Case Rested

Last post! Except for graduation in three weeks, I have four months without thinking, writing, or agonizing over the law. Thankfully, though we've spent the last three years studying inside the crumbling edifice that is the Curtis Building (but a stellar exemplar for the ins and outs of occupier's liability) we get to graduate in the new, shiny Chan Centre. (The architecture almost seems to give it a halo.)



Thanks to the people that read this site, and I know some friends suggested I keep it going. Frankly, I've simply run out of legal puns. I'll let you know if I post elsewhere in the future, but for now, case, uh, closed.

The Five-Bar Exam

While I switch gears from studying International Trade to Civil Procedure, I thought I'd add another entry in the Top Five Things I'll Miss About Law School.

#3: The Foos

I'm tempted to talk about how the foosball table was initially a safe haven between first year law classes, where legal discussions flew back and forth with the same unpredictable trajectory as a ball on that slanted table, a veritable watercooler of legal theory. I'm inclined to argue that though the table may be falling apart (yet still no more dilapidated than the rest of the Curtis Building) it's nevertheless as much a part of the three years as reading case law.

All of that's true, but the reason it's on the list is simply because I really liked becoming a respectable foosball player - mastering the "Prism" if not quite getting the "Jahlalabad" (amongst others) - even earning a nickname for my own shot: the end-to-end, blink-and-you-miss-it, powerhouse slapshot, "The National."



Trademark pending.

Law-Law Land

Yesterday the law school received an email saying that a new film will be shooting inside the Curtis Building this month. It's an Anne Hathaway movie called Passengers, (not the more promising zombie movie I had hoped for) and apparently it's about the stories that follow a plane crash.

My first guess as to what the building would stand in for proved wrong, as apparently the plane wreckage sets are located down at Jericho Beach. Now, I can only surmise that the building is used for nightmarish dream sequences, to give the audiences a strong sense of claustrophobia.

But given the building's newfound appeal (definitely newfound), may I suggest other productions that could work in the law building?

The third season of Lost: the main complaint (not shared by myself) about this current season is that it's all about the Others and that it's all underground. Jack's already been forced to perform medical procedures, why not have him perform contract negotiations or mediate property disputes on behalf of his captors?



The sequel to The Departed: anyone who's seen this fantastic movie knows how insanely ludicrous the proposition of a follow-up is. So, given that a screenwriter could care less about storytelling, why not allow your production designer to pay as little notice to the sets and decoration.

24: I often feel a driving, subconscious countdown to leave the building, so I imagine this will translate well on film. All of President Palmer's scenes from this sixth season take place in his White House bunker - not a stretch for the ol' Curtis building. But producers need to hurry up, if last night's episode was any indication, we won't be needing this set for long.

Scarlett Johansson's Next Film: I could care less what it's about, so long as she's available to sign autographs after 3:30 on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Subpoena of the Baskervilles

I realize I've been remiss about a certain subject lately. Anyone who's been blindly feeling their way around Vancouver for the last few days knows that of which I speak: that's right, Fogwatch is back.

Since about Saturday evening, a steady stream of (pirate-free?) fog has blanketed various parts of the city. It's not the all-penetrating behemoth it was back in November '05, but it has continued long enough to catch my attention and bring to mind more than one awful movie.

In particular, coming upon the law school's Curtis Building at night in fog is quite a sight to behold. I can't help but think that this foreboding setting is what architects pictured when they designed it: fashioned after a magnificent tor in dense fog, harbouring some dastardly evil, perhaps recalling a scene from a Sherlock Holmes story.

Lawyers will be zombie stand-ins

We are off to the races in the final term. And like each new term, there are some surprises, although I guess I didn't expect them to come from Admin Law. Maybe it's early in the course, but I like what I hear, the profs seem easy-going, and best of all - the reading material is free. This is a benefit understated until I tell you I have to pay $92 for 153 pages in International Trade Law.

I can't speak about the Trade Law class itself because the professor was missing for the inaugural lecture. Say what you will about the generosity of lawyers, we extended the famous 5-minute rule a whole extra half-hour before we left. Or maybe this just speaks to the tenacity of lawyers and their inclination to extend measurements of time...

Thankfully, Entertainment Law is shaping up to be as great as I'd hoped it would be. Speaking of entertainment, there was a large crowd of guests at the school the other day, and word on the street is that they were a film crew scouting locations around the building. Now I'm confused, because the only movie I can picture being filmed at the law building is the British film 28 Weeks Later, the sequel to my favorite movie of 2003, 28 Days Later - but I guess if a plot calls for a dank, impenetrable refuge where people can hide from zombies and possibly a nuclear attack to wipe those zombies out, then, sure, the Curtis Building is the natural choice.

Up, Up and Advocate!

Something struck me tonight (aside from the feeling I should be studying) as I was watching Superman Returns, one of my favourite movies of this last year, and reflecting on my trip to campus today.

Is it me, or does the Curtis Building have something in common with the Kryptonite-laced supercontinent borne of Lex Luthor's greed?



I have noticed a decrease in power and will as I enter the building sometimes...

We chase ambulances because we love

Today saw studying on multiple fronts. First, the law library, in the heart of the concrete bunker that is the Curtis Building. One cannot stay there for too long, as the general dreariness begins to eat away at what little resolve you had before going in. I'm not entirely convinced that the shelter-like building isn't a relic from the Western hemisphere's embarrassing fear of constant, imminent nuclear threat. What I do know is that when those nukes fly over our gloriously unprotected skies, I'll be in the library.

Moreover, study space is hard to come by here, as there are many visiting occupants that aren't even studying law. Some past student "cleverly" dubbed them SNAILS, or Students Not Actually In Law School. I, on the other hand, would venture a more telling acronym that I leave to your worthy minds to piece together: Ancillary Students Surreptitiously Hectoring Our Legal Education Studies.

From there, the studying moved once again to the neighbourhood cafe. It was here I attempted to write - but succeeded at failing - a practice Property exam. In an effort to replicate the actual settings of the exam, I put away all of my notes save for the Land Title Act. This is akin to a knight, preparing for battle, removing all of his armour, and in place of a sword, he holds... the Land Title Act. Parry, thrust, interpret! (Speaking of parry and thrust, check out the comments section of the previous entry for an ongoing debate of the musical variety. En garde Thomas!)

This time around, I studied while listening to Miles Davis' Kind of Blue. Morose listening perhaps, but to listen to anything more upbeat with Property would be, in effect, lying about the subject matter itself. Because so much of Property deals with transfers of land, and because many of those transfers come about via wills, it means there is the underlying and overbearing presence of death.

But are we, as potential lawyers, that class of citizen renowned for its compassion and amity, given time to grieve? No. Our orders are just to divvy up the goods and ride outta town. Sniff. May you rest in peace Lord Barnard of Vane v. Lord Barnard... though you did leave your castle in quite a mess for those children you hated.