Students:

 

I am pleased to announce that Prof. Mackey from the History Department is now available to teach Legal History on Monday and Wednesday nights from 6:35-8:00 p.m.  The exam will be December 11th at 6 p.m.  This class is a perspectives class and will have a cap of 25.

 

Dean Duncan

August 2012 and December 2012 graduates, please contact Barbara Thompson (barbara.thompson@louisville.edu) in Student Records concerning your graduation date, registration and the May 2012 School of Law Convocation.

REMINDER:  Deadline to order graduation apparel for the School of Law Convocation is midnight, Saturday, March 31.

http://louisville.edu/commencement/caps-and-gowns/student-orders.html

 

 

Congratulations to the following students for participating in the Third Annual Spring Break Challenge and for finishing in the top three:

Overall Champion:  MICHAEL ATKINSON (Professor Nowka's section)

Professor Nowka:

First place:  Michael Atkinson
Second place:  Chris Henry
Third place:  Paul Downs

 

Professor Giesel

First place:  Lacey Gullett
Second place:  Sierra Ashby
Third place:  Christopher Thurman

 

Please stop by Dean Ballad's office to collect your prizes!

Are you feeling fatigued or discouraged?  Does it seem as though there is no way to get everything done?  Are you stressing out over the time crunch you are in right now?  Take a very deep breath and count to ten.  Then, use some of the pointers below to get things under control.

• Get a pep talk from someone.   You can do this!  Talk to whomever you have in your life who will encourage you and help you calm down.  It may be a professor or Academic Fellow.  It may be a spouse or significant other.  It may be a non-law mentor.  It may be a counselor or doctor.  And, if no one comes to mind, schedule a “pep talk” appointment with the Academic Success Office.
• Be an optimist and not a pessimist.   Optimists are more successful in academics than pessimists.  Look for that silver lining in the cloud.  Go ahead and make yourself feel better!
• Use visualization for success.   Athletes visualize themselves making the winning basket, breaking the speed record, or throwing the fastest pitch.  You can visualize yourself studying diligently each day, conquering a difficult concept in a course, and confidently taking an exam. 
• Post inspirational sayings around your apartment.   For some, these will come from favorite authors or famous people.  You can find inspirational quotes on various topics using Google searches.
• Put things into perspective.   As anxious as you may be about law school, it is not a life or world crisis.  Each day there are ordinary people dealing with hunger, poverty, homelessness, illness, natural disasters, or armed conflict.  Law school is nothing by comparison.  So, lighten up and be thankful for the opportunities that you have.
• Be cooperative.   Explain a class concept to another law student who is struggling.  Provide class notes to someone who has been sick.  Offer to lend a supplement to someone who cannot afford one.  Praise another student for an excellent presentation in class.  Thank someone for supporting you when you needed help.
• Take one day at a time.   Consciously decide each day how to use your time and talents.  Do the best you can do and then let it go.  Do not dwell on mistakes or lost time.  Re-evaluate your priorities and keep going.  The best you can do is the best you can do.
• Set up a support system.   Decide with another law student what each of you needs help on and consciously help each other.  If the other law student needs a phone call in the morning to get moving, then make the phone call.  If you need someone to monitor your wasted time chatting in the student lounge, then ask the other student to confront you when you procrastinate.
• Cuddle a cat, pet a pooch, or hug a horse.   Animals have a way of calming us.  Some furry friendship can do wonders. 
• Give yourself some credit.   Remember that you are here because we believed in your abilities when we admitted you.  You were selected when hundreds of others were denied admission.  You still have the same attributes and talents as when you walked in the door on day one of law school.  There are a lot of very bright and competent people here.  And, you are one of them.  You may need to learn some new study strategies, but that is different than not belonging here.
  

The third annual Spring Break Challenge is today, March 23, from 11:30 to 12:15 in Room 275.  Any Contracts II student may take the Challenge.  Pizza will be served for those students who take the challenge.

The third annual Spring Break Challenge is this Friday, March 23, from 11:30 to 12:30 in Room 275.  Any Contracts II student may take the Challenge.   Here's how it will work:

1. The Challenge will consist of many objective-type (non-essay) questions covering one subject – Contracts II. 
2. Your goal is to correctly answer as many questions as you can, in any order, in the time allotted.
3. All you need is a pen.
4. There will be separate Challenges for Section 1 (Nowka) and Section 2 (Giesel) contracts classes.
5. The students who answer the most questions correctly will be crowned the Spring Break Challenge Champions.
6. In addition to bragging rights, great prizes will be awarded to the first- through third-place finishers in both sections.
7. Who will be the next Champion?

