Y'know...Law school has been nothing but a disappointment for me in most ways, and I'm still not sure what on earth I'm going to do with myself when I'm done with it.

This week my boss had me write a Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings on a foreclosure case that we've been working on for ages. The grounds for the motion is a standing issue that we've been trying to get a favorable ruling on in state courts for ages. While the law is clearly on our side, banks have deeper pockets and County judges need to be re-elected, so while federal judges rule in our favor, County judges roll their eyes and rule with the banks.

I finished the motion this morning, gave it to my boss for him to review...and braced myself.

Twenty minutes later, he came into my office filled with glowing praise for my argument. That's when he revealed his diabolical scheme. After assigning me the Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings, he'd assigned a colleague of ours to write an MSJ with the same argument. He wanted to see who had the better argument before deciding which to use. This time, I won.

And, while I'm thrilled that my shitty motion beat a seasoned attorney's shitty motion, this is just another one of the things about this profession that I can't stand. Wouldn't it have been better to have us collaborate, rather than pit us against one another to see who can do it better? My boss claims that he did this because he doesn't want one person to influence the other. He likes to see *fresh* arguments, and he didn't want one of us relying too heavily on the opinion or argument of the other. So even Save the World lawyers, then, are in constant competition. It's all about one-upmanship. It annoys the shit out of me.