, we missed weddings and birthdays and beach trips. Once we got drunk and missed a whole day of studying (OK I admit that was just me).

But that’s all behind us. The only thing standing between us and the rest of our lives is this exam. Nerds, we got this. We know the law and what we don’t know we will build it with our imagination. To all those frustrated souls out there sitting in hotel rooms across the nation wanting to curl up into fetal position and cry, I wish you all the best (unless you are taking MD, and you’re not Oliver or Rachel, in which case I wish  you do well enough but worse than me). Good luck, Eye of the Tiger!!

Guys, this basically is making me cry (and I am even taking the bar in freaken Maryland)! 

brosatthebar:

“May the wind always be on your back, and the sun upon your face, and may the winds of destiny carry you aloft to dance with the stars.”

To my fellow examinees: thank you for your words of encouragement and support. Good luck, and Godspeed; I’ll see you on the other side.

Parol evidence rule

So Dearies you want to make a deal?  Well lets see what we can do…  But you should know that all of this preliminary dealing will be completely inadmissible once we get a deal down in writing.  Signed Sealed and delivered.  Or, if you prefer, once the deal is struck. Struck. 

Why is that? Why because of the PArol Evidence Rule.  (Which I am pretty sure is Mr. Golds, as a lawyer, and Rumplestiltskin’s favorite rule… and one I am sure Rumplestiltskin will want to import to fairy tale land if they go back.. and if he can… and gah!  Why isn’t season 2 on yet?????) 

So while we wait (and wait… patiently right?) what is this rule you speak of?  And why would it be dear Rumplestiltskin’s favorite?  The Parol Evidence Rule states that when parties have adopted a writing as their agreement and intend that the writing represent their full agreement, no evidence can be admitted to vary, contradict, add to, or subtract from the obligations as they were stated in the writing.  So basically once you get to the final agreement in writing (all you have to do is sign on the dotted line) then anything you agreed before or even while making that final writing is inadmissible in court.  It don’t matter, all that matters is what is on that piece of paper.  (Now come on… tell me that when he woke up as Mr. Gold and though back to his new lawyer memories that rule didn’t make Rumplestiltskin let out a crazy giggle?)

There are of course exceptions, fraud, mistake, illegality, duress, partial integration, and conditions precedent. (But if the man could talk himself out of a battery charge where he was caught red-handed then I imagine an alleged fraud or duress charge would be a piece of cake)

And there is one more exception to the inadmissible decree. Parol evidence is admissible to explain or interpret the terms of a written contract or ambiguous terms. So you can use the other agreements, the other evidence to interpret the contract, what were the parties thinking at the time… and why.  (And here is where my Rumplestiltskin analogy falls completely apart… cause we never know what that man is thinking.. or why… and that is why we love him… ok and maybe the crazy… and the leather pants… and the hair… and accent… and the crazy… and.. hmmm…. yeah… Parol Evidence rule.. its a good rule.  Yeah…)

Guys, I have totally read way too much fan fiction because there is no way I am not seeing the smut in the definition of Agency:

Agency is a [fiduciary] relationship that arises when one person, the principal or master, manifests assent to another person, the agent or servant, that the agent shall act on the principal’s behalf and be subject to the principal’s control, and the agent manifests assent or otherwise consents so to act. 

And oh dear god this is a DIRECT QUOTE from my outline:

In a Master-Servant relationship, the Master has the right to control the physical conduct of the Servant’s performance.

Ok, so the agency questions are completely boring and stuff like going to buy stock or getting the office ready before the business opens… but in my head it is all leather and handcuffs and… whoa… down girl!

So the UCC won’t let me be

Or let me be free so let me see

Its trying to trip me up on the MBE

But it will be so easy once we see

So come on real quick and remember the tips

Obligor expresses doubt, assurances on you lips

Or get ready, cause litigating’s about to get heavy

Miss this step, repudiation and you’ll feel crappy

.

Now this questions looks like the UCC

So everybody, just follow me

Cause we want no legal controversy

And it wont trip us up on the MBE

I said this looks like the UCC

So everybody, just follow me

Cause we want no legal controversy

And it wont trip us up  on the mBE

(based in poor poor parody of Eminem’s “Without Me”)

 And we all now see why it is my sister and not I who is the Fulbright laureate poet.  Oh well.  The UCC its boring guys.  Really boring.  Contracts between merchants, secured transactions, and commercial paper boring.  I am not gonna subject you all to a long rambling post about it instead I’ll just try to hit a few of the high points that someone somewhere might find interesting (at least when explained in my signature style that is).

