Curriculum and Classroom Dynamics

1● 5 ● 14: Numbers for Starting Law School

mnienaber-foster — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 08:13:58 -0500

I will be serving as an orientation ambassador at my law school for the second year in a row. In this volunteer role, I assist in orientation activities and serve as a mentor to incoming students who are beginning law school. I felt compelled to do this job as a way to give back for all of the great friend-mentors I was lucky enough to have during my first year of law school. Beginning the process is a jumbled mix of emotions: excitement; fear; apprehension; intimidation; and hope. That last one changes as your first semester unfolds. You hope you won't get called on; you hope you can get through your reading; you hope no one will figure out how scared you are to be there. But over time, the hopes change: I hope he asks me about that case; I hope I get into that class; I hope I get that job. And this is why the numbers above are so important when beginning your process. Do not walk into your first day worrying about how you'll get though 3 years of law school, sit for a bar exam, and find a great job. That is not your concern right now. It will come up sooner than you expect, but it should not be on your docket right now. Focus on 1, 5, and 14. Get yourself through that first day (1). Get yourself through that first week. (5) And then, the third will come more easily than you expected: your first semester, roughly 14 weeks.

The Feminist Mystique

Ferguson — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 12:37:38 -0600

I am taking a seminar (the second one of my legal education but the first in which active participation is encouraged, if not mandated) but this one scares me in two very divergent ways. Firstly, the professor who teaches it was my first year torts professor and for whatever reasons (and I have confirmed reports that I am not crazy, that this indeed did happen), the woman had it in for me.

Law school "bashed" my love of learning. Does it have to be this way?

Ferguson — Mon, 3 Dec 2007 20:44:23 -0600

I am taking an amazing class at law school, the first one that I remember being truly excited to go to. It’s called Biblical Law, my first small seminar at law school, and the first class that has reminded me of the thrill of my undergraduate institution. The other classes I’ve taken--the first year curriculum and then a few other “highly recommended” courses, are done via large lectures with the other students either furiously typing away or playing solitaire on their computers--don’t stimulate me. I am diligent and hard-working, do the assigned reading, listen to the professor as much as one can listen to another person talking at me for 50 minutes straight, but in truth, I am bored. Law school doesn’t stimulate me like my undergraduate courses did. I don’t know what I thought law school was going to be when I made the decision to attend. I was in for a rude awakening...

Bringing the Women Back: Law School Paves the Way for Women in the Profession

JMLiebman — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 04:14:59 -0500

I am no stranger to classrooms where one gender radically outnumbers the other. My undergraduate college continues to maintain a ratio of 1 man for every 3 women despite going co-ed four decades ago. As a graduate student in philosophy, I usually found myself just one of only 2 or 3 women in 20 person seminars. I entered law school at the University of Illinois eager for a more balanced classroom. I knew that most first tier schools have a 45/55 split in genders favoring men.

Two Kinds of Law Students: High-Roller Helens and Justice Janets

Nora Farah — Mon, 8 Oct 2007 14:27:43 -0500

I am convinced that there are only two categories of law students on the first day of student orientation: the High-Roller Helens and Justice Janets. Helens have a million reasons why they want to be attorneys, all of which they accept in the form of cash, credit, or check. Helens are competitive and sneer at the prospect of being anything less than a corporate defense attorney, making the "big-bucks." Helens practically cannot have children, but they typically have all the toys they desire.

Perspective: From a women's college to a co-ed law class

Victoria Tsoong — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 20:43:28 -0500

Coming directly from a women's college to law school, I confronted an unexpected hurtle--a co-ed classroom. In my youth, I attended co-ed schools, but was fortunate to take the opportunity to attend Scripps College of the Claremont Colleges. During college, I was able to gain confidence as a woman and was able to understand what it meant to be a woman in society. I emerged from Scripps confident and independent.

Despite the lessons learned from a women's college, I found that, even in this day and age, the legal realm is still adapting to women in executive positions. I had been warned of this fact when I decided to attend law school, but it became concrete during my first summer externship.

Why I joined the DePaul student chapter of the Women's Bar Association

Tracy Walsh — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 15:57:47 -0500

This past semester I took jurisprudence. I felt that was the first time in law school that women were acknowledged in the curriculum. We studied feminist jurisprudence for two weeks, and how women's rights were reflected in Irish Brehon law. I had taken women's studies and sociology courses in college. But upon entering law school, I was just immersed in the maze that was the first year and forgot what it felt like to reflect on women in an academic setting.

My law school class is 60% female, but we still need a women's student group.

Meghan Corman — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 15:51:52 -0500

I am fortunate to attend a law school where women are the majority. At Boalt Hall, approximately 60% of the students are women. Because of these numbers, I escaped many of the law school stereotypes, such as men speaking more often in class, or getting more face time with the professors. Perhaps these things do occur, however it is my perception that such gender stereotypes are not pervasive at Boalt Hall. In fact, some of my male classmates have complained that women are smarter, work harder, and get better grades, thus hurting their chances of performing well when graded on a curve.

A more common complaint about the female majority involves the Boalt Hall Women's Association (BHWA). As an active general member and former board member, I often hear, "Why does Boalt need a women's association?"

Hearing Voices

CurlieTea — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 14:42:28 -0500

I grew up as the second of three daughters born to "working-class" parents. When I was younger, it was rare to see either of my parents come home from work unexhausted. Growing up, most girls my age weren't expected to contribute the type of chores my sisters and I were; my father had no sons and, as children, we did all we could to help, regardless of gender roles. Consequently, as time went on, I became quite an "atypical" young woman. I was often outspoken in the classroom.

Opting out?

Tiffany Bartz — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 18:38:54 -0500

A feminist law student transfers from Boalt Hall to the University of Arizona, and she couldn't be happier.

My law school career began at the University of California, Berkeley's Boalt Hall School of Law. My experience there as a woman was both positive and disappointing. Although sixty percent of my incoming class was female, only about ten percent of the students who spoke in class were female. I was encouraged that so many women were entering the legal profession, but discouraged that the gender disparity, at least in regard to verbosity during class, continued.

I transferred to the University of Arizona at the beginning of my 2L year, a difficult move criticized by many. People told me both that I should not transfer to a lower-ranked law school, and that transferring to be with my boyfriend (a graduate student in astronomy who could not transfer himself) was anti-feminist and could hinder my legal career.