The Guide to Belonging in Law School
Author:
McClain, Russell A.
Edition:
1st
Copyright Date:
2020
26 chapters
have results for guide to belonging in law school
Title Page 2 results
Introduction 26 results (showing 5 best matches)
- These histories of exclusion and oppression can make the law school experience different for members these groups. As I will discuss in Chapter 2, being a statistical minority can dramatically affect learning experiences. When you are in the minority, you experience greater pressure to speak for your group, to succeed, to prove that you belong. These pressures do not begin in law school; they can be felt in the formative childhood years. And they continue throughout one’s life. In education, these dynamics can interfere with learning, increasing in intensity as one reaches higher levels of education. If ignored, they can prevent minorities from realizing their full academic and professional potential.
- YOU BELONG IN LAW SCHOOL, AND YOU CAN AND WILL SUCCEED IN BECOMING PART OF THE LEGAL PROFESSION.
- Nor will all of your law school experiences be identical. You may go to an elite school, or your school may be in the top, middle, or bottom tier. Your school may be predominately white, or you might attend an institution devoted to the education of people of color, like a Historically Black College or University. Your faculty may be comprised of mostly conservative or mostly liberal faculty members. Teaching at your chosen law school might be focused on legal theory, or your law school may be devoted to teaching you strict rules (as we call them, “black letter law”) in order to help you master the rules and pass the bar exam. You might attend as a full or part-time student. You might get scholarships, or you may have to pay your own way. Each of these variables will color your law school experience.
- There are many good books written about law school. They offer guidance on how to learn effectively in law school, including how to read and study effectively, how to prepare for class and take notes, and how to study for and take law school exams. Other books give you a basic overview of or introduction to substantive topics.
- But very few books address the special dynamics people from marginalized groups will face in law school. That is why I chose to write this book. I will do some of the things addressed above, but I also have included special content to help readers navigate a distinct set of experiences you will encounter in law school.
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Last Words 5 results
- Always keep in mind that you belong in law school, and you can and will succeed.
- The skills you have spent so much energy learning in this book will serve as a foundation for you when you begin law school. You will build on them each day of your schooling. Commit yourself to doing the hard work of learning the law. Spend the hours, do the readings, go to your classes, and do all you must to learn effectively.
- I hope that this book has provided you with a taste of what law school will be like. My deep desire is that you will know that there is a place for you in the legal profession. If this is the path you have chosen, know that you can accomplish your goal of succeeding in law school, passing the bar, and becoming a practicing lawyer.
- Because this book is devoted to the law school learning process, I have not emphasized as much as I would like that you should remember to enjoy yourself. Law school can be a great three or four years. You will make friends that you will have for life, you will have countless memories of the time you spent there. So take the time to have a good time, participate in extra-curricular activities, network, work out, eat out, and make sure to have a full life experience.
- Law school can be challenging. It is hard work, there are many stressors, and invisible barriers can try to get in your way. But you are strong and prepared. You have the capacity, the mindset, and the tools to succeed.
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Appendix Readings 748 results (showing 5 best matches)
- The Court finds credible [respondent’s] testimony that [appellant] encouraged her to go to law school, knowing that she would not be able to pay for it on her own. He knew that she was short on money, having helped her pay for food and other necessities. He knew that she was working at Qwest and would need to quit her job to go to law school. He offered to pay for the cost of her going to law school, knowing that she had debts from her undergraduate tuition. He made a payment on her law school tuition after she enrolled. [Respondent] knew that [appellant] was a wealthy philanthropist, and that he had offered to pay for the education of strangers he had met in chance encounters. She knew that he had the wealth to pay for her law school education. She knew that [ ] he was established in society, older than she, not married, without children, an owner of a successful company, an owner of an expensive home, and a lessor of an expensive car. Moreover, [appellant] was a friend who had...
- That in 2000, based on the assurance and inducement of [appellant] to pay for [respondent’s] legal education, [respondent] made the decision to enroll in law school at Hamline University School of Law (Hamline) in St. Paul, Minnesota which she did in 2001.
