Standing Before the Man

I can’t believe it. On the second day of covering cases in CivPro, I hear the following: Mr. Jogger, (and yes, CivPro Prof does address us as Mr/Ms.) the International Shoe Company case was a landmark case and one of the big cases covered in almost all civil procedure cases. What can you tell me about it?

“Shit,” I thought, “I can’t believe my name was called, especially for a case this big.”

And we were off and running.

I was the one who had to carry the ball for that hour-long-plus class. I almost locked up at first, but it was like jumping in a cold pool early in the outdoor season, it stung a little at first but I got used to it after that and it wasn’t so bad.

Later, a fellow student said I didn’t look nervous. Believe me, I was. This is not to say that this is easy. It’s not. I’m older than most students and have had some experiences that have served me well when it comes to public speaking. I’m no JFK or Winston Churchill, but I can hold my own and make my case when the time arises. In grad school, I had to teach labs, give updates to my research group where the professor sometimes yelled, and gave seminars.

If I took myself back 20 years when I was in my early 20’s, I would have been paralyzed with fear. Now, things aren’t so bad, but I imagine for many of these students, the thought of being called on is a traumatic one.