Juris Doctorate

Three long but wonderful years of law school - over (for me at least, Paul still has a few weeks before his graduation). I finished my last final on Wednesday and the commencement ceremony was on Friday. Friends and family came to clap and cheer on the graduates. The graduating class took photos together and hugged and grinned and congratulated and promised to keep in touch and see each other in our bar prep courses that will rule our lives this summer.

The J. Reuben Clark School of Law Class of 2009 lining up before Commencement. There were about 150 of us graduating with our J.D. degrees.

Inside the historic Provo Tabernacle friends and family waited for us to make our processional entrance and then take our seats. It was stifling in there with so many bodies and graduates wearing heavy black gowns, caps, and hoods.

Elder Dallin H. Oaks attended (fourth from the left, wearing the maroon and black robes) because his granddaughter Tiffany (one of the members of my study group) was graduating.

The hooding ceremony. Dean Augustine-Adams who taught me Torts and Fourteenth Amendment and Professor Thomas did the honors before I moved on to accept my ceremonial (i.e., fake) diploma from interim Dean Gordon who taught me Contracts.

Professor Lee who taught me Civil Procedure. I admire him very much and can honestly say that I like him now. But when I was a 1L, I felt sick before every one of his classes because I was so nervous about being called on and having no clue what to answer but knowing that he expected me to make an idiot of myself. The Socratic Method is not something I will miss about law school.

Professor Fee who taught me Property and First Amendment. He plays a mean jazz piano and a number of other instruments. In First Amendment, a handful of students put together a band with him to perform a parody of "When You Say Nothing At All" for the class. I played guitar. We called ourselves "The Fee Simple-tones" which is funny in a nerdy way because "fee simple" is a legal doctrine about holding property and Professor Fee also teaches Property.

Photos with friends. From left to right, top to bottom: Me with Adam, Kathleen (and her daughter Charlotte who is so adorable), Brooke (study partner), Fili, Sarah (study partner), Liz, Tiffany (study partner), Josh & Janae, Brooke again, Dorothy (study partner), Tiffany and Christine, and Naseem.

I know those of you who have read this post all the way through are sitting there thinking, "Wow, Amy had such a beautiful bouquet in those photos." It was beautiful. Stunning. I find myself staring at it even now. My little sister Jessica who has worked at a flower shop and knows what she is doing when it comes to floral arrangements brought these flowers for me. These gorgeous blossoms are sitting next to me as I type this and they make me so happy.

I would say my "no mores" about being done studying at carrels, and stressing over exams, but Paul and I just got our bar study schedules this week. We have class from 9-3:30 every day including every other Saturday all summer to prep for the bar exam. The schedule recommends an additional 5-8 hours of individual study time each day. And then there is the three day bar exam at the end of July. So the "no mores" will have to wait. But for the next few weeks before my class starts, I am going to enjoy the freedom I haven't had for a long, long time.