The first was a final for my Trademark and Unfair competition class at 9 am. I hate mornings, and I am enrolled in the funky alternative program that lets me be a full-time student but mostly attend night classes. I spent the last two days trying to reprogram my normal 2am-10am sleep schedule so that I could have optimal brain performance from 9 am to noon. The good news is that I made it to the final with plenty of time to spare and I attempted to answer every question on the exam. The bad news is I'm pretty sure I stunk up 26% of the exam (three part exam -- part I worth 50 points, part II worth 26 points, and part III worth 24 points).
This professor is fun and I really like taking his classes. We spend lots of class time in squishy policy land which makes the class go by quickly and we get to dream up fun and goofy hypotheticals. Unfortunately, squishy policy land finds its way into the final exams, and it is hard, for me at least, to write policy essays under pressure. So part II of the exam went something like this (this is highly paraphrased...it was almost a page long prompt):
Jeff and Mutt are friends who like to discuss trademark and unfair competition law. Jeff thinks that Trademark law is more likely to be used to protect seller goodwill. Mutt takes the opposite view and thinks that Trademark law protects consumers even if it uses seller goodwill rationales as a means to those ends.I participated in most of the delightful and wonderful squishy policy discussions all semester long. I could've sworn that I knew this stuff backwards and forwards... but confronted with a writing prompt it was like the cat got my keys (I use ExamSoft).
Using two distinct doctrines that we covered this semester, write an essay either in support of Jeff or in support of Mutt. You should also identify and rebut, refute, or distinguish another doctrine or precedent that seems to undermine your position.
At 6 p.m. I had my Texas Civil Procedure final. The good news is that there was a portion of our grade that is based on participation and homework assignments, so I know I'm going to pass the class regardless of my performance on the exam. It wasn't that it was a hard exam, but my brain kind of said, "okay, I'm done." I quit at the two-hour mark when I realized that I was completely making stuff up.
Before today I had two other finals and a seminar paper that I turned in the Friday before exams started. I think that ConLaw in the hands of this particular professor is my nemesis. I went to ask a question before the exam because I was confused and needed help, and before I asked my entire question he stopped me and said, "Stop right there, you are scaring the hell out of me..." Unfortunately, the blog does not allow me to adequately convey the wide-eyed raised-eyebrow look of fright on his face. Needless to say, my confidence going into that exam was not as high as it could have otherwise been. But, that is the other class where the grade isn't based solely on the final. Maybe my participation in that class was sufficient enough that I'll pass even if my exam answer was as scary as my question.
Corporations on the other hand, is my friend. I wish I could feel that good about every final I take. If I were an undergrad, it would be an "A++++" exam; however, given that this is law school and the professor has a reputation as a really difficult grader, God only knows.
However, barring any truly unfortunate exam mishaps ::cough:: CON LAW ::cough:: I am done with being a 2L. My June blog post will be from Spain and my July blog post will be from Germany.
