Name: Andrew Pinasco
Year/Division: 2E
Which activities and organizations are you involved with at McGeorge? Basically just going to school. No extra activities other than participation in 1E Moot Court and 1E Mock Trial.
What is your favorite part about law school and/or McGeorge? I don’t have another law school to compare against, but I have had a pretty positive experience at McGeorge. The professors have been available and willing to discuss the material presented in their courses. My classmates have been eager to collaborate and share information. My favorite part of law school is the challenging workload. I tend to thrive on pressure, and law school provides lots of opportunities to test my mettle under pressure. One major difference I have noticed between law school and undergrad is the level of preparedness my classmates exhibited. A peeve of mine while in undergrad was the lackadaisical approach of my classmates. The unprepared tend to be few and far between in law school. I really enjoyed the writing program. Writing is one of the major tools we will all use as practicing attorneys. The support and encouragement I received from my writing professor in my first year was essential in strengthening my technical writing skills.
What are your hobbies outside of law school? Outside of law school I am a husband, father, and employee at two jobs. These tend to be my hobbies, as I don’t have time for much else. I do make time to run occasionally. In my first year, I allowed my time to be consumed by study and did not keep up a strict regiment of exercise, but I plan on changing that this coming year.
What was the most memorable moment from your first year of law school? My first ride home from Torts class. Being ambitious, I raised my hand to advance an argument that I felt was strong. Unfortunately, the logic, which I felt confident in, became shredded apart in front of the whole class. I was completely distraught. I commute, so I have 45 minutes to decompress before I get home. This car ride was the great equalizer. I was so used to having praise bestowed upon all of my undergrad works. This particular car ride I grappled with the notion that maybe I wasn’t cut out for the law. Fortunately, I talked myself out of this crazy idea. I found that the more I got murdered in class, the more that I understood how the law worked. By the end of the year, I was able to advance an argument that was not as susceptible to defeat. More importantly, I learned that legal education is a process, and no one is impervious to another point of view, especially if it is the professor’s point of view.
