2006-12-14 - 7:04 p.m.

Today I got a "praecipe" in the mail.

I think it tremendously funny that my reaction was

"What the hell is a praecipie"?

I am SURE somewhere in those myraid bar review materials I purchased but fell asleep over it mentions that word.

However I sure as hell never WROTE it on any bar exam.

And if it was a CORRECT answer to one of those questions, I certainly wouldn't have recognized it.

The thing is, I get IDEAS and CONCEPTS... but jargon eludes me.

That same fact is what made me an outstanding writer of "research breakthroughs" for a Health magazine years ago. My inability to quickly pick up on jargon while UNDERSTANDING concepts QUICKLY was an asset. In interviews I never hesitated to stop the scientist talking, ask him or her to SLOW DOWN And back up and define some terms IN ENGLISH for the rest of the world to understand... and then INTERPERT what they had said in language in the form of a readable article.

I loved that job.
I was just too wimpy to live paycheck to paycheck as freelance writers do when starting out.

I was also too prideful to continue when there was a cut across the board for all the freelance work at that particular publication.

But back to the word of the day for me.

I now know what a PRECIPE is.

From my EXPERIENCE it is sort of like a

"Prayer " as in "prayer for relief" I guess THE "PR " prefix (which I could REALLY look the etiology) likely is the same latin root ...

and I thnink of "Recipie" and its easy to remember.

I am almost positive it is NOT used in NY law. Or Federal LAW... one of those quirky VA things...
or else one of those silly procedural forms things I just misses as it wasn't substanative and totally uninteresting.

In any case, my study from experience is going really well!

At least twice a week I have some life experience where I GET a VA LAW concept I hadn't before!

Since I had improved my score on the BAR each time, I figure this newfound knowledge of jargon, and getting things like what a magistrate is (that was a hard one for me as there is no such word or person in NY LAW!)... all just HAVE TO ADD up to the difference in me passing or not! I wasn't that far off!

So with every knew weird thing I get in the mail its at least another point!

And heck, I never even would have THOUGHT of a "MOTION TO RECONSIDER", but I think that can be my last line of every essay on the bar.

"IF that fails, then file a Motion to REconsider"

And even more valuable is really understanding the VA 21 Day rule.

You see you have 21 days to file a motion to object to just about EVERY ruling.

I ALWAYS got those short answers wrong.

I just never could recall that (after cramming the night before) when I would see the short question area of the VA section that drills on those procedural things. It's a fill in the blank and I just didn't KNOW those rules AT ALL.

There really is not faking procedural deadlines in a fill in the blank.

Nor in a real proceeding.

If one did not respond with a motion within 21 Days, one has missed that deadline.

Now until that affected me as a client I DIDN'T GET THAT.

WHICH IS WHY I SHOULDN'T HAVE PASSED THE BAR BEFORE!

My attorney however DID PASS
IS PRACTICING, AND IS VERY GOOD and REPUTABLE

So I really am looking forward to receipt of confirmation that she indeed filed MY MOTION to object to the entering of a NUPTIAL which addresses SPOUSAL MAINTENANCE, CUSTODY AND CHILD SUPPORT as I REQUESTED multiple times for her to do.

If she didn't I am going to have a hard time understanding WHY.

But then again, this ISN"T THE BAR EXAM,
THIS IS LIFE
AND even if you blow it in one form, although you don't get to RE DO the question, sometimes it DOES get to be raised again in a DIFFERENT FORUM.

So I am really not too worried about it.

The biggest issue is that the nuptial calls for JOINT CUSTODY, but custody IS ALWAYS UP FOR REVIEW BASED ON CURRENT
CIRCUMSTANCES.

As for me, I finally get the 21 day rule!

And it turns out that will likely net ALOT OF POINTS as it applied to SO MANY THINGS.

IN the past I was always sitting there trying to remember it and guessing, and I think 30 days seemed more logical to me (not having REALLY studied the material... but cursorily looking at it. And as for me, NUMBERS are very hard to RECALL without some MEANINGFUL REFERENT!)

Now I have my referent of my experience!

And so, I am positive and grateful for the lessons I learn in life everyday, and with each one as a legal client I am getting the best preparation to being a capable lawyer.

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