Priceless

120 hours - the time span since finals ended and the cramming studying came to a stop

81 days - the length of time that will be spent away from law school and the law library
7000 miles - the distance traveled to evade the library basement

Priceless - no matter how much time has passed, how long I will be away, and how far I will travel, I can not escape your Mr. Cubicle...

- If only I was buying something with my MasterCard at this moment...

Hello, Hong Kong Judiciary

- I love the juxtaposition between the modern, towering skyscrapers and the traditional, modest government buildings.

I am thrilled to note, aside from classes and an opportunity to work in the Liberty Chambers, I just received confirmation I will also intern (Hong Kong uses the term marshall) in the Hong Kong High Court under a judge.

I am ecstatic at the unique opportunity and challenge this presents and I also realize I am fortunate to be in this position. (Much of this would not have been possible without the unwavering assistance of Professor Carter). As a 1L, judicial internships are difficult to procure given their scarcity and competition they find themselves buried under. As a matter of fact, I am not even technically allowed to have one at Golden Gate - the school requires students to have more than a year of law school under their belt before they can acquire one as an externship.

The Hong Kong judicial internship promises to not only be a fortuitous event to circumvent this rule but also a unique experience. The foreign environment coupled with the early exposure to how a common-law court system works should prove invaluable to a young legal career. As an avid believer that much of the legal skills you have to acquire are learned outside of the confines of the classroom, I earnestly believe it will be a rewarding educational experience.

Of course nothing great comes without costs. The challenges are nothing to scoff at. Not only have I not taken marital property or communal property classes, even if I had, the application of the knowledge gained in those classes would have been limited. Given the unique circumstance that the judge would be applying Hong Kong law and not American law, a lot has to be learned in a short time. I have already been tasked with gaining some basic knowledge of matrimonial law in Hong Kong and the judge has also indicated that her docket would have issues dealing with custody, maintenance and ancillary relief. (Several terms I actually do not know what they mean upon first glance).

The limited time frame along with the varied and copious material that has to be learned presents a challenge - however, it is one I relish. I only hope I can go into the High Court prepared and armed with sufficient competency that the duties entrusted upon me would be carried out in a proper manner.

Now, if only the civil procedure final I have tomorrow can quickly get here, I can start my research on matrimonial law in Hong Kong. And yes, I fully realize the previous sentence will inevitably become the affirmation of the dork status that I will inherit.

- See you soon!

Parting Gift from the City of San Francisco

- The white envelope should have been red

The city of San Francisco was kind enough to ensure, prior to my departure, an adequate gift would be bestowed upon me. My only complaint would be that the gift envelope should have been red to comport with Chinese cultural norms. (One of my professors had always emphasized the importance of being culturally aware!)

It is also a Chinese cultural norm to express gratitude with monetary gifts. I can say with absolute certainty that in exchange for this benevolent gesture by the city, I will be quickly delivering a monetary present to the city. Enjoy!

Final Countdownnnn - and Magic Shows

Keeping in line with the previous theme of having potentially inappropriate explosives as a symbol of my flight departure, I present a catchy song from the 80s (which ironically has a very appropriate title).

- Yes, I just analogized the beginning of my Hong Kong trip with the Viking concept of Armageddon. Woops?

I guess the only way to remedy this would be to have the same music, but this time shown through the images of a... magician?

- Arrested Development was a great comedy that had its life end too early!

Lesson of this post: I really have no idea. But you have to admit, I somehow made this post seem relevant to the blog!

Lesson in life: You can never listen to too much 80s music and you can never have too many magicians. 

T-9 and Counting...

- 9 seconds until boom?

It is official - we are down to single digit amount of days until I fly out. Finals are halfway over and I can not describe how excited I am. I also can not tell whether this excitement stems from the imminent presence of Hong Kong or the impending end to finals?

I just realized I am depicting the countdown of my flight departure with a dynamite stick... Hmmm, this somehow seems potentially inappropriate.

Edit: Osama bin Laden was purportedly killed today. Ironic coincidences abound.

I wonder what the legal ramifications of taking him alive would have been. Guantanamo Bay? Would there have been a trial? Would the American public put up with a trial? Who would have dared to defend him? Inquisitive mind is at work, which must be stopped. Few hours left until property final... must focus!

Then again... what would happen to the property that was seized from Osama's compound...

Ahhhhh, Property Law!!

Ugh, Busy!

