One Year

It is hard to believe that it has been a full year since I first started my job clerking. On the one hand, I feel like I just started, on the other, I have seen and experienced so much. After going through a dozen trials, hundreds of cases, and thousands of motions, here are some things I have learned in the past year:

• TV has nothing on what happens in real life cases.
• Everything I ever learned in law school actually exists in the real world. Especially property. Ugh, property.
• The term "complex litigation" is redundant.
• You never know what a jury is going to do.
• I never want to be a landlord. Nor do I ever want to open a restaurant.
• For better or worse, people have faith in the judicial system to take care of all their problems.
• The court can do a lot, but it can also only do so much.
• A little good lawyering and writing goes a long way.
• There are a lot of bad lawyers out there, like report to the bar bad.
• Rich or poor, family members always find something to fight about. Their fights are also the worst.
• People really do not like the DC government.
• Every freak accident you can ever imagine actually happens.
• Some people just want their day in court.
• People who scam other people out of their mortgages are nothing but pure evil.
• The line between criminal law and civil law is not always clear.
• People watch too much Judge Judy.
• Civil cases can help restore people from wrongdoing.
• "Case settled" are my two favorite words. 
• Justice usually prevails.
• My judge is pretty amazing.