- In the fall of 2000, appellant suggested that respondent attend law school, and he offered to pay for her education. Respondent, who had recently paid off an $11,000 medical bill and still owed about $5,000 for undergraduate student loans, did not feel capable of paying for law school on her own. Appellant promised that he would pay tuition and other expenses associated with law school as they became due. Appellant quit her job at Qwest, where she had been earning $45,000 per year, to attend law school. Appellant admitted at trial that before respondent enrolled in law school, he agreed to pay her tuition.
- Because appellant’s expensive home and car and position as a successful business owner made it appear as if he was fully capable of keeping his promise to pay respondent’s law-school expenses and because appellant had bestowed his generosity on respondent several times before he promised to pay her law-school expenses, appellant reasonably should have expected his promise to induce action by respondent. The promise did induce action by respondent and left her with a substantial debt when appellant failed to keep his promise. Respondent quit her job and attended law school with the expectation that appellant would pay her law-school expenses and she would not be in debt for these expenses when she graduated. Because it would be unjust to require respondent to pay a debt that she incurred in reliance on appellant’s promise to pay the debt, appellant’s promise is enforceable notwithstanding the statute of frauds.
- Respondent testified that she enrolled in law school in the summer of 2001 as a result of appellant’s “inducement and assurance to pay for [her] education.” Appellant made two tuition payments, each in the amount of $1,949.75, in August and October 2001, but he stopped payment on the check for the second payment. At some point, appellant told respondent that his assets had been frozen due to an Internal Revenue Service audit and that payment of her education expenses would be delayed until he got the matter straightened out. In May 2004, appellant and respondent exchanged e-mail messages about respondent’s difficulties in managing the debts that she had incurred for law school. In response to one of respondent’s messages, appellant wrote, “to be clear and in writing, when you graduate law school and pas[s] your bar exam, I will pay your tuition.” Later, appellant told respondent that he would not pay her expenses, and he threatened to get a restraining order against her if she...
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Chapter 4 Legal Sources and Structures 34 results (showing 5 best matches)
- In this chapter, I wish to provide you with a context for much of the academic subject matter you will encounter in law school. Of course, this is law school, so much of what you will read involves law. But where does law come from? Who creates, interprets, and enforces the rules that we call “law?” What I will provide below is a simplified, but I think helpful, explanation of the basics you need to know in order to get started with your law study. (There is much more nuance that you will learn during your time in law school, but I will not explore all of that nuance here.)
- The law also can be influenced by experts in a different way. Law professors in every law school in the nation produce articles addressing cutting edge developments in the law. Sometimes, judges rely on these articles for guidance as they strive to determine what law should be applied in the cases before them. You likely will read excerpts from some of these articles in your casebooks, and you may find that these articles help a great deal as you learn about the law and the theory behind it.
- Much of what you will study in the first year of law school will be based on this court-created law. If you imagine a world where statutes and regulations do not regulate particular areas of conduct—or where they cover the general area yet fail to resolve particular issues, you can better understand how disputes arise. But if there is insufficient law available to address a specific dispute, courts must create (or derive) that law in order reach a resolution. The resulting judicially created law is called “common law.”
- Much of the law you study in law school comes from court decisions (judicial opinions). It will be important for you to understand how courts are structured and how they interpret and create law.
- You will encounter many of these types of law in your few years of study in law school.
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Chapter 2 The Law School Experience 34 results (showing 5 best matches)
- I often get the following question from prospective law students: What should I do prior to starting law school to prepare? There are many kinds of advice lawyers and law professors will give you in response to this question, some of which will focus on your preparation in college and/or in the years leading up to law school. I will focus on the summer before law school, and what you can do to get ready.
- As I said above, I did not write the previous section in order to scare you away from law school. But I do want you to know what you are getting into. And, I want you to know that, should you choose to go to law school, you can handle it. In this book, I will do my best to give you advice to help you navigate many of the challenges I have raised.
- in law school. Many law students view themselves as working harder in law school than they have ever worked before. For that reason, it is important not to wear yourself out before you start. So I would not recommend that you do a full summer’s worth of intensive work that will just have you tired before you begin law school. On the other hand, there are some amazing “bridge” programs, like summer courses offered by the Council on Legal Education Opportunity, law school bridge programs or boot camps, and other law school prep offerings. Whether or not you choose to do some kind of bridge program, it is important that you start law school refreshed, energetic, and ready to work. Take time, therefore, to get enough rest and to make sure that you are not worn out before you begin.
