Hey !
Ami !
The above is a reference to the hip and famous French video-blogger,
Norman – who I adore, by the way. Some of his stuff has English subtitles, but
if you’re interested in some hilarious commentary on life, Apple addicts,
arrogant bilingual people, or a song about how your life has improved since
Google’s arrival, then check out www.normanfaitdesvideos.com.
Anyway, on to the actual post.
In France ,
attorneys have personal or firm mailboxes both at their office locations and at
the massive courthouse, the Palais de justice. The mailbox is called the
“toque” and it’s tucked away in the center of the Palais in an area that is
FORBIDDEN TO THE PUBLIC (it says that on the door) and for attorneys only. I,
of course, am not actually an attorney but a mere intern, but I guess we count.
Unfortunately, because I am a foreigner, I do not have a
handy student card that lets me use the so-called “professional entrance” to
the Palais. Instead, I have to use the public entrance, which means waiting in
line with the masses to go through security.
In case you’re not aware, the national monument and church
known for its breathtaking stained glass, Sainte Chapelle, is in the center of
the Palais de justice complex, kind of in the courtyard. The public entrance to
the courthouse and the tourist entrance to Sainte Chapelle are right next to
each other, their respective lines fanning out along the sides of the justice
complex. Sadly for me and my time, both lines funnel through essentially the
same x-ray machines and metal detectors. I waited for a good half hour this
morning. The trick I think is arriving there at 9. No one is there at 9 because
that’s still relatively early for French time. I made the mistake of arriving
at more 9:40ish, and the line for the Palais entrance was easily three times
longer than I’ve ever seen it.
Apparently, I may be able to avoid this in the future if I
get a written statement from our office administrator attesting that I am an
intern (gosh darn it!) and no ordinary member of the public. Then with that I
might be able to use the line-less professional entrance.
Okay, so. At the toque there is a lawyer-only free coffee
machine (European style, little cappuccinos like, none of this drip coffee
business), but what tickles me the most, and what I didn’t know before I came
here, was that to appear before the court, lawyers in France still wear
ceremonial robes. They’re black, like American judges wear, but sometimes
(perhaps always?) they have kind of frilly white ascot type things that spill
forth from the collar of the robe. They are *attractive.* But, it’s fun
nonetheless to see easily identifiable attorneys walking the long halls of the
courthouse.
Another fun aspect of this is that there is a library for
attorneys. It has print journals that exceed the materials we have available at
the firm, especially if you’re looking for something older than say, 1980. Today,
I had to photocopy some arbitration articles from 1974, so I stood in front of
the copier with the firm-issued copy card for a good 20 minutes. But, I can’t
complain.
The library is pretty cool – it has the old fashioned green bankers lamps on wooden tables set throughout the space, and the walls are filled with two stories of books. The second story sort of rings the space, and is accessible through a little spiral staircase in the corner, and there is a ladder that runs along a rail. It’s kind of outdated, but to find where in the library your particular journal is located, you go to the welcome desk and look through a binder that has the journals ordered by title. My journal today was on shelf 24. Not being that familiar with the arrangement of the library yet, I had to wander about to find it. I’m sure I looked a bit lost.
The library is pretty cool – it has the old fashioned green bankers lamps on wooden tables set throughout the space, and the walls are filled with two stories of books. The second story sort of rings the space, and is accessible through a little spiral staircase in the corner, and there is a ladder that runs along a rail. It’s kind of outdated, but to find where in the library your particular journal is located, you go to the welcome desk and look through a binder that has the journals ordered by title. My journal today was on shelf 24. Not being that familiar with the arrangement of the library yet, I had to wander about to find it. I’m sure I looked a bit lost.
Well, I’m off to church!
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