 The rule in my song is simple.  If you have two sellers and there is doubt then one can demand assurances of performance form the other - if no assurances come in a reasonable time it will be considered a repudiation.  So lets say you and I have contracted that I will sell you my amazingly cool lego Loki figurine that is guarding my bedside table right now (and I swear to you the tissues and nail polish will kneel before his lego greatness!). But then you start to worry that I don’t actually have a lego Loki figurine at all (which is just wrong because clearly I do. The question you should be asking is why would I ever part from it?).  You may demand assurances from me that I have it and deal is good.  So I send you a picture dated today of me holding my Lego Loki and we all go on our merry way (until time to preform the contract and I realize I can never part with my Lego Loki but that is a different issue.)  If I do not send you a picture or some other type of assurance or if I wait 5 years to send you anything (a very unreasonable time) then it is deemed I repudiated the contract.  

See its easy! (And I have now ensured that I will be giggling to myself during the bar thinking about my lego Loki… sigh why do I do these things to myself?)

Want another UCC example?  Sure we all do!  Its fun.. in a really boring way.  Just one more since you asked so nicely.  The rest of the rules you can look up for yourself.  

So, going back to our lego Loki agreement.  We are both merchants.. but this time we contracted for 10 lego Loki’s to be sold from me to you.  Well I look in my stock and I have 8 lego Lokis and 2 Lego Hulks (I wish I did.. I really feel like I need a Hulk to go with my Loki.. actually I kinda need the whole set…).  So I send you the 8 lego Lokis and the 2 Hulks.  This is a shipment of a non-conforming good and is simultaneous both an acceptance of the contract (offer) and a breach because I did not preform.  

So what can you the buyer do about it?  Well if you accept my non-conforming Lokis and Hulks then you still must pay me at the contracted rate.  If however all this is before the time for performance (cause you know I am very punctual and on the ball about these things) and if I had reason to think you would  have found the 8 Lokis and 2 Hulks an acceptable shipment instead of the 10 Lokis (Hehehe 10 Lokis… but watch out some will disappear!  And you will fall for it!  You always fall for it Thor!  ehehehehehhe - …. hmmm… sorry… cough… I don’t know what happened just there) if both those requirements are met then you have to give me reasonable time to cure the non-conforming goods.  I.e. I need to come up and ship you two more Lokis. 

That one seems a little less crystal clear.  Sorry.  But yeah… the UCC everyone!  As told though Lego Loki transactions.  You are welcome. 

So its 8 days till the bar exam for me… thus I am gonna institute fun law facts time!  Yea!!!  Fun United States law facts to enrich your life! 

Today’s topic is the Constitutionally protected right to counsel.

If (when) you get caught (and believe me I know what you are doing and you will be caught muhahahahah!  Seriously that was a very bad thing… very bad… how do you sleep at night?) you have the right to have a lawyer (Like me Tada!) come and help you get out of trouble.  

This right is applicable at any critical stage in the proceedings.  What is a critical stage you ask?  Well great question my inquisitive young criminal.  A critical stage includes such times as the custodial interrogation, post-indictment lineups, all hearings, arraignment, of course the trial, sentencing, and the first appeal of conviction (but you only get one so make it count… of pay for your own dang lawyer we gotta eat and pay off student loan bills too you know… oh god the student loan bills… the bill… AHHHHHHHH). 

Well that’s all nifty I hear you saying but where can I find these rights to challenge a perceived violation I hear you asking?  Why the Consititution of course!  More specific?  What you don’t want to read the whole document… well… yeah… can’t really blame you there.  So I’ll help you out (cause that is just the kind of helpful person I am!). The Right to counsel is found in the 5th and 6th Amendments of the United States Constitution.

Wait.. what?  Two amendments?  I know, I know.. we can’t do anything clear and easily now can we?  But the two amendments are sure to cover all your bases (And lets face it, in law as in movies with attractive men, if one is good, two is better no?). So the 5th Amendment right to counsel attaches when a person is in custody and is being interrogated (or about to be, or will, or well pick your tense there is gonna be an interrogation! Weeee get your mind games and your bad cups of coffee boys!  We gonna have ourselves an in-ter-o-gatution!).  The 6th Amendment right to counsel, however, attaches when adversarial proceedings begin.

So see that is not too hard.  Proceedings started?  Then is it all the 6th amendment baby.  Just interrogating, line-ups, and doing the prepwork for a proceeding… then I’m looking at you 5th Amendment (and what a cute little Amendment you are… really… so cute!  Awww).

And that is your first ever Fun law fact! Stay tuned next time when I will try to create feels about property law!  Maybe… it will be a stretch…. 

(Ok I feel like I should apologize for this… I’m sorry, I’m so so sorry.  The studying is clearly getting to me… not that I am gonna stop though)