- Success in law school does not happen accidentally. If you are to succeed in law school, you must approach it intentionally. Once you have finished this book, and before you have started law school, you should visualize and then write down a plan for success.
- Make sure that you enjoy yourself before law school starts. Law school can be a lot of fun—you will meet many interesting people, make friends, and you can engage in a wide range of law school activities (trial team, moot court, etc.) that can be thoroughly engaging and rewarding. That said, you should make sure that you spend some time enjoying yourself during the summer leading up to law school. Take a vacation, go see movies, and spend time with friends and family. You may feel that the time you have to do some of those things will be limited once law school starts, so take advantage of the time that summer provides and make sure you create opportunities to relax and have a good time.
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Chapter 11 Class Three 9 results (showing 5 best matches)
- Sam’s Advice: Our profession still has a long way to go to become inclusive, but there are a lot of people willing to learn how to get there. Being involved in community was critical to my mental health while in law school. I deliberately connected with other LGBTQ students and lawyers, saw an LGBTQ therapist, and I also kept in touch with friends outside law school. Being surrounded by people who get your experiences can make a huge difference when you're harmed, misunderstood, or feeling isolated. Finding a way to set down the work and inevitable drama of law school is also crucial to being able to recharge. After law school, I've found more ways to cultivate joy in my life. It's hard to do when law school is so overwhelming, so I'd recommend finding time before school starts to focus on finding what brings you joy.
- SAM is nonbinary and queer. When entering law school, Sam wasn’t sure whether they would come out as nonbinary to anyone. Law school was a big culture shock, and it took Sam some time to get their feet under them. Sam also wanted to let people get to know them a bit before introducing others to a potentially unfamiliar gender identity. There was one other trans student at the school, and that gave Sam a lot of courage in starting to talk to people about their identity.
- Sam was pleasantly surprised by how supportive the law students and professors were. Certainly not everyone understood, but they had an amazing network of people who helped them educate others and advocate for more trans-inclusive policies at the school. They even got the school to build a multi-stall, all-genders restroom, and some professors began introducing themselves with pronouns and addressing ways the law affects people of different genders. Sam made lifelong friends whom they trust and love dearly. The positive reception in law school cemented Sam’s confidence in being out in the legal profession and working to be seen and recognized for who they are. After graduating, Sam’s path includes a federal district court and federal appellate court clerkships as well as a prestigious fellowship working to address LGBTQ youth homelessness.
- We Belong
- Imagine yourself as a successful (however you define that) lawyer in five or ten years. Describe the path that took you to success. What barriers did you overcome? How did you persevere?
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Chapter 6 Preparing for Class 118 results (showing 5 best matches)
- The best chance you have of excelling in your law school classes and on your law school exams is to build long-term mastery over time. To do this, you must space your learning up front and keep coming back to review information over the course of the semester (we will discuss this in a later chapter). If you do this, you will be a much more efficient and effective learner.
- In law school classes, professors generally expect that students will come to class already having learned the material. This is not to say that professors expect that students will know everything or appreciate every nuance laced throughout reading assignments, but students should enter the classroom prepared to converse with the professor as experts on the law. This conversation, commonly known as Socratic dialogue and which is a part of many law school courses, is discussed in more detail in a later chapter. For now, you should understand that you will be expected to know the subject matter well enough to be able to expertly participate in class discussion. Law school Socratic dialogue is different from what some students experience in undergraduate study, where class time is devoted to restating the information that was in the reading. Instead, law professors expect you already to have learned the information. Class time is spent reinforcing and building on what you already have...
- Third, although cramming can give a person success in situations where simple recall is called for, law school classes (and, ultimately, law school exams) do not depend on your ability to recall information. Instead, they require you to apply the information you have learned during the semester, not just to recall it. If you cram immediately before a law school class, you may remember the facts of a case, or even the outcome, but you should have no expectation that you have developed the expertise necessary to apply the law effectively. And if you fail to do that as you prepare for classes, you can expect limited expertise on your exams also.
