Law School Academic Support Blog

Membership in the Association of Academic Support Educators - How to Join

The following announcement is from the ASP listserv:

Dear friends and colleagues,

I'd like to extend an invitation from the Association of Academic Support Educators to join our fledgling organization. AASE is a new professional organization for law school academic support educators. This national organization is dedicated to engaging in professional development, including publishing, teaching skills development, networking with our colleagues, and discussing the latest academic support research trends as well as learning about innovative academic support and bar pass programs. 

While you may have found you were unable to attend our inaugural conference, joining the organization allows you access to our TWEN page, stocked with the handouts presenters provided during their presentations. Membership will also connect you with a professional organization, allowing you valuable contacts within the Academic Support world. If you think you might want to join an AASE committee or vote on officers, please consider joining. Membership fees are low ($35) and allow you to be part of an exciting opportunity to develop and grow as a professional.  

Please feel free to contact me for more information.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Carr,
On behalf of AASE

Jennifer Carr
Director, Academic Success Program
UNLV/Boyd School of Law
(702) 895-2433
[email protected]

 

Top Five Things To Do Before Bar Prep:

5.            Clean your house/apartment/living space.  Create a positive and productive work environment.  Think about where you will study and how you can ensure that it suits your needs for bar review.  Also, this may be the last time you have time to clean until August, so think about doing a deep clean and clear the clutter. Having a tidy work and living space will positively impact your studying.

4.            Calendar!  Print a blank summer calendar. (I like to see it on paper, but you can also use an online program.)  Put all essential items on your calendar: bar review classes, exercise, child /elder care responsibilities, etc…  Try to structure each day in order to create a realistic routine.  Free time should also be on your calendar: meals, sleep, downtime, recharging activities, etc… Fill each hour of the day with either bar study/practice or a free-time activity.  Doing this will help you to avoid procrastination and will help you use your time effectively during bar prep.

3.            Talk to your family and friends.  Show them your summer plan (and calendar).  Better yet, send them copies of your calendar.  Offer ways for them to provide you support (dinner, encouraging emails, childcare).  Informing your significant others will keep them from hindering your success this summer and will provide you with a strong support system.  You will need it!

2.            Do something fun, spontaneous, and slightly wacky.  Why?  Since you will not have the luxury of being spontaneous this summer during your bar prep, having a madcap adventure can help satiate that desire until August.  Nothing too crazy…but something memorable!  (Seattle ideas:  ride the wheel at sunset; go kayaking on Lake Union; stay out really late and then sleep in until noon; take a day hike with friends; ride the train to Portland to see the Rose Festival firework show; or check out a local concert, art show, or museum.)  Take pictures and post them near your study space or on your fridge.  These memories will help get through the long monotonous days of summer bar study.

1.            Take time to reflect.  Celebrate the end of your law school journey and reflect on how far you have come in the last three years.  Write down your many successes and what you have learned about yourself and your learning style.  Understanding what worked for you in law school and what challenged you will benefit you during your bar prep.  And, reflecting on your past will help you transition to bar prep with a renewed sense of purpose and inner strength.  You can pass the bar exam- believing in yourself is the first step!

Lisa Young

Article on Texting's Potential Impact on Formal Legal Writing

Hat tip to Sue Liemer, one of the Editors for the Legal Writing Prof Blog, for pointing out an interesting article by Lindsey P. Gustafson at the William H. Bowen School of Law - University of Arkansas Little Rock.  The article is entitled "Texting and the Friction of Writing."  The article is available here at its SSRN link:  http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2244481. 

Academic and Bar Readiness Counselor Position at LaVerne

LaVerne College of Law is seeking a new Academic and Bar Readiness Counselor.  See the following link for details:

https://laverne.peopleadmin.com/postings/57. 

Salute to Vernellia Randall

Vernellia Randall, a professor at University of Dayton, is one of the well-known names in ASP work.  She was among the leaders at the forefront of academic support work when the profession gained traction at law schools.  Vernellia is retiring this year after a distinguished career as a professor and ASP advocate.  Although a prolific writer in a number of doctrinal areas, her most recent publication on legal teaching that many ASP'ers have read is Planning for Effective Legal Instsruction: A Workbook (Carolina Academic Press, 2011).

Thank you, Vernellia, for your passion for helping students achieve success.  Your work in ASP was instrumental for many of us in our own careers.  Best wishes for your retirement.  (Amy Jarmon)

 

Batteries Not Included

It is the end of the semester, and I suspect a lot of ASP'ers are looking forward to a lull in the hectic pace of ASP work.  Some folks will have more of a hiatus than others because of low or no summer enrollments.  A few folks are on 9- or 10-month contracts with the summer off.  And those ASP'ers deeply involved with bar studiers will have a short lull.

