Brown Boy Goes to Law School

I got an e-mail today from a law professor at Suffolk Law School up in Boston. I thought I’d just share the entire e-mail…

Dear Junaid:

Every year, new students contact the law school and ask: “Is there anything I can do to get ready for law school?” As for the substantive courses you will be taking during your first year – Criminal Law, Contracts, Constitutional Law, Torts, Property, Civil Procedure, and Legal Practice Skills – do not worry. We will teach you everything you need to know once you arrive at Suffolk.

If you truly want to work on something prior to your arrival, there are several books out there that address what it takes to excel in law school. These books can answer many of your questions before you ever attend orientation, and can be an important source of information throughout the school year. In addition, I have listed a book – The Buffalo Creek Disaster – that illustrates how good lawyers can make a positive difference in the lives of the people they represent.

Succeeding in Law School, Professor Herbert N. Ramy (Published by Carolina Academic Press), ISBN-13: 978-1594601897. The unifying concept behind this recently completed text is that students must become active participants in their own education. Classroom lectures and textbooks are merely the jumping off point for each student’s exploration of every topic. Approaching law school in this fashion is the key to oft stated goal of “thinking like a lawyer.”

Plain English for Lawyers, 4th Edition, Richard C. Wydick, ISBN#: 0-89089-994-0 – Despite what many of you may have heard or read, lawyers write best when they keep it simple, concise, and to the point. Through the use of examples and exercises, this outstanding book points out all the writing pitfalls into which new law students fall.

1000 Days to the Bar, Dennis J. Tonsing, ISBN# 0-8377-3726-5 Written by the former Dean of Students at Roger Williams University School of Law, this book is “designed to empower first-year law students by presenting the components for academic success is a step-by-step format.”

The Buffalo Creek Disaster, Gerald M. Stern, ISBN#: 0394723430.

All of these books are in paperback, and you should be able to find them at the Suffolk Law School bookstore or through Amazon.com. Keep in mind that these books are “suggested” reading, and that we will not be testing whether you read them when you arrive in the fall! We hope that this list helps, and we look forward to seeing you in August. In the meantime, you may contact me at hramy@suffolk.edu if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Professor Herbert N. Ramy, Director

So at one of the schools I was very interested in, I was offered to either start as a part-time student in the fall, or wait until the spring and start full-time.

I’ve been researching the whole part-time thing, and here are the facts I’ve collected, and the conclusions I’ve come to:

• The professors will be the same.
• Your degree will be the exact same.
• I will have more time to study and my first year will be a notch less intense, which could be good given my personality. Also, more time to adjust to the big new city.
• First-year grades are the most important. Period. And so taking those first-year courses over a longer period of time will lower the stress and improve the potential for doing better in those courses. The Assistant Dean of Admissions, who graduated from that law school, said that he sometimes wishes that he was part-time, for this very reason.
• I will have more time to network with lawyers and judges in the area. This is VERY important, especially if I’m wanting to work in that city. I could be improving my job prospects going part-time.
• I will be able to work and gain more work experience that I wouldn’t have gained as a full-time student, hopefully a small job with a law firm or judge?
• I will be eligible to transfer to the full-time program after a semester, and no longer than after earning 30 credit hours (which means being there for two fall semesters). So this part-time thing could be for only one semester, and no more than 1.5 years.

These are the questions that are still on my mind:

• Will I still have the same access to moot court, law review and student organizations? I spoke with the Assistant Dean of Admissions, and asked him what effect going part-time would have on student organizations, moot court and so on. He said: none at all. The opportunities are the same. Any many of the student organizations require you to have X amount of coursework completed before you do it (like moot court/trial advocacy), so you would have progressed into full-time by then anyways.
• How does this effect job prospects? This question is open to debate. Some say it helps your job prospects, some say it hurts. Hmmm…

Go to this blog if you’re looking for more advice. Tons of links, lots of info.

I was poking around on LSD and found couple of good threads. Some first-year law students–they’re called 1L’s–were giving their thoughts on their first year of law school. Here’s some stuff I found interesting…

“Note Taking: I found it really beneficial to take notes BEFORE class based on the reading, and then just supplement these notes with whatever the professor said in class. This facilitates active reading, and thinking about the material before you get into class (and is similar to what the briefing process does for you too….)

Professor Interaction: I went and talked with all of my professors outside of class, and found it to be really helpful. First, they get to know you a little outside of class, which can only help when it becomes necessary to ask faculty for recommendations. Second, I found that sometimes they were able to clear up an issue with five minutes of office time that had left me confused after an hour of class time. Don’t know why, but that happened more than once.

Socializing/Networking: I think socializing in law school is really important. You need friends, becuase it’s a long, difficult road you’re starting down, and you don’t want to travel alone. Also, I know others have said this, but it bears repeating–You’re joining the legal community as soon as you step foot on campus. 3 years isn’t really that long (although it’ll feel neverending come next April), and you’ll soon be lawyers, and your clasmates will be your collegues. The reputation you develop in law school will without a doubt follow you into the professional legal world. So be friendly, be nice, if for no other reason that you want to be someone your classmates will think well of (and send business to) when you are practicing. I think it’s important to realize, that for better or worse, you’re about to join a very very VERY social profession. Networking will become a part of your life, even if you can’t stand it, or it doesn’t come naturally to you. So start early. Go to what ever social events you school has planned for your orientation, and really try to talk to people (this can be hard if you’re naturally shy…I know because I am, and it takes a lot of effort for me to just walk up to strangers and start a conversation, but I’m getting better at it, or at least more comfortable doing it…)”

- AtlAggie

“You absolutely need some legal work experience over the summer.  Ideally, I’d suggest doing both; take 1 or maybe 2 classes, and work part-time some where.”

- jacy85

“But the thing to remember is that everyone has their own style.  I know people who sit in the library 10 hours a day, going crazy over small, minute details in the reading.  Some of those people did very well on exams, too.  Bottom line is find a system that works for you and go with it.”

- Actual1L

The more I read, the more I figure out that getting the best grades you possibly can during your first year in order to get a solid summer internship is really what it all comes down to. Period.