I graduated from Wayne State University Law School a whole lot of years ago. I thought my flashback dreams about law school had ended some time ago. And three years removed from full time litigation practice, ensconced in a mediation business where I set my own schedule, with most hearings by Zoom/phone, what do I have to flash back about?
But in the early morning hours of Monday, March 11, 2024, I had a flashback dream of law school, different in type and kind from those that had gone before.
The dream that became my standard flashback started shortly after I got out of law school, and was always the same. I’d be walking through the hallways of the WSU Law School classroom building. I’d look into an open door. I recognized students sitting in their customary places for a class of which I was member. They were all bent over writing intently, long hand, in something called a “blue book”, an ancient device used to record answers to essay questions. The problem for me was that I was not in the building to attend that particular class. My classmates were apparently taking an exam, presumably the final, the date and time of which I was apparently unaware. As the class grade was substantially, if not exclusively, based on the final exam, missing it was not helpful. I usually woke up quickly after realizing I had blown the class, whatever it was.
I had a more tangible flashback occurred years later when I attended a presentation by two sitting Michigan Supreme Court judges at the law school. I thought that the whole complex had been gutted and rebuilt since my graduation. So, when I walked through the interior of a classroom building that looked exactly like it had 20 years before, my palms started to sweat. I started to look into classrooms to see if I recognized anyone. I didn’t. Things had changed a bit. Most students had laptops open. Lots of green screens visible, as Solitaire appeared to be the most popular study aid.
I later learned that the remodel had been limited to slapping a new facade on the outside of the classroom building.
I never paid anyone to explain why I had that dream for many years after I got my license. But the dreams did eventually stop. As my career progressed, I had bigger cases and other, bigger dreams to disrupt my rest.
Back to March 11. I had flown home from Houston that day, arriving in the evening. Lost an hour for Daylight Saving Time and another hour for time zone change. Long day anyway. Went to bed very tired. I was awakened by a very vivid dream, as follows:
I had come up in the world of legal education. I was now an intern for the President of the United States. Not sure which one. It was either the first George Bush, or Jimmy Stewart. As important a post as that was, apparently my most important job duty was serving the Prez his breakfast. I remember one morning we had a crisis, about a lost waffle. Found it, thank goodness.
I got along well with staff, who one day wished me well on the Michigan Bar Exam, which was scheduled to start the following day. Again, as in the prior dream, I was apparently unaware of the date of the test, for which I had not registered.
Now I didn’t exactly set academic records at WSU. I was not on Law Review or Moot Court, but I did have the presence of mind to not only register for the bar exam but also for Josephson’s Bar Review Course.
I remember wondering if I could continue to be an intern once it was discovered I could not take my state’s bar exam for another six months. The consensus answer was no, I could not continue in the position. It was suggested that, instead, I immediately file to run for a seat in the House of Representatives, a position that I was informed had no minimum standards. I awoke before the outcome of the election was known.
I wouldn’t mind having that dream again. Hope I stick around a little longer next time. Maybe I’ll win a seat and someone can try to explain to me the filibuster rule.