Whether you are a one-person ASP operation or have a team and whether you have 50 invited ASP students or all law students as your target population, I imagine that you are ready for a change of pace.  The last part of the semester is always fraught with students overwhelmed by exams, students confronted by personal crises, graduates gearing up for the bar exam, and a myriad of important deadlines.  For those of us who teach ASP or other courses, we are/will be inundated with papers/exams to grade. 

I love the lull because I get to do two critical things: complete lots of projects and recharge my batteries.  In the age of portable electronic devices that get recharged nightly, I sometimes wish that I came with a battery as well.  Since I do not come equipped, here is a list of my favorite recharging activities both in and out of the office:

• Attend a summer conference with other ASP'ers to get new ideas, renew old friendships, meet new ASP'ers, and remind myself how much I love my work - we are so lucky to have AASE at the end of the month!
• Find a new book by an ASP'er in the publishers' catalogs and delve into new perspectives on student learning, legal reasoning, or other facets of our work.
• Chat with faculty and other colleagues at my school to find out what they are working on this summer, to brainstorm ideas as to how we might work together next year, and to reconnect after we have all been so busy all year.
• Revamp at least one aspect of my program for a fresh perspective: a training manual, workshop packets, my ASP group exercises, a selection process for upper-division students who work in ASP, a Power Point presentation.
• Read through my collection of thank you notes from students to remind myself of the impact that ASP work has.
• Spend more time with friends and family now that overtime hours and evening events will lessen.
• Sleep in on some Saturday mornings to recharge quite literally.
• Indulge in fluff novels that have nothing to do with the law - no John Grisham for me.
• Catch up on all the movies that I have missed and summer releases.

What are your favorite ways to recharge?  I wish all ASP'ers good ends to the semester and blessed summer months.  (Amy Jarmon) 

 

Keeping the Faith

My law students are looking a bit ragged these days.  Exams have started here, and many look tired, worried, or discouraged.  Smiles and laughter have seemed to die out amid the seriousness of exams and final papers.  The graduating 3L students are ambivalent about any elation over graduating because they know bar review will be immediately on the heels of that ceremony.  For those who desire employment that requires bar passage prior to application and those still waiting to hear about jobs, additional tension is felt.

It is easy to get discouraged when under stress.  My advice to my students is that they stay focused on their goals.  Rather than get mired in the enormity of a difficult exam, future bar review study, or uncertainty about jobs, they need to remember why they came to law school in the first place. 

Most of our students came because they were passionate about helping others and being of service.  A few may have been motivated by future high salaries, but not that many in reality.  We pride ourselves on graduating students who are ready to practice.  Because of the large number of rural areas and small towns in the huge geographic expanse of Texas, we enroll many students who want to go back home to small or mid-sized firms and make a difference in their local communities.

Despite all of the current animosity generated about law school, the legal profession is still very necessary to the lives of ordinary citizens.  There is still a nobility in helping others find justice and in solving legal problems for those who cannot be their own advocates.  If students can focus on these purposes and the intrinsic values that brought them to law school, they can respond with greater resiliency during exams, bar review, and job hunts.

I hope that all of our students will be able to keep the faith in their goals and their chosen profession during the difficult times and when obstacles seem so great.  (Amy Jarmon) 

 

Lights, Camera, Action

At most law schools, final exams are rapidly approaching.  The drawn-out "practices" with course material over 14 or 15 weeks are drawing to a close.  A few professors are providing last-minute dress rehearsals with practice questions or reviews of material.  

The tension is mounting just as it would before opening night of a theater production.  Everyone knows that this is it: the law must be at one's finger tips, the exam strategies must be in place, the last-minute tweaking is all that there is time for at this point.  Those who have not "learned their lines," "blocked their places," and paid attention "to the director" will be frantic soon.

Butterflies are natural just as they are before a production.  Sheer panic, however, indicates a lack of preparation.  Those who are trying to learn 14-15 weeks of material at the very end of the semester are struggling at this point.

If students have been diligent throughout the semester, then they need to focus on the following points:

• Review material learned already by reading outlines through at a moderate pace to keep material fresh.
• Concentrate on newer material that needs to be understood and learned.
• Complete as many practice questions as possible - some under timed, exam conditions.
• Spend extra memory drill time on the few (hopefully) areas that are still troublesome: rules, exceptions, policy arguments.

If students are faced with an overwhelming amount of material to learn at this point, then they need to consider the following:

• Prioritize studying: what areas are most likely to be tested heavily; what areas are still the most confusing or hardest and need extra time.
• Spend time on study strategies that will get the most results: it might be too late to make flashcards, but reading one's outline may work well; attack outlines or flowcharts may be more helpful than starting a full-blown outline for some topics.
• Balance individual study time with any group study time so that personal knowledge will be there for the exam.
• Remember to do practice questions to go beyond just memorizing material and become proficient at applying the material.
• Have a list of the material one is going to complete during the day for a particular course - be realistic, but diligent enough to complete the topics over the days left before an exam.

