North Maple Rag

This afternoon, I had to do this negotiation thing for my Lawyering class. I think it went well; I'm happy with the settlement, my client's happy, and the opposing "lawyer" seems happy. The negotiation itself was pretty chill. I think we both went into with similar ideas of what a fair outcome would be. In addition, we were both incredibly friendly and laid-back during the conversation. Afterward, we discovered that our collaborative attitues were motivated primarily by a mutual fear of harsh criticism during our upcoming group critique sessions. Part of me was kind of hoping that my negotiation partner would be crazy and I'd get a chance to yell or storm out of the room. Oh well.

The most alarming part of the exercise was my realization of how woefully out of practice I am when it comes to any kind of professional interaction. I think law school has made me overly casual. I spent much of this afternoon calling offices in DC about summer jobs and it took two or three calls before I was able to fully slip back into my old professional phone demeanor.

I'm a little worried that I've also forgotten how to interview. I haven't actually had an in-person interview since my junior year of college. Even then, the most difficult interview was for a campus leadership position and while that interview was tough and certainly important at the time, I don't know that I should count on it to have prepared me for my law firm interview this week. All the interviews for real jobs that I had during my senior year of college were done over the phone. It's not that they weren't challenging, it's just that I usually conducted them while lounging on my couch and wearing pj's.

So anyway, if you talk to me today or tomorrow, try to work in some hard-hitting questions about my work experience or my research and writing skills. I need all the practice I can get.