Please read Mr. Anderson's original post on the Richmond Bluebook Exam here: http://www.alcoholiccat.com/
I should note that this is a friendly response, not attacking Mr. Anderson, but exploring a different view.
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I would like to take a minute to respond to Mr. Anderson's posting on Richmond's Bluebook Exam. He has very good points about the exam-- it is very long, very tough, and has probably evolved into a lion of a test. I agree that the journals need to reevaluate the number and length of questions they ask. The 40+ hours each student spends on the exam is exhausting, and the number of printed pages required for answers probably kills a small forest. It kind of reminded me of sorority recruitment: you're glad you did it, but you never want to do it again.
But there is value in this process. 1Ls who never read their Bluebook become at least familiar with the rules in just a few short days. Law students suddenly devote every ounce of their energy to learning legal citations, which are necessary for any kind of legal writing. The I don't care how good your paralegal is, if you can write legal citations, you are a step above the many attorneys who are-- quite frankly-- embarrassingly terrible at citing their work. In today's job market, any extra skill is invaluable to young attorneys.
I went into the Bluebook exam a complete dunce in legal citations, (even though my T.A. was amazing and tried so hard to teach me) but came out of the Bluebook exam knowing the rules fairly well.
While I agree that the exam itself is very long, I must question his apparent distaste for the law journal system as a whole.
I should note that this is a friendly response, not attacking Mr. Anderson, but exploring a different view.
----------------
I would like to take a minute to respond to Mr. Anderson's posting on Richmond's Bluebook Exam. He has very good points about the exam-- it is very long, very tough, and has probably evolved into a lion of a test. I agree that the journals need to reevaluate the number and length of questions they ask. The 40+ hours each student spends on the exam is exhausting, and the number of printed pages required for answers probably kills a small forest. It kind of reminded me of sorority recruitment: you're glad you did it, but you never want to do it again.
But there is value in this process. 1Ls who never read their Bluebook become at least familiar with the rules in just a few short days. Law students suddenly devote every ounce of their energy to learning legal citations, which are necessary for any kind of legal writing. The I don't care how good your paralegal is, if you can write legal citations, you are a step above the many attorneys who are-- quite frankly-- embarrassingly terrible at citing their work. In today's job market, any extra skill is invaluable to young attorneys.
I went into the Bluebook exam a complete dunce in legal citations, (even though my T.A. was amazing and tried so hard to teach me) but came out of the Bluebook exam knowing the rules fairly well.
While I agree that the exam itself is very long, I must question his apparent distaste for the law journal system as a whole.
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We are excited to meet Dan and spend the weekend with him and his pots. Brian Jones interviewed Dan Anderson last year on the "Jonescast" podcast. Dan Adersson Scam
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