- : There are two primary foci you should have as you read through the assignment carefully. First, you are trying to understand what you are reading. Given that you are new to law school reading, this may take more time than you expect, even though the reading is (in law school standards) relatively short. You should set aside at least two hours for this reading. Depending on your pace of reading, you may need as many as three hours. Though it may be ideal for you to read this all at once, as you might in law school, you may break up the reading into two parts if that suits your schedule better.
- Second, there is simply too much information in every law school class for you to try to cram it all into your short-term memory immediately prior to a law school exam. You may have three or four exams in any given semester, and for each of those exams, you will have read as many as a thousand pages or more during the semester. It is impossible for you to try to cram the night before—or even the week or two before—the exam. You must spend weeks preparing.
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Chapter 8 Introduction to Legal Analysis 135 results (showing 5 best matches)
- We shorten this basic structure to “ ”—you will hear this acronym a lot in law school. A version of IRAC will be taught to you in your legal writing classes, and you will be expected to apply this approach on your law school exams. This latter purpose is why we are focused on it here.
- In this chapter, we will focus less on learning the law and more on how to use the law to resolve legal issues (even though you may find that focusing on using the law actually can help you learn it better.) In this chapter, we will focus on simple legal analysis. In a later chapter, in preparation for our midterm exam, we will introduce more complex legal analysis, like that you do on law school exams.
- In law school (and in law practice), analysis is better if it (i) states the rule clearly and completely, (ii) identifies the relevant facts and explains their relevance, (iii) articulates and examines any counterarguments, and (iv) briefly states a conclusion. It is that you learn to write the more comprehensive legal analysis, like the one we have developed above. Doing so will improve your chances of succeeding in law school greatly.
- CAROLINE, who immigrated to the U.S. as a child, was the first person in her large extended family to go to college. According to her family, the only way she could live the American dream was to become a doctor or a lawyer. She ended up going to the University of California, Berkeley for law school. According to Caroline, “Law literally opened my eyes to the possibilities—which are endless!” After practicing law for a few years, Caroline went to business school and since has worked in private equity as an executive for several corporations.
- Throughout your law school and professional career, you will be required to think logically—to understand the guidelines that govern legal issues and apply that logic to resolve legal issues. Although entire courses are taught on logic in some undergraduate and graduate majors, law schools, for the most part, are short on actually teaching logic. Instead, your law professors simply assume that you think logically. (Logic is an essential skill applied on the LSAT, so that assumption is not entirely unreasonable.) And your law professors all think logically—or at least they they think logically—and they expect you to do the same. So it is necessary for you to be able to meet that expectation.
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Chapter 10 Preparing for Exams 62 results (showing 5 best matches)
- In the pages that follow, I will walk you through how to prepare for law school exams. There is a lot of truly important information in this chapter, and you probably will want to come back to this chapter during your time at law school.
- Taking exams involves skills that you must develop. In the same way that you study the law that you learn, you must study how to apply that law effectively. You will maximize your potential in law school when you combine expertise in the knowledge of the law with expertise in the practical application of that law
- Although you are not planning on medical school, I think this analogy describes almost exactly the way law school works. Over the course of a semester, you are taught “the law,” the rules (or procedures) that you must use to resolve legal problems. Much of what you are taught helps you learn to apply those rules in different contexts, i.e., how to use your knowledge to perform “surgery” on these legal problems.
- Another important thing to remember is that your grades in law school typically depend not only on how well you analyze these problems, but on how well your analysis compares to that of your colleagues. In other words, not everyone can or will get A pluses (assuming your law school uses grades). Even when you do good work, you grade depends on how many other people do good work, how many people do really good work, how many people do really, really good work, and how many people do excellent work.
- Outlining is not something magical. It is a version of something you have been doing most of your life: studying. For some reason, we use a special word for it in law school, and the mystery behind it freaks everyone out. Outlines are simply exam preparation, study tools that help students organize information they need to know in order to do well on their exams.