Past Champions:

2010
Champion:  Julie Simonson
Second place:  Lani Burt
Third place:  Amanda Anderson and Nancy Vinsel (tie)

2011

Section 1 – Professor Nowka:
1. Liam Felsen (overall champion)
2. Brittany Hampton
3. Brian Strunk

Section 2 – Professor Giesel:
1. Dana Eberle-Peay
2. Yuan Lin
3. Caroline Ramsey and Eddie O’Brien (tie)

Be prepared for course registration and choose the courses that are right for you.   Do you want to enroll in an externship or an independent study?  Do you need to request to enroll in more than 16 hours as a full-time student or 12 hours as a part-time student?  Have you completed a degree checklist recently?  Do you want to take non-law graduate level courses?  
 
The Student Life Office will be offering course registration advising office hours for upper division students on March 26, 27, and 28.  Stop by or make an appointment in advance to discuss any questions you may have regarding your Summer 2012 or Fall 2012 schedules, graduation requirements, externships, pre-registration permission forms, etc.  Dean Ballard will be available to provide one-on-one advising, and to answer questions about course selection.  To sign-up for a time in advance, add your name to the appointment sheet outside Dean Ballard's office.

Schedules for Summer 2012, Fall 2012, and Spring 2013 are available at http://www.law.louisville.edu/academics/class-schedules. 

Some of you have been studying for exams all semester (and during Spring Break) by staying on top of your course reading, adding to your outlines each week, and conscientiously learning new material while reviewing past material.  This ongoing process is the key to the highest grades because deeper understanding and long-term memory result.

As you study for exams, consider the four kinds of review that you should include in your study plans.  If you incorporate all four types, you are more likely to master your courses and garner better grades.

1. Intense Learning.  First, you need to learn intensely each topic.  This type of study has deep understanding as its goal.  It may take several study sessions to reach this level of learning for a long topic that was covered over multiple class sessions.  Intense learning may need to include additional reading in study aids or time asking the professor questions in order to clear up all confusion and master the material.  In addition to learning this one part of the course, the student should consider how it relates to the course as a whole. 
2. Fresh Review.  Second, you should strive to keep fresh everything in the course.  This type of study is focused on reading your outline cover to cover at least once a week.  It makes sure that the law student never gets so far away from a topic that it gets "foggy."  Students forget 80% of what they learn within two weeks if they do not review regularly.  After intensely learning a topic, it would be a shame to forget it.  Constant review reinforces long-term memory and provides for quicker recall when the material is needed.
3. Memory Drills.  Third, you should spend time on basic memory drills.  This type of study helps a student remember the precise rule, the definition of an element, or the steps of analysis.  For most students, these drills will be done with homemade flashcards.  Some students will write out rules multiple times.  Other students will develop mnemonics.  Still others may have visual reminders.  The grunt work of memory can be tedious.  However, if you do not know the law well, you will not do well on the exam.
4. Practice Questions.  Fourth, you must complete as many practice questions as possible.  This step has several advantages.  It monitors whether you really understand the law.  It tests whether you can apply the law to new fact scenarios.  It allows you to practice test-taking strategies.  And it monitors whether you need to repeat intense learning on a topic or sub-topic because errors on the questions indicate that it was obviously not learned to the level needed.

Ideally, you should set aside blocks of study time to accomplish each of these reviews every week for every course.  The proportion of time for each course will depend on the amount of material covered, the difficulty of the course, and the type of exam.

The Kentucky Bar Association invites and encourages students currently enrolled at University of Louisville Louis D. Brandeis School of Law to enter the KBA Annual Student Writing Competition. This competition offers Kentucky legal scholars the opportunity to earn recognition and a cash award.  First, second, and third place awards will be given.  

1st place $1,000 (& possible publication in Kentucky Bench & Bar)


2nd place $300


3rd place $200

Students may enter their previously unpublished articles. Articles entered should be of interest to Kentucky practitioners and follow the suggested guidelines and requirements found in the “General Format” section of the Bench & Bar Editorial Guidelines.

Entries must be received by June 1, 2012.

Submit entries with contact information by mail to:


Shannon H. Roberts

Communications Department

Kentucky Bar Association

514 West Main Street

Frankfort, KY  40601-1812

Several opportunities exist for skills-based externship and law clinic experiences.   If you are thinking about participating in the law clinic, the entrepreneurship clinic, or an externship this summer or fall, or next spring, please join us on Tuesday, March 6, at 12:10, in Room 175 to hear from faculty supervisors, field supervisors, and students.  Papa John's pizza will be served.

Information will be provided relating to the:

• Tax Externship
• Kentucky Innocence Project Externship
• Immigration Externship
• Medical Research Contracting & Regulatory Affairs Externship
• Technology Transfer Practicum
• Judicial Externship
• Criminal Justice Externship - County Attorney
• Criminal Justice Externship - Prosecution
• Criminal Justice Externship - Kentucky Department of Public Advocacy
• Legal Aid Externship
• Law Clinic
• Entrepreneurship Clinic

First year law students who have earned at least 30 credits are eligible to apply for a summer judicial externship.  Students who have completed the first year curriculum are also eligible to apply for the Kentucky Innocence Project.