A good night's sleep before an exam will pay off more than staying up to the wee hours cramming.  Brain cells need sleep to work properly during the exam.  A good breakfast or lunch before an exam is also a must to fuel one's brain cells.

Good luck to all of our student readers on your exams! (Amy Jarmon) 

 

The Hardest Bar...Is the One You are Taking

A brouhaha has erupted among law students over an article from the ABA Journal that references recent blog posts that rank bar exams based on difficulty.[1]  One of these blog posts asserts that the Washington state bar exam is the third most difficult bar exam in the country.[2]  Could this really be true?  Can state bar exams be ranked by difficulty?  How is difficultly measured?  Is it an objective enough characteristic to accurately make this type of conclusion?  Is the article merely sensationalism?  Are there too many outside, uncontrolled factors that would destroy conclusions such as the ones asserted?

First, no matter what you hear, the urban myths, tales from judges, friends, and fellow students, or articles such as the one in the ABA Journal, every bar exam is difficult.  Or, possibly better stated, the hardest bar exam is the one you are taking…  If there was a bar exam that was “easy”, wouldn’t everyone flock to that particular jurisdiction?  If the bar exam was “easy”, wouldn't that particular state have problems with the competency levels of the attorneys that they license?  If the bar exam was “easy”, what would be the point of administering it?  Is it not a tool to protect consumers of legal services?

Next, what if the Washington bar exam is actually the third hardest bar exam in the country?  What does that mean?  Is this a deterrent to future bar takers?  Is this an ominous warning to steer clear of imagining your legal career taking flight in WA?  I hope this is not the case.  Instead, I believe this is simply a result of generalizing.  Comparing WA State’s bar exam, which was an essay only exam, to other state bar exams is like comparing apples to oranges. 

Washington State was an outlier with regard to their testing format.  (Note: WA will administer the UBE for the first time this summer.)  Generalizing bar exam difficulty based on limited quantitative data, even when a regression methodology is employed, could lead to less external validity.  Variables such as the specific testing measures and format, state bar association grading standards, student’s qualitative characteristics, and state bar associations internal set pass rate all affect pass rates; and, thus could skew rankings.  As an Academic Support Professional, I find that a student’s qualitative characteristics and/or psychological factors more strongly influence a student’s ability to pass a bar exam.  Quantitative factors are more easily calculated but are not always predictive.

Bar exams are difficult. Yes, some applicants struggle more with multiple-choice questions than with essay writing.  Other applicants cannot stand the time and attention to detail required to achieve a high score on the performance test.  Some applicants fear arcane legal concepts or nuanced legal theories that are not practical or relevant to their interests.  However, the bottom line is that the bar exam requires extreme focus, months of studying, repetitive practice, and strong internal motivation.  High stakes exams do not get more intense than the bar exam.

Focusing solely on statistics, whether you are a student or a teacher, is the wrong way to approach the bar exam.  Remember, as attorney’s we read between the lines and pay attention to the fine print.  Avoid the hyperbole in articles and blog posts such as the ones mentioned above.  Instead, focus on what it takes to pass the bar...determination and hardwork.

Lisa Young

---

[1] http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/its_not_an_april_fools_joke_illinois_bar_exam_gets_harder_which_states_have/?utm_source=maestro&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=weekly_email

[2] http://witnesseth.typepad.com/blog/2013/04/the-most-difficult-bar-exams.html

Whittier Law School Academic Support and Bar Preparation Position

Whittier Law School seeks candidates to work with our Academic Support and Bar Preparation programs. Successful applicants will work with Academic Support for first and second year students and Bar Preparation for third and fourth year students. Primary responsibilities include individual and group work with students on legal analysis and study skills, time management and other academic success skills, support for classes and workshops, participation in program development and assessment of programs and student learning. We seek candidates who excelled in law school, who exhibit a passion for teaching and learning, who have a strong work ethic and who enjoy working on and collaborating with a dynamic team of professionals. Salary and benefits depend on level of experience. Candidates must be law school graduates with a JD degree who have passed the California Bar Exam. Whittier Law School is an equal opportunity employer that welcomes applications from all qualified individuals. Please submit resumes and letters of interest that describe the applicant’s qualifications for the above position directly to Sara Berman at [email protected].

University of Louisville Director of Academic Success Position

A 30-hour a week Director of Academic Success position (eligible for full benefits) is available at the Louis D. Brandeis School of Law at University of Louisville.  Ideally, the successful candidate will begin on July 1, 2013.  Interested candidates must submit a resume, cover letter, and the names and contact information of three references via the online application.  Review of applications will begin May 21, 2013.

The full job description is posted at:

http://www.higheredjobs.com/institution/details.cfm?JobCode=175747170&Title=Program%20Manager%20%2D%20Director%20of%20Academic%20Success&aID=7137.