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Chapter 1 The Legacy of Minorities in the Law 14 results (showing 5 best matches)
- Congratulations on your acceptance to law school. You were chosen because your application stood out among thousands of others who applied. You already are smart and capable, and you don’t have to prove that to anybody. You already have everything it takes to succeed in law school.
- Minority Students in Law School: Black Lawyers and the Struggle for Racial Justice in the
- Authors have addressed the issue of underrepresentation in books, articles, blog posts, and elsewhere. In this book, I will not try to restate the points others have made. Instead, I hope to shine a light on a handful of examples of the thousands of people who, like you, thought of law school as an option. These amazing attorneys have come from all walks of life, have gone to all kinds of law schools, and they have taken a wide variety of paths to success in their legal careers.
- MARILYN, the only child of a preacher, grew up in the poorest part of St. Louis in the mid-20
- Women, who really did not have full citizenship status until the 1920s, have been systematically excluded from the practice of law. Even though there have been many high achieving women in law schools, women have been kept from advancing in the profession. Famously, women like Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, and many other high-achieving women graduated from elite schools but nevertheless were denied entry in to the profession. Even though there are many high-achieving women in law practice today, women still are underrepresented among law firm partnerships and in other high-profile law positions. The underrepresentation is even more significant among women of color.
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Chapter 12 How to Take a Law School Exam 119 results (showing 5 best matches)
- Exams are among the top stressors in law school. In many courses, there is only one law school exam at the end of the semester. And, your entire grade is based on that single exam. So taking an exam is among the top skills you must master in law school.
- MONICA grew up right near the border of Kansas and Missouri, in a conservative Midwestern family. Her mother grew up on a pecan and dairy farm in Oklahoma with 13 brothers and sisters and her father was the grandson of a sharecropper. When the time came for college, Monica wanted to spread her wings, so she chose a liberal arts school thousands of miles from home in California. There, she excelled as a creative writer, and after spending her junior year in France she almost left college to pursue an acting career in Europe. However, she was driven to go to law school because she saw it as a way to build her independence. Monica went to a top tier law school on the East Coast, and then she went to work for one of the largest law firms in the world, practicing in the area of corporate mergers and acquisitions (M&A). She left that law firm to go to another large law firm, where she became a partner in the corporate group. Monica currently is one of the top corporate attorneys in...
- Second, Phil held a press conference, telling the entire city that he was going to buy school uniforms for every child in the city’s public school system and that he was going to ensure that there was a computer in school for every child. He said, “Think of the freedom that will give families, who will not have to worry about a clothes or technology budget for their children!” Using a directory provided him by the public school system, Phil mailed out personal, handwritten letters to every family in the school district, telling them the same things that he had said publicly.
- The only way to develop the skill of writing answers to law school exams is to practice writing them. In this section, you will focus on writing answers to the question you read in the previous section.
- You should have a deliberate approach for reading and writing answers to traditional law school exams (i.e., those that present hypothetical situations and ask for comprehensive analysis). Once you have spotted the issues as you did in the previous section, then you should turn your attention to writing the analysis for each issue. You should do this in several steps:
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Chapter 7 Class One 57 results (showing 5 best matches)
- KATHRYN: Kathryn is an openly gay woman who went to Georgetown University Law Center as a public interest law scholar. Knowing there were out LGBTQ faculty at the school was very encouraging. While she had wonderful faculty mentors during her higher education, she found her social scene outside of law school. Once she graduated, she did a judicial clerkship and then practiced health law in San Francisco. She later went back to school to get an LLM in health care law and then returned to practice in Washington DC. Finally, she moved in-house, working as counsel to two community hospitals in the largest health care system in her region.
- As discussed briefly in Chapter 3, law school classes can be a lot different than other classroom experiences. Instead of explaining information to students, law professors traditionally expect students to come to class already having understood the reading. They spend their time, then, drawing students’ knowledge out through a process of iterative questioning called Socratic dialogue.
- The next series of questions can be more difficult. After you go through the basics of how a particular case was decided, the dialogue will shift to exploring how well you understand the rule and its application. The way your professors will test this is to ask you “what if” (or hypothetical) questions that contain facts that differ in some big or small way from the case you read. These “what if” questions are fundamental to your learning in law school, so pay close attention.
