Law School Memory #35: Getting Called On In White Collar Crime

So I'm in my Wednesday night class, White Collar Crime, taught by this guy. His calling on student method is that he picks a row and goes straight through it. Unless you happen to be the first one called on, it's great because you know if you're going to get called on and for which case.

Now during my 1L year I had been called unlucky because of my tendency to be called on in class on those few - and trust me, they were few - days I wasn't prepared for class. Well luck seemed to finally go my way as I wasn't the first one called upon. But luck would also have it that my row was called on and it figured that I would do the third case for the night.

No problem though because I got to review for nearly 40 minutes as the professor went over the first two cases with my neighbors. 30 minutes into my review, I was ready... I had the facts down, I understood the rule, the holding, the policy, the reasoning... I was more ready to brief that case than any other case before it and probably after it.

Prof. Strader then finished up the second case and my true luck came forward. He said the case - the case I was supposed to do - is a complicated one because the court is ambiguous about which mailings were involved in this mail fraud case. I was thinking then, "Shit, I'm going to look real smart because I know exactly what mailings the court are referring to." But he thought it so complicated - and really it wasn't - that he decided to do the case himself. The case I was supposed to do, the case I knew better than the back of my hand, the case I spent 40 minutes going over thinking that it was my case; he decided to rip that case from me.

To quote Brian, "Shit-shit-son-of-a-bitch."

Now I could very well have raised my hand or more likely my voice and said that I was more than prepared to do the case. But that would have made me look like a nerd or worse yet, a Niv or a Schlicter the III. So I bit my tongue and cursed him under my breath, much to the amusement of my neighbor.

So the professor did the case and he did it quick, maybe 10 minutes. I didn't listen because I knew it and shit my luck I had to get ready for the fourth case in a hurry.

So he calls on me but first we do this little introductory dance.

Him: Now on to Mr. Solar. Did I pronounce that correctly?
Me: Eh, yeah.
Him: Are you sure?
Me: Well that's the Americanized pronunciation.
Him: What is the correct pronunciation?
Me: Well in the Philippines they pronounce it Sol-yer.
Him: Sol-yer?
Me: Yeah.
Him: How do you pronounce it?
Me: Solar.
(laughter from class)
Him: This guy. Mr. Solar, tell me about the case.

Anyway, the case I did do wasn't so hard. I didn't know it as well as the prior one but I got through it just fine. No thanks to any luck.