Lesson Number 3

Lesson Number 3
Lawyers are also human beings.

Friday, July 4, 2008.
Professor Solomon Lumba. College Secretary. Property 18:30-22:30.

This was a two-hour class, yet he managed to squeeze the lesson in just an hour.

He asked us if we watched the TV show Amazing Race, and said that today's class would be like a "Non-Elimination Day". By that he meant that we would not be graded for recitation, so anyone who read the cases better volunteer to recite. He rubbed his hands in agitation when the student wasted time by not getting straight to the point, and he interrupted them in an attempt to lead them in the right path.

He was also able to explain the differences between actions in rem, quasi in rem, and in personam, in just a fraction of an hour. If it were a regular school day, he would confuse us with very tricky questions, and finish the whole two hours on just that topic. But like I said, this was a Non-Elimination Day.

Finally, before he dismissed the class, he told us the reason for his behavior. "May hinahabol kasi akong sine, eh," he said. "'Yung Hancock."

I guess every working person, lawyer or not, has the right to enjoy a Friday night. Which is why me and my girlfriend Aika decided to join her former officemates in a few beers after class.