- The law can be a powerful tool, and we need all voices at the table. Professional networks matter, so be bold in expanding yours. Find mentors and join professional organizations while you are in law school. Be patient as you go; law is tedious but impactful. Never give up!
- . These are the “what if” scenarios that professors spin during the class. Sometimes, professors will make up new stories to test your ability to apply a legal standard. It is important to take close note of these stories, because they give you insight into how a professor might ask questions on an exam. (We will discuss exams later, but typical law school exams generally are hypothetical stories that you must analyze with the rules you have learned over the course of a semester.)
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Chapter 3 Invisible Influences 85 results (showing 5 best matches)
- There are two psychological dynamics that can have a negative effect on the academic success of minorities in law school. They are implicit bias and stereotype threat. As I will discuss below, these dynamics can work together to make law school a rough experience, especially if they are ignored.
- AYO is an African American who grew up in the upper middle class suburbs of a major east coast city. His father was a doctor and their mother was a lawyer. Ayo went to college in Pittsburgh, and law school back in his home state. After graduating from law school, Ayo became a solo practitioner and has maintained a solo law practice for nearly 25 years.
- Implicit bias are everywhere, and law school is no exception. And, because it is important to be—or, at least, to appear to be—smart in law school, intelligence-based stereotype threats can thrive. The more you care about doing well, the more likely you are to be threatened by the fear of not being up to the task. I do not say this to terrify you; instead, I hope you will be able to recognize these dynamics at play so you can stop them from interfering with your academic progress.
- Why is this important? Well, in law school, you will experience self-doubt and encounter difficulty. You will be inundated with readings and challenged intellectually. Sometimes, you will feel like you are in over your head. And, because everybody who is admitted to law school is capable,
- Implicit bias might show up in a few ways in law school. Implicit bias can lead a professor to have lower expectations of you and not be as tough on you when asking questions of you in class. Or other students may overlook you when forming study groups, for example.
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Chapter 15 The Final Exam 16 results (showing 5 best matches)
- Before you take your final exam, I would like you to perform one final reflection exercise. In light of what you have learned from reading this book, I would like you to write a letter to a future law student—someone who will start law school several years from now. This should be a letter of encouragement and wisdom. Let them know what law school will be like, the challenges they will face, the ways to overcome those challenges, and any other thoughts they can carry with them to sustain them while they study.
- After Pauline moved to the EDM compound, news began to spread about a growing, worldwide pandemic. Due to global warming and the resulting changes in the migratory patterns of wild animals, conditions were perfect to foster the growth of a new and terrible disease. The disease turned ordinary humans into rabid monsters that would attack other humans and try to bite and eat them (particularly their brains). Naturally, Pauline was extremely worried about the danger presented by the disease and those who contracted it. She approached Lon, saying that she was considering leaving the compound to find an unpopulated area in the mountains. Lon reassured Pauline that she did not have to worry. He walked with her around the entire compound, spray-painting a line on the ground as they walked, and told her that he was going to build a great wall along that line that would be impenetrable by outsiders. He described the wall in detail, explaining that it would be made of concrete and steel, that...
- Okay. You now have learned everything in the book, and it is time to put it to use. Before you take the final exam, let’s do one more practice test. Below, you will find a practice final exam to take. As you prepare to practice, remember the steps to taking the exam:
- Having nowhere to go, Pauline borrowed a phone and reached out to her family for help. Immediately, her parents responded that she could come and live in their home. “Honey, we love you more than anything. We want you to be safe and happy for the rest of your life. You can move back in with us and have your old room as long as you need it,” her parents told her. Pauline immediately headed back to her home town, walking hundreds of miles with the clothes on her back as her only possessions. But when she arrived at her home, her parents took one look at her and told her that they had changed their minds because they were concerned about her mental state. They handed her a piece of cake and then closed the door in her face, saying, “Good luck, honey. We love you. Enjoy the cake.”