It is 6:00 pm. The sun has set and the streets are ablaze with the lights of a metropolitan city. It is the night before the first final exam of the semester. In 20 hours you will be asked to analyze and spot issues involving bargaining misconduct in contract formation, non-performance of contractual duty, breach of contracts, the Uniformed Commercial Code, and a host of other issues. It is all closed book, no notes will be provided. You have a mountainous amount of material to memorize and regurgitate on demand. You have to learn and comprehend nuances within contract law. You now have less than 20 hours...

*cue scenario*


A student is hunkered down in the basement of a library. Copious amounts of notes and electronic devices are spread across the table of his cubicle. His mouth is rapidly moving as he mouths the the rules of the 2nd Restatement of Contracts to himself. "The elements of unilateral mistake are..." Every passing minute amplifies the growing anxiety. Will he be able to comprehend all of the material? Will he have it memorized well enough to walk into the exam room with confidence?

*cue reality*


A round of applause is heard. The room falls to a deadening silence as the speaker at the podium prepares to speak. Waiters and waitresses buzz around delivering succulent entrée dishes of salmon to the 70 different tables that dot the ball room. Lawyers and members of the legal community, ranging from law firms like Bingham McCutchen and Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe to the Human Rights Commission of San Francisco, wait with palpable anticipation for the speaker. Steve Li begins to speak...

April 29th was a very busy night for me. Faced with the daunting prospect of taking a Contracts exam on the 30th, I had the choice to either stay in the library and try to prepare as much as humanly possible, or, I could fulfill a months-long obligation and attend the Asian Law Caucus' 39th Annual Event dinner.

I decided to do both.

- Hey! That name and face looks eerily familiar...

During the beginning of my 1L spring semester, I had managed to get onto the 2011 Annual Event Committee that was planning and organizing the Asian Law Caucus' 39th Annual Event dinner. (Thank you, yet again, Mr. Vu!) At the time I did not know that the dinner would fall on the day before my contracts final. Had I known, I might have opted out?

Having experienced the committee process as well as having attended and assisted at the dinner, I ultimately believe I made the right decision despite the perilous nature of an exam the next day. [Insert contractual disclaimer to this statement if the exam results do not turn out as I hope -- ahhhh! Contracts, I can not escape you]. Sometimes you just have to have faith and confidence that the copious preparation beforehand was adequate. And if you are not 100% sure... you can always bring your contracts outline to the dinner. :)

Despite trying to salvage every possible second to study during the course of the event, I still had ample opportunity to meet and engage with several of the lawyers there. Many of the individuals I spoke with I had met on a previous occasion - some I had met before at APILO or Hastings legal clinics and others I had known from being on the committee or recent law clerk interviews. (Hello PG&E legal department!) Of note were two individuals that related to my upcoming experience in Hong Kong this summer.

One person I met noted that she would be in Hong Kong this summer as well and had generously offered to take me on a "food adventure." Anytime you combine the words "food" and "adventure" into a sentence, I am unequivocally enticed. Where do I sign my soul away?

Another individual I met, an alumni of Golden Gate University's LLM program, got his J.D. degree from my hometown and had also gone through Santa Clara University's Hong Kong program. A fellow GGU student, roots in Sacramento, and went through the exact same program I did... Hard to imagine a more closely matched meeting. Oh, he's also an immigration lawyer of many years, an area of law I have been exposed to recently due to my presence at low-income, legal clinics in the Bay. Hello Bruce, a.k.a. mirror.

Occasions like these reinforce my belief that the Latin phrase carpe diem should be employed whenever and wherever possible. The dinner was a huge success and raised over $100,000 for the Asian Law Caucus. I was proud and happy for the organization despite my minuscule part in the grand scheme of things. In hindsight, even if I could have done marginally better on the exam at the expense of contributing to the dinner planning, I don't think I would have. Even if I had not possessed a prior commitment to the Caucus, even if the cause championed by the Caucus was not great and noble, and even if I was not guaranteed to meet so many fantastic individuals at the dinner event, it was not in my personality to not challenge myself and forgo studying or the dinner.

Carpe diem meet Hong Kong. Hong Kong, be wary of carpe diem.

[carpe diem: seize the day]

Hello, Liberty Chambers

- Hi!

When classes at Hong Kong University ends, I will be here for a couple weeks. Just confirmed it. I am excited and hoping it will be an engaging and fulfilling experience!