- Devastated, Pauline ate the cake and then decided to take matters into her own hands. She went to a bank and took out a small business loan. With the money, she decided to open up a doomsday prepper store called “Prepper’s Preparations.” To open the store, she needed inventory. She contacted a wholesaler of prepper goods (durable clothes, non-perishable foods, and weapons of all kinds) and explained her business plan. They negotiated on and off for several weeks. Though they never reached an agreement on exactly what she would buy, the wholesaler repeatedly reassured Pauline that it could provide her with whatever supplies she needed. When Pauline explained that she needed to use her loan to buy a store location, the wholesaler responded, “That’s okay, we can work out very comfortable repayment terms. You can buy on credit and pay us back in installments once you get on your feet.” The wholesaler followed up with a “sample contract,” saying, “This is not a binding agreement, but you...
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Chapter 9 Class Two 16 results (showing 5 best matches)
- . If, despite reading, attending class, and taking good notes, you find that there still is something you do not fully understand, then never be afraid to ask questions. In law school, this means going to your professors during office hours and talking to them specifically about issues raised during class.
- Write out answers to the in-class hypotheticals asked by your professors
- Fill in any gaps in your notes
- Before you go to your next class, let’s explore a way to calm your mind before going to class. Studies show that spending just a few minutes calming your mind through mindfulness meditation can improve academic performance. Mindfulness meditation involves focusing your mind on the present. When you do that, it can liberate your brain, allowing you to focus on the task in front of you.
- —Immediately after skimming, you read carefully. You are reading to understand the material. This means that you have to spend enough time with the material to understand it. It is important to record your understanding in notes and/or briefs.
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Syllabus 7 results (showing 5 best matches)
- Below, you can find a suggested schedule for proceeding through this book. I suggest that you follow the suggested pace. Moving through the material too quickly actually will cheat you of the opportunity to experience some authenticity in absorbing the material as you would over a few weeks in a law school course.
- Chapter 12: How to Take a Law School Exam (Stop before Midterm Exam.)
- Chapter 2: The Law School Experience
- Chapter 1: The Legacy of Minorities in the Law
- In addition to the assignments below, there are various assignments embedded within each chapter. Take your time to do all of the assignments and exercises in this book.
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Chapter 14 Class Five 23 results (showing 5 best matches)
- . Many law school exams are closed book exams, meaning you will not have the benefit of relying on your notes or outlines during the exam. You should prepare for your final here with that same idea in mind. You want to be able to take the final exam without needing notes. This requires you to go beyond simply understanding the material. You must commit it to memory so that you have instant recall. This requires reading the outline again and again. Perhaps it means creating other memory tools, like flashcards. This memorization is hard work in law school, especially at the end of a long semester when you have read and discussed thousands of pages of information. Here, we have focused on a relatively narrow topic, so memorization should be more manageable.
- As a senior in high school, Joe moved out of his home and lived with a series of friends until he graduated. As a high school senior, he was content just to graduate and get a full time job—at the time he was a swimming pool salesman. But during a senior Civics class, Joe had a teacher who convinced him that he had much more to offer the world and to consider college and possibly law school. This mentor encouraged Joe along a much better educational and professional path.
- You are only limited by your own fears. I recall when I was going to Washington to interview with the SEC that no one from my law school had ever worked at the SEC. Most of my friends, while supportive, believed I had very little chance of succeeding. There was, however, one professor who believed that I had the right drive and skill set to succeed and aggressively pushed me to try for a position with the SEC. I applied, was ultimately offered a position, and that set me on a path to a very long and successful career on Wall Street. For me, finding people that believed in me, and learning from and leaning on them was critical. Going back to my senior year in high school, I had someone who believed in me and pushed me. If I hadn’t listened to their advice along the way, I am sure I would have been a successful swimming pool salesman in Akron, Ohio.
- After law school, Joe worked for the United States Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, D.C., ultimately becoming a Special Counsel to The Division of Corporation Finance. He subsequently joined a large, New York based law firm. After practicing law for ten years, Joe joined a client as an Investment Banker and ultimately rose to be the Head of Investment Banking at a large bulge bracket investment bank.
- We Belong
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Chapter 5 Introduction to Contracts 70 results (showing 5 best matches)
- Professor walks into the law school lobby and sees a hungry law student. Professor says, “If you walk over to the food truck across the street, I’ll buy you lunch.”
- Before we begin learning about Promissory Estoppel—the substantive topic we will cover in this book—it is important to provide some context for the topic we are learning. In this section, I will introduce you to some of the basics of contract law that will help you understand where the doctrine of promissory estoppel fits and why it matters.
- Contract law is built on the basic notion that parties can agree to an exchange of promises and/or obligations. In general, the formation of the contractual relationship is built on two pillars: (1) Mutual Assent, and (2) Consideration. We will discuss these concepts in the pages that follow.
- No and Yes are appropriate answers to this question. Under Common Law, the absence of a time for performance would mean that the parties have not yet agreed to an essential term. Modern courts likely would impose a “reasonable time” term on the agreement and would enforce it.
- As you read the cases we will discuss in the chapters ahead, it will be important for you to understand why the courts choose to focus on promissory estoppel rather than traditional theories. In some cases, you will see that courts are prevented from using the traditional contract approach. This can lead to outcomes that seem unfair in light of the circumstances. Using a promissory estoppel approach can lead to more just outcomes in certain cases.
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Summary of Contents 10 results (showing 5 best matches)
Table of Contents 13 results (showing 5 best matches)
West Academic Publishing’s Law School Advisory Board 12 results (showing 5 best matches)
- Dean and Joseph L. Rauh, Jr. Chair of Public Interest LawUniversity of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law
- Professor of Law, Yale Law School
- Dean & Chancellor Professor of LawWilliam & Mary Law School
- Law School Advisory Board
- Hostetler Chair in LawMichael E. Moritz College of Law, The Ohio State University
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Chapter 13 Class Four 22 results (showing 5 best matches)
- Why does this process work? Because in order to create a hypothetical testing an area of law, you have to understand the law. You will see this as we engage in the task set forth below.
- : To create exams or in-class questions, professors use the same process we are about to learn. We ask ourselves, “On what rules do I want to test my students’ knowledge?” Then we proceed to draft hypotheticals that contain the right story elements to cause you to have to apply the law we are testing.
- As you have seen in your classes and on the midterm, a primary way that professors test your knowledge of material is to present you with hypotheticals. Hypotheticals test your understanding of the material, rather than rote memorization. In other words, if you understand it, you will be able to apply it to new situations. Hypotheticals will help show where students do or do not fully understand the law they are learning.
- Congratulations on finishing your fourth class. Before we move on to the next class, you should do your post-class review. In addition to the things we have learned already in post-class review, there is another task to explore.
- Right now, the answer to this hypo is not as important as the fact that we have written a short paragraph that tests the rule. It is clear, however, that Bria is not actually accepting the offer. She is asking a preliminary question and may plan to accept. And, in light of the rule, we see that Quincy revoked the offer before Bria finally accepted the offer.
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Dedication 4 results
- To my colleagues at Maryland Carey Law, thank you for giving me mentorship, room to grow, and the freedom to pursue my passion.
- To my many academic support colleagues and friends, thank you for believing in and encouraging me.
- To Kishka, thank you for your love and support.
- To Melina and Alana, have a Growth Mindset
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Copyright Page 2 results
- The publisher is not engaged in rendering legal or other professional advice, and this publication is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. If you require legal or other expert advice, you should seek the services of a competent attorney or other professional.
- Printed in the United States of America
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- Publication Date: July 9th, 2020
- ISBN: 9781683283799
- Subject: Academic Success
- Series: Academic and Career Success
- Type: Academic/Prof. Development
- Description: The Guide to Belonging in Law School is the only book of its kind and should be required summer reading before law school. It accomplishes two discrete goals. First, it requires readers to engage in an authentic, rigorous, mini-law school semester involving reading, studying, five Socratic classes (through the connected website), exam preparation, and exam writing. Second, the book provides a foundation for students from marginalized groups to recognize and manage both subtle and explicit barriers that can impede their progress. Law schools should recommend this book to every incoming law student, especially those from groups underrepresented in the profession. Professor McClain is a nationally-recognized expert on inclusiveness and minority student